President Donald Trump repeated his suggestion that Canada become the 51st on Sunday, noting that it would not be subjected to his incoming tariffs should the country join the U.S.

"We pay hundreds of Billions of Dollars to SUBSIDIZE Canada. Why? There is no reason," Trump wrote on TRUTH Social. "We don’t need anything they have. We have unlimited Energy, should make our own Cars, and have more Lumber than we can ever use. Without this massive subsidy, Canada ceases to exist as a viable Country. Harsh but true!" 

"Therefore, Canada should become our Cherished 51st State," Trump added. "Much lower taxes, and far better military protection for the people of Canada – AND NO TARIFFS!" 

Trump has for weeks suggested the United States should take control of Canada through economic pressure.

TRUMP IMPOSES TARIFFS ON IMPORTS FROM CANADA, MEXICO AND CHINA: 'NATIONAL EMERGENCY'

Citing the flow of illicit drugs across the northern border, Trump signed an order Saturday to implement a 25% tariff on goods entering the United States from Canada. The order, which takes effect Tuesday, also puts a 10% duty on energy or energy resources from Canada. The order states, "gang members, smugglers, human traffickers, and illicit drugs of all kinds have poured across our borders and into our communities," adding that "Canada has played a central role in these challenges, including by failing to devote sufficient attention and resources or meaningfully coordinate with United States law enforcement partners to effectively stem the tide of illicit drugs." 

Trump also said he would implement tariffs of 25% on goods from Mexico, as well as 10% on imports from China due to the flow of drugs across U.S. borders.

AMERICAN GAS ASSOCIATION REACTS TO TRUMP ANNOUNCEMENT OF ENERGY TARIFFS ON CANADA, MEXICO

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum both vowed retaliation on Saturday. 

"We categorically reject the White House's slander of the Government of Mexico for having alliances with criminal organizations, as well as any intention to interfere in our territory," Sheinbaum said, adding that she instructed her administration officials to implement "tariff and non-tariff measures in defense of Mexico's interests." 

Trudeau said Canada would impose 25% tariffs on $155 billion of U.S. goods, including "immediate tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods effective Tuesday, followed by further tariffs on $125 billion worth of American products in 21 days." 

"I don't think we're not at all interested in escalating, but I think that there will be a very strong demand on our government to make sure that we stand up for the deal that we have struck with the United States," Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman told ABC News' "This Week" on Sunday. 

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. 

Director of national intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard shed further light on her 2017 meeting with then-Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, a trip that has come under the microscope since President Donald Trump nominated the former congresswoman. 

"There is not a great deal in the public record about what you and Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad discussed for so long in January of 2017. And I think there's a great deal of interest from the American people about what was discussed in that meeting. So what did you talk about? And did you press Assad on things like his use of chemical weapons, systematic torture and the killing of so many Syrians?" Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., asked Gabbard on Thursday. 

Gabbard, when she served in the U.S. House, traveled to Syria in 2017, when she met with the dictator, whose government was overthrown years later in 2024. The visit has become a focal point of Democrats' criticism of the DNI nominee, arguing the visit casts doubt on her worldview and judgment. 

'LIES AND SMEARS': TULSI GABBARD RAILS AGAINST DEM NARRATIVE SHE'S TRUMP'S AND PUTIN'S 'PUPPET'

"Yes, senator, I, upon returning from this trip, I met with people like then-Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Steny Hoyer, talked to them and answered their questions about the trip," Gabbard, who served in the U.S. House representing Hawaii from 2013 to 2021, responded. 

TENSION BUILDS AROUND TULSI GABBARD’S CONFIRMATION WITH KEY GOP SENATORS UNDECIDED

"And quite frankly, I was surprised that there was no one from the intelligence community or the State Department who reached out or showed any interest whatsoever in my takeaways from that trip. I would have been very happy to have a conversation and give them a back brief. I went with former Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who had been there many times before and who had met with Assad before. A number of topics were covered and discussed. And to directly answer your question, yes. I asked him tough questions about his own regime's actions. The use of chemical weapons and the brutal tactics that were being used against his own people."

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi also met with Assad in 2007, despite then-President George W. Bush's criticism of the visit at the time. 

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ SPARKS BACKLASH FOR CLAIMING TULSI GABBARD IS A RUSSIAN ASSET

"Were you able to extract any concessions from President Assad?" Heinrich asked Gabbard. 

"No, and I didn't expect to, but I felt these issues were important to address," she continued. 

"Just in complete hindsight, would you, would you view this trip as, good judgment?" the Senate lawmaker continued. 

