Federal Judge James Boasberg is facing mounting criticism from President Donald Trump and his allies as he presides over multiple high-profile lawsuits targeting the Trump administration – cases that have now brought the judge’s personal and professional ties under fresh scrutiny. 

Boasberg, who was previously appointed to the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and reportedly once roomed with Justice Brett Kavanaugh at Yale, has become a flashpoint for conservatives who accuse the judiciary of bias against the Trump administration. Now the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Boasberg’s recent orders halting deportations of violent illegal immigrants and overseeing cases tied to leaked internal communications have amplified claims of partisanship and drawn fierce rebukes from Trump and his allies.

‘The Chief Justice handpicked DC Obama Judge Jeb Boasberg to serve on the FISA court,’ said Mike Davis, president of the Article III Project. ‘The DC federal judges are in a cozy little club, and they protect their own.’ His comments echo a broader sentiment on the right that Boasberg’s judicial decisions – and his close ties within the legal establishment – reflect a partisan tilt against the president.

Boasberg, a Washington, D.C., native, earned an advanced degree in Modern European History from Oxford University in 1986 and later attended Yale Law School, where he lived with Kavanaugh, according to multiple reports.  

He graduated in 1990 and clerked for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals before joining Keker & Van Nest in San Francisco as a litigation associate from 1991 to 1994. He later worked at Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd & Evans in Washington from 1995 to 1996.

After serving in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Boasberg was appointed in 2002 by then-President George W. Bush to serve as an associate judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, the local trial court for the District. In 2011, then-President Barack Obama nominated him to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where he was confirmed by the Senate and received his commission on March 17, 2011.

Boasberg was appointed to serve a seven-year term on the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or FISA Court, by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. 

The FISA Court is made up of 11 federal judges, all of whom are hand-selected by the chief justice. After undergoing rigorous background checks, FISA Court judges are then responsible for approving surveillance requests and wiretap warrants submitted by federal prosecutors, law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Most of the court’s work remains classified.

Boasberg served as the court’s presiding judge from 2020 to 2021 before returning to the D.C. District Court.

After Boasberg on March 15 ordered the Trump administration to halt its deportations of illegal immigrants under a 1798 wartime authority, Trump took to Truth Social to call for his impeachment. The president’s remarks echoed a growing chorus of conservatives who have recently called for the impeachment of federal judges overseeing his administration’s legal battles.

‘I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!’ Trump wrote in the post.

In an unprecedented move by the nation’s high court, Roberts released a public statement shortly thereafter, denouncing impeachment as an appropriate response to judicial disagreements. 

‘For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose,’ he said in the statement released in mid-March.

Trump once again unloaded on Boasberg in a March 30 Truth Social post after the judge extended his restraining order on March 28. The extension will run through April 12. 

‘People are shocked by what is going on with the Court System. I was elected for many reasons, but a principal one was LAW AND ORDER, a big part of which is QUICKLY removing a vast Criminal Network of individuals, who came into our Country through the Crooked Joe Biden Open Borders Policy! These are dangerous and violent people, who kill, maim and, in many other ways, harm the people of our Country,’ Trump wrote on the social media platform. 

‘The Voters want them OUT, and said so in Record Numbers. If it was up to District Judge Boasberg and other Radical Left Judges, nobody would be removed, the President wouldn’t be allowed to do his job, and people’s lives would be devastated all throughout our Country. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!,’ he continued. 

Boasberg came under additional fire after he was randomly assigned to preside over a lawsuit involving the Trump administration’s leaked Signal chat. 

After Boasberg was assigned to the case, Trump again took to Truth Social and accused Boasberg of ‘grabbing the ‘Trump Cases’ all to himself.’

Davis also took to social media, writing, ‘Judge Jeb Boasberg is lighting on fire his legitimacy over an unnecessary, lawless, and dangerous pissing match with the President Jeb will lose. 

