Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. appeared before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday in a hearing that made the Jerry Springer show look like an Oxford Union debate, but amid the pompous posturing from Democrats, an important truth came out.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., thought he scored major points by asking RFK Jr the gotcha question — ‘how many Americans died of COVID?’ When the secretary said that he did not know, a giddy Warner thought he could spike the football.

But here’s the thing: RFK Jr. is right. Nobody actually knows how many people have died of COVID, because we don’t really even know what dying of COVID means. 

Democrats and dim-witted fact-checkers will cry out that we have that data, that both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization say 1.2 million lives were lost to the Chinese virus.

However, we know that at the height of the pandemic some motorcycle accidents were listed as COVID deaths if the victim tested positive for it, and we know that thousands and thousands of Americans with myriad medical conditions died with, not of, COVID.

We also know that during the pandemic, both the CDC and the WHO were two of the worst and least reliable actors in the entire miserable fiasco. Everybody paying attention admits now that CDC guidance on masking and social distancing might as well have been magical incantations.

There was no data to back up these restrictions, and even when the CDC did collect data, they didn’t just do a bad job, they intentionally stacked the deck to make COVID look as deadly and terrifying as possible.

Meanwhile, the CDC and the medical establishment nationwide spent most of 2020, as COVID restrictions raged, not just refusing to listen to contrary voices like Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, and Dr. Scott Atlas, but trying to destroy their lives and careers.

This led to another very telling moment in the hearing, this time involving Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who made one of the most hilariously comic appeals to authority in recent memory. 

The socialist senator told Kennedy, ‘We’ve got the entire medical community on one side, The AMA [American Medical Association] representing hundreds of thousands of doctors, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Health Association.’ Then he asked Kennedy, what organizations does his side have?

I’m going to be less polite than the secretary was and say, none of them, thank goodness, because these are the same lunatics who lied their way through COVID and affirm 87 genders.

Kennedy’s more politic answer was that he is backed up by and working with the very scientists, like Bhattacharya, who were right about COVID in the first place, while Bernie’s alphabet soup of medical incompetence was masking babies.

Democrats and the medical establishment are now like middle-school bullies who don’t have a high school growth spurt and are suddenly as harmless as a flower. President Donald Trump knows this, and it is exactly why he tapped the Kennedy scion to fix public health.

In a less cynical time, the coin of the Kennedy realm was public service. John F. Kennedy campaigning in West Virginia in 1960, looking up at the voters on their porch, knowing they were the boss, not him, asking for their trust, not demanding it.

So too, RFK Jr. is hellbent on serving the people, not the establishment. That’s why so many MAHA moms who know they have been lied to about what they feed their kids held their noses and voted for the orange man.

The obvious elephant in the hearing on Thursday was pointed out by Sanders himself: Every single senator on the dais takes big bucks from big pharmaceutical companies, the same companies that fund all the ‘independent research’ thrown at Kennedy.

The age of ‘just shut up and trust the science,’ is well and truly over. As George W. Bush once put it, ‘fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice…well, you’re not gonna fool me again.’ That’s where the American people are when it comes to the medical establishment.

Kennedy stood his ground in the contentious and cacophonous hearing. He gave as good as he got, and he is absolutely right that nobody knows how many died of COVID, or how many were saved by the vaccine.

The very people in the CDC tasked with tracking such data fumbled so badly that neither RFK Jr. nor the American people can rely on their bungled assessments.

This chaos of data, as the secretary called it, is exactly why he is cleaning house at HHS, and that is exactly what President Trump and the voters want and expect from him. 

President Donald Trump attacked Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York on Friday morning, deriding him as a ‘psychopathic nut job’ and ‘one of the most disgusting Congressmen in USA History’ in a Truth Social post days after the congressman noted in a statement that he will not seek re-election in 2026.

‘Jerry Nadler, one of the most disgusting Congressmen in USA History is, at long last, calling it ‘quits’ – He’s finally leaving Congress!’ the president declared in the post.

‘I’ve been beating this bum for 40 years, first as a New York City developer, where he opposed me, for no reason, at every corner, but could NEVER stop me from getting the job done, and then, as your President, where this psychopathic nut job, together with Crazy Nancy Pelosi, Impeached me twice, AND LOST, wasting Millions of Dollars in time and taxpayer money,’ the president continued.

