作者： root

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi hails Trump admin’s ‘justice and transparency’ on Epstein files

2026-05-29 1:33pm EDT / Fox News

Fox News Digital obtained a copy of Bondi’s prepared statement on Friday as she sat for an interview with a House committee

By Alex Nitzberg Fox News

Published May 29, 2026 1:33pm EDT | Updated May 29, 2026 1:35pm EDT

Blanche invokes Trump ‘love’ when pressed on staying in AG role after Bondi’s ouster

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche lavished praise on Donald Trump during a press conference, saying when asked if he wanted to replace Pam Bondi permanently that the decision was up to the president.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi, who spoke before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Friday, stood behind the Trump administration’s work releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files, according to a copy of her prepared opening remarks obtained by Fox News Digital.

“Before we start today, I want to reiterate what I have said many times regarding the Department’s handling during my tenure as Attorney General of the voluminous materials that are now commonly known as the Epstein Files,” she told the committee, according to the document.

“I am proud of the Department’s record and commitment to transparency under my leadership. We demonstrated an unprecedented commitment to transparency in the Department’s search for, collection, and review of the Epstein files, producing nearly 3 million pages of material, including thousands of videos and hundreds of thousands of images,” Bondi asserted.

Bondi has since departed from the Capitol following her voluntary transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee, Fox News has learned. Friday’s interview was transcribed, though not video recorded.

BONDI GRILLED ON EPSTEIN FILES IN FIRST CAPITOL HILL RETURN SINCE DOJ OUSTER

Former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi arrives to testify at a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill on May 29, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“These investigations span FOUR administrations, dating back to the Bush administration and have gone on through the Obama administration, the first Trump administration, and the Biden administration. The only time federal prosecutors were permitted to launch investigations against Epstein and Maxwell was when President Trump occupied the White House. Only under President Trump were 3 million Epstein related documents released,” Bondi said, according to her prepared remarks.

The former attorney general further described “an enormously complicated and labor-intensive process.”

“To the best of my knowledge, the Department produced everything required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Our diligent and good faith effort to collect materials ensured that all potentially responsive documents that could be reasonably located would see the light of day,” she noted, according to the copy of her remarks.

“All Department components were directed to submit any potentially responsive records, resulting in a comprehensive review of millions of documents. As the head of a large Department with broad responsibilities, I did not lead every aspect of this effort or conduct that document review myself. I delegated oversight over this process to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche,” Bondi continue.

Blanche was appointed acting attorney general on April 2 after President Donald Trump announced Bondi’s departure. He is not considered Bondi’s permanent replacement as head of the DOJ.

President Donald Trump interacts with then-U.S. General Attorney Pam Bondi as he took to the stage to participate in a roundtable discussion regarding the Memphis Safe Task Force (MSTF) in combating violent crime at the Memphis International Airport on March 23, 2026 in Memphis, Tenn.(Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)

Bondi told the committee on Friday that “the team of professionals who reviewed all of the materials that we collected assured me the only materials that were withheld were either non-responsive, privileged, or duplicative.”

“Although not required by the Act, the Department has given Congress access to unredacted, duplicative materials in the Reading Room in an effort at maximum transparency,” Bondi said.

“There were redaction errors,” she continued. “But since day one of this process, this Department has been committed to accountability and transparency. Our stance has always been that the Department stands ready to review any potential evidence of criminal activity related to Epstein and his associates and would pursue appropriate investigative or prosecutorial action wherever the facts and law warrant.”

FORMER PRINCE ANDREW, SARAH FERGUSON DUBBED ROYAL FAMILY’S ‘BONNIE AND CLYDE’ AS EPSTEIN FALLOUT GROWS: AUTHOR

“I would like to repeat what I shared before the House Judiciary Committee in February: I have spent my entire career fighting for victims and I will continue to do so. I am deeply sorry for what any victim has been through, especially as a result of that monster. If they have any information to share with law enforcement about anyone who has hurt them or abused them, the FBI is waiting to hear from them,” Bondi’s opening statement said.

Then-U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Feb. 11, 2026 in Washington, D.C.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“The bottom line is: justice and transparency in this matter have been delivered at the direction of President Trump and his administration,” she asserted.

Bondi was diagnosed with thyroid cancer shortly after departing the Department of Justice last month, according to reports this week. Katie Miller, a former White House staffer and podcast host who is married to White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, reposted an Axios report on X on Tuesday.

“Pam has been quietly kicking cancer’s ass the last few weeks,” she wrote.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

DOJ escalates blue-state ICE standoff after states refuse key federal request

2026-05-29T12:42:29-04:00 / Fox News

Legal experts say the DOJ faces an uphill battle trying to compel states to issue plates via the Supremacy Clause

By Robert Schmad Fox News

Published May 29, 2026 12:42pm EDT

Some blue states ‘actively sabotage’ law enforcement: Florida governor

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticizes Democrats’ reluctance to work with the Trump administration on issues including immigration on ‘The Ingraham Angle.’

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

blob:https://www.foxnews.com/243c6230-6b09-436b-a5d8-04e0c6f35644

Listen to this article

5 min

The Department of Justice announced on Thursday that it filed lawsuits against four Democrat-led states over their refusal to issue undercover license plates to ICE agents.

DOJ Civil Division Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate previously issued an ultimatum to Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington, giving them until May 22 to provide immigration enforcement officers with undercover plates for their vehicles. Justice Department officials argue the states’ refusal unlawfully discriminates against federal law enforcement and violates the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.

