Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is hosting an in-person town hall in Jackson Heights, Queens, on Friday night amid speculation she is considering a 2028 presidential run. 

After speaking at a May Day protest in New York City on Thursday, rejecting Trump’s agenda and warning protesters that Republicans ‘are going after Medicaid next,’ Ocasio-Cortez is returning home to New York’s 14th congressional district to ‘share updates on her work in D.C., provide important constituent updates, and take questions from the audience.’

Ocasio-Cortez has been jet-setting across the United States with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on his ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour. The campaign confirmed to Fox News Digital that Friday night’s town hall was originally scheduled for the April congressional recess, but had to be rescheduled because Ocasio-Cortez was sick. She posted an Instagram story two weeks ago apologizing for canceling. 

Earlier this week, Ocasio-Cortez did not rule out 2028 presidential aspirations when asked by Fox News Digital about the viral video that had pundits guessing whether she were soft-launching her campaign. 

‘I think what people should be most concerned about is the fact that Republicans are trying to cut Medicaid right now, and people’s healthcare is in danger. That’s really what my central focus is,’ the New York Democrat said when asked whether she is considering a run for president, despite President Donald Trump’s assurances that he wouldn’t cut Medicaid. 

‘This moment isn’t about campaigns, or elections, or about politics. It’s about making sure people are protected, and we’ve got people that are getting locked up for exercising their First Amendment rights. We’re getting two-year-olds that are getting deported into cells in Honduras. We’re getting people that are about to get kicked off of Medicaid. That, to me, is most important,’ Ocasio-Cortez said on Capitol Hill on Trump’s 100th day in office. 

Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign account posted a video on X last week that invigorated those rumors as the four-term Democrat from New York City and a progressive leader proclaimed, ‘We are one.’

‘I’m a girl from the Bronx,’ Ocasio-Cortez said on a campaign-style stage in Idaho. ‘To be welcomed here in this state, all of us together, seeing our common cause, this is what this country is all about.’

Americans reposted Ocasio-Cortez’s video across X, pointing to the video as proof of her 2028 presidential ambitions. ‘Get ready America. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will almost undoubtedly run for president in 2028,’ political reporter Eric Daugherty said in response to the video. 

As rumors swirl over Ocasio-Cortez’s ambition for higher office, back at home in New York, a Siena College poll found that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s favorability is down, at 39% among New York state voters questioned in the poll, which was conducted April 14 through 16. Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez’s favorability soared to 47%.

The longtime senator from New York faced pushback from the Democratic Party in March for supporting the Republican budget bill backed by Trump that averted a government shutdown and stirred up outrage among congressional Democrats who planned to boycott the bill.

That growing disapproval among Democrats was reflected in the poll, and the shifting perception comes as DNC vice chair David Hogg, through his political arm, Leaders We Deserve, faced blowback from the DNC for investing $20 million into electing younger Democrats to safe House Democrat seats.

Ocasio-Cortez raked in a massive $9.6 million over the past three months. The record-breaking fundraising haul was one of the biggest ever for any House lawmaker. Ocasio-Cortez’s team highlighted that the fundraising came from 266,000 individual donors, with an average contribution of just $21.

‘I cannot convey enough how grateful I am to the millions of people supporting us with your time, resources, & energy. Your support has allowed us to rally people together at record scale to organize their communities,’ Ocasio-Cortez emphasized in a social media post.

Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment about the 2028 presidential speculation. 

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

The same day that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz exited his job at the White House, President Donald Trump announced a new job offer for the former Florida congressman: United Nations ambassador. 

But there are some hurdles Waltz must clear first before the New York job is his — including undergoing a Senate confirmation process amid scrutiny after the Atlantic magazine exposed a Signal group chat that his team had set up to discuss strikes against the Houthis in March. 

And receiving full support from the slim Republican majority in the Senate isn’t guaranteed, and not all Republicans got on board backing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Vice President JD Vance ultimately cast the tie-breaking vote securing Hegseth’s nomination. 

Democrats appear hungry to use Waltz’s nomination as a forum to air grievances against other foreign policy leaders in the Trump administration — particularly Hegseth. 

Still, Waltz’snomination to represent the U.S. at the U.N. will likely attract support from establishment Republicans in the Senate who weren’t on board with Hegseth in the Pentagon, given that the ideological divide between these Republicans and Waltz is much smaller than it was in Hegseth’s case, according to one Florida GOP source.

