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Trump administration to lobby allies to support ‘trade over aid’ push, cable shows

2026-04-16T16:17:17.462Z / Reuters

By Humeyra Pamuk

April 16, 2026 4:17 PM UTC Updated 3 hours ago

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A container ship passes under the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, in San Francisco, California, U.S., April 9, 2026. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/ File Photo

• Summary

• Rubio sets April 20 deadline for backing declaration
• Plan aims to steer US foreign policy from aid to trade
• Critics warn shift risks humanitarian aid and US values

WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s administration has instructed U.S. diplomats worldwide to lobby countries to back ​a “trade over aid” declaration at the United Nations, part of a broader effort to overhaul how Washington spends billions ‌of dollars in foreign assistance, according to a cable reviewed by Reuters.

In an April 15 dated cable, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered diplomats to deliver the message at the highest appropriate level in their respective countries and receive signatures by April 20 for the declaration.

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“This initiative is an opportunity for ​USUN to use the U.N. system to prompt America First values and create business opportunities for U.S. companies,” the cable ​said, referring to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.

The document was first reported by the Washington ⁠Post.

The message to diplomats is in line with a broader shift in U.S. foreign policy under Trump away from using aid as ​a tool for extending U.S. influence and toward a harder-edged focus on what the administration sees as core U.S. interests.

Days after assuming office, ​Trump began upending the decades-old system of how the U.S. distributes billions of dollars worth of life-saving and developmental aid.

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Describing the system as rife with “waste and abuse”, the administration moved to freeze and then cut programs that it said did not align with Trump’s “America First” values, jeopardizing the delivery of life-saving food and ​medical aid and severely disrupting global humanitarian relief efforts.

It said the old system of distributing aid created dependencies and did not further ​U.S. interests.

“The idea that trade and free market capitalism is the surest path to prosperity has been proven by the facts and by history,” State ‌Department deputy ⁠spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.

“The U.S. remains the most generous country in the history of the world, but those arguing for ‘aid not trade’ are really arguing for lining the pockets of a corrupt NGO industrial complex.”

ALTERNATIVE APPROACH

Instead, the Trump administration has advocated an alternative model emphasizing “mutually profitable business relationships” between the private sectors of countries while encouraging them to pursue pro-business reforms, an approach that occasionally drew ire from the ​humanitarian sector.

“There’s no American who ​looks at a picture of ⁠a starving child and sees an opportunity for companies to enrich themselves,” said Eric Pelofsky, a vice president at the Rockfeller Foundation who previously served at the White House.

“That’s because Americans have historically run ​to the fire to help rather than looking for ways to sell fire hoses to those ​suffering. This approach betrays ⁠America’s traditions, values, and national security interests—and it makes us less safe.”

The cable has provided U.S. diplomats with talking points to argue for the declaration, for which it said there will be a launch event at the end of April. The declaration was also attached in full ⁠text to ​the cable.

Speaking on Wednesday about U.N. reform, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike ​Waltz touched upon the initiative.

“On the development side, we are heavily engaging the private sector. Let’s lower barriers to capital, drive foreign investment, and create jobs, not dependency, ​and we’re calling that Trade Over Aid,” he said.

Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, additional reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Don Durfee, William Maclean

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Former NBA player Damon Jones expected to plead guilty in pair of alleged gambling scheme cases

April 16, 2026 / 2:16 PM EDT / CBS News

Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones is expected to plead guilty in two cases alleging his involvement in illegal gambling rings, according to a court order entered Thursday.

Jones initially pleaded not guilty on Nov. 6. The new plea was referred from the judge overseeing the case in Brooklyn federal court to Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Marutollo. He is scheduled to appear before the judge on April 28, 2026, at 11 a.m. ET.

Jones was charged last year in connection with a pair of schemes allegedly involving dozens of alleged mafia figures and athletes. In total, 34 people were charged across two federal indictments, and Jones was among three people charged in both.

Jones is accused of sharing or attempting to share inside information with bettors. The sports betting indictment alleges the former Cleveland Cavaliers guard gave others a tip about “a prominent NBA player,” who appears to be LeBron James, a former teammate and longtime friend. James is not accused of any wrongdoing.

