A Washington, D.C.-based federal judge on Friday temporarily halted the Trump administration’s planned mass layoffs at the Consumer Financial Protections Bureau (CFPB), shortly after an appeals court narrowed her earlier injunction.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s order temporarily blocks the terminations, which would have slashed the bureau’s workforce by roughly 90%, as she weighs whether the planned layoffs violate her earlier injunction. 

Her order comes after plaintiffs in the case, which include the CFPB Employee Association and other labor entities, accused the government of violating her earlier injunction. The plaintiffs alleged these layoffs would take place on Friday evening.

Jackson noted on Friday that the agency was slated to carry out a reduction in force, or RIF, of roughly 1,400 employees — which would have left just several hundred in place. 

Jackson said that within several days of an appeals order narrowing her initial injunction, CFPB employees were told the agency would do ‘exactly what it was told not to do,’ which was to carry out a RIF. 

‘I’m willing to resolve it quickly, but I’m not going to let this RIF go forward until I have,’ she said during the Friday hearing, noting that she is ‘deeply concerned, given the scope and scope of action.’

Justice Department lawyers had sought to appeal Jackson’s order earlier this year, arguing in a filing that the injunction ‘improperly intrudes on the executive [branch’s] authority’ and goes ‘far beyond what is lawful.’

Jackson blocked the administration from moving forward with any layoffs or from cutting off employees’ access to computers at the bureau until she has time to hear from the officials in question later this month.

‘We’re not going to disperse’ more than 1,400 employees ‘into the universe… until we have determined that is lawful or not,’ Jackson said.

She proceeded to then set an April 28 hearing date to hear testimony from officials slated to carry out the RIF procedures. 

The plaintiffs in the suit filed their legal challenge in D.C. district court in early February seeking a temporary restraining order after the Trump administration moved to severely downsize the bureau. 

The court issued a preliminary injunction in late March, finding that the plaintiffs would likely succeed on the merits.

The order directed the government to ‘rehire all terminated employees, reinstate all terminated contracts, and refrain from engaging in reductions-in-force or attempting to stop work through any means.’ 

The Trump administration appealed the order shortly thereafter.

The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit stayed Jackson’s order only in part, staying the provision dictating that the government must rehire the terminated employees. 

The appeals court also stayed the provision of the order prohibiting the government from ‘terminating or issuing a notice of reduction’ to employees the administration deemed ‘to be unnecessary to the performance of defendant’s statutory duties.’

A young girl collapsed near the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office while President Donald Trump spoke during a Friday swearing-in ceremony for former heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, who rushed over to assist the child. 

A White House official confirmed to Fox News Digital that the girl was a family member of Oz’s who fainted during the ceremony and that she has recovered. 

Department of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. swore in Oz to oversee the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Senate confirmed Oz on April 3, and he is now tasked with managing nearly $1.5 trillion in federal healthcare spending. 

In addition to leading the Medicare and Medicaid services, he will oversee the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). He will be responsible for issuing decisions on how the government will cover procedures, hospital stays and medication. 

At the ceremony, Oz laid out his priorities in the role to advance the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ movement that Kennedy is spearheading, and instituting reform for Medicare and Medicaid. 

‘Healthy people don’t consume healthcare resources,’ Oz said in regard to the so-called ‘MAHA’ movement. ‘The best way to reduce drug spending is to use less drugs, because you don’t need them.’ 

‘Next big thing we want to focus on is modernizing Medicare and Medicaid,’ Oz said. ‘That’s how Americans will get the care that they want, need and deserve. Need to empower patients and providers, both the doctors and the patients, both have to be equipped with better tools.’ 

Lastly, Oz said he would seek to weed out any fraud or abuse within the Medicare and Medicaid systems. 

Medicare is a government healthcare program that provides coverage to roughly 65 million Americans aged 65 or older, according to the Center for Medicare Advocacy. Medicaid is a federal assistance program for approximately 72 million low-income Americans, according to Medicaid.gov. 