‘He’s been able to thread the needle really, really well between traditional conservative foreign policy voices and the more populist America First policy voices,’ the Florida GOP source said of Waltz.

HEAT ON WALTZ

Waltz, who previously represented Florida’s 6th congressional district, is a retired Army National Guard colonel and former Green Beret who served four deployments to Afghanistan and earned four Bronze Stars — the fourth-highest military combat award, issued for heroic service against an armed enemy. 

While Waltz and Hegseth both were embroiled in the Signal chat discussing strike plans against the Houthis, Hegseth has attracted more of the heat, at least publicly, stemming from the incident. Democrats have called for Hegseth’s resignation as a result of the chat, but staffers at the White House — including Waltz — have openly backed Hegseth and shut down reports that the administration is seeking his replacement. 

But Waltz could get his turn attracting the ire of lawmakers as Democrats find an opportunity to openly grill him in front of the Senate, amid displeasure with Trump’s foreign policy and national security agenda. 

‘The second hundred days of national security under President Trump will apparently be just as chaotic as the first hundred,’ Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said in a statement to Fox News Digital about Waltz’s departure from the White House. 

‘President Trump’s consistent hirings, firings and upheaval sap morale from our warfighters and intelligence officers, degrade our military readiness, and leave us less prepared to respond to threats from our adversaries,’ Coons said. ‘American citizens at home and around the world are less safe because of President Trump’s non-existent national security strategy.’

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., also took aim at Waltz — although she labeled Hegseth the worst offender affiliated with ‘Signalgate.’  

‘Took them long enough. Mike Waltz knowingly made an unclassified chain to discuss classified matters,’ Duckworth said in a Thursday X post ahead of Waltz’s U.N. ambassador nomination. ‘But of all the idiots in that chat, Hegseth is the biggest security risk of all—he leaked the info that put our troops in greater danger. Fire and investigate them all.’

In addition to the Signal chat, Waltz’s exit from the White House was tied to several other issues. For example, Axios reports that Waltz treated White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles like ‘staff,’ and his disrespect rubbed her the wrong way. 

‘He treated her like staff and didn’t realize he’s the staff, she’s the embodiment of the president,’ a White House official told Axios. ‘Susie is a deeply loyal person and the disrespect was made all the worse because it was disloyal.’

Waltz reportedly discussed different roles he could take on following his stint at the White House with Wiles, according to CBS News. Waltz was reportedly offered jobs, including the ambassador to Saudi Arabia, but ultimately settled on U.N. ambassador. 

A spokesperson for the National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

NEXT STEPS

With Waltz out as national security advisor, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will temporarily step into that role. 

While Trump originally nominated Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to represent the U.S. at the U.N., he rescinded her nomination in March, citing that the House could not afford to lose another Republican seat. 

Stefanik’s nomination lagged in the Senate in comparison to other U.N. ambassador nominees, including Trump’s first U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. The Senate confirmed Haley in January, just after Trump’s first inauguration. 

While the exact timeline for a potential confirmation vote in the Senate is unclear, the first hurdle that Waltz must clear is a confirmation vote out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Although it is uncertain when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will schedule the nomination hearing for Waltz and the subsequent vote, the committee said his nomination is a ‘priority.’ 

‘The committee has been working at a historically fast pace and this nomination will be a priority moving forward,’ a GOP staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee told Fox News Digital. 

The 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly is scheduled for September 9, so there are a few months for Waltz’s confirmation to play out, the Florida GOP source said. That means that Waltz could take a few months off, start the confirmation process in June or July and wrap up his confirmation by September at the latest, the source said. 

‘He’s got plenty of time. So, this isn’t a looming fight that’s going to happen next week,’ the Florida GOP source said. ‘This is going to play out probably in June or July, which by then, people are going to forget about the Signalgate stuff, or at the very, very least, they’re going to forget about Mike Waltz’s role in it.’ 

But there are a few Republican wildcards in the Senate who have voted against several of Trump’s nominees, most prominently Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who voted against Hegseth, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer.  

A spokesperson for McConnell did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Other Republicans who have opposed Trump nominees include Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, both of whomvoted against Hegseth, as well as Sens. Ted Budd of North Carolina and Rand Paul of Kentucky, both of whom voted against Chavez-DeRemer. 

