Category: USA Politics

FIRST ON FOX: Financial officers from 12 states are backing a proposed Department of Labor rule that targets healthcare “middlemen” by demanding more transparency, rallying behind the Trump administration’s waste, fraud, and abuse crackdown as well as the goal of lowering healthcare costs.

In a letter to the Labor Department obtained by Fox News Digital, over a dozen state financial officers in the State Financial Officers Association (SFOF) offered their support of a proposed rule being evaluated by the Labor Department targeting pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) that would expose hidden fees, conflicts of interest and overcharging that drive up costs.

“Healthcare purchasers are operating in the dark, paying inflated costs because hidden pricing and middlemen obscure where every dollar goes,” OJ Oleka, CEO of the State Financial Officers Foundation, told Fox News Digital. “By bringing those hidden prices into the light, companies can finally identify waste, negotiate better deals, and redirect those savings toward higher wages, more jobs, stronger benefits for workers, and increases to shareholder value.” 

Oleka went on to explain that on a state level, the transparency brought on by the new rule is “essential to safeguarding taxpayer resources and fulfilling fiduciary responsibilities.”

LABOR DEPT DEPLOYS ‘STRIKE TEAM’ TO CALIFORNIA OVER $21B UNEMPLOYMENT DEBT, FRAUD CONCERNS

“Transparency isn’t just about accountability; it’s critical to detecting waste, preventing fraud, and ensuring that healthcare spending delivers value to the workers, businesses, and taxpayers who ultimately bear these costs.”

If implemented, the rule would require full disclosure of these “middlemen” revenue streams, expand beyond pharmacy benefit managers to insurers and third-party administrators, and allow access to claims and pricing data, which SFOF says will be a key tool in combating fraud while outlining in the letter that the administration shouldn’t stop there.

“As the guardians of billions of taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars, we support the Labor Department’s proposed rule and hope the administration goes even further,” Tina Cannon, Utah’s state auditor, told Fox News Digital.

“Enforcing price transparency is essential for us to perform our fiduciary duties effectively,” she said. “Greater oversight and accountability for employer-based health plans will help prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in federal healthcare programs, such as the $463.7 million in inappropriate hospital payments my office uncovered in Utah last year. Expanding this rule would help us do our jobs, root out fraud and waste, and reduce the cost of healthcare for all Americans.”

A “complex web” of hidden rebates, fees, and incentives, driven by pharmacy benefit managers, has allowed fraud to go undetected for years, according to the letter.

SENATE DOGE LEADER MOVES TO FORCE ‘RECEIPT’ FOR EVERY TAX DOLLAR AFTER MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL

The push follows months of action from the Trump administration and SFOF to crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse across government. Trump recently named Vice President JD Vance the nation’s “fraud czar” to lead an anti-fraud task force, and in February the SFOF uncovered billions in taxpayer waste.

Treasurers and auditors from 12 states — including Nebraska, Louisiana, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Dakota, Indiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Mississippi and Kansas — signed onto the effort.

More than $50 billion annually in undisclosed rebates and fees is retained by top pharmacy benefit managers, which has “prevented effective oversight,” according to the letter. The letter details methods used to generate this hidden fraud.

“Healthcare overcharging in the United States erodes shareholder value by driving up costs for employers (and patients),” the letter states.

VANCE REVEALS $19B FRAUD UNCOVERED IN MINNEAPOLIS, HINTS CALIFORNIA IS NEXT TARGET

One major concern is that pharmacy benefit managers charge more for a drug than they pay at the dispensing pharmacy “to keep the difference or ‘spread’ as profit.” In turn, money hidden from regulators drives price spikes. 

The letter also states that pharmacy benefit managers are buying more expensive drugs from manufacturers for higher rebates without those incentives ever being disclosed.

“These arrangements are generally not made public, so plan sponsors often do not have insight into how much pharmacy benefit managers are actually paying for drugs on their formularies,” according to the letter.

It adds that pharmacy benefit managers are steering patients away from cheaper pharmacy options to their own affiliated pharmacies to boost profits.

In 2023, U.S. healthcare spending reached nearly $5 trillion, about 17.6% of GDP, while employers spent roughly $1.3 trillion in 2024, with costs rising more than 5% annually, according to the letter.