‘Let’s hope the Chief Justice doesn’t light the entire federal judiciary’s legitimacy on fire by siding with his personal buddy Jeb,’ Davis wrote. 

At the start of the March 27 hearing, Boasberg emphasized that he was randomly assigned to the case through a docket computer system.

‘That’s how it works, and that’s how all cases continue to be assigned in this court,’ Boasberg said during the hearing. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, the Supreme Court, and the D.C. District Court for additional comment.

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch, Emma Colton and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of Jason Galanis, a convicted ex-business associate of Hunter Biden, whom Trump officials described as the ‘fall guy’ for the former first son’s business dealings. 

Galanis was sentenced in 2017 to 189 months, or 14 years, in prison, after pleading guilty to securities fraud based on bonds issued by a company affiliated with a Native American tribe in South Dakota. 

The funds were reportedly supposed to be used for certain projects, but were instead used for his personal finances. 

A Trump administration official told Fox News Digital that Galanis served eight years and eight months of his sentence and had an ‘unblemished record while in prison.’ The official also said Galanis was sexually assaulted by a security guard while in prison. 

The Trump official told Fox News Digital that Galanis ‘basically was the fall guy for Hunter Biden and Devon Archer.’ The official noted Galanis was ‘extremely cooperative’ during the 2024 House impeachment inquiry into the Biden family. 

‘After serving eight years and eight months in prison on good behavior, the administration felt it was time for him to regain his liberty and go on into his private life,’ the official told Fox News Digital. 

Congressional investigators interviewed Galanis while he was in prison to gather information on the Biden family’s business dealings and any ‘access’ to then-Vice President Joe Biden. 

Galanis testified that Joe Biden was considering joining the board of a joint venture created by Hunter Biden and his business associates with ties to the Chinese Communist Party after he left the vice presidency.

Galanis said Joe Biden’s involvement would have brought ‘political access in the United States and around the world.’ 

Galanis testified that he worked with Archer and Hunter Biden between 2012 and 2015. Their business together, he said, included the acquisition of Burnham & Co, a division of Drexel Burnham Lambert, combined with ‘other businesses in insurance and wealth management.’ Galanis testified the three ‘owned and acquired with total audited assets of over $17 billion.’

‘Our objective was to build a diversified private equity platform, which would be anchored by a globally known Wall Street brand together with a globally known political name,’ Galanis testified. ‘Our goal — that is, Hunter Biden, Devon Archer and me — was to make billions, not millions.’ 

Galanis testified that ‘the entire value-add of Hunter Biden to our business was his family name and his access to his father, Vice President Joe Biden.

‘Because of this access, I agreed to contribute equity ownership to them — Hunter and Devon — for no out-of-pocket cost from them in exchange for their ‘relationship capital,’’ he told investigators.

Hunter Biden served as vice chairman of the Burnham group ‘and brought strategic relationships to the venture, including from Kazakhstan, Russia and China.’

Meanwhile, Archer was tied to the scheme that put Galanis in prison and was convicted in 2018 for defrauding the Native American tribal entity and various investment advisory clients of tens of millions of dollars in connection with the issuance of bonds by the tribal entity and the subsequent sale of those bonds through fraudulent and deceptive means. 

The president pardoned Archer in March. 

‘Many people have asked me to do this. They think he was treated very unfairly. And I looked at the records, studied the records. And he was a victim of a crime, as far as I’m concerned. So we’re going to undo that. … Congratulations, Devon,’ Trump said ahead of signing the pardon. 

Archer thanked Trump ahead of officially receiving the pardon Tuesday, arguing he was ‘the victim of a convoluted lawfare effort.’

‘I want to extend my deepest thanks to President Trump,’ Archer said in a comment to the New York Post regarding the pardon. ‘I am grateful to the president for recognizing that I was the victim of a convoluted lawfare effort intended to destroy and silence me.