‘It will be a great day for the U.S.A. when Nadler, a pathetic lightweight, is out of office and leaves our beautiful, and NOW VERY SAFE, Washington, D.C. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!’ Trump added.

Nadler dismissed Trump’s broadsides in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital on Friday.

‘I’ve known Donald Trump almost as long as he’s known Jeffrey Epstein. I’ve always known him for the charlatan he is. Now I know him as a twice impeached president, convicted felon, and chief insurrectionist. I don’t take anything he says seriously and neither should anyone else,’ Nadler declared in the statement.

The lawmaker has served in the U.S. House of Representatives for more than three decades. 

‘For more than 32 years, I have had the honor of serving the people of New York in the United States Congress. Today, I am announcing that I will not be seeking re-election next year and that this term in Congress will be my last. This decision has not been easy. But I know in my heart it is the right one and that it is the right time to pass the torch to a new generation,’ he said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

‘When I step down at the end of this term, I will have served for 50 years in continuous elected public service to the people of New York,’ he noted in the statement.

The Biden administration ‘weaponized the full weight of the federal government against Christians,’ according to Trump leadership, laying out in a new report the ‘numerous instances’ of past anti-Christian bias and recommendations to protect faith in America.

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the report published by the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias, created by President Donald Trump and chaired by Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The task force had a clear mandate to ensure that ‘any unlawful and improper conduct, policies, or practices that target Christians are identified, terminated, and rectified.’

The task force was directed to deliver an initial assessment, which Fox News Digital exclusively obtained Friday. The report provides an overview of ‘the damage that can be done when religious liberty is not protected and preserved for all Americans.’

‘The Task Force makes this commitment: the federal government will never again be permitted to turn its power against people of faith,’ the report states. ‘Under President Trump and Attorney General Bondi’s leadership, in partnership with all members of this Task Force, the rule of law will be enforced with vigor, and every religion will be treated with equality in both policy and action.’

The report added: ‘The days of anti-Christian bias in the federal government are over. Faith is not a liability in America—it is a liberty.’

After a preliminary review of federal agencies and departments, the task force uncovered ‘numerous instances of anti-Christian bias during the Biden administration.’

‘Joe Biden weaponized the full weight of the federal government against Christians and trampled on their fundamental First Amendment rights,’ White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital. ‘Unlike Joe Biden, President Trump is protecting Christians, not punishing them.’

The Task Force found that the Department of Defense, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Department of Labor all ‘deprioritized, mishandled, or denied requests for religious exemptions to the Biden administration’s COVID-19 mandate.’

The Task Force also found that at the Department of Education the Biden administration ‘attempted to impose record-breaking fines on some of the nation’s largest Christian universities, including Liberty University ($14 million) and Grand Canyon University ($37.7 million).’ 

At the Department of Homeland Security, the task force found that Customs and Border Protection omitted Christian perspectives from a directive for detainees but deliberately noted accommodations for Islam, Rastafarianism and sects of Judaism.

At the Justice Department, the task force found that the Biden administration lacked an effort to ‘address and prosecute violations of the law where anti-Christian bias was demonstrated by the persecutors.’

‘Instead, during that time, the DOJ pursued novel theories of prosecution against those speaking or demonstrating based upon their Christian faith,’ the report states.

The task force also found that the Department of Justice, under the Biden administration, arrested and convicted approximately two dozen individuals under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act for praying and demonstrating outside abortion facilities.

‘Yet, the same DOJ refused to apply the FACE Act to protect places of worship and crisis pregnancy centers,’ the report states.

At the FBI, the task force pointed to the bureau’s memo asserting that ‘radical-traditionalist’ Catholics were ‘domestic terrorism threats.’

At the Treasury Department, the task force pointed to the many ‘pro-Christian groups’ that have been ‘debanked.’

The task force found that, under the Biden administration, the Department of State provided ‘limited humanitarian relief to Christians relative to other populations and offered muted responses to attacks on Christians compared to other groups.’

Also at the State Department, the task force said it discovered evidence that ‘preferential employment practices were afforded’ for those of non-Christian religions, while Christian employees ‘were disfavored.’

‘It was particularly concerning that employees were less likely to be permitted leave for observation of certain Christian holidays as opposed to non-Christian ones.’

Officials also said the State Department imposed ‘radical LGBTQ gender ideology on foreign governments and State employees, including the forced usage of preferred pronouns and rainbow flags, violating the sincerely held religious beliefs of many Christians and other Americans of faith.’

