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Trump-backed nominees dominate primary contests as president tightens party vice grip

May 20, 2026 2:25pm EDT / Fox News

Rep Thomas Massie lost to former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein in Kentucky after $32M was spent on the race overall

By Robert McGreevy, Fox News

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President Donald Trump was the biggest winner of Tuesday’s wide slate of primary elections as the president celebrated a large swath of his preferred candidates winning GOP primaries or advancing to runoff elections.

Massie Ousted in Historic, Multimillion-Dollar Kentucky Primary

In the most expensive primary in U.S. House history, a longtime thorn in Trump’s side, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., lost to former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein in Kentucky’s 4th District. Gallrein defeated Massie soundly with nearly 55% of the vote to Massie’s 45.1%, according to The Associated Press.

The defeat will mark the end to Massie’s congressional stint, a tenure which, toward its end, saw Massie increasingly opposing Trump and criticizing the president’s actions on trade deals, the Jeffrey Epstein files and the Iran war.

In his concession speech, Massie highlighted the influx of support his opponent received from pro-Israel groups like the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

“I would have come out sooner, but I had to call my opponent to concede and it took a while to find him in Tel Aviv,” he joked to his supporters Tuesday night.

TRUMP TARGETS MASSIE IN EXPLOSIVE KENTUCKY SHOWDOWN AS SIX STATES HOLD HIGH-STAKES PRIMARIES

Rep. Thomas Massie speaks with supporters after his concession speech in Hebron, Ky., on May 19, 2026.(Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

Pro-Israeli groups like AIPAC and the Republican Jewish Coalition, as well as other pro-Trump groups, poured millions of dollars into attack ads against Massie and support ads for Gallrein. With over $32 million spent on the race overall, the contest became the most expensive primary in House history.

Trump and surrogates, like Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, campaigned arduously against Massie in Kentucky and in national media, with Trump referring to Massie as the “Worst Republican Congressman in History” in one of many pre-primary attacks on Truth Social.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6396099410112

Gallrein, for his part, thanked Trump for his support and told supporters “the winner of the race tonight is not so much Ed Gallrein… but it’s the Republicans of Kentucky Congressional District 4 and their families, who I will be a champion for in Washington.”

ANDY BARR BESTS CROWDED SENATE PRIMARY WITH HELP FROM TRUMP ON WAY TO REPLACING MCCONNELL

Elsewhere in Kentucky, Trump-backed Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., won the GOP nomination for the state’s Senate seat, vacated by Sen. Mitch McConnell’s decision not to run for re-election. Barr defeated former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron handily, winning over 60% of the vote, according to AP. He will face former Kentucky state Rep. Charles Booker, who won the Democratic Party’s nomination Tuesday.

Raffensperger Falls Short in Georgia as Runoffs Take Shape

In Georgia, another Trump foe conceded defeat when the state’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger failed to advance in the GOP gubernatorial primary, falling behind Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson, both of whom will advance to a June 16 runoff.

Raffensperger drew Trump’s ire in 2021 when he publicly contested claims Trump made that the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia were inaccurate.

TRUMP’S GEORGIA CANDIDATE HEADS TO GOP RUNOFF FOR GOVERNOR AGAINST BILLIONAIRE BUSINESSMAN JACKSON

While Trump did not actively campaign against Raffensperger, he threw his support behind Jones, the race’s top vote-getter with over 38% of the vote, according to AP. Jackson finished with roughly 32.5%, compared to Raffensperger’s 15%, per AP.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks at a press conference at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta on Nov. 11, 2022. (Getty Images)

The winner of June’s runoff will face Keisha Lance Bottoms, a former mayor of Atlanta who earlier this month collected former President Joe Biden’s first political endorsement since leaving office. Bottoms defeated her Democratic opponents comfortably, collecting over 56% of the vote, per AP.

In the state’s Senate primary, a race in which Trump chose not to place his thumb on the scale, Rep. Mike Collins and former NFL coach Derek Dooley both advanced to the June 16 primary, both gaining more votes than Rep. Buddy Carter, who will not advance.

