Secretary of State Marco Rubio is planning to merge the responsibilities of the Palestinian Affairs Office into the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem in an effort to continue a diplomatic mission in Israel’s capital that was put in place by President Donald Trump during his first term in office.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce announced Rubio’s decision during a press briefing Tuesday.

‘Secretary Rubio has decided to merge the responsibilities of the office of the Palestinian Affairs Office fully into other sections of the United States Embassy in Jerusalem,’ Bruce said. ‘This decision will restore the first Trump-term framework of a unified U.S. diplomatic mission in Israel’s capital that reports to the U.S. ambassador to Israel.’

She added that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will begin to make the necessary changes to implement the merger over the coming weeks.

‘The United States remains committed to its historic relationship with Israel, bolstering Israel’s security and securing peace to create a better life for the entire region,’ Bruce said.

The Biden administration established the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs in 2022 after reversing Trump’s closure of the consulate to the Palestinians in Jerusalem during his first administration.

Biden’s move was viewed by some as rewarding the Palestinian leadership after a wave of terrorism during which two Palestinians wielding an ax and knife murdered three Israelis in the town of Elad in May 2022.

The first Trump administration helped to negotiate groundbreaking agreements, called the Abraham Accords, in 2020 to normalize diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.

The Israeli government vehemently opposed a reopening of the Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem because it would undercut the holy city as the undivided capital of Israel.

The U.S. Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and calls for it to remain an undivided city. 

Trump, in 2017, recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017 and moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem the following year.

Fox News’ Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s sudden halt to U.S. airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi militants is drawing praise as a potential breakthrough – and doubts over whether it will last.

Trump on Tuesday at the Oval Office marked the formal end of ‘Operation Rough Rider,’ a 50-day bombing campaign that targeted more than 1,000 sites across Yemen.

‘The Houthis have announced that they don’t want to fight anymore,’ Trump said during remarks at the White House. ‘They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore. And that’s what the purpose of what we were doing. So… we will stop the bombings.’

Bard Al-busaidi, the foreign minister of Oman, who has been involved in peace negotiations, confirmed that talks had led to a ceasefire agreement. ‘In the future, neither side will target the other, including American vessels, in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, ensuring freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping.’

While Trump portrayed the ceasefire as a straightforward military win, experts say the path to this moment was built on deliberate diplomatic escalation – namely, a dual-pronged threat against both the Houthis and their Iranian backers.

‘This was about linking Houthi aggression directly to Iran,’ said Can Kasapoglu, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. ‘The Trump administration signaled clearly: any further attacks would bring consequences for Tehran as well. That was the actual key to success.’

The campaign’s origin in March followed a surge in Houthi attacks on international shipping and the dramatic escalation last weekend, when a missile from Houthi-controlled territory landed near Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport. That prompted a retaliatory Israeli airstrike on Yemen’s main airport in Sana’a, which military officials say crippled Houthi air capabilities.

Lt. Col. Eric Navarro, director of the Red Sea security initiative at the Middle East Forum, called the ceasefire ‘a product of overwhelming pressure,’ pointing to precision U.S. strikes on Houthi command-and-control infrastructure and weapons depots, paired with Israeli air assaults.

‘They saw the writing on the wall,’ Navarro said. ‘I would argue that this is the kind of pressure that needs to be applied over time – not just to the Houthis, but also to the Iranian regime.’

From a military standpoint, Trump’s campaign leveraged significant assets, including bombers flying from Diego Garcia and two U.S. aircraft carriers operating in the region. That show of force, combined with clear diplomatic signaling, appears to have catalyzed the ceasefire – at least for now.

Still, not all analysts see the Houthis as a grave threat or the campaign as a necessary use of force.

‘Trump’s surprise announcement that the U.S. will stop airstrikes against the Houthis is the right decision, regardless of whether the group stops targeting U.S. vessels,’ said Rosemary Kelanic, director of the Middle East program at Defense Priorities. ‘The Houthi threat was always more hype than substance.’

Kelanic argued the group’s attacks on shipping ‘neither damaged the U.S. economy nor contributed to inflation, which actually went down during the militant group’s assaults throughout the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.’ In her view, ‘the Houthis’ biggest achievement was tricking the U.S. into wasting some $7 billion of its own resources by bombing them.’

‘Trump’s bold choice shows there are offramps from endless escalation in the Middle East,’ she added.

Jon Hoffman, a research fellow in defense and foreign policy at the Cato Institute, said, ‘Washington’s open-ended and congressionally unauthorized strikes against the Houthis for targeting shipping in the Red Sea was the epitome of strategic malpractice, neglecting the origins of the conflict (the war in Gaza) and failing to deter the group while squandering billions in taxpayer dollars.’