These lawsuits escalate a months-long standoff between the Justice Department and Democrat-led states over immigration enforcement. The cases could test the limits of the Supremacy Clause as the DOJ seeks to assert legal authority over state motor vehicle departments, while the states themselves maintain that they are not required to assist with civil immigration enforcement.

“This Department of Justice will exercise any and all lawful authorities to support the brave men and women of law enforcement,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “Law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe and must be able to carry out their duties effectively. By denying undercover license plates to DHS components, including ICE, while issuing them to their own state agencies, these governors are pursuing discriminatory and obstructionist policies against federal law enforcement.”

DOJ PUTS BLUE STATES ON NOTICE AS ICE FIGHT BARRELS TOWARD NEXT CONSTITUTIONAL SHOWDOWN

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche arrives for a press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House August 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Trump announced he will use his authority to place the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under federal control to assist in crime prevention in the nation’s capital, and that the National Guard will be deployed to D.C.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

An official in the Massachusetts governor’s office previously told Fox News Digital that the commonwealth does issue undercover plates to federal agents, but only if they are investigating criminal offenses. It refuses to do so in cases where civil infractions are being investigated, which covers most immigration cases.

“In Massachusetts, we support law enforcement doing legitimate criminal investigative work, and local, state and federal agencies doing that work can request confidential plates,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement flagged for Fox News Digital by her staff. “But that’s not what we are seeing from ICE and its unconstitutional tactics.”

Oregon, meanwhile, has gone a step further by placing a general moratorium on issuing undercover plates to federal agents, while Maine and Washington, like Massachusetts, are declining to provide plates for civil investigations.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey takes questions from reporters during a news conference in Boston on Jan. 31, 2024. She nominated an appeals court judge and former romantic partner to an open seat on the state’s highest court.(Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

FEDERAL JUDGE RULES AGAINST DHS ON WARRANTLESS IMMIGRATION ARRESTS IN OREGON

“We look forward to defending this lawsuit,” Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said in a statement his office shared with Fox News Digital. “We take public safety seriously, and work with federal partners to voluntarily provide hundreds of undercover plates every year for criminal investigations. Judges across the country have found that the Department of Homeland Security’s tactics in conducting civil immigration enforcement routinely violate the Constitution.”

“That is unacceptable,” he added.

A spokesman for the Oregon governor’s office told Fox News Digital that Gov. Tina Kotek is waiting for the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles to conduct a review of its undercover plate policy and that she expects the agency to “communicate next steps.”

Law enforcement officers stand guard as protesters demonstrate outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on March 1, 2026, opposing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.(Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images)

ANTI-ICE LAW SET TO TAKE EFFECT IN MAINE AS GOVERNOR FACES INCREASED CRITICISM FOR ALLOWING IT AMID SENATE RUN

The Maine governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday.

The lawsuits filed by the DOJ cite the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which establishes federal law as supreme over conflicting state laws, arguing that it can be used to make the four Democratic states issue undercover license plates to ICE agents.

“The United States has sovereign authority to manage federal law enforcement activities and, under the Supremacy Clause, need not cede that authority to Maine (or any state) by abiding by its dangerous policy which jeopardizes federal law enforcement operations and the officers who carry them out,” the lawsuit reads.

JONATHAN TURLEY: WHY BLUE STATES’ NEW ANTI-ICE LAWS ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL VIRTUE SIGNALING

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche criticized reporters for asking questions about a viral story from The Atlantic alleging FBI Director Kash Patel has exhibited ‘erratic behavior’ tied to frequent intoxication, during a press conference on April 21, 2026.(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

“Under the Supremacy Clause, States do not have the power to dictate how the Federal Government executes its constitutional powers within their borders,” it continued.

Conservative legal experts previously told Fox News Digital that they believe the DOJ is fighting an uphill battle in trying to compel states to issue specific license plates by leveraging the Supremacy Clause.

“Federal law preempts state law when state law conflicts with a supreme federal law. And when it does, the state law is preempted, meaning that the state law cannot be given legal effect in those instances of conflict,” Charles “Cully” Stimson, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. “There is no law in my mind that is conflicting with federal law. You simply have state actors refusing to issue these types of license plates.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Stimson did add that there is an underlying assumption that, by virtue of being in the union and as implied under the Constitution’s separation of powers, the four Democratic states should cooperate with the federal government to enforce laws.

The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday.

Pentagon hosts first-ever Israeli–Lebanese military talks aimed at curbing Hezbollah

Discussions mark shift from diplomacy to direct military coordination as ceasefire deadline looms in weeks ahead

May 29, 2026 2:15pm EDT / Fox News

By Efrat Lachter Fox News

Hezbollah remains biggest obstacle to Israel–Lebanon talks, analyst warns

As Israeli and Lebanese military officials meet in Washington for rare Pentagon-mediated talks, Ahmed Sharawi of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies warns Hezbollah’s grip on Lebanon continues to undermine hopes for a broader agreement.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

blob:https://www.foxnews.com/79564756-649c-4529-8397-65b662e44ac7

Listen to this article

6 min

Israeli and Lebanese military delegations opened Pentagon-mediated talks Friday morning in Washington, launching a new U.S.-brokered security coordination track aimed at preventing renewed escalation along the Israel–Lebanon border and shoring up a fragile ceasefire reached in mid-April.

