Federal judge voids Trump’s $100,000 fee requirement for H-1B visas

2026-06-08T18:22:43.787Z / CNN

By Devan Cole

1 hr 44 min ago

PUBLISHED Jun 8, 2026, 2:22 PM ET

US President Donald Trump disembarks Air Force One upon arrival at Morristown Airport in Morris County, New Jersey, on June 5, 2026. US President Donald Trump will spend the weekend in Bedminster, New Jersey. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

A federal judge on Monday voided President Donald Trump’s requirement of a $100,000 application fee for H-1B visas, ruling that he lacked authority to impose the new policy for a program used by companies to hire highly skilled foreign workers in specialized fields.

US District Judge Leo Sorokin said that only Congress had the power to change federal immigration policy to include such a requirement, which he viewed as a tax, and that lawmakers had not given the executive branch permission to unilaterally make the change.

“The President had no power or delegated authority to impose a tax on H-1B petitions,” Sorokin, an appointee of former President Barack Obama based on Boston, wrote in a 42-page decision striking down the policy.

Related article Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol Terminal C at LaGuardia Airport i in New York on March 24. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images ICE to stop reporting deaths of recently released detainees amid scrutiny 5 min read

The case was brought by a coalition of Democratic state attorneys general in December, several months after Trump imposed the $100,000 requirement in an effort to rein in the program, which he said was being overused.

H-1B visas allow foreign professionals to seek work in professions that are considered to be more specialized. Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree or a similar equivalent.

The visa is valid for three years and can be renewed for another three years. Economists have argued the program allows US companies to maintain competitiveness and grow their business, creating more jobs in the US.

In his ruling voiding Trump’s policy, Sorokin rejected arguments from the administration that the president had the power to implement the requirement because of federal immigration law giving him leeway to change US policy in other ways. Nowhere in those laws, the judge said, did Congress also give the president the power to levy taxes in the immigration sphere.

CNN has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.

CNN’s Casey Gannon, Alejandra Jaramillo and Adam Cancryn contributed to this report.

Justice Department moves to strip citizenship from 17 people in unprecedented denaturalization push

2026-06-08T16:09:36.884Z / CNN

By Priscilla Alvarez

3 hr ago
PUBLISHED Jun 8, 2026, 12:09 PM ET

This 2014 photo shows a person from Nicaragua receiving assistance in applying for United States citizenship in Miami.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The Justice Department announced Monday that it will move to revoke citizenship from 17 people nationwide, marking the latest move in the Trump administration’s unprecedented push to target naturalized citizens.

Since President Donald Trump returned to office, his administration has doubled down on its denaturalization campaign, targeting foreign-born American citizens whom it accuses of fraudulently obtaining US citizenship.

Officials say that some of the people targeted in the latest effort are accused of committing fraud and sexual abuse of a minor.

Denaturalization – the process of revoking citizenship from a naturalized US citizen – is rare and can only occur in federal court. Historically, the US revoked citizenship for a range of reasons, from lying about a person’s date of arrival, age or marital status to political reasons. During World War II, for example, the US reviewed naturalization cases of German Americans who were pro-Nazi.

Under the Biden administration, the Justice Department filed 24 denaturalization cases, according to a DOJ official. The Trump administration has already outpaced that within the last year.

In May, the administration also moved to denaturalize a dozen individuals.

“Gaining U.S. citizenship is a privilege and under the steadfast leadership of President Trump, this Department of Justice maintains a zero-tolerance policy for the abuse of this process,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in a statement.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the administration “will continue to use every lawful avenue to denaturalize and remove aliens.”

Trump walks out of interview with NBC while being pressed on election fraud claims

June 8, 2026 / 1:27 PM EDT / CBS News

President Trump walked out of an interview with NBC News in Wisconsin after he was challenged on his claims of election fraud and struggled to provide evidence for those claims.

In an interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker that was taped Friday and aired Sunday, Welker pressed the president for evidence on his claims of election fraud in the 2020 election and claims that election fraud is currently happening in the California primaries. California, which allows for last-minute mail-in ballots, is taking days to finish counting ballots in close primary contests. California’s gubernatorial primary and Los Angeles mayoral race are still undecided nearly a week later. State officials say it’s common to take days and even weeks to count the millions of mail-in ballots due to California laws and processes.

