A conservative legal group is trying to uncover whether the former Biden administration’s focus on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives seeped into the nation’s organ transplant system and led to prioritizing patients based on race. 

MAGA law group America First Legal is suing a number of federal health agencies to obtain documents related to the nation’s organ transplant system. 

Specifically, they’re targeting the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Health Resources Services Administration, in an attempt to compel them to turn over documents related to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN).

In April 2023, AFL filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking documents relevant to the Biden administration’s efforts to infuse DEI into the organ transplant system. However, to date, AFL says it has not received any of the requested information and, as a result, decided to sue in an effort to compel the release of it.

‘The Biden Administration infected the federal government with ‘equity,’ replacing traditional principles of fairness and need with race-conscious criteria,’ said America First Legal Counsel Will Scolinos. ‘AFL is determined to uncover the complete scope of Biden-era DEI policies and will continue to take decisive action to restore colorblind healthcare.’ 

Just days after taking office in 2021, former President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 13985, directing all federal agencies to conduct ‘Equity Assessments’ to determine whether ‘underserved communities and their members’ faced systemic barriers to accessing federal programs. The order also required each agency to develop an action plan to address those barriers.

As part of this effort, in December 2021, CMS issued a request to the public for comments on how the agency could ‘Advance Equity and Reduce Disparities in Organ Transplantation.’

‘CMS is focused on identifying potential system-wide improvements that would increase organ donations, improve transplants, enhance the quality of care in dialysis facilities, increase access to dialysis services, and advance equity in organ donation and transplantation,’ the agency said at the time. 

‘Communities of color have much higher rates of high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease, all of which increase the risk for kidney disease. Black Americans are almost four times more likely, and Latinos are 1.3 times more likely, to have kidney failure compared to White Americans. Despite the higher risk, data shows that Black and Latino patients on dialysis are less likely to be placed on the transplant waitlist and have a lower likelihood of transplantation. Because of these stark inequities, CMS’ [Request For Information] asks the public for specific ideas on advancing equity within the organ transplantation system.’

Meanwhile, several weeks later, the HRSA announced that the ‘labeling of race and ethnicity information for organ donors’ would ‘change on a number of data reports available on the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) website.’ According to the HRSA, the move made the data ‘clearer, more consistent and easier for users to interpret,’ and did not impact the manner in which data is collected. OPTN collects and manages data pertaining to the patient waiting list, organ donation, matching and transplantation in the U.S.

HRSA also announced a ‘modernization initiative’ for OPTN around the same time, which included plans to strengthen ‘equity, and performance in the organ donation and transplantation system.’

In its lawsuit, AFL chronicled a series of delays, non-responses and incomplete communications following its April 2023 FOIA request. AFL is hoping to obtain a judge’s order requiring the release of the records it is seeking, as well as an index of any withheld material and explanations for why it could not be provided. 

‘The last administration’s pervasive directives requiring consideration of immutable characteristics like race, color, and ethnicity — to make healthcare more ‘equitable’ — should concern all Americans,’ Scolinos said Tuesday. ‘AFL is determined to uncover the complete scope of Biden-era DEI policies and will continue to take decisive action to restore colorblind healthcare.’

HHS declined to comment on AFL’s lawsuit.

Israel has agreed to a proposal led by the Trump administration for a 60-day ceasefire, during which time President Donald Trump said all parties will work to end the war in the Middle East.

‘My Representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza,’ Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday. ‘Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War. 

‘The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal,’ Trump added. ‘I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE. Thank you for your attention to this matter!’

Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar said Monday, ‘Israel is serious in its will to reach a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza.’

He pointed to Jerusalem’s acceptance of a recent proposal presented by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, but which Hamas rejected as it did not include a solution to a permanent ceasefire and a plan to withdraw Israeli forces from Gaza.

Witkoff is expected to head to Cairo in the coming days to begin hashing out new negotiations.

The president has been pushing for Israel to end its conflict in Gaza and to secure a hostage deal.

Ending Israel’s military operations in Gaza will prove a crucial step in expanding Trump’s ambitions to bring new nations into the Abraham Accords. 

‘We have opportunities in front of us,’ Sa’ar said, echoing Jerusalem’s ambitions to reach a deal. ‘We paid for the new reality in the Middle East with the blood of our soldiers and citizens.’