A State Department official told Fox News Digital that, “As we have continuously stated, the only path to lasting peace is through direct negotiations between the two sovereign governments.”

The discussions mark a shift from diplomatic negotiations into direct military coordination, with talks expected to focus on ceasefire enforcement, border stability, Israeli withdrawal from parts of southern Lebanon and the role of the Lebanese Armed Forces in containing Hezbollah.

ISRAEL MOVES TOWARDS CEASEFIRE DEAL WITH HEZBOLLAH: REPORTS

Michael Needham, counselor for the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter pose for a photo before a meeting at the State Department in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 2026.(Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)

The talks come weeks after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire first reached during the broader regional conflict tied to the U.S.–Iran war. While large-scale fighting has eased, Israeli forces continue operating inside parts of southern Lebanon and Hezbollah maintains drone and rocket capabilities, keeping tensions high along the border.

The ceasefire was extended on May 15 for another 45 days, creating pressure on both sides to show progress before the current arrangement expires.

But analysts say the central question overshadowing the talks is whether Lebanon can realistically curb Hezbollah’s military power without risking internal collapse.

“This will be the first meeting between representatives of the militaries since the start of the negotiation process between Lebanon and Israel,” Ahmed Sharawi, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, told Fox News Digital.

Representing Lebanon in the talks is Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, who previously served as commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces in southern Lebanon, an area where Hezbollah maintains a strong presence. Hezbollah is the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist organization designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization.

“What we should expect is talks regarding de-confliction and what the expectations are for the LAF in terms of the broader disarmament plan against Hezbollah’s weapons,” he said.

Sharawi said the chances of a broader breakthrough remain limited so long as Hezbollah remains heavily armed and politically entrenched inside Lebanon.

“The biggest obstacle here is that the Lebanese state is yet to present a feasible plan to disarm Hezbollah,” he said.

LAWMAKERS QUESTION WHETHER US MOVING FAST ENOUGH TO CAPITALIZE ON HEZBOLLAH’S WEAKENED STATE

But analysts say the central question overshadowing the talks is whether Lebanon can realistically curb Hezbollah’s military power without risking internal collapse.(Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images)

He pointed to the terms of the November 2024 ceasefire agreement, which placed responsibility for disarming Hezbollah on the Lebanese state.

“We are yet to see the confiscation of one single bullet from Hezbollah,” Sharawi said.

He also warned that Hezbollah’s deep support among Lebanon’s Shiite population complicates any attempt to move toward normalization with Israel.

“There’s a fear of a civil war,” he said. “That also accounts for the Lebanese state’s unwillingness to disarm Hezbollah.”

The talks opened as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled Israel intends to maintain military pressure on Hezbollah despite the negotiations.

Sharawi argued the Trump administration nevertheless appears determined to push the process forward as part of a broader effort to weaken Iranian influence in the region.

“The reason behind these meetings is that President Trump is really trying to push for a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon,” he said. “Peace between these two countries could really undermine Hezbollah and its influence in Lebanon.”

WALTZ SAYS TRUMP HAS CREATED ‘BEST CHANCE IN OUR LIFETIME’ TO BREAK HEZBOLLAH’S GRIP ON LEBANON

Churches in the southern Lebanese town of Rmeish remained standing throughout the conflict, as residents say the community resisted Hezbollah attempts to launch rockets from the area.(Jusoor News)

Israeli analysts similarly described the talks less as a breakthrough and more as a strategic signal aimed at Hezbollah.

“The war between us and Hezbollah is continuing,” Yossi Kuperwasser, senior project manager at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and former head of the Research Division of Israeli Military Intelligence, told Fox News Digital.

“There is no doubt the Lebanese government does not have a monopoly on the use of force in Lebanon,” he said.

‘OVERBLOWN’ REPORTS ON ISRAEL–LEBANON NORMALIZATION RISK HINDERING BORDER TALKS BEFORE THEY BEGIN: OFFICIAL

IDF troops discovered a Hezbollah weapons cache near a UNIFIL post in southern Lebanon in 2024.(IDF Spokesman’s Unit)

Kuperwasser said expectations for an immediate diplomatic breakthrough should remain low, but argued the talks themselves send an important political message.

“The purpose of these talks is first and foremost to send a message to Hezbollah and also to the Americans,” he said. “Both sides are prepared to sit together against Hezbollah and signal that they are moving, even if slowly, toward normalization between Israel and Lebanon.”

He argued Hezbollah has been weakened politically and militarily by the ongoing conflict and by growing frustration among Lebanese civilians displaced by the fighting.

“For years Hezbollah portrayed itself as the defender of Lebanon,” Kuperwasser said. “Now many Lebanese see Hezbollah as responsible for the suffering Lebanon is experiencing.”

Kuperwasser added that while Israel supports strengthening the Lebanese army, Beirut fears direct confrontation with Hezbollah could ignite another civil war.

“The Lebanese government fears military action against Hezbollah would lead to civil war,” he said. “That fear shapes everything.”

The talks also come amid mounting domestic pressure inside Israel, where critics of Netanyahu have accused the government of pursuing containment rather than decisive military victory against Hezbollah.

Speaking Friday during a visit to Israel’s northern front, Netanyahu said Israeli forces had crossed the Litani River and were operating across multiple parts of Lebanon.

