Chief Justice John Roberts warned against personal criticism of federal judges Tuesday, lamenting what he described as an uptick in “dangerous” and hostile rhetoric just days after President Donald Trump zeroed in on the courts in a lengthy social media tirade.

Speaking publicly at an event hosted by Rice University in Houston, Roberts stressed the difference between criticizing a court order or legal analysis and personally attacking the judge behind it. 

“It’s important that our decisions are subjected to scrutiny, and they are,” Roberts said. 

“The problem is that sometimes the criticism can move from a focus on legal analysis to personalities. And you see from all over, I mean, not just any one political perspective on it, that it’s more directed in a personal way. And that, frankly, can actually be quite dangerous.”

EX-JUDGES BLAST TOP TRUMP DOJ OFFICIAL FOR DECLARING ‘WAR’ ON COURTS

Roberts stopped short of mentioning Trump by name. Still, the timing of his remarks is significant and comes two days after Trump assailed federal courts and Supreme Court justices in a string of fiery Truth Social posts Sunday, including the justices who ruled, 6-3, to invalidate his sweeping tariff regime last month.

“Our Country was unnecessarily RANSACKED by the United States Supreme Court, which has become little more than a weaponized and unjust Political Organization,” Trump blared.

TRUMP ADMIN DEFIES COURT OVER MARYLAND DEPORTATION, IGNITES LEGAL SHOWDOWN

“They are hurting our Country, and will continue to do so. All I can do, as President, is call them out for their bad behavior!” 

Roberts used his remarks Tuesday to pour cold water on the notion that the justices do the political bidding of the presidents who appointed them, noting President George W. Bush nominated him to the high court 20 years earlier.

“The idea that I’m carrying out his agenda somehow is absurd,” Roberts said Tuesday.

“Certainly, I’ll always be grateful [to] President Bush for appointing me, and I’m sure all my colleagues are grateful there,” he added. 

“But the idea that I’m carrying out, and they are carrying out, some different agendas is, I think, really fallacious.”

Tuesday’s event was not the first time Roberts has used his post to urge Trump or other political figures to dial back the rhetoric against the justices or lower court judges on the district or appellate level. 

SCOTUS TO REVIEW TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

Roberts last March issued a rare public statement rebuking Trump’s calls to impeach a federal juge in D.C. who issued a temporary order seeking to halt, for 14 days, the president’s use of an 18th century wartime immigration law to quickly deport hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to a Salvadoran prison.

Trump and his allies have repeatedly castigated federal court judges who have blocked or paused the president’s biggest executive orders from taking force, branding them as “activist” judges. Though that description has prompted concern from outside court watchers and former federal judges, who have pointed to a broader uptick in threats against federal judges. 

Roberts alluded to this view in his remarks Tuesday. 

“Judges around the country work very hard to get it right, and if they don’t, their opinions are subject to criticism,” Roberts added. “But personally directed hostility is dangerous, and it’s got to stop.”

A former top advisor to War Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was ousted amid a high-profile leak investigation, has been hired to work under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, according to a source familiar with the move.

Dan Caldwell’s return to a sensitive intelligence role comes less than a year after he was publicly accused of leaking classified information — allegations that have never been publicly substantiated — and as the Trump administration navigates an escalating war with Iran. 

The hiring also places a prominent advocate of a more restrained U.S. foreign policy inside the intelligence apparatus at a moment of growing internal tension. 

Earlier Tuesday, National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent resigned, citing opposition to the Iran war and arguing Tehran, Iran, did not pose an imminent threat to the United States, a rare public break from within the administration.

PENTAGON PROBE INTO SECRET SIGNAL CHATS ON HOUTHI STRIKES SET TO DROP THURSDAY AS HEGSETH FACES SCRUTINY

A source familiar with the move described Caldwell’s new position as an “administrative role” focused on internal management and coordination rather than directly shaping intelligence assessments or national security policy. However, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) plays a central role in coordinating intelligence across 18 agencies and shaping the president’s daily intelligence briefing.

The source said Caldwell has completed a polygraph test and passed a series of background and security checks and is in the onboarding process.

Gabbard’s office could not immediately be reached for comment. 

A recent Quinnipiac poll found the war is dividing Americans just as it is those within the administration: 53% of those surveyed opposed the military intervention, while 40% supported it. 

Caldwell’s hiring signals the apparent end of a leak investigation that began in April 2025, when Caldwell and two other senior Pentagon officials, Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, were abruptly fired and escorted out of the Pentagon. All three aides have denied any involvement in leaks, and no public evidence has been produced to support the allegations. 