The letter builds on recent pressure from these same officials on Fortune 500 companies to more closely examine healthcare spending data, signaling a growing investor-driven push for cost transparency.

It also follows a recent SFOF report showing that financial officers prevented $28 billion in waste and abuse in 2025 alone, along with new polling indicating that Americans view fraud as a major driver of rising living costs.

David Axelrod, a senior advisor to former president Barack Obama, put out a statement on X quelling rumors that a Thursday meeting between himself and Pope Leo XIV was a precursor to a potential Leo-Obama summit.

“To be clear, I was gratified and honored that Pope Leo XIV granted my request for an audience and thrilled to spend a some time with him last week,” Axelrod wrote.

“It was scheduled months ago and unrelated to any prospective meeting with President Obama,” his Tuesday post concluded.

Despite the statement, Obama has been open about his desire to meet with Pope Leo. Obama-Biden White House alum Christopher Hale posted on X that there are “early talks” about a potential one-on-one.

POPE WARNS ESCALATING IRAN CONFLICT COULD TIP MIDDLE EAST INTO ‘IRREPARABLE ABYSS’

Axelrod, now a CNN analyst, was responding to a video from his own network in which conservative commentator Hal Lambert accused Pope Leo’s recent criticisms of President Donald Trump and the war in Iran of being politically motivated.

“David Axelrod goes and visits Pope Leo last week. They’re talking about Obama going to visit. Pope Leo is from Chicago. All of a sudden, now Pope Leo is out attacking Trump and the policies of the United States and Israel,” Lambert said during a CNN panel show.

“Axelrod is the chief strategist for Obama. The pope was saying he’s not political. Why is he meeting with the chief strategist for both Obama’s campaign and in the White House?” Lambert asked.

POPE LEO PICKS NEW VATICAN AMBASSADOR TO US AS TRUMP TENSIONS MOUNT OVER POLICIES

In addition to being a senior advisor to Obama in the White House, Axelrod was also the chief strategist for both Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns and was widely seen as the brains behind his successful runs.

The veteran politico met with Pope Leo on April 9. The pope’s criticism’s of Trump’s military actions predate the meeting. He’s been critical of both military actions in Venezuela and in Iran, telling a Palm Sunday Mass in March that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.”

But one day after his meeting with Axelrod, Pope Leo wrote what appeared to be a direct rebuke to the administration.

POPE LEO CALLS OUT ‘DELUSION OF OMNIPOTENCE’ FUELING IRAN WAR IN VIGIL FOR PEACE AT ST. PETER’S BASILICA

“God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs,” Pope Leo wrote in an April 10 post on X.

“Military action will not create space for freedom or times of Peace, which comes only from the patient promotion of coexistence and dialogue among peoples,” he concluded.

The post, which has been followed with at least 10 direct or indirect references to war and peace in the five days since, came days after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth spoke of the rescue mission to save a downed airman in Iran.

POPE LEO XIV INVOKES POPE FRANCIS’ FINAL WORDS IN EASTER PLEA AGAINST GROWING ‘INDIFFERENCE’ TO WAR

“Shot down on a Friday — Good Friday — hidden in a cave — a crevice — all of Saturday and rescued on Sunday,” Hegseth said. “Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday, a pilot reborn. All home and accounted for. A nation rejoicing. God is good,” Hegseth said in an April 6 press conference.

Trump responded to comments from Pope Leo, calling him “weak on crime and “terrible for foreign policy,” in a post on Truth Social.

“Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church,” Trump also wrote.

FROM IRAN TO THE FAKE JESUS IMAGE, TRUMP IS FACING A GROWING BACKLASH FOR HIS INFLAMMATORY RHETORIC

The heightened rhetoric has contributed to an atmosphere that many are increasingly viewing as political.

“It’s not about when it was scheduled. It’s about why? David Axelrod is a powerful Democrat political strategist. That’s his job for the past 30 years. Millions of people would like a private audience with the pope, but he is meeting with a powerful strategist for the opposition party to President Trump,” Lambert told Fox News Digital.

“This is all about the midterms and trying to turn Catholics against President Trump and Republicans,” Lambert concluded.