Jones allegedly sent a text message to a co-conspirator on Feb. 9, 2023, saying: “Get a big bet on Milwaukee tonight before the information is out! [Player 3] is out tonight.” James missed the Lakers’ game that night against the Milwaukee Bucks due to ankle soreness.

He was also separately accused of participating in an elaborate poker cheating scheme in which wealthy victims were allegedly lured to play in rigged games against athletes.

The indictment, which names dozens of defendants, including NBA Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, claims Jones was a “face card” — a famous or notable person used to entice people to participate in the games. Several alleged members of the mafia are accused of participating in the rigged poker schemes.

CBS News has reached out to Jones’ attorney for comment.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/nba-dealing-fallout-gambling-sports-riging-arrests/

NPR receives $113 million in charitable gifts, including $80 million from Connie Ballmer

April 16, 2026 / 3:22 PM EDT / CBS News

National Public Radio has received two charitable gifts totaling $113 million after President Trump moved to slash funding for NPR and PBS in 2025.

Philanthropist Connie Ballmer, the wife of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, made an $80 million donation, NPR announced on Thursday. The money — the largest ever from a living donor — will help enhance the radio network’s use of digital technology and increase engagement with audiences across platforms, according to NPR.

“I support NPR because an informed public is the bedrock of our society, and democracy requires strong, independent journalism,” Ballmer, a former member of the NPR Foundation board, said in a statement. “My hope is that this commitment provides the stability and the spark NPR needs to innovate boldly and strengthen its national network.”

NPR said the second gift, totaling $33 million, came from an anonymous donor. NPR CEO Katherine Maher said the charitable donations would put the network and its stations on solid financial ground in the decades to come.

Congress last summer cut $1.1 billion in funding for public broadcasting, leaving some 246 NPR stations and hundreds of PBS outlets scrambling to fill the hole.

A federal judge ruled earlier this month that Mr. Trump’s executive order to slash funding for NPR and PBS violated the First Amendment by seeking to punish media outlets for speech he dislikes. But the decision did not restore funding to the stations.

“[W]hile the court recently ruled in favor of NPR and PBS against the Trump Administration’s executive order — an essential victory for journalistic independence and the First Amendment — it did not reverse the devastating reality of the congressional defunding,” Maher said in a blog post.

“The permanent loss of more than $1 billion in federal funding has created significant financial pressure across all of public media,” she added.

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https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/video/judge-blocks-trump-order-cutting-npr-and-pbs-funding-citing-first-amendment/

Arrest warrant issued for ICE officer accused of pulling gun on Minnesota driver

2026-04-16T18:19:26.867Z / CNN

By Holmes Lybrand, Whitney Wild

1 hr 29 min ago
PUBLISHED Apr 16, 2026, 2:19 PM ET

[image_3]

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announces charges against an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, related to a February incident, in Minneapolis on Thursday.

Mark Vancleave/AP

A warrant has been issued for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who allegedly pointed his government-issued firearm at another car and its passengers while driving on duty, prosecutors in Minnesota’s Hennepin County said Thursday.

The case comes as local and state prosecutors and investigators have opened a flurry of cases in Minnesota over ICE officers’ conduct during the Trump administration’s “Metro Surge” immigration operation earlier this year, during which several people, including Alex Pretti and Renee Good, were shot and killed by Department of Homeland Security officers.

County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced the two second-degree assault charges against the man, Greg Morgan, during a press conference Thursday.

In early February while driving back to close out his shift, Morgan was driving on the shoulder of the road, Moriarty said. A separate vehicle briefly went into the shoulder ahead of Morgan before returning to the lane.

Moriarty said that Morgan then drove his car up to the other car and pointed his government-issued firearm out of his window and at the two passengers.

When asked about claims from the Trump administration that ICE officers enjoy absolute immunity while on duty, Moriarty responded that “there is no such thing as absolute immunity for federal agents who violate the law in the state of Minnesota or any other state.”

Prosecutors said during the press conference they do not know where Morgan is right now or whether he is still employed as an officer for ICE. There has been no communication with DHS about the incident and charges, Moriarty said.

In a unique turn for such a case, Morgan was interviewed by Minnesota state patrol investigators at the time and, according to Moriarty, “admitted that he drew his firearm after the victim’s vehicle had already rejoined the normal flow of traffic.”

In other cases involving ICE officers in Minnesota, federal officials have blocked state investigators from accessing evidence, including denying access to agents and refusing to share their identities.