‘Israel is interested in expanding the Abraham Accords circle of peace and normalization. We have an interest in adding countries, such as Syria and Lebanon, our neighbors, to the circle of peace and normalization – while safeguarding Israel’s essential and security interests,’ he added. 

Prior to today, Trump had not detailed which nations are interested in normalizing diplomatic relations with Israel, though nations like Saudi Arabia have made clear that so long as Palestinians continue to suffer in the Israel-Hamas conflict, normalization is off the table.

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

President Donald Trump is slated to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday, according to an administration official. 

Trump is also pushing for Israel to reach a ceasefire with Gaza, and told reporters Tuesday that a ceasefire was likely in the next week.

‘We hope it’s going to happen, and we’re looking for it to happen sometime next week,’ Trump told reporters Tuesday. 

An administration official confirmed Netanyahu’s visit to Fox News Digital. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday that Trump is seeking to resolve the conflict between both Israel and Gaza and secure the release of the remaining American hostages in Gaza. 

‘It’s heartbreaking to see the images that have come out from both Israel and Gaza throughout this war,’ Leavitt said. ‘And the president wants to see it end. He wants to save lives and, however, the main priority for the president also remains to bring all of the hostages home out of Gaza. As you know, his tireless effort has brought home many of the hostages, including all of the American hostages who were held there.’ 

The visit comes shortly after Trump expressed his disapproval with Israel, after Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran on June 24. 

However, both sides quickly launched accusations that the other had violated the agreement, prompting Trump to tell reporters that both had failed to uphold the terms of the deal. 

‘I’m not happy with them,’ Trump said at the White House on June 24. ‘I’m not happy with Iran either, but I’m really unhappy with Israel going out this morning.’

Netanyahu’s visit to the White House comes after Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer visited Washington Monday. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The chairman of the House Budget Committee pushed back on Elon Musk’s claim that President Donald Trump’s $3.3 trillion ‘big, beautiful bill’ is full of ‘pork.’

It’s a claim the tech billionaire made when the House was considering the legislation the first time around, and he re-vamped those attacks again this week as the Senate wrestled with the bill.

Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital in early June that it was not possible for ‘pork barrel spending’ to be included in the legislation, called a budget reconciliation bill, because the reconciliation process was simply not the mechanism for such federal funds.

‘Reconciliation does not have anything to do with discretionary spending — earmarks, and all of that,’ Arrington said. ‘And quite frankly, the [Department of Government Efficiency] findings were, I think, almost entirely an issue for… annual appropriations.’

‘Discretionary spending’ refers to the annual dollars allocated by Congress each year through the appropriations process, also known as ‘spending bills.’ 

It’s a process that’s historically known to be rife with ‘pork barrel spending’ from both Republicans and Democrats — funding for pet projects or other specific initiatives benefiting a certain member of Congress’ district.

But reconciliation deals with the government’s ‘mandatory spending’ — largely government welfare programs that can only be amended by changing the law.

‘We’re dealing with mandatory spending programs — entitlements, health care, welfare and the tax code,’ Arrington said. 

‘We did a responsible bill. There’s no pork in it. The question, I think, for some folks and the objective of mine and my budget committee members was, whatever we’re doing on tax or security to unleash growth and to buy greater security for the American people, we wanted it to be done in a fiscally responsible way.’

Senior White House advisor Stephen Miller echoed that sentiment on X last month: ‘The reconciliation bill cuts taxes, seals the border and reforms welfare. It is not a spending bill. There is no ‘pork.’ It is the campaign agenda codified.’

Musk posted on X Monday night., ‘It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS that we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!! Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people.’

The vast majority of the trillions of dollars in the bill are aimed at Trump’s tax policies — extending his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) while implementing new priorities like eliminating taxes on tips and overtime wages.

There’s also $5 trillion in the latest version of the bill aimed at raising the debt limit.

The legislation is also aimed at amending current laws to enable new funding for border security and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — projected to boost those priorities by billions of dollars.

To offset those costs, House GOP leaders are seeking stricter work requirements for Medicaid and food stamps, while shifting more of the cost burden for both programs to the states.