The president, however, claimed it’s taking California days to count the ballots “because they’re cheating on the election,” and Welker asked, “Do you have evidence to support that?” The president retorted, “All I have to do is look,” without citing support for his claims, aside from the length of time. “But that’s not evidence,” Welker responded.

After the president accused Welker of being “crooked or stupid,” he insisted that there’s “more evidence than ever presented” that the 2020 election was rigged. When Welker pointed out that the president and his allies went to court to litigate those election claims — and only prevailed in one minor case out of 62 cases total — the president again called Welker and NBC “crooked,” adding that he thinks the same thing about ABC, CBS and CNN.

“You’re a one-sided crooked network,” Mr. Trump said. “Sorry. Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time.”

After another moment of exchanges in which Welker urged him to stay, the president walked off camera.

The California election system is famously slow, and experts have warned it could take days or weeks to finish counting votes. Experts and California Gov. Gavin Newsom knew the vote counting would be slow even before it began. Last month, Newsom sent an open letter to county election officials, urging them to speed up the counting process to fight off unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about election security.

“California really cares about counting its ballots,” Christian Grose, USC professor of political science, told CBS News before the primary election. “And so as a result, we have a lot of different ways to vote.”

Trump-nominated first assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said over the weekend that his office has opened “multiple election fraud investigations,” alleging the system in California has “serious structural vulnerabilities.” His office is attempting to audit the state’s voter rolls.

Mr. Trump defended the idea of using money from the “anti-weaponization fund” created by his administration to pay Jan. 6 rioters, saying the 2020 election was “rigged.” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Trump administration is “not moving forward” with the fund, but he refused to commit to that in writing.

When Mr. Trump was asked if he thought people convicted of assaulting police officers deserved a payout from the fund, Mr. Trump said “I wouldn’t be inclined to say so, but I have to see it.”

During the interview, which aired on “Meet the Press,” Mr. Trump also claimed he never promised not to get the U.S. into new wars.

“First of all, I didn’t guarantee no war,” the president told Welker. “Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?”

But on the campaign trail, Mr. Trump repeatedly pledged to “expel the warmongers from our government” and strongly hinted there would be no new wars, like was the case in his first term.

“I’m going to keep you out of wars, I kept you out of wars,” the president said in a July 24, 2024, campaign rally.

And in his November 2024 victory speech, he said, “We had no wars. Four years, we had no wars. Except we defeated ISIS. We defeated ISIS in record time. But we had no wars. They said, ‘He will start a war.’ I’m not going to start a war, I’m going to stop wars.”

The NBC Interview was not the first time the president has ended an interview abruptly over the questions.

In October 2020, he walked out of a “60 Minutes” interview with CBS News’ Lesley Stahl, voicing complaints about “tough questions.” In January 2022, he ended an interview with NPR when he was challenged about his 2020 election claims.

NBC News published a full transcript of the interview.

Jeff Nguyen and Austin Turner contributed to this report.

Senators seek probe into US transport chief road trip paid for by corporate donors

2026-06-08 18:59:08 UTC / Reuters

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy listens during a House Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 21, 2026. REUTERS/Eric Lee

WASHINGTON, June 8 (Reuters) – A group of six Democratic senators on Monday sought a government probe into U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean ​Duffy for taking a road trip for a family vacation filmed for a web ‌video series that was paid for by corporate donors whose companies his department regulates.

Senators Patty Murray, Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth, Ben Ray Lujan, Mazie Hirono and Richard Blumenthal asked the DOT Office of Inspector General to review the ​video series, saying Duffy’s actions raise “serious questions about use of funds and potential misconduct.”

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Nate Sizemore, ​a spokesperson for Duffy, called the effort a “witch hunt” and said career ethics ⁠officials cleared every aspect of Duffy’s participation in the Great American Road Trip.

“This is rich coming ​from the same senators who take millions in campaign contributions from companies they have jurisdiction over to ​fund their private jets, steak dinners, and fancy retreats,” Sizemore added.