"Yes, senator. And I believe that leaders, whether you be in Congress or the president of the United States, can benefit greatly by going and engaging boots on the ground, learning and listening and meeting directly with people, whether they be adversaries or friends," Gabbard said. 

Gabbard is appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday as part of her nomination process to serve as director of national intelligence under the second Trump administration.

After the disastrous foreign affairs failures of the Biden administration, many Americans were left wondering how a Trump administration could possibly correct course. Well, it’s finally Trump time, so here’s what one should expect.

In many ways, today’s Donald Trump resembles the one we saw in 2016. Now, as then, Trump is neither an isolationist nor an imperialist; rather, he pursues an America-first policy tempered by realism and the understanding that sometimes one must break a few eggs to make an omelet.

Similarities aside, though, the Trump of 2025 is not the same as the Trump of 2016. Today’s Trump is one of the most battle-tested leaders on the world stage, and he’s bringing that experience to bear on changing world circumstances.

While America faces the same enemies – Russia, Iran and China – those enemies are weaker than ever because of their own reckless imperial overreach. Moscow struggles to make headway on its fronts in Ukraine and beyond, Iran is stuck watching Israel take down its minions, and China faces economic woes and a tarnished global brand.

TRUMP'S TRIUMPH: FIRST WEEK PROVES PRESIDENT RIGHT IN ALL THESE WAYS

All this weakness gives Trump space to accomplish his foreign policy agenda.

First on the table is killing the Green New Deal – a completely unrealistic, unachievable policy that only benefited America’s enemies. While Iran and Russia sold fossil fuels and China bought them at cut-rate prices (and cornered the market on the sale of green technologies), the rest of the world was heading for energy poverty.

Trump plans to change all that by heading up a global campaign for reliable, affordable, abundant energy. In declaring a national energy emergency, he paved the way for America to unleash its vast oil supply more cheaply and efficiently than ever – a policy that will enable the U.S. to compete in and transform the global energy market.  

Next, Trump will restore the long-standing American tradition of peace through strength. He’s already instructed his new secretary of Defense to this end, ordering him to implement more bayonet drills and fewer drag shows. He’s warned America’s enemies to stop warmongering or risk facing consequences for their actions.

HERE'S HOW REPUBLICANS SHOULD FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THEIR TOUGH TALK ON IMMIGRATION

Even before taking office, Trump’s team helped negotiate a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel. Now he’s working to secure a similar peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

Trump believes in putting America first, and he knows that wars (in addition to the harm they cause to innocents) are bad for business – and that means they must stop.

Similarly, Trump is putting an end to America’s endless bankrolling of other countries, demanding instead that those countries step up and start pulling their own weight. He’s informed NATO members that they need to start contributing 5% of their GDP to national defense instead of relying on the U.S. to take care of them.

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Instead of throwing taxpayer money around, Trump says it’s time to start throwing America’s weight around. That means no more underwriting the U.N.’s globalist agenda – unless, of course, it’s in America’s best interests to do so.

Nor does Trump plan to continue allowing weaknesses and backdoors in America’s own backyard. Trump’s "new Monroe Doctrine" isn’t about establishing American imperialism, but rather about ensuring American safety.

Trump seeks to secure strategic waypoints like Greenland, encourage Canada to defend the Free North, and prevent China from obtaining control of the Panama Canal. That’s not building a wall around America – it’s mowing the grass and trimming the hedges.

Finally, Trump plans to put American growth first. That means tax cuts for American workers, tariffs for American enemies, and encouragement for American allies to invest in the American economy. He’s already announced significant Saudi investment in the United States (to the tune of $600 billion), and the pressure’s on for other allies to follow suit.

All told, Trump’s foreign policy sends the message that America’s back and better than ever. Friends should step up, and enemies should watch out.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM JAMES CARAFANO

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that federal employees must return to in-person work by early February or "be terminated," the latest in a string of actions announced by the new administration as it looks to crack down on remote work. 

Trump addressed the changes Wednesday at the White House shortly before signing into law the immigration-focused Laken Riley bill.

Asked about the new requirements for federal workers, Trump said, "We’re requiring them to show up to work or be terminated."

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT DOGE AND ITS QUEST TO SLASH GOVERNMENT WASTE, SPENDING

His remarks come just hours after the Office of Personnel Management, or OPM, began emailing roughly 2 million federal employees on Tuesday, offering them the equivalent of a buyout if they do not return to in-person work within a specified time frame. 

Employees have until Feb. 6 to decide whether to take the buyouts, OPM said, noting that most employees will be required to show up in person five days a week.

Those who choose not to continue their roles in person would be provided with what the email said would be a "dignified, fair departure from the federal government utilizing a deferred resignation program."

