Russia will temporarily suspend flights to Cuba after airlines reported difficulties refueling aircraft on the island, aviation authorities said Wednesday.

Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency Rosaviatsia said in a statement posted on Telegram that the airlines Rossiya, part of the Aeroflot Group, and Nordwind were forced to adjust their flight programs due to problems securing fuel in Cuba.

In the coming days, Rossiya will operate several outbound-only flights from Havana and Varadero to Moscow to return Russian tourists home before halting service.

After those repatriation flights are completed, the airline’s Cuba program will be suspended until the situation improves, the agency said, calling the decision one made ‘in the interests of passengers.’

The Transport Ministry and Rosaviatsia said they are maintaining close contact with Cuban aviation authorities and are exploring alternative options to restore two-way service.

The announcement comes two weeks after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over Cuba and authorized new measures aimed at choking off the island’s oil supplies.

In a Jan. 29 executive order, Trump said Cuba poses an ‘unusual and extraordinary threat’ to U.S. national security and empowered his administration to impose tariffs on goods from any country that ‘directly or indirectly sells or otherwise provides any oil to Cuba.’

The order, which took effect Jan. 30, allows additional duties on imports from countries found to be supplying oil to Havana, part of what Trump described as a ‘zero tolerance’ policy toward the Cuban government.

The Federal Aviation Administration’s website shows a Notice to Airmen, or NOTAM, an official alert issued to pilots about hazards or operational disruptions, was posted Feb. 10 for nine Cuban airports warning that Jet A-1 fuel is not available.

The advisory covers Havana (MUHA), Varadero (MUVR), Cienfuegos (MUCF), Santa Clara (MUSC), Camagüey (MUCM), Cayo Coco (MUCC), Holguín (MUHG), Santiago de Cuba (MUCU) and Manzanillo (MUMZ), and remains in effect through March 11.

Since President Trump resumed office, leftists have run to the courts in a desperate attempt to stop — or, at the very least, stall — his agenda. To defeat this lawfare, President Trump needs the Senate’s help to put constitutionalists on the bench. Democrat senators’ obstruction is unsurprising; not even one has voted for one of President Trump’s appellate court nominees. Many Republican senators, however, are lagging in streamlining nominations. The most serious breakdown is in filling district court vacancies in deep-red states, especially Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. With the midterms rapidly approaching, this glacial pace must accelerate in short order.

District courts are the engines of the federal judiciary, and vacancies there create immediate and tangible harm. These courts handle the bulk of federal litigation, from immigration to criminal prosecutions to constitutional challenges. Yet confirming district judges often proves harder than confirming Supreme Court justices. The problem lies in the blue-slip process. Home-state senators have a de facto veto on district court nominees, U.S. attorney nominees and U.S. marshal nominees.

For over a century, U.S. senators have had the power to hand-select the U.S. attorneys who could prosecute them, U.S. district judges who could oversee their trials, and U.S. marshals who could escort them to prison. Senators will never give up this veto power. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a lame-duck Republican who sits on the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, made it crystal clear that he will oppose any nominee who lacks support from both home-state senators. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley can do nothing about blue-slip obstruction when even one committee Republican can team up with Democrats to block any nominee.

There are roughly 15 district court vacancies in states with at least one Democrat senator. Because the blue slip is not going anywhere, it is unlikely that President Trump can fill many of these vacancies. Democrats are more obstructionist than ever. They caused the longest government shutdown in our history just a few months ago.

The far more troubling problem is the sheer number of vacancies in states represented by two Republican senators. Staggeringly, there are nearly two dozen district court vacancies in red states (i.e., states with two Republican senators). The most dire vacancy crises lie in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. There are seven vacancies throughout Texas’ several judicial districts, for example. Texas deals with a massive amount of immigration litigation because it is a border state. There is no excuse for a deep-red state like Texas, which President Trump won by 14%, to have seven vacancies.

Texas sadly is not alone when it comes to an unacceptably slow pace in filling vacancies. Other deep-red states combined have over a dozen: one each in South Carolina, Louisiana, Alaska and Alabama; two each in Ohio, Oklahoma and Florida; and three in Kansas. President Trump won each of these states by double digits and most by over 20%. These states deserve judges who are strong constitutionalists in line with President Trump’s vision of the law.

If Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer reassumes the position of majority leader next year, he will grind the Trump judicial-confirmations train to a screeching halt. Grassley is a workhorse, so it is certain that he will expeditiously streamline President Trump’s nominees through the process this year. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has demonstrated remarkable efficiency in getting nominees swiftly confirmed. No judicial nominees remain on the Senate Executive Calendar. Only four remain in the Judiciary Committee, and they just had their confirmation hearing last week, meaning they will be on the floor and ready for a vote by the end of the month. Leader Thune and Grassley cannot process nominations if there are no nominees.

Republican home-state senators need to focus on this crucial task and understand the urgency of the moment. Since the Senate sits only 3.5 days a week in most weeks, floor time is limited. Should a Supreme Court vacancy arise, Judiciary Committee time and resources must be invested overwhelmingly in confirming President Trump’s nominee. Delay is a recipe for disastrous defeat, and it must end instantly.

Republican senators must get moving in filling judicial vacancies.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced she was ending the work of a task force that sought to reform the U.S. intelligence community, including rooting out what she described as the politicization of intelligence gathering, after less than a year since its creation.

Gabbard established the group in April, when it was also tasked with probing ways to reduce spending on intelligence and whether reports on high-profile topics such as COVID-19 should be declassified.

In a statement on Wednesday, Gabbard said the task force’s work was always intended to be temporary after she was tapped to oversee coordination of the 18 U.S. intelligence agencies.

‘In less than one year, we’ve brought a historic level of transparency to the intelligence community,’ Gabbard said in her statement. ‘My commitment to transparency, truth, and eliminating politicization and weaponization within the intelligence community remains central to all that we do.’

The number of officers assigned to the task force, as well as their identities, are classified, according to Gabbard’s office.

The officers will now return to other intelligence agencies to continue the work the group started, her office added.

The group sparked criticism against Gabbard after its creation, with Democrats and some intelligence insiders raising questions about whether it would be used to undermine intelligence agencies and bring them under tighter control of President Donald Trump.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-VA, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said last year that the group appeared to be a ‘pass for a witch hunt’ designed to target intelligence officers deemed disloyal to Trump.

‘This seems to be just a pass for a witch hunt and that’s going to further undermine our national security,’ Warner told Reuters at the time.

Gabbard has implemented significant changes to the country’s intelligence gathering in the last year, including by using agencies to back up Trump’s claims about alleged interference in the 2016 and 2020 elections.

In August, she revealed plans to cut her office’s workforce and slash more than $700 million from its annual budget. She also fired two top intelligence officials in May after concluding that they opposed Trump.

Since Gabbard took over as director, the federal government has revoked the security clearances of dozens of former and current officials, including high-profile political opponents of the president, which critics have panned as being a punishment for siding against Trump rather than posing security risks.

Gabbard’s presence for a recent FBI search of a Georgia election office in connection to the 2020 election has led to criticism from Democrats who argue she is blurring the traditional lines between foreign intelligence collection and domestic law enforcement.

The CIA has also released additional information about its investigations into the origins of COVID-19, such as an assessment released last year that affirmed the position that it most likely originated in a lab in China.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump is threatening to back election challengers against the six House Republicans who joined Democrats in voting to reverse his tariffs on Canada.

The president sent out an ominous warning to GOP lawmakers in the House and Senate just before his agenda suffered a blow on Capitol Hill Wednesday evening.

‘Any Republican, in the House or the Senate, that votes against TARIFFS will seriously suffer the consequences come Election time, and that includes Primaries!’ Trump posted on Truth Social.

He argued that the trade deficit was reduced significantly while U.S. financial markets hit significant high points because of his tariff policies.

‘In addition, TARIFFS have given us Great National Security because the mere mention of the word has Countries agreeing to our strongest wishes,’ Trump continued. 

‘TARIFFS have given us Economic and National Security, and no Republican should be responsible for destroying this privilege.’

Democrats successfully got a vote on a measure to reverse Trump’s national emergency at the northern border using a mechanism for forcing votes over the objections of House majority leadership called a privileged resolution.