A notable example happened as state investigators attempted to interview federal agents about the Pretti’s killing but were denied access. State prosecutors have sued DHS, demanding they turn over all evidence gathered in the Pretti investigation.

On Thursday, Moriarty also said Morgan had told investigators “that he yelled ‘police’” at the passengers, who had their windows up and did not know, according to prosecutors, that Morgan was an ICE officer.

“All they saw was the gun pointed at their heads,” she added.

CNN has reached out to DHS for comment and is attempting to contact an attorney for Morgan.

Moriarty prefaced the news by explaining why the case was being brought prior to charges in the shootings of Pretti, Good and others by DHS officers as well as several other instances involving federal officers’ alleged abuse in Hennepin County.

“I know the community is following the decisions of this office very closely, and I want to be transparent on why these situations are developing at different speeds,” she said.

The county attorney said her office is conducting 17 investigations related to ICE and have conducted over 50 interviews. But she noted that the case against Morgan was able to move more quickly because of road cameras and his interview.

“So we continue to do investigation on those cases” Moriarty said. “We’re making really good progress on them.”

Minnesota Dems unite to block Walz, Ellison impeachment push, sparking online outrage: ‘They’re panicking’

2026-04-16T14:48:12-04:00 / Fox News

The fraud scandal is estimated to have cost taxpayers up to $19 billion, according to reports

By Andrew Mark Miller Fox News

Published April 16, 2026 2:48pm EDT

‘Incompetence or dereliction’: Minnesota lawmaker rips Tim Walz as state fraud losses mount

Republican Reps. James Comer and Pete Stauber weigh in on federal investigation into massive Minnesota fraud scheme.

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Conservatives on social media erupted with outrage Thursday after Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota united to block a Republican effort to investigate further and impeach Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison.

A resolution taken up by the Minnesota House Rules and Legislative Administration Committee to launch an impeachment investigation and allow the committee to hold hearings, issue subpoenas and further investigate the massive fraud scandal was blocked after all eight Democrats on the committee voted against it, Fox 9 Minneapolis reported.

The lawmakers deadlocked 8-8 on a straight party-line vote.

“This is a fundamentally unserious proposal by a fundamentally unserious party who isn’t interested in governing,” Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) Rep. Michael Howard said about the move.

COMER TO SAY TIM WALZ ‘ENABLED FRAUD,’ FAILED WHISTLEBLOWERS IN BOMBSHELL MINNESOTA HEARING

“Gas prices are rising because of Trump’s illegal war in Iran. Health care, housing and childcare costs are spiking. We have hospitals closing, yet this is what we’re going to do today? A bill that’s absolutely going nowhere, dead on arrival.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison testify before Congress.(Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)

On social media, conservatives blasted the Minnesota Democrats for not taking seriously the unfolding fraud scandal, which is estimated to have cost taxpayers a total of up to $19 billion.

“Despite years of whistleblower reports, dozens of hearings & local news stories, & court convictions, Democrats CONTINUE to block any investigation of Tim Walz,” Minnesota House Fraud Committee Chair Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Minn., who is running for governor, posted on X.

“They protect each other to protect their political base. @amyklobuchar is just part of the protection racket.”

“Minnesotans lost $9B in taxpayer dollars to just 14 Medicaid programs under Tim Walz’s administration,” Townhall columnist Dustin Grage posted on X. “Today, every single Democrat in Rules Committee voted to block an investigation into that fraud. Absolutely disgusting.”

TAFOYA RIPS WALZ ‘DODGING’ ACCOUNTABILITY IN HEARING, UNVEILS PLAN TO FIGHT FRAUD: ‘FULL WEIGHT OF THE LAW’

Video

“Look at their campaign contributions,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., posted on X.

“They’re panicked and don’t want anyone finding out how this was allowed to happen,” conservative influencer Eric Daugherty posted on X. “REMOVE WALZ FROM OFFICE and start the criminal proceedings for complicity!”

“You don’t block investigations into fraud unless you’re benefiting from the fraud,” conservative commentator Shawn Farash posted on X.

“When one party does not want accountability or transparency, When one party knows that massive fraud exist but refuses to investigate that fraud, the people must stand up and demand they be held accountable,” Jay Feely, a former NFL kicker who is running for Congress as a Republican in Arizona, posted on X.