“We are operating in Beirut, in the Bekaa Valley, across the entire front and striking Hezbollah hard,” Netanyahu said.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

[image_10]

A woman holds her dog as she walks past burned cars a day after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, on April 9, 2026.(Emilio Morenatti/AP)

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s leadership is attempting to balance growing American pressure with fears of internal instability and renewed sectarian conflict.

Neither the Israeli Embassy in Washington nor the Lebanese Embassy in Washington immediately responded to requests for comment. The Pentagon did not have anything to add when asked to comment.

Efrat Lachter is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering international affairs and the United Nations. Follow her on X @efratlachter. Stories can be sent to efrat.lachter@fox.com.

US judge orders removal of Trump’s name from Kennedy Center

2026-05-29 18:55:10 UTC / Reuters

By Mike Scarcella

May 29, 2026 6:55 PM UTC Updated 2 mins ago

The newly added lettering for U.S. President Donald Trump’s name is displayed at the facade of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a day after its board announced it would rename the institution The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, in Washington, D.C., U.S., December… Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tabRead more

WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) – A judge on Friday ​ordered the removal of President Donald ‌Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, ruling that the ​iconic Washington venue cannot be ​renamed without an act of Congress.

U.S. ⁠District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington ​directed the Trump administration to take ​down all physical signage bearing Trump’s name and to eliminate any references to a “Trump Kennedy ​Center” from official materials within 14 ​days.

The Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest developments and analysis of the Iran war. Sign up here.

“The Kennedy Center’s organic statute makes crystal clear ‌that ⁠the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or ​public memorial ​based ⁠on the Board’s unilateral say-so,” Cooper wrote. “Congress gave the Kennedy ​Center its name, and only ​Congress ⁠can change it.”

Cooper ruled in a lawsuit brought by Democratic U.S. Representative ⁠Joyce ​Beatty.

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

Reporting ​by Mike Scarcella; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Trump’s inconsistent rhetoric about getting Iran’s nuclear stockpile

2026-05-29T17:51:55.333Z / CNN

• President Donald Trump has repeatedly shifted his position on whether Iran must hand over its enriched uranium stockpile.
• Top administration officials have cast its extraction as a red line, but Trump has repeatedly floated a resolution that comes up short of that.
• The inconsistency reflects broader confusion about the administration’s goals in the war with Iran.

AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.

As the United States and Iran try to hammer out a deal to start winding down the war, few particulars loom as large as what happens with Iran’s nuclear stockpile.

It’s not only a major point of contention — with Iran signaling it won’t turn over its highly enriched uranium — but extracting it could be very complicated. And the fate of these materials will go a long way toward determining just how much President Donald Trump’s war has truly “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear threat.

But as with many of its other goals, the Trump administration has been very inconsistent about its demands on this one.

Appearing at a White House briefing on Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran turning over the uranium was a “red line” for Trump.

“Iran has to turn over their highly enriched uranium,” Bessent said.

Trump said on social media Friday that the uranium “will be unearthed by the United States … in close coordination and conjunction with the Islamic Republic of Iran, plus the International Atomic Energy Agency, and DESTROYED.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last weekend that Tehran needs “to turn over their highly enriched uranium.”

“These are the president’s points consistently,” Rubio added.

But this has not been a consistent point from the president. In fact, as Trump has appeared eager to cut some kind of a deal to end the war, he’s repeatedly and conspicuously floated a resolution that comes up shy of Iran handing over all of its uranium.

That doesn’t mean that’s where a deal could wind up; Trump makes very little effort at rhetorical consistency. But you could be forgiven for thinking this particular point was at least somewhat negotiable in his mind.

Trump first seemed to telegraph a relaxed demand back in early April, in an interview with Reuters.

Despite having assured just three days prior that Iran would turn over what he calls its “nuclear dust,” Trump suddenly suggested the materials were buried so deep thanks to the US strikes last year that they didn’t even matter.

“That’s so far ⁠underground, I ​don’t care about that,” he said.

Trump suggested the sites where the material is buried could simply be monitored — “We’ll always be watching it by satellite” — and cast Iran as already “incapable” of getting a nuclear weapon.

But just two weeks later, in another interview with Reuters on April 17, Trump reverted to promising to get the uranium.

“We’re ‌going to go in with Iran, at a nice leisurely pace, and go down and start excavating with big machinery,” Trump said, adding: “We’ll bring it back to the United States.”

On April 26, the president doubled down, saying that “we have to take that nuclear dust. We’re going to take it.”

But by mid-May, Trump was again casting the enriched uranium as not a must-have.

In a May 14 interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, he said Tehran had told him the uranium was so buried that Iran itself could never access it. He also cast a retrieval effort as hugely difficult, given it would require a lengthy operation on Iranian soil.

Hannity volunteered that perhaps the uranium could be “entombed” rather than retrieved.

Trump signaled that was an option — while casting retrieval as important mostly for symbolic reasons.

“No, I don’t think it’s necessary except from a public relations standpoint,” Trump said. “I think it’s important for the fake news that we get it.”

And he again said the US military could just monitor the areas, saying, “I would rather get it, but we have our eyes on it.”

Trump then echoed those comments in an interview the next day with Fox’s Bret Baier.

“It is good enough” to bury the uranium, he said. “But you know what, it’s not good enough public relations-wise. It’s important, you know, it’s important. It’s probably good enough for a different reason, though.”

But the same day in a gaggle with reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he was still insisting on actually getting the uranium.

