Tech billionaire Elon Musk ripped alleged "fraudulent" Treasury payments on Saturday as reports circulated that the Department of Government Efficiency has gained acces to the federal government's payment system as the second Trump administration continues cutting what they say is government fat and overspending. 

"The @DOGE team discovered, among other things, that payment approval officers at Treasury were instructed always to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups. They literally never denied a payment in their entire career. Not even once," Musk, the chair of DOGE, posted early Saturday morning to X. 

Musk's post came just ahead of the New York Times reporting Saturday afternoon that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent granted DOGE personnel access to the payment system. The Treasury spends roughly $6 trillion per year on payments for federal agencies. 

The ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, posted to social media on Saturday that he has also been informed that DOGE was granted access to the system. 

DOGE ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $1B IN SAVINGS AFTER CANCELING 104 FEDERAL DEI CONTRACTS

"Sources tell my office that Treasury Secretary Bessent has granted DOGE *full* access to this system. Social Security and Medicare benefits, grants, payments to government contractors, including those that compete directly with Musk's own companies. All of it," Wyden posted to social media site BlueSky on Saturday evening. 

DOGE's reported access to the payment system comes after the Washington Post reported on Friday that the former acting director of the Treasury, David A. Lebryk, was planning to exit the finance department of the federal government following a clash over granting DOGE access to its payment system. Lebryk oversaw the Treasury Department in the days between President Donald Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20 and Bessent's confirmation to lead the department on Jan. 27. 

TOP DOGE LAWMAKER SAYS TRUMP ‘ALREADY RACKING UP WINS FOR TAXPAYERS’ WITH EFFICIENCY INITIATIVES

On Friday, reports also spread that civil servants within the Office of Personnel Management, which works as the federal government's HR department, were reportedly locked from the office's computer systems by DOGE. 

Musk quipped on X on Saturday that working over the weekend is a "superpower," where the "opposing team" disappear for two days. 

"Very few in the bureaucracy actually work the weekend, so it’s like the opposing team just leaves the field for 2 days! Working the weekend is a superpower," he posted. 

‘DOGE’-MEETS-CONGRESS: GOP LAWMAKER AARON BEAN LAUNCHES CAUCUS TO HELP MUSK ‘TAKE ON CRAZYTOWN’

Trump officially created DOGE via an executive order signed on his first day in office. The EO outlines that government agency chiefs provide DOGE with access to internal government platforms such as, "software systems, and IT systems."

"Agency Heads shall take all necessary steps, in coordination with the USDS Administrator and to the maximum extent consistent with law, to ensure USDS has full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems, and IT systems.  USDS shall adhere to rigorous data protection standards," the executive order reads. 

Trump and Musk had long previewed the creation of DOGE while on the campaign trail, championing that the team would weed out overspending and fraud within the federal government. DOGE is not a government department, but instead operates as a team within the Trump administration. 

Before Trump's win in November, Musk hosted the Republican president for an interview on X in August, where Musk railed against government overspending and inflation that has gripped the nation in recent years. 

"A lot of people just don’t understand where inflation comes from. Inflation comes from government overspending because the checks never bounce when it’s written by the government. So if the government spends far more than it brings in, that increases the money supply. If the money supply increases faster than the rate of goods and services, that’s inflation," Musk said during their conversation. 

MUSK RENEWS HARSH REBUKE OF DEMS WHO REJECTED DEPORTING SEX OFFENDERS: VOTE OUT ‘EVERY ONE’

"So really we need to reduce our government spending, and we need to re-examine… I think we need a government efficiency commission to say like, ‘Hey, where are we spending money that’s sensible. Where is it not sensible?’"

Since its official creation last month, DOGE's X account has provided updates on its work to cut government spending, including announcing last week that it has cut more than $1 billion from federal spending through now-defunct diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and personnel. 

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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Treasury Department on Sunday morning, but did not immediately receive replies. 

Fresh from bringing us stories like "Hailey Bieber Is Reviving the Pantless Trend in 2025" and "Let a Pair of Zany Sunglasses Revive Your Winter Style," Vogue writer Hannah Jackson decided to rip into First Lady Melania Trump’s official White House portrait.   

"The choice to wear a tuxedo—as opposed to a blazer or blouse—made Trump look more like a freelance magician than a public servant. It’s perhaps unsurprising that a woman who lived in a gold-encrusted penthouse, whose fame is so intertwined with a reality-television empire, would refuse to abandon theatrics—even when faced with 248 years of tradition."  

The problem for Jackson is that the rest of us have eyes. Melania Trump looked incredible in her portrait. Her outfit rang business with a feminine touch. This isn’t the same woman we knew during the first Donald Trump administration. She has a look of resolve in her eyes that she didn’t before. She has seen how nasty people can be, and she’s ready to take them all on. She will look beautiful doing it. 

TRUMP FAMILY DYNASTY BRINGS ROYAL FLAIR TO WHITE HOUSE

Vogue and its staff didn’t seem to mind the collapse of 248 years of tradition during the last administration while the president pardoned his family and his staff covered up that he was mentally incapacitated. But a tuxedo jacket they simply cannot abide! 

It’s not because Vogue doesn’t cover non-fashion issues either. In 2020, they had pieces sympathetic to defunding the police and in summer of 2024, they featured First Lady Jill Biden on their cover, shortly after President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate that ended his candidacy, and fawning over Jill Biden when she was getting massive criticism for celebrating his debate performance.  

There’s no denying that Melania is a fashion icon, but in this populist moment she is that specifically for the people. When she wore skinny jeans and a beanie on day two of the new Trump administration, the internet exploded with joy that skinny jeans were officially back. She sets trends and Vogue can’t stand it.  

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Vogue’s outburst is particularly because they’ve lost so much influence. Their echo chamber conversations about fashion don’t resonate with the rest of us. Who is wearing the absurd looks on their pages? No one. But skinny jeans and a beanie we understand, and Melania’s outfits are both glamorous and accessible. Vogue hates that. The whole point of their fashion world is to leave people out. Who wants the masses wearing the wildly expensive and weird clothing they promote? They certainly don’t. 

During the first Trump administration, Vogue was criticized for never putting Melania Trump, or Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump, who was then in the administration, on its cover. The former model would have been a natural choice, but Vogue magazine is home of the ultimate mean girls, and they like it that way. Anyone who doesn’t agree with their liberal politics is out, of course. You have to march in lockstep, or you don’t get in the club. They wear pink on Wednesdays and no, you can’t sit with them.  

But things have changed and now no one wants into their club. They’ve lost influence and they know it. It’s a different time and the people who have spent the last four years bullying others into using specific language or having just the right positions are no longer in charge. 

A different Vogue writer, Christian Allaire, spent time attacking Ivanka, who is not in this administration, for her inauguration ball gown, saying "Given politicians often embed their outfits with powerful or meaningful choices—see Dr. Jill Biden’s patriotic wardrobe in shades of red, white, and blue—Trump’s wardrobe appears to be built on artifice and aesthetics instead." The most artificial and aesthetically obsessed magazine in the world should really think twice about criticizing "artifice" in others.  

Things have changed in America since 2016, but Vogue hasn’t gotten the memo. Jackson added that "Melania Trump still struggles with sartorial messaging." The rest of us get her message loud and clear. Only Vogue is struggling to understand. 

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Melania Trump is back in the White House as America’s first lady for a second time — but her life and legacy go beyond her duties as the commander-in-chief's wife.