Employees who resign were also told they will retain all pay and benefits regardless of workload and will be exempt from in-person work requirements until Sep. 30, 2025.

"We think a very substantial number of people will not show up to work, and, therefore, our government will get smaller and more efficient," Trump told reporters of the plan Wednesday. "And that's what we've been looking to do for many, many decades."

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

He also suggested federal employees may be asked to "prove" they did not have another job during the period of remote work, a difficult issue to correct for given that an estimated 8.6 million U.S. residents work multiple jobs, or roughly 5.2% of the U.S. workforce, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"We may ask these people to prove that they didn't have another job during their so-called employment with the United States of America, because if they did, that would be unlawful," Trump said.

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 "A lot of people are getting paychecks, but they're actually working other jobs, so they'll have to prove that to us that they weren't," Trump said.

Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner contributed to this article. 

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. 

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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.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., noted that a Boy Scout proposed a policy of not taxing workers younger than age 18.

The congressman from the Bluegrass State listed several reasons why he loves the idea.

"A 15 yr old Boy Scout working on his merit badge just sent me this idea: No taxes on workers under 18 yrs old. I love it because: 1. They need experience to pick a college major 2. They need to develop a work ethic 3. The economy needs more workers 4. They don’t get to vote," Massie wrote in a post on X.

MASSIE AND OTHER REPUBLICANS PUSH ‘NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY ACT’ TO PROTECT AMERICANS' GUN RIGHTS

Someone responded to the lawmaker, suggesting that youths "don’t make enough money for the most part and get it back when they file taxes. It is a good lesson on how to file taxes and gives them a chance to get a return," the person opined.

Massie replied, "Sounds like conditioning to be sheeple. Hard pass."

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., indicated that high minimum wages box young people out of the job market.

REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS PUSH TO ABOLISH ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL’ ATF

"So many of our youth have lost the opportunity to enter the workforce due to high minimum wage requirements. High taxes, insurance, and paid leave requirements are a few of many issues as well. Small business owners are unable to invest in first-time workers or provide them with skills training for their future," she tweeted.

"Great points!" Massie replied.

He has previously suggested that the U.S. should nix the federal income tax entirely.

MASSIE DROPS COLORFUL ANALOGY OPPOSING FOREIGN AID, MOCKS SPEAKER JOHNSON WITH AI-GENERATED IMAGE

"The federal income tax was unconstitutional for most of our [country's] existence. The founders of this country would have never agreed to it. We should repeal it," he tweeted in February 2024.

Massie has also spoken out against foreign aid.

"My position of ‘no foreign aid’ might sound extreme to some, but it’s far more extreme to force future generations of Americans into indentured servitude to our foreign creditors," he noted in a 2023 post.

The Senate is scheduled to vote Monday afternoon to confirm President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Treasury Department.

The Senate voted on Saturday to advance Scott Bessent’s nomination by a 67–23 margin and his confirmation is expected Monday. 

Bessent recently appeared before the Senate Finance Committee for his confirmation hearing, where he called to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that Trump approved during his first term. 

"This is the single most important economic issue of the day," Bessent, a hedge fund billionaire from South Carolina, told lawmakers. 

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

"If we do not renew an extension, then we will be facing an economic calamity," Bessent said. "And, as always, with financial instability, that falls on the middle and working class."

Bessent cautioned that a "gigantic" middle-class tax increase would occur if the tax cuts expire.

Many of the reforms included in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are scheduled to end in 2025. Groups like Americans for Prosperity, a grassroots network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers, claim that millions of Americans will face a hike of more than $1,500 in taxes in 2026 if the cuts are not renewed. 

GET TO KNOW DONALD TRUMP'S CABINET: WHO HAS THE PRESIDENT-ELECT PICKED SO FAR?

But critics of Trump’s tax plan, including Democratic lawmakers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and groups like the liberal public policy institute Center for American Progress, argue the cuts only benefited the wealthy and claim the perks failed to reach ordinary workers.

However, Bessent said Trump and his administration will create a "golden age" of economic prosperity for all Americans.

TRUMP'S TREASURY NOMINEE TURNS TABLES ON SANDERS IN TESTY EXCHANGE ABOUT BIDEN'S OLIGARCHY COMMENTS 

"Today, I believe that President Trump has a generational opportunity to unleash a new economic golden age that will create more jobs, wealth and prosperity for all Americans," Bessent said at his confirmation hearing. 

Trump’s economic plan includes 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%. 

Bessent, who previously wrote an op-ed for Fox News Digital supporting the use of tariffs, backed the Trump administration's employment of tariffs in multiple exchanges with lawmakers during his confirmation hearing. 