“With that being said, I want to get it,” Trump said. “And they agreed to it, but then they took it back, but they’ll agree to it eventually.”

(There is no evidence that Iran agreed to this. Trump has repeatedly cast Tehran as agreeing to things that never come to fruition.)

So when Rubio and Bessent cast extracting the uranium as a clear goal of the administration, they glossed over a lot of Trump’s comments.

The president might need to get the materials to sell this war as a success and to avoid inflaming the Iran hawks in the Republican Party. But his inconsistency would suggest he doesn’t seem completely committed to it as a true red line in negotiations.

And this issue is a microcosm of Trump’s broader problem with the war. From the start, the goals have been unclear and often shifting. The administration keeps listing four goals, but they’ve routinely been a different list of four, depending upon who is speaking.

It almost seems like Trump went in without knowing what he wanted out of the war, and now he’s just winging it.

But when it comes to actually ending it, the resolution of this issue is hugely important.

Which means the administration might want to decide exactly how it feels, at some point.

Judge temporarily blocks Trump DOJ’s nearly $2B ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

2026-05-29 12:42:52 EDT / Fox News

Judge blocks Justice Department from taking further action on $1.778 billion fund after Jan 6 prosecutor, others sue

By Greg Norman-Diamond Fox News

Published May 29, 2026 12:42pm EDT | Updated May 29, 2026 1:46pm EDT

Bessent sounds off on Newsom over proposal to tax Trump anti-weaponization fund recipients

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rips California Gov. Gavin Newsom over a proposal targeting recipients of President Donald Trump’s anti-weaponization fund with new taxes.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

blob:https://www.foxnews.com/dcf59615-fdeb-4b50-887e-2a5c98299c55

Listen to this article
4 min

A U.S. judge temporarily blocked the Justice Department Friday from “taking any further action pursuant to the creation or operation” of a $1.778 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”

The Trump administration said last week that the fund will compensate Americans unfairly targeted by politicized federal investigations on a “case-by-case” basis.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema’s order on Friday comes in response to a lawsuit filed by a group of plaintiffs that includes a former career prosecutor who alleges he was fired for his handling of the Jan. 6 cases. The plaintiffs are suing to block payout from the fund.

The order, which lists the Justice Department as a defendant, states that the DOJ is blocked “from taking any further action pursuant to the creation or operation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund, which includes the transferring of money to the Fund; the consideration of any claims submitted to the Fund; and the disbursing of any funds from the Fund.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PUSHES BACK ON ‘SLUSH FUND’ ATTACKS AGAINST ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND AND LAYS OUT WHO QUALIFIES

President Donald Trump looks on during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 15, 2026.(Evan Vucci-Pool/Getty Images)

The judge also set a hearing for June 12 in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.

A Justice Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Friday that “The Department remains extremely confident in the legality of the Anti-Weaponization Fund which is supported by ample precedent, including Obama-era settlements.”

“We will not allow the policy preferences of judges to interfere with our efforts to provide restitution to victims of lawfare,” the spokesperson added.

The plaintiffs challenging the fund include former Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Floyd, an Alexandria resident who prosecuted Capitol riot cases in Washington, D.C., before he was fired last year by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Floyd was a deputy chief of the Justice Department’s Capitol Siege Section. He said he believes his firing was retaliation for his Jan. 6 work, according to The Associated Press.

Another plaintiff is California State University Channel Islands professor Jonathan Caravello, who was acquitted of an assault charge. He was accused of throwing a tear gas canister at federal agents during a 2025 protest against an immigration raid at a Camarillo, California, cannabis farm.

Also named as plaintiffs are the government watchdog Common Cause, the city of New Haven, Connecticut, and the National Abortion Federation, an association of abortion providers.

New Haven claims the Trump administration officials have targeted it and other municipalities that they perceive to be “sanctuary” cities. The federation said it fears that the fund will issue payments to people who have attacked abortion clinics, providing an incentive for more violence against its members, the AP also reported.

NEWSOM WANTS TO CLAW BACK TRUMP FUND CASH AS CALIFORNIA BURNS BILLIONS ON RAIL AND OTHER ‘BOONDOGGLES’

An image shows the Department of Justice building with an overlay of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

The Anti-Weaponization Fund was born out of a settlement between President Donald Trump and the Internal Revenue Service. Trump filed the lawsuit against the IRS in January over the unauthorized disclosure of his tax records.

Claims will be determined by a five-person board appointed by the attorney general, with at least one member selected for consultation with congressional leadership, according to a Justice Department press release. At any point in time, the president has the power to remove a member without cause, it added.

“This is about seeking accountability for all Americans who were victims of law fare and weaponization: millions of Americans whose online speech was censored at the behest of the government, parents silenced at school boards, Senators whose records were secretly subpoenaed, churchgoers targeted by the FBI, and so on,” a Justice Department document stated.

The Anti-Weaponization Fund was slated to last until Dec. 1, 2028.

A banner featuring an image of President Donald Trump is displayed on the facade of the U.S. Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 20, 2026.(Drew Angerer/AFP/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Funding for the Anti-Weaponization Fund is coming from the Judgment Fund, which is a permanent Treasury account used to pay for settlements and claims against the government.

Fox News’ Elaine Mallon, Kerri Urbahn and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

Louisiana lawmakers pass new congressional map to give GOP additional House seat

2026-05-29 1:59 PM ET / Associated Press / CNN

Louisiana lawmakers look up to angry shouts from members of the public, after a redistricting plan to eliminate a majority-Black congressional district was passed by the House in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Thursday, May 28, 2026.