She made a name for herself even before she met President Donald Trump, when she stepped foot on United States soil at age 26. 

Born Melania Knauss, she came to America from Slovenia in 1996 with "youthful confidence."

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP AND MELANIA TRUMP'S 20TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY: SEE THE PHOTOS

"As an adult, there comes a moment when you become solely responsible for the life you lead," she writes in her bestselling memoir, "Melania."

"You must take charge, embrace that responsibility, and become the architect of your own future."

Two years after living in Manhattan, the future Mrs. Trump met the real-estate mogul, Donald J. Trump, at a party while she was still deep into her modeling career.

"He wanted my number, but he was with a date, so of course I didn’t give it to him," the first lady said in a 2016 interview with Harper’s Bazaar.

VP VANCE AND HIS YOUNG FAMILY START FRESH AT OFFICIAL RESIDENCE, PROMISE TO 'TAKE GOOD CARE OF IT'

"I said, ‘I am not giving you my number; you give me yours, and I will call you.’ I wanted to see what kind of number he would give me — if it was a business number, ‘What is this? I’m not doing business with you.’"

The future president gave her all of his phone numbers, from numbers at Mar-a-Lago to his New York home — and within a week, she gave him a ring.

"I was struck by his energy… He has an amazing sense of vitality," Melania Trump told the magazine.

The next few years involved the finalization of Trump’s second divorce and a brief split between the happy couple, but they eventually reunited, she has said in interviews. 

MELANIA TRUMP REVEALS HOW SHE STAYS CALM, COOL, FOCUSED AND HEALTHY: 'GUIDING PRINCIPLE'

In 2004, Trump proposed to the future first lady at one of the biggest nights in New York City: the Met Gala.

The next year, the Trumps said "I do" at a most luxurious wedding, which was publicly described as being fit for royalty — from the stunning gown worn by the bride to the exquisite reception at Mar-a-Lago.

While the  $100,000 Christian Dior wedding gown, 10,000 flowers on display and chefs serving caviar with Cristal champagne may have been highlights of the evening, Melania Trump said she felt like any other bride when she walked down the aisle.

"Although my wedding was grand in scale … what I felt in my heart was what every other bride feels on her special day. The pressure to ensure everything went smoothly was certainly real, but ultimately, my primary focus was celebrating Donald and my love and commitment, surrounded by my loved ones," she wrote in her memoir.

IVANKA TRUMP SHARES THE FITNESS ROUTINE THAT HAS ‘TRANSFORMED’ HER BODY: ‘SAFE AND STEADY’ 

On March 20, 2006, the first lady gave birth to the couple's son, Barron William Trump.

In the midst of raising Barron, she continued to find other ways work, inorder to set a good example for her son.

"It’s very important that we show our children that we are working, too. To give them an example [of] how life is," she said in an exclusive interview with "Fox & Friends." 

"That they see us as productive. We have ideas and these ideas come to life," she said. 

After 10 years of raising her son, being the wife of a business mogul and working on her own endeavors, a new title was added to her long list of achievements: first lady of the United States.

She said she had no idea she would become a prominent figure in the political spotlight when she came to America. 

MELANIA TRUMP TO RELEASE FIRST MEMOIR, WILL REVEAL STORIES AND PHOTOS 'NEVER BEFORE SHARED WITH THE PUBLIC'

"I think nothing prepared me more to be first lady in front of the world than the fashion industry… It's glamorous, but it's at the same time very tough," Melania Trump shared in her interview with "Fox & Friends."

"Everybody judges you, [looks] at you a certain way … It can be a mean world as well. So nothing prepared me more for this world than fashion. It gives you a thick skin."

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During her time as first lady, she has been an avid supporter of America's military, saying, "Supporting our military is a fundamental belief of mine," Fox News Digital previously reported.

Her love and respect for this country was also clearly on display as she worked to preserve the executive mansion, seeing it as her way of "contributing something lasting and beautiful to the American people, transcending politics and partisanship."

Having already served the country in this role, she knows what is expected of a first lady. 

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That previous experience is an advantage she will be able to use for the next four years.

"I have much more experience, much more knowledge. I was in the White House before. So when you go in, you know exactly what to expect. You know what kind of people you need to get," she told "Fox & Friends."

She has an understanding of this role and said she's filled with great pride — writing in her memoir that she has a "stronger sense of duty to use my platform as first lady for good."

The country began to see the effects of President Donald Trump’s policies in his second week in office, with the White House implementing tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China; border crossings plummeting; diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs shuttering; the federal workforce being faced with the decision to return to the office or to resign; and more. 

As promised, Trump’s administration has been moving at warp speed to implement his agenda — signing more than 200 executive actions just hours after taking the Oath of Office. 

Trump immediately cracked down on immigration, and by the beginning of his second week in office migrant encounters dropped significantly. The number of migrants arriving at the southern border plummeted by 63% as of Monday, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

TRUMP-ERA SOUTHERN BORDER SEES MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS PLUMMET BY OVER 60% AS NEW POLICIES KICK IN

There were 7,287 migrant encounters at the southern border in the first seven days of the Trump administration  — from Jan. 20 through Jan. 26, with a daily average of 1,041 encounters a day.

That compares to 20,086 encounters a day during the final days of former President Joe Biden’s presidency — from Jan. 13 through Jan. 19. 

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem this week participated in an immigration enforcement raid in New York City Tuesday targeting "murderers, kidnappers, and individuals charged of assault and burglary." The operation continued through Friday. 

And Border czar Tom Homan said that as of Monday the Trump administration had removed and returned 7,300 illegal immigrants and had deported them to Mexico, Jordan, Brazil and El Salvador. 

The president on Wednesday also signed the Laken Riley Act into law — the first piece of legislation to become law in his second administration. 

TRUMP SIGNS LAKEN RILEY ACT INTO LAW AS FIRST LEGISLATIVE VICTORY IN NEW ADMINISTRATION

The measure, which advanced through the House and Senate in January, directs Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain illegal immigrants arrested or charged with theft-related crimes, or those accused of assaulting a police officer. 

The law also allows states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for harm caused to their citizens because of illegal immigration.

The law’s name honors a nursing student who was killed during a jog on the University of Georgia’s campus by an illegal immigrant, Fox News Digital previously reported. Jose Ibarra, who previously had been arrested but never detained by ICE, received a life prison sentence for killing 22-year-old Laken Riley. 

Beyond the border, the president’s action to end DEI programs across the federal government has continued. Last week, the Office of Personnel Management ordered agency heads and directors to close their DEI offices. 

And over at the Justice Department, Trump administration officials fired more than a dozen key officials who worked on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team prosecuting Trump, after Acting Attorney General James McHenry said they could not be trusted in "faithfully implementing the president’s agenda." 

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FIRES MORE THAN A DOZEN KEY OFFICIALS ON FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH'S TEAM

On Monday, an Office of Management and Budget memo was released, which aimed to freeze funding to various federal programs that were focused on DEI. 

The memo issued a pause on all federal grants and loans aiming to eradicate "wokeness" and the "weaponization of government" to improve government efficiency. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt held her first-ever press briefing in the James S. Brady room on Tuesday and fielded many questions from reporters on the memo. She maintained that programs including Social Security benefits, Medicare, food stamps, welfare benefits and other assistance going directly to individuals would not be impacted. 

But by Tuesday evening, a federal judge imposed an administrative stay, pausing the Trump administration’s action. 

