President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Labor, former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., has left Republicans in the Senate with some questions over her pro-union stances, but at the same time, she has generated some interest from pro-labor Democrats. 

In particular, the moderate Republican will need to explain to Republicans her support for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), a controversial piece of legislation that was proposed a few years ago. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters that ‘support for the PRO Act is not something that most Republicans have tolerated in the past, but I think she’s attempted to address that, and my hope is that she can further clarify her position on some of those issues when she goes through the hearing process.’

The Protecting the Right to Organize Act was championed by Democrats and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters upon introduction. But others, such as most Republicans and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, opposed it. 

The legislation would effectively kill state-level laws that prohibit employers and unions from requiring workers to pay union dues as a condition of their employment. 

Chavez-DeRemer will have her hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) on Wednesday. 

One committee member she’ll have to answer to is Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has already said he doesn’t plan to support her. 

‘Her support for the Pro Act, which would not only oppose national right to work, but it would preempt state law on right to work. I think it’s not a good thing, and it’d be sort of hard for me since it’s a big issue for me to support her. So I won’t support her,’ the senator previously told reporters. 

This puts Chavez-DeRemer in a difficult position, as she will need to rely on Democrats to help her advance out of the HELP committee favorably if Paul follows through on his commitment to voting against her. 

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., who is far from the most pro-union Republican in the upper chamber, is full speed ahead in favor of Trump’s pick as Chavez-DeRemer gears up for her hearing and eventual committee vote. 

In a phone interview with Fox News Digital, he explained that he and Teamsters President Sean O’Brien were involved in Trump’s selection of her for the key Cabinet role. Mullin further detailed the significance of union members in Trump’s winning 2024 election coalition. 

He claimed Democrats have ‘come to us and actually said this is actually a really good pick’ because it puts them in a difficult position and is hard to vote against with her support among labor unions. 

The senator didn’t give away any names of Democrats that might see her appeal, however. 

Paul previously predicted he wouldn’t be the only one unwilling to back her in the Republican conference.

‘I think she’ll lose 15 Republicans and she’ll get 25 Democrats. She’s very pro-labor, she might get all the Democrats. Who knows? So, we’ll see,’ he said. 

If his vote leaves her nomination tied at the committee level, it could still be reported and scheduled for a floor vote, but without a favorable recommendation. In this case, she would need to amass 60 votes in the full Senate to move on to confirmation. 

With her appeal among labor groups, Chavez-DeRemer may manage to put together a 60-plus bipartisan coalition to be confirmed. 

While Paul predicted more than a dozen GOP defectors, Mullin said the real number is likely much smaller.

‘I haven’t heard from any other Republicans that are a ‘no.’ Rand is the only one,’ he said. 

‘I don’t think his numbers are accurate, even close,’ the Oklahoma Republican added. 

A representative for Chavez-DeRemer did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided millions of dollars in funding to extremist groups tied to designated terrorist organizations and their allies, according to a report published by Middle East Forum, a U.S. think tank.

‘The Middle East Forum’s multi-year study of USAID and State Department spending has uncovered $164 million of approved grants to radical organizations, with at least $122 million going to groups aligned with designated terrorists and their supporters,’ the conservative think tank wrote in its report published Feb. 4. 

‘Billions more of federal dollars have been given to leading American aid charities which have consistently failed to vet their terror-tied local partners, and show little interest in improving their practices, to the apparent indifference of the federal government.’

The Middle East Forum’s report focuses specifically on funds from USAID and the State Department that wound up in the hands of radical groups and organizations tied to terrorism.  

The think tank reported that among its top findings, USAID was found to have given more than $900,000 to a ‘Gaza-based terror charity’ called Bayader Association for Environment and Development. The funding began in 2016, and its most recent allocation was made just days before Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. 

Bayader describes itself as a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that works ‘to build a civil society’ on the Gaza Strip. 

‘Founded in 2007, shortly after Hamas’s takeover of the Gaza Strip, Bayader operates in close cooperation with the Hamas regime. Its 2021 annual report notes ‘coordination’ and ‘meetings’ with Hamas’s Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Social Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture,’ the report found. 

The funds were secured through other NGOs, such as Catholic Relief Services and medical groups. 