The task force also found that the Department of Labor dismantled its office of faith-based initiatives and replaced it with a diversity, equity and inclusion office.

The task force also said that the Department of Housing and Urban Development ‘discriminated against Christian perspectives in its marketing, treating social media posts celebrating Christian holidays, such as Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter, differently than posts celebrating other religious or interest group holidays, including Pride Month, Ramadan, and Diwali.’ 

Officials said Housing and Urban Development took down the Christian posts and left up the others.

The task force held its first meeting in April. Prior to the meeting, members of the task force conducted initial reviews of their respective agencies to identify any unlawful anti-Christian policies, practices or agency conduct during the Biden administration.

Officials said that the task force is not finished with its inquiry, but merely just beginning, and will continue its work to investigate the full scope of anti-Christian bias that ‘pervaded the federal government during the Biden administration.’

A final report is expected by February 2026.

Trump also signed an executive order establishing a White House Faith Office in February. 

The office empowers faith-based entities, community organizations and houses of worship ‘to better serve families and communities,’ according to the White House. 

The office is housed under the Domestic Policy Council and consults with experts in the faith community on policy changes to ‘better align with American values.’ 

A former Biden White House official did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

The House Oversight Committee is slamming former Biden spokesman Andrew Bates after he accused Republican lawmakers of having a misguided focus in his opening remarks during the panel’s autopen probe.

Bates, the latest former White House official to be interviewed by House investigators, affirmed ex-President Joe Biden’s leadership while criticizing his successor in an opening statement obtained by Fox News Digital via a source familiar.

An Oversight Committee spokesperson said in response, ‘Andrew Bates was part of the Biden cognitive decline cover-up and he’s delusional.’

‘His so-called opening statement — leaked in the middle of his transcribed interview and not even read at the time it was leaked — peddled the same fantasy he’s been trying to sell the American people. The public has rejected Bates’ spin and witnessed President Biden’s decline with their own eyes,’ the spokesperson said. 

‘And just this week, new records revealed that President Biden neither approved — nor may have even been consulted on — thousands of pardons. This is a historic scandal with massive repercussions.’

Bates said in the opening statement provided to Fox News Digital, ‘I was proud to support Joe Biden as President because we believe in the same values. In the White House, it was universally understood that Joe Biden was in charge. That is completely consistent with my personal experience with the President.’

‘Now someone else with a very different character is in charge,’ the statement said.

Bates accused Oversight Committee Republicans of ‘spending taxpayer dollars investigating Joe Biden — an honorable man under whom the economy performed far better than it is today — while turning a blind eye to corruption under Donald Trump.’

He went on to rip President Donald Trump’s tariffs, accuse him of ‘illegally trying to take over the Federal Reserve,’ and criticize the president’s personal investments in cryptocurrency and acceptance of a jet from Qatar to be used for official business, among other items.

‘To my knowledge, none of the above are being investigated. As a taxpayer and private citizen, I feel that is wrong,’ Bates said, according to the written comments.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., has been investigating whether Biden’s senior aides covered up signs of mental decline in the former president, and whether any executive decisions were signed off on via autopen without the then-leader’s full awareness.

They’re looking in particular at the litany of clemency orders that Biden signed in the latter half of his term, though Biden allies have dismissed the probe as politically motivated.

House Republicans on the Appropriations Committee are at odds with the Trump administration and some conservatives over how to avert a government shutdown.

Congress is currently marking up fiscal 2026 spending levels, but some in the administration are pressing to bypass the process and instead extend current levels through a year-long continuing resolution (CR).

Republicans broadly agree some form of CR will be needed to avoid a partial shutdown when fiscal 2025 ends on Sept. 30, but some appropriators are frustrated with a lack of a top-line budget number from the House, Senate and White House as they continue their work.

A Trump administration official told Fox News Digital that appropriators’ complaints about a top-line ‘nonsense,’ arguing they are simply unhappy with the funding levels the administration had proposed.

Meanwhile, length is also an issue. The White House is in favor of a clean CR stretching into the new year, while one House lawmaker said appropriators would like a stopgap that was ‘as short as possible.’ Some conservative lawmakers have even argued for a bill lasting at least the full fiscal year.

Committee member Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., called the idea of a long-term measure ‘very frustrating.’

