House Democrats are opening an investigation into President Donald Trump and his administration’s acceptance of a $400 million private jet from the Qatari government.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, led his fellow Democrats on the panel in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House counsel David Warrington on Thursday.

They’re specifically asking Bondi to hand over a reported legal memo she wrote that is meant to assert the legality of Trump accepting the plane on behalf of the U.S.

‘Any legal memo purporting to make such a claim would obviously fly in the face of the text of the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause, which explicitly prohibits the President from accepting any ‘present [or] Emolument… of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State’ unless he has ‘the Consent of Congress,” the letter reads.

‘Accordingly, we are writing to request that you provide the Committee on the Judiciary with these memos immediately as their analysis and conclusions are apparently the basis for the President’s decision to disregard the plain text of the Constitution.’

Raskin and the other Judiciary Committee Democrats went so far as to accuse Trump or people in his orbit of soliciting a bribe from Qatar.

‘President Trump’s statements expressing displeasure with delays in the delivery of his new Boeing aircraft to serve as Air Force One and the timing of this ‘gift’ suggest that President Trump or a member of his Administration may have improperly solicited this ‘nice gesture’ from the Qatari government,’ the Democrats said, citing Trump’s own comments.

‘The fact that, according to President Trump, the plane would not remain in service to the United States but would rather be donated to his presidential library after his term concludes further raises the possibility that this ‘nice gesture’ is intended as a bribe to Donald Trump.’

Multiple outlets reported that Bondi and Warrington drafted a legal memo that said it was ‘legally permissible’ for Trump to accept the plane and then have it transferred to his presidential library when he leaves office.

A source familiar with the discussions told Fox News Digital the memo was drafted by the Office of Legal Counsel and signed by Bondi.

But Democrats suggested the memo was likely not sufficient grounds for Trump to bypass Congress on the issue, and pointed out Bondi herself had previously lobbied on Qatar’s behalf.

‘The Constitution is clear: Congress — not the Attorney General or the White House Counsel — has the exclusive authority to approve or reject a gift ‘of any kind whatever’ given to the President by a foreign government,’ the letter said.

‘We would also note that, even if the Attorney General had a constitutional role to play here, Attorney General Bondi has a significant and obvious conflict of interest given her prior registration as an official agent of the Qatari government and earned no less than $115,000 per month lobbying on its behalf.’

When reached for comment on the matter, a source close to Bondi said only that the letter was received by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In addition to looking for the memo itself, the Democratic letter also asked for any communications and other records regarding the Boeing plane’s transfer, and discussions of the gift’s legal justifications.

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have little power to compel Trump administration officials to comply, given their status as the minority party in the chamber.

But Raskin has been scrutinizing Trump and his inner circle over family foreign ties since the former president’s first term.

The latest letter comes during Trump’s diplomatic visit to the Middle East, where Qatar was one of his stops.

Trump has defended his acceptance of the plane on multiple occasions, arguing he would be a ‘stupid person’ to not take it, while bashing Democrats for their criticism.

‘So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane. Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!!’ Trump wrote on Truth Social this week.

Senate Republicans said they knew little when asked by Fox News Digital earlier this week.

Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., skirted the issue during his most recent weekly press conference.

‘I’m not following all the twists and turns of the charter jet. My understanding is it’s not a personal gift for the president of the United States, and other nations give us gifts all the time, but, I’m going to leave it to the administration. They know much more about the details,’ Johnson told reporters.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately hear back.

President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at slashing U.S. drug prices has divided Democrats on Capitol Hill, with some cautiously optimistic while others dismissed the move as a bluster.

Most Democratic lawmakers who spoke with Fox News Digital about the order noted they had not read into the details, but the reactions were mostly split.

‘It certainly seems more bark than it is bite,’ Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the House Ways & Means Committee, told Fox News Digital. 

Neal said it ‘strikes me as though it’s another example of the executive order that garners a lot of attention’ with little impact, though he noted he was still looking into the details.

Rep. George Latimer of New York, a first-term Democrat who unseated a former member of the progressive ‘Squad,’ ex-Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., signaled he was hopeful about the initiative.