BISHOP BARRON SAYS TRUMP ‘OWES THE POPE AN APOLOGY’

Besides incurring the pope’s ire, Trump has also irked Christians across the board after posting an AI-generated image of himself on Truth Social that many viewed as depicting himself as Jesus Christ.

Trump deleted the photo and denied the charge, claiming he thought the photo was depicting him as a doctor.

“I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with Red Cross… which we support, and only the fake news could come up with that one,” Trump told reporters.

“As a Chicagoan, I’ve been eager to meet Pope Leo from the moment he stepped out on the balcony,” Axelrod told Fox News Digital.

“My admiration for him as a great moral leader has only grown since. The audience, which I requested, was scheduled months ago. No one sent me and the only mission I was on was to visit with him and pay my respects,” he concluded.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Vatican and an Obama representative for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

House Democrats filed formal articles of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, accusing the Trump Cabinet member of abusing his office and committing war crimes.

Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., introduced six articles of impeachment against Hegseth along with 12 other House Democrats.

“Pete Hegseth broke his oath to the Constitution, put U.S. troops at grave risk through the unauthorized disclosure of classified information, engaged in abuse of office and conduct beneath the dignity of his office, and carried out unlawful military actions despite his obligation to refuse — including strikes on civilians and a girls’ school in Minab, Iran,” Ansari said in a statement announcing formal filing of the resolution.

She further claimed Hegseth’s “conduct meets the threshold of high crimes and misdemeanors and warrants immediate removal by Congress.”

HEGSETH REVEALS COVERT VISIT TO TROOPS FIGHTING IN OPERATION EPIC FURY

Axios first reported the impeachment push after obtaining a copy of the resolution.

The first article of impeachment accuses Hegseth of an “unauthorized war against Iran and reckless endangerment of United States service members.” It focuses on strikes the U.S. launched without seeking a formal mandate from Congress and accuses Hegseth of recklessly endangering U.S. service members by signing off on ground operations that involved extreme and unnecessary risks.

The second article accuses Hegseth of “Violations of the Law of Armed Conflict and targeting of civilians,” alleging the secretary of authorizing or failing to prevent operations that resulted in significant civilian casualties. It cited the bombing of a girls’ school in Minab, Iran, and reports of “double tap” strikes on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean.

LONGTIME TRUMP CRITIC REVEALS WHY SHE THINKS HIS IRAN ACTIONS ARE WRONG, WARNS IT’S A ‘MUCH BIGGER WAR’

The third article accuses Hegseth of “Negligence and Reckless handling of sensitive military information,” focusing on an incident in which Hegseth and other top officials used a Signal chat to discuss active strikes in Yemen — and inadvertently included a prominent magazine editor in the chat.

The remaining three articles accuse Hegseth of obstructing congressional oversight, abuse of power and the politicization of the armed forces, and a broader charge of bringing “disrepute” upon the U.S. and its armed forces.

Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson told Fox News Digital in an emailed statement that the impeachment push “is just another charade” by Democrats.

“This is just another Democrat trying to make headlines as the Department of War decisively and overwhelmingly achieved the Presidents’ objectives in Iran,” Wilson said. “Secretary Hegseth will continue to protect the homeland and project peace through strength. This is just another charade in an attempt to distract the American people from the major successes we have had here at the Department of War.” 

The other Democrats who signed onto the resolution include Reps. Sarah McBride, D-Del., Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., Al Green, D-Texas, Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, Nikema Williams, D-Ga., Dina Titus, D-Nev., Dave Min, D-Calif., Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., Mike Quigley, D-Ill., and Brittany Pettersen, D-Col.

A man in Minnesota is facing felony charges after being accused of registering to vote and then voting in the 2024 election despite not being a citizen of the United States. 

Mukeshkumar Somabhai Chaudhari, 39, was charged with perjury and a voting violation on Monday after authorities say they obtained records showing he submitted a ballot in the 2024 election after registering to vote in 2023, Fox 9 Minneapolis reported.

Authorities say that Chaudhari denied he voted at first when interviewed but later claimed he “made a mistake” and admitted to voting while also telling investigators he is not a U.S. citizen. 