‘​​But USAID coordinates directly with Bayader as well,’ according to the report. ‘USAID officials have praised Bayader’s work on social media, and even visited Bayader’s offices, where one senior USAID official, Jonathan Kamin, received an award from the terror-linked charity.’ 

The report also found that USAID approved a $12.5 million grant in 2024 to the American Near East Refugee Agency, which is also ‘a long-standing partner’ of Bayader. The American Near East Refugee Agency is an NGO that was established in 1968 in an effort to assist refugees following the Arab-Israeli War. 

The report found staffers with the NGO have repeatedly and publicly posted ‘violent ideas, without apparent censure from top charity officials.’ The comments on social media posted by employees include: calling on God to ‘erase the Jews,’ expressing support for the ‘brave prisoners’ in Israeli jails during the Hamas-Israel war, and describing Oct. 7, 2023, as a ‘beautiful morning.’

Sam Westrop, the director of the Middle East Forum’s counter-extremism project, Islamist Watch, posted a highlight thread on X of the report’s findings, describing the examples as ‘horrifying.’

‘USAID won’t even tell us how much they gave the Unlimited Friends Association, a Gaza terror charity which operates with help from Hamas. The head of the charity promises to ‘cleanse’ their land of ‘impure Jews,’’ Westrop posted in the thread of an example. 

‘USAID gave millions to Islamic Relief, whose Gaza branch openly works with senior terrorist officials in Gaza, including Hamas politburo member Ghazi Hamad. who promised that Hamas would repeat Oct 7 attacks ‘time and again until Israel is annihilated,’’ he posted in another example from the report. 

USAID funds totaling $125,000 were found in the hands of the Islamic Relief Agency (ISRA) in 2015, despite the U.S. Treasury designating the group a global terrorist organization in 2004 due to its ties to Osama bin Laden. 

The report continued that USAID ‘undoubtedly knew of ISRA’s terrorism activities. In 2010, the executive director of ISRA’s U.S. branch (IARA-USA) and a board member pleaded guilty to money-laundering, theft of public funds, conspiracy, and several other charges. The plea was listed on USAID’s own website,’ the report found. IARA-USA stands for the Islamic American Relief Agency.

The funds were directed to ISRA via an evangelical charity called World Vision that works to provide clean water to areas of Sudan, according to the report. 

A World Vision official told Fox News Digital when asked about the report that the charity earned approval to work in Sudan ‘to help build a better world for the most vulnerable children and their families’ and that it takes ‘compliance obligations seriously.’

‘As soon as we became aware that a local partner, Islamic Relief Agency, might be on the list of organizations banned from transactions by the United States, we suspended the grant and asked the US Government to confirm its status,’ the official said. ‘We would never knowingly put those we serve or our staff at risk by working with a partner on the list of banned organizations. We exist to help build a better world for children and their families, serving in the name of Jesus Christ. We have no evidence that any of our funds have been used for anything other than urgent humanitarian work.’ 

‘As a Christian humanitarian organization, we do not compromise our beliefs nor commitment to integrity as we work with governments throughout the world,’ the official said. ‘It is not easy to operate in fragile contexts, yet this is where the Lord is calling us.  We remain committed to our vision of bringing life in all its fullness to vulnerable children around the world.’ 

Fox News Digital reached out to Bayader, the American Near East Refugee Agency and Catholic Relief Services but did not receive replies. 

USAID is under fire from the Trump administration as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its chair, Elon Musk, investigate the agency’s spending practices and prepare to revamp and potentially shutter the agency. USAID is currently led by interim director Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 

The agency announced on its website on Tuesday, Feb. 4, that nearly all personnel would be placed on leave by Friday, making a few exceptions for those in roles related to ‘mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.’ Its overseas missions reportedly also had been told to shut down.

Lawmakers, news outlets and think tanks have dug into past reports related to USAID spending amid the apparent dismantling of the agency, finding countless examples of money channeled to questionable organizations or programs, such as creating a version of ‘Sesame Street’ in Iraq or funding pottery classes in Morocco. 

USAID was established in 1961 under the Kennedy administration, operating as an independent agency that works closely with the State Department to allocate civilian foreign aid. Under Rubio, the agency could be abolished after its reorganization over the coming days, he said in a letter to bipartisan lawmakers on Feb. 3. 