The Treasury Department is responsible for managing federal finances and oversees agencies that include the IRS.

Sen. Mike Lee is continuing to call for the abolition of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

"Tired of being groped every time you travel? Abolish TSA," the senator said in a recent post on X.

"Make Airport Security Free Of Sexual Assault Again," Lee said in another tweet, adding, "Abolish TSA."

TSA OFFICER REPORTEDLY CAUGHT WITH FIREARM IN BUSY ATLANTA AIRPORT IS ARRESTED

In another post, he suggested that President Donald Trump should eliminate the TSA.

Lee suggests that instead of TSA, airlines could handle passenger screening.

"You may be required to undergo a pat-down procedure if the screening technology alarms, as part of unpredictable security measures, for enhanced screening, or as an alternative to other types of screening, such as advanced imaging technology screening," according to the TSA website. "A pat-down may include inspection of the head, neck, arms, torso, legs, and feet. This includes head coverings and sensitive areas such as breasts, groin, and the buttocks."

The agency was established in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

"The Aviation and Transportation Security Act, passed by the 107th Congress and signed on November 19, 2001, established TSA," according to the TSA's website.

TSA REVEALS TOP UNUSUAL FINDS AT AIRPORT SECURITY CHECKPOINTS IN 2024

Lee advocated the idea of nixing TSA last year as well.

"It’s time to abolish the TSA. Airlines can and will secure their own planes if a federal agency doesn’t do it for them. They’ll do it better than TSA, without undermining the Constitution and with less groping—showing more respect for passengers," the senator declared in a post last year on March 11.

Days later, Lee indicated that he had been subjected to a TSA pat down.

SEN MIKE LEE: REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS MUST IMMEDIATELY ADVANCE TRUMP'S MAGA AGENDA

"Update: days after calling to abolish TSA, I got 'randomly selected' for the needlessly slow, thorough TSA screening & patdown. Maybe it’s a coincidence. Or not. Impossible to know. That’s part of the problem with having a federal agency in charge of airport security," he tweeted on March 14, 2024.

In December, the senator shared a video of a man being subjected to a pat down.

"It’s unsettling knowing that the TSA does this countless times every day, constantly conducting needlessly invasive, warrantless, suspicion-less searches of law-abiding Americans," Lee wrote when sharing the video. "Please share if you’d like to abolish TSA," he added.

President Donald Trump fired 17 independent watchdogs at various federal agencies late Friday, a Trump administration official confirmed to Fox News, as he continues to reshape the government at a blistering pace.

Trump dismissed inspectors general 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.

"It’s a widespread massacre," one of the terminated inspectors general told the Post. "Whoever Trump puts in now will be viewed as loyalists, and that undermines the entire system."

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that Trump's action may violate federal law that requires the president to give 30 days' notice to Congress of his intent to fire any independent watchdog, the Associated Press reported. 

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

"There may be good reason the IGs were fired. We need to know that if so," Grassley said in a statement. "I’d like further explanation from President Trump. Regardless, the 30 day detailed notice of removal that the law demands was not provided to Congress." 

The White House did not respond to a request for comment. 

Inspectors general at federal agencies are called on to investigate government waste, fraud and abuse. They operate independently and can serve in multiple administrations.

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. 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. 

TRUMP TO DECLASSIFY JFK FILES: FAMED DOCTOR WHO INVESTIGATED ASSASSINATION PREDICTS WHAT AMERICANS COULD LEARN

Among those spared from Trump's wrath was Department of Justice inspector general Michael Horowitz, the New York Times reported. Horowitz led the investigation of the FBI's Russian collusion probe, which exposed at least 17 "significant inaccuracies and omissions" in the FBI's application for a FISA warrant in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation. 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., slammed Trump's firings, calling them a "purge of independent watchdogs in the middle of the night." 

TRUMP MEETS WITH CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS, FIRE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TO SEE LA WILDFIRE DAMAGE FIRST HAND

"President Trump is dismantling checks on his power and paving the way for widespread corruption," Warren posted on X.

During his first term, Trump fired five inspectors general 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.

Last year, Trump's predecessor Joe Biden fired the inspector general of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, after an investigation found the official had created a hostile work environment.

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

If President Donald Trump’s personnel moves are any tell, he may come out of the gate toward Iran with a tone that is more diplomatic than combative. 

And Trump on Thursday evening suggested he was open to a nuclear deal with Iran.

Asked if he would support Israel striking Iran's nuclear facilities, Trump told reporters, "We'll have to see. I'm going to be meeting with various people over the next couple of days. We'll see, but hopefully that could be worked out without having to worry about it."