The senators noted that the trip was funded through a non-profit that received significant contributions from companies overseen by USDOT, including Boeing
BA.N
, Toyota
7203.T
, United Airlines
UAL.O
, Enterprise, Shell
SHEL.L
and Royal ​Caribbean Group.

“We are concerned with this potential mix between personal and professional activities,” the senators added, ​arguing that if it was personal travel, Duffy should not have accepted gas, lodging, and other travel expenses “from a ‌non-profit funded ⁠by the very companies the secretary regulates.”

The companies declined to comment or did not immediately respond to requests to comment.

The trip filmed over 24 days included a visit to the White House, Fenway Park in Boston, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and sites in Philadelphia and Montana. USDOT has ​not yet released the video ​series.

Duffy, a father ⁠of nine and former reality TV star who also served in Congress, said the show paid no salary or production royalties to him or his ​family. The road trip came in the form of short, one- to two-day ​getaways over ⁠an eight-month period, as well as his children’s nine-day spring break in April. It was filmed as a five-part series that will be accessible on YouTube.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed an ethics ⁠complaint suggesting ​the situation may have violated federal gift and travel rules.

The ​group also called on the Transportation Department Office of Inspector General to investigate and noted a Toyota vehicle is prominently featured ​in a promotional video for the series.

Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Porter and Aurora Ellis

California, and the dangerous sudden resurgence of GOP voter fraud fever

2026-06-08T17:59:54.865Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/08/politics/california-voter-fraud-claims-republicans

• The long delay in California primary results have brought back GOP voter fraud claims that had largely subsided since 2020.
• Trump and prominent GOP figures are making fraud allegations despite zero evidence, fueled by the state’s slow ballot-counting process.
• The resurgence comes five months before midterm elections that, if Democrats perform well, could hinge on a single close Senate race.

AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.

Around noon on Sunday, Fox Business Network’s Charles Gasparino declared on X, “I hate the ‘stolen election’ stuff from the president …”

Just two hours later, though, Gasparino himself was entertaining the idea that an election is being stolen. After former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger noted that President Donald Trump is claiming last week’s election in California is “rigged,” Gasparino responded: “Maybe it is.”

There is zero evidence that there is anything fraudulent about the election results in California. As CNN’s Elex Michaelson has explained, the state’s ballot-counting process takes a long time because of how its elections are run, and late-counted mail ballots have typically favored Democrats in large part because Trump has turned Republicans against voting by mail.

But through a combination of disinterest with those details, internet silos and raw politics, theories that Democrats are stealing the California governor’s race and the Los Angeles mayoral race have caught on like wildfire on social media. It has even extended to Republicans who previously kept such voter-fraud claims at arm’s length.

After five years of voter fraud fever on the right going somewhat dormant, it’s back with a vengeance — ignoring the fact that this exact rhetoric led to ugly and violent places at the seat of the US government on January 6, 2021.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last epitomized this trend.

DeSantis was never a leading election denier in the aftermath of 2020. And when he was challenging Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primaries, he dismissed Trump’s claims of a stolen election, saying, “All those theories that were put out did not prove to be true.”

But on Wednesday, DeSantis decried how new batches of votes in California “always seem to go one way.”

“Count until you get the result you want?” DeSantis added, conspiratorially.

A major problem with Trump’s voter fraud crusade after the 2020 election was that he struggled to get his own Justice Department to take his claims seriously. Both his current and former attorney general resisted, and Trump infamously tried to elevate someone to that post who would entertain his wild claims, Jeffrey Clark.

But today, his DOJ is playing into the idea that something is amiss.

The US attorney’s office in Los Angeles over the weekend announced “multiple election fraud investigations,” while citing supposed “serious structural vulnerabilities.”

And on Monday, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, was on CNBC feeding into such suspicions. While qualifying that he wasn’t claiming there was fraud, he said California had created “the opportunity for fraud.”

Even just saying that goes afield of how prosecutors, who generally strictly deal in evidence and not theories, are supposed to conduct themselves.

Clayton was also asked twice about false viral claims that large numbers of votes had been added to the totals in the Los Angeles mayoral race without any of them going to Republican candidate Spencer Pratt. Neither time did Clayton push back on that assertion — even though the US Attorney’s office in Los Angeles had already debunked those claims.