‘Like so many people, my life was devastated by the Biden family’s selfish disregard for the truth and for the peace of mind and happiness of others. The Bidens talk about justice, but they don’t mean it,’ he said. ‘I am grateful that the American people are now well aware of this reality.’

Galanis and Archer testified as part of the House impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden. The House of Representatives found, after months of investigating, that Biden had engaged in ‘impeachable conduct.’ In their nearly 300-page report, House lawmakers said he had ‘abused his office’ and ‘defrauded the United States to enrich his family.’  

Republicans said there is ‘overwhelming evidence’ that Biden had participated in a ‘conspiracy to monetize his office of public trust to enrich his family.’ They alleged that the Biden family and their business associates had received tens of millions of dollars from foreign interests by ‘leading those interests to believe that such payments would provide them access to and influence with President Biden.’ 

Before leaving office, President Biden announced a blanket pardon that applied to any offenses against the U.S. that Hunter Biden ‘has committed or may have committed’ from Jan. 1, 2014 to Dec. 1, 2024. 

‘From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,’ President Joe Biden said. ‘There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me — and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.’

Biden added, ‘I hope Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision.’ 

Two key bills backed by President Donald Trump are expected to get a vote this week as Republican lawmakers continue their first 100-day sprint of trying to enact the White House’s agenda.

The No Rogue Rulings Act (NORRA Act) by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., would limit district court judges’ ability to issue orders blocking Trump policies nationwide. Additionally, the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, is aimed at requiring proof of citizenship in the voting registration process.

It signifies Trump’s continued dominance over congressional Republicans’ agenda, at a time when Democrats are struggling to coalesce around a singular message or leader.

The former legislation is a response to Trump’s ongoing standoff with judges paralyzing his agenda, while the latter is a bill that the president and his allies have long pushed for.

The bills advanced through the House Rules Committee on Tuesday in an expected party-line vote.

An original plan to have the bills voted through the panel on Monday night was upended after House GOP leaders attempted to insert language into the joint ‘rule’ that would have killed an unrelated bid by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., to install remote voting for new parents in the House.

It led to a brief hold-up on Tuesday morning before the language blocking Luna was ultimately included in the measure.

The Rules Committee acts as the final gatekeeper to legislation before it’s considered House-wide. The next step will be a procedural ‘rule’ vote expected on Tuesday afternoon. If passed, that will set up lawmakers to debate both bills before voting sometime this week.

Issa’s bill is coming for a House-wide vote on Wednesday afternoon as Trump is pushing his congressional allies to fight back against what Republicans view as ‘activist judges’ trying to block their agenda.

Two people familiar with discussions said earlier this month that Capitol Hill aides were told Trump ‘likes’ the bill. Meanwhile, Roy’s bill has been pushed by both Trump and various conservative groups since before the 2024 election.

Democrats have argued that if passed, it would disenfranchise women by making it harder for married women who have changed their last names to vote. Republicans say it is a necessary crackdown to prevent illegal immigrants from voting in federal elections, which is already against the law.

The SAVE Act passed the House with five Democrats voting in favor of the bill in July last year, but was never taken up by the Senate, then controlled by now-Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

House GOP leaders called on lawmakers on both sides to support this bill this week, however. It’s expected to come for a House-wide vote on Thursday morning.

‘American citizens – and only American citizens – should decide American elections,’ House GOP leaders said in a joint statement. 

‘This legislation cements into law President Trump’s executive action to secure our voter registration process and protect the voices of American voters. We urge all our colleagues in the House to join us in doing what the overwhelming majority of people in this country rightfully demand and deserve.’

First lady Melania Trump will recognize courageous women from all corners of the world at the State Department Tuesday and is expected to celebrate ‘the extraordinary strength of women who embody love in action around the globe.’ 

The first lady is returning to the State Department for her fifth year participating in the Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Awards. 

The event will recognize women from around the globe who have ‘bravely stood up for many of the values we cherish here in the United States.’ 

The first lady is expected to focus on ‘love as a source of strength’ during her remarks Tuesday and is expected to call love a ‘universal language.’ 