Oz received medical and business degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and became a household name during television stints that include ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show,’ and 13 seasons of ‘The Dr. Oz Show.’

Fox News’ Alec Schemmel contributed to this report. 

Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard announced the release of the first batch of Robert F. Kennedy assassination files on Friday after teasing the news earlier this month. 

‘Nearly 60 years after the tragic assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, the American people will, for the first time, have the opportunity to review the federal government’s investigation thanks to the leadership of President Trump,’ Gabbard said in a statement released. ‘My team is honored that the President entrusted us to lead the declassification efforts and to shine a long-overdue light on the truth. I extend my deepest thanks for Bobby Kennedy and his families’ support.’

Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in the same statement that releasing the files was ‘a necessary step toward restoring trust in American government.’

‘I commend President Trump for his courage and his commitment to transparency. I’m grateful also to Tulsi Gabbard for her dogged efforts to root out and declassify these documents,’ he continued. 

Likewise, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reacted to the files’ release on X on Friday morning, writing, ‘RFK Files have been released. Promises Made. Promises Kept.’

During a Friday morning appearance on ‘FOX and Friends,’ Gabbard said 10,000 pages had been released — none of which had previously been digitized or publicly viewed. Gabbard said the files included documents regarding the government’s investigation of the assassination and ‘questions and theories’ as the investigation played out, as well as State Department conversations and insight. 

‘The significance of this is huge,’ Gabbard said. ‘It’s been nearly 60 years since Senator Kennedy was assassinated. We’re obviously not stopping here.’

Gabbard also said that ‘just the other day, we discovered over 50,000 additional pages solely around Senator Kennedy’s assassination,’ saying she had ‘over 100 people at National Archives’ scanning through the documents in anticipation of a second release. 

‘Nearly six decades have passed since the tragic assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and these historic files have been hidden from the American people all this time — until now,’ a White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital. ‘In the name of maximum transparency, President Trump has released over 10,000 pages of the RFK files with more to come. There has never been a more transparent president in the history of our country than President Donald J. Trump. Another promise made and promise kept.’

Gabbard had previously mentioned the files’ drop on April 10 during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, saying at the time that more than 100 people had been ‘working around the clock’ scanning paperwork related to both the Martin Luther King Jr. and RFK assassinations and subsequent investigations. 

‘These have been sitting in boxes in storage for decades,’ Gabbard told President Donald Trump. Kennedy was also present during the meeting. 

‘They have never been scanned or seen before. We’ll have those ready to release here within the next few days,’ Gabbard said. 

The RFK files’ release comes as a result of Trump’s declassification executive order issued shortly after he started his second term. The order specifically seeks to declassify files on the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert and civil rights icon King.

Trump had previously promised to declassify the documents while on the campaign trail, saying at the time, ‘When I return to the White House, I will declassify and unseal all JFK assassination-related documents. It’s been 60 years, time for the American people to know the truth.’

According to the order, the director of national intelligence and other officials were expected to submit their proposed release plans for the RFK and MLK files on March 9. 

DNI and the attorney general were previously given a Feb. 7 deadline to submit their release plans for the JFK files. 

The Justice Department saw a fallout in late February after releasing a batch of Jeffrey Epstein files. Many of the documents publicized then had already been released during the federal criminal trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former lover and convicted accomplice. 

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report. 

The Trump administration rolled out a revamped COVID.gov website Friday showing the ‘true origins’ of the coronavirus, while admonishing Democrats and the media for discrediting the theory the virus leaked from a lab and alternative health treatments, and for imposing strict mandates. 

‘This administration prioritizes transparency over all else,’ a senior administration official told Fox News Digital Friday. ‘The American people deserve to know the truth about the Covid pandemic and we will always find ways to reach communities with that message.’ 