‘If we can keep drug costs low, that’s a positive thing,’ Latimer said. ‘I don’t, you know, oppose everything the president does, things that help people lower costs. If that’s what this turns into, then yes, it’s a worthwhile idea. But I have to be honest, I’ve got to read it more closely to understand it better.’

Trump announced Monday that he was directing the Department of Health and Human Services to set price targets for pharmaceutical companies.

The president said the order would have pharmaceutical companies set drug prices on par with the lowest prices in other developed countries.

He said, ‘some prescription drug and pharmaceutical prices will be reduced almost immediately by 50 to 80 to 90%.’

Democratic Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., told Fox News Digital when asked about the order, ‘It’s always a good thing to reduce drug costs.’

‘I think it’s a move in the right direction, let’s just see the details,’ Correa added.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, like Neal, told Fox News Digital he was more skeptical.

‘My feeling is that, like his…announcements during his first term, there’s much talk and no meaningful reduction of drug prices,’ Doggett said. ‘It remains to be seen whether any patient in America will see a price reduced on a single drug as a result of this order. So, until I see action, I will not believe that he has truly committed to reducing prices.’

House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., also said he did not believe Trump was ‘serious’ when asked.

‘All of this is just a disingenuous effort…on the part of House Republicans and Donald Trump, to pretend like they were looking out for people,’ Aguilar said. ‘If they were serious about it, the policy would be placed within their reconciliation bill. It’s not. This is just a performance effort by the president.’

Meanwhile, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., introduced a House bill to make Trump’s order permanent.

‘I rise today, to introduce as legislation, President Trump’s executive order for the most favored nation status on drug pricing,’ Khanna said on the House floor.

‘My legislation will codify President Trump’s executive order, which basically says that Americans should not pay more for drugs than people in other countries and other parts of the world.’

In an exclusive Fox News interview with Sean Hannity, Trump argued that his executive order should offset Democrats’ concerns with his ‘big, beautiful’ budget reconciliation bill being pushed by Republicans.

Democrats have accused Republicans of using the bill to gut critical programs like Medicaid for millions of people who need it, while the GOP has contended it was just trying to eliminate waste and abuse within the system.

‘It’s the Democrats’ fault that people are being ripped off for years and years. And now I hear Democrats saying, ‘Oh, well, we’re going to not go for the bill.’ It’s going to be very hard for them not to approve of the big, beautiful bill that we’re doing,’ Trump said. ‘We’re doing the biggest tax cuts in the history of our country because people are going to be getting a 50 to a 90% reduction on drug prices.’

When reached for comment on Democrats’ responses, White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital, ‘Democrats talk; President Trump delivers. Instead of again putting politics over the American people, Democrats should work with the Trump administration to build on the President’s historic action to lower drug prices and end global freeriding off the backs of Americans.’

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts reined in Justice Sonia Sotomayor during argument over birthright citizenship and nationwide court injunctions on Thursday.

Sotomayor dominated questioning for several minutes at the outset of Thursday’s argument after taking over from Justice Clarence Thomas. She pressed U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer for President Donald Trump’s administration on several points relating to the authority for federal courts to issue nationwide injunctions, often speaking over the lawyer and interrupting him.

Sotomayor argued that Trump’s order invalidating birthright citizenship violated four Supreme Court precedents, and that it was justified for a federal judge to grant an injunction against such a controversial order.

‘You are claiming that not just the Supreme Court, that both the Supreme Court and no lower court, can stop an executive from universally violating holdings by this court,’ Sotomayor said.

‘We are not claiming that because we’re conceding that there could be an appropriate case only in class only,’ Sauer said.

‘But I hear that–,’ Sotomayor said, beginning to interrupt Sauer.

‘Can I hear the rest of his answer?’ Roberts then interjected.

Sauer then elaborated on his statement, saying the government is arguing that federal courts can intervene on behalf of specific plaintiffs before them, but not nationwide. He said the Supreme Court has the authority to grant nationwide injunctions in certain circumstances.