Aside from former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., whom Trump initially nominated to serve as attorney general, Trump’s entire cabinet has been approved. Gaetz withdrew his nomination amid a House Ethics Committee investigation into sexual misconduct and drug-use allegations. 

Despite opposition from Democrats, and possibly a few Republicans, it appears unlikely that any fire that Waltz will face will sink his nomination. 

‘The reality of it is, the president can lose three votes in the Senate, and the vice president can still vote to break a tie,’ the Florida GOP source said. ‘There’s no way he’s probably going to lose three votes.’

Meanwhile, other Republicans have openly stated they endorse Waltz’s nomination, including Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Risch, R-Idaho, who lauded Trump’s decision to nominate Waltz for the role. 

‘Great choices. America is safer and stronger under President Trump and his national security team,’ Risch said in a Thursday X post. ‘I thank Mike Waltz for his service as NSA, and look forward to taking up his nomination in our committee.’ 

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., also posted on X on Friday that Waltz would be confirmed ‘for sure.’ 

Vance also voiced support for Waltz and billed the nomination as a ‘promotion,’ pushing back on any suggestions that Waltz’s removal amounted to a firing. 

‘Donald Trump has fired a lot of people,’ Vance said in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier Thursday. ‘He doesn’t give them Senate-confirmed appointments afterward. What he thinks is that Mike Waltz is going to better serve the administration, most importantly, the American people in that role.’

Fox News’ Charles Creitz contributed to this report. 

Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S. is warning of potentially catastrophic consequences if India follows through with what Islamabad claims could be an imminent military strike in response to a recent attack in the disputed Kashmir region.

War between the two nuclear-armed states could get ugly quickly, and Pakistan’s Ambassador to the U.S. Rizwan Saeed Sheikh is calling on President Donald Trump to leverage his self-professed dealmaker credentials to hammer out an agreement with India.

‘This is one nuclear flashpoint,’ the ambassador said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. ‘It could be an important part of President Trump’s legacy to attend to this situation — not with a Band-Aid solution, but by addressing the core issue: the Kashmir dispute.’

Saeed described India’s response to the attack in Pahalgam — which left several Indian security forces dead — as dangerously premature and inflammatory. ‘Within minutes of the attack, India began leveling accusations against Pakistan,’ he said, noting that a post-investigation report was filed just 10 minutes after the incident occurred, despite the remote and rugged terrain near the scene. 

Pakistan claimed this week to have ‘credible intelligence’ that an Indian counter-attack on its territory is imminent. The Indian Embassy in the U.S. did not respond to requests for comment on this story before publication time. 

The dust-up began with a tourist massacre on April 22 in Belgaum, Kashmir. All but one of the victims were Indian citizens, and India swiftly pointed the finger at Pakistan, which rejected the charge. 

The attack occurred in a remote valley only accessible on foot or by horse, and survivors claimed after the attack that the gunmen had accused some of the victims of supporting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

The ambassador warned that the region, home to over 1.5 billion people, is once again being held ‘hostage to the war of hysteria’ by India’s government and media, who immediately ‘began beating war drums.’ The pair of rivals have exchanged gunfire across their heavily militarized borders since the attack. 

He cited Pakistan’s request for evidence linking it to the attack and Islamabad’s offer to participate in a neutral, transparent inquiry — both of which he said have gone unanswered.

‘Any misadventure or miscalculation can lead to a nuclear interface,’ the ambassador said. ‘That is certainly not desirable in such a densely populated region.’

While Pakistan denies any involvement in the attack, the ambassador said those suspected are reportedly Indian nationals whose homes have already been raided. He questioned why India is looking outside its borders rather than addressing what he characterized as ‘administrative inadequacies’ in Jammu and Kashmir, a territory he repeatedly referred to as ‘illegally occupied.’

He also criticized India’s broader policies in Kashmir, including the alleged settlement of non-residents into the region, and what he called threats to unilaterally block water flows from Pakistan’s rivers — a move he said violates the long-standing Indus Waters Treaty.

‘That is as grossly illegal as it can get,’ said Saeed. ‘This is one treaty that has withstood wars between India and Pakistan.’ Pakistan has said they would consider the cutting off of water supplies an act of war — and made pleas to The Hague, accusing New Delhi of water terrorism.