TRUMP-BACKED REPUBLICAN PADS GOP’S FRAGILE HOUSE MAJORITY BY WINNING SHOWDOWN FOR MTG’S FORMER SEAT

Collins, a strong and vocal supporter of Trump’s, gained the most votes, pulling in over 40%, according to AP. Dooley, a former football coach who most recently coached at the University of Alabama, advanced with just over 30% of the vote.

Tuberville Clinches Nomination; Tight Race for Alabama Senate Seat

Speaking of Alabama and football, former Auburn University head football coach and current U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., secured his party’s nomination to become the next governor of Alabama. Tuberville, who was also backed by Trump, will face former Democratic Sen. Doug Jones, who won his party’s nomination Tuesday.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., speaks as President Donald Trump listens during an event.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)

To replace Tuberville in the Senate, Trump-favored Rep. Barry Moore advanced in the GOP Senate primary with close to 40% of the vote, according to the AP.

Former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson and Alabama Secretary of State Steve Marshall are neck-and-neck competing for the second spot to see who will advance to the June runoff to compete against Moore. With an estimated 5,500 votes remaining to be counted as of this writing, Hudson leads Marshall with 123,531 votes compared to Marshall’s 118,228, according to the AP.

Trump Sweeps Northwest as Democrats Notch Wins in Pennsylvania

Elsewhere in the country, Trump-backed candidates enjoyed victories in Idaho, as incumbents Gov. Brad Little and Sen. Jim Risch won their primaries. In Oregon, Trump-backed incumbent Rep. Clifford Bentz won his primary handily.

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Outside of Trump’s sphere of influence, Pennsylvania Democrats celebrated primary victories for a trio of candidates backed by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro. Bob Harvie, Bob Brooks and Janelle Stelson all won their primaries and will advance to face GOP incumbents in districts the Democrats hope to flip in November.

Fox News’ Sally Persons and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Trump says he hopes Spencer Pratt does well in LA mayoral race, blasts California’s ‘rigged’ elections

May 20, 2026 12:33pm EDT / Fox News

Trump said he’d ‘like to see him do well’ but called California ‘one of the most dishonest states’ for elections

By Robert McGreevy, Fox News

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6396144620112

Trump praises LA mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, rips California’s ‘dishonest’ elections

President Donald Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews that he hopes Spencer Pratt does well in the Los Angeles mayoral race, saying he heard the ex-reality TV star is “a big MAGA person” and ripping California’s elections as “dishonest.”

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President Donald Trump signaled support for former reality TV star turned Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt while speaking to reporters Wednesday at Joint Base Andrews.

“Oh, I’d like to see him do well. He’s a character,” Trump said.

“I don’t know him. I assume he probably supports me. Does he support me?” Trump asked a reporter.

“I heard he does. I heard he’s a Big MAGA person. He’s doing well,” Trump said of Pratt after being asked if he saw any similarities between himself and the former “The Hills” star.

REALITY TV STAR SPENCER PRATT GAINS TRACTION IN LOS ANGELES MAYORAL RACE AFTER FIERY DEBATE

President Donald Trump talks to reporters before boarding Air Force One on May 20, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Trump signaled support for Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt while blasting California’s elections as “rigged.”(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump questioned whether Pratt could win the election in California, claiming the state’s voting system is “rigged.”

“I don’t know if, you know, if you have a rigged vote out there. That’s the problem. The votes are rigged. You have a really rigged vote in California. You have all the mail-in ballots, everything else. Very hard to win because the elections are very dishonest. If we had Jesus Christ come down and count the votes, I would have won California because I do great with Hispanics. But it’s a rigged vote,” he said.

“They send out 38 million votes. Nobody knows where they’re going. Of course, the Democrats do, so I guess, but, disproportionately, Democrats get many more votes. Some get eight votes, they get eight cards, and Republicans have to call in. ‘Where’s my card?’ It’s a rigged system. One of the most. Not the worst. I’ll give you a list. Maybe I’ll do my list. But it’s… California’s one of the most dishonest states,” he concluded.