"Iran hopefully will make a deal. I mean, they don't make a deal, I guess that's OK, too."

Iran, at least, is hoping for just that. The Tehran Times, a regime-linked English language newspaper, questioned in a recent article whether the firing of Brian Hook, the architect of the "maximum pressure" policy on Iran during Trump’s first term, could "signal a change in [Trump’s] Iran policy."

In November, news outlets reported that Hook was running the transition at the State Department. But Hook was relieved from the transition team shortly after in December, sources familiar with the move confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

UN URGES DIPLOMACY AS IRAN HITS NUCLEAR 'GAS PEDAL,' CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR TELLS TRUMP ‘DO NOT APPEASE’

This week, Trump knocked Hook back a step further by posting on social media that he’d be removed from his position at a U.S. government-owned think tank.

"Brian Hook from the Wilson Center for Scholars... YOU'RE FIRED!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

And after taking office, Trump removed the government-sponsored security details of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a source familiar confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton told CNN his detail was also pulled, as was Hook’s.

"You can't have [protection] for the rest of your life. Do you want to have a large deal of people guarding people for the rest of their lives? I mean, there's risks to everything," Trump said.

Trump recently put his Middle East envoy, Steven Witkoff, in charge of addressing U.S. concerns about Iran, according to a Financial Times report.

Witkoff most recently helped seal negotiations on a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel, suggesting he may test Iran’s willingness to engage at the negotiating table on nuclear issues before ramping up pressure, sources told the Financial Times. 

Experts warn that Iran is enriching hundreds of pounds of uranium to the 60% purity threshold, shy of the 90% purity levels needed to develop a nuclear bomb.

At the same time, the president hired Michael Dimino as deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, a foreign policy expert who has said the Middle East doesn’t "really matter" to U.S. interests any longer. 

IRAN'S WEAKENED POSITION COULD LEAD IT TO PURSUE NUCLEAR WEAPON, BIDEN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER WARNS

Dimino is cut from the same cloth as undersecretary of defense for policy Elbridge Colby, who has argued for the U.S. to focus military resources on countering China and devote fewer resources to other regions. 

Dimino, a former expert at the Koch-funded restraint advocacy think tank Defense Priorities, has strongly advocated for pulling U.S. resources out of the Middle East.

"The core question is: Does the Middle East still matter?" Dimino said during a panel last February. "The answer is: not really, not really for U.S. interests. What I would say is that vital or existential U.S. interests in the Middle East are best characterized as minimal to non-existent."

"We are really there to counter Iran and that is really at the behest of the Israelis and Saudis," he added.

"Iranian power remains both exaggerated and misunderstood. Its economy continues to underperform, and its conventional military is antiquated and untested. Tehran simply doesn’t have the financial capital or hard power capabilities to dominate the Middle East or directly threaten core U.S. interests," he wrote in a 2023 article.

Dimino has also argued the U.S. does not need to focus resources on an offensive campaign against the Houthis amid attacks on shipping lanes in the Red Sea. 

"Put simply, there are no existential or vital U.S. national interests at stake in Yemen and very little is at stake for the U.S. economically in the Red Sea."

Instead, he argued in a 2023 op-ed that working to increase aid into Gaza would rid the Houthis of their stated reason for their attacks in the Red Sea, which they’ve said are a means of fighting on behalf of Gaza.

"Working to increase aid shipments to Gaza would not just help to alleviate the humanitarian crisis there but would deprive the Houthis of their claimed justification for attacks in the Red Sea and provide the group with an off-ramp for de-escalation that would also serve to prevent indefinite U.S. participation in a broader regional war."

Others in Trump's foreign policy orbit historically have struck a more hawkish tone toward Iran, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Israel Ambassador Mike Huckabee. 

Rubio has already said he will work to bring back the snapback sanctions that were suspended in the 2015 Iran deal, as indicated by written responses he provided to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. 

"A policy of maximum pressure must be reinstated, and it must be reinstated with the help of the rest of the globe, and that includes standing with the Iranian people and their aspirations for democracy," Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump's envoy to Russia and Ukraine, recently said. 

The Dimino hiring – along with other recent personnel moves – has caused rumblings from prominent Iran hawks. 

Mark Levin, a radio host who has the ear of Trump, has posted on X multiple times in opposition to Dimino: "How’d this creep get a top DoD position?" he asked in one post. 

"While Dimino and Witkoff are very different issues, Witkoff is Trump’s best friend, [it] seems difficult to detangle, very concerning," said one Iran expert. "Dimino is a mystery and does not align with Hegseth or Trump values on Iran or Israel."