The ambassador called on nations around the globe to help with a lasting settlement. 

‘Previously, when the situation has been at this level or the tensions have escalated, the international community has attended to the situation, but taken their eyes, their attention away, even before the situation could fully diffuse,’ said Saeed. ‘This time, perhaps it would be… timely in terms of the situation elsewhere on the globe, with similar instances, which one can note and see and are being attended to to perhaps not afford a Band-Aid solution, but to address the broader problem.’

India and Pakistan each control parts of the Kashmir region, but both claim it in full. They have fought three wars over the territory.

In 2019, a cross-border attack carried out by militants killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary personnel in Kashmir. India responded by bombing targets inside Pakistan. 

Modi’s government revoked Muslim-majority Kashmir’s autonomy in 2019, bringing it back under Indian control and prompting protests. 

Kashmir has been a disputed region since both India and Pakistan gained their autonomy from Britain in 1947. The region is now one of the most militarized in the world. Violence by regional militant groups has left tens of thousands dead. 

But Modi’s aggressive stance in Kashmir has precipitated relative peace over the past five years, boosting his popularity domestically. He may feel political pressure to respond with force to the most recent dust-up. 

Pakistan has been ravaged by terrorism for decades, and Saeed said the nation has lost anywhere between 70,000 and 90,000 lives over the past 20 years to terror attacks. 

‘We cannot afford any instability in the neighborhood,’ said Saeed. ‘We want a peaceful neighborhood. But as we have been repeatedly mentioning at all levels, leadership level and all the other levels, that we want peace, but that should not in any way be misconstrued as a sign of weakness. We want peace with dignity.’

As President Donald Trump celebrated his 100th day in office this week, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said it has cut at least $160 billion in waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government. 

When Trump signed an executive order establishing the agency on his Inauguration Day, DOGE set an ambitious goal of cutting $2 trillion from the federal budget. 

According to the Office of Government Ethics, ‘special government employees’ like Musk can work for the federal government no more than 130 days a year, which in Musk’s case will fall on May 30. He has already started pairing back his hours leading the controversial agency. 

Fox News Channel’s ‘Jesse Watters Primetime’ had the opportunity to see behind the curtain of Musk’s infamous DOGE, which Democrats have railed against and Republicans have celebrated since Trump returned to the White House this year. The ‘DOGE boys’ reminded Watters on Thursday of some of the most shocking savings secured by the department this year. 

Funding a former Taliban member

Earlier this year, DOGE discovered the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) had transferred $132,000 to Mohammad Qasem Halimi, a former Taliban member who was Afghanistan’s former Chief of Protocol. DOGE announced on March 31 that the contract was canceled. 

Halimi was detained by the U.S. and held at Bagram Air Base for a year beginning Jan. 2, 2002. He held several positions in Afghanistan’s government following his release and was appointed as the Minister of Hajj and Religious Affairs in Afghanistan in 2020. 

‘A small agency called the United States Institute of Peace is definitely the agency we’ve had the most fight at. We actually went into the agency and found they had loaded guns inside their headquarters — Institute for Peace,’ a DOGE staffer told Watters. ‘So by far, the least peaceful agency that we’ve worked with, ironically. Additionally, we found that they were spending money on things like private jets, and they even had a $130,000 contract with a former member of the Taliban. This is real. We don’t encounter that in most agencies.’

USIP did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiry. 

Parties at Caesars Palace 

Fox News Digital reported earlier this year that the nation’s schools spent $200 billion in COVID-relief funds on expenses ‘with little oversight or impact on students,’ such as Las Vegas hotel rooms and buying an ice cream truck, according to DOGE’s audits. 

Granite School District in Utah spent their COVID-relief funds on $86,000 in hotel rooms for an educational conference at Caesars Palace, a ritzy Las Vegas casino, while Santa Ana Unified in California spent $393,000 to rent out a Major League Baseball stadium, according to a report by Parents Defending Education and shared by DOGE. Granite School District has since denied ‘any impropriety for having our educators participate’ in the Las Vegas conference.

The cost-cutting department also revealed that schools spent $60,000 of COVID-relief funds on swimming pool passes, while a California district used its funds to purchase an ice cream truck.