The first lady is also expected to honor the courageous and ‘extraordinary’ women who will receive the annual awards. 

‘Mrs. Trump will highlight the profound connection between the love and courage shown by this year’s honorees,’ first lady spokesman Nick Clemens told Fox News Digital. ‘She looks forward to celebrating the extraordinary strength of women who embody love in action around the globe.’ 

Recipients include women from Burkina Faso in West Africa, Israel, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, South Sudan, Sri Lanka and Yemen. 

One of the recipients, Amit Soussana, was taken hostage by Hamas in Israel during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack. Soussana is an advocate for the hostages that remain under Hamas control. 

The IWOC Award is in its 19th year and recognizes women from around the world who have demonstrated ‘exceptional courage, strength, and leadership — often at great personal risk and sacrifice.’ 

The State Department said that since 2007, it has recognized more than 200 women from more than 90 countries with the IWOC Award. 

U.S. diplomatic missions overseas nominate one woman of courage from their respective host countries, and finalists are selected and approved by senior Department officials.  

As President Donald Trump edges closer to potentially bombing Tehran, Iran, the intelligence community does not yet believe Iran is moving toward a nuclear weapon. 

‘If they don’t do a deal, there will be bombing,’ Trump said Sunday. It was not clear whether that meant Israel or the U.S. would bomb Tehran. ‘There’s a chance that if they don’t make a deal, that I will do secondary tariffs on them like I did four years ago,’ he added. 

Secondary ‘tariffs,’ or sanctions, would mean slapping financial penalties on any country that does business with Iran. 

However, Trump’s threat of direct war on Tehran comes just after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard insisted last week Iran is not building a nuclear weapon – at least not yet. 

‘The IC [intelligence community] continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapon program that he suspended in 2003,’ Gabbard told a worldwide threat hearing held by the Senate Intelligence Community last week. 

Experts believe Iran is enriching uranium to 60%, which puts it just below the 90% needed for a nuclear weapon, and have said there is no civilian use for 60% enriched uranium. 

‘The IC continues to monitor closely if Tehran decides to reauthorize its nuclear weapons program. In the past year we’ve seen an erosion in the decades-long taboo in Iran of discussing nuclear weapons in public, likely emboldening nuclear weapons advocates within Iran’s decision making apparatus,’ Gabbard said. 

She added that Iran’s uranium enrichment was ‘at its highest levels’ and is ‘unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons.’ 

The IC’s annual threat assessment, released in conjunction with the hearing, predicted Iran would continue efforts to threaten U.S. citizens and conduct operations inside the U.S. 

‘Tehran will try to leverage its robust missile capability and expanded nuclear program, and its diplomatic outreach to regional states and U.S. rivals to bolster its regional influence and ensure regime survival,’ the report said. ‘However, regional and domestic challenges, most immediately tensions with Israel, are seriously testing Iran’s ambitions and capabilities.’

The report detailed the ‘lethality’ of Iran’s missiles and UAV systems but said little else about the threat of Iran’s nuclear program. 

It assessed Iran’s capabilities, degraded by Israel, would be able to deter further offensive Israeli actions. 

‘The IC assesses Iran’s prospects for reconstituting force losses and posing a credible deterrent, particularly to Israeli actions, are dim in the near-term,’ the report said.

JINSA President and CEO Michael Makovsky offered a separate assessment, telling Fox News Digital, ‘Their enrichment program is about as far as you can get, so that part is done. So the question is the weapons part.… the issue today is less weaponization and more about opportunity.’

Behnam Ben Taleblu, an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, added a broader critique. ‘When the IC, reporters or open-source analysts fail to connect the dots between strategy, capability and intention when looking at Iran’s atomic infrastructure … they do a public disservice to the public national debate.’

He said that worldwide threat assessments ‘should but be politicized,’ but ‘intelligence officials must be asked, if Iran isn’t building a weapon, why has it invested so much time, labor and capital into this quest?’