Spencer Pratt launched his mayoral campaign in January after being dissatisfied with incumbent Mayor Karen Bass.(Etienne Laurent/Getty Images)

Pratt and his wife Heidi Montag lost their Pacific Palisades home in the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, which destroyed thousands of homes across the area. Those fires, and Democratic Mayor Karen Bass’ alleged “mismanagement” of the aftermath, were a prime catalyst in Pratt’s decision to run for mayor.

“Standing here one year later, I have to tell you the most heartbreaking part of the last year wasn’t being displaced or losing everything I own, it was the realization that all of this was preventable,” Pratt said when he announced his candidacy on Jan. 7, 2026, the one-year anniversary of the Palisades Fires.

SPENCER PRATT SAYS A-LISTERS PRIVATELY CHEER HIS CRITICISM OF CALIFORNIA LEADERSHIP, FEAR CAREER FALLOUT

“While our lives were literally burning to the ground, Mayor Karen Bass was in Ghana,” Pratt charged.

Pratt has an Airstream trailer parked on the dirt lot where his Pacific Palisades home burned down in the 2025 wildfire. He has said he stopped staying there after receiving death threats and because his security team warned the exposed lot was unsafe. Pratt and his family have reportedly spent time in temporary housing, including the Hotel Bel-Air and rentals near Santa Barbara/Carpinteria, while he campaigns for Los Angeles mayor, and he has publicly questioned whether he can afford to rebuild permanently in the Palisades.

He has garnered campaign buzz with provocative AI-generated campaign videos and hardline stances on homelessness and drug addiction, including calls for stricter enforcement, mandatory treatment and expanded incarceration for some repeat offenders and people involved in street crime.

Pratt trails the incumbent Bass in most major polling, though a recent Emerson College poll showed him surging up from 10% in March to 22% in May. Bass is polling at 30% in the same poll.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said “it depends” when asked whether noncitizens should be allowed to vote in local elections.(Getty Images)

The candidates are heading for a June 2 primary that could see a winner declared if one candidate pulls in more than 50% of the votes. If no candidate reaches the 50% threshold, the top two candidates will advance to a head-to-head general election slated for November.

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Fox News Digital contacted Pratt, Bass and the California Secretary of State for further comment.

Trump’s endorsement put to the test in Alabama Senate runoff to replace Tuberville

2026-05-20T14:35:20-04:00 / Fox News

Tuberville’s decision to run for governor created a vacancy that drew a crowded 7-candidate field in Alabama

By Alex Miller Fox News

Published May 20, 2026 2:35pm EDT

Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville announces gubernatorial bid for the Yellowhammer State

Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville details his run for Alabama governor and his remaining tenure in Congress on ‘The Will Cain Show.’

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Alabama is one step closer to anointing the Republican successor to Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.

But determining which candidate will come out on top is still weeks away, given that Tuberville’s decision to run for governor and vacate his Senate seat ignited a crowded race to replace him. And in Alabama, if a candidate doesn’t get a majority of votes, a runoff is triggered.

Out of the field of Republican hopefuls, Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., and former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson emerged from the seven-way clash. They will again square off on June 16.

TRUMP’S EARLIEST SUPPORTER ANNOUNCES BID FOR ALABAMA SENATE SEAT

President Donald Trump arrives at Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Air Force One on May 15, 2026, returning from Beijing where he met with China’s President Xi Jinping.(Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

It will also be another test of President Donald Trump’s endorsement power in Alabama, where his track record has not been 100%.

Moore, who announced his candidacy to Fox News Digital last year, has Trump’s backing. It’s an endorsement he re-upped during a recent tele-rally urging support for the three-term member of the House.

“He’s a true America First Patriot who’s been with me from the very beginning,” Trump said during the rally.

ALABAMA REPUBLICANS PLOW FORWARD AFTER KEY SUPREME COURT WIN PUTS CONGRESSIONAL MAP IN QUESTION

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6395244041112

Moore, who is a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and a self-styled fiscal hawk, has a long-standing history of supporting Trump. Indeed, he was the first elected official in the country to endorse Trump during his first run for office in 2015.

“I think my number one job is to protect the people’s liberty and to support the president in that process,” Moore told Fox News Digital last year. “And so, for us, it’s an opportunity to continue to fight for the America First agenda, and also make sure we have conservatives in the Senate from Alabama that are truly the voice of the people.”