‘They were basically partying on the taxpayers’ dollars,’ Musk told Watters on Thursday. 

Millions for ‘Sesame Street’ in Iraq

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who is chairwoman of the Senate DOGE Caucus and who has collaborated closely with Musk to identify waste to cut, revealed that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) ‘authorized a whopping $20 million to create a ‘Sesame Street’ in Iraq.’ 

Ernst said that under the Biden administration, USAID awarded the $20 million to a nonprofit called Sesame Workshopto produce a show called ‘Ahlan Simsim Iraq’ in an effort to ‘promote inclusion, mutual respect and understanding across ethnic, religious and sectarian groups.’ 

Billions in ‘improper payments’ in 2024 alone 

DOGE received a hand from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), which released a report in March revealing that federal agencies wasted $162 billion in ‘improper payments,’ which was actually a decrease of $74 billion from the previous fiscal year. 

GAO’s analysis revealed that of the 16 government agencies reporting improper payments, 75% of the waste found was concentrated in five programs: $54 billion from three Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Medicare programs; $31 billion in HHS Medicaid; $16 billion from the Department of the Treasury’s earned income tax credit; $11 billion from the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; and $9 billion from the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Restaurant Revitalization Fund. 

Large amounts of DEI spending within the federal government

On the campaign trail and since taking office, Trump has made it clear he aims to slash diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) spending in the federal government, while making the case that a system of meritocracy should be the focus.

DOGE has announced over the last few months that it has cut hundreds of millions in DEI contracts. 

Earlier this month, DOGE announced it had worked with the U.S. National Science Foundation to cancel 402 ‘wasteful’ DEI grants, which will save $233 million, including $1 million for ‘Antiracist Teacher Leadership for Statewide Transformation.’

The Department of Defense could save up to $80 million in wasteful spending by cutting loose a handful of DEI programs, the agency announced last month.

The Defense Department has been working with DOGE to slash wasteful spending, DOD spokesman Sean Parnell said in a video posted to social media.

Parnell listed some of the initial findings flagged by DOGE, much of it consisting of millions of dollars given to support various DEI programs, including $1.9 million for holistic DEI transformation and training in the Air Force and $6 million to the University of Montana to ‘strengthen American democracy by bridging divides.’

The Trump administration announced earlier this month it is slashing millions of dollars in DEI grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as part of its overall DOGE push.

And in February, the Department of Education said it is canceling more than $100 million in grants to DEI training as part of DOGE’s efforts. 

Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.

Last month, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., blocked key parts of President Donald Trump’s executive order on election integrity – a move that underscores how deeply divided the country remains over what ‘election integrity’ really means..

Though the executive order Trump signed was titled, ‘Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,’ the Democratic National Party (DNC), which led a group of plaintiffs in challenging the order in federal court, argued that it was an attempt to encroach on elections and disenfranchise voters. 

In the end, both sides won out – sort of, and at least for now.  Here’s what to know about the case in question:

Why did the judge block a portion of the order?

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ultimately left in place three key parts of Trump’s executive order, including a provision requiring states not to count mail-in ballots received after Election Day, in a partial victory for the Trump administration. 

But she sided with Democratic plaintiffs in blocking, for now, both a new proof-of-citizenship requirement for federal voter registration forms and a provision directing election officials to verify the citizenship of would-be voters.

Does she have the authority to do so? 

Unequivocally, yes. That’s exactly the problem modern presidents face when trying to make lasting policy changes through executive orders – a tactic increasingly favored by both Democrats and Republicans.

It’s a risky way to govern for two reasons. The first is that these orders can just as easily be overturned by the next commander-in-chief (as has been on display under the last four administrations). 

They also risk being halted in federal courts, where U.S. judges are explicitly tasked with serving as a check on the president, and are free to pause or halt such orders from taking force, should they determine they are outside the scope of the executive branch’s authorities. 

That also doesn’t mean that district courts need to have the final say on the matter.

Kollar-Kotelly stressed last month that voter registration laws and the ability to regulate elections are set by Congress and by individual states, not the executive branch.

Both states and Congress can pass laws so long as they do not ‘needlessly impose’ an undue burden on voters under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. 

But the executive branch, which does not share in these abilities to make and pass election-related laws, is not entitled to the same standard of legal review, according to the judge. 