"There is an ongoing coordinated effort by Iran’s regime and its lobby network in the West to cause divisions in President Trump’s administration over policy towards Tehran," Kasra Aarabi, director of research on Iran's Revolutionary Guard at the group United Against a Nuclear Iran, told Fox News Digital. 

"Having spent the past four years trying – and failing – to assassinate President Trump, the ayatollah has now instructed his propagandists to cause fissures between President Trump and his advisors so as to weaken the new administration’s policy towards [the] Islamist regime."

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Aarabi warned, "In the past 48 hours, Ayatollah Khamenei-run entities in Iran’s regime – such as the "Islamic Propaganda Organization" – have been celebrating certain appointments across the broader administration in the same way as they praised some of former president Biden’s appointments."

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to declassify files on the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. 

Trump had promised to release the previously classified documents during his 2024 campaign after decades of speculation and conspiracy theories about the killings. 

"Everything will be revealed," Trump told reporters as he signed the order in the Oval Office of the White House.

TRUMP PLEDGES TO RELEASE FILES ON JFK, MLK, RFK ASSASSINATIONS 

During his first administration, Trump had promised to release all the files related to John F. Kennedy, but an undisclosed amount of material remains under wraps more than six decades after Kennedy was killed Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas. The primary suspect, Lee Harvey Oswald, was killed two days later by Jack Ruby. 

After appeals from the CIA and FBI, Trump blocked the release of hundreds of records. Trump said at the time the potential harm to U.S. national security, law enforcement or foreign affairs is "of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in immediate disclosure."

"I have now determined that the continued redaction and withholding of information from records pertaining to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is not consistent with the public interest and the release of these records is long overdue," Trump's order states. 

"And although no Act of Congress directs the release of information pertaining to the assassinations of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I have determined that the release of all records in the Federal Government’s possession pertaining to each of those assassinations is also in the public interest."

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U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., praised the declassification of the JFK files. 

"Our government, led by corrupt bureaucrats, has hidden this information from the American people for far too long. Americans deserve to know the truth, whether it makes the government look good or not," she said in a statement. "As part of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I want to continue to deliver transparency to Americans. The truth belongs to the people, and we won’t rest until they have it."

Trump’s promise to also release outstanding documents related to King and former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy leaves questions about how the president will speed up the releases.

Robert F. Kennedy, then a senator from New York, was on the presidential campaign trail as a Democratic candidate when he was fatally shot June 5, 1968, by Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian Christian, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.  

Under the Martin Luther King Jr. Records Collection Act, the remaining files pertaining to King are not due for release until 2027. King was fatally shot by James Earl Ray at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on April 4, 1968.

The deaths of King and John F. Kennedy have spawned conspiracy theories over the years, many of which allege government involvement or cover-ups.  

Fox News Digital's Stephen Sorace contributed to this report. 

Newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the U.S. to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO).

In 2020, Trump started the ball rolling toward extricating the U.S. from the United Nations agency, but President Joe Biden reversed course after taking office in 2021.

"The United States intends to withdraw from the WHO. The Presidential Letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations signed on January 20, 2021, that retracted the United States’ July 6, 2020, notification of withdrawal is revoked," Trump's order declares.

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"The Secretary of State shall immediately inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations, any other applicable depositary, and the leadership of the WHO of the withdrawal," the order instructs.

The U.S. Senate voted 99-0 on Monday to confirm Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to serve as Secretary of State — Rubio voted for himself before resigning from the Senate.

Trump's order calls for the Secretary of State and director of the Office of Management and Budget to "pause the future transfer of any United States Government funds, support, or resources to the WHO;" "recall and reassign United States Government personnel or contractors working in any capacity with the WHO;" as well as "identify credible and transparent United States and international partners to assume necessary activities previously undertaken by the WHO."

TRUMP FAILED TO DELIVER ‘DAY 1’ PROMISE TO GRANT CLEMENCY TO ROSS ULBRICHT, FOUNDER OF SILK ROAD

The WHO issued a statement on Tuesday lamenting Trump's decision, and expressing hope that the U.S. will rethink the move.

"The World Health Organization regrets the announcement that the United States of America intends to withdraw from the Organization," the globalist body noted. "We hope the United States will reconsider and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe."

Trump signed a flurry of orders after taking office on Monday.

One of them declares it U.S. policy "to recognize two sexes, male and female," which "are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality."

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Trump is only the second president in U.S. history to win election to two non-consecutive terms — the first was Grover Cleveland in the 19th century.

Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was confirmed unanimously by the Senate to be the next secretary of state, making him the first of President Trump's Cabinet picks to receive congressional approval.