Social media is also rife with people suggesting it’s unthinkable that Democrats were gaining so much after primary day — despite that being a common occurrence in deep-blue California. Trump himself leaned into that narrative on Monday, saying it was “not possible” for Pratt to have fallen behind “after the big lead he had.”

“Rigged Elections!” Trump said on Truth Social.

(In fact, that’s how things almost always go in the Golden State; it just so happens that the candidacies of Pratt and former Fox News host Steve Hilton for governor made more people on the right pay increased attention to California, which is often an electoral afterthought nationally.)

While responding to a clip of Trump saying California’s election was rigged, conservative TV personality Meghan McCain said, “For whatever it’s worth, people in my life who have never ever spoken about stolen elections in any capacity are now saying this about California.”

That tracks more widely, too. And disturbingly, it’s happening after years of election suspicion trending down.

Even though Republicans under-performed in the 2022 midterm elections, it was mostly the likes of Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake complaining about fraud, while the rest of the party ignored her.

Trump’s win in 2024 gave the GOP little reason to complain about supposed fraud. And the 2025 results were so decisive for Democrats — and in just a few states — that it wasn’t conducive to such complaints.

Polling shows a decline in concerns about fraud. Washington Post-University of Maryland polling showed about 3 in 10 Americans and 6 in 10 Republicans thought there was “solid evidence” of fraud in the 2020 election, in surveys conducted in 2021 and 2023. But those numbers dropped to 16% and 21%, respectively, after the 2024 election.

That being said, this is clearly still a tinderbox.

After months of Republicans baselessly claiming voting by undocumented immigrants is a major problem and pushing for legislation to prevent it, a March Marist College poll showed confidence in the fairness of the upcoming election was lower than it’s been at any point in recent years — including ahead of the 2020 election.

The survey also showed 70% of Republicans expected fraud to mar the upcoming election.

An April Reuters-Ipsos poll also showed more than 8 in 10 Republicans believed noncitizens cast large numbers of illegal votes (there is no evidence for this), and were concerned about fraudulent mail‑in or absentee ballots (there is no evidence this is a major problem).

It’s not hard to see how this could get ugly.

While voters have largely been spared super-close election results in recent years, even a strong showing for Democrats in 2026 could result in a tight battle for the Senate majority. A single close race could well decide which party holds a major lever of power.

California’s time-consuming ballot-counting process seems to have reawakened this sleeping giant inside the American right. And apparently the passage of time and Trump’s efforts to rewrite the history of January 6 have inured people to the potential consequences.

Indeed, even after the 2020 election, many prominent Republicans didn’t necessarily endorse Trump’s theories; they largely watered them down or merely declined to disagree with him.

But this time, the right seems to be along for the ride, happy to join him in seeding suspicion despite the lack of evidence. That’s a scary prospect five months before the 2026 election.

Pentagon updates religious codes after criticism from Mormons

June 8, 2026 / 3:26 PM EDT / CBS News

The Pentagon on Monday updated its religious affiliation codes after members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints criticized the list because it did not describe LDS as a “Christian” faith.

On Friday, the Pentagon cut the number of religious affiliation codes from over 200 to 31 to help military chaplains streamline religious support services. The 31 codes included the Church of Latter-day Saints – but not as one of the 21 religions described as “Christian,” which angered members of the LDS community, including Republican Sens. John Curtis and Mike Lee of Utah.

“It is unacceptable for a government entity to characterize a faith in a manner that contradicts the religion’s own foundational tenets,” Curtis wrote on X on Saturday.

The Pentagon released a new list Monday afternoon that removed the “Christian” descriptor from other religions and provided just the code and the name of the religious faiths.

In a statement, the Pentagon said the list from Friday, which was posted on X to the public by chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, included “redundant and unnecessary labeling, and the mistake has been fixed.”

“In order to clarify the work of chaplains, and simplify the work of commanders, the Pentagon has consolidated and simplified the list to roughly thirty codes – using the previously used labels for faiths,” the Monday statement said. “The Pentagon’s job is not to adjudicate theological debates, but to ensure sincerely-held faith is respected and encouraged in our ranks.”