And on Wednesday, the White House opted to rescind the memo, but stressed to Fox News Digital that it was committed to freezing federal grants and loans aimed at woke programs." 

"In light of the injunction, OMB has rescinded the memo to end any confusion on federal policy created by the court ruling and the dishonest media coverage," Leavitt told Fox News on Wednesday. "The Executive Orders issued by the President on funding reviews remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented by all agencies and departments." 

Leavitt told Fox News that rescinding the memo "should effectively end the court case and allow the government to focus on enforcing the President’s orders on controlling federal spending." 

WHITE HOUSE STILL COMMITTED TO FREEZING ‘WOKE’ FUNDS DESPITE RESCINDING OMB MEMO

Also this week, the Office of Personnel Management sent a note to federal workers offering them the option to resign and receive full pay and benefits through Sept. 30. That option, which the administration referred to as a "Fork in the Road," came after the administration demanded that all federal workers return to in-person, in-office work. 

Federal workers have until Feb. 6 to decide if they will return to work or if they will resign. 

The only federal workers who do not have the option are postal workers, members of the military, immigration officials, some national security officials, and any positions agency heads decide to carve out. 

But the rapid changes came to a quick halt on Wednesday night around 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, after an American Airlines plane and Army helicopter collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport outside of Washington, D.C. 

The flight had left Wichita, Kansas, earlier that day. All 67 people onboard both aircraft are presumed dead.

TRUMP ORDERS ASSESSMENT OF AVIATION SAFETY, NAMES ACTING FAA ADMINISTRATOR AFTER DEADLY DC PLANE CRASH

Those aboard the plane included "several members" of U.S. Figure Skating, including athletes, coaches and family members who had just attended the U.S. Figure Skating Championships held in Wichita, Kansas, from Jan. 20 to Jan. 26. 

Trump Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was confirmed on Tuesday and quickly took charge, immediately getting over to the Federal Aviation Administration building and launching an investigation into the horrific incident. 

The president said that the deadly midair collision was a "confluence of bad decisions that were made and you have people that lost their lives, violently lost their lives." 

The president signed two executive orders appointing a new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) deputy administrator, Chris Rocheleau, and ordering an immediate assessment of aviation safety and an elevation of "competence" over DEI. 

TRUMP TO CREATE TASK FORCE TO PLAN 'EXTRAORDINARY CELEBRATION' FOR 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICA'S INDEPENDENCE

Meanwhile, the president also signed an executive order to create a Task Force 250 — a White House task force focused on coordinating the plans and activities surrounding the celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence. 

The president also signed a memo that would lift the collective bargaining agreements that former President Joe Biden put into effect before leaving office — agreements that White House officials said were designed to "constrain" the Trump administration from reforming the government.  

EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP TO SIGN MEMO LIFTING BIDEN'S LAST-MINUTE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS

And as for the Cabinet, Duffy was confirmed as Transportation secretary; Doug Burgum was confirmed as secretary of the Interior; Lee Zeldin was confirmed as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; and Scott Bessent was confirmed as Treasury secretary. 

Over in the Senate, Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; nominee for FBI director Kash Patel; and nominee for director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard faced tough questions from senators during confirmation hearings. 

WHITE HOUSE TO IMPOSE TARIFFS ON MEXICO, CANADA AND CHINA DUE TO ‘INVASION OF ILLEGAL FENTANYL’

And, at the end of the week, the White House confirmed that by Saturday the president would roll out tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China. 

The president is imposing a 25% tariff on Mexico; a 25% tariff on Canada, and a 10% tariff on China. 

"These are promises made and promises kept," White House press secretary Leavitt said at a press briefing Friday. 

And it’s only the end of week two. 

Fox News Digital's Adam Shaw, Diana Stancey, Bill Melugin and Emma Colton contributed to this report. 

The Trump administration put a short pause on most federal government websites Friday evening in an effort to eliminate DEI content and any language opposed to President Trump’s agenda, Fox News Digital has learned. 

A Trump administration official told Fox News Digital that federal government websites went dark at around 5:00 p.m. Friday evening. The websites are now back up and running. 

The purpose was to remove content that is "anti-Trump administration" and against the president's agenda. 

WHITE HOUSE OPM ORDERS ALL DEI OFFICES TO BEGIN CLOSING BY END OF DAY WEDNESDAY

The move comes after the Office of Personnel Management last week ordered that heads and directors of agencies and departments close all DEI offices. 

That order came after President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week to eliminate all DEI programs from the federal government.

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The president also signed an order making it "the official policy of the U.S. government to only recognize two genders: male and female."

Trump issued two other executive actions last week targeting DEI — an executive order to end discrimination in the workplace and higher education through race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of DEI, and a memo to eliminate a Biden administration policy that prioritized DEI hiring at the Federal Aviation Administration.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

President Donald Trump's envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, has traveled to Venezuela to deliver an in-person message to socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro about accepting violent criminals deported from the United States.

On a call with reporters Friday, Mauricio Claver-Carone, the U.S. special envoy to Latin America, said Grenell will tell Maduro to take back all the Venezuelan criminals and Tren de Aragua gang members that have been "exported to the United States, and to do so unequivocally and without condition." 

Grenell will also demand that Venezuela immediately release American hostages being held in that country, Claver-Carone said.

TRUMP TAPS RICHARD GRENELL AS PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY FOR SPECIAL MISSIONS, EDWARD S. WALSH AS IRELAND AMBASSADOR

The trip "focuses on two very specific issues. That we expect that Venezuelan criminals and gangs will be returned, as they are, to every country in the world, without conditions, and two, that American hostages need to be released immediately, unequivocally," he explained. 

"This is not a quid pro quo. It's not a negotiation in exchange for anything. President Trump himself has made that very clear." 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Friday that Grenell had arrived in Venezuela on orders from the president. 

‘WEAPONIZED MIGRATION’: US FACES DEADLY CONSEQUENCES WITH MADURO IN POWER, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION WARNS

Despite widespread belief among Venezuelans and much of the international community that Maduro lost the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election to opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, he was sworn into his third six-year term earlier this month.

The U.S. does not recognize Maduro as the legitimate head of state of Venezuela.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado has called on Venezuelan citizens to protest the Maduro regime and demand that González be installed as the rightful president of Venezuela.

DETAILS OF VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER'S POSSIBLE ARREST REMAIN UNCLEAR AMID MADURO INAUGURATION RESISTANCE

As many as 10 Americans are currently detained in Venezuela, although the State Department has not declared them wrongfully detained. Three are U.S. citizens who allegedly participated in a plot to destabilize the country, according to Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.

The State Department has denied any U.S. involvement with a plot to overthrow Maduro. 

It remains unclear how many Americans are currently held in Venezuela following the significant prisoner swap in 2023 when Washington and Caracas negotiated the release of dozens of prisoners, including 10 Americans, in exchange for Colombian businessman Alex Saab, a close ally of Maduro.

Saab was arrested during the first Trump administration on charges related to a $350 million bribery scheme. 

President Donald Trump isn't worried about American consumers taking a hit after unveiling new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, and said the tariffs will ensure that other countries treat the U.S. "fairly." 

"There may be temporary, short-term disruption, and people will understand that," Trump told reporters Friday in the Oval Office. 

Trump also signaled that he also may increase tariffs for European Union countries, and said that the tariffs would make the U.S. "very rich and very strong." 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced earlier Friday that Trump would roll out tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China starting Saturday.