Tehran’s moves toward an atomic weapon is not a dash, but a ‘slow and steady quest to develop the world’s most dangerous weapons as safely as possible,’ said Taleblu. 

The renewed threat comes as the U.S. is bolstering its forces in the Middle East. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently sent a second aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson, to join the USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group, whose deployment was also extended. 

The U.S. also recently deployed two B-2 stealth bombers to the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean, a warning to Iran and Yemen’s Houthi militia. The planes are capable of carrying 30,000-pound ‘bunker buster’ bombs and are now situated within range of Iran. 

In his first term, Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal signed by then-President Barack Obama, deeming it a ‘bad deal’ that did not curb Iran’s nuclear program. 

He has already ordered his administration to bring ‘maximum pressure’ back to Tehran, choking them financially from every lever of government. 

House Republicans are going all out this week to signal their support for the Trump administration amid multiple legal standoffs over White House policy.

A bill to limit U.S. district court judges’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions sailed through the House Rules Committee – the last gatekeeper for bills before a chamber-wide vote – in a party-line vote Monday evening, as expected.

On Tuesday morning, meanwhile, two high-profile panels on the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. ET on ‘judicial overreach and constitutional limits on the federal courts.’

‘Clearly,our members are as angered as President Trump about some of these rogue judges,’ House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., the No. 2 House Republican, told Fox News Digital in a brief interview. ‘So we’re doing a number of things.’

The hearing will be held by the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on the Constitution, led by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and its subcommittee on courts, led by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

Notably, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., is expected to testify, as is a woman described as a victim of criminal activity perpetrated by the terrorist organization Tren de Aragua in Aurora, Colorado.

Her appearance is likely linked to the ongoing legal showdown between the Trump administration and U.S. District Judge James Boasberg after he issued an emergency 14-day pause on the White House’s deportation flights of suspected Tren de Aragua gang members to El Salvador.

‘We share the president’s concern that you’ve got some judges that have overstepped their boundaries,’ Scalise said. ‘I mean, you have a plane flying with hardened criminals … and Judge Boasberg orders the plane to turn around in mid-flight … and bring hardened criminals back to America who were already here illegally. That’s clearly judicial activism and a judge trying to become the executive. That’s not his role.’

Issa is also spearheading the No Rogue Rulings Act (NORRA Act) to get a House-wide vote this week, which would limit the ability of Boasberg and other district court judges from issuing rulings that affect Trump policies across the country, beyond their direct jurisdiction.

That legislation is likely to pass with little if any Republican dissent. Two people familiar with discussions told Fox News Digital this month that Capitol Hill aides were told Trump ‘likes’ the bill.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the No. 3 House Republican, also made clear leadership is united behind this week’s strategy.

‘Judges cannot act as pseudo-legislators to advance their political agenda; that’s not how our government works,’ Emmer told Fox News Digital exclusively in a written statement. ‘I’m grateful for Chairman Jordan and Congressman Issa’s leadership in House Republicans’ efforts to ensure impartiality on the bench.’

But it’s clear there’s an appetite among Republican judiciary hawks and conservatives to go further.

Scalise would not go into specifics but vowed, ‘Everything’s being looked at, and all options are on the table.’

Democrats are vowing to push back, with Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, accusing Trump of using judges as ‘scapegoats’ for his policy setbacks.

‘This week’s efforts to distract from Trump’s serial violations of the Spending Clause, the separation of powers, the Birthright Citizenship Clause, Equal Protection, the First Amendment freedom of speech, Fifth Amendment Due Process and Sixth Amendment right to counsel will include a House hearing made for Trump’s viewing pleasure and a vote on a Republican bill to ban nationwide injunctions,’ Raskin told Fox News Digital.