AUDIO OF ELLISON MEETING WITH CONVICTED FRAUDSTERS RESURFACES AS LAWYER ALLEGES WALZ, AG SHARE BLAME

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced Jan. 5, 2026, he would not be seeking re-election at a press conference at the State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn.(Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

“This is why all spending and every program at the federal level and state level should be on Blockchain for everyone to see.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Democratic leadership on the committee for comment.

Walz dropped his bid for re-election in January as pressure to address systemic fraud mounted. He testified in front of Congress months later along with Ellison in a fiery hearing that left conservatives unsatisfied over the answer to the question of what the two elected officials knew about the fraud and what they did to stop it.

Walz has rebuffed calls for him to resign, prompting Minnesota Republicans to take various actions to further investigate or impeach him.

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Impeaching or removing either Walz or Ellison would be a difficult uphill battle for Republican lawmakers in Minnesota given the current makeup of the Minnesota Legislature. Impeachment requires a simple majority vote in the House.

However, the House is evenly split, making it nearly impossible for Republicans to pass articles of impeachment without significant Democratic defections or a major shift in control.

Removing an official from office requires a two-thirds supermajority vote in the Senate, where the DFL holds a narrow one-seat majority.

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6387388302112

Army secretary praises general who was fired by Hegseth

2026-04-16 12:48 PM ET / CNN

By Haley Britzky

Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll testifies during a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense budget hearing for the US Army, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on April 16, 2026.

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll strongly praised an Army chief who was fired earlier this month by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth but conceded that civilian leadership of the military gets “to pick the leaders that they want.”

“There is no person that has more respect for Gen. (Randy) George and his 42 years of service, his Purple Heart, his wife Patty, their grandkids, their kids. I adore them. And he was an amazing transformational leader,” Driscoll said during a House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on Thursday. “That being said, the civilian leadership, the design of our system is that they get to pick the leaders that they want, and we execute on those orders.”

Driscoll said he was in North Carolina for his kids’ spring break when he heard George “was asked to put in his resignation paperwork.” When they returned he and his family “drove straight to Gen. George’s house, we walked right in, and we all gave him a hug.”

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George speaks during the POW/MIA National Recognition Day Ceremony at the Pentagon, on September 19, 2025.

Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP/File

Hegseth fired George earlier this month alongside two other Army general officers. CNN reported that senior Army leadership was caught off guard and learned of his forced departure at the same time as the rest of the Department of Defense.

CNN has reported that Hegseth and Driscoll have butted heads behind the scenes, as the defense secretary has grown increasingly wary of Driscoll — who is close with Vice President JD Vance — and paranoid that Driscoll would replace him.

“If Driscoll starts getting too prominent, or too favored, it makes it a lot easier politically to just let Hegseth go somehow or find an off-ramp,” one source previously told CNN.

George and Driscoll worked very closely together as the two senior-most Army leaders. George previously worked as the senior military assistant to former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. And while the role of senior military assistant is apolitical and considered to be given to highly-capable military officers, his proximity to Austin was considered a mark against him by Hegseth and his circle.

Gen. Chris LaNeve, who is now the acting chief of staff of the Army, served as Hegseth’s senior military assistant. Military and Pentagon officials speculated when Hegseth made LaNeve the vice chief of staff that he would ultimately replace George.

Repeatedly during the hearing on Thursday, lawmakers voiced support and admiration for George and his service. Republican Rep. Tom Cole, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said he is a “huge fan” of George.

“I just want the record to reflect how much we regret. I personally regret at least, he’s no longer in active service,” Cole said. “He’s a real loss to us, in my opinion. But again, I’m sure the successor will be equally capable.”

Driscoll said on Thursday that LaNeve — who was sitting next to him — is “a patriotic American too, whose family is multi-generational service.”

“[W]hat I can say about Gen. LaNeve sitting beside me is …. his kids are in, serving now. He served 35 years, has led a lot of our most important formations. And what is so amazing about the United States Army is — and we’ve done calls with all of our leadership over the last week — the United States Army goes rolling along for the last 250 years,” Driscoll said. “We have amazing leaders all over the world who can step in at a moment’s notice and keep fighting for our Army.