Trump’s economic plan during his campaign called for extending the 2017 tax cuts and imposing tariffs ranging from 10% to 20% on all imported goods. For countries like China, that number could go up to 60%.

TRUMP TREASURY PICK: EXTENDING TRUMP TAX CUTS ‘SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ECONOMIC ISSUE’

These countries will face these tariffs because they have allowed an "unprecedented invasion of illegal fentanyl that is killing American citizens," according to Leavitt. 

"The president will be implementing tomorrow a 25% tariff on Mexico, 25% tariffs on Canada, and a 10% tariff on China for the illegal fentanyl they have sourced and allowed to distribute into our country, which has killed tens of millions of Americans," Leavitt told reporters on Friday at a White House press briefing. "These are promises made and promises kept."

CANADA READIES TRUMP TARIFFS RESPONSE: 'IN A TRADE WAR, THERE ARE NO WINNERS'

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that Canada was prepared to respond to any tariffs executed, and warned there could be "disastrous consequences" for American workers and consumers. 

"We’re ready with a response, a purposeful, forceful but reasonable, immediate response," Trudeau said. "It’s not what we want, but if he moves forward, we will also act."

Meanwhile, Leavitt said that the tariffs are not expected to spark a trade war with Canada and that Trump would respond to Trudeau in "due time." 

"The president is intent on doing this," Leavitt said. "And I think Justin Trudeau would be wise to talk to President Trump directly before pushing outlandish comments like that to the media."

When asked if Mexico, Canada or China could offer any concessions to remove these new tariffs, Leavitt said Trump would decide at a later date. 

"If the president at any time decides to roll back those tariffs, I'll leave it to him to make that decision," Leavitt said. "The president is intent on ensuring that he effectively implements tariffs while cutting inflation costs for the American people." 

Leavitt also said that Trump hadn't determined a timeline for additional tariffs on European Union countries, and said she wouldn't "get ahead" of Trump on that matter. 

But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he's concerned that the tariffs will only mean cost increases for American consumers. 

"We should be focused on going hard against competitors who rig the game, like China, rather than attacking our allies," Schumer said in a statement Friday. "If these tariffs go into full effect, they will raise prices for everything from groceries, to cars, to gas, making it even harder for middle-class families to just get by."

HOUSE DEMS THREATEN TO BLOCK TRUMP'S BIG TARIFF PLANS: ‘UNACCEPTABLE’

House Republicans moved to reintroduce the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act on Jan. 24, a measure that would permit Trump to unilaterally impose trade taxes on both adversaries and allies. 

Trump previously praised the measure in 2019, claiming it would "give our workers a fair and level playing field against other countries."

Meanwhile, Democratic Reps. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., and Don Beyer, D-Va., also introduced their own legislation in January that would block Trump from using emergency powers to implement tariffs, amid concerns that American consumers would end up footing the bill.

"The American people have clearly and consistently said that the high cost of living is one of their top concerns," DelBene said in a statement on Jan. 15. "Not only would widespread tariffs drive up costs at home and likely send our economy into recession, but they would likely lead to significant retaliation, hurting American workers, farmers, and businesses."

The Associated Press and Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump is expected to sign a memo Friday to lift the collective bargaining agreements (CBA) former President Joe Biden put into effect before leaving office, Fox News Digital has learned. 

The president’s memo will direct federal agencies to reject last-minute collective bargaining agreements issued by the Biden administration, which White House officials said were designed to "constrain" the Trump administration from reforming the government. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFERS BUYOUTS TO FEDERAL EMPLOYEES, INCLUDING REMOTE WORKERS: 'DEFERRED RESIGNATION'

The memo prohibits agencies from making new collective bargaining agreements during the final 30 days of a president’s term. It also directs agency heads to disapprove any collective bargaining agreements that Biden put through during the final 30 days of his term. 

The White House said collective bargaining agreements enacted before that time period will remain in effect while the Trump administration "negotiates a better deal for the American people." 

Biden’s Social Security Administration Commissioner, Martin O’Malley, in December 2024 came to an agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees guaranteeing that the agency’s 42,000 employees would not have to work in office during the Trump administration. 

The White House told Fox News Digital that the new policy "ensures the American people get the policies they voted for, instead of being stuck with the wasteful and ineffective Biden policies rejected at the ballot box." 

'GET BACK TO WORK': HOUSE OVERSIGHT TO TAKE ON GOVERNMENT TELEWORK IN 1ST HEARING OF NEW CONGRESS

"The outgoing Biden administration negotiated lame-duck, multi-year collective bargaining agreements — during the week before the inauguration — in an attempt to tie the incoming Trump administration’s hands," a White House fact sheet on the memo obtained by Fox News Digital states. 

The White House pointed to the Biden administration’s Department of Education’s agreement that prohibited the return of remote employees and agreements for the Biden Small Business Administration and Federal Trade Commission. 

"These CBAs attempt to prevent President Trump from implementing his promises to the American people, such as returning Federal employees to the office to make government operate more efficiently," the fact sheet states. "President Biden’s term of office ended on January 20th. Under this memorandum, he and future Presidents cannot govern agencies after leaving office by locking in last-minute CBAs." 

WHITE HOUSE OPM ORDERS ALL DEI OFFICES TO BEGIN CLOSING BY END OF DAY WEDNESDAY

The president’s new memo is also aimed to ensure that federal government agencies operate under similar rules as private sector unions and employers. 

The memo comes after the White House Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directed agency and department heads to notify employees by the new return to in-person work order. That order required employees to work full-time in the office unless excused due to disability or qualifying medical conditions. 

TRUMP WILL FIGHT BIDEN REMOTE WORK DEAL; UNION VOWS TO FIGHT BACK

Additionally, OPM sent emails this week to the full federal workforce offering the option of resignation with full pay and benefits until Sept. 30 if they do not want to return to the office. Those workers have until Feb. 6 to decide. 

The federal workers who did not get that option include postal workers, military immigration officials, some national security officials and any positions agencies decide to carve out. 

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, grilled President Donald Trump's DNI nominee Tulsi Gabbard over her previous remarks praising whistleblower Edward Snowden. 

"Until you are nominated by the president to be the DNI, you consistently praised the actions of Edward Snowden, someone, I believe, jeopardized the security of our nation and then, to flaunt that, fled to Russia," Warner asked of Gabbard on Thursday morning. 

"You even called Edward Snowden and I quote here, ‘a brave whistleblower.’ Every member of this committee supports the rights of legal whistleblowers. But Edward Snowden isn't a whistleblower, and in this case, I'm a lot closer to the chairman's words where he said Snowden is, quote, ‘an egotistical serial liar and traitor' who, quote, ‘deserves to rot in jail for the rest of his life.’ Ms. Gabbard is simple, yes or no question. Do you still think Edward Snowden is brave?"

'WARRIOR WHOSE VOTE CANNOT BE BOUGHT': HUNDREDS OF VETS POUR OUT IN SUPPORT OF TULSI GABBARD FOR DNI

Gabbard pushed back that Snowden "broke the law" and does not agree with his leak of intelligence.

TRUMP APPOINTS TULSI GABBARD AS DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: ‘FEARLESS SPIRIT’

"Mr. Vice Chairman, Edward Snowden broke the law. I do not agree with or support with all of the information and intelligence that he released, nor the way in which he did it. There would have been opportunities for him to come to you on this committee, or seek out the IG to release that information. The fact is, he also, even as he broke the law, released information that exposed egregious, illegal and unconstitutional programs that are happening within our government," Gabbard responded. 