Military analysts remain skeptical about the Houthis’ long-term reliability. 

‘I am always worried about groups like the Houthis sticking to anything they say,’ said Navarro, warning that the ceasefire could simply be a pause to rebuild their capabilities. ‘We need to remain vigilant… and adopt a broader strategy that includes not just military tools, but economic and informational pressure, and support for local alternatives to Houthi control in Yemen.’

Still, the Trump administration is framing the halt as a strategic victory that demonstrates how military power, when wielded with diplomatic clarity, can yield tangible political results.

‘Massive WIN. President Trump promised to restore the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, and he used great American strength to swiftly deliver on that promise. The world is safer with President Trump in charge,’ said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. 

‘If they can deliver this,’ said Kasapoglu, ‘it would be a major, major victory for the Trump administration.’

Whether the ceasefire holds – or proves to be merely a lull in a longer conflict – remains to be seen. But for now, the bombs have stopped, and Washington is claiming a win.

Sen. Thom Tillis’ office brushed off concern that a left-wing court could select an interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia after the North Carolina Republican bucked President Donald Trump’s pick for the role, putting the onus on the Trump administration to select a successor and avoid involvement from federal judges. 

Tillis, R-N.C., sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is overseeing the confirmation process of Ed Martin, Trump’s pick to serve as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Martin has served as interim U.S. attorney since Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration but is facing a May 20 deadline to be confirmed. 

Martin met with Senate lawmakers Monday, and Tillis told reporters Tuesday he wouldn’t support the nomination. The committee, composed of 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats, has not yet scheduled a vote on Martin’s nomination. 

‘I’ve indicated to the White House I wouldn’t support his nomination,’ Tillis told reporters Tuesday. 

If an interim U.S. attorney is not confirmed by the Senate within 120 days, however, judges on the federal district court for that district could name a new interim U.S. attorney until the role is filled. Trump antagonist Judge James Boasberg, an Obama-appointed judge at the center of legal efforts targeting Trump’s deportation efforts, is the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. 

When asked if Tillis is comfortable with the left-wing court picking an interim U.S. attorney, his office told Fox New Digital it is the office’s understanding that Attorney General Pam Bondi can pick an acting replacement, bypassing involvement from federal judges. 

‘Our understanding is that if the Senate does not confirm a U.S. attorney before an acting U.S. attorney’s term expires, the attorney general can still pick the next acting replacement as long as it is done before the original appointment expires under 28 USC 546,’ a spokesman for Tillis’ office told Fox News Digital Tuesday. 

Tillis’ office referred Fox News Digital to 28 U.S. Code § 546, which says, ‘If an appointment expires under subsection (c)(2), the district court for such district may appoint a United States attorney to serve until the vacancy is filled. The order of appointment by the court shall be filed with the clerk of the court.’

Martin previously worked as a defense attorney and represented Americans charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, which Tillis took issue with when speaking with reporters Tuesday. 

‘Mr. Martin did a good job of explaining the one area that I think he’s probably right, that there were some people that were over-prosecuted, but there were some, 200 or 300 of them that should have never gotten a pardon,’ Tillis said. ‘If Mr. Martin were being put forth as a U.S. attorney for any district except the district where Jan. 6 happened, the protest happened, I’d probably support him, but not in this district.’

Tillis previously has railed against the Jan. 6 protests, when Trump supporters breached the U.S. Capitol after the 2020 election. Tillis criticized Trump in January when the president granted clemency to more than 1,500 Jan. 6 criminal defendants upon taking office.

‘Anybody who committed violence, like the violence in Kenosha and the violence in Portland before them, should be in prison — period, full stop,’ Tillis said after the pardons. ‘That segment of pardons — I’m as disappointed as I am with all the pardons that Biden did.’

Trump and his administration have rallied support for Martin as his confirmation process comes down to the wire. 

‘His approval is IMPERATIVE in terms of doing all that has to be done to SAVE LIVES and to, MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN,’ Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social.

‘Ed Martin will be a big player in doing so and, I hope, that the Republican Senators will make a commitment to his approval, which is now before them.’

Fox News Digital exclusively reported Monday that 23 state attorneys general additionally sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, calling on lawmakers to swiftly confirm Martin as U.S. attorney.