Hegseth said at the time the three aides would be investigated for leaking and suggested there was evidence of wrongdoing, but none of the men were ever charged, and Caldwell retains his security clearance.

The Pentagon has not disclosed whether the investigation remains active or has concluded. 

IG: HEGSETH BROKE PENTAGON RULES USING SIGNAL TO SHARE STRIKE DETAILS, THOUGH NO CLASSIFIED INFO WAS RELEASED

Fox News Digital previously reported that the three aides had clashed with chief of staff Joe Kasper, who was also later removed from his role. 

Hegseth continued to accuse the aides of leaking even after their departure, saying at the time, “Those folks who are leaking, who have been pushed out of the building, are now attempting to leak and sabotage the president’s agenda and what we’re doing. And that’s unfortunate.”

Caldwell, a Marine Corps veteran and prominent voice in the restraint-minded foreign policy sphere, advised Hegseth primarily on European issues and has been outspoken against prolonged U.S. military involvement overseas. His views align with a faction inside the administration that has long warned against entering another major Middle East conflict.

That debate has taken on new urgency as the U.S. enters its third week of war with Iran, and as Gabbard — who built much of her political identity opposing regime-change wars — has remained largely quiet publicly about the conflict despite overseeing the nation’s intelligence apparatus.

After his firing, Caldwell suggested the trio’s removal may have been tied to internal power struggles. 

“We threatened a lot of established interests inside the building and outside the building,” he said.

The Pentagon declined to comment on Caldwell’s hiring and the status of the investigation. The Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations did not respond to a request for comment. 

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., is seeking to pin the blame on Republicans as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown begins to snarl air travel in his state despite repeatedly voting against funding bills.

Ossoff, who is widely viewed as the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent running for re-election, has appeared to embrace Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s, D-N.Y., hardball tactics during the 32-day partial shutdown. The Georgia lawmaker has joined nearly all Democrats in repeatedly voting against full-year DHS funding bills as the party demands reforms to immigration enforcement in exchange for their support for funding the agency.

With the shutdown beginning to wreak havoc on Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — the world’s largest — Ossoff is showing few signs of breaking ranks with his party to end the funding lapse. Rather, he has chosen to blame Republicans for the current impasse.

“Senate Republicans have blocked multiple attempts to pass legislation to fund TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and key agencies,” an Ossoff spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Republicans should stop objecting to this common-sense proposal.”

SHUTDOWN SPARKS FLIGHT CHAOS AS TSA LINES SPILL INTO PARKING LOTS WITH 3-HOUR WAITS OR LONGER

Republicans have consistently shot down Democrats’ attempts to withhold appropriations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) while funding the non-immigration functions of DHS. However, Senate Republicans insist that all DHS employees must be paid and report to work as the nation faces a rise in terror threats.

Georgia Republicans have sought to tie Ossoff to the travel disruptions at the Hartsfield-Jackson airport.

“It’s because of this temper tantrum being thrown by Jon Ossoff, who is refusing to pay TSA workers to do their jobs,” Georgia Republican Party chairman Josh McKoon told Fox News Digital. “This guy pretends to be for the average working person while he deprives them of the ability to take care of their families.”

The Hartsfield-Jackson airport reported security checkpoint wait times averaging two hours Tuesday morning as a shortage of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees has slowed operations. TSA employees, many of whom cannot afford to miss a paycheck, did not receive their salary on Friday and will not be paid for the remainder of the shutdown.

SEAN DUFFY URGES DEMOCRATS TO ‘COME TO THEIR SENSES’ AS TSA SQUEEZE CRIPPLES AIRPORT OPERATIONS

The Hartsfield-Jackson airport also experienced more than 500 cancellations Monday as severe weather exacerbated staffing constraints. At least 300 TSA employees have quit their posts since the shutdown began in mid-February, the White House announced last week.

McKoon told Fox News Digital that Ossoff’s posture during the DHS shutdown could be a drag on his campaign heading into November.

“I just don’t think that’s something that’s going to wash for people at election time,” McKoon said. “For him to say, ‘Well, I wanted you to have to wait in lines and miss your flight and potentially … lose your employment, because I wanted to make a political point standing firmly with my good friend: the illegal alien criminal.”