Gerald Herbert/AP

Louisiana lawmakers passed a new congressional map on Friday designed to pick up a Republican seat while leaving the state with just one of its two majority-Black House districts represented by Democrats.

Approval of the new House map came a month after the Supreme Court struck down the state’s current map as an illegal racial gerrymander, weakening the landmark 1965 federal Voting Rights Act. That decision intensified a national redistricting battle fueled by President Donald Trump’s efforts to protect the Republicans’ slim House majority in the midterm elections.

Louisiana Republicans had considered drawing a map giving the party a shot at winning all six of the state’s House seats. But that would have required adding more Black voters to Republican-held districts, potentially backfiring with losses. Some Republicans said a 5-1 map better protects House Speaker Mike Johnson from facing a difficult reelection.

Republican Gov. Jeff Landry is expected to sign the new map into law.

In the weeks following the Supreme Court’s decision, several other Republican-controlled Southern states have seized upon a weakened federal Voting Rights Act to try to redraw their own congressional districts.

So far, Republicans are winning the redistricting contest. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they will win a narrowly divided US House in November. Republicans think they could gain as many as 14 seats from their redistricting efforts, while Democrats think they could gain six seats from new districts in California and Utah.

In Louisiana, Republicans hold four of six congressional seats on a court-ordered map drawn in 2024 to comply with the Voting Rights Act by including a second district with a majority-Black population.

That map, however, was challenged in court, and the Supreme Court responded on April 30 by striking it down as an illegal racial gerrymander.

Landry postponed the state’s US House primary, scheduled for May 16, until later this summer to allow time for Republican lawmakers to draw and pass a new map.

The proposed map redraws Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields’ district, clustering it around predominantly white communities in the Baton Rouge area and southern Louisiana. It also adds part of Baton Rouge to a heavily Democratic, majority-Black district based in New Orleans currently represented by Democratic Rep. Troy Carter.

More lawsuits were expected over the new map.

Democrats say the proposed map could still constitute a racial gerrymander because it packs Black voters into a single congressional district. Meanwhile, the plaintiffs in the Supreme Court’s decision criticized the legislature’s map for leaving a majority-Black district in place.

Several other Southern states also have acted on redistricting since the Supreme Court’s decision.

Florida’s legislature passed new congressional districts just hours after the ruling, completing a redrawing that was in the works in anticipation of the decision. It could yield Republicans as many as four additional seats in the midterm elections.

Tennessee adopted new US House districts a week after the ruling, carving up a majority-Black district based in Memphis in a Republican attempt to win an additional seat.

In Alabama, Republicans are attempting to pick up another seat by redrawing two districts where Black residents compose a majority or close to it. Democrats hold both seats, and the proposal is mired in a court battle.

South Carolina’s Senate, meanwhile, decided against redistricting, despite pressure from Trump.

Louisiana approves new US House map eliminating Democratic majority-Black seat

2026-05-29 17:58:05 UTC / Reuters

By Joseph Ax

May 29, 2026 5:58 PM UTC Updated 31 mins ago

A crowd protest in front of the hearing room, during a public hearing on redistricting as Louisiana Republicans pursue a new congressional voting map ahead of the November midterm elections, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S., May 8, 2026. REUTERS/Wayan Barre/File Photo

May 29 (Reuters) – Louisiana Republicans on Friday approved a new congressional map that dismantles a Democratic-held, majority-Black seat, boosting their party’s odds of retaining the U.S. House of ​Representatives in November’s midterm elections.

The state joined several other Republican-led Southern states ‌that have rushed to break up Democratic seats with significant Black populations after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in April severely weakened legal protections for such districts.

Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter. Sign up here.

The map, which passed the state House of ​Representatives on Thursday, was approved 28-10 by the state Senate on Friday along ​party lines. The bill now goes to Republican Governor Jeff Landry, who ⁠is expected to sign it.

Republicans hold four of the state’s six districts under a ​map drawn in 2024 to comply with a court order mandating the creation of a ​second district with a Black majority or near-majority, under the federal Voting Rights Act. Black Democrats represent the two districts with large Black populations.

But the Supreme Court struck down the 2024 map as an ​illegal racial gerrymander, a ruling that opened the door for Louisiana and other states ​to take aim at majority-minority districts that had previously enjoyed more robust guardrails.

Landry postponed the May 16 ‌U.S. ⁠House primary elections to give lawmakers time to draw the new map, which breaks up Democratic U.S. Representative Cleo Fields’ Baton Rouge-centered district. At the time of Landry’s order, thousands of mail ballots had already been cast, and voting rights advocates warned the decision ​would cause confusion and chaos ​for voters.

Democratic lawmakers ⁠criticized the map as an effort to disenfranchise Black voters, while Republicans argued that they drew the lines solely based on partisanship, ​not race.

The wave of Southern redistricting efforts is the latest front ​in a ⁠national redistricting war that started last summer, when President Donald Trump pushed Texas Republicans to redraw the state’s congressional map to target incumbent Democrats.

Republicans have emerged as the redistricting victors, gaining an ⁠advantage in ​as many as 10 seats pending the outcome ​of legal challenges.

But Democrats remain well positioned to capture a U.S. House majority in November in light of Trump’s ​sagging approval ratings and voter frustration over rising costs.