‘As a member of Appropriations, where you do an enormous amount of work, and it leads to a continuing resolution because that’s easier…I’m deeply concerned that we will roll over and not do our job,’ Zinke told Fox News Digital.

Senior appropriator Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., predicted ‘a very short-term CR,’ but he warned a year-long measure ‘would be devastating for the country.’

‘The concept that Republicans control the House, Senate and the White House, and we would somehow be stuck with the last Biden [budget] for a second year, to me, is preposterous,’ Diaz-Balart said, adding that the push for a year-long measure ‘is not coming from appropriators.’

Other committee Republicans echoed those concerns and issues with what they saw as a lack of direction from top officials on a top-line spending number.

The Trump administration official said accusations that House appropriators were not given enough direction from leaders are ‘completely false,’ however, and said the White House was engaged in monthly and weekly conversations with lawmakers relevant to the process.

‘The frustrating part is we don’t have a top line yet,’ Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., said.

One GOP lawmaker, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said, ‘We’re sort of flying blind right now, trying to get something done and across the finish line without really having a direction on what leadership wants, or frankly, what the president wants.’

Another House Republican pointed to Russ Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), accusing him of delaying the administration’s proposed budget until early May to build support for a year-long CR. 

‘That’s what Russ Vought wants. He wants a year-long CR,’ that lawmaker said. ‘There’s enough appropriators who won’t allow that. That will fail.’

It’s not uncommon for administrations to unveil their budget proposals after the traditional early February deadline, however. The Biden administration similarly let its budgets slip past the Feb. 15 deadline, including fiscal 2022, when its proposal was not released until late May. 

In 2018, during the Obama administration, no White House budget was proposed at all.

House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital he supports going even further with a CR that stretches into December 2026.

‘Why put us through the misery next September?’ Harris said. ‘The American people shouldn’t be subjected to the question of whether or not Chuck Schumer wants to shut down the government for the election.’

House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla., for his part, said he would like to see a CR into November but would work with ‘any timeframe’ from leaders. And while he said there were ‘a lot of people’ who could share blame for the current situation, he was hesitant to single any one party out.

‘The top-line number, that wasn’t done this year, the president’s budget was late in arriving, and I think Democrats are still flustered by President Trump and aren’t sure whether they should deal with him or fight him at every step,’ he said.

Cole also said of the White House’s proposal, ‘There’s some discussion about going as far as the first quarter. That’s not coming from the appropriators, but it is coming out of the White House…I’m willing to work within any time frame my leadership gives me. I don’t want a government shutdown. I want a bipartisan deal.’

In March, with the White House’s support, Congress passed a CR through Sept. 30 that extended fiscal 2024 spending levels, with some increases for defense funding.

The White House has since acted to rescind some of those funds, chiefly aimed at foreign aid and public broadcasting.

It’s soured bipartisan government spending talks with Democrats, who have warned they will not agree to any spending deal without assurances that more funding rescissions would not happen.

A White House official told reporters on a recent call, however, that they believed a clean CR for ‘however length’ would put Democrats in a politically tricky situation and pin the blame for a shutdown on them if they reject the measure.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has privately signaled support for a short-term clean CR, two sources told Fox News Digital. Democrats have indicated openness to that approach.

When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Johnson pointed Fox News Digital to recent comments in Punchbowl News that he understood both sides of the argument. ‘There are reasonable peopleon both sides who understand this is a basic function and responsibility of the government, so we’re working towards that,’ he said.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Tuesday he had an ‘opening conversation’ with Johnson on funding.

With just 11 joint House and Senate working days left before the Sept. 30 deadline, lawmakers are racing to avoid another shutdown showdown.

The Defense Department confirmed on Thursday night that two Venezuelan aircraft flew near a U.S. Navy vessel in international waters. The incident, which the department called a ‘highly provocative move,’ comes as the Trump administration ramps up its anti-narco-terrorism efforts.

‘Today, two Maduro regime military aircraft flew near a U.S. Navy vessel in international waters. This highly provocative move was designed to interfere with our counter narco-terror operations,’ the Defense Department wrote in a statement posted to X. ‘The cartel running Venezuela is strongly advised not to pursue any further effort to obstruct, deter or interfere with counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations carried out by the U.S. military.’

On Friday, Reuters reported that the U.S. 10 F-35 fighter jets to a Puerto Rico airfield as part of its efforts to combat drug cartels.