‘As my colleagues embark on this embarrassing diversion, Judiciary Democrats will remind them at every turn: it’s not the courts’ fault that Trump keeps losing these cases. No amount of finger pointing will shift responsibility from this rogue president who keeps deliberately trashing the Constitution and violating the rights and freedoms of the people of the United States.’

There have been over a dozen injunctions levied against various Trump policies across the country, from birthright citizenship reform to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., met privately with Republican judiciary committee members last week for what sources called a ‘brainstorming’ session.

Ideas raised by lawmakers included a fast-tracked appeals process, wielding Congress’ spending power over the judiciary, and limiting the ability to ‘judge shop.’

And some conservatives are eager to target specific judges they believe are abusing their power via the impeachment process, but House Republican leaders are wary of that route and believe it to be less effective than other legislative avenues.

Conservatives could still force Johnson’s hand by filing a ‘privileged’ impeachment resolution, meaning the House would have to at least hold a procedural vote on the measure within two legislative days.

Fox News Digital is not aware of any current plans to do so, and Johnson assured Republicans at their closed-door meeting last week that he was in contact with the White House every step of the way.

Trump’s GOP Senate allies are rolling out their own strategy to push back on activist judges in the coming days, with the Senate Judiciary Committee teeing up a similar hearing to the House’s Tuesday event.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., spoke out against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk on the Senate floor throughout the night after beginning his marathon speech at 7 p.m. Monday.

The senator was still speaking on the floor at 6 a.m. Tuesday, 11 hours after he had begun.

Booker received some support from other Senate Democrats, whom he allowed to speak at times, during his hourslong show of opposition against the Trump administration.

Booker said toward the beginning of his speech that Trump, in 71 days, ‘has inflicted so much harm on Americans’ safety, financial stability, the core foundations of our democracy, and even our aspirations as a people for, from our highest offices, a sense of common decency.’

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who said he planned to join Booker ‘for the entirety of his speech,’ noted that he was ‘returning the favor’ as Booker joined him when he ‘launched a filibuster to demand action on gun violence nine years ago.’

Murphy was among the Democrats who provided Booker with some relief by speaking at times to punctuate the marathon session.

In the social media video, Murphy described his colleague’s effort as ‘extraordinary.’

Booker said in a video before he began his demonstration that he plans to continue speaking as long as he is ‘physically able.’

President Donald Trump said that the U.S. would continue to search for Austin Tice, an American journalist who disappeared in Syria in 2012. 

Tice, who previously served as a captain in the Marine Corps and was a student at Georgetown University Law Center, started working as an independent journalist for McClatchy, The Washington Post and other outlets in Syria in May 2012 before jihadist militants seized him near Damascus. 

Trump said that although there has been ‘virtually no sign’ of Tice, his administration would continue to try to secure Tice’s release. 

‘Until we find out something definitive, one way or the other, we’ll never stop looking,’ Trump told reporters Monday. ‘But we have been, and the response – it’s just a lot of dead ends. It’s been done for a long time. The problem is, there’s never been a sighting.’

Trump’s comments come after Tice’s mother, Debra, told reporters at the National Press Club in December that they’d received information suggesting that her son was still alive. 

‘We have from a significant source that has been vetted all over our government: Austin Tice is alive,’ his mother Debra Tice said Dec. 6. She later met with former President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, at the White House to discuss her son’s wrongful detainment. 

Meanwhile, rebels also overthrew Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime in December, prompting the FBI to issue a statement reiterating its push from April 2018 for more information that could lead to Tice’s release. 

‘Given recent events in Syria, the FBI is renewing our call for information that could lead to the safe location, recovery, and return of Austin Bennett Tice, who was detained in Damascus in August 2012,’ the FBI said in a statement in December. 

‘The FBI and our government partners remain committed to bringing Austin home to his family, and we are still offering a reward of up to $1 million for information that leads to Austin’s safe return,’ the FBI said. 