FLORIDA, MISSISSIPPI JOIN WAVE OF STATES TIGHTENING VOTER CITIZENSHIP RULES

Chaudhari, according to investigators, received a voter registration notice from the state of Minnesota in a move that was likely triggered in the system after he obtained his driver’s license. Chaudhari is said to have told authorities that he didn’t learn he should not have voted until his lawyer informed him during his green card process.

“Only U.S. Citizens are eligible to vote in Minnesota,” the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State told Fox News Digital, adding that ineligible voting is “extremely rare.”

“When an individual completes a voter registration application, they attest that they meet all eligibility requirements, including that they are a U.S. citizen,” the office said. “Before casting a ballot, one must again swear to their eligibility before they are allowed to vote. If a noncitizen attempts to vote in an election, they will be caught and held to account. Penalties for voting while ineligible may include deportation, a permanent bar on future citizenship, a fine of up to $10,000, and up to five years in prison.”

HOUSE OVERSIGHT PROBE PUTS MINNESOTA ELECTIONS UNDER SCRUTINY OVER NONCITIZEN VOTING CONCERNS

News of the charges come as Republicans continue to push voter ID legislation, known as the SAVE America Act, against fierce pushback from Democrats who make the argument that voter fraud and non-citizens voting are rare.

Conservatives on social media were quick to point the finger at Democrats in response to Chaudhari’s charges.

“That thing that never ever happens happened again,” Center of the American Experiment policy fellow Bill Glahn sarcastically posted on X.

MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL SPARKS PUSH TO SCRUTINIZE BILLIONS IN BIDEN-ERA ENERGY GRANTS 

State Rep. Pam Altendorf, a Republican, called out Minnesota Democrats in a post on X for three specific actions that she said have weakened election safeguards and invited scrutiny: loosening election laws in 2023 and 2024, issuing driver’s licenses to noncitizens, and creating a 46-day voting season during which the state mass-mailed voter registration cards and absentee ballots.

“Welcome to Tim Walz’s Minnesota,” Townhall columnist Dustin Grage posted on X.

Glahn previously spoke to Fox News Digital about his concerns over the lack of safeguards in Minnesota’s voting system, including registered voters being able to “vouch” for up to eight other voters’ residency who want to sign up for same-day voter registration without an ID.

Fox News Digital reached out to Gov. Tim Walz’s office.

California Democrats are being ripped over a bill that one state assemblymember has dubbed the “Stop Nick Shirley Act,” which he argues would “criminalize” investigative journalism.

The controversial bill, officially titled, “Privacy for immigration support services providers,” creates privacy protections for immigration support service providers, employees and volunteers, including hiding their addresses and imposing penalties on those who publish their image on social media. Democratic lawmakers say the legislation is needed to protect people from targeted political violence.

However critics, including Republican Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, argue the bill would actually work to “silence citizen journalists and shield taxpayer-funded organizations from public scrutiny.”

The bill has already passed its earliest stages and currently sits in the California Assembly Judiciary Committee.

JOURNALIST WHO EXPOSED ALLEGED MINNESOTA FRAUD SAYS NEWSOM, CALIFORNIA ARE HIS NEXT TARGETS

If the bill is signed into law, the California Secretary of State will oversee a program that will conceal from public records the addresses of any person who has provided “designated immigration support services,” including services like health care, legal assistance and case management, if they have been subjected to threats, harassment or violence stemming from their work.

The California Secretary of State will assign participants a substitute address, which will be used by local and state agencies, and will be tasked with forwarding mail to program participants’ real address.

The legislation also prohibits private citizens or businesses from posting the image, personal information or home address of any program participant online or on social media if the intent is to threaten the immigration support services worker or incite violence from a third party.

A participant covered under the program could file a complaint in court against a person or organization that posts their image and could be awarded up to $4,000.

CALIFORNIA FRAUD CONCERNS RAMP UP AS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO MASSIVE SCHEME USING TAXPAYERS AS HIS ‘PIGGY BANK’

Violators of the law could face additional criminal penalties including a $10,000 fine or up to one year in jail.

“This bill will ensures that we have an opportunity when people are being haraassed, doxxed, subjected to violence, to be able to have the ability to protect themselves,” the author of the bill, Democratic Assemblymember Mia Bonta, the wife of California Attorney General Rob Bonta, said during a legislative session.