Exclusive: US law enforcement raids offices of Houston fuel trader Ikon Midstream

2026-04-16 19:14:10 UTC / Reuters

By Stefanie Eschenbacher, Stephen Eisenhammer, Laura Gottesdiener and Shariq Khan

April 16, 2026 7:14 PM UTC Updated 54 mins ago

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Members of the Mexican navy patrol in a boat next to a refinery of Mexican state oil company Pemex as Mexico expands probe into cartel-linked maritime fuel-smuggling at key ports, in Ciudad Madero, Mexico, May 28, 2025. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary
• Companies

• U.S. law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at Ikon Midstream’s Houston headquarters
• Company’s attorney said raid was triggered by Reuters’ October 2025 investigation into alleged fuel smuggling
• No arrests made; fuel trader’s attorney maintains Ikon Midstream engaged in no wrongdoing

April 16 (Reuters) – U.S. authorities have raided the offices of Ikon Midstream, a Houston fuel ​trader whose diesel exports are part of fuel-smuggling investigations in Mexico, two U.S. officials and a Mexican security official told Reuters.

The operation, in which law enforcement ‌executed a federal search warrant, occurred this week at Ikon Midstream’s Houston headquarters, two of the U.S. sources said. One of the sources said it targeted computers and documents. Reuters was unable to confirm the exact reason for the search or what materials were seized. The raid has not been previously reported.

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The company’s attorney, Joseph Slovacek, confirmed that “U.S. Customs and Border Protection served a search warrant on Ikon.” He said law enforcement cited earlier ​Reuters reporting about Ikon Midstream as the reason for the search.

“The warrant was entirely the result of your October 2025 article, and your persistent attempts to have Ikon ​investigated,” Slovacek said in response to a Reuters request for comment sent on Thursday.

“No arrests were made because Ikon had not engaged in ⁠any wrongdoing,” he added.

Rhett Kenagy, Ikon Midstream’s chairman and chief executive, could not be reached for comment.

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Mexico’s presidency did ​not respond to requests for comment sent earlier on Thursday. The FBI declined to comment.

The operations of Ikon Midstream were detailed in a 2025 Reuters investigation into the alleged smuggling of fuel ​into Mexico. That report chronicled, using tanker-tracking data and trade records, how a shipment of diesel exported by Ikon Midstream in March 2025 aboard the tanker Torm Agnes made its way to Mexico. That shipment ended up in the hands of Intanza, a Mexican company suspected of being a front for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), according to three Mexican security sources and a government security document reviewed by Reuters.

Intanza could not be ​reached for comment. Letters sent to the company by courier could not be delivered, and Intanza has no website, no publicly listed phone number nor any social media presence that ​Reuters could identify.

Smuggled fuel and stolen crude oil have become the second-largest source of revenue for Mexico’s cartels behind narcotics, according to the U.S. government, which has ramped up efforts to crack down on the ‌illicit trade ⁠alongside its broader attempt to combat the drug gangs. The Trump administration designated CJNG as a foreign terrorist organization in February 2025.

The October 22 Reuters report revealed how Mexican cartels earn billions of dollars annually by allegedly smuggling fuel mainly from the U.S. to Mexico, helped by U.S. players, some unwitting, others complicit. Import-export paperwork for these transactions is often incomplete or faked by smugglers.

The scheme boils down to a tax dodge: Diesel, gasoline and naphtha are claimed in trade paperwork to be lubricants to avoid the steep import duties that Mexico charges on those imported ​fuels, Mexican authorities say. The savings can amount ​to more than half a cargo’s ⁠value: $7 million in the case of the March 2025 Torm Agnes shipment, according to a Reuters’ calculation.

Denmark-based Torm, which manages the vessel, in September 2025 told Reuters that it had stopped doing business with Ikon Midstream in April of that year “based on what has come to light.” The ​company said at the time that it was not responsible for, nor involved in, completing customs paperwork for the shipments.

Following the publication ​of Reuters’ story last ⁠year, Mexico’s government said that it had expanded investigations into suspected fuel smuggling by unspecified companies and officials, including at three Mexican ports where Ikon Midstream delivered petroleum products in 2025, according to a government report posted to a Senate website in February.

Ikon Midstream repeatedly has denied wrongdoing. It sued Reuters for defamation on November 14 in Texas state court, contending the news agency made “categorically false” statements about ⁠its business in ​the October article. In a separate March 27 statement to Reuters, Ikon Midstream said it “conducted its business lawfully” ​and “we have never falsified any U.S. or Mexican customs document.”