Sauer used the bulk of his opening arguments Thursday to reiterate the Trump administration’s view that universal injunctions exceeded lower courts’ Article III powers under the Constitution, noting that the injunctions ‘transgress the traditional bounds of equitable authority,’ and ‘create a host of practical problems.’

Universal injunctions ‘require judges to make rushed, high-stakes, low-information decisions,’ he said. ‘They operate asymmetrically, forcing the government to win everywhere,’ and ‘invert,’ in the administration’s view, the ordinary hierarchical hierarchy of appellate review. They create the ongoing risk of conflicting judgments.’

A Supreme Court decision here could have sweeping national implications, setting a precedent that would affect the more than 310 federal lawsuits that have challenged White House actions since Trump’s second presidency began on Jan. 20, 2025, according to a Fox News data analysis.

The consolidated cases before the court are Trump v. CASA, Trump v. the State of Washington, and Trump v. New Jersey.

It’s unclear when the justices will rule, but their decision to fast-track the case means an opinion or order could come within weeks – or even days.

Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch, Shannon Bream and Bill Mears contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump on Thursday arrived in the United Arab Emirates for his final stop in the Middle East this week in a visit that marked the first time a U.S. president has traveled to the nation in nearly 20 years, following President George W. Bush’s trip in 2008.

Trump, who has secured major business deals first in Saudi Arabia and then Qatar, is expected to announce more agreements with what has long been one of the U.S.’ chief trading partners in the region — though given recently announced trillion-dollar deals, it is unclear what more the Emiratis will agree to. 

In March, the UAE pledged a $1.4 trillion investment in the U.S. economy over the next decade through AI infrastructure, semiconductor, energy and American manufacturing initiatives, including a plan to nearly double U.S. aluminum production by investing in a new smelter for the first time in 35 years. 

On the eve of the president’s visit to the Middle Eastern nation, the State Department also announced a $1.4 billion sale of CH-47 F Chinook helicopters and F-16 fighter jet parts to Abu Dhabi.

However, lawmakers on Wednesday suggested they may block this sale amid concerns over direct personal business ties, as Trump’s crypto venture has also received a $2 billion investment by a UAE-backed investment firm.

‘If I was a betting person, I’d bet that the Emiratis almost certainly kept some things in reserve for President Trump’s actual visit that can be announced when he’s on the ground in Abu Dhabi,’ John Hannah, former national security advisor to Dick Cheney and current Randi & Charles Wax senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), told Fox News Digital. ‘I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we see some new items unveiled or some additional details put out on some of the earlier announcements.’ 

‘The UAE has clearly staked its future on being the Middle East leader in a wide range of 21st-century technologies, from AI to chips to space,’ he added. ‘And of course, the shopping list for high-end weapons is almost limitless and always a possible deliverable for a trip like this.’  

Increased scrutiny arose around Trump’s Middle East tour as engagement with all three nations holds personal value to him, given the Trump Organization’s luxury resorts, hotels, golf courses, real estate projects and crypto investment schemes in the region.

But all three nations also hold significant value to Washington, as they have become key players in some of the toughest geopolitical issues facing the U.S. and its allies. 

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been integral in facilitating U.S. negotiations when it comes to ending Russia’s war in Ukraine and hostage negotiations in the Gaza Strip.

While neither of these issues appeared to be top points of discussion in Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia or Qatar, he may hit on geopolitical ties more heavily when it comes to the UAE, particularly given that Abu Dhabi is one of the few Middle Eastern nations that holds normalized diplomatic ties with Israel.

The UAE has ardently opposed Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, has called for a two-state solution, and has rejected Trump’s ‘riviera plans,’ instead favoring an Egypt-reconstruction alternative.

But Abu Dhabi has also maintained relations with the U.S.’ biggest adversaries, including China, Russia and Iran, which could be a topic of conversation during Trump’s one-day visit.

‘As everywhere on this trip, the headlines will likely be dominated by the dollar signs and deal-making,’ Hannah said. ‘But I’m personally most interested in the geopolitical angle of trying to reset the U.S.-Emirati strategic partnership, especially in the context of America’s great power competition with China and to a lesser extent Russia, and regionally with Iran.’