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Venezuela’s actions followed an unprecedented U.S. Marine strike Tuesday on a cartel-operated vessel. The Trump administration later said 11 members of the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua – a U.S.-designated terrorist organization – were killed in the strike.

Prior to the strike on Tuesday, U.S. efforts to counter cartels and international gang organizations had taken place largely in the form of seizure and apprehension operations. The strike, however, appeared to signal that the Trump administration was shifting towards a tougher new approach.

On Thursday, during a visit to Ecuador, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that two gangs were being reclassified as foreign terrorist organizations. Rubio also slammed the Venezuelan leadership’s involvement in the drug trade. He went on to condemn Nicolás Maduro as an ‘indicted drug trafficker’ and a ‘fugitive of American justice.’

‘Maduro is indicted by a grand jury in the Southern District of New York. That means the Southern District of New York presented the evidence to a grand jury, and a grand jury indicted him. And then a superseding indictment came out that was unsealed about a year and a half ago that specifically detailed Maduro’s actions,’ Rubio said on Thursday. ‘So, number one, let there be no doubt he, Nicolás Maduro, is an indicted drug trafficker in the United States, and he’s a fugitive of American justice.’

Rubio also seemed to indicate that the U.S. and its allies were working together on this tougher approach to cartels and international gang organizations. He said that ‘cooperative governments’ would help the U.S. identify drug traffickers and ‘blow them up, if that’s what it takes.’

Fox News Digital’s Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.

Senate Democrats found unlikely allies in Senate Republicans during a fiery hearing, where Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was grilled for his stance on vaccines.

Kennedy’s testimony before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday was billed as a discussion on President Donald Trump’s healthcare agenda, but it quickly turned into a tongue-lashing from lawmakers, who accused the secretary of lying to the panel about how he would operate the HHS and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

While a barrage of heated exchanges between Kennedy and Democrats were expected, it was heat from Senate Republicans on the panel, including a pair of doctors turned legislators, who stood out.

‘I support vaccines. I’m a doctor. Vaccines work,’ Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said. ‘Secretary Kennedy, in your confirmation hearings, you promised to uphold the highest standards for vaccines. Since then, I have grown deeply concerned.’

‘The public has seen measles outbreaks, leadership at the National Institutes of Health questioning the use of mRNA vaccines, the recently confirmed director of Center for Disease Control and Prevention fired,’ he continued. ‘Americans don’t know who to rely on.’  

When asked what he would do to ensure that vaccine guidance was clear, Kennedy said, ‘We’re going to make it clear, evidence-based and trustworthy for the first time in history.’

The hearing came on the heels of a week of turmoil at the CDC, where Kennedy fired former CDC Director Susan Monarez, which led to several senior officials resigning from the agency. Before that, the secretary had cleaned out the federal government’s vaccine recommendation panel and handpicked his own members to serve, and he also moved to cancel $500 million in mRNA vaccine contracts.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., also serves as the chair of the Senate’s health committee and was the decisive vote to confirm Kennedy. He argued that Kennedy’s actions on vaccines appeared to counter his support for Trump’s Operation Warp Speed, a sweeping executive program by the Trump administration at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic that jump-started the production of vaccines.

He noted that both Trump and Kennedy have vowed ‘radical transparency’ when it came to the administration’s healthcare agenda, but countered that the secretary’s move to put new members on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices appeared to be a conflict of interest.

‘I am concerned though, because many of those that you have nominated for the [Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices] board… have received revenue as serving as expert witnesses as plaintiffs for attorneys suing vaccine makers,’ Cassidy said. ‘If we put people who are paid witnesses for people suing vaccines, that seems like a conflict of interest, real quickly do you agree with that?’

‘No I don’t,’ Kennedy said, arguing that while it may seem like a bias, it was not a conflict of interest.

Not every Republican doctor on the panel went after Kennedy. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., has long been an ally of the secretary’s and gave him room to address accusations that he was anti-vaccine.

‘Saying I’m anti-vaccine is like saying I’m anti-medicine,’ Kennedy said. ‘I’m pro-medicine, but I understand some medicines harm people, some of them have risks, some of them have benefits that outweigh those risks for certain populations, and that’s true with vaccines.’

Marshall agreed that he was not ‘anti-vax either,’ and he listed several vaccines that he believed were good but argued that it was the transparency and approach to vaccines under the HHS and CDC that he was after.