Rubio, a senator since 2011, was confirmed during a floor vote by the full Senate Monday night, several hours after Trump took his oath of office earlier in the day. The full Senate floor vote occurred following a separate vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which also voted unanimously in favor of Rubio's nomination Monday.  

Rubio enters his role as secretary of state with a strong foreign policy background as a longtime member of the Senate's Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees. He is also a first-generation Cuban American.

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His road to confirmation has been less controversial than many of Trump's other Cabinet picks. At Rubio's first confirmation hearing last week in front of the Foreign Relations Committee, the committee's top-ranking Democrat, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, said she thought Rubio possessed "the skills" and is "well-qualified" to serve as the next secretary of state. She echoed this sentiment Monday evening as well before the full Senate vote.

"I've had a good working relationship with Sen. Rubio for many years, and I was very impressed during his hearing by his grasp of policy," Shaheen said Monday evening. "While we may not always agree, I believe he has the skills, knowledge and qualifications to be secretary of state."

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Rubio expressed during his initial confirmation hearing last week that under Trump the State Department's "top priority" will be to put America first. 

"This will not be easy," Rubio said. "And it will be impossible without a strong and a confident America that engages in the world, putting our core national interests, once again, above all else."

Rubio will face some major challenges heading into his new role, notably the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Rubio described the fighting between Ukraine and Russia as a "stalemate" that "has to end" during his confirmation hearing last week, adding that under Trump's proposed peace deal both countries will have to make "concessions." Meanwhile, despite Trump's past criticisms of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Rubio called the alliance "very important" and insisted that Trump was also a NATO supporter.

On Gaza, Rubio supported Israel's actions to defend itself against Hamas but stopped short of indicating one way or the other if he thought Israel's annexation of parts of the West Bank was something he supported. 

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"The idea would be that there not be conflict and the people could live side-by-side with one another without being in conflict and with the ability to pursue prosperity," Rubio said. "Sadly and unfortunately the conditions for that to exist have not been in place for a substantial period of time."

Rubio also repeatedly singled out China during his remarks in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week. "We welcomed the Chinese Communist Party into this global order. And they took advantage of all its benefits. But they ignored all its obligations and responsibilities," Rubio posited at his hearing. "Instead, they have lied, cheated, hacked and stolen their way to global superpower status, at our expense."

While Rubio did not face significant opposition to his confirmation, some Trump-aligned Republicans have expressed disdain over Rubio's willingness to certify the results of the 2020 election that Trump alleged was "stolen" from him. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has been an outspoken supporter of less U.S. intervention, also questioned Rubio's hawkish stance on American intervention amid his confirmation to be secretary of state.

President Trump on Monday made a number of ambitious announcements on border security and immigration, eyeing a sweeping overhaul of U.S. policy and likely fueling pushback from Democrats and immigration activists in the weeks and months ahead.

Trump used his inaugural address to outline his plans to fulfill his campaign promises to seal the southern border and launch a historic mass deportation campaign.

"First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted," Trump said moments after being inaugurated. "And we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came."

TRUMP VOWS ‘NEW ERA OF NATIONAL SUCCESS,' SAYS AMERICA'S ‘DECLINE IS OVER’ IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS

Fox News had previewed Trump’s immigration moves, which include deploying the military to the border, ending Biden-era parole policies, restoring border wall construction and designating international cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. 

Trump also will be ending birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants, suspending refugee resettlement and creating a rapid removal process that does not allow for an asylum claim, officials told reporters.

Officials told reporters in a press call that Trump would sign an order clarifying language in the 14th Amendment and stating that the federal government "will not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the United States."

Trump reiterated many of these promises in his address.

TRUMP TO DEPLOY MILITARY TO BORDER, END BIDEN PAROLE POLICIES IN FLURRY OF DAY 1 EXECUTIVE ORDERS

"We will reinstate my Remain in Mexico policy. I will end the practice of catch-and-release. And I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country. Under the orders I signed today, we will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations," he said. 

"And by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, I will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to U.S. soil, including our cities and inner cities."

TRUMP TO TAKE MORE THAN 200 EXECUTIVE ACTIONS ON DAY 1

"As commander in chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions," he said. "And that is exactly what I am going to do. We will do it at a level that nobody has ever seen before." 

Trump made tackling illegal immigration, including a mass deportation operation, a central theme of his 2024 campaign.

Polls showed Americans saw illegal immigration as a top issue during the 2024 election, and some Democrats in Congress recently have supported legislation to require the detention of certain illegal immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

Fox News' Brooke Singman and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

Former President Biden issued a preemptive pardon to Gen. Mark Milley on Monday, capping off a presidency marred by the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021.

Milley accepted the pardon, saying in a statement he does not want to spend the remainder of his life fighting "retribution." 