McKoon also argued that Ossoff’s position on the DHS shutdown is in line with the incumbent senator’s decision to toe the party line on major pieces of legislation over the past year. Ossoff aligned himself with Democrats’ shutdown strategy over expiring Obamacare premium subsidies in late 2025 — in addition to voting against Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act and legislation prohibiting biological males from participating in women’s sports.

Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter, R-Ga., and former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley are vying in a three-way primary contest in May to advance to the general election and face Ossoff. President Donald Trump has yet to make an endorsement. 

Several vulnerable House Democrats facing competitive re-election challenges are also holding Republicans responsible for the current DHS funding lapse, despite voting against bipartisan legislation to fund the agency. Just four House Democrats crossed party lines in an attempt to end the standoff earlier in March.

“Why are Trump and congressional Republicans so determined to protect the dangerous and chaotic status quo of ICE that they’re willing to screw over TSA, the Secret Service, FEMA, and the Coast Guard?” Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, told Fox News Digital.

“We could end this shutdown today, and we should,” Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, said. “All it takes is for congressional Republicans to stop blocking Democrats’ efforts to individually fund DHS functions and work with us to rein in reckless immigration policies.”

Both Landsman and Gonzalez are expected to support a Democratic effort to force a vote on a DHS appropriations measure minus funding for immigration enforcement in the coming weeks.

President Donald Trump was already eager for a Federal Reserve rate cut. If there were ever a moment for him to want one even more, it would be Wednesday, but his war with Iran may have blown it, driving up oil prices and reviving the inflation fears that make cuts harder to justify.

Few things shape what Americans can afford more than the Federal Reserve, even if most people rarely pay attention to it. The central bank doesn’t set the price of groceries or cars, but it does help determine how expensive it is to borrow money. And, right now, high rates are keeping mortgage payments, car loans and credit card bills painfully high.

When the Fed’s two-day meeting wraps up Wednesday, policymakers are widely expected to leave rates unchanged. 

Now, the Iran war is complicating not just this week’s decision but the path ahead if the conflict drags on and keeps oil prices elevated.

TRUMP VS THE FEDERAL RESERVE: HOW THE CLASH REACHED UNCHARTED TERRITORY

Tit-for-tat strikes in Iran and across the Middle East have helped push crude above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022, rattling global markets and renewing concerns about tighter energy supplies.

That pressure is starting to hit consumers. As oil prices climb, gasoline and diesel prices are rising quickly — especially diesel, which often moves faster because of its close ties to freight and industrial demand.

THE UNLIKELY TOOL TRUMP IS EYEING TO TACKLE RISING OIL PRICES AMID THE IRAN CONFLICT

As of March 17, AAA put the national average for regular gasoline at $3.79 a gallon, up 88 cents from a month earlier, while diesel climbed to $5.04, up $1.39 over the same period.

Jet fuel is getting more expensive, too. 

For airlines, fuel is one of the biggest operating costs, so sustained increases could squeeze margins, push up ticket prices and add fresh strain to a travel season already complicated by the DHS shutdown.

OIL, GAS PRICES JUMP AS TRUMP FLIRTS WITH STRIKING IRANIAN OIL INFRASTRUCTURE

The pressure is showing up in housing, too. 

Mortgage rates have crept higher since the start of the Iran war. The benchmark 30-year fixed rate dipped below 6% in late February, its lowest level since September 2022, before rising higher to 6.26% as of March 16, according to data compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association. 

At the same time, the Fed is grappling with a labor market that is starting to crack. Employers shed 92,000 jobs in February, defying expectations for job growth and muddying the outlook for policymakers.

That combination of stubborn inflation and a weakening labor market has only intensified pressure from Trump, whose promise to lower costs for Americans was a centerpiece of his campaign.

For months, he has pressed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates, arguing that cheaper borrowing would spur growth and offer relief to American households. Fed officials, however, have signaled they want clearer evidence that inflation is cooling before cutting.

On Thursday, Trump pressed Powell to cut interest rates “immediately” as fallout from the conflict involving Iran fuels an energy price spike.

“Where is the Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome “Too Late” Powell, today? He should be dropping Interest Rates, IMMEDIATELY, not waiting for the next meeting,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post using a mocking nickname for Powell. 

For Trump, the timing is brutal. 

He campaigned on lowering costs for Americans, but the conflict involving Iran is threatening to do the opposite — driving up energy prices, complicating the Fed’s path and putting fresh pressure on one of his core economic promises.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro blistered Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s command of the Iran War as if he’s “playing with toy soldiers” and condemned the way the Pentagon and White House are describing the military operation to the public.

