Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office after a meeting marking a U.S.-brokered peace deal in Africa, President Donald Trump touted his administration’s progress on achieving peace deals across the globe, something he said has been possible because world leaders ‘respect our country again.’  

‘We were not a country that was respected. Just a year ago we had a president that was incompetent. We had bad people circulating around this desk, this beautiful Resolute desk,’ said Trump. ‘They had, I guess, evil intentions. They were, you couldn’t be that stupid, I mean, they had evil intentions, but the world respects our country again.’ 

Commenting on a freshly brokered African peace, which will end a decades-long conflict between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, Trump said it ‘is a tremendous breakthrough.’ 

‘In a few short months, we’ve now achieved peace between India and Pakistan, Israel and Iran and the DRC and Rwanda and, a couple of others also, Serbia [and Kosovo],’ he said. 

He also called his NATO trip ‘very successful,’ saying U.S. allies committed to spend over $1 trillion on defense. 

‘We’ve had some tremendous success,’ said the president. 

Trump also mentioned the successful strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites and the subsequent ceasefire brokered between Israel and Iran. 

‘We had the war, as you know, we call it the ‘12 Day War,’ it was exactly a 12-day war. And we ended up with no nuclear weapons. That’s what we wanted. And they were, they were just absolutely blown to pieces those three sites and there’s no nuclear weapons. And hopefully there can be a lot of healing. And healing is starting,’ he said. 

On the topic of healing in the Middle East, Trump also predicted there will be a ceasefire in Gaza sometime ‘within the next week.’ 

He called the situation in Gaza ‘terrible’ but expressed optimism there could soon be a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. 

‘I think it’s close. I just spoke with some of the people involved,’ said the president, adding, ‘We think within the next week we’re going to get a ceasefire.’ 

Trump also addressed the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying, ‘We’re supplying, as you know, a lot of money and a lot of food to that area because we have to, I mean, you have to. In theory, we’re not involved in it, but we’re involved because people are dying.’

He called on other countries to also send humanitarian aid to Gaza.

‘We’re working on Gaza, trying to get it taken care of and again, you know, a lot of food has been sent there. And other countries throughout the world should be helping also,’ he said. 

In addition to being respected by America’s allies, Trump said his administration has improved relations with countries such as Russia, North Korea, China and Iran. 

‘Vladimir Putin made some very nice statements today,’ he said. ‘Look, he respects our country again. He didn’t respect it a year ago. I can tell you right now, but Putin respects our country and, President Xi of China respects our country. And Kim Jong Un respects. They respect our country again.’

In response to a question on whether he may authorize U.S. Patriot missiles for Ukraine’s air defenses, Trump simply responded, ‘I may.’ 

Pedro Urruchurtu spoke to the United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday about what he had endured at the hands of Nicolás Maduro’s regime while being forced to shelter in place for over 400 days. Urruchurtu and four other members of Venezuela’s political opposition were freed in May in a successful U.S. rescue mission.

He and his colleagues were effectively trapped inside the Argentine Embassy in Caracas — where the opposition members fled to, and were sheltered due to the diplomatic status of the embassy. 

The opposition figures were under siege by regime forces who made their lives extremely difficult due to their control of the utilities. Urruchurtu told the council he had endured ‘five months without electricity, three minutes of water every ten days, rifles pointed at the windows, and dogs trained to bite; only because those in power considered it a crime to direct the campaigns of Maria Corina Machado in the opposition primaries and Edmundo González in the presidential elections. Both won.’

‘Today I am here despite the state, and not thanks to it, because if it were up to it, I would be missing or dead,’ Urruchurtu said.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk told the council that since May 1, 2024, the human rights situation in Venezuela has only gotten worse. The people have experienced ‘arbitrary detentions, violations of due process and enforced disappearances, amid continued allegations of torture and ill-treatment.’

Türk revealed that his office had documented 32 people — 15 of them adolescents — who reported being tortured and ill-treated in detention. He also noted that 28 people had been subjected to enforced disappearance after the country’s parliamentary elections, which took place in May 2025. He said their whereabouts remain unknown and that at least 12 of them were foreign nationals who ‘do not have access to consular assistance.’