But critics of the withdrawal in Congress say they aren’t done with him. 

"Mark Milley might be pardoned, but we will continue to explore ways to hold him accountable," said Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., an Afghanistan veteran.

Post-withdrawal assessments largely question why the military pulled out of the region before civilian evacuations were complete. 

Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has admitted the withdrawal where 13 U.S. troops lost their lives was a "strategic failure." 

HOUSE GOP RELEASES SCATHING REPORT ON BIDEN'S WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN

During a Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in 2024, Milley blamed the State Department for delaying a Noncombatant Evacuation Operations (NEO), or an order to withdraw U.S. civilians working in the country, but praised the military’s actions.

That order did not come until mid-August 2021, just two weeks before the deadline Biden had set to leave the country. 

"I think that was too slow and too late. And that then caused a series of events that resulted in the very last couple of days. There’s a lot of other mistakes that [were] made along the way… [but] I think that was the key." 

"The U.S. military is responsible for supporting the State Department in a non-combatant evacuation operation, however, the withdrawal of U.S. forces from a combat theater as it relates to an act of war is the responsibility of the Department of Defense, and at the end of the day, we did not leave a residual force behind," Alex Pritsas, a former counterterrorism official at the Defense Department and board member at Special Operations Association of America, told Fox News Digital. 

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Milley said in congressional testimony in June 2021 that the U.S. would not see scenes reminiscent of the fall of Saigon in Vietnam, where U.S. personnel were being airlifted from rooftops.

"I don’t see Saigon 1975 in Afghanistan. The Taliban just aren’t the North Vietnamese Army."

Milley’s pardon was part of a group of preemptive pardons that included Anthony Fauci and members of the January 6th Committee. 

"My family and I are deeply grateful for the President’s action today,"  Milley said in reaction to the pardon. 

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He went on: "After 43 years of faithful service in uniform to our nation, protecting and defending the Constitution, I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights. I do not want to put my family, my friends, and those with whom I served through the resulting distraction, expense, and anxiety."

Jerry Dunleavy, former top investigator on the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Afghanistan probe, told Fox News Digital of the pardon: "Milley wrongly dismissed the obviously correct comparison between the fall of Saigon and the impending fall of Kabul, massively inflated size of the Afghan forces, woefully underestimated the speed and scope of Taliban district control, then pushed fiction that Afghanistan fell in only 11 days.

"After a disaster where 13 troops were murdered at Abbey Gate and the Taliban regained power, Milley then wrongly predicted Ukraine would fall to the Russians in just three days," he added, referring to remarks Milley made in a closed-door briefing with lawmakers. 

A New York Times reporter sparked controversy this week after suggesting in an article that President-elect Trump’s nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget, Russell T. Vough, helped promote a "unitary executive theory" ahead of Trump’s second term.

It drew sharp criticism on social media and among conservative analysts who argued the description of the theory was fundamentally untrue.

The report in question by Alan Rappeport focused on Vought’s nomination to head up OMB during Trump’s second presidency, a position he also held during Trump’s first term, and the work Vought did after Trump left office.

In the years after Trump's first term, the Times report says, Vought founded a conservative think tank and served as an architect of Project 2025, described in the report as an effort by conservative groups to help advance executive branch power. 

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The report says the legal underpinning of Project 2025 is "a maximalist version of the so-called unitary executive theory that rejects the idea that the government is composed of three separate branches" and "argues that presidential power over federal agencies is absolute." 

Though the article has since been updated to describe the unitary executive theory as three "separate but equal branches," the article was panned by conservatives and others who disagreed with the Times' characterization of the legal theory.

It was the second part of the statement in particular that sparked backlash from conservative commentators, including National Review editor Charles Cooke, who argued in an op-ed that the Constitution and its wording, in his view, is explicit about how the executive, legislative and judicial branches can exercise power and about the limitations of the executive branch. 

"The United States is a democratic republic in which elected officials are held accountable for their decisions," Cooke wrote in an op-ed for the National Review. 

TRUMP INAUGURATION GUEST LIST INCLUDES TECH TITANS MARK ZUCKERBERG, JEFF BEZOS, ELON MUSK

"The only elected official who holds power within the executive branch is the president. For anyone else to exercise power without the permission or endorsement of the sole electee would be to create a fourth branch of government, unmoored from oversight, and thereby to undermine the whole apparatus."

Others also took aim at the article on social media, arguing the Times reporter fundamentally misunderstood the unitary executive theory. 

"This is bad, even for the New York Times," Iowa law school professor Andy Grewal wrote in a widely-shared post on X.

The New York Times did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for a response.