The website, which previously had focused on promoting the coronavirus vaccine to Americans, now walks readers through evidence supporting the lab leak theory, how former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci promoted the idea that COVID-19 originated naturally, former President Joe Biden pardoning Fauci for ‘any offenses against’ the U.S. he may have committed, and providing details on the origin of the ‘social distancing’ rules and mask mandates. 

”The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2′ publication — which was used repeatedly by public health officials and the media to discredit the lab leak theory — was promoted by Dr. Fauci to push the preferred narrative that COVID-19 originated naturally,’ the site states, before launching into five bullet points on the origins of the virus. 

The new site outlines that a biological characteristic found in the virus was not found in nature, bolstering the lab leak theory, while noting that Wuhan, China, where the first coronavirus case was found, is also home to China’s ‘foremost SARs research lab’ and that ‘if there was evidence of a natural origin it would have already surfaced. But it hasn’t.’

The Trump administration’s CIA reported earlier in 2025 that a lab leak was the likely origin of the COVID-19 virus, which had been passed off by media outlets and scientists as a likely conspiracy theory during the early days of the pandemic. The Department of Energy under the Biden administration and former FBI Director Christopher Wray in 2023 also said evidence indicated the coronarius was the result of a lab leak. 

The website also walks readers through the origins of COVID-era rules, such as mask mandates and social distancing. 

‘The ‘6 feet apart’ social distancing recommendation — which shut down schools and small business across the country — was arbitrary and not based on science,’ it states. ‘During closed door testimony, Dr. Fauci testified that guidance ‘sort of just appeared.’ 

The website says of mask mandates: ‘There was no conclusive evidence that masks effectively protected Americans from COVID-19. Public health officials flip-flopped on the efficacy of masks without providing Americans scientific data — causing a massive uptick in public distrust.’ 

The website notes that content on the page was sourced directly from the House Oversight Committee’s Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. 

‘Public health officials often mislead the American people through conflicting messaging, knee-jerk reactions, and a lack of transparency,’ the website states under a portion called ‘COVID-19 misinformation.’ ‘Most egregiously, the federal government demonized alternative treatments and disfavored narratives, such as the lab leak theory, in a shameful effort to coerce and control the American people’s health decisions.’ 

Many media outlets dismissed Trump in 2020 when he said he had seen evidence that the virus originated in a Wuhan, China, lab, before U.S. intelligence officials such as Wray and the Department of Energy reported that the virus likely originated there. 

Many outlets have since published articles showing the theory is credible, including the New York Times running a March column claiming the scientific community ‘badly misled’ the public in an effort to suppress theory, even after the paper’s own science writer called the theory ‘racist.’ 

There’s no denying that President Donald Trump is moving at warp speed during his second tour of duty in the White House.

‘We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years, and we are just getting started,’ the president said during his prime-time address to Congress and the nation last month.

And a few days later, the White House team touted, ’50 WINS IN 50 DAYS: President Trump Delivers for Americans.’

Trump has aggressively asserted executive authority in his second term, overturning long-standing government policy and making major cuts to the federal workforce through an avalanche of sweeping and controversial executive orders and actions – many aimed at addressing grievances he has held since his first term.

But the most recent national public opinion polls suggest that Americans aren’t thrilled with the job the president is doing.

The latest Gallup poll, conducted April 1-14 and released on Thursday, indicates that Trump is underwater, with a 44% approval rating and 53% disapproval rating.

Most, but not all, of the most recent national public opinion surveys indicate Trump’s approval ratings in negative territory, which is a slide from the president’s poll position when he started his second tour of duty in the White House.

Contributing to the slide are increasing concerns over the economy and inflation, which was a pressing issue that kept former President Joe Biden’s approval ratings well below water for most of his presidency. And Trump’s blockbuster tariff announcement two weeks ago, which sparked a trade war with some of the nation’s top trading partners, triggered a massive sell-off in the financial markets and increased concerns about a recession.

The Gallup poll is the latest to spotlight the massive partisan divide over the polarizing president.