TRUMP BACKS PAXTON IN TEXAS REPUBLICAN SENATE SHOWDOWN WITH CORNYN

Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., salutes during the national anthem during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 18, 2024.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty Images)

Hudson narrowly squeaked into the second place spot against Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall in a race that wasn’t locked in until several hours after polls closed.

Marshall had a stronger name ID heading into the race, and has served as the Yellowhammer State’s top law enforcement officer since 2017.

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And most recently, he made waves after demanding that a federal court in Alabama adhere to the Supreme Court’s recent redistricting decision in Louisiana and allow the state’s maps drawn during the 2020 cycle to be used on primary day.

But it wasn’t enough to best either Moore or Hudson. And the winner of that contest next month will face the Democratic candidate, either Everett Wess and Dakarai Larriett, who are similarly headed for a runoff race.

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

US provides another $200 million for plan to rebuild New York Penn Station

2026-05-20 18:56:11 UTC / Reuters

Commuters exit Penn Station, in New York City, U.S., May 19, 2026. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz Purchase Licensing Rights

May 20 (Reuters) – The U.S. Transportation Department said on ​Wednesday it will ‌provide another $200 million to begin construction next year ​on an $8 billion ​plan to rebuild New ⁠York Penn Station, ​a key transit artery.

U.S. ​passenger railroad Amtrak and the Trump administration said ​the plan includes ​expanding track capacity, building a ‌grand ⁠entrance on Eighth Avenue to a new train hall and ​replacing aging ​walkways ⁠with open modern concourses. It ​is not clear ​how ⁠much of the total cost will be ⁠provided ​by the ​federal government.

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Reporting by David Shepardson; ​Editing by Chris Reese

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Trump demands Senate parliamentarian’s ouster for axing ballroom security funding

2026-05-20 1:22pm EDT / Fox News

Elizabeth MacDonough ruled against $1B in funding that included security enhancements for Trump’s colossal ballroom

By Alex Miller Fox News

Published May 20, 2026 1:22pm EDT

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6391891979112

Trump urges Senate Republicans to stop filibuster

Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich has the latest on the DHS funding debate on ‘Special Report.’

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President Donald Trump wants Senate Republicans to boot the upper chamber’s rules referee after security funding for his ballroom was nixed.

Trump pointed his fury on Wednesday at Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, who holds a nonpartisan role that dictates what can and cannot make it through the budget reconciliation process.

Republicans are currently trying to ram through a $72 billion immigration enforcement funding package, but MacDonough over the weekend stripped out one of Trump’s major requests for $1 billion to, in part, pay for security enhancements to his colossal White House ballroom project.

DEMS SCORE WIN AS GOP SENATOR HELPS ADVANCE IRAN WAR POWERS RESOLUTION

President Donald Trump walks to speak with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on May 8, 2026.(Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)

“Shockingly, Republicans have kept the very important position of ‘Parliamentarian’ in the hands of a woman, Elizabeth MacDonough, who was appointed, long ago, by Barack Hussein Obama and a vicious Lunatic known as Senator Harry Reid, who ran the Senate for the Dumocrats with an ‘iron fist,’” Trump said on Truth Social.

“Over the years, she has been brutal to Republicans, but not so to the Dumocrats — So why has she not been replaced? There are many fair people who would be qualified for that vital job,” he continued.

But it’s not a move Republicans are keen to make, especially in retaliation for the ballroom security funding getting stripped out. Trump earlier this week privately pushed Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to axe MacDonough.

Thune said he wasn’t having any discussions on firing MacDonough, but noted that tempers flare against the parliamentarian “every time there’s a reconciliation.”

SENATE REPUBLICAN THREATENS TO DERAIL ICE, BORDER PATROL PACKAGE OVER TRUMP’S BILLION-DOLLAR REQUEST

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6392626968112
“There are always people that are unhappy with some decisions that come down, and it’s kind of the nature of the beast. So, you know, we will work through the process and do our best to get the things that we want, you know, on the floor, later this week,” Thune said.