Reuters stands by its reporting and strongly denies making any attempts to have Ikon Midstream investigated by law enforcement, a spokeswoman said.

Reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher and Stephen Eisenhammer in Mexico ​City; Laura Gottesdeiner in Monterrey, Mexico, and Shariq Khan in New York; Additional reporting by Emily Green in Mexico City, Kristina Cooke in San Francisco and Jana Winter in Washington; Editing by Marla Dickerson

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Jackson publicly airs grievances with conservative colleagues over Trump-era rulings

2026-04-16 12:35pm EDT / Fox News

The Biden appointee used a Yale Law School speech to target the conservative majority’s shadow docket practices

By Ashley Oliver Fox News

Published April 16, 2026 12:35pm EDT

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Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson accused the Supreme Court this week of using unexplained emergency orders to hand President Donald Trump wins, warning the practice risks eroding public trust in the judiciary.

In a Yale Law School speech made public Wednesday, Jackson, a Biden appointee and frequent dissenter on emergency rulings, repeatedly called the Supreme Court’s use of the emergency docket “problematic” and argued the conservative majority’s decisions were sometimes “utterly irrational.”

The emergency docket, sometimes known as the interim or “shadow” docket, allows litigants to bypass typical court proceedings and seek immediate relief from the Supreme Court in the face of restraining orders and injunctions in the lower courts.

“Given the real world facts that a stay request asks the court to consider, the court’s stay decisions can, at times, come across utterly irrational,” Jackson said. “We cannot expect the public to have faith in our judicial system if, without clear explanation, we consistently greenlight harmful acts.”

JUSTICE JACKSON ACCUSES SUPREME COURT OF ENSURING TRUMP ‘ALWAYS WINS’ IN SCATHING DISSENT

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the nation’s highest court, speaks at the 60th Commemoration of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing on Sept.15, 2023, in Birmingham, Alabama.(Butch Dill/Pool/Getty Images)

Jackson emphasized she was not seeking to “praise” or “bury” the emergency docket, but she warned its current use is straying from its historical role, which she said used to be more limited.

“There is a serious concern that the Supreme Court’s modern stay practices are having an enormously disruptive and potentially corrosive effect on the functioning of the federal judiciary’s usual decision-making process,” Jackson, who did not cite Trump by name during her remarks, said.

Jackson also argued the concept of equal justice was being cast aside because “savvy parties” knew how to bypass the lengthy court process and apply for emergency stays at the Supreme Court, unlike average people caught up in legal proceedings.

“If we are not careful, the emergency docket can and will become an end-run around the standard review process, a special avenue that certain privileged litigants can utilize selectively,” Jackson said.

SUPREME COURT EXTENDS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S $5 BILLION FOREIGN AID FREEZE AMID ONGOING LEGAL CHALLENGE

The Supreme Court building is seen in Washington, D.C.(AP/Jon Elswick)

Jackson contended that the modern-day use of the emergency docket “disrespects” lower court judges, allowing the high court to “routinely interfere with lower court cases,” a remark that comes as the Trump administration routinely blasts what it has described as “rogue” district court judges who have stymied the president’s agenda.

“A one-line stay grant that overturns a lower court’s contrary conclusion suggests that the judgment call was so easy that no deliberation or explanation is required, and that suggestion casts aspersions on the tedious work that our colleagues have done,” Jackson said.

The Trump administration has faced hundreds of lawsuits and adverse rulings in the lower courts. While the Department of Justice’s solicitor general’s office often does not elevate cases to the Supreme Court for emergency consideration, when it does, it has won most of the time.

BIDEN-APPOINTED JUDGE AT CENTER OF REPEATED CLASHES WITH TRUMP ADMIN ISSUES NEW IMMIGRATION BLOCK

John Sauer, then- special assistant attorney general at the Louisiana Department of Justice, speaks during a hearing.(Al Drago/Bloomberg)

Through the emergency docket, the Supreme Court has greenlit Trump’s mass firings and curtailed nationwide injunctions. The high court has cleared the way for deportations and immigration stops sometimes criticized as controversial. The justices have also found that the government can, for now, discharge transgender service members from the military.