In response to the statement, Lee posted on X, “I agree with this statement, and am grateful to Secretary Hegseth for correcting the error.”

Hegseth, who often invokes his Christian faith, began monthly voluntary prayer services early in his tenure and has welcomed the Christian evangelical pastor Doug Wilson to speak. Wilson, whose beliefs include that it was a mistake to give women the right to vote, has argued Mormons are not Christian.

In a video post from December, Wilson said, “Mormonism is not Christian. Not to put too fine a point on it – the Christian faith is monotheistic and Mormonism is polytheistic.” The nonprofit civil rights organization FAIR, which supports the LDS Church, argued that is not true – that the church believes in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, not multiple gods.

On Sunday, before the Pentagon updated the list, Lee said the government should not weigh in “on doctrinal disputes between various religious denominations.”

Some of the other religions represented on the list include Presbyterian, Quaker, Church of Christ, Christian (Non-Denominational), Catholic, Episcopal, Islam, Hindu, Sikh, and Judaism.

The list is part of Hegseth’s effort to overhaul the Military Chaplain Corps that he announced in December. His goal is to create “a top down cultural shift, putting spiritual wellbeing on the same footing as mental and physical health.” Amid this effort, the U.S. Army Chief of Chaplains Major Gen. William Green Jr. was fired from his position in April.

Hegseth initially announced the list of codes would be trimmed from over 200 to just 31 back in March after he said an internal review committee determined the roughly 30 codes were the most used by service members, but the Pentagon didn’t release the list publicly until Friday.

The codes are shown below:

Updated Pentagon religious codes list, June 8, 2026

June 2026: Original Pentagon list that did not include Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a Christian religion.

Decoding AI: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on regulating AI in political ads: ‘We want to make sure voters aren’t confused’ | CNN Politics

2026-06-08T18:36:36.316Z / CNN

Decoding AI: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on regulating AI in political ads: ‘We want to make sure voters aren’t confused’

By Pamela Brown, CNN

Published 2:36 PM EDT, Mon June 8, 2026

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Decoding AI: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on regulating AI in political ads: “We want to make sure voters aren’t confused”

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GOP Governor Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma joins CNN’s Pamela Brown to discuss his push for lawmakers in his state to address the use of AI in political campaigns, as he weighs calling a special session on the matter.

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Judge voids Trump’s $100,000 fee for new H-1B visas

June 8, 2026 3:35 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — A federal judge on Monday invalidated President Trump’s policy imposing a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for high-skilled foreign workers, finding it unlawful.

U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin ruled in favor of a group of 20 states that challenged the new fee announced by Mr. Trump in September. The judge found that the Trump administration overstepped its authority by imposing a $100,000 tax on H-1B applications without authorization from Congress.

“The substance and application of the $100,000 payment reveal that it is a tax, regardless of what the payment is called,” Sorokin wrote in a 42-page decision.

The judge, appointed by former President Barack Obama, wrote that “there are no statutory powers authorizing [the Trump administration] to implement a $100,000 tax on H-1B petitions.”

The H-1B visa program was created by Congress in 1990 and allows U.S.-based companies to temporarily hire foreign workers in a specialty occupation for up to six years. Congress capped the number of H-1B visas at 65,000 per year. Another 20,000 of the visas can be issued for people with advanced degrees. Under the program, employers are also required to pay certain fees, typically ranging between $1,700 to $4,500.

But last year, Mr. Trump signed a proclamation that added a $100,000 payment to all new H-1B applications. The president argued the H-1B visa program “has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor,” which he said had “undermined both our economic and national security.”

The Trump administration moved swiftly to implement his proclamation. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in October the $100,000 fee applied to new applications filed on or after Sept. 21, just two days after Mr. Trump announced the new policy. The agency clarified that the fee would only apply to new applicants living abroad, and not renewals.

blob:https://www.cbsnews.com/25395c9c-4fd7-469b-906d-eb3383fb7708

The coalition of states, led by California, filed their lawsuit challenging the fee in December and alleged that the new policy was unlawful. The states warned that the $100,000 fee would hamper their ability to hire high-skilled workers in several areas, including at primary and secondary schools, in public colleges and universities, and at medical facilities.