‘Our Constitution entrusts Congress and the States – not the President – with the authority to regulate federal elections,’ Kollar-Kotelly said in her ruling.

Next steps

The Trump administration is, of course, free to appeal the decision to higher courts, should it choose to do so. 

‘President Trump will keep fighting for election integrity, despite Democrat objections that reveal their disdain for commonsense safeguards like verifying citizenship,’ White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in response to the ruling last month.

But its next steps remain unclear. To date, the administration has not appealed the matter, and officials have not said definitively whether they plan to do so.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Friday will update a Biden-era federal rule regarding energy development as a major cost-saving measure to private firms, one day after taking a visit to a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility on the Gulf Coast.

A source familiar with the workings of the rule said it essentially will ‘massively deregulate’ a rule passed between the two Trump administrations and should further bolster Gulf Coast oil and gas production by providing lower startup costs for energy firms.

The rule outlines criteria that producers and grantholders must provide as financial assurance, with a 2024 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) estimate that $6.9 billion in new supplemental assurance would be required to protect against oil lessees’ default.

The Interior Department said that $6.9 billion added up to the $665 million in estimated additional insurance premiums for energy companies, which stifled how much they could spend to expand their operations and pursue what President Donald Trump has called ‘American energy dominance.’

Burgum told Fox News Digital that the rule revision will ‘enable our nation’s energy producers to redirect their capital toward future leasing, exploration, and production all while financially protecting the American taxpayer.

‘Cutting red tape will level the playing field and allow American companies to make investments that strengthen domestic energy security and benefit Gulf of America states and their communities,’ he said.

BOEM will continue to require lessees on the outer continental shelf to provide financial assurances, while the Trump administration writ large works toward more balanced regulations, the department said in an exclusive statement.

During Burgum’s visit to the Gulf, he met with energy workers at the LNG facility and discussed how the department under his leadership wants to better support the industry.

The Gulf of America currently produces approximately 1.8 million barrels of crude oil daily and 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. 

The Senate’s top Armed Services Republican eviscerated President Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) shortly after the White House released details of its government funding proposal for fiscal year 2026. 

‘President Trump successfully campaigned on a Peace Through Strength agenda, but his advisers at the Office of Management and Budget were apparently not listening,’ Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said in a statement. 

‘The Big, Beautiful Reconciliation Bill was always meant to change fundamentally the direction of the Pentagon on programs like Golden Dome, border support, and unmanned capabilities – not to paper over OMB’s intent to shred to the bone our military capabilities and our support to service members.

House Armed Services Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers echoed Wicker’s complaints. 

‘I am very concerned the requested base budget for defense does not reflect a realistic path to building the military capability we need to achieve President Trump’s Peace Through Strength agenda,’ the Alabama Republican said in a statement.

‘I look forward to working with the President and the Senate to achieve real growth in the defense budget and put America on track to realize the President’s goal of investing five percent of GDP on defense for NATO countries.’

The Trump OMB’s ‘skinny budget,’ released on Friday, proposes cuts to non-defense funding by $163 billion but increases defense funding from $893 billion to $1.01 trillion – a 13% increase. That includes $892.6 billion in discretionary spending, but will be supplemented by $119.3 billion in mandatory spending that is expected to be passed in the upcoming reconciliation bill. 

Senior officials told Fox News the Trump administration needed to get creative to get a $1 trillion-plus budget over the finish line: Republican majorities have historically been forced to offer one-to-one increases in non-defense spending to secure increases in defense spending. 

However, by keeping discretionary defense spending at $892.6 billion, the same level as fiscal year 2025, the budget that would be presented to Democrats would essentially reflect an unchanged defense discretionary budget with a smaller non-defense discretionary budget of about $557 billion – a 22.6% decrease.

The White House and congressional Republicans would then pursue the reset of the defense spending through the budget reconciliation process that is linked to the tax cut package.

But Wicker isn’t satisfied. 

‘OMB is not requesting a trillion-dollar budget. It is requesting a budget of $892.6 billion, which is a cut in real terms. This budget would decrease President Trump’s military options and his negotiating leverage,’ he said. 

‘I have said for months that reconciliation defense spending does not replace the need for real growth in the military’s base budget.’