Shapiro, who is running for reelection but is also seen as a 2028 Democratic presidential possibility, made the remarks on former Obama aide Jon Lovett’s podcast where he also said China is monitoring the Trump administration’s “weakness” as they carry out the Iran operation alongside Israel.

The Democrat said he is troubled with Hegseth’s management of the Department of War’s effort, noting that Pennsylvanians are part of the contingent involved in the Iran offensive.

“I also have a problem with the fact that the guy who is supposed to be in charge of this, Pete Hegseth, is wildly incompetent,” Shapiro said.

HEGSETH WARNS RUSSIA AS SIGNS POINT TO MOSCOW SHARING INTEL WITH IRAN

“He’s like an eight-year-old playing with toy soldiers every day. His language is so f—ing offensive.”

Shapiro said the administration talks about the operation in a way that is disrespectful of the “humanity in the region” and of the American soldiers involved, which he added includes Pennsylvanians.

He said Congress had its chance to check Trump and Hegseth’s power but instead decided to be “wildly weak and pathetic souls” who gave away authority.

“You absolutely cannot trust Donald Trump to wage this war,” Shapiro said, adding that the administration’s messaging did not settle on a singular reason for attacking Iran.

“First he told us it was to go after their nuclear arsenal … then he said we went to war because if we didn’t, Israel was going to strike first [and] Israel forced our hand … then it was regime change, and now we’re left with the son [of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] who seemingly could be more dangerous than the father.”

DEMOCRATS BUCK PARTY LEADERS TO DEFEND TRUMP’S ‘DECISIVE ACTION’ ON IRAN

FEATURED IMAGE: https://cms.foxnews.com/wp/wp-admin/upload.php?item=7229525 

Shapiro said the Iranian regime is, however, everything that critics say it is, and that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is a “bad guy” who oversaw the largest export of terrorism worldwide while chanting “Death To America” for decades.

“These are bad people — it shouldn’t be hard to say that.”

But Shapiro said Trump “never once looked the American people in the eye, sitting in the Oval Office — where he should’ve been, not his swim club in Florida — and said to the American people ‘This is why we have to do this, this is the imminent threat’ — of which we’ve learned there is no imminent threat.”

Shapiro said America’s enemies are watching the war and seeing weakness instead of strength.

“President Xi in China, who is calculating every day about when he is going to make his move on Taiwan, saw the president of the United States not only not be able to rally the world around this cause … but couldn’t even rally his own people.”

He noted that while he has criticisms of former President George W. Bush‘s War on Terror, the Texas Republican properly rallied the public to the cause. 

Shapiro, who is Jewish, has also often broken with his own party over antisemitic displays from the far left amid the unrest in the Middle East — including condemnation of harassment of Jewish students at the University of Pennsylvania in West Philadelphia.

When asked about Shapiro’s comments, White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said that for 50 years, presidents of both parties have talked about eliminating the Iranian threat to the American people, but that Trump is the only one with the “courage to confront it.”

“President Trump has been clear about the goals of this operation: destroy the Iranian regime’s ballistic missile and production capacity, annihilate the Iranian regime’s Navy, end their ability to arm proxies, and guarantee that Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon,” she said as Shapiro questioned the administration’s goals.

“Democrats will flip-flop on anything – even carrying water for a nation that chants ‘Death to America’ – in order to attack President Trump, but the President and his administration will always protect our Nation and put the American people first,” Wales added.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Pentagon for comment.

A Biden-appointed federal judge who drew Supreme Court intervention twice in a separate deportation case is facing fresh conservative backlash after temporarily blocking Trump administration vaccine policies on Monday.

Judge Brian Murphy’s ruling in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts was the latest in a string of high-profile decisions that blocked administration policies and were later reversed on appeal, prompting sharp criticism from the Department of Justice and intensifying scrutiny of his record.

“How many times can Judge Murphy get reversed in one year?” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote on X. “The same day he is stayed for repeatedly refusing to follow the law, he issues another activist decision. We will keep appealing these lawless decisions, and we will keep winning.

“The question is, how much embarrassment can this Judge take?”

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

Earlier Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit paused a decision by Murphy to block the Department of Homeland Security’s third-country deportation policy. Murphy’s decision had prevented DHS from deporting what court papers said could be thousands of illegal immigrants and followed the judge issuing similar, related decisions last year that were both rejected by the Supreme Court.