In his decision, Sorokin found that Mr. Trump had no power or authorization from Congress to impose a tax on H-1B applications. He said the record in the case lacked any indication that the Trump administration “reasonably explained” the decision to implement the $100,000 fee, and found that none of the policy rationales from federal agencies “offer a reasonable explanation for enacting a heavy tax on the H-1B program.”

He ordered the required visa payment to be set aside in its entirety, relief that is allowed under a federal law called the Administrative Procedure Act.

SEE IT: Maine voters sound off on Platner’s divisive campaign as crucial primary nears: ‘He’s a disgrace’

2026-06-08 13:03:40 EDT / Fox News

Some voters call Platner a ‘disgrace’ while supporters say working-class candidates shouldn’t need spotless records

By Andrew Mark Miller , Kiera McDonald , Alexis McAdams Fox News

Published June 8, 2026 1:03pm EDT

Video

SEE IT: Maine voters sound off on Platner’s divisive campaign as crucial primary nears: ‘He’s a disgrace’

With Maine’s Democratic Senate primary one day away, voters tell Fox News they’re divided over whether Graham Platner’s controversies are disqualifying or overblown.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

PORTLAND, Maine — Voters in Maine are just one day away from deciding which Democrat they want to represent them in the U.S. Senate, and residents who spoke to Fox News are mixed on whether Graham Platner’s swirling controversies disqualify him from seeking the office.

“He’s a disgrace to every veteran that has PTSD like I do, because he’s using it as an excuse to cover up his own personal failings,” Bill, a Peaks Island resident and military veteran, told Fox News, referencing Platner leaning into his PTSD struggles as a combat veteran.

“You do not abuse women because you were in combat. You do not say things about trans people. You do not wear Nazi symbols because you were in combat. That is because of who you are,” Bill said. “He’s a little bitty, well-to-do guy hiding behind his status as a veteran and not acknowledging himself as a failed human being.”

WATCH: MAINE VOTERS DIVIDED ON PLATNER AS SCANDALS SHADOW DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY

Maine voters are divided over Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner as he heads into Tuesday’s primary amid a series of personal controversies.(Fox News)

As the primary nears, Platner is facing criticism from both the left and the right over allegations of abuse from former girlfriends, sexually explicit messages allegedly sent to women during the early days of his marriage, a Nazi-linked tattoo and online comments mocking a Purple Heart veteran.

Mike, a Maine voter, said Platner’s tattoo made his decision a “no-brainer,” saying it was difficult to believe the candidate did not know the Totenkopf symbol on his chest had been used by Nazi death camp guards.

“Nothing good about him,” Mike said. “Anybody with a Nazi tattoo, and it’s not a Bugs Bunny tattoo, okay? It’s like, ‘Oh my God, I got a tattoo, I didn’t know what it was.’ If he was honest about it, and said, ‘Hey, it was a mistake. I got a Nazi tattoo, and it’s stupid. I was drunk and I was in the service,’ then maybe that’s one thing. But at that point, it’s a no-brainer for me.”

DEMOCRATIC MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER CONFRONTED BY MS NOW HOST ABOUT TATTOO CONTROVERSY

Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks to an overflow crowd outside a campaign event Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Portland, Maine.(Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo)

When asked if Democrats should drop Platner, Mike said, “Of course they should,” adding that Democrats are standing by Platner because they see him as their best chance to unseat Sen. Susan Collins.

“I mean, it’s like they’re locked in now. This has nothing to do with being a Democrat or Republican. They want to get rid of Susan Collins, take over the Senate, and that’s the bottom line. He could be Adolf Hitler. It doesn’t matter who he is. It’s just the fact that they want to take over the Senate, and that’s their only option right now.”

Karen, a Rockland resident, also questioned whether Platner’s scandals should be overlooked, saying they reflect on his character.

“I think it’s crazy,” Karen said. “I think there’s a lot of things about him that people should understand. They say, ‘Oh, it’s personal,’ but then that also indicates his character.”