The six Republicans who voted in favor of the measure are Reps. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., Don Bacon, R-Neb., Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. 

One Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, voted with the majority of Republicans on the matter. It passed 219-211.

It’s not clear how much impact Trump’s threat will have, however.

Both Newhouse and Bacon are not running for re-election in the 2026 midterms, and Trump is already endorsing a primary challenger against Massie.

Kiley, whose district was severely impacted by California Democrats’ new congressional map, has not yet said whether he will run for re-election or where he will do it.

Fitzpatrick and Hurd are both well-liked incumbents in their districts, which are top targets for Democrats come November.

Trump signed an executive order in February 2025, enacting an additional 25% tariff on most goods from Canada and Mexico. Energy from Canada was subject to an additional 15% tariff.

At the time, the White House said it was punishment for those countries’ unwillingness to do more to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs into the U.S.

Opponents of Trump’s tariff strategy have criticized his moves against Canada in particular, arguing it was unjustly harming one of the closest allies of the U.S. and trading partners to the detriment of Americans themselves.

But Republicans who voted against the legislation pointed out that Trump said the fentanyl crisis was the reason for issuing the emergency in the first place, and said the drug was still killing Americans.

The legislation now heads to the Senate, where Republicans have voted to rebuke Trump’s tariff strategy in the past despite similar warnings from the president.

The House of Representatives passed a massive election integrity overhaul bill on Wednesday despite opposition from the vast majority of Democrats.

The House passed Rep. Chip Roy’s SAVE America Act, legislation that’s aimed at keeping non-citizens from voting in U.S. federal elections. 

It is an updated version of the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, also led by Roy, R-Texas, which passed the House in April 2025 but was never taken up in the Senate.

Whereas the SAVE Act would create a new federal proof of citizenship mandate in the voter registration process and impose requirements for states to keep their rolls clear of ineligible voters, the updated bill would also require photo ID to vote in any federal elections.

It would also require information-sharing between state election officials and federal authorities in verifying citizenship on current voter rolls and enable the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to pursue immigration cases if non-citizens were found to be listed as eligible to vote.

Democrats have attacked the bill as tantamount to voter suppression, while Republicans argue that it’s necessary after the influx of millions of illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. during the four years of the Biden administration.

‘If we want to rebuild confidence again in American elections, we need to pass the SAVE Act,’ Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. ‘What better way to eliminate that distrust than to make sure that whoever votes in an American citizen who is truly eligible to vote?’

House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., accused Republicans of trying to make it harder for women to vote. She argued that the legislation would make it more difficult for married women to cast ballots if their surname is different from their maiden name on their birth certificate.

‘Republicans aren’t worried about non-citizens voting. They’re afraid of actual American citizens voting. Why? Because they’re losing among women,’ Clark said during debate on the House floor. ‘This is a minefield of red tape that you have put in front of women and American citizens and their right to vote.’

But House GOP Policy Committee Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla., emphasized that it was about keeping illegal immigrants from voting in U.S. elections.

‘This really is about feeding the narrative that Democrats want illegally from all over the world to come here to support them,’ Hern said of Democrats’ opposition.

If implemented, the bill could see new requirements imposed on voters in this year’s November midterm elections.

But it would have to pass the Senate, where current rules dictate that at least several Democrats are needed to meet the 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster.

The House of Representatives passed legislation on Wednesday aimed at reversing President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada after several Republicans joined Democrats for a rare rebuke of the GOP commander-in-chief.

Democrats successfully got a vote on a measure to reverse Trump’s national emergency at the northern border using a mechanism for forcing votes over the objections of House majority leadership, called a privileged resolution.

Trump signed an executive order in February 2025 implementing an additional 25% tariff on most goods from Canada and Mexico. Energy from Canada was subject to an additional 15% tariff.

At the time, the White House said it was punishment for those countries’ unwillingness to do more to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs into the U.S.

Opponents of Trump’s tariff strategy have criticized his moves against Canada in particular, arguing it was unjustly harming one of the U.S.’s closest allies and trading partners to the detriment of Americans themselves.

‘In the last year, tariffs have cost American families nearly $1,700. And that cost is expected to increase in 2026,’ Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., who is leading the legislation, said during debate on Wednesday.