Hannah explained that Trump’s visit to the UAE exemplifies a recommitment by the U.S. economically and militarily to support Abu Dhabi’s ‘stability, security, and success in a dangerous neighborhood’ and could ‘pay real dividends going forward.’

 ‘The UAE’s top leadership has come to believe that putting most of its eggs into the American basket was an increasingly risky bet as one president after another decided that the Middle East was a lost cause — nothing but ‘blood and sand’ as President Trump famously said in his first term — and the country needed to pivot its focus toward Asia,’ he continued. ‘With a country as influential and resource-rich as the UAE, correcting that unhelpful perception and putting the strategic relationship back on a much more positive dynamic is an important goal.’   

President Donald Trump on Thursday arrived in the United Arab Emirates for his final stop in the Middle East this week in a visit that marked the first time a U.S. president has traveled to the nation in nearly 30 years, following President George W. Bush’s trip in 2008.

Trump, who has secured major business deals first in Saudi Arabia and then Qatar, is expected to announce more agreements with what has long been one of the U.S.’ chief trading partners in the region — though given recently announced trillion-dollar deals, it is unclear what more the Emiratis will agree to. 

In March, the UAE pledged a $1.4 trillion investment in the U.S. economy over the next decade through AI infrastructure, semiconductor, energy and American manufacturing initiatives, including a plan to nearly double U.S. aluminum production by investing in a new smelter for the first time in 35 years. 

On the eve of the president’s visit to the Middle Eastern nation, the State Department also announced a $1.4 billion sale of CH-47 F Chinook helicopters and F-16 fighter jet parts to Abu Dhabi.

However, lawmakers on Wednesday suggested they may block this sale amid concerns over direct personal business ties, as Trump’s crypto venture has also received a $2 billion investment by a UAE-backed investment firm.

‘If I was a betting person, I’d bet that the Emiratis almost certainly kept some things in reserve for President Trump’s actual visit that can be announced when he’s on the ground in Abu Dhabi,’ John Hannah, former national security advisor to Dick Cheney and current Randi & Charles Wax senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), told Fox News Digital. ‘I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we see some new items unveiled or some additional details put out on some of the earlier announcements.’ 

‘The UAE has clearly staked its future on being the Middle East leader in a wide range of 21st-century technologies, from AI to chips to space,’ he added. ‘And of course, the shopping list for high-end weapons is almost limitless and always a possible deliverable for a trip like this.’  

Increased scrutiny arose around Trump’s Middle East tour as engagement with all three nations holds personal value to him, given the Trump Organization’s luxury resorts, hotels, golf courses, real estate projects and crypto investment schemes in the region.

But all three nations also hold significant value to Washington, as they have become key players in some of the toughest geopolitical issues facing the U.S. and its allies. 

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been integral in facilitating U.S. negotiations when it comes to ending Russia’s war in Ukraine and hostage negotiations in the Gaza Strip.

While neither of these issues appeared to be top points of discussion in Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia or Qatar, he may hit on geopolitical ties more heavily when it comes to the UAE, particularly given that Abu Dhabi is one of the few Middle Eastern nations that holds normalized diplomatic ties with Israel.

The UAE has ardently opposed Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, has called for a two-state solution, and has rejected Trump’s ‘riviera plans,’ instead favoring an Egypt-reconstruction alternative.

But Abu Dhabi has also maintained relations with the U.S.’ biggest adversaries, including China, Russia and Iran, which could be a topic of conversation during Trump’s one-day visit.

‘As everywhere on this trip, the headlines will likely be dominated by the dollar signs and deal-making,’ Hannah said. ‘But I’m personally most interested in the geopolitical angle of trying to reset the U.S.-Emirati strategic partnership, especially in the context of America’s great power competition with China and to a lesser extent Russia, and regionally with Iran.’

Hannah explained that Trump’s visit to the UAE exemplifies a recommitment by the U.S. economically and militarily to support Abu Dhabi’s ‘stability, security, and success in a dangerous neighborhood’ and could ‘pay real dividends going forward.’