‘What I feel the difference is sometimes my friends across the aisle feel like there’s a one-size-fits-all, that they should be telling parents what to do,’ Marshall said. ‘And what you and I are fighting for is that we want to empower parents to make these decisions.’

President Donald Trump has never played by the stale rules of Washington and Americans are grateful for it. His bold call for a 2026 pre-midterm convention is a political masterstroke that will cement America First policies, energize the Republican base, and ignite Generation Z voters. 

This convention is a seismic shift that sends a clear message to every politician: fight for the American people or step aside.

The GOP’s victories, from retaking the White House and strengthening congressional majorities to delivering real wins on border security, tax cuts, a stronger economy and energy independence, set the stage for Trump’s call for a pre-midterm national convention that breaks political tradition. 

While establishment Republicans cling to fundraising dinners, closed-door sessions and tired speeches that leave voters disengaged, Trump has mastered turning rallies into movements, from the electrifying 2016 campaign that flipped battleground states to the packed arenas of 2024 that reenergized the base. A pre-midterm convention would unite delegates from all 50 states to celebrate achievements, set a clear agenda and ignite voters. 

The contrast is clear. Conservative values of law and order through Trump’s National Guard blueprint to combat crime, economic freedom that fuels innovation, and family-first policies that honor tradition stand in sharp contrast to Democrat failures, including 9.1% inflation in 2022, open borders that allowed more than 11 million illegals, and foreign policy disasters that emboldened adversaries. 

By highlighting Republican successes like cutting gas prices through energy independence and appointing judges who defend constitutional rights, this convention would rebuke the Washington elite and prove Republicans deliver results while Democrats deliver excuses.

Unity is part of the strategy, but this is also a pivotal opportunity to mobilize Gen Z, the 68 million young Americans born between 1997 and 2012 who are increasingly open to conservative policies but need a reason to show up. A midterm convention can be that reason. 

Their frustration with the Left is clear: sky-high inflation, record crime and the relentless push of woke ideology. The 2025 Harvard Youth Poll found that 75% of young voters believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, with 62% citing a worsening economy under current policies and nearly half naming cost of living such as housing, food and gas as their top concern. A Yale Youth Poll revealed 35% now favor Republicans in the midterms, a notable increase from past cycles. 

Gen Z does not trust institutions and is disillusioned by political posturing. They crave authenticity while being bombarded by liberal propaganda in schools, on social media and from Hollywood. They see through empty promises of equity, knowing it means higher prices, fewer jobs and more division, with nearly 60% of Gen Z college graduates unemployed compared to just 25% of prior generations. 

President Trump understands this. A high-energy convention featuring conservative stars like Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., along with influencers such as Charlie Kirk and Anthony Raimondi, known as Conservative Ant, can deliver messages tailored for TikTok and X. 

These voices can speak directly to Gen Z’s entrepreneurial spirit with policies that support small business tax cuts, energy independence to cut gas prices and unapologetic defenses of freedom. That spark could boost Gen Z turnout by 10% to 15% in the midterms, making them the GOP’s secret weapon. Failure to capture their energy risks apathy or a drift toward third parties.

This convention will energize the grassroots and unify the Republican Party. The GOP is already outpacing Democrats in record-breaking fundraising, but a unified front delivers more than dollars. It locks in a clear midterm agenda, quashes internal battles and promises a surge of support as Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other Republican stars deliver high-profile speeches that draw major contributions. 

By showcasing Republican successes in safety, job growth, lower gas prices and judicial appointments that protect constitutional rights, against Democrat failures like open borders and green energy disasters, the convention will mobilize voters. With the economy rebounding and Trump’s approval rising, it ensures Republicans avoid complacency and secure dominance.

A midterm convention also challenges GOP lawmakers to deliver results or leave Washington. Voters are demanding accountability, expecting politicians to prove their commitment to the America First agenda by securing the border, cutting red tape and prioritizing American workers, while elevating rising stars who represent the next wave of conservative leadership. This moment is an opportunity to purge establishment Republicans who align with elites and replace them with fighters for the American people, reshaping the future bench of Congress. 