Nine out of 10 Republicans questioned by Gallup gave Trump a thumbs up, but only 4% of Democrats said they approved of the president’s performance. Among Independents, only 37% approved of the job Trump’s doing steering the nation.

With the president reaching three months into his second term this weekend – he was inaugurated on Jan. 20 – Gallup is comparing his approval ratings with his presidential predecessors.

According to Gallup’s figures, Trump’s average approval rating during the first quarter of his first year back in office is 45%.

While that’s an improvement from his 41% average approval rating during the first three months of his first administration, in 2017, it’s far below previous presidents.

‘John F. Kennedy and Dwight Eisenhower had the highest first-quarter average ratings, with both registering above 70%, while Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan averaged between 60% and 69%. George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Joe Biden and Bill Clinton had similar average ratings of 55% to 58% in their first quarters,’ Gallup noted in its release. 

Gallup highlighted that ‘Trump is the only president to have sub-50% average approval ratings during a first quarter in office.’

But enjoying promising approval ratings out of the gate doesn’t guarantee a positive and productive presidency.

Carter’s poll numbers sank into negative territory less than two years into his presidency, and he was resoundingly defeated in his bid for re-election in 1980.

Biden’s approval rating hovered in the low-to-mid-50s during the first six months of his single term as president, with his disapproval in the upper 30s to the low- to-mid-40s. 

However, Biden’s numbers sank into negative territory in the late summer and autumn of 2021, in the wake of his much-criticized handling of the turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan, and amid soaring inflation and a surge of migrants crossing into the U.S. along the nation’s southern border with Mexico.

Biden’s approval ratings stayed underwater throughout the rest of his presidency, and he dropped his bid for re-election last summer.

Code Pink, the liberal antiwar group known best for disrupting hearings in their trademark fuchsia garb, may need to register under a 1938 law requiring disclosure of political behavior benefiting foreign entities or governments, according to a top Senate Republican.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, wrote a letter Wednesday to FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi openly considering whether Code Pink, as well as the New York-based socialist ‘incubator’ The People’s Forum, must register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

‘The Department of Justice has a duty to ensure compliance with the [FARA, which] remains a priority tool to combat adversarial foreign governments from influencing public policy and opinion in the United States,’ Grassley wrote.

‘FARA provides the American people with much-needed accountability and transparency. FARA is a content-neutral law and does not require any entity or individual to refrain from certain types of speech or activities. It simply requires individuals to register with the DOJ if they are acting as an agent of a foreign government or enterprise attempting to influence U.S. public policy.’

Focusing particularly on China, Grassley said the CCP spent more than $400 million since 2016 to influence American politics, and that both Code Pink and The People’s Forum have ties to a wealthy Shanghai-based U.S. citizen-activist, Neville Roy Singham, and the CCP itself.

‘Mr. Singham has denied working with the Chinese government; however, in July 2023, Mr. Singham reportedly attended a Communist Party workshop about ‘promoting the party internationally,” Grassley wrote.

‘Reportedly, Mr. Singham shares office and staff with the Shanghai Maku Cultural Communication Company, whose goal is to ‘educate foreigners about ‘the miracles that China has created on the world stage.’ Further, it is reported that Mr. Singham’s news outlet is co-producing a show on YouTube that is partially financed by Shanghai’s propaganda department,’ he added, footnoting a New York Times report from 2023.

Code Pink was co-founded by Jodie Evans – Singham’s wife – and according to Grassley, it received hefty donations from groups tied to Singham.

Grassley, appearing to cite the Times, catalogued Evans’ reported criticism of the Uyghurs as terrorists, though they are considered by the U.S. government to be victims of human rights abuses at the hands of the Chinese government. He wrote that when Evans married Singham and ‘became a recipient of funds tied to him,’ she and Code Pink became ‘stridently’ pro-China.

The letter also cited a meeting between Code Pink and the House Select Committee on China, in which he said they ‘denied evidence of forced labor in Xinjiang, a public policy position that benefits China’s interests’ and separately urged the Foreign Relations Committee to vote ‘nay’ on funding a $1.6 billion anti-Chinese-propaganda campaign.