OMB Director Russ Vought said in a post on X: ‘The President wants to increase defense spending to $1 trillion, a 13% increase to keep our country secure. This budget provides that level while ensuring that only Republican-votes are needed by using reconciliation to secure those increases without Democrats insisting on increasing wasteful government.’

To account for spending decreases across government, all departments were asked to provide recommended budget cuts except for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Transportation, which were excluded to protect veterans’ services as well as NASA and space exploration programs.

Congress will have to hammer out its own budget plan – which could take months – with the White House’s framework as a suggestion. 

Both Wicker and Rogers have long aimed to grow U.S. defense spending to 5% of the GDP, up from around 3.5 percent. 

The Mississippi senator suggested he would ignore the OMB guidelines and work to achieve ‘real growth’ within the defense budget. 

Fox Business’ Edward Lawrence and Eric Revell contributed to this report.

A former top advisor to ex-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., suggested House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is not meeting the moment in the current Trump era.

‘Trump is just giving us all this incredible red meat. I mean, I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s like the biggest gift any party has been given by the opposition, and we’re just squandering it, to a degree,’ former Pelosi advisor Ashley Etienne told Politico’s Deep Dive podcast. 

Etienne helped Pelosi oversee Democrats’ messaging during President Donald Trump’s first impeachment. She also previously worked for former Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.

She said Jeffries was ‘doing well’ in many areas and said she had ‘a tremendous amount of respect’ for the New York Democrat but signaled that he was missing opportunities on anti-Trump messaging.

‘He gave a speech this morning. I don’t have any talking points in my phone about what he said. And I’m going to be doing TV and this interview all day. That’s a failure,’ Etienne said.

‘How do you get to discipline if you’re not telling people what the hell you want them to say? At least emphatically, at least tonally.’

Jeffries’ allies pushed back against that characterization, pointing out that intraparty friction was taking attention away from Trump’s low poll numbers and Republicans’ policies.

‘Donald Trump’s approval ratings are plummeting, and he’s bringing House Republicans down with him. Extreme MAGA Republicans have been forced to delay their plans to advance Trump’s centerpiece legislative priority due to intense backlash against their scheme to enact the largest cuts in history to Medicaid and food assistance. Let’s keep the main thing, the main thing,’ Jeffries spokesperson Christiana Stephenson told Fox News Digital.

Just Friday morning, Jeffries released a statement hammering House Republicans for having to delay part of their legislative work to advance Trump’s agenda.

But Etienne’s comments are a notable rebuke from a former senior Democratic leadership aide to one of the party’s most powerful current officials, which comes after months of Democrats being plagued by infighting over messaging woes.

Etienne noted that Democrats had scored several wins on the messaging front, like having ‘successfully demonized Elon Musk’ and Sen. Cory Booker’s recent record-breaking filibuster speech.

But she singled out liberals’ protests during Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress as an ’embarrassing’ setback for the party and Jeffries.

‘If you look at the headlines post-the speech, even during the speech, it was more about Democrats and Democrats protesting rather than what Trump was actually saying. And in those kind of moments, you don’t want to become the story. You want Trump to be the story,’ Etienne said.

‘And I also thought it was a problem for Mr. Jeffries. I mean, it really says a lot about how people value his leadership. He asked for no protest. And what did they do? They protest 50 different ways.’

Both Pelosi and Jeffries’ offices told Politico that the latter often seeks the former’s input, and Jeffries’ spokesperson pushed back on Politico’s reporting that House Democratic leaders were seeking to move past Pelosi and that Jeffries was not doing enough to help Democratic groups with messaging. 

One of those groups, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), pushed back on the assertion they were not hearing enough from Jeffries.

PCCC sent out a press release that read, ‘Today, in a POLITICO article we are not interested in dwelling on, a former Pelosi staffer attacked Hakeem Jeffries. PCCC co-founder Adam Green said, ‘We hear more from Jeffries than we ever heard from Pelosi.’’

Meanwhile, a House Democratic aide told Fox News Digital that Jeffries held ‘multiple calls’ previewing his earlier speech on Trump’s first 100 days in office, as well as talking points ’emphasizing the Leader’s message that President Trump’s first 100 days have been a disaster for the American people.’

Stephenson, Jeffries’ spokesperson, also posted on X of Politico’s report, ‘Can anyone tell me how grandstanding like this is anything other than a gift to Republicans?’