Both Trump’s first administration and Biden’s administration have launched efforts to advance the release of Tice. Biden urged the Syrian government to release Tice in 2020, and said the U.S. knew ‘with certainty’ that the Syrian regime was holding him hostage. Syria has publicly denied it has detained Tice. 

There were 46 American nationals known to be held captive in 16 different countries in 2024, according to the nonprofit Foley Foundation, which advocates for U.S. hostages and was named after James Foley, a U.S. journalist kidnapped while reporting in Syria in 2012 and killed by ISIS in 2014. That number is now likely closer to the low 30s after the recent releases of hostages in January and February through efforts by the Trump administration. 

Fox News’ Michael Dorgan and Stephany Price contributed to this report. 

: Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., will vote to confirm President Donald Trump’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) nominee, Dr. Mehmet Oz, after securing commitments from him regarding transgender treatments for minors and abortion. 

‘On this basis, I will vote to confirm him. Now that I am confident that he has moved away from his previous positions, and he’s moved into alignment with the president, I feel comfortable voting for him,’ he told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview on Monday. 

The senator revealed that Oz responded to his inquiries and disavowed his past stances on transgender treatments for minors and abortion in a series of posts on X earlier in the day. 

‘Dr. Oz has responded to my questions re: past support for trans treatments for minors & his criticism of right to life. Oz now disavows his previous support for trans surgeries & drugs for minor children. He pledges to ‘end chemical and surgical mutilation of children,’’ Hawley wrote on X on Monday. 

‘He also walks back past criticism of state pro-life laws, says he supports the Dobbs decision, and is ‘unequivocally pro-life.’ He vows to enforce conscience protections, end the abuse of [the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act], and work to end funding for abortion providers,’ he continued. 

‘This was really a big shift of position for him,’ he explained, adding that he was ‘delighted’ by Oz’s responses. 

‘When it comes to the [transgender] issue and the life issue, those are non-negotiable for me, just as I believe they are for the president,’ the Missouri Republican explained. ‘I want to know that these people are 100% clear.’ 

‘Every member of the Trump administration is working from the same playbook, President Trump’s playbook, to restore commonsense policies and put an end to left-wing ideological nonsense afflicting our government,’ White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital in a statement. ‘We look forward to the Senate’s swift confirmation of Dr. Oz so he can join the rest of our all-star team at HHS working to Make America Healthy Again by restoring common sense, transparency, and confidence in our healthcare apparatus.’

Earlier in the month, Hawley sent Oz a list of questions, specifically probing him on those issues. As of last week, Hawley said the nominee hadn’t responded, which the senator called ‘strange.’ 

Oz previously used his television show as a platform for people who supported and promoted transgender treatments, particularly for minors. Specifically, he hosted two transgender children on his show in 2010 in a segment titled, ‘Transgender Kids: Too Young to Decide?’ 

He also expressed concerns about state laws to limit abortion during a 2019 interview on the popular radio show ‘The Breakfast Club.’

It’s ‘a hard issue for everybody,’ he said at the time. 

And while on ‘a personal level,’ Oz didn’t like abortion, he also believed he should not ‘interfere with everyone else’s stuff,’ he said. 

Oz also opposed government jurisdiction on the subject of abortion when he ran for Senate in Pennsylvania as a Republican in 2022.

‘I don’t want the federal government involved with that at all,’ he claimed during a debate with now-Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. ‘I want women, doctors, local political leaders, letting the democracy that’s always allowed our nation to thrive, to put the best ideas forward, so states can decide for themselves.’

Hawley’s commitments from Oz are just the latest he’s received from Trump nominees as he considers them for confirmation. He previously got assurances from now-Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the same issues. 

When it came to now-leader of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Dr. Marty Makary, Hawley led a successful campaign to secure the resignation of a top lawyer with the FDA who previously argued in favor of abortion pill access in a high-profile case while in former President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ). 

‘I just view my role for those I have to vote on — I want to know that these people are going to align with the president,’ Hawley said, noting that he believes Trump has ‘moved really fast [and] really strong’ on the issues.