In the vaccine case, brought by medical organizations against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Murphy issued a sweeping preliminary injunction, finding Kennedy likely broke the law by overhauling the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine policies. 

In both instances, Murphy’s decisions interfered with top Trump administration agenda items — cracking down on immigration and restructuring vaccine mandates — that raised eyebrows on the right.

Murphy’s decision in the vaccine case granted preliminary relief to the medical organizations by staying a January 2026 immunization schedule that reduced the number of vaccine requirements for children and invalidated a newly appointed vaccine advisory committee and the committee’s decisions while the lawsuit proceeds through the courts.

Quoting Carl Sagan, Murphy said in his order that science is “the best we have” and touted the efficacy of vaccines as he blocked the CDC’s new vaccine schedule.

DOJ APPEALS BIDEN-APPOINTED JUDGE’S BLOCK ON THIRD-COUNTRY DEPORTATIONS AFTER SUPREME COURT STEPS IN — TWICE

University of Minnesota law school professor Ilan Wurman questioned what he viewed as the judge’s “double standard.”

DOJ SAYS IT OWES DEPORTED VENEZUELANS NO DUE PROCESS, DARES COURTS TO INTERVENE

“When I litigated COVID cases against the government, the courts regularly said they had to defer to the public health experts,” Wurman said. “I assume there’s a good reason for the double standard here? Or are there some health experts federal judges in Massachusetts like more than others?”

Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said Democrat-appointed judges sided with the Biden administration and progressive groups on transgender policies that took an expansive view of sex and gender, which Banks said flew in the face of science and did not jibe with Murphy’s ruling.

“Progressive district court judges claim RFK’s vaccine policies aren’t based on science yet had no problem with Biden’s radical gender policies. Seems like they’re the ones not following the science,” Banks said.

Murphy first gained headlines when the Supreme Court stayed Murphy’s injunction over the third-party deportation policy in a 6-3 order last June. The high court followed up with a rare, second 7-2 order a week later admonishing the judge for flouting its decision.

George Washington University Law professor Jonathan Turley observed at the time that Murphy had given “a stiff arm” to the Supreme Court.

“Regardless of your views on the merits, this system cannot function with such rogue operators at the trial level,” Turley said.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani referenced the “genocide” of Palestinians during a St. Patrick’s Day event Tuesday at Gracie Mansion.

Mamdani made the remarks at a breakfast honoring Irish New Yorkers, where he praised former Irish President Mary Robinson for her record on human rights and her support for Palestinians. 

“I say this as over the past few years, as we’ve witnessed a genocide unfold before our eyes, there has been deafening silence from so many,” Mamdani said. “For those who have long cared about universal human rights and the extension of them to Palestinians, silence, however, is nothing new – for Palestinians are so often left to weep alone. Yet former President Robinson has never been silent.”

Mamdani tied Irish history to broader themes of solidarity, calling it “no coincidence” and asking, “Who can better understand those who weep than those who have been made to weep for so long?”

MAMDANI’S WIFE LIKED SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS ‘CHEERING ON’ HAMAS’ OCT 7 MASSACRE OF ISRAELIS: REPORT

“The story of the Irish, both in Ireland and in New York City, is at one time a story of oppression, of subjugation, and of discrimination,” the mayor told attendees.

HAMAS REASSERTS CONTROL IN GAZA AS IRAN WAR DOMINATES REGIONAL ATTENTION AND GLOBAL FOCUS

Robinson spoke after Mamdani, describing St. Patrick’s Day as a celebration of Irish culture, music and laughter.

She acknowledged the ongoing suffering in conflict zones around the world, including Iran, Lebanon, Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, saying the holiday is also a time to recognize those “living under the shadow of war and suffering.”

POPULAR ST PATRICK’S DAY PARADES AROUND UNITED STATES

“For many Irish people, these realities resonate deeply, as the mayor has said. Our own history holds memories of famine, exile and conflict,” Robinson added. “Perhaps because of that many recognize echoes of Ireland’s past and the suffering of others today and the pain of displacement and the enduring human longing for dignity, justice and self-determination.”

The House Oversight Committee has formally issued a subpoena compelling Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify in a deposition as part of its investigation into the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., issued the subpoena for Bondi to testify on “possible mismanagement of the federal government’s investigation of Mr. Jeffrey Epstein and Ms. Ghislaine Maxwell,” the cover letter for the subpoena released Tuesday read.

The committee voted earlier this month authorizing the move. Bondi is ordered to appear for a deposition April 14. Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche are scheduled to provide committee members with a private briefing Wednesday.