‘In consultation with Congress, USAID may move, reorganize, and integrate certain missions, bureaus, and offices into the Department of State, and the remainder of the Agency may be abolished consistent with applicable law,’ Rubio wrote.

Musk, meanwhile, has posted on X that USAID is a ‘criminal organization’ and that it is ‘time for it to die.’

FBI records from the Mar-a-Lago classified documents probe will soon be released despite the dismissal of the case against President Donald Trump and his presidential immunity, according to a federal judge’s ruling Monday.

In a court filing first obtained by Politico, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell found that the FBI must disclose more information related to the case by Feb. 20. 

The decision concerned a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case brought by journalist Jason Leopold.

Leopold filed a request with the FBI in 2022 after reports that Trump during his first term ‘allegedly flushed some presidential records down the toilet when he was still in the White House and brought presidential records, including sensitive classified documents, to his personal residence in Florida,’ according to the filing.

The FBI asked the court to authorize withholding the records under Exemption 7A, which concerns ‘records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that production of such law enforcement records or information…could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.’

In light of the SCOTUS ruling on presidential immunity as well as Trump’s election win in November, Trump is exempt from criminal proceedings, but Howell found the documents could still be released because of that fact, as there are no law enforcement proceedings against him.

‘Somewhat ironically, the constitutional and procedural safeguards attached to the criminal process include significant confidentiality mechanisms…. with a parallel safeguard in Exemption 7(A) to help preserve the necessary confidentiality of ongoing criminal investigations leading to anticipated enforcement actions, but for an immune president, Exemption 7(A) may simply be unavailable, as it is here,’ Howell said.

‘Defendants’ motion for summary judgment seeking judgment in their favor as to the legality of relying on Exemption 7(A) to withhold entirely the FBI’s investigative files from the processing of the FOIA request at issue and to assert a Glomar response to the sixth category of requested information, must be denied, and plaintiff’s cross motion for summary judgment as to these legal issues is granted,’ the decision concluded. ‘The parties are directed to submit jointly, by February 20, 2025, a status report proposing a schedule to govern future proceedings to conclude this case expeditiously.’

Howell also noted that though Trump is immune from prosecution, anyone who may have helped to ‘aid, abet and execute criminal acts,’ is not.

‘Of course, while the Supreme Court has provided a protective and presumptive immunity cloak for a president’s conduct, that cloak is not so large to extend to those who aid, abet and execute criminal acts on behalf of a criminally immune president,’ Howell wrote in a footnote. ‘The excuse offered after World War II by enablers of the fascist Nazi regime of ‘just following orders’ has long been rejected in this country’s jurisprudence.’

President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Tulsi Gabbard, cleared her last procedural hurdle on Monday evening, paving the way for a final confirmation vote later this week. 

The motion passed by a vote of 52-46, along party lines. 

At one time considered perhaps the most vulnerable of Trump’s picks, the former Democratic congresswoman got past another key vote, defeating the legislative filibuster’s threshold on nominations.

The Monday vote’s outcome was much more certain than that of her Senate Select Committee on Intelligence vote last week, which depended on a handful of senators who had potentially lingering concerns. 

But Republicans signaled confidence in her confirmation in the full Senate, evidenced by their slating it while Vice President JD Vance is in Europe representing the U.S. at events and meetings, and is not around to break a tie in the upper chamber. Vance notably had to break a tie to confirm Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. 

The vote teed up a final confirmation vote on Wednesday, as Democrats are expected to use all 30 hours of post-cloture time to debate, rather than reaching a time agreement with Republicans to expedite it. 

Gabbard advanced out of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence last week, snagging the support of crucial GOP Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Todd Young, R-Ind.

In a final vote, Gabbard can only lose 3 Republican votes, assuming she does not get any Democratic support, as was the case in the committee vote. 

Gabbard already has an advantage over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as Collins supports her. The senator was notably one of three votes against Hegseth. 

President Donald Trump said if Hamas does not return all hostages by noon on Saturday, he will call for the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to be canceled and ‘let all hell break out.’ 

Trump made the comments after signing executive orders in the Oval Office Monday evening. 