Still, Republicans are continuing to haggle over whether to include the security funding at all. Much of the money, about $600 million, would go to the Secret Service, while $220 million was intended to bolster security on the East Wing Modernization project.

Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, whose portion of the package contained the controversial funding, noted that the parliamentarian hasn’t just ruled against Republicans during reconciliation.

“I think the best answer to that is that the parliamentarian has demonstrated in the Biden administration with their recommendations, reconciliations that they didn’t get everything they wanted,” Grassley said.

Like Thune, other Republicans recognized that reconciliation is difficult, but not worth firing MacDonough over.

GOP SENATOR CALLS FOR PARLIAMENTARIAN’S FIRING AFTER SERVING MEDICAID BLOW TO TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., spoke with reporters as he headed to the Senate chamber at the U.S. Capitol on March 12, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“For what,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said when asked if MacDonough should go. “Does she have a DWI or something?”

It’s also not the first time that Republicans have called for MacDonough to be fired. Last year, after MacDonough stripped out provisions that would have caused steep cuts to Medicaid spending, a handful in the GOP demanded that she be replaced.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Fox News Digital at the time that there was already a precedent in place to do it.

“In 2001, Majority Leader Trent Lott fired the Senate parliamentarian during reconciliation,” Marshall said.

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Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital that the true root cause of the issue was the 60-vote filibuster threshold.

Republicans took the reconciliation route because they couldn’t muster enough votes from Senate Democrats to smash through the threshold and fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without making steep concessions on immigration enforcement funding.

“We’re as likely to end the filibuster as we are to get rid of the parliamentarian, so you might as well put pressure on Republicans to address the root cause, which is the 60-vote threshold,” Johnson said.

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

Trump jolts immigration hawks with surprising defense of Chinese students in USA

May 20, 2026 2:41pm EDT / Fox News

Greene questioned why American students receive rejection letters while 500,000 Chinese students get accepted

By Charles Creitz, Fox News

President Donald Trump joins ‘Hannity’ to unpack his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

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President Donald Trump split with immigration hawks by defending Chinese students in the U.S. while also softening on Chinese-owned farmland — creating friction inside MAGA and unexpected overlap with moderate Democrats.

Fox News’ Sean Hannity asked Trump in a recent interview from Beijing about concerns surrounding Chinese nationals attending school in the U.S. and China-linked entities purchasing farmland, including in sensitive areas like near a North Dakota military base that raised eyebrows earlier this decade.

Republicans have long warned that Chinese student visa programs could expose U.S. research and state secrets to the Chinese Communist Party, while GOP officials like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer have pushed for tougher restrictions on Chinese ownership of American farmland.

“It’s not that I love it. You want to see farm prices drop; you want to see farmers lose a lot of money just take that out of the market. But they’ve had a lot of land for a long time. Obama did nothing about it,” Trump said.

SENATORS RICKETTS, FETTERMAN UNITE AGAINST CHINA’S QUIET INVASION OF US FARMLAND

President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping listened to each other on Taiwan, but Trump stressed he did not give in to Xi’s claims of control over Taiwan, declining to assure Xi the U.S. would not defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion.(Brendan Smialowski – Pool/Getty Images)

Trump also defended allowing Chinese students to study in the U.S., calling them “good students” and arguing that banning them would unnecessarily inflame tensions with Beijing.

“I frankly think that it’s good that people come from other countries and they learn our culture and many of them want to stay here,” Trump said, while admitting that it “doesn’t sound like a very conservative position – and I’m a conservative… commonsense guy. I think MAGA is ‘common sense,’” he said.

The comments triggered backlash from the right wing of the MAGA movement, with former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene disputing, “No — that’s not commonsense.”

“Trump says it’s insulting to tell China their students can’t go to our universities, imagine being an American student and receiving a rejection letter while 500,000 Chinese students get in,” Greene said, according to the left-wing New Republic. “And no – it’s not OK for China to buy our farmland.”

Some Democrats, however, appeared heartened by Trump’s more moderate stance on a major sticking point in the immigration field.

Fox News Digital reached out to top Democrats on the moderate New Democrat Coalition’s Border Security Working Group.