Meanwhile, Democrats are leaderless and floundering in internal chaos and deeply unpopular policies. A 2025 CNN poll shows that while 72% of Democrats say they are motivated to vote, only 58% view their party favorably, compared to 76% for Republicans. Trump’s call for a midterm convention is another power move that highlights Democratic disarray, exposing their lack of leadership, failed policies and overall weakness.

Trump’s midterm convention is not just about exposing Democratic failure, it is about building the future of the movement and securing a foundation that lasts for generations. It is now or never for conservatives. 

A pre-midterm GOP convention led by Trump represents the next chapter in his revolution, timed to capture Gen Z’s openness to conservative ideas. By rallying young voters with authenticity and real solutions to their everyday struggles, amplifying momentum, and holding Republican leaders accountable, this convention can turn frustration into lasting America First policies. 

The GOP cannot afford to let woke politics or establishment complacency derail America’s future. Seizing this moment ensures 2026 delivers not just a victory but a generational turning point that will shape the direction of this country for decades to come.

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow the president to fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission, after lower courts ruled he lacks the authority to remove members of independent agencies without cause.

President Donald Trump moved to fire Rebecca Slaughter earlier this year, but lower courts ruled she could keep her job because the law only allows commissioners to be removed for issues such as misconduct or neglect of duty.

Earlier this week, an appeals court said Trump unlawfully fired Slaughter and that her firing was squarely at odds with Supreme Court precedent.

The Justice Department contends that the FTC and other executive branch agencies are under Trump’s control and that the president has the power to remove commissioners without cause.

The testing of the president’s removal power could lead the nation’s highest court to consider overturning a 1935 Supreme Court decision known as Humphrey’s Executor, in which justices unanimously ruled that presidents cannot fire independent board members without cause.

The ruling brought in an era of powerful independent federal agencies charged with regulating labor relations, employment discrimination, the airwaves and other matters.

That case also centered around the FTC, which was highlighted by lower-court judges in the lawsuit filed by Slaughter, who has been fired and rehired multiple times this year as the case worked its way through the courts.

The FTC is a regulator created by Congress that enforces consumer protection measures and antitrust legislation. The agency’s seats are typically made up of three members of the president’s party and two from the opposing party.

Slaughter was first appointed by Trump in 2018, and then later reappointed by former President Joe Biden. She is the only remaining Democrat on the FTC.

The high court has already allowed the removal of several other board members from independent agencies. 

The justices have also suggested that Trump’s removal powers have limitations at the Federal Reserve, which could soon be tested as well in the case of Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

COLUMBUS, Ga. — During a trip to Fort Benning on Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the department is working on re-establishing deterrence, ‘so that when the enemy sees an American, they don’t want to f— with us.’

The comments came after Hegseth spoke at an Officer Candidate School (OCS) graduation ceremony, where candidates were commissioned as second lieutenants in the Army or ensigns in the Navy.

Following the ceremony, he made remarks at the Infantry Basic Officer Leader Course luncheon — sharing stories about his children wanting Army Ranger shirts, and noting the proudest moment of his life would be saluting them if they earned it.

Hegseth also touched on military priorities under the Trump administration, noting the Department of Defense’s focus is rebuilding the military to ensure it has the best possible equipment from the warfighter perspective, across all services. 

‘And then reestablishing deterrence, so that when the enemy sees an American, they don’t want to f— with us,’ Hegseth said. ‘Because they know they’ll get the business end of the best warrior on the planet. We’re reestablishing that. Whether it’s midnight hammer, or freedom of navigation, or narco-traffickers that are poisoning the American people.’

He said the world knows that when President Donald Trump speaks, he means business, adding that the graduates are the faces of that deterrence. 

‘It’s you that we remember, and we think of, when we make decisions,’ Hegseth said. ‘It’s the job of policymakers and leaders in our positions to look down and say, ‘We’ve asked you to do tough things, we’re going to have your back when you do it.’ We’re going untie your hands and make sure you can unleash hell in Yemen. Absolute violence of action. 

‘We’re going to push decision-making authority down to you, the platoon level, the company level, the battalion unit level, as much as possible.’

During the trip, the secretary also teased that the Defense Department may have a new name on Friday, which Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy and Emma Colton were first to confirm.

Trump will sign an executive order allowing the department to use the ‘Department of War’ as a secondary title, along with phrases like ‘secretary of war’ for Hegseth.

The order also directs Hegseth to propose legislative and executive actions to make the name change permanent.

Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy and Emma Colton contributed to this report.