When asked if he felt the ceasefire deal should be canceled, the president said that is ‘Israel’s decision.’ 

‘If all the Gaza hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 p.m., I would say cancel the ceasefire,’ Trump said in the Oval Office. ‘Let all hell break out; Israel can override it.’ 

Trump stressed that Hamas needs to release ‘all of them—not in drips and drabs.’ 

‘Saturday at 12pm and after that, I would say, all hell is going to break loose,’ Trump said.  

A Hamas spokesperson said Monday that the terrorist group will delay the next planned release of hostages in the Gaza Strip after accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement.

‘Over the past three weeks, the resistance leadership has monitored the enemy’s violations and failure to fulfill its obligations under the agreement; including the delay in allowing the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip, targeting them with direct shelling and gunfire in various areas across Gaza, and denying relief supplies of all kinds to enter as agreed, while the resistance has implemented all its obligations,’ Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for Hamas’ military wing, said. 

‘Therefore, the release of the Zionist prisoners next Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, will be postponed until further notice, and until the occupation commits to and provides compensation for the entitlements of the past weeks retroactively,’ he said. ‘We reaffirm our commitment to the terms of the agreement, as long as the occupation remains committed to them.’

Israel and Hamas are in the midst of a six-week ceasefire, during which Hamas has committed to releasing 33 hostages captured in its Oct. 7, 2023 attack in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

The sides have carried out five swaps since the ceasefire went into effect last month, freeing 21 hostages and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners. The next exchange, scheduled for next Saturday, calls for three more Israeli hostages to be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

‘Hamas’ announcement to stop the release of Israeli hostages is a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement and the hostage release deal,’ Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday. ‘I have instructed the [Israeli Defense Forces] IDF to maintain the highest level of readiness for any possible scenario in Gaza and to fortify the defense of Israeli communities. We will not allow a return to the reality of Oct. 7.’

Hamas released three gaunt, frail-looking Israeli hostages – civilians Eli Sharabi, 52; Or Levy, 34, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56 – on Saturday after forcing them to speak at a handover ceremony. Israel in turn freed 183 Palestinian prisoners that day. 

On Sunday, Trump commented on the conditions of the released Israeli hostages, saying they ‘looked like Holocaust survivors’ and ‘like they haven’t had a meal in a month.’

‘I don’t know how much longer we can take that,’ Trump said, referring to the treatment of the hostages, adding, ‘You know, at some point, we’re gonna lose our patience.’

Fox News’ Danielle Wallace, Yonat Friling and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Democratic lawmakers are fuming over the ‘DOGE boys’ and their recent crackdown on federal spending, holding a rally outside the newly formed cost-cutting department’s potential next target: the Social Security Administration (SSA).

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, has been working with federal agencies to identify and cut wasteful spending. Most recently, the group began probing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for potential fraud — a move that wasn’t welcomed by Democratic lawmakers who warned that the SSA could be the next agency on the target list.

On Monday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Ma., Rep. Johnny Olszewski, D-Ma., and Rep. Sarah Elfreth, D-Ma., gathered for a rally outside the SSA headquarters in Baltimore to criticize DOGE’s efforts.

‘Every time you hear DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, you just remember it is the department of government evil,’ said Mfume, a Maryland-based Democrat.

Fox News Digital previously reported that according to Just Facts, a nonprofit research institute, SSA disbursed roughly $2 billion in fraudulent or improper payments in 2022, which it calculated was enough ‘to pay 89,947 retired workers the average annual old-age benefit of $21,924 for 2023.’

Democrats, however, have claimed that Americans’ Social Security benefits could be targeted. 

‘We have one simple message, which is: Elon Musk, keep your hands off our Social Security,’ Van Hollen told the crowd. 

‘Over the last 21 days, we have seen Elon Musk conducting illegal raids on federal agencies with his DOGE crew,’ the senator said. ‘This is a recipe for corruption by the DOGE boys.’

Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Ma., speaking during the rally, claimed that ‘the intention of this administration is to make us feel demoralized, to make many of us feel frightened, to incite fear, to silence people.’

Many of DOGE’s targets have ranged from canceling a number of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at federal agencies to consolidating duplicative agencies and programs.