“The Committee has questions regarding the Department of Justice’s handling of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and his associates and its compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act,” Comer wrote, adding that Bondi is “directly responsible” for overseeing the review and release of related records.

The committee indicated the probe could lead to legislative changes aimed at strengthening federal anti-trafficking efforts and reforming the use of non-prosecution and plea agreements in sex-crime cases.

READ THE SUBPOENA COVER LETTER – APP USERS, CLICK HERE

Comer also underscored the panel’s authority to compel testimony, noting it has broad jurisdiction to investigate “any matter” and can require witness participation and document production as necessary.

The city council in New York City is weighing a proposal to boost the minimum wage to up to $30 — a move that newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani signaled that he would sign on the campaign trail — causing consternation among the business community.

The proposal from New York City Council Member Sandy Nurse, a Democrat representing Brooklyn, would require employers to pay workers $25 an hour if those employers provide qualifying benefits and $30 an hour if not. The current $17 minimum wage would undergo a phased increase to reach $30 per hour by 2030 for businesses with 500+ employees and $29 by 2032 for smaller businesses. 

Santiago Vidal Calvo, a policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute, told Fox News Digital that the new law will have “unintended consequences” and “constrain the economy for everybody that actually needs the current minimum wage to live.”

“You don’t make a place more affordable by making people earn more. That’s not directly correlated in the best way,” Calvo explained. “If you have people earning more, then prices are likely going to also increase, so my question for many of those people is, okay, you’re earning more, but also prices have increased in the same amount, are you actually making things more affordable?”

SMALL NEW YORK LANDLORDS ‘AT THEIR BREAKING POINT’ UNDER MAMDANI’S HOUSING POLICIES: REPORT

Calvo continued, “That’s one of the fallacies that a lot of people that don’t know about economics fall into. So many of these champagne socialists go and believe that increasing the minimum wage is going to solve everybody’s problems, because people are going to earn more and prices are going to stay the same. That’s Econ 101. That’s not going to happen. That’s why many socialist countries have failed around the world.”

The legislation echoes a prominent campaign pledge from Mamdani, who promoted a “$30 by ‘30” minimum wage message.

“In the world’s richest city, making the minimum wage shouldn’t mean living in poverty,” Mamdani posted on X last year. “As Mayor, I’ll work with City Council to raise the wage floor to $30/hour by 2030. When working people have more money in their pocket, the whole economy thrives.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment on whether he intends to sign the legislation if it were to arrive at his desk, but did not receive a response. 

THE SOCIALIST EXPERIMENT COMES TO NYC: MAMDANI’S VISION FOR A MORE AFFORDABLE CITY

While many proponents of raising the minimum wage argue that the cost of living in New York City makes it nearly impossible to comfortably live, business owners are warning that the increase will force a reduction in jobs for businesses that can’t absorb the wage increase, Wall Street Journal reported. 

In other states across the country, minimum wage laws have had adverse effects on lower-income workers, including in Los Angeles where Fox News Digital reported earlier this year the hotel industry is already cutting workers in response to a $30 minimum wage law that recently took effect.

Calvo told Fox News Digital that workers in certain industries, like fast food and healthcare will be “completely obliterated” by a $30 minimum wage and that “young and low income workers” will be “hurt the most.”

“We’re going to see a huge portion of the workforce just immediately disappear from the city and I think that people are underestimating how much certain sectors are going to suffer compared to others,” Calvo said. 

Calvo explained the importance of the Kaitz index, an economic indicator used to gauge where the minimum wage should be compared to the economy and that most economists agree the number should be between 0.4 and 0.55. 

“This proposal will likely put that Kaitz index at 1.1, which is, by many standards, if not highly interventionist, a huge economic blunder,” Calvo said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Councilwoman Nurse’s office for comment but did not receive a response.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday it’s a “good thing” that National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent resigned in protest of the Iran war because Kent thought “Iran was not a threat.”

“I read his statement,” Trump said during a meeting at the White House with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin on St. Patrick’s Day. “I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security.”

Kent served under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who has rejected “regime-change wars” for years.

“I didn’t know him well, but I thought he seemed like a pretty nice guy, but when I read his statement, I realized that it’s a good thing that he’s out,” Trump said. “Because he said that Iran was not a threat. 

“Iran was a threat. Every country realized what a threat Iran was. The question is whether or not they wanted to do something about it.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.