But Trump has not won out all the time. The justices required the administration to give more notice to alleged illegal immigrants being deported under the Alien Enemies Act and agreed with a lower court that the president improperly federalized the National Guard as part of his immigration crackdown in Chicago.

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In August, Jackson lashed out at the Supreme Court majority for “lawmaking” from the bench in a dissent to an emergency decision to temporarily allow the National Institutes of Health’s cancellation of about $738 million in grant money.

“This is Calvinball jurisprudence with a twist. Calvinball has only one rule: There are no fixed rules. We seem to have two: that one, and this Administration always wins,” Jackson wrote at the time.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Supreme Court’s public affairs team for comment on Thursday.

Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.

Judge: Trump can’t claim that entire White House ballroom project is needed for national security

2026-04-16T16:49:39.021Z / CNN

By Devan Cole

Updated 48 min ago
Updated Apr 16, 2026, 3:23 PM ET
PUBLISHED Apr 16, 2026, 12:49 PM ET

A crane being used to construct the new White House ballroom is seen next to the White House, on April 5, 2026.

Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

A federal judge has again ordered President Donald Trump to pause construction of a massive new ballroom at the White House, rejecting the president’s “disingenuous” bid to circumvent an earlier ruling against the project by claiming that it needed to proceed for national security reasons.

The ruling Thursday from senior US District Judge Richard Leon is the latest development in a winding legal saga around the controversial ballroom, which the judge said last month was being built unlawfully since Congress hadn’t expressly approved it.

Leon, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, carved out an exception so that crews could continue working on a highly sophisticated bunker being installed under the proposed ballroom. But Trump had contended that the entire project was covered by that loophole since the above-ground structure “advances critical national-security objectives as an integrated whole.”

Leon forcefully rejected that argument in his latest decision, accusing the president of advancing an “incredible, if not disingenuous” reading of his earlier ruling.

“Defendants argue that the entire ballroom construction project, from tip to tail, falls within the safety-and-security exception and therefore may proceed unabated,” he wrote in the 10-page decision. “That is neither a reasonable nor a correct reading of my Order!”

“National security is not a blank check to proceed with otherwise unlawful activity, and belated assertions that the above-ground ballroom is ‘inseparable’ from an array of security features are not an occasion for this Court to reweigh the equities or reconsider the preliminary injunction!” Leon wrote.

The judge reiterated that crews could continue working on the bunker and could proceed with other work “necessary to ensure the safety, security, and structural integrity of the White House” and its grounds. But he made clear that absent congressional approval of the ballroom, no above-ground construction could continue except work to cover and secure the facilities being built underground.

The Justice Department has appealed Leon’s decision.

Anticipating the appeal, Leon delayed implementation of his ruling for one week. But he warned the White House that any above-ground work that happens during that period may need to be reversed depending on how the case plays out.

“I have no desire or intention to be dragooned into the role of construction manager,” Leon wrote, adding that he trusts the president to implement his order in good faith.

The decision comes several days after a federal appeals court in Washington, DC, instructed Leon to clarify the scope of his March injunction halting work on the nearly 90,000-square-foot ballroom.

The White House had asked the appeals court to shelve that ruling, arguing the entire project “advances critical national-security objectives” because the above-ground structure involves “the use of missile-resistant steel columns, beams, drone-proof roofing materials, and bullet, ballistic, and blast proof glass windows.”

“They also include the installation of bomb shelters, hospital and medical facilities, protective partitioning, and top-secret military installations, air conditioning, heating, venting, and more,” Justice Department lawyers defending the project in a lawsuit against it told the appeals court.

But the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued last year to block construction of the ballroom, has repeatedly said Trump is erroneously conflating the bunker with the above-ground addition.

“The lack of a massive ballroom on the White House grounds is not a national-security emergency. Its absence has not prevented any past president from residing in the White House during his tenure over the past two centuries, or from using the prior East Wing bunker for approximately eighty years,” the group told Leon in court papers filed this week.

“The defendants declare that the bunker needs ‘adequate above-ground cover,’ but never explain why only the President’s preferred 70-foot-tall ballroom – and not a simple at-grade slab – would suffice,” lawyers for the Trust wrote.

Carol Quillen, the president and CEO of the group, said in a statement that it’s “pleased the court upheld the preliminary injunction and halted above-ground construction of the White House ballroom until Congress approves the project.”