‘The world must no longer look away from the brutal reality of what the once-beautiful Venezuela has become. Nicolás Maduro and his enforcers are running a criminal narco-terrorist dictatorship that jails political opponents, tortures dissidents, and crushes any hope of free expression. Pedro’s voice today represents the cries of thousands of Venezuelans who remain imprisoned, persecuted or forced into exile, as slaves to the regime,’ UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer told Fox News Digital.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in a post on X on May 6 that the opposition members, including Urruchurtu, had been rescued in ‘a precise operation’ and brought to the U.S. A few weeks later, Rubio met with the released opposition members. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that Rubio had commended the Venezuelan opposition members for their ‘bravery in the face of Maduro’s relentless repression and tyranny.’

Neuer also expressed gratitude for the Trump administration and Rubio’s actions, which led to Urruchurtu’s release.

‘Thank you to the Trump administration and the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, for their critical role in securing Pedro’s release and the release of his comrades. Once again, proving that strong, principled diplomacy saves lives and advances the cause of freedom for the world,’ Neuer told Fox News Digital.

Republicans in the House and Senate are anxiously watching whether President Donald Trump will take a more aggressive approach in corralling GOP lawmakers in favor of his ‘big, beautiful bill.’

‘President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party, isn’t he? I think it’s incumbent upon him to make sure everybody in the Senate understands that this is a signature piece of legislation that essentially 77 million Americans voted for,’ Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital.

The Senate is working through a massive piece of legislation advancing Trump’s agenda on tax, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt — which the president has said he wants on his desk by the Fourth of July.

Trump has been pushing Republicans on the bill in public, addressing it at back-to-back events on Thursday and Friday while also posting on his Truth Social platform. 

Congressional leaders have said they’ve been in near-constant contact with Trump or his White House staff about the legislation. Indeed, numerous White House officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Vice President JD Vance, to push Senate Republicans to stay on course. 

But some House Republicans want him to be as forceful as he was when their chamber passed the bill by just one vote in May. Trump summoned multiple groups of Republicans to the White House on several occasions in the lead-up to that vote, and even made a rare trip to Capitol Hill to gin up support within the House GOP.

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., told Fox News Digital that when the House was going through the motions of advancing the mammoth legislation, it ‘looked all but impossible’ to get it across the finish line. 

But it was because of Trump, he said, that the bill succeeded. 

‘He’s our closer in the bullpen right now,’ he said. ‘His arm is getting warmed up, and we’ll bring him in here in the ninth inning, and he’s going to throw heat. And so far, he’s pitched a no-hitter.’

It’s worth noting that several senators who have expressed concerns about the bill have spoken individually with Trump.

But Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital showed varying degrees of enthusiasm when asked whether the president should repeat the intense involvement he had in the House.

When asked by Fox News Digital whether it’s time for the president to get involved, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas., said, ‘That’s up to the White House. It’s up to the president.’

But Roy added, ‘I think the Senate needs to deliver, and I think the Senate ought to make good on the agreement that the majority leader had with us and with the speaker to work with us to achieve that level of spending cuts.’

Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Penn., said Trump is ‘always involved, so he’ll stay involved because we do want to get it done by July 4th.’

Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., said he was not being kept aware of how involved Trump was, but said the president’s deal-making skills would likely be needed.

‘I mean, I think it’s gonna take that type of horsepower to kind of bring everybody together,’ Fitzgerald said.

But some Republicans in the upper chamber are resistant.

‘It doesn’t matter what he says, of course not,’ Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. ‘I mean, I’m not voting for something unless I know what I’m voting on.’

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., wouldn’t say whether he believed that Trump should put a finger on the scales more. But he told Fox News Digital that he was appreciative of the effort that Thune and Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, had put into getting feedback from Senate Republicans, but said that at a certain point, lawmakers just needed to vote on the bill. 

‘We have cussed and discussed this bill for a long, long time, and at some point you move from careful, rational deliberation into the foothills of jackassery,’ Kennedy said. ‘And that’s where we are now. It’s time to vote. If people are unhappy, they can offer amendments.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

Vice President JD Vance could deliver the tiebreaking vote in the U.S. Senate for President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful, bill’ should it fail to receive enough support from Republican lawmakers. 