As for The People’s Forum, which operates a café and meeting space in Manhattan, Grassley cited a Free Press report finding Singham the ‘main funder’ of the group, which organized anti-Israel protests in Times Square after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks.

Grassley cited a tweet in which The People’s Forum responded to claims that it receives ‘dark money,’ and it goes on to say how it met ‘Roy Singham, a Marxist comrade who sold his company and donated most of his wealth to non-profits that focus on political education, culture & internationalism.’

Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., previously wrote to The People’s Forum demanding answers for alleged ties to the July 24 pro-Palestinian mass-vandalism protest at Washington-Union Station, and the broader ‘Shut-It-Down-4-Palestine movement’ nationwide.

In a statement, Grassley said, ‘Evidence suggests that The People’s Forum and Code Pink have been funded and influenced by Mr. Singham and the Communist Chinese government, both of which are foreign principals.’

‘The evidence also suggests that The People’s Forum and Code Pink have engaged in covered political activities that directly advance the Communist Chinese government’s political and policy interests.’

‘Secretive foreign lobbying and public relations campaigns by China and other adversaries undermines the political will and interests of the American people,’ he added, calling on Bondi and Patel to review any interactions between the groups and DOJ, and what the feds have done to assess their FARA eligibility.

Fox News Digital reached out to Code Pink and The People’s Forum, as well as two emails listed for Singham, but did not hear back.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is probing ‘a major pediatric teaching hospital’ over the alleged firing of a nurse who sought a religious exemption to avoid administering puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children.

‘The Department will robustly enforce federal laws protecting these courageous whistleblowers, including laws that protect healthcare professionals from being forced to violate their religious beliefs or moral convictions,’ Acting HHS OCR Director Anthony Archeval said in a statement.

While HHS has not confirmed the hospital’s identity, it is believed to be Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) — the largest children’s hospital in the U.S. — as the investigation follows whistleblower nurse Vanessa Sivadge’s testimony on Capitol Hill. Sivadge first came forward publicly in June 2024 and was later fired in August 2024.

Sivadge told lawmakers that she had witnessed ‘disturbing trends and concerning practices’ relating to the treatment of children diagnosed with gender dysphoria. She also said that she ‘observed the powerful and irreversible effects’ of treatments that patients were told were ‘lifesaving.’ 

‘I witnessed firsthand how doctors emotionally blackmailed parents by telling them that if they did not affirm their child’s false identity, their child would harm themselves. In particular, I was saddened to see young girls suffering from profound mental health struggles like depression and anxiety, many of whom had also suffered sexual abuse or trauma, persuaded by doctors at Texas Children’s that a hormone would resolve their gender confusion,’ Sivadge told lawmakers.

Dr. Eithan Haim, who was accused of violating HIPAA while in surgical training at Baylor College of Medicine, which is affiliated with TCH, also blew the whistle on the hospital for ‘lying about the existence of its transgender program.’ The Biden DOJ brought charges against Haim for the alleged HIPAA violations, but the case was ultimately dropped under the Trump administration.

Haim claimed the hospital was engaging in fraudulent billing practices to hide the fact that it was carrying out transgender procedures on minors even though it was against Texas law. This included recording mastectomies as ‘breast reduction’ surgeries and billing testosterone prescribed to a teen girl under a male diagnosis.

In her testimony, Sivadge said that federal agents came to her home when investigating the whistleblower, now known to be Haim, because of her objections to transgender medicine. She described the interaction as intimidating and said that one of the special agents ‘effectively asked me to compromise my Christian beliefs and made veiled threats regarding my career and safety if I didn’t comply with their demands.’

Sivadge’s attorney filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on April 11, alleging that she ‘observed TCH doctors, after very little deliberation or critical analysis, embarking children on dangerous and often irreversible courses of ‘gender-affirming’ treatment.’