Republicans are also looking to roll back green energy tax subsidies in former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

But Musk and other fiscal hawks’ main concern has been that the legislation does not go far enough with those spending cuts.

They have also raised concerns about the overall bill adding to the national debt, which is currently nearing $37 trillion.

As part of his social media campaign against the bill, Musk in June called for both eliminating the tax cuts and removing the debt limit increase from the final legislation.

Musk reposted another X user who wrote, ‘Drop the tax cuts, cut some pork, get the bill through.’

He’s also previously shown support on X for Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and his call to strip the debt limit provision out of the bill.

Paul was one of three Republican senators to vote against the bill on Tuesday morning, alongside Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Susan Collins, R-Maine.

It’s now set to be considered in the House on Wednesday, with a goal of sending it to Trump’s desk by Fourth of July.

President Donald Trump rallied Republicans in the House to get his ‘big, beautiful bill’ to the finish line and on his desk by July 4, reminding his colleagues the American people sent them to Washington, D.C. to ‘get it done.’

Nearly every Republican in the Senate voted to pass Trump’s $3.3 trillion megabill, though Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted against the legislation. No Senate Democrats crossed the aisle to support the bill.

Hours after the bill was passed and forwarded to the House, Trump turned to Truth Social to issue a rallying cry.

‘Almost all of our Great Republicans in the United States Senate have passed our ‘ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,’’ he wrote. ‘It is no longer a ‘House Bill’ or a ‘Senate Bill’. It is everyone’s Bill.’

Trump continued, reminding party members there is much to be proud of with the ‘major policy win.’

But he said the biggest winners will be the people of America, who Trump said will have ‘Permanently Lower Taxes, Higher Wages and Take Home Pay, Secure Borders, and a Stronger and More Powerful Military.’

‘Additionally, Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security Benefits are not being cut, but are being STRENGTHENED and PROTECTED from the Radical and Destructive Democrats by eliminating Waste, Fraud, and Abuse from those Programs,’ Trump wrote. ‘We can have all of this right now, but only if the House GOP UNITES, ignores its occasional ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ (You know who you are!), and does the right thing, which is sending this Bill to my desk.’

He reminded Republicans the bill is on schedule and urged them to keep it moving so they can go and enjoy time with their families on the Fourth of July.

‘The American People need and deserve it. They sent us here to, GET IT DONE! Our Country is going to explode with Massive Growth, even more than it already has since I was Re-Elected,’ Trump said. ‘Between the Growth, this Bill, our Tariffs, and more, ‘THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ sets the United States down a fiscal path by greatly reducing our Federal Deficit, and setting us on course for enormous Prosperity in the new and wonderful Golden Age of America.

‘To my GOP friends in the House: Stay UNITED, have fun, and Vote ‘YAY,’’ he added. ‘GOD BLESS YOU ALL!’

The bill now heads to the House, where fiscal hawks in the House Freedom Caucus are frustrated with what they say are shallow spending cuts, and moderates are concerned over cuts to Medicaid. All have warned that they may not support the bill. 

Still, Republican leaders have made clear that they intend to have the bill on Trump’s desk by Friday.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller contributed to this report.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., forced a name change for President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ moments before the legislative package passed the upper chamber of Congress. 

While Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., was chairing the Senate, Schumer raised a point of order against lines three to five on the first page of the legislative proposal that said, ‘SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ‘’One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” 

Schumer argued the title of the bill violated Section 313 B1A of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, or what’s commonly referred to as the ‘Byrd Rule.’ 

Ricketts said the point of order was sustained, meaning that text will be stricken from the bill. 

‘This is not a ‘big, beautiful bill’ at all. That’s why I moved down the floor to strike the title. It is now called ‘the act.’ That’s what it’s called. But it is really the ‘big ugly betrayal,’ and the American people know it,’ Schumer told reporters. ‘This vote will haunt our Republican colleagues for years to come. Because of this bill, tens of millions will lose health insurance. Millions of jobs will disappear. People will get sick and die, kids will go hungry and the debt will explode to levels we have never seen.

‘This bill is so irredeemable that one Republican literally chose to retire rather than vote yes and decimate his own state,’ Schumer added, referring to Sen. Thom Tills, R-N.C.