Republican lawmakers like DeMaio argue the legislation would have a chilling effect on the work of citizen journalists.

YOUTUBER TO TESTIFY BEFORE CONGRESS ON MINNESOTA’S MASSIVE $9B FRAUD NETWORK INVESTIGATION

“AB 2624 would allow activists and taxpayer-funded organizations to demand the removal of video evidence — even if it captures misconduct in plain view — and threatens journalists with massive financial penalties,” DeMaio said in a statement. “That’s not about public safety — it’s about protecting powerful interests.”

The bill’s introduction follows investigations by independent journalists, including Shirley, that exposed alleged fraud schemes in the Democratic-controlled state. In March, Shirley published a video alleging $170 million in fraud was committed by registered hospice care and healthcare companies. Shirley visited various locations of the registered clinics, showing him interacting with the alleged fraudsters.

Since the report went public, Vice President JD Vance, who also serves as the administration fraud czar, announced the federal government has suspended 447 hospices and 23 home health agencies suspected of fraud in Los Angeles. The total fraud estimated in those schemes is more than $600 million.

FEDERAL PROSECUTOR CALLS NEWSOM ‘KING OF FRAUD’ AS TRUMP LAUNCHES CALIFORNIA CORRUPTION PROBE

“California Democrats are trying to intimidate citizen watchdog journalists and protect waste and fraud happening in far-Left-wing NGOs,” DeMaio said in a statement.

Shirley said it was “absolutely crazy” that fraud organizations, which may allegedly provide services to immigrants, are able to hide under the letter of the law.

California is “literally willing to impose a $10,000 fine or imprisonment if you go and seek to find out the truth about a location that could potentially be fraudulent inside your own neighborhood,” Shirley said on the Will Cain show.

Fox News Digital reached out to Bonta, DeMaio and Shirley for comment.

Shirley accused Democrats of trying to scare away independent journalists from looking into fraud during an appearance on “The Will Cain Show” on Tuesday.

“They’re trying to make it so citizen journalists or just average Americans who are going about seeing what’s happening inside their community — they’re trying to scare them from talking about potential fraud taking place inside of these communities,” Shirley said.

“They’re literally willing to impose a $10,000 fine or imprisonment if you go and seek to find out the truth about a location that could potentially be fraudulent inside your own neighborhood.”

Fox News Digital’s Max Bacall contributed to this report.

Buying a stolen identity can cost less than a fast-food meal, enabling criminals to use AI and internet tutorials to file fraudulent benefit claims from anywhere in the world, a former inspector general warned Congress on Wednesday.

Lawmakers are already ramping up scrutiny of fraud in major federal aid programs — including unemployment, Medicaid and food assistance — as criminals leverage AI, stolen identities and online tools to exploit systems and drain billions in taxpayer dollars.

Federal watchdogs previously estimated that more than $100 billion in pandemic-era unemployment benefits alone may have been lost to fraud, much of it tied to weak identity verification and oversight gaps.

VANCE ANTI-FRAUD TASK FORCE SUSPENDS 447 HOSPICES IN LOS ANGELES OVER MORE THAN $600M IN SUSPECTED FRAUD

“The internet has reduced barriers to fraud,” said retired inspector general Bob Westbrooks during a House Oversight Committee hearing on fraud in federally funded state programs.

“Offenders can find free tutorials online, purchase stolen identities for the price of a Happy Meal, and file claims from anywhere in the world. With automation tools, they can even submit multiple claims across multiple states,” added Westbrooks, who spent nearly three decades in public service focused on anti-fraud efforts.

He warned that “the prevalence of fraud discussions online normalizes this behavior and reduces the fear of getting caught and punished.”

Massive fraud schemes in recent years have underscored the scope of the problem, including a $250 million “Feeding Our Future” case in Minnesota that resulted in dozens of convictions, and a roughly $100 million welfare scandal in Mississippi that led to criminal charges and high-profile prosecutions.

The issue has become so glaring that President Donald Trump appointed Vice President J.D. Vance as the new ‘fraud czar’ and tasked him with addressing taxpayer theft – especially in blue states where local officials refuse to cooperate with the administration.