Other Mainers who spoke to Fox News struck a different tone, including Holly, a Belfast resident.

“Nobody’s perfect. Everyone makes mistakes,” Holly said. “He’s apologized for the mistakes he’s made, and he’s taken action about it. If you listen to what he’s about in terms of policy, he is very much saying the right things for Maine and the right thing for the country more broadly, and I think he’s a very good candidate.”

GRAHAM PLATNER BLASTS NEW ALLEGATIONS AS ‘FALSE ACCUSATIONS’: ‘MAINE, YOU HAVE MY BACK’

Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, points to a covered tattoo that was previously recognized as a Nazi symbol during an interview in Portland, Maine, on Oct. 22, 2025.(WGME via AP)

Claire, a Brooklin resident, said voters should focus less on Platner’s past and more on his candidacy, saying, “He’s the best candidate by far, and probing into the minutiae of his personal relationships when you don’t do that for any other candidate is ridiculous.”

One voter argued that working-class candidates should not be expected to have spotless records.

“If we want folks who are representing us from the working class, they’re not necessarily going to have a groomed and perfect political record coming into politics,” Paul, a Bar Harbor resident, said.

Kathy, a Rockland resident, said she was willing to look past Platner’s “baggage,” saying “He’s got new ideas, and he’s saying things for the people and about the people.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Platner, widely believed to be the presumptive Democratic nominee for Senate, heads into a Tuesday night primary election where Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and former senior government official David Costello are on the ballot.

If victorious, Platner will square off against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.

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/6397901034112

Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee is unlawful, US judge rules

2026-06-08T17:28:26.049Z / Reuters

BOSTON, June 8 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Monday struck down a $100,000 fee U.S. President Donald Trump imposed on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, concluding that it constituted an unlawful ​tax Congress never authorized.

U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston issued the

ruling
in a lawsuit filed ‌by 20 Democratic state attorneys general challenging a fee Trump announced in September that dramatically raised the cost of obtaining H-1B visas.

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The administration argued the fee constituted a lawful monetary penalty that the president was authorized to impose under federal immigration law, which gives him the power ​to restrict the entry of certain foreign nationals when he deems it “detrimental to the interests of the United States.”

But ​Sorokin concluded that the fee was not a penalty but a tax that the Republican ⁠president lacked any authorization from Congress to issue and that the U.S. State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ​could not implement.

“Here, the substance and application of the $100,000 payment reveal that it is a tax, regardless of what the ​payment is called,” wrote Sorokin, who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama.

The judge cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s February ruling striking down Trump’s sweeping tariffs he pursued under a law meant for use in national emergencies. Under the logic of the justices’ decision in that case, Trump similarly ​had no authority under immigration law to levy a tax, Sorokin said.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers in a statement said ​the Trump administration is confident Sorokin’s order will be reversed on appeal.

“President Trump has clear legal authority to restrict entry of any ‌class of ⁠aliens he determines is not in America’s best interests, and that is exactly what he did,” she said.

The H-1B program offers 65,000 visas annually, with another 20,000 visas for workers with advanced degrees, approved for three to six years. Technology companies in particular rely heavily on workers who receive H-1B visas.

Employers seeking a visa for a foreign worker before Trump’s proclamation typically ​paid about $2,000 to $5,000 in fees ​depending on various factors. The ⁠fee will not apply to visas granted to foreign citizens already in the United States on student visas, who generally make up a large share of new H-1B recipients.

The increase ​in fees has discouraged H-1B visa requests, according to court filings. As of February 15, ​U.S. Citizenship and ⁠Immigration Services had received just 85 payments of the $100,000 fee, the administration said in a March filing.

The Trump administration has also ordered enhanced vetting of H-1B applicants and proposed a new visa selection process that would favor higher-skilled and better-paid workers.

The $100,000 fee prompted ⁠at least ​three different lawsuits challenging its implementation, including a case by the U.S. ​Chamber of Commerce, which is appealing a December decision by a judge in Washington, D.C., who rejected its claims that Trump had no authority to set ​the fee.

Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Additional reporting by Daniel Wiessner; Editing by David Bario, Cynthia Osterman and Aurora Ellis