DOGE, as of the end of January, said that it was saving the federal government $1 billion a day, mostly by ‘stopping the hiring of people into unnecessary positions, deletion of DEI and stopping improper payments to foreign organizations, all consistent with the President’s Executive Orders.’

The efforts have been widely rejected by Democratic lawmakers, who have been gathering outside government agency headquarters in protest of the DOGE agenda.

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller and Eric Revell contributed to this report.

Judges across the country have taken action to block President Donald Trump’s agenda since he took office in January. Vice President JD Vance triggered a social media frenzy on Sunday by affirming his support for Trump’s executive authority. 

‘If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal,’ Vance posted on X. ‘If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal. Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.’

Vance’s comments followed a ruling that blocked the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing personal data. Judges in New Hampshire, Seattle and Maryland have blocked Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. New York Attorney General Leitita James advised hospitals to ignore Trump’s executive order ending sex change procedures for minors. 

Democrats were quick to lash out at Vance on social media on Sunday, equating his comments to ‘tyranny’ and ‘lawlessness.’ Illinois Gov. JV Pritzker, a potential 2028 presidential contender, said Vance’s comments mean ‘the Trump administration intends to break the law.’

‘JD Vance is saying the quiet part out loud: the Trump administration intends to break the law. America is a nation of laws. The courts make sure we follow the laws. The VP doesn’t control the courts, and the President cannot ignore the Constitution. No one is above the law,’ Pritzker said.

Pete Buttigieg, former Transportation secretary and a 2020 presidential candidate, said the vice president does not decide what is legal. 

‘In America, decisions about what is legal and illegal are made by courts of law. Not by the Vice President,’ Buttigieg said. 

Liz Cheney, the former Republican congresswoman who led the Jan. 6 Select Committee and campaigned for former Vice President Kamala Harris, accused Vance of tyranny. 

David Hogg, the first Gen Z vice chair of the Democratic Party, said Vance’s comments are a power grab by the executive branch.

‘He’s saying this to normalize a power grab by the executive to consolidate the power of the president and make him a king,’ Hogg said. ‘If liberals ever said this, conservatives would (rightfully) lose their godd— minds.’

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy called Vance’s comments the ‘meat’ of the current ‘constitutional crisis.’

‘For those of us who believe we are in the middle of a constitutional crisis, this is the meat of it,’ Murphy said on X. ‘Trump and Vance are laying the groundwork to ignore the courts – democracy’s last line of defense against unchecked executive power.’

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the first-term senator whom Trump nicknamed ‘Schifty Schiff’ on the campaign trail, said Vance’s comment ‘puts us on a dangerous path to lawlessness.’

‘JD, we both went to law school. But we don’t have to be lawyers to know that ignoring court decisions we don’t like puts us on a dangerous path to lawlessness. We just have to swear an oath to the constitution. And mean it,’ Sen. Adam Schiff, D-CA, responded. 

Some conservatives fired back at the onslaught of comments. Columnist Kurt Schlichter jumped into the conversation, implying Schiff is a bad lawyer. 

Jed Rubenfeld, a Yale Law School professor, lawyer and constitutional scholar, said he agreed with Vance that judges cannot ‘constitutionally interfere.’

‘JD is correct about this, and his examples are exactly right,’ Rubenfeld said. ‘Where the Executive has sole and plenary power under the Constitution – as in commanding military operations or exercising prosecutorial discretion – judges cannot constitutionally interfere.’

More X users, who joined the debate, said Vance and his supporters’ comments are ironic. AJ Delgado, a self-described ‘MAGA original but now proudly anti-Trump,’ said those attacking Vance lacked principle. 

‘Weren’t you all cheering when a federal judge halted Biden’s student loan forgiveness? You have ZERO principles,’ she wrote on X. 

When the Supreme Court ruled against President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, he did not waver in his commitment to relieving student debt, vowing ‘to keep going’ despite the court’s order. 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., during a February 2024 episode of ‘Pod Save America,’ gave credit to Biden for finding alternative ways to alleviate student loan debt.

‘Whatever tools he’s got, he’s sharpening and building some new tools through his Department of Education. We are now at about just a little shy of 4 million people who have had their student loan debt canceled. Joe Biden is just staying after it,’ Warren said.