MINNESOTA’S ANTI-FRAUD SPENDING HAS QUIETLY BALLOONED, LEAVING TAXPAYERS TO PAY FOR FAILURE TWICE

Other auditors and federal officials have pointed to systemic weaknesses in benefit programs, including payments to deceased individuals, duplicate claims filed across multiple states and limited real-time verification of eligibility.

“There’s no one-size-fits-all solution,” Westbrooks said, noting the complexity of policing massive federal programs.

“To be frank, it is simply impossible or impracticable to design a 100% fraud-proof program,” he added.

Still, Westbrooks emphasized that fraud should not be accepted as a cost of doing business.

“The American public should reasonably expect that public money is not used to pay dead people, incarcerated individuals, or duplicate claims in the same state or across states, and that public funds are otherwise appropriately safeguarded,” Westbrooks said.

“Officials should aggressively but responsibly adopt new technology tools in the fight against fraud.”

He added that safeguarding taxpayer dollars will require “a coordinated and comprehensive, risk- and data-driven approach” to reduce losses and restore public trust.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown entered its 60th day on Wednesday, but House Republicans are standing in the way of reopening much of the agency.

Congress returned in full on Wednesday, but there is no sense of urgency to end the longest government shutdown in history. Instead, the House is mired in a fight over extending the federal government’s spying powers, which expire next week.

The House did not schedule a vote on the Senate DHS bill for this week after returning to Washington following the Easter recess.

SENATE GOP VOWS TO ‘GO IT ALONE’ ON ICE FUNDING AS DEMS DOUBLE DOWN ON SHUTDOWN

Though it’s an issue started by congressional Democrats in the dead of winter, Republicans have now been passed the buck to finish it and are eyeing a party-line maneuver to fund immigration enforcement — the main sticking point in the ongoing back-and-forth — for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term.

“Republicans have been forced to do this the hard way,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said.

Part of the problem on the DHS funding front is that House Republicans are frustrated that they are being forced to consider the Senate’s Homeland Security funding bill, which carves out Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and parts of Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The only deal that can pass with Democrats’ support is to remove funding for those agencies, while Republicans say they’re being cornered into defunding law enforcement.

SENATE PASSES BILL TO FUND MOST OF DHS AFTER HOUSE GOP CAVES

In the meantime, the solution is to produce a “skinny” budget reconciliation package that funds ICE and Border Patrol, cutting out Democrats from the process entirely.

“The intention is that we now have to come in behind that and pass a reconciliation bill that would enable those agencies to continue to be funded three years into the future,” Thune said.

He and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., are slated to meet Wednesday afternoon to get both chambers in alignment on the plan. For now, it’s unclear whether both chambers can mark up identical budget resolutions — the first step in the budget reconciliation process — prior to the House’s next scheduled recess at the end of April.

Several House Republicans were irate at Thune’s comments suggesting the second reconciliation package should be a narrow bill.

“Well — he isn’t the only voice in this, is he?” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who has advocated against funding the department in two separate legislative vehicles, wrote on social media Monday. “Isolating DHS was stupid. Isolating ICE/CBP is worse. We should move other priorities with ALL of DHS… we’re running out of time to deliver and to clean up these repeated swamp messes.”

GOP RAILS AGAINST ‘S— SANDWICH’ DEAL AS ALL EYES TURN TO HOUSE TO END DHS SHUTDOWN

And the House won’t vote to fund the bulk of DHS until the party-line bill hits Trump’s desk.

Johnson, before his huddle with Thune, said his chamber would take up the Senate’s “skinny reconciliation” blueprint.

“We’re going to do our part and fund the most essential functions of the government, and then we’ll do the rest of Homeland Security,” Johnson said.

He said he expected the upper chamber would have its budget blueprint — which undergirds the entire reconciliation process — crafted and passed by “the middle to the end of next week.”

“We’re going to move it as expeditiously as possible,” Johnson said.

Senate Republicans huddled Tuesday behind closed doors to sell the plan to their members, which, in itself, could prove challenging because of the desire among some to pay for ICE and Border Patrol spending by cutting funding elsewhere — a position that runs counter to GOP leadership.