Asked whether he hoped to irritate Trump by changing the name of the bill, Schumer responded, ‘I didn’t even think of President Trump. I thought of the truth. This is not a beautiful bill. Anyone who loses their health insurance doesn’t think it’s beautiful. Any worker in the clean energy industry who loses their job does not think it’s beautiful. Any mom who can’t feed her kid on $5 a day doesn’t think it’s beautiful. We wanted the American people to know the truth.’

The Senate narrowly passed Trump’s $3.3 trillion spending package by a 51-50 vote on Tuesday after an all-night voting session. 

Vice President JD Vance was the tiebreaking vote. No Senate Democrats crossed the aisle to support the legislation. Tillis and Republican senators Rand Paul of Kentucky and Susan Collins of Maine opposed the megabill. 

Democrats condemned the bill’s passage, including Schumer’s fellow New Yorker, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. She has not confirmed a primary run. 

‘JD Vance was the deciding vote to cut Medicaid across the country,’ the progressive ‘Squad’ member wrote on X. ‘An absolute and utter betrayal of working families.’ 

Vance championed the bill as securing ‘massive tax cuts, especially no tax on tips and overtime. And most importantly, big money for border security.’ 

‘This is a big win for the American people,’ the vice president wrote. 

He also approved an assessment by longtime GOP operative Roger Stone.

‘The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects Trump’s reconciliation bill would add $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade by extending the president’s tax cuts that he first implemented in 2017. In fact, federal revenues spiked after the 2017 Trump tax cuts just like they did after Reagan and JFK implemented across-the-board tax cuts,’ Stone wrote.

‘The deficit is caused by excess spending which the administration is addressing in a series of recision bills. PS the CBO is always wrong.’ 

Despite initial reservations, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voted in favor of the legislation after Republicans added Alaska-specific provisions to curry her favor. 

The bill now heads back to the House for final approval. Congress must reconcile differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill, namely on Medicaid. Republican leaders are aiming to get it to the president’s desk by Friday, July 4.

The Trump administration released data on Tuesday morning showing that it had slashed the federal government workforce, while promising that there is more to come as Trump continues his push to rid the government of waste. 

Data released by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) shows that the United States employs 2,289,472 federal workers as of March 31, which is down from 2,313,216 on September 30, 2024. 

The reduction of more than 23,000 positions ‘reflects the administration’s early efforts to streamline government and eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy,’ OPM said in a press release. 

‘The American people deserve a government that is lean, efficient, and focused on core priorities,’ Acting OPM Director Charles Ezell said in a statement.

‘This data marks the first measurable step toward President Trump’s vision of a disciplined, accountable federal workforce, and it’s only the beginning.’

Trump signed an executive order in February instructing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to coordinate with federal agencies and execute massive cuts in federal government staffing numbers.  

That order is reflected in the new data, OPM said, showing that agencies averaged 23,000 new monthly hires from April 2024 to January 2025 but dropped by nearly 70% to just 7,385 per month once the freeze was fully implemented. 

The agency said the cuts saved the taxpayers ‘billions.’

OPM added that ‘hundreds of thousands more workers’ will drop from the rolls in October 2025, when more workers depart via the Deferred Resignation Program that was offered to employees in an effort to trim the workforce. 

Tens of thousands of employees who are in the process of being terminated remain on the government payroll due to court orders that are currently being challenged by the administration, OPM says. 

Trump’s effort to shrink the federal workforce has faced stiff resistance from Democrats and various courts, with critics saying that the administration is cutting critical jobs.

‘It’s a judge that’s putting himself in the position of the President of the United States, who was elected by close to 80 million votes,’ Trump said aboard Air Force One on a flight back to Washington in March, after a federal judge blocked one of his efforts to fire federal workers.

‘That’s a very dangerous thing for our country. And I would suspect that we’re going to have to get a decision from the Supreme Court.’

Last month, OPM unveiled a new rule it said will make it easier to terminate federal employees for serious misconduct by cutting through the red tape that currently impedes that process. 

Fox News Digital reported in 2023 that under current law, the vast majority of the federal workforce is not at-will and may only be terminated for misconduct, poor performance, medical inability or reduction in force. Federal employees are also entitled to sweeping due process rights when fired, which can create a cumbersome process for agencies to remove a worker.