In 2013, Snowden was working as an IT contractor for the National Security Agency when he traveled to Hong Kong to meet with three journalists and transferred to them thousands of pages of classified documents about the U.S. government’s surveillance of its citizens. 

"I'm making myself very clear. Edward Snowden broke the law. He released information about the United States government," Gabbard continued as she defended her position. 

"If I may just finish my thoughts, Senator," Gabbard continued, as Warner spoke over her. "In this role that I've been nominated for, if confirmed as director of national intelligence, I will be responsible for protecting our nation's secrets. And I have four immediate steps that I would take to prevent another Snowden-like leak."

Gabbard has previously lauded Snowden, including during an appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast in 2019. 

DEMOCRATS TRASH TULSI GABBARD AFTER TRUMP TAPS HER FOR DNI POST

"If it wasn’t for Snowden, the American people would never have learned the NSA was collecting phone records and spying on Americans," she said on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast at the time.

Gabbard appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday morning as part of her confirmation process to serve as the second Trump administration's director of national intelligence. 

Fox News Digital's Morgan Phillips contributed to this report. 

The Senate is set for a Thursday confirmation vote for President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department, former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. 

The upper chamber voted to advance Burgum’s nomination to a confirmation vote on Wednesday by a 78–20 margin. 

Burgum appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in mid-January, where he told lawmakers that national security issues and the economy were his top two priorities for leading the agency. 

BURGUM GRILLED ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES TARGETED BY TRUMP DURING CONFIRMATION HEARING: ‘DRILL, BABY, DRILL’

"When energy production is restricted in America, it doesn't reduce demand," Burgum said in his opening statement Jan. 16. "It just shifts production to countries like Russia and Iran, whose autocratic leaders not only don't care at all about the environment, but they use their revenues from energy sales to fund wars against us and our allies."

Lawmakers, including Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, questioned Burgum on whether he would seek to drill for oil in national parks if Trump asked him to.

"As part of my sworn duty, I'll follow the law and follow the Constitution. And so you can count on that," Burgum said. "And I have not heard of anything about President Trump wanting to do anything other than advancing energy production for the benefit of the American people."

ZELDIN GRILLED BY DEMOCRATS ON CLIMATE CHANGE, TRUMP'S STANCE ON CARBON EMISSIONS DURING EPA HEARING 

Burgum served as governor of North Dakota from 2016 to 2024. He also launched a presidential bid for the 2024 election in June 2023, where energy and natural resources served as key issues during his campaign.

Burgum appeared during the first two Republican presidential debates, but didn’t qualify for the third and ended his campaign in December 2023. He then endorsed Trump for the GOP nomination a month later ahead of the Iowa caucuses.

Aubrie Spady, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Republican senators on Thursday are expected to roll out a measure that would prohibit the use of U.S. foreign aid funds for abortions, Fox News Digital has learned. 

The bill, titled "the American Values Act," would permanently enact and expand existing prohibitions on the use of U.S. foreign assistance to pay for the performance or promotion of abortion services overseas.

WHITE HOUSE STILL COMMITTED TO FREEZING ‘WOKE’ FUNDS DESPITE RESCINDING OMB MEMO

The bill would restrict the use of foreign assistance funds to perform abortions, promote or lobby for or against abortions and force sterilization. 

The bill also would ensure U.S. foreign aid funds cannot be used for biomedical research relating to abortions. 

The bill also would permanently restrict funds to organizations that support or participate in the management of a program of "coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization." 

It also would permanently enact restrictions on the use of funds made available to the Peace Corps to pay for abortions. 

s"American foreign aid should always be used in a way that is in line with American values — and that means that no foreign assistance funds should ever be used to perform or promote abortion services," Risch told Fox News Digital. "I’m proud to introduce the American Values Act with my colleagues to hold our government accountable to this standard and protect the sanctity of life across the globe."

STATE DEPT PULLS MILLIONS IN FUNDING FOR ‘CONDOMS IN GAZA,’ AS TRUMP ADMIN LOOKS TO TRIM SPENDING

The legislation is co-sponsored by Republican Sens. Roger Marshall of Kansas, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Rick Scott of Florida, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Steve Daines of Montana, Tim Sheehy of Montana, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska. 

The introduction of the bill comes after President Donald Trump issued an order to freeze funding flowing from federal agencies that would go towards "woke" initiatives and the "weaponization of government" to improve government efficiency. 

The White House, in rolling out the order, said that the Department of Government Efficiency, which aims to eliminate government spending and waste, identified $37 million that was about to go to the World Health Organization, along with $50 million to "fund condoms in Gaza." 

"That is a preposterous waste of money," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. 

The Senate voted Wednesday by a 78–20 margin to advance President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department — former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum — for a final confirmation vote. 

Burgum appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in mid-January, where he told lawmakers that national security issues and the economy were his two top priorities for leading the agency. 

"When energy production is restricted in America, it doesn't reduce demand," Burgum said in his opening statement Jan. 16. "It just shifts production to countries like Russia and Iran, whose autocratic leaders not only don't care at all about the environment, but they use their revenues from energy sales to fund wars against us and our allies." 

TRUMP ENERGY NOMINEE HECKLED BY CLIMATE PROTESTERS, DERIDED BY DEM SENATOR AS ‘ENTHUSIAST FOR FOSSIL FUELS’

Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, questioned Burgum on whether he would seek to drill for oil in national parks if Trump asked him to.

"As part of my sworn duty, I'll follow the law and follow the Constitution. And so you can count on that," Burgum said. "And I have not heard of anything about President Trump wanting to do anything other than advancing energy production for the benefit of the American people."

BURGUM GRILLED ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES TARGETED BY TRUMP DURING CONFIRMATION HEARING: ‘DRILL, BABY, DRILL’

Additionally, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., questioned whether Burgum backed repealing credits for electric vehicles that may be in jeopardy under the Trump administration. 

"I support economics and markets," Burgum said.

Burgum served as governor of North Dakota from 2016 to 2024. He also launched a presidential bid for the 2024 election in June 2023, where energy and natural resources served as key issues during his campaign. 

ZELDIN GRILLED BY DEMOCRATS ON CLIMATE CHANGE, TRUMP'S STANCE ON CARBON EMISSIONS DURING EPA HEARING 

Burgum appeared during the first two Republican presidential debates, but didn’t qualify for the third and ended his campaign in December 2023. He then endorsed Trump for the GOP nomination a month later ahead of the Iowa caucuses. 

Aubrie Spady, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump is kicking off his second tour of duty in the White House in a stronger polling position than during the start of his first administration eight years ago, a new national poll indicates.

Forty-six percent of voters say they approve of the job the Republican president is doing so far, with 43% disapproving, according to a Quinnipiac University survey released on Wednesday.

The poll was conducted Jan. 23-27, during Trump's first week back in the White House following his Jan. 20th inauguration.

The president's approval rating is an improvement from Quinnipiac polling in late January 2017 – as Trump began his first term in office – when he stood at 36% approval and 44% disapproval.

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING SHOWS

The survey indicates a predictable huge partisan divide over the GOP president.

"Republicans 86-4 percent approve of the job Trump is doing, while Democrats 86-8 percent disapprove," the poll's release highlights. "Among independents, 41 percent approve, while 46 percent disapprove and 13 percent did not offer an opinion."