‘And since these tariffs were imposed, U.S. exports to Canada have fallen by more than 21%. When I go home, my constituents aren’t telling me that they have an extra $1,700 to spare. They’re asking me to lower grocery prices, lower the price of healthcare, and make life more affordable.’

Meeks also said, ‘Canada is our friend. Canada is our ally. Canadians have fought alongside Americans, whether it was in World War II or the war in Afghanistan, where 165 Canadians gave their lives after our country was attacked. There is no national emergency, there is no national security threat underpinning these threats.’

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., argued the text of the resolution itself would end a national emergency related to fentanyl.

‘The gentleman over here, 5,000 people per year die in his state alone from fentanyl,’ Mast said of Meeks. ‘So if he wants to beg the question of who’s going to pay the price of him trying to end an emergency, that actually, for the first time, has Canada dealing with fentanyl because of the pressure being put on them — who’s going to pay the price? It’s going to be 5,000 more of his state’s residents. That’s who’s going to pay the price.’

He said the resolution was ‘not a debate about tariffs’ but rather Democrats trying to ‘ignore that there is a fentanyl crisis.’

The resolution was filed by Democrats months ago but was put on hold by an active measure by House GOP leaders that blocked the House from reversing Trump’s emergency declarations.

The president has used emergency declarations to bypass Congress on the subject of tariffs, a move that has drawn mixed reviews from Capitol Hill.

But that measure expired last month, and House GOP leaders’ bid to extend it through July 31 crashed and burned on Tuesday night when three Republicans joined Democrats to oppose it.

‘It is time for Congress to make its voice heard on tariffs,’ Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., one of the Republicans who voted in opposition to the Trump policy both on Tuesday and Wednesday, told Fox News Digital.

The legislation now heads to the Senate, which has voted in the past to restrict Trump’s tariff authority.

Even if it succeeds there, however, it’s likely to be hit with a veto from the president.

Legendary boxer Mike Tyson found himself in a new arena on Wednesday as he stood with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, partnering with the Trump administration to fight obesity.

‘I had a sister that died at 25 from obesity. And where I come from, Brownsville, Brooklyn, is the most violent, poverty-stricken neighborhood in the city of New York and ultra-processed food was just the norm,’ Tyson said. ‘We didn’t have much money, but we had food stamps, and food stamps can buy you the candy, the sugar and all that soda and all that rotten stuff.’

Kennedy and Rollins were providing updates on the rollout of the government’s new dietary guidelines, which were unveiled in January. During the event on Wednesday, several speakers, including Tyson, spoke about the dangers of ultra-processed food and the need to get Americans to shift their diets toward real food.

‘We were able to reduce hundreds of pages of dietary guidelines… to about six pages, but it’s just three words: Eat real food,’ Kennedy said to the crowd as he closed the event. ‘I ask you all to start doing that today if you’re not already doing it.’

Tyson said that when he went to work with a trainer in upstate New York, he was given the tools to keep his health in check. While he admits that he can ‘fool around’ and get ‘lazy,’ leading to gaining 20-40 pounds, he says the tools he learned have allowed him to lose weight fast.

‘This is the biggest fight of my life,’ Tyson added. ‘I want to be a hero in this particular field because it affects my life.’

The event comes just days after the airing of an ad during the Super Bowl in which Tyson speaks about the importance of tackling the U.S.’s reliance on processed food. In the ad, Tyson also speaks about his sister, Denise, who died at the age of 25 from an obesity-linked heart attack.

The legendary boxer posted the video on his Facebook page, and said it was ‘the most important fight of my life.’

‘The most important fight of my life isn’t in the ring. I’m not fighting for a belt. I’m fighting for our health. Processed foods are killing us. We have been lied to, and we need to eat real food again,’ Tyson wrote.

Kennedy’s focus, even during his own 2024 presidential campaign, has been the rise of chronic illness in the U.S., which he believes is linked to an increased consumption of ultra-processed foods. The guidelines that he and Rollins unveiled in January effectively flip the already outdated food pyramid, moving protein, dairy, health fats, fruits and vegetables to the wide top of the inverted triangle, while relegating whole grains to the narrow bottom.