‘To put it bluntly, the District of Columbia is broken,’ the letter, sent Monday, states. ‘And four years of alleged corruption, mismanagement, and derelictions of duty in the U.S. Attorney’s Office under President Biden’s appointees are in many ways to blame. The District should be made safe again. The District should have a U.S. Attorney who replaces the rule of lawfare with the rule of law. Ed Martin is the man to achieve those goals. We strongly encourage the Senate to confirm him at the earliest possible date.’ 

‘I am proud to lead this effort to support Ed Martin because he’s a proven leader who is already devoting all of his time to restoring the rule of law in our nation’s capital,’ Indiana Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita, who spearheaded the letter, told Fox Digital of his support for Martin. 

‘His bold actions have had an immediate impact, which sent the disreputable D.C. news media into a full-blown meltdown. The Senate must act swiftly to confirm him and ensure his critical work continues uninterrupted.’

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called out the Biden administration for allegedly neglecting a government agency’s report about the poor state of the air traffic control system.

In an X post on Tuesday, Duffy shared an excerpt from a report published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) entitled ‘Air Traffic Control: FAA Actions Are Urgently Needed to Modernize Aging Systems.’ The report was published on Sept. 24, 2024.

‘A government watchdog warned Biden & Buttigieg about the failing air traffic control system,’ Duffy wrote. 

‘Look at this report. They knew the air traffic control system was strained AND STILL DID NOTHING!’

Duffy went on to say that he was working with President Donald Trump to modernize the system.

‘Working with @POTUS, we are going to do what no administration has done: deliver an all-new, envy of the world ATC system,’ he concluded.

In the passage that Duffy highlighted, the report noted that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ‘has been slow to modernize some of the most critical and at-risk systems.’ 

‘Specifically, when considering age, sustainability ratings, operational impact level, and expected date of modernization or replacement for each system, as of May 2024, FAA had 17 systems that were especially concerning,’ the report said. 

‘The 17 systems range from as few as 2 years old to as many as 50 years old, are unsustainable, and are critical to the safety and efficiency of the national airspace.’

Duffy’s comments came amid several chaotic events concerning U.S. air space in recent days. Newark Liberty International Airport, a major travel hub in the New York City metropolitan area, has suffered hundreds of delays and cancellations since last week. 

On Monday, a damning report found that FAA air traffic controllers in Philadelphia briefly lost radar and radio signals while guiding planes to Newark Airport last week.

Duffy appeared on Fox News Channel’s ‘The Story’ on Tuesday to discuss the developments, telling host Martha MacCallum that the last presidential administration was aware of the issues.

‘It wasn’t shocking to Joe Biden and it wasn’t shocking to Pete Buttigieg,’ Duffy said. ‘They knew we had an old system. They saw the GAO report saying it was about to fail.’

The government official went on to say that he plans to introduce legislation to Congress about the issue shortly.

‘[In January] I started digging into the FAA and realized it wasn’t just one small part of the infrastructure. It was the whole infrastructure that had to be built brand new,’ Duffy explained. ‘And so I’ve developed a plan. I’ve talked to the president. He has signed off on the plan.’

India said it attacked ‘terrorist infrastructure’ in neighboring Pakistan on Tuesday and two of its occupied territories.

Indian armed forces launched ‘Operation Sindoor,’ which targeted terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed, the Press Information Bureau of India said in a statement. 

‘Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature,’ the statement said. ‘No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution.’

The military action comes amid tense relations between the nuclear-armed states following an April 22 attack that killed 26 people. 

The attack targeted Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir, the worst such assault on civilians in India in nearly two decades, Reuters reported. 

This story is breaking. Please check back for updates.

A scheduled vote on making President Donald Trump’s Gulf of America name change permanent is causing some heartburn within the House GOP conference.

Multiple House Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital said they were frustrated by House GOP leaders’ decision to spend time voting on what they saw as a largely symbolic gesture in an otherwise light legislative week. It comes as GOP negotiators work behind the scenes to iron out divisions on Medicaid, tax policy and green energy subsidies in time to pass Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ by the Fourth of July.

‘This is a time where we should be in our districts, going to graduations, making sure that we’re listening to folks who have tariff issues,’ a more moderate GOP lawmaker, granted anonymity to speak freely, told Fox News Digital. 

‘Instead, we’re going to spend time doing this… it’s frustrating for somebody who’s got a lot of pragmatic legislation, waiting in the queue to be heard. Instead, we’re doing posture bills. It’s not what I came here to do.’

But the frustration is not limited to moderate and mainstream Republicans. One conservative GOP lawmaker vented to Fox News Digital, ‘125 other [executive orders], this is the one we pick.’

‘Folks are upset that we’re not doing something more important,’ the conservative lawmaker said.