But many Republicans view the forthcoming reconciliation package in a different light than the previous “big, beautiful bill,” which was initially loaded with steep cuts and offsets to fund Trump’s tax cuts.

They see it as a version of the normal appropriations process and argue that, because of that, they don’t need to find other parts of the budget to trim to front-load funding for immigration operations for the next three years.

“Not on this one,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., an ardent fiscal hawk, said.

And as the responsibility for ending the shutdown has politically shifted to Republicans, Democrats aren’t wasting the chance to knife them.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said, “Republicans could fix this today.”

“Instead of reopening DHS and delivering for the American people, Republicans are dragging the Senate through a partisan circus just to avoid basic accountability for ICE and Border Patrol,” Schumer said.

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee said border officials under the Biden administration released alleged illegal immigrant killer Jose Medina-Medina into the country “due to lack of space.” Judiciary Republicans criticized Democrats over Medina-Medina’s release, saying they “knew” the threat he posed.

Medina-Medina, a 25-year-old illegal immigrant from Venezuela who entered the country under the Biden administration, is facing state and federal charges related to the killing of 18-year-old Chicago student Sheridan Gorman. The charges include first-degree murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm and illegal possession of a firearm.

The killing, which took place on March 19, has sparked outrage and renewed calls for an end to sanctuary policies such as those in Chicago. Critics say these sanctuary policies protect illegal immigrants over innocent citizens. 

On Tuesday, Judiciary Committee Republicans posted on X excerpts of what appear to be court documents filed by a Border Patrol agent revealing the agency’s assessment of Medina-Medina before he was released into the country. The excerpt shows that Medina-Medina admitted to officials that he did not face a threat to his life in his home country and that the agency assessed he was “likely to abscond” if released.

KAROLINE LEAVITT BLASTS MINIMAL MEDIA COVERAGE OF SHERIDAN GORMAN MURDER

The excerpt shows officials encountered Medina-Medina in the El Paso sector of the southern border. The document notes, “the subject was asked and responded that they do not fear harm or persecution should they be returned to their home country.” The excerpts also note that Medina-Medina “has close family ties or roots in this country yet are likely to abscond.”

Despite this, the excerpts show Medina-Medina was “processed for a Notice to Appear and released on recognizance … due to lack of space.”

Committee Republicans wrote that “Democrats knew this man was dangerous and had no legitimate asylum claim. But they still released him.”

DEM SENATORS DODGE CRUCIAL QUESTION ON ILLEGAL ALIEN ACCUSED OF KILLING CHICAGO COLLEGE STUDENT

“The criminal alien who killed college student Sheridan Gorman: -Apprehended at the border by the Biden Administration in 2023 -Released two weeks later -Noted by officials as ‘likely to abscond’ and had no verifiable contact information,” wrote committee Republicans. 

Earlier this month, Fox News Digital reported that federal prosecutors added a new illegal firearm possession charge against Medina-Medina. Local criminal defense attorney Donna Rotunno told Fox News Digital that federal officials likely added the charge because they “have no faith” in the Illinois justice system. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

The firearm Medina-Medina allegedly used to kill Gorman was illegally purchased around February 6, 2008, from a Federal Firearms Licensee in Montgomery, Alabama, according to a charging document.

ICE LODGES DETAINER FOR ILLEGAL MIGRANT CHARGED WITH STRANGLING WIFE AND DUMPING BODY NEAR OKLAHOMA HIGHWAY

“Blue cities historically are lighter in their prosecutions. We have already heard that this person was of diminished capacity, so we are probably going to see some defense in regard to that,” said Rotunno. “My guess is the feds wanted to jump in so they can have some control over the fate of the defendant.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Judiciary Democrats for comment.

President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve is headed to the Senate next week, but Trump is worried that one Senate Republican could doom the confirmation process.

Kevin Warsh is scheduled for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee after his initial hearing set for this week was canceled. But his odds of moving to the next — and final — step of the process are low, given that Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., plans to block him.

And Trump isn’t happy about it.

LEAVITT ACCUSES SEN TILLIS OF HOLDING US ECONOMY ‘HOSTAGE’ OVER FED NOMINATION DISPUTE

When asked by Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo about Warsh’s chances in the Senate, Trump said, “We’re going to have to find out.”