‘Better health begins on your plate — not in your medicine cabinet. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030 put real, whole, nutrient-dense foods back where they belong: at the center of health,’ the government website on the guidelines, RealFood.gov, reads.

The protein target in the new guidelines is ‘1.2–1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.’ Additionally, the guidance recommends Americans consume three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruits every day. Meanwhile, it is recommended that Americans eat two to four servings of whole grains daily, although it specifies that refined carbohydrates are not recommended.

Iran dominated the agenda in Wednesday’s White House meeting between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with both leaders signaling that diplomacy with Tehran remains uncertain and that coordination will continue if talks fail.

In a post on Truth Social following the meeting, Trump said he pushed for continued negotiations but left open other options.

‘There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a deal can be consummated. If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference. If it cannot, we will just have to see what the outcome will be… Last time Iran decided that they were better off not making a deal, and they were hit with Midnight Hammer — That did not work well for them.’

Netanyahu’s office said the leaders discussed Iran, Gaza and broader regional developments and agreed to maintain close coordination, adding that the prime minister emphasized Israel’s security needs in the context of negotiations.

Earlier in the day, Netanyahu formally joined the U.S.-backed Board of Peace, signing onto the initiative ahead of the meeting after weeks of hesitation. The move places Israel inside a forum that includes Western partners as well as Turkey and Qatar, whose involvement in Gaza has drawn criticism in Jerusalem.

Experts say the decision reflects strategic calculations tied to both Gaza and Iran.

Dr. Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, said Netanyahu’s participation is directly linked to cooperation with Washington and to shaping postwar arrangements in Gaza.

‘It is in Israel’s interest for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to join the Board of Peace. He needs a place at that table even alongside adversarial powers such as Muslim Brotherhood-aligned countries Qatar and Turkey. Netanyahu’s membership in the Board of Peace is an important element in his cooperation with President Trump to help implement the 20-point plan, with deradicalization, disarming Hamas and demilitarization as the first three non-negotiable actions.’

Diker said the decision is also tied to Iran. ‘More strategic reason that Netanyahu’s membership on the Board of Peace is important is that it represents an element of cooperation to counter the Iranian regime. Netanyahu is likely counting on action against the Iranian regime from the Iranian people themselves and from the United States in the coming weeks. In exchange, Netanyahu continues to cooperate in implementing the 20-point plan in Gaza as part of a quid pro quo.’

Blaise Misztal, vice president for policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, described Israel’s move as a pragmatic choice shaped by the incomplete implementation of the Gaza deal and the broader regional threat environment.

‘The implementation of the Gaza peace deal leaves much to be desired. Hamas, despite being given 72 hours to release all hostages, took over 100 days to do so; Hamas has still not disarmed; there is neither an International Stabilization Force nor any countries jumping at the chance to join it; and the Board of Peace comprises countries that have shown themselves enemies of peace with Israel.’

He said Israel ultimately chose engagement over isolation. ‘Proceeding with the deal — including joining the Board of Peace — is Israel’s least bad option. Israel has a better chance of countering or balancing Turkish and Qatari influence on the Board of Peace by being in the room with them, rather than outside it.’

Misztal also linked the timing to Iran. ‘With the United States having a real chance to disarm, or even topple, the Iranian regime and the risk that Tehran might yet lash out at Israel, there is no interest in doing anything that would risk restarting the war in Gaza.’

Senate Democrats aren’t budging on their Homeland Security demands, and appear ready to again thrust the government into a partial shutdown as Republicans scramble to keep the lights on.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced that he and Senate Democrats were prepared to reject a short-term funding extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR), for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) just days ahead of the funding deadline.

‘We’re 3 days away from a DHS shutdown, and Republicans have not gotten serious about negotiating a solution that reins in [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and stops the violence,’ Schumer said on X. ‘Democrats will not support a CR to extend the status quo.’

Congress has until Friday at midnight to fund the agency, and as the days go by, the odds of doing so are becoming increasingly slim.

Schumer’s edict comes as both sides of the aisle continue negotiations behind the scenes on a compromise bill to fund the agency.

Senate Democrats unveiled the legislative text of their 10-point proposal over the weekend, and for a time, Republicans were optimistic that talks were moving in a positive direction.