Chairman Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico told Fox News Digital that while he disagrees with Trump “on a lot” regarding immigration enforcement, he will continue to support efforts to bring new blood into the American economy.

“I have long supported building America’s workforce by encouraging the best and brightest across the world to come study in the U.S. and build their careers and families here,” said Vasquez.

“Congress should expand more legal pathways for students to stay here and start businesses, grow the American economy, and help our country fill critical needs in key industries like healthcare, manufacturing, quantum AI and engineering.”

A Vasquez spokesperson added that the lawmaker, however, agrees with conservatives on one point where Trump differed — that Chinese nationals should not be permitted to purchase U.S. farmland.

“Food security is national security,” the spokesperson said.

Speaking to Hannity, Trump added: “I could tell [Xi], I don’t want any students, it’s a very insulting thing to say to a country. They would then immediately go out and start building universities all over China.”

Trump argued that without the influx of Chinese students, middling and lower-tier universities would begin dying on the vine financially.

Lora Ries, former counsel for the House Judiciary Committee’s immigration subcommittee and a 30-year policy expert now with the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital that universities have grown too dependent on foreign students because they often pay “full freight” — and made the case for scrutinizing the education system rather than keeping it propped up with foreign tuition.

TRUMP CLAIMS GOP ‘VERY OPEN’ TO KEEPING ‘DREAMERS’ IN US, TAKES SHOT AT ‘VERY DIFFICULT’ DEMS

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6395871758112

“It is no longer a level playing field for American students to get into these universities. We also know many of these universities are producing degrees that don’t have a great return on investment: gender studies, et cetera. So why on earth do we want to keep universities that depend on those sorts of degrees afloat?” Ries said.

“We shouldn’t justify continuing to bring in high levels of foreign students to keep so many universities in business when the Big-Ed model is absolutely upside-down.”

According to Ries, Chinese and other foreign student blocs exacerbate the difficulty American students face getting into colleges — while native students are also not finding meaningful jobs after graduation.

Ries said the issue is “right up Trump’s alley,” but not in the way the president posited on “Hannity.” She said Trump could shake up “Big-Ed” by incentivizing quality degrees and disincentivizing ones that leave American graduates occupationally stranded.

FOREIGN STUDENTS WHO HATE AMERICA DON’T DESERVE VISAS — AND WE HAVE TOOLS TO STOP THEM

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6395746156112

When it comes to the adage about jobs Americans supposedly won’t do, she pointed to the medical field, which has seen an influx of foreign students.

“You can’t say medicine is a job that Americans won’t do, so what’s going on?” she said.

She also noted that Chinese nationals cannot come to live in America without the knowledge of — and often information-sharing with — the CCP, which itself poses a risk.

“Also, Chairman Xi can say, ‘Well, America is in decline,’ as he just did in this summit.”

When asked for comment, a White House spokesperson directed Fox News Digital to the president’s remarks to Hannity.

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Trump’s comments set up a new potential divergence between presidential policy and conservative politics among some of his current and former most ardent supporters, including Greene.

It also, however, potentially opens up a rare immigration dialogue with Democrats like Vasquez and his coalition of moderates, who have been trying to advance their own fixes to the broken system.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

US Health Secretary Kennedy fires heads of key preventive health panel

2026-05-20 16:53:38 GMT / Reuters

By Deena Beasley

May 20, 2026 4:53 PM UTC Updated 38 mins ago

U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. during a press conference at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 16, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

Summary

• Panel firings confirmed by HHS, replacements sought through May 23
• Dr. Wong says he and Dr. Davis have reapplied to join the panel
• Medical experts warn delays in screening guideline updates due to panel’s sidelining

May 20 (Reuters) – U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired the chair and vice chair of the influential task force that decides what preventive medical care should be provided at no cost to patients, according to letters sent earlier this month and seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

The Preventive Services Task Force, which typically has 16 members, last met over a year ago after Kennedy canceled its regularly scheduled meetings. New members have not been named to replace the five volunteers whose terms expired in December.