“He might not, but that’s why Thom Tillis is no longer a senator,” Trump said. “He quit.”

Tillis, despite announcing plans to retire from Congress at the end of his term this year, is still an active U.S. Senator and would have full voting rights if Warsh’s confirmation comes up for a vote before January 2027.

Fox News Digital reached out to Tillis’ office for comment on the president’s latest comments.

The North Carolina senator has repeatedly clashed with the Trump administration ever since Tillis bucked his fellow Republicans in their pursuit of steep Medicaid cuts last year during the creation of the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

That rebellious streak has continued as the Department of Justice probe into current Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has progressed.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ASKS JUDGE BOASBERG TO RECONSIDER ORDER QUASHING POWELL SUBPOENAS

Tillis’ beef isn’t with Warsh specifically — a point he has reiterated on several occasions — but with the DOJ’s investigation into Powell’s testimony last year about the Fed’s renovation of its two historic main buildings on the National Mall.

“I love the candidate. I won’t spend my five minutes [in committee] asking him about his credentials, because he has them,” Tillis said. “I’ll spend five minutes talking about a bogus investigation that’s going to cause me to vote no, unless they end the investigation.”

“There’s no way to sugarcoat this,” he continued. “There’s one way out of the box, canyon, and they’ve got to decide whether or not they’re going to do it.”

Prosecutors from U.S. District Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office reportedly visited the Federal Reserve’s headquarters unannounced on Tuesday.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has spoken with the White House about halting the investigation.

“I think, at some point, they’re gonna have to deal with the committee, they’re gonna have to deal with Tillis,” Thune said. “And I think it’s in everybody’s best interest to wrap up the investigation.”

Meanwhile, given the uncertainty surrounding his predecessor, Powell said he would stay on temporarily until a replacement is confirmed. But Trump said he would fire Powell if he wasn’t out by next month.

Trump charged that Tillis wouldn’t “want the legacy of stopping a great person who could be great.”

“I think Kevin Warsh is going to be great. He doesn’t want the legacy of having an incompetent guy stay there for longer than is necessary,” Trump said. “I know Thom Tillis. He’s a good man. I don’t think he’s going to hurt — I know he said what he said, and maybe it’s true, in which case I’ll have to live with it.”

Tillis is working to make sure that, until the investigation is dropped, there’s no way Warsh makes it out of committee.

“I don’t think there’s any mechanism where he gets reported out of committee, but I’m already working to make sure votes will be held on the floor until we have a definitive answer,” he said.

More than 53 million tax filers used at least one of President Donald Trump’s signature tax breaks this filing season, as the average refund climbed above $3,400, according to Treasury Department data released on Tax Day.

The figures mark the first filing season since the Republican-backed “Working Families Tax Cuts” were passed in July 2025 and implemented by the IRS, with Trump administration officials touting broad uptake and increased tax relief.

Wednesday is the deadline to file taxes for the 2025 earning year, and the president promised the “largest tax refund season in U.S. history” thanks to his One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

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As of April 14, the average refund rose 11% compared to the previous filing season, Trump’s Treasury Department claims. Filers who used at least one of the new provisions saw an average tax cut of about $800, the new report found.

The data points to widespread use of several provisions in the new law.

About 25 million filers claimed a deduction for overtime pay, while roughly 6 million claimed a tax break on tips. An estimated 30 million seniors took advantage of an enhanced deduction, and approximately 34 million families claimed an expanded child tax credit.

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Another 105 million filers used the expanded standard deduction, while about 1 million deducted interest on car loans for new American-made vehicles.

Treasury also said more than 5 million “Trump Accounts” have been opened, including about 1.2 million eligible for a $1,000 pilot program contribution.

The accounts, created under President Donald Trump’s sweeping One Big Beautiful Bill Act, are government-backed investment funds for children designed to grow over time.

They function similarly to traditional long-term investment vehicles, but with rules tailored to protect young savers.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the results show the administration’s tax policy is delivering meaningful relief to workers and families.

“Under President Trump, we uphold the foundational principle that hardworking Americans should be rewarded, not punished with tax hikes,” Bessent said in a statement included in the data release.

He touted that taxpayers are “keeping more of what they earn and seeing their paychecks go further.”