While Trump's first approval rating for his second term is a major improvement from his first term, his rating is below the standing of his predecessor, former President Biden, in the first Quinnipiac poll from his single term in office.

CLICK HERE FOR FOX NEWS COVERAGE OF TRUMP'S FIRST 100 DAYS

Biden stood at 49%-36% approval at the start of February 2021.

His approval rating hovered in the low to mid 50s during his first six months in the White House. But Biden's numbers sank into negative territory in the late summer and autumn of 2021, in the wake of his much-criticized handling of the turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan, and amid soaring inflation and a surge of migrants crossing into the U.S. along the nation's southern border with Mexico.

Biden's approval ratings stayed underwater throughout the rest of his presidency.

Trump has kept up a frenetic pace during his first week and a half in office, with an avalanche of executive orders and actions. His moves not only fulfilled some of his major campaign trail promises, but also allowed the returning president to flex his executive muscles, quickly put his stamp on the federal government, and also settle some longstanding grievances.

"In our first week in office, we set records, taking over 350 executive actions," Trump touted on Wednesday. "That's not been done before, and it has reportedly been the single most effective opening week of any presidency in history."

TRUMP MOVING AT ‘WARP SPEED' DURING HIS FIRST DAYS BACK IN OFFICE

According to the new poll, six in ten approve of Trump's order sending U.S. troops to the southern border to enhance security.

"The huge deployment of boots on the ground is not to a dicey, far away war theater, but to the American border. And a majority of voters are just fine with that," Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said.

The poll indicates 44% support deporting all undocumented immigrants, while 39% back deporting only those convicted of violent crimes.

According to the survey, 57% disapprove of Trump's pardoning or commuting the sentences of more than 1,500 people convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters aiming to upend congressional certification of Biden's 2020 election victory.

Meanwhile, by a two-to-one margin, those questioned gave a thumbs down to Biden's issuing of preemptive pardons – in his final hours in office – for five members of his family who haven’t been charged with any crimes. Voters were divided on Biden's preemptive pardons for politicians and government officials who Trump had targeted for retaliation.

The poll also indicates that 53% disapprove of Elon Musk – the world's richest person – enjoying a prominent role in the new Trump administration, with 39% approving.

Democrats lost control of the White House and the Senate majority and failed to win back control of the House in November's elections. And the new poll spells more trouble for them.

Only 31% of respondents had a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party, with 57% seeing the party in an unfavorable light.

"This is the highest percentage of voters having an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party since the Quinnipiac University Poll began asking this question," the survey's release noted. 

Meanwhile, the 43% of those questioned had a favorable view of the GOP, with 45% holding an unfavorable opinion, which was the highest favorable opinion for the Republican Party ever in Quinnipiac polling.

Quinnipiac questioned 1019 self-identified registered voters nationwide. The survey's overall sampling error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he would instruct the Pentagon to prepare Guantanamo Bay to detain 30,000 "criminal illegal aliens."

"Today I'm also signing an executive order to instruct the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to begin preparing the 30,000-person migrant facility at Guantanamo Bay," Trump said. "Most people don't even know about it."

It was later learned that Trump signed a presidential memorandum, not an executive order, on the matter.

He said there are 30,000 beds at Guantanamo to house the detainees who pose a threat to the American public, adding that putting them there will ensure they do not come back.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TOUTS 969 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARRESTS IN ONE DAY: ‘HERE ARE SOME OF THE WORST’

"Some of them are so bad, we don’t even trust their countries to hold them because we don’t want them coming back," Trump said. "We’re going to send them to Guantanamo."

He added, "It’s a tough place to get out of."

The president said the move will bring the U.S. one step closer to "eradicating the scourge" of migrant crime in communities, once and for all.

He also called on Congress to provide full funding for the complete and total restoration of U.S. borders and financial support to remove record numbers of illegal aliens.

TRUMP-ERA SOUTHERN BORDER SEES MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS PLUMMET BY OVER 60% AS NEW POLICIES KICK IN

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel called Trump’s move to send 30,000 migrants to Guantanamo an "act of brutality."

"In an act of brutality, the new US government announces the imprisonment at the Guantanamo Naval Base, located in illegally occupied territory [Cuba], of thousands of migrants that it forcibly expels, and will place them next to the well-known prisons of torture and illegal detention," he said in a translated post on X.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News’ Will Cain on the "Will Cain Show" on Wednesday that Guantanamo Bay is already being used to house illegal immigrants, particularly the worst of the worst.

She confirmed Trump’s mission to use resources to expand the capacity at Guantanamo, and said her department will make sure resources are placed there to ensure there is enough space to get criminal illegal aliens out of the U.S.

Also appearing on Cain’s show was his former colleague, and now Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, who was stationed at the facility from 2004 to 2005.

TRUMP FOE LETITIA JAMES SLAMMED FOR POST-NYC ICE RAID COMMENTS: ‘GET ON THE SAME PAGE’

Hegseth explained that Gitmo is the perfect option for rounding up tens of thousands of illegal aliens and sending them back to their countries of origin with proper processing.

He said it is better to be held in a safe location like Guantanamo Bay, which was built for this.

"The [Department of Defense} – in conjunction with [Homeland Security] – will immediately expand the Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (‘Gitmo’) to Full Capacity to provide additional detention space for high-priority criminal aliens we have deported," Hegseth said in a post on X.

"Gitmo has been used for DECADES, including under Democrat presidents like Bill Clinton, to temporarily house migrants," he continued. "This is not the detention facilities (where I served) for Al Qaeda; this is using specific facilities for migrants/illegals on other parts of the naval station."

On Tuesday, the Trump administration rolled out a social media thread highlighting the latest apprehensions conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as the president’s immigration crackdown became a reality.

"969 TOTAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION ARRESTS by ICE were recorded yesterday, January 27, 2025," the White House shared on X. "HERE ARE SOME OF THE WORST."

The post shows nine different illegal immigrants who have already been convicted of crimes, such as child rape, or who have alleged links to gangs and terrorist organizations and other serious crimes.

Trump's 2024 campaign promised to curb illegal immigration that skyrocketed under the Biden administration. The 47th president promised to deport migrants, including those who had long rap sheets or ties to gangs or terrorist organizations.

On the first day of his second term, Trump issued ten executive orders aimed at overhauling U.S. immigration law and policy. After less than a week back in the Oval Office, Trump said he is keeping his promises.

His executive orders included sealing the U.S. asylum system for those without proper documents, discharging the military with deporting immigration violators and tasking ICE with removing migrants.

Since Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, armed federal immigration agents have swept cities in the first deportation raids. 

Over the last week, the Department of Homeland Security said "law enforcement officials have removed and returned 7,300 illegal aliens."

Fox News Digital's Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Emma Colton contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law on Wednesday, marking the first piece of legislation to become law in his second administration. 

"This horrific atrocity should never have been allowed to happen," Trump told reporters ahead of signing the legislation. "And as president, I'm fighting every single day to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again."

The measure, which advanced through the House and Senate in January, directs Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain illegal immigrants arrested or charged with theft-related crimes, or those accused of assaulting a police officer. 

The law also allows states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for harm caused to their citizens because of illegal immigration.

CONGRESS SENDS LAKEN RILEY ACT TO TRUMP'S DESK AS FIRST BILL OF GOP'S WASHINGTON TAKEOVER

The law's name honors a nursing student who was killed during a jog on the University of Georgia’s campus by an illegal immigrant. Jose Ibarra, who previously had been arrested but never detained by ICE, received a life prison sentence for killing 22-year-old Laken Riley. 