Now, Schumer and his caucus are at an impasse with Republicans and the White House. While President Donald Trump and his administration presented a counteroffer earlier this week, Democrats say it’s not enough.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., teed up the original DHS funding bill for another vote on Tuesday. That bill could be modified to be a CR, and Republicans are leaning toward a four-week extension to keep the agency open.

And he noted that the legislative text from the White House could be coming on Wednesday.

‘There’s going to be the legislative text coming over from the White House today,’ Thune told reporters. ‘But I think it’s, like I said, the White House is operating in good faith.’

Still, Democrats have dubbed the GOP’s counter, which has been kept under strict lock and key, ‘sophomoric talking points.’ However, several items from their proposal, like requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to obtain judicial warrants, demask, and have identification, are red lines for the White House and Republicans.

Whether the GOP can siphon off enough votes to avert a partial shutdown remains an open question, given the unified front Schumer and his caucus are presenting. And they will have a math problem of their own to contend with in trying to break the 60-vote filibuster.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday, ‘will be working from home this week,’ his office said in a statement.

President Donald Trump is hosting an event at the White House Wednesday to tout how ‘Clean Beautiful Coal,’ he says, is America’s most reliable and affordable energy source.

The president will be joined by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum for Wednesday’s event, which is set to begin at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time in the White House’s East Room.

The White House told Fox News Digital Tuesday that a number of governors and members of Congress were also invited to attend the event. 

‘Beautiful, clean coal is critical to ensuring American families and businesses have the energy they need, while simultaneously driving down electricity costs across the country,’ White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital. ‘President Trump’s commonsense approach is unleashing America’s most reliable and affordable energy source, saving thousands of good-paying jobs, and turning the page on Joe Biden’s energy crisis.’ 

The event is set to highlight how coal is a ‘reliable and affordable energy source that keeps the lights on during times of peak demand,’ the White House said.

The president is set to sign the ‘Strengthen the United States National Defense with America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Power Generation Fleet’ executive order Wednesday during the event — a new initiative for the Department of War to purchase electricity from coal-powered plants.

That order directs Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to enter into power purchasing agreements with coal-fired power plants to ensure that the Department of War has reliable power to strengthen the U.S. grid.

Also during the event, the president will announce that the Department of Energy will award funds to five coal plants to recommission and upgrade facilities in West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and Kentucky. 

A White House official told Fox News Digital that will be the first of ‘many more announcements’ related to awarding funds to coal plants across the nation.

‘Since the President has returned to office his relentless support for the coal industry has been felt,’ a White House official told Fox News Digital. ‘Coal production is up, new mines have been (opened), existing mines are being expanded, coal plants are continuing to run, and NEDC is working with a few companies to help build new coal generation units — which hasn’t happened since 2013.’

The official pointed to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which logged that during the first two quarters of 2025, an additional 12.2 million tons of coal were produced than in the first two quarters of 2024, representing a 5% increase year-over-year.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previewed the event, saying the president ‘will discuss how Clean Beautiful Coal is not only keeping the lights on but also driving down the cost of electricity across our country.’

Also during the event, the Washington Coal Club is set to name Trump the ‘Undisputed Champion of Coal.’

The event comes after the Trump administration, in January, reinstated the National Coal Council, comprised of dozens of stakeholders from energy firms, utilities, governmental and tribal interests, saying that no industry affects Americans’ lives more.

The council is now chaired by Peabody Energy CEO Jim Grech and Core Natural Resources Chairman Jimmy Brock. The council cut its was reinstated four years after then-President Joe Biden dissolved the decades-old consortium.

It also comes after the Energy Department announced $625 million would be put toward reinvigorating the U.S. coal industry in response to Trump’s executive order calling for such, and another directive to ‘strengthen the reliability and security of the U.S. energy grid.’

Wright’s office said in a release that the administration has saved more than 15GW of coal-powered electricity, in part through relaunching the council.

In July 2025, a DOE analysis found that the loss of coal-fired power plants would make grid reliability unsustainable, while also finding that 100GW more peak-hour supply is needed by 2030.

Fox News’ Charles Creitz contributed to this report.