Reporting by Joseph Ax Editing by Nick Zieminski

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Anti-ICE agitator screams ‘I’ll kill your whole f- family’ day after Dem gov praises ‘peaceful protesting’

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche says the man will be arrested after threatening the officer and his family with death

May 29, 2026 2:05pm EDT / Fox News

By Peter Pinedo

Federal agents and anti-ICE agitators clashed outside the Delaney Hall detention facility in New Jersey. (Credit: FNTV)

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

blob:https://www.foxnews.com/6c5c9e2b-aebc-4eb1-980b-ac3adf102698

Listen to this article
4 min

A day after Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill praised “lots of peaceful protesting” happening outside a New Jersey ICE facility this week, the Department of Justice announced it is searching for an agitator who threatened to kill a federal agent and his wife and children.

Sherrill responded to the threats by calling on “everyone — especially members of federal, state, and local government” to “lower the temperature.”

The anti-ICE agitator was caught on camera on Wednesday night shouting to federal law enforcement, “I’ll kill your whole f—— family, your whole f—— is dead. Your children, your wife, all dead.” The agitator added, “I have your face, motherf—–, you’re dead, dead.”

Speaking with Fox News, U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said, “That’s a federal crime, and not only threatening the ICE officer but think about how disgusting this individual is, threatening his family and his children with death.”

“What is this man doing? He’s just doing his job, standing there,” he continued. “We see his face, and I promise you, we will find him, and when we find him, we will arrest him, because it is a crime not only to threaten law enforcement but not surprisingly to threaten their family as well.”

WATCH: POLICE ABSENT FROM DELANEY HALL CHAOS AS AGITATORS BLOCK ICE VEHICLES AND AGENTS USE PEPPER SPRAY

ICE agents aside from New Jersey Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill.(Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital; Governor Mikie Sherrill)

After days of confrontations between anti-ICE agitators and federal officials outside Newark’s Delaney Hall, Sherrill said before the incident that “over the last couple of days” there has been “a lot of peaceful protesting going on, which, we’re going to continue to support.”

At the same time, Sherrill went on to say, “What seems to really be inciting a lot of this are really the ICE agents.”

“The ICE agents really need to stay out of there,” she continued, adding, “That seems to really be inciting a lot of this right now.”

In response to the man’s threats to agents, Sherrill told Fox News Digital that “threats of violence are unacceptable.”

She added, “I am a military veteran who has taken oaths to protect the Constitution with everything up to and including my life — and we are ensuring that people can protest peacefully as we share concerns about the horrific conditions inside Delaney Hall.”

“I am calling on everyone — especially members of federal, state, and local government — to keep people safe, de-escalate the situation, and lower the temperature,” Sherrill told Fox News Digital.

ANTI-ICE AGITATORS CLASH WITH FEDERAL AGENTS OUTSIDE NEW JERSEY DETENTION CENTER AS TENSIONS ESCALATE

ICE agents clash with protesters outside Delaney Hall east of downtown Newark, N.J. on Thursday May 28, 2026.(Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

Demonstrations have been ongoing for days after detainees in the facility wrote an open letter claiming they were not being fed, not receiving proper medical care and not being allowed to speak to their families.

The demonstrations have turned violent at several points. On Wednesday night, keffiyeh-clad agitators clashed with ICE, hurling objects across a barrier as tensions continued to escalate. The agitators, protesting allegedly poor conditions for illegal immigrants held at the detention center, wielded mattresses and large traffic cones as makeshift shields.

Video obtained by Fox News Digital shows agitators shouting, “kill yourself, bro!” and “how do you live with yourself?” while tossing mattresses and other objects at agents.

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: DEMS SLAMMED FOR DEMANDING ‘FIVE-STAR ACCOMMODATIONS’ FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AT ICE FACILITY

Protestors, politicians, and ICE agents gather outside Delaney Hall, an immigration facility in Newark, N.J., on May 27, 2026.(Rashid Umar Abbasi/Fox News Digital)

The ICE agents deployed batons, pepper spray and threw objects back, in one instance tossing a wooden pallet at an agitator after yanking it away, according to video from the scene.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Sherrill has called for the closure of Delaney Hall. She attempted to access the facility on Memorial Day, though she was denied entry by officials. Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., was granted access to conduct congressional oversight, though Sherrill was not. Kim detailed his entry into the facility in a series of X posts, calling the conditions “unacceptable” and citing a carton of milk he saw that was set to expire the next day.

Fox News Digital reached out to Sherrill for additional comment.

Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

Blue Origin explosion threatens to delay NASA’s moon program

May 29, 2026 / 3:38 PM EDT / CBS News

The destruction of Blue Origin’s unmanned New Glenn rocket in a catastrophic launchpad explosion, along with apparently severe damage to the company’s only launch pad, sent shock waves through the U.S. space community Friday. The company could now be facing flight delays stretching months — if not longer — and could cause serious delays in NASA’s moon mission plans.

Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has not yet revealed what recorded telemetry and launchpad video might show about the cause of the Thursday night explosion at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. As always with such tests, the area had been evacuated and no injuries were reported.

“It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it,” Bezos said in a post on X. “Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”

The titanic blast could be seen across a wide swath of Florida, shaking nearby homes and rattling windows as roiling clouds of flame billowed into the sky framed by arcing streaks of debris flying in all directions.