Two sources familiar with House Republicans’ whip team meeting said at least three GOP lawmakers aired concerns about the bill — Reps. Don Bacon, R-Neb., Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., and Glenn Grothman, R-Wis.

One of the sources described their sentiments as, ‘They just think it’s kind of frivolous or not serious.’

‘I’ve heard criticisms from all corners of the conference. Conservatives to pragmatic ones,’ Bacon told Fox News Digital. ‘It seems sophomoric. The United States is bigger and better than this.’

Bacon is among the Republicans pushing hard for a restrained hand on Medicaid cuts in Trump’s multitrillion-dollar bill, while other GOP lawmakers are pushing for more significant cuts.

Grothman would not confirm or deny his concerns, telling Fox News Digital, ‘That’s behind-the-scenes stuff.’

Obernolte’s office did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

While the concerns have not come from a large number of the overall conference, any degree of defections is significant with the GOP’s razor-thin House majority.

With all lawmakers present in the chamber, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can currently lose up to three votes to still pass something along party lines.

It’s also a sign of Trump’s continued dominance on Capitol Hill starting to wear on some Republican lawmakers.

It’s not clear that the lawmakers who expressed concerns will vote against the final bill, however, particularly with pressure from House GOP leaders.

A third House Republican who spoke with Fox News Digital anonymously acknowledged the frustrations, but nevertheless said, ‘It’s not the hill to die on.’

Meanwhile, Trump allies have defended the bill as a core part of the president’s agenda. Trump himself has touted his ‘Gulf of America’ name change several times, and even proclaimed Feb. 9 to be ‘Gulf of America Day.’

It’s worth noting that congressional Republicans have passed several bills promoting Trump’s agenda already, including resolutions to roll back key Biden administration policies.

The budget reconciliation package, Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill,’ is GOP negotiators’ current priority.

The Gulf of America Act was introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a top Trump ally. 

When reached for comment on some GOP lawmakers’ concerns, Greene told Fox News Digital, ‘Codifying the rightful renaming of the Gulf of America isn’t just a priority for me and President Trump, it’s a priority for the American people. American taxpayers fund its protection, our military defends its waters, and American businesses fuel its economy. My bill advances President Trump’s America First agenda.’

‘If certain moderate Republicans want to start elsewhere, where do they suggest?’ she continued. ‘I have bills ready for all of it. But let’s be clear, we should be voting to codify every single executive order President Trump issues.’

The House is also voting on a bill this week cracking down on Chinese influence in the U.S. through Confucious Institutes.

The bill is currently slated to get a vote on Thursday morning, and Johnson promoted it during his House GOP leadership press conference on Tuesday.

‘We’re going to pass Marjorie Taylor Greene’s bill to permanently rename the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America. And then we’re going to codify dozens more of President Trump’s budget-related executive orders, spending-related executive orders through the budget reconciliation process,’ the speaker said.

Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., posted on X in response to the speaker, ‘This will be a tremendous economic driver for my district. Families across the country will flock to the Florida Panhandle to be the FIRST to enjoy the Gulf of AMERICA!’

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Tensions on the Supreme Court have flared this term as justices have clashed with each other and with lawyers at oral arguments amid a wave of Trump-era emergency appeals. 

These exchanges at any other forum would hardly even raise an eyebrow. But at the Supreme Court, where decorum and respect are bedrock principles and underpin even the most casual cross-talk between justices, these recent clashes are significant. 

After one particularly acrimonious exchange, several longtime Supreme Court watchers noted that the behavior displayed was unlike anything they’d seen in ‘decades’ of covering the high court.

Here are two high-profile Supreme Court spats that have made headlines in recent weeks.

Mahmoud v. Taylor

Last month, Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor quarreled briefly during oral arguments in Mahmoud v. Taylor, a case focused on LGBTQ-related books in elementary schools and whether parents with religious objections can ‘opt out’ children being read such material. 

The exhange occurred when Sotomayor asked Mahmoud attorney Eric Baxter about a book titled ‘Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,’ a story that invoked a same-sex relationship. Sotomayor asked Baxter whether exposure to same-sex relationships in children’s books like the one in question should be considered ‘coercion.’

Baxter began responding when Alito chimed in.

‘I’ve read that book as well as a lot of these other books,’ Alito said. ‘Do you think it’s fair to say that all that is done in ‘Uncle Bobby’s Wedding’ is to expose children to the fact that there are men who marry other men?’

After Baxter objected, Alito noted that the book in question ‘has a clear message’ but one that some individuals with ‘traditional religious beliefs don’t agree with.’