Riley's mother, Allyson Phillips, expressed her gratitude at the signing for everyone who pushed to advance the legislation.

"We also want to thank President Trump for the promises he made us," Phillips said. "He said he would secure our borders and that he would never forget about Laken. And he hasn't. He's a man of his word."

Riley's father, John, and sister, Lauren, also were present at the signing. 

The measure received support from all House Republicans and 48 Democrats, and all Senate Republicans and 12 Senate Democrats. Trump touted the bipartisan effort Wednesday. 

"With today's action, her name will also live forever in the laws of our country," Trump said. "And this is a very important law. This is something that has brought Democrats and Republicans together. That's not easy to do. Laken did it. Laken did it. America will never, ever forget Laken Hope Riley."

Meanwhile, critics of the measure claim that the law will pave the way for mass detention, including for those who have committed minor offenses like shoplifting. 

Sarah Mehta, senior border policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement after the Senate voted to advance the measure ahead of a final vote, "This is an extreme and reactive bill that will authorize the largest expansion of mandatory detention we have seen in decades." 

LAKEN RILEY ACT PASSES HOUSE WITH 48 DEMS, ALL REPUBLICANS 

"While we are disappointed this bill will pass the Senate, it is notable that so many senators opposed it and recognized the need for actual immigration reform — not the chaos and cruelty this legislation will unleash," Mehta said. 

Trump promised to crack down on illegal immigration during his campaign, and declared a national emergency at the southern border following his inauguration. He also immediately ordered the expulsion of migrants without the possibility of asylum. 

On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt cautioned foreign nationals considering entering the U.S. that they will be detained and kicked out of the country. 

TIDAL WAVE OF BORDER SECURITY BILLS HIT HOUSE AS REPUBLICANS MOVE FAST ON DC TAKEOVER

"So to foreign nationals who are thinking about trying to illegally enter the United States, think again," Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday at the White House press briefing. "Under this president, you will be detained and you will be deported. Every day, Americans are safer because of the violent criminals that President Trump's administration is removing from our communities."

Trump also announced on Wednesday he would sign an executive order instructing the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to start preparing a migrant facility in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for 30,000 detainees. 

"We have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal, illegal aliens threatening the American people," Trump said. "Some of them are so bad, we don't even trust the countries to hold them because we don't want them coming back. So we're going to send them out to Guantanamo."

Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. 

Every abortion is a "tragedy," President Donald Trump's Health and Human Services nominee, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., told lawmakers Wednesday. 

While Kennedy previously voiced support for abortion even in the late stages of pregnancy, Kennedy told the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday he would carry out Trump’s policy priorities concerning abortion. 

"I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy," Kennedy said at his confirmation hearing. "I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions a year. I agree with him that the states should control abortion. President Trump has told me that he wants to end late-term abortions, and he wants to protect conscience exemptions." 

"I serve at the pleasure of the president," Kennedy said. "I’m going to implement his policies."

MULTIPLE OUTBURTS ERUPT AT RFK JR HEARING: ‘YOU ARE’

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 625,978 abortions were reported from 48 areas in 2021. 

Trump has said on multiple occasions that he supports abortion in certain instances, and said that "powerful exceptions" for abortion would remain in place under his administration.

Meanwhile, Kennedy has altered his position on abortion several times in the past year. Kennedy, a former Democrat who ran as an independent presidential candidate in the 2024 election, has historically stated that he doesn’t believe the government should step in with a woman’s choice to end a pregnancy, despite his "personally pro-life" stance.

RFK JR RIPS DEM SENATOR FOR PUSHING ‘DISHONEST’ NARRATIVE ON PAST VACCINE COMMENTS: ‘CORRECTED IT MANY TIMES’

In May, Kennedy said he supported abortions in the third trimester, although he later followed up and said he does back some restrictions. 

Kennedy’s views appeared at odds with one another, and Democratic lawmakers said they were "confused" by his answers on abortion. 

"Mr. Kennedy, I’m confused. You have clearly stated in the past that bodily autonomy is one of your core values. The question is, do you stand for that value or not?" Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., said during the confirmation hearing. "When was it that you decided to sell out the values you have had your whole life in order to be given power by President Trump?"

RFK JR. LIKELY TO BE CONFIRMED AS HEALTH SECRETARY, DR. SIEGEL SAYS

Other lawmakers voiced concerns about Kennedy’s nomination, including Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. 

"Frankly, you frighten people," Whitehouse said, after claiming that there was a measles outbreak in Rhode Island for the first time since 2013 amid a broader discussion about Kennedy’s stance on vaccines. 

Kennedy pushed back on "news reports" that he is anti-vaccine and anti-industry in his opening statements Wednesday, noting that all his children are vaccinated. He also has previously said that he isn't interested in taking "away anybody's vaccines."

Fox News Digital's Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report. 

A former inspector general (IG) who was dismissed on Friday said President Donald Trump's decision to fire 17 independent watchdogs at various federal agencies constitutes a "threat to democracy" and government transparency.

Trump dismissed IGs at agencies within the Defense Department, State Department, Energy Department, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of Veterans Affairs, and more, notifying them by email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office, the Washington Post first reported.

Mike Ware, who served as the chair of the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, told MSNBC's "Ana Cabrera Reports" that he and other federal watchdogs were informed of their firing via email on Friday.

‘FLOODING THE ZONE’ TRUMP HITS WARP SPEED IN FIRST WEEK BACK IN OFFICE

Ware said it was "alarming" that the Trump administration had fired them over what he described as "changing priorities"—noting that IGs are not part of any administration and merely ensure there is no fraud, waste and abuse in how taxpayer funds are expended.

In 2022, Congress passed reforms that strengthened protections for IGs and made it harder to replace them with political appointees, requiring the president to explain their removal.

Ware suggested that Trump failed to provide a comprehensive reason for the mass firings and may have potentially violated the protections afforded by the reforms.

TRUMP'S FEDERAL DEI PURGE PUTS HUNDREDS ON LEAVE, NIXES $420M IN CONTRACTS

"We're looking at what amounts to a threat to democracy, a threat to independent oversight and a threat to transparency in government. This is no doubt. The statute isn't just a technicality, it's a key protection of IG independence is what it is," Ware said.

He also claimed that the U.S. government might as well not have an independent oversight mechanism if the new administration only adheres to the IG Act in a "piecemeal manner."

The mass firing is Trump's latest attempt to force the federal bureaucracy into submission after he shut down diversity, equity and inclusion programs, rescinded job offers and sidelined more than 150 national security and foreign policy officials. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST MEDIA AND CULTURE NEWS

Trump began his second term with the intent of purging any opponents of his agenda from the government and replacing them with officials who would execute his orders without hesitation.

During his first term, Trump fired four IGs in less than two months in 2020. This included the State Department, whose inspector general had played a role in the president's impeachment proceedings.

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Fox News' Chris Pandolfo and Lucas Y. Tomlinson contributed to this report.

Lawmakers at the state and federal levels are responding to President Joe Biden’s record presidential pardon spree – as more than 3,000 people found their sentences commuted or pardoned. The pardons, some of which came in the final hours of Biden's presidency, were issued to many members of his own family.