A Blue Origin rocket explodes on a launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, May 28, 2026. SPACEFLIGHTNOW

Early Friday, Space Launch Delta 45 warned the public: “Debris from the anomaly could wash ashore along publicly accessible areas over the coming days and weeks. It is critical to report sightings to 911 for proper removal and mitigation. The debris could be hazardous and direct contact could pose health risks.”

The hot-fire test was being carried out in preparation for the New Glenn’s launch in early June on a flight to deploy 48 Amazon-owned internet satellites. The satellites were not on board the rocket for the engine firing and were not damaged in the mishap.

While the cause of the explosion was not immediately known, it appeared to originate at or near the base of the rocket’s first stage as its seven methane-burning BE-4 engines were igniting for the planned test.

In this shot of Launch Complex 36 from a helicopter, the New Glenn’s main gantry still stands, but it suffered structural damage near the bottom. The rocket itself was destroyed in the blast, along with its transporter-erector. Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

The engines generate a combined 4.5 million pounds of thrust at full power and if one or more BE-4s was to blame, the mishap almost certainly will affect United Launch Alliance, which uses the Blue Origin engines in the first stage of its new Vulcan rocket.

The explosion could have been triggered by a ruptured fuel line, a ground system or some other malfunction unrelated to the engines.

Delays to moon missions

Whatever the cause, the explosion marked a potentially serious blow to NASA’s Artemis moon program.

The space agency is counting on Blue Origin and SpaceX to launch Artemis moon landers next year to rendezvous and possibly dock with an Orion capsule launched atop NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. NASA plans to announce the four astronauts who will fly on that mission — Artemis III — on June 9.

An artist’s impression of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 2 moon lander. Blue Origin/NASA

The idea is to test rendezvous and docking procedures in Earth orbit before pressing ahead with one and possibly two astronaut moon landing missions in 2028. In addition, NASA expects Blue Origin to launch two unpiloted lunar cargo ships in the near future to carry prototype rovers to the lunar surface. An initial test flight was expected later this year.

Blue Origin’s landers are designed to launch atop New Glenn rockets and it now seems unlikely any such launch will be possible for many months, maybe not before the end of 2027.

Blue Origin’s Mark 1 moon lander, an unpiloted cargo ship that had been expected to make its first test flight later this year. NASA/Blue Origin

Depending on how long it takes for the company to return to flight, the Artemis III mission could be delayed into 2028, possibly pushing the planned moon landing flights into 2029, or NASA could be forced to carry out the Artemis III mission next year with just the SpaceX lander.

But that assumes SpaceX can be ready in time. The company’s Starship rocket is currently grounded because of engine failures in a recent test flight and it’s not clear when the Starship lander will be ready to fly again.

SpaceX’s moon lander, a variant of the company’s Starship rocket is shown in this artist’s impression compared to an Apollo lander. SpaceX/NASA

As for Blue Origin, initial damage assessments, especially those from afar, are often overly pessimistic and given Bezos’ resources, Blue Origin many be able to return to flight faster than expected, depending on what a detailed damage assessment reveals.

NASA will be paying close attention.

“NASA is aware of the anomaly that occurred tonight at Launch Complex 36 involving Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said late Thursday on X.

“Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult,” he continued. “We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess near-term mission impacts, and get back to launching rockets.”

Case of dêjà vu

In a similar mishap in September 2016, a SpaceX Falcon 9 exploded on pad 40, nearby Thursday’s explosion, destroying the rocket and an Israeli satellite and severely damaging the launchpad.

The failure happened in the final minutes before a hot-fire test when the Falcon 9, like the New Glenn, was fully loaded with explosive propellants. The SpaceX failure was blamed on a ruptured high-pressure helium tank inside the upper stage’s liquid oxygen tank.

SpaceX was able to resume flights 3 1/2 months later, but it took the company nearly 15 months to return pad 40 to operational status. In the meantime, the company was able to use two other pads, one at the Kennedy Space Center and the other at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, to keep flying.

That option isn’t available to Blue Origin. While the company plans to build a second pad at Cape Canaveral and another at Vandenberg, those projects have yet to get underway.

“Thinking about the entire team at Blue,” Kiko Dontchev, SpaceX vice president of launch operations, posted on X. “We’ve been there before and there are very few things worse than losing a vehicle on the pad.

“Remember @blueorigin, it’s the darkest before the dawn and you will be measured not by this anomaly, but by how you respond,” he said. “We are all rooting for you to get safely back to flight as soon as possible!”

SpaceX, meanwhile, launched a Falcon 9 rocket early Friday from pad 40 carrying another batch of Starlink internet satellites. United Launch Alliance, after making sure no debris from the New Glenn explosion affected their systems at nearby pad 41, planned to launch a set of Amazon Leo internet satellites Friday evening.

Helicopter views early Friday showed Blue Origin’s standalone lightning tower had been destroyed, along with the New Glenn transporter-erector used to haul the rocket from a hangar to the pad and then to rotate it vertical for launch. Both were visible Friday morning as charred piles of mangled debris.

The launchpad at Cape Canaveral, Florida, was heavily damaged by the massive explosion of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket on Thursday, May 28, 2026. Asher Brinkman

Other signs of blast damage were apparent, but it was not clear if the pad’s propellant tanks, feed lines, sound-suppression water system or the New Glenn processing hangar were severely damaged.

Because the hot-fire test was not an actual launch and posed no threat to public safety or air travel, both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board had no plans to oversee Blue Origin’s failure analysis.