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Panel chair Dr. John Wong, professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, and vice chair Dr. Esa Davis, professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, were removed from the panel, according to the letters dated May 11.

An official for the Department of Health and Human Services, run by Kennedy, confirmed the firings. Wong’s term was due to end in March 2027, while Davis’ was set to conclude in March 2028.

Kennedy’s letters say the terminations were “administrative in nature” and applications for a seat on the volunteer panel are open through May 23.

Wong said in an email that both he and Davis had reapplied to be members of the task force “with trepidation around the validity of the process.” Davis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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HHS said last month it was seeking clinicians and researchers to be nominated to the task force “including but not limited to” specialties such as cardiology, oncology, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, family medicine and health economics.

HHS did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday on whether the eight remaining panel members would be dismissed.

Medical experts say Kennedy’s sidelining of the panel has delayed updates to screening guidelines for cancer, heart disease and other conditions.

In the correspondence, Kennedy says HHS aims to implement “standard operating procedures” at the task force and protect its long-term credibility.

Though traditionally made up of an independent group of volunteer experts, members are selected by the health secretary without Senate confirmation, and it relies on support from the department’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Kennedy’s authority over the panel was affirmed by a Supreme Court decision last June that maintained preventive care coverage requirements and made clear that the Secretary can review the task force’s recommendations.

A group of 104 health organizations, including the influential American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, last July sent a letter to Congressional health committees, urging them “to protect the integrity” of the task force.

The preventive care panel has been criticized by some conservatives as too left-leaning.

Reporting by Deena Beasley; Editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

‘The president has the strongest endorsement in the history of politics.’ Speaker Johnson on Trump incumbent primary takedown

2026-05-20T19:02:40.568Z / CNN

‘The president has the strongest endorsement in the history of politics.’ Speaker Johnson on Trump incumbent primary takedown

By Dana Bash, CNN

Published 3:02 PM EDT, Wed May 20, 2026

https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/20/politics/video/inside-politics-panel-trump-primary-speaker-johnson

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‘The president has the strongest endorsement in the history of politics.’ Speaker Johnson on Trump incumbent primary takedown

Inside Politics

The Inside Politics panel breaks down the latest in President Trump’s revenge tour. After President Trump knocked off Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie in Tuesday’s primary, Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged that Trump’s endorsement was powerful, but defended his party against allegations of a rigid loyalty test. “We don’t demand loyalty to the president. What I demand as Speaker of the House is loyalty to our core principles–the principles of our party which are the principles of America.”

4:51 • Source: CNN

Jeff Bezos says bottom half of U.S. earners should pay no federal income tax

May 20, 2026 1:23 PM EDT / CBS News

By Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos told CNBC on Wednesday that the bottom half of U.S. earners should pay no federal income tax, arguing that eliminating those taxes could ease financial strain and encourage entrepreneurship.

The bottom half of U.S. taxpayers currently pays about 3% of federal income taxes, a share Bezos said should fall to “zero.” Bezos, who stepped back as Amazon’s CEO in 2021, is the world’s fourth-richest person, with a fortune valued at $279 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The top 1% of households pay about 40% of federal income taxes, according to the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax policy institute.

Bezos’ comments come amid renewed pushes from some Democratic state and federal lawmakers to institute new wealth taxes aimed at millionaires and billionaires. At the same time, the Republicans’ “big, beautiful” tax and spending bill included tax breaks that critics say predominantly help the wealthiest households.

The government can give “people who are struggling today” a better chance at entrepreneurial success “by eliminating their tax bill,” Bezos said.

“Maybe they’re going to be the next Steve Jobs,” Bezos said, referring to the late co-founder of Apple.

Zero taxes, not lower taxes

Bezos made it clear that he’s not calling for a reduction in income tax for lower-income families.

“I don’t want to reduce it, I want to eliminate it,” he told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin. “I think there’s something very powerful about zero. Zero is a better number than $1.”

Bezos stated his views as some Democratic states are proposing taxes on ultra-wealthy residents. Last month, proponents of a proposal to tax California billionaires obtained enough signatures for the measure to appear on the November ballot. The measure would impose a one-time 5% tax on Californians with net worths of $1 billion or more.