Trump on Thursday lashed out on social media, calling the move politically motivated and a threat to national security.

He argued in a Truth Social post that the White House lacks a large-scale event space that presidents have “desperately wanted and desired for over 150 years,” and said the planned ballroom is critical for hosting world leaders and major events safely.

Trump said that the ballroom would include extensive security features such as “Bomb Shelters, a State of the Art Hospital and Medical Facilities, Protective Partitioning, Top Secret Military Installations, Structures, and Equipment, Protective Missile Resistant Steel, Columns, Roofs, and Beams, Drone Proof Ceilings and Roofs, Military Grade Venting, and Bullet, Ballistic, and Blast Proof Glass.”

This story has been updated with additional responses.

Rep Ayanna Pressley used a discharge petition to force the vote, and key GOP members signed on

By Adam Pack, Fox News

Haitian national charged in brutal Florida gas station killing

An illegal immigrant from Haiti was charged with killing a female gas station clerk in Fort Meyers, Florida, April 3, 2026. (Fort Meyers Police Department)

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A group of House Republicans defied President Donald Trump on Thursday to support shielding more than 350,000 Haitian nationals from deportation.

Ten GOP lawmakers joined Democrats and one independent to approve legislation that would allow Haitians to be eligible for the temporary protected status (TPS) program for another three years.

Those Republicans included Reps. Mike Lawler and Nicole Malliotakis of New York; Maria Elvira Salazar, Mario Diaz-Balart and Carlos Gimenez of Florida. Don Bacon of Nebraska; Rich McCormick of Georgia; Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania; and Mike Carey and Mike Turner of Ohio. Many in that cohort have large Haitian diaspora communities in their districts.

The TPS program allows foreign nationals whose home countries face humanitarian crises or dangerous conditions to temporarily live and work in the United States without fear of deportation. It does not provide a pathway to citizenship.

President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media outside the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., April 13, 2026.(Salwan Georges/Bloomberg)

SUPREME COURT TO HEAR TRUMP CHALLENGE TO PROTECTED STATUS FOR SYRIAN, HAITIAN NATIONALS IN US

The successful vote comes as the Trump administration has sought to revoke the TPS program for Haiti, arguing that conditions have improved in the country and that granting Haitians legal protections runs counter to American interests. The effort is currently stalled as the TPS termination works its way through the nation’s courts.

The measure is largely symbolic due to resistance from Senate Republicans who are not expected to hold a vote on renewing TPS for Haitians. Trump would almost certainly veto a TPS extension bill that clears Congress.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., a member of the “Squad,” used a legislative maneuver known as a discharge petition to force a chamber vote on the TPS extension bill. The effort would have been futile without the support of a handful of Republicans who signed Pressley’s discharge petition to reach the necessary 218 signatures and trigger a vote.

Rep. Laura Gillen, D-N.Y., sponsored the resolution on the House floor.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., listens to testimony from Minnesota lawmakers about fraud investigations in their home state during a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 7, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

JUDGE HALTS HOMELAND SECURITY PLAN TO END TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR SOUTH SUDAN

The president has also spotlighted the killing of a Florida woman by a Haitian illegal immigrant earlier in April. The suspect, Rolbert Joachim, 40, reportedly received TPS status during the Biden administration.

“An Illegal Alien Criminal from Haiti, who was released into our Country by the WORST President in History, Crooked Joe Biden, and the Radical Democrats in Congress, just beat an innocent woman to death with a hammer at a gas station in Florida,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

“This one killing should be enough for these Radical Judges to STOP impeding my Administration’s Immigration Policies, and allow us to END THIS SCAM ONCE AND FOR ALL.”

Proponents of the measure argued that Haitians, who have been granted work authorization through the TPS program, have a positive economic impact on communities.

“I’ve heard from healthcare providers and business leaders across Nebraska who are concerned about the impact this would have on patient care and our economy,” Bacon, who is retiring, told Fox News Digital.

“I don’t see the goodness of deporting people who are here legally, who are working and who contribute to our country.”

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., came close to resigning over his anger with the Trump administration’s 28-point plan to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images)

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But the majority of House Republicans have stood by the Trump administration’s decision to revoke the TPS program for Haiti.

“Members of Congress have a sacred and exclusive duty to our American constituents, not to foreign nationals,” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., who is running for governor, told Fox News Digital.