Republicans are scrambling to reform and pass the measure ahead of Trump’s July 4 deadline after Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough’s determination Thursday that several Medicaid reforms in the sweeping tax and domestic policy package did not follow Senate rules and must be removed. 

As president of the Senate, the vice president casts a tiebreaking vote when a measure fails to receive majority support.

There are 53 Republicans in the Senate, meaning three Republican senators could opt out of voting for the bill, and it could still pass with Vance’s support. 

Vance has previously cast tiebreaking votes in the Senate, including in January to confirm Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, and on a measure in April to curb Trump’s ability to impose global tariffs. 

Vance’s office declined to provide comment to Fox News Digital.

Republican lawmakers who’ve historically voiced concerns about certain Medicaid provisions included in the ‘big, beautiful, bill’ include senators Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. These lawmakers have cautioned that the reforms would prove detrimental to rural hospitals in their states. 

Spokespeople for Collins, Hawley and Murkowski did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

The domestic policy package also included provisions to beef up border security and would also make permanent the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act from Trump’s first term.

The White House’s Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought told lawmakers earlier this month failure to pass the measure would result in a 60% tax hike for Americans and would trigger a recession. 

As a result, Matt Wolking, who previously served as the deputy communications director for Trump’s 2020 campaign, said Senate Republicans will ultimately band together to approve the legislation to prevent the tax cuts from expiring. 

‘Senate Republicans don’t want to be responsible for the massive tax increase on the middle class that will occur if they fail to extend President Trump’s tax cuts. So, ultimately, they will get this done,’ Wolking, currently with GOP consulting firm Axiom Strategies, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

‘President Trump has a big asset in these negotiations with JD Vance, and whether he is needed to break a tie or not, the administration will have another major win under its belt heading into the midterm elections where the strength of the economy will be a big factor,’ Wolking said. 

Earlier this month, Vance met with Republican senators to discuss the measure during a closed-door lunch and said afterward he was hopeful about the odds of passing the legislation on time. 

‘I mean, look, I can’t make any promises. … I can’t predict the future, but I do think that we’re in a good place to get this done by the July 4 recess,’ Vance told reporters June 17. 

Vance also told reporters that despite concerns from lawmakers, including Collins, regarding certain Medicaid provisions included in the measure, he would work to address any issues raised. Still, he said there was broad agreement within the party on reforming Medicaid to block access for illegal immigrants.

‘They’re all very confident we’re eventually going to get there,’ Vance said.

The House narrowly passed its version of the measure in May by a 215-214 margin, with two Republicans voting against the legislation. 

Trump urged lawmakers to get the legislation to the finish line Thursday, labeling the measure the ‘single-most important piece of border legislation ever to cross the floor of Congress.’ 

‘This is the ultimate codification of our agenda to — very simply, a phrase that’s been used pretty well by me over the past 10 years, but maybe even before that — make America great again,’ Trump said at a ‘One, Big, Beautiful Event’ at the White House Thursday. 

President Donald Trump has secured commitments for a record-shattering $1.4 billion since Election Day 2024, Fox News Digital has learned. 

And advisors say he will be ‘an even more dominant force’ for Republicans in the 2026 midterms. 

The president’s political operation, including the cash on hand at the Republican National Committee, has raised a historic $900 million since November, and other commitments will bring the total to more than $1.4 billion.

Fox News Digital has learned the funds will be used to help Republicans keep their House and Senate majorities.

Republicans control the House with a 220-215 majority and control the Senate with a 53-47 majority. 

Sources say the funds will also be used for whatever the president deems ‘necessary and appropriate.’

‘After securing a historic victory in his re-election campaign in 2024, President Trump has continued to break records, including fundraising numbers that have positioned him to be an even more dominant force going into the midterms and beyond,’ President Trump’s senior advisor and National Finance Director Meredith O’Rourke told Fox News Digital. 

The president headlined a major donor event in Washington, D.C., in April for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), which is the House GOP’s campaign arm. That fundraiser hauled in at least $10 million for the NRCC, a source familiar with the event told Fox News.

In March, Vice President JD Vance was tapped to serve as the RNC finance chair, the first time in the history of the GOP a sitting vice president is serving in the role.