According to the complaint, TCH ‘temporarily’ paused ‘gender-affirming services’ for minors after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in February 2022 that such treatments could constitute child abuse. The treatments were banned in the state following the passage of a bill in May 2023, which went into effect in September 2023. According to Sivadge’s attorney, she asked to be transferred back to cardiology in May 2024, citing her religious beliefs. 

Sivadge publicly blew the whistle on TCH on June 18, 2024, and was asked not to report to work the next day, according to the complaint. Just days later, on June 21, she was placed on administrative leave and was officially terminated in August 2024. TCH alleged that the termination of her employment was due to improper access to medical records.

On Jan. 28, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the ‘Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation’ order, which prevents minors from undergoing transgender treatments. In accordance with this order, HHS has issued guidelines for prospective whistleblowers.

Fox News has reached out to TCH and HHS for comment.

A federal judge in Baltimore issued a preliminary injunction Thursday restricting the Department of Government Efficiency’s access to Social Security data. 

U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander, an Obama appointee, said DOGE-affiliated staffers must purge any of the non-anonymized Social Security data that they have received since Jan. 20. They are also barred from making any changes to the computer code or software used by the Social Security Administration, must remove any software or code they might have already installed, and are forbidden from disclosing any of that code to others.

The injunction does allow DOGE staffers to access data that’s been redacted or stripped of anything personally identifiable, if they undergo training and background checks. 

‘The objective to address fraud, waste, mismanagement, and bloat is laudable, and one that the American public presumably applauds and supports,’ Hollander wrote in the ruling issued late Thursday night. ‘Indeed, the taxpayers have every right to expect their government to make sure that their hard earned money is not squandered.’

But that’s not the issue, Hollander said — the issue is with how DOGE, led by billionaire Elon Musk, wants to do the work.

‘For some 90 years, SSA has been guided by the foundational principle of an expectation of privacy with respect to its records. This case exposes a wide fissure in the foundation,’ the judge wrote.

The case was brought by a group of labor unions and retirees who allege DOGE’s recent actions violate privacy laws and present massive information security risks. 

During a federal court hearing Tuesday in Baltimore, Hollander repeatedly asked the government’s attorneys why DOGE needs ‘seemingly unfettered access’ to the agency’s troves of sensitive personal information to uncover Social Security fraud.

‘What is it we’re doing that needs all of that information?’ Hollander said, questioning whether most of the data could be anonymized.

Attorneys for the Trump administration said changing the process would slow down their efforts.

‘While anonymization is possible, it is extremely burdensome,’ Justice Department attorney Bradley Humphreys told the court. He argued the DOGE access doesn’t deviate significantly from normal practices inside the agency, where employees and auditors are routinely allowed to search its databases.

But attorneys for the plaintiffs called it ‘a sea change’ in terms of how the agency handles sensitive information.

Skye Perryman, President and CEO of the legal services group Democracy Forward, which is behind the lawsuit, said the ruling has brought ‘significant relief for the millions of people who depend on the Social Security Administration to safeguard their most personal and sensitive information.’ 

Hollander made clear that her order didn’t apply to SSA workers who aren’t affiliated with DOGE, so they can still access any data they use in the course of ordinary work. But DOGE staffers who want access to the anonymized data must first undergo the typical training and background checks required of other Social Security Administration staffers, she said.

Hollander, 75, is the latest judge to consider a DOGE-related case. Many of her inquiries Tuesday focused on whether the Social Security case differs significantly from another Maryland case challenging DOGE’s access to data at three other agencies: the Education Department, the Treasury Department and the Office of Personnel Management. In that case, an appeals court recently blocked a preliminary injunction and cleared the way for DOGE to once again access people’s private data.

Hollander’s injunction could also be appealed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which sided with the Trump administration in other cases, including allowing DOGE access to the U.S. Agency for International Development and letting executive orders against diversity, equity and inclusion move forward.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.