Sotomayor jumped in partway through Alito’s objection, ‘What a minute, the reservation is – ‘

‘Can I finish?’ Alito said to Sotomayor in a rare moment of frustration. 

He continued, ‘It has a clear moral message, and it may be a good message. It’s just a message that a lot of religious people disagree with.’

‘There is a growing heat to the exchanges between the justices,’ Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley observed on social media after the exchange. 

A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools

The Sotomayor-Alito spat made some court-watchers uncomfortable. But it paled in comparison to the heated, tense exchange that played out just one week later between Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and Lisa Blatt, a litigator from the firm Williams & Connolly.

The exchange took place during oral arguments in A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools, a case about whether school districts can be held liable for discriminating against students with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 

Gorsuch scolded Blatt, an experienced Supreme Court litigator who was representing the public schools in the case, after she accused the other side of ‘lying.’ 

What played out was a remarkably heated exchange, if only by Supreme Court standards. Several court observers noted that they had never seen Gorsuch so angry, and others remarked they had never seen counsel accuse the other side of ‘lying.’

‘You believe that Mr. Martinez and the Solicitor General are lying? Is that your accusation?’ Gorsuch asked Blatt, who fired back, ‘Yes, absolutely.’

 Counsel ‘should be more careful with their words,’ Gorsuch told Blatt in an early tone of warning.

‘OK, well, they should be more careful in mischaracterizing a position by an experienced advocate of the Supreme Court, with all due respect,’ Blatt responded.

Several minutes later, Gorsuch referenced the lying accusation again, ‘Ms. Blatt, I confess I’m still troubled by your suggestion that your friends on the other side have lied.’

‘I’d ask you to reconsider that phrase,’ he said. ‘You can accuse people of being incorrect, but lying, lying is another matter.’

He then began to read through quotations that she had entered before the court, before she interrupted again. 

‘I’m not finished,’ Gorsuch told Blatt, raising his voice.

‘Fine,’ she responded.

Shortly after, Gorsuch asked Blatt to withdraw her earlier remarks that accused the other side of lying.

‘Withdraw your accusation, Ms. Blatt,’ Gorsuch said.

‘Fine, I withdraw,’ she shot back.

Plaintiffs said in rebuttal that they would not dignify the name-calling.

The exchange sparked some buzz online, including from an experienced appeals court litigator, Raffi Melkonian, who wrote on social media, ‘I’ve never heard Justice Gorsuch so angry.’

‘Both of those moments literally stopped me in my tracks,’ said Steve Vladeck, a professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. ‘You might want to listen somewhere where you can cringe in peace.’

‪Mark Joseph Stern‬, a court reporter for Slate, described the exchange as ‘extremely tense’ and described Blatt’s behavior as ‘indignant and unrepentant.’

The governors of six northeastern U.S. states have invited the premiers of six Canadian provinces to meet in Boston as both sides face the impacts of tariffs.

President Donald Trump’s policy of imposing tariffs on products imported from America’s northern neighbor and other nations has sparked controversy both in the U.S. and abroad.

The group of governors includes five Democrats — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, and Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee — and one Republican — Vermont Gov. Phil Scott.

The governors are inviting the premiers of the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Québec, Healey and Mills press releases indicate.

‘While the international uproar over tariffs threatens to upend the economies of our respective communities, we write to reaffirm our friendship and unique interdependence. Ours is a cherished relationship that is founded not only on mutual financial advantages but also on centuries-old familial and cultural bonds that supersede politics,’  the U.S. politicians said in their invitation.

‘As Governors of the Northeast, we want to keep open lines of communication and cooperation and identify avenues to overcome the hardship of these uninvited tariffs and help our economies endure. As we continue to navigate this period of great uncertainty, we are committed to preserving cross border travel, encouraging tourism in our respective jurisdictions, and promoting each other’s advantages and amenities,’ they noted.

Trump, who has repeatedly indicated that he would like Canada to become America’s 51st state, is meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday.

‘Meet the Press’ moderator Kristen Welker asked Trump if he would speak to Carney about making the country the 51st state. 

‘I’ll always talk about that. You know why? We subsidize Canada to the tune of $200 billion dollars a year. We don’t need their cars, in fact we don’t want their cars. We don’t need their energy, we don’t even want their energy, we have more than they do. We don’t want their lumber, we have great lumber, all I have to do is free it up from the environmental lunatics. We don’t need anything that they have,’ Trump declared.

Mills said that the economic and cultural relationships between the U.S. and Canada have been ‘strained by the president’s haphazard tariffs and harmful rhetoric targeting our northern neighbors,’ according to the press releases.