Vance pledged to work to ‘fully enact the MAGA mandate’ and expand the Republican majority in Congress in 2026.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

President Trump has secured commitments for a record-shattering $1.4 billion since Election Day 2024, Fox News Digital has learned, with advisors saying he will be ‘an even more dominant force’ for Republicans in the 2026 midterms. 

The president’s political operation, including the cash-on-hand at the Republican National Committee, has raised a historic $900 million since November, and commitments that will bring the total to more than $1.4 billion.

Fox News Digital has learned that the funds will be used to help Republicans to keep the House and Senate majorities.

Republicans currently control the House with a 220-215 majority, and control the Senate with a 53-47. 

Sources say the funds will also be used for whatever the president deems ‘necessary and appropriate.’

‘After securing a historic victory in his re-election campaign in 2024, President Trump has continued to break records, including fundraising numbers that have positioned him to be an even more dominant force going into the midterms and beyond,’ President Trump’s senior advisor and National Finance Director Meredith O’Rourke told Fox News Digital. 

The president headlined a major donor event in Washington D.C. in April for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), which is the House GOP’s campaign arm. That fundraiser hauled in at least $10 million for the NRCC, a source familiar with the event told Fox News.

In March, Vice President JD Vance was tapped to serve as the RNC Finance Chair—the first time in the history of the GOP that a sitting vice president served in the role.

Vance pledged to work to ‘fully enact the MAGA mandate’ and grow the Republican majority in Congress in 2026.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

House Republicans are growing increasingly wary of the self-imposed July 4 deadline to get President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ to the White House, as the president warns that the bill ‘must’ be ready for his signature by then.

‘I think it’s more important to get the bill correct than it is to get it fast,’ Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a former House Freedom Caucus chairman, told Fox News Digital. ‘I’m interested in a great deliverable product, and spending the time and the resources necessary to get that, whatever they may be.’

It’s a thought shared by members outside of the conservative rebel group as well – Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., who represents part of New York City, said Fourth of July is a ‘realistic’ goal, but not one she was married to.

‘I’m not set on getting this done by July 4th. I know that’s a goal, it’s a nice soundbite, doing this on Independence Day and celebrating America,’ Malliotakis said. ‘But at the end of the day, we’ve got to do it right. And I’d rather take a few more days, a few more weeks, to make sure we can deliver a good product for the American people.’

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters on Friday that it was ‘possible’ the deadline could slip, ‘but I don’t want to even accept that as an option right now. We want to try to push this.’

The vast tax and immigration bill is currently in the Senate, where lawmakers are still working through several key issues on Medicaid and state and local tax (SALT) deductions among other details.

An earlier version passed the House by just one vote in late May.

Now, several House Republicans are balking at proposed changes in the Senate – though there’s still no final product – and warning that the bill could lose their support when it returns to the House.

Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., who leads the Doctors Caucus, told Fox News Digital he had issues with the Senate version’s comparably harsher cuts to federal Medicaid funding.

‘There is uniform agreement amongst many, many members in the House – if there’s a change in the [federal Medicaid assistance percentage], we’re not voting for it. It would remove the Medicaid expansion of North Carolina. I won’t stand for that,’ he said.

Asked about the feasibility of a July 4 deadline, Murphy said, ‘I’ve been a surgeon all my life … if I plan things, I’m used to having them given up in case a patient needs me for emergencies and things like that.’

Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., a moderate, said ‘there might be some prudence’ in letting go of the July 4 deadline.

Conservative Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, was more optimistic. ‘I think it’s more worth it to get the bill right, but that’s not to say we won’t get it done by then,’ he said.

Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa., suggested the timeline will rely heavily on Trump.

The Senate is expected to work through the weekend to pass the bill.

Johnson told House Republicans, meanwhile, to be flexible next week when they’re expected to be home in their districts. Sources have told Fox News Digital that House GOP leaders have offered varying estimations of when lawmakers will have to be back in Washington, from Tuesday through Thursday.

And the House is up against at least one real-world deadline: The U.S. is expected to run out of cash to pay its debts by the summer, according to multiple projections. Republicans have made raising the debt limit a priority in the bill.

Trump, for his part, wrote on Truth Social Friday, ‘The House of Representatives must be ready to send it to my desk before July 4th – We can get it done.’

He said during a press conference earlier in the day, ‘We can go longer, but we’d like to get it done by that time, if possible.’