But House Republicans’ elections arm was quick to pounce on the discord as well.

‘Hakeem Jeffries is the so-called leader of a team that doesn’t fear him, doesn’t follow him, and now, doesn’t even pretend to respect him,’ National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokesman Mike Marinella said in a statement. 

And Democratic strategist Julian Epstein, a former chief counsel of the House Judiciary Committee, criticized Jeffries’ leadership but said that Trump was not Democrats’ main problem.

‘He’s not a particularly effective speaker, gives no sense of direction or purpose, seems intent on not offending anyone, and has a leadership style that seems extremely passive,’ Epstein said.

‘The Democrats in the House just seem like a big blob that goes wherever gravity takes them, and right now gravity is taking them to the hard protest left. But no matter who the leader is, if the Democrats are selling a product that voters don’t like, it won’t matter.’

Pelosi’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is hosting an in-person town hall in Jackson Heights, Queens, on Friday night amid speculation she is considering a 2028 presidential run. 

After speaking at a May Day protest in New York City on Thursday, rejecting Trump’s agenda and warning protesters that Republicans ‘are going after Medicaid next,’ Ocasio-Cortez is returning home to New York’s 14th congressional district to ‘share updates on her work in D.C., provide important constituent updates, and take questions from the audience.’

Ocasio-Cortez has been jet-setting across the United States with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on his ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour. The campaign confirmed to Fox News Digital that Friday night’s town hall was originally scheduled for the April congressional recess, but had to be rescheduled because Ocasio-Cortez was sick. She posted an Instagram story two weeks ago apologizing for canceling. 

Earlier this week, Ocasio-Cortez did not rule out 2028 presidential aspirations when asked by Fox News Digital about the viral video that had pundits guessing whether she were soft-launching her campaign. 

‘I think what people should be most concerned about is the fact that Republicans are trying to cut Medicaid right now, and people’s healthcare is in danger. That’s really what my central focus is,’ the New York Democrat said when asked whether she is considering a run for president, despite President Donald Trump’s assurances that he wouldn’t cut Medicaid. 

‘This moment isn’t about campaigns, or elections, or about politics. It’s about making sure people are protected, and we’ve got people that are getting locked up for exercising their First Amendment rights. We’re getting two-year-olds that are getting deported into cells in Honduras. We’re getting people that are about to get kicked off of Medicaid. That, to me, is most important,’ Ocasio-Cortez said on Capitol Hill on Trump’s 100th day in office. 

Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign account posted a video on X last week that invigorated those rumors as the four-term Democrat from New York City and a progressive leader proclaimed, ‘We are one.’

‘I’m a girl from the Bronx,’ Ocasio-Cortez said on a campaign-style stage in Idaho. ‘To be welcomed here in this state, all of us together, seeing our common cause, this is what this country is all about.’

Americans reposted Ocasio-Cortez’s video across X, pointing to the video as proof of her 2028 presidential ambitions. ‘Get ready America. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will almost undoubtedly run for president in 2028,’ political reporter Eric Daugherty said in response to the video. 

As rumors swirl over Ocasio-Cortez’s ambition for higher office, back at home in New York, a Siena College poll found that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s favorability is down, at 39% among New York state voters questioned in the poll, which was conducted April 14 through 16. Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez’s favorability soared to 47%.

The longtime senator from New York faced pushback from the Democratic Party in March for supporting the Republican budget bill backed by Trump that averted a government shutdown and stirred up outrage among congressional Democrats who planned to boycott the bill.

That growing disapproval among Democrats was reflected in the poll, and the shifting perception comes as DNC vice chair David Hogg, through his political arm, Leaders We Deserve, faced blowback from the DNC for investing $20 million into electing younger Democrats to safe House Democrat seats.

Ocasio-Cortez raked in a massive $9.6 million over the past three months. The record-breaking fundraising haul was one of the biggest ever for any House lawmaker. Ocasio-Cortez’s team highlighted that the fundraising came from 266,000 individual donors, with an average contribution of just $21.

‘I cannot convey enough how grateful I am to the millions of people supporting us with your time, resources, & energy. Your support has allowed us to rally people together at record scale to organize their communities,’ Ocasio-Cortez emphasized in a social media post.

Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment about the 2028 presidential speculation. 

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.