 ‘The UAE’s top leadership has come to believe that putting most of its eggs into the American basket was an increasingly risky bet as one president after another decided that the Middle East was a lost cause — nothing but ‘blood and sand’ as President Trump famously said in his first term — and the country needed to pivot its focus toward Asia,’ he continued. ‘With a country as influential and resource-rich as the UAE, correcting that unhelpful perception and putting the strategic relationship back on a much more positive dynamic is an important goal.’   

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told Politico that there is no question that President Joe Biden declined cognitively during his White House tenure.

‘There’s no doubt about it,’ Murphy said when the outlet asked whether Biden had undergone cognitive decline while serving as president. ‘The debate is whether it was enough that it compromised his ability to act as chief executive,’ the senator said, according to Politico.

Fox News Digital reached out to Murphy’s office to request additional comment from the senator but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

During an appearance on ‘The View’ last week, Biden pushed back against the idea that he suffered significant cognitive decline during the last year of his presidency.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Office of Joe and Jill Biden but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

During an interview on CNN last year before Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential contest, Murphy said that Biden’s debate performance had ‘raised questions for voters’ regarding whether he was ‘still the old Joe Biden.’

Murphy suggested during that interview that Biden should ‘show the country that he is still the old Joe Biden,’ saying that he took Biden ‘at his word’ that he was still able to do his job. 

‘I have seen him do this job at an absolutely exceptional level. No president has had this level of legislative accomplishment in their first four years as Joe Biden,’ Murphy said.

Politico also reported that Murphy said it would have helped the Democratic Party if Biden had not run in 2024.

‘I mean, isn’t that self-evident? We lost,’ he said, according to the outlet. ‘Obviously, in retrospect, we should have done something different. The likelihood is the odds were pretty stacked against us no matter what, but clearly people were looking for change and neither Biden nor Harris were going to be able to offer a real message of change.’

President Donald Trump attended a breakfast with business leaders at the St. Regis Doha hotel in Qatar on Thursday morning where he remained firm that Tehran must choose between never having a nuclear weapon or dealing with ‘violence like people haven’t seen before.’

Just days before, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had made comments that calls to dismantle Tehran’s nuclear facilities were ‘unacceptable,’ and that ‘Iran will not give up its peaceful nuclear rights under any circumstances and will not back down from its rights in the face of pressure.’

Trump suggested Iran may now be informally moving toward compliance with international demands to halt its nuclear weapons ambitions, but emphasized that a final agreement has not yet been reached.

‘I want them to succeed. I want them to end up being a great country, frankly, but they can’t have a nuclear weapon. That’s the only thing. It’s very simple,’ Trump said. ‘It’s not like I have to give you 30 pages’ worth of details. There’s only one sentence. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. And I think we’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this.’

He went on to state simply that there were limited options when it came to the deal and that he personally would rather go the more amicable route.

‘There’s two steps. There’s a very, very nice step, and there’s a violent step. There’s violence like people haven’t seen before, and I hope we’re not going to have to do this. I don’t want to do the second step. Some people do. Many people do. I don’t want to do that step,’ he said.

Congressional Republicans are urging Trump to remain committed to a hardline Iran strategy, calling for the complete dismantlement of the regime’s nuclear enrichment capabilities in a letter that drew wide support. 

Trump said at the breakfast that he is working toward a long-term solution that will bring peace to a country that he says ‘is a very special place with a special royal family.’

 ‘So we’ll see what happens, but we’re in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace. And if we do that, it’ll be fantastic. And for this country in particular, because you’re right next door. You’re a stone’s throw away, not even right here, a foot away. You can walk right into Iran. Other countries are much further away, so probably it’s not quite the same level of danger, but we are going to protect this country. It is a very special place with a special royal family,’ Trump said.

‘And the head of the royal family is two heads of the royal family, really, if you think. Great people. And they’re going to be protected by the United States of America. And I think we’re not going to have to do it because I believe very strongly in peace.’

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