In March, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, introduced the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act of 2026. The bill calls for an annual 2% tax on households and trusts worth more than $50 million, plus an extra 1% tax on billionaires’ wealth. It also proposes a 40% “exit tax” on individuals worth more than $50 million who renounce their American citizenship.

Additionally, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey has proposed the Keep Your Pay Act, which would eliminate taxes on the first $75,000 for households filing joint tax returns.

Under the federal income-tax system, the bottom half of taxpayers — those making less than $53,801 annually — faced an average income-tax rate of 3.7% in 2023, Tax Foundation data shows. The top 1% paid an average rate of 26.3%.

Edited by Aimee Picchi

Senate plots permanent end to government shutdowns with bipartisan push

May 20, 2026 1:00pm EDT / Fox News

Sens. Lankford and Hassan plan to fast-track the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act after Kennedy’s pay rule change

By Alex Miller, Fox News

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6383758955112

Sen. Lankford proposes bill to avoid government shutdowns

Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., join ‘The Faulkner Focus’ to discuss the failed vote to pay federal workers amid the government shutdown as they enter their first week without pay.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

FIRST ON FOX:The Senate is taking another step to prevent government shutdowns, this time to stop them from happening altogether.

It’s a move that comes after Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., successfully changed the Senate rules to prevent lawmakers in the upper chamber from being paid during shutdowns — a play designed to ensure that senators feel the same pain as federal workers during future closures.

But Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., are taking things a step further to outright prevent government shutdowns from ever happening again.

SENATE TAKES MAJOR FIRST STEP TO PREVENT FUTURE SHUTDOWNS WITH PAINFUL ACCOUNTABILITY PLAY

Sen. James Lankford walks through the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 23, 2026.(Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

Lankford has long been pushing his Prevent Government Shutdowns Act, and was nearly successful in passing it years ago. Now, with momentum still fresh from Kennedy’s rule change, he plans to reintroduce the legislation and fast-track it to a floor vote.

Lankford contended in a statement to Fox News Digital that Americans had grown wary of “worthless government shutdown drama and Congress using federal workers and government services as pawns in political standoffs.”

“The Prevent Government Shutdowns Act ends government shutdowns forever with a simple idea: if Congress doesn’t do its job, Congress doesn’t get to go home,” he said. “We shift the pressure off the American people and onto the people they elected. We came within three votes of passing this before, and it is time to finish the job.”

SENATORS AGREE TO GO WITHOUT PAY DURING SHUTDOWNS AFTER HISTORIC CLOSURES LEFT WORKERS UNPAID

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6391469122112

Sen. Kennedy stunned as Democrat blocks bill to withhold congressional pay during DHS shutdown

In the event of another shutdown, the legislation would automatically trigger a short-term funding extension to keep the government open for 14 days at a time. It would also install strict limits on lawmakers and their staff by preventing them from embarking on taxpayer-funded travel outside of Washington, D.C.

It would also nix congressional delegations overseas and prevent lawmakers from taking a recess, a key point of criticism against both chambers during the 43-day and 76-day government shutdowns that happened during this Congress.

Given the unanimous support for Kennedy’s rule change, there’s optimism that Lankford and Hassan’s bill will have the same result.

REPUBLICANS EYE ENDING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS FOREVER OVER FEARS DEMS WILL DO IT AGAIN

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 10, 2025.(Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Hassan said in a statement to Fox News Digital that the bill “incentivizes Congress to fund the government on time and ensures that there is a plan in place to protect families and our economy if Congress cannot come to an agreement.”

“Government shutdowns are costly, avoidable, and make people in New Hampshire and across the country pay the price for the failures of Congress,” Hassan said.

Lankford’s last attempt to advance the legislation in 2023 narrowly failed, with nearly every Senate Democrat voting against it while nearly every Senate Republican — save for Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. — supported it.

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Lawmakers are still dealing with the ripple effects of the latest shutdown, which saw the Department of Homeland Security and its tens of thousands of federal workers go without pay for months.

Republicans are deep into the budget reconciliation process to finish funding immigration operations at the agency and are expected to advance the package from the Senate by week’s end.

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.