The last-minute tranche on Sunday that included James Biden, Hunter Biden and Valerie Biden-Owens came only weeks after a record 1,500 commutations in a single day – notably including that of disgraced Pennsylvania Judge Michael Conahan.

Conahan, of Wilkes-Barre, was dubbed the "kids for cash judge" after he was charged in connection with a scheme to send juvenile offenders to for-profit prisons in exchange for kickbacks.

Pennsylvania state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Dallas, represents the area where Conahan once sat on the bench.

LAWMAKERS DEMAND SCRANTON CHANGE ‘BIDEN EXPRESSWAY’ NAME AFTER JUDGE PARDONED

Baker told Fox News Digital the former president’s pardon in that case was "disrespectful to the victims, their families, the juvenile justice system, and to all the officials who have worked to reform the system so that this kind of scandal cannot happen again."

She and other lawmakers are also trying to bring new attention to victim notification processes that exist at the federal level and in many states, including Pennsylvania.

A source familiar with the federal process said the system is a voluntary construct, in that victims may sign up for notifications but are not automatically informed if convicts are pardoned, transferred or released.

Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., said he was troubled by much of Biden’s pardon spree, including those given preemptively to family and President Donald Trump critics, as well as convicts like Conahan – whose "kids for cash" scandal greatly affected his constituents – and added that the former president may have damaged the pardon process.

"These preemptive actions amount to an implicit admission of wrongdoing," Meuser said of pardons given to Biden family members.

ECONOMY BORDER & ABORTION DIVIDE BIDEN'S HOMETOWN AS RESIDENTS LOOK BACK ON NATIVE SON'S FIRST TERM

"This sets a dangerous precedent that undermines the long-standing purpose of the presidential pardon power. Historically, pardons have been used to offer clemency or correct injustices—not to shield one's family members from potential accountability before any charges are even brought."

Unfortunately for Biden critics, Meuser said the presidential pardon power is enshrined in Article II of the Constitution, and Congress has no power to intervene or change it.

"While I vehemently disagree with Biden’s decision to preemptively pardon members of his family, the presidential pardon power is established [therein]. That means, absent the ratification of a constitutional amendment, Congress does not have the power to review, alter, or pass legislation limiting a president’s pardon power."

Meuser pointed to the 1974 Supreme Court case Schick v. Reed, which confirmed Congress cannot have a role.

"Nevertheless, our Founding Fathers never could have conceived that a president would pardon a son who broke countless laws and utilized the White House to defraud and leverage millions of dollars in a pay-to-play scheme that also involved other family members."

Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., who flipped Biden’s home district in November, has also expressed concern over Biden’s use of presidential pardons.

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"I think what's discouraging is that you heard time and time again along the campaign trail that he wasn't going to do something like this, but I'm certainly not surprised," Bresnahan recently told WBRE.

"I'm sure much of America is not surprised."

While countless Americans who fell victim to those pardoned, including Conahan, may have little recourse, Baker said she is participating in the drafting of legislation in Harrisburg late Friday that will attempt to remove Biden’s likeness from part of his home area.

While the former Spruce Street in Scranton – since renamed Biden Avenue – is city property, Baker said the "President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Expressway" splitting off Interstate 81 into his hometown is within PennDOT’s bounds.

"The reaction has been so strong that many have called for renaming the President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Expressway, which was designated by Scranton City Council in 2021," Baker said.

The lawmaker added Biden’s legacy is forever "stained" by Conahan’s "inexplicable and infamous commutation."

"We owe it to the juvenile victims, their families, and all the believers in equal justice to remove the name of Joe Biden and replace it with someone truly deserving of the honor."

President Donald Trump’s administration is pushing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to increase the number of arrests per day from a few hundred to between at least 1,200 to 1,500 people, according to a new report on Monday. 

Citing four sources who spoke on condition of anonymity about a purported internal call with ICE officials on Saturday, The Washington Post first reported about the new objective, categorizing the 1,200 to 1,500 daily targets as "quotas." 

During the call, each ICE field office was told to aim for 75 arrests per day and that management would be held responsible if the quotas were not reached, they said. The Post also reported that current and former ICE officials said that they are concerned that the quotas make it more likely that agents will "engage in more indiscriminate enforcement tactics or face accusations of civil rights violations." 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reportedly told the Post via an email that, "your story is false," but did not elaborate. When asked about the report, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) clarified, telling Fox News Digital, "Goals is the correct phrasing." 

ICE ARRESTS NEARLY 1,000 ILLEGAL ALIENS DURING SIXTH DAY OF TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

"The bottom line is DHS enforcement, whether they be at the border or the interior, needs to keep and get criminal aliens out of the country," the spokesperson added.

Fox News Digital also reached out to Leavitt and ICE regarding the report.

Later in its report, the Washington Post cited another unnamed ICE official who reportedly said that the agency already has a long list of criminal suspects, so agents could continue to target public safety and national security threats to reach the quotas.

Last week, acting DHS Secretary Benjamine Huffman rescinded a directive that had prevented ICE from carrying out immigration enforcement at sensitive locations such as churches, schools and doctor’s offices. Huffman said the reversal ensured criminals, including murderers and rapists, cannot use those areas to hide. Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, further defended the decision on Sunday, explaining that many MS-13 gang members are often around age 14 and ICE agents are well-trained and should have the discretion to weed out public safety and national security threats. 

In an appearance on ABC’s "This Week," Homan said the number of immigration-related arrests would "steadily increase" as he continues Trump’s mass deportation plan. 

"The aperture right now is constrained to public safety threats, national security threats as a smaller population," Homan said. "We're going to do the same priority base as President Trump's promise. But as that aperture opens, there'll be more arrests nationwide." 

In sanctuary cities, Homan said, ICE is locked out of jails. That means instead of being able to safely apprehend targets already in custody before they are released back onto the streets, ICE agents must conduct enforcement operations in the community, increasing the risk of collateral arrests of illegal immigrants not charged with violent offenses but who law enforcement find associating with criminal illegal immigrants and take into custody as well. 

TRUMP'S ICE RACKS UP HUNDREDS OF ARRESTS, INCLUDING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRESTED FOR HORROR CRIMES

"Sweeps don’t occur anywhere," Homan told Phil McGraw, known as Dr. Phil, inside the ICE Command Center in Chicago on Sunday night. The border czar and television doctor teamed up to showcase on McGraw’s streaming service, Meritt TV, how ICE operations are targeting violent offenders. Another video shared Sunday night showed Dr. Phil questioning an illegal immigrant, a convicted sex offender from Thailand who federal agents took into custody in Chicago. 

For the past decade, ICE has had a staffing level of about 5,500 officers nationwide dedicated to immigration enforcement, according to the Post.

Trump has directed Homeland Security Investigations, the DHS agency focused on counterterrorism, drug smuggling, human trafficking cases and child exploitation, to also assist with immigration enforcement operations.

Last week, Huffman also issued a directive giving Department of Justice law enforcement officials in the U.S. Marshals, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Federal Bureau of Prisons authority to investigate and apprehend illegal immigrants.

TRUMP'S ICE RACKS UP HUNDREDS OF ARRESTS, INCLUDING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRESTED FOR HORROR CRIMES

"Thanks to the last Administration’s open border policies, we’ve seen violent criminals and gang members terrorize American communities," Huffman said in a statement. "Mobilizing these law enforcement officials will help fulfill President Trump’s promise to the American people to carry out mass deportations. For decades, efforts to find and apprehend illegal aliens have not been given proper resources. This is a major step in fixing that problem."