America has triumphed in each industrial revolution – whether steel, energy or manufacturing – and has the power to lead the AI revolution, too. This week in Pittsburgh, President Donald Trump is bringing together leaders to address a defining challenge of our time: how to fuel the AI revolution with American energy. 

Progress on this front will be consequential for our economy, our national security, and America’s global leadership. 

President Trump’s announced $500 billion private sector AI investment is a critical enabler for our country. But artificial intelligence won’t power itself. It needs vast amounts of electricity, delivered affordably and reliably. 

And as demand for AI computing surges, the real question isn’t just about who writes the best code – it’s also about who can build out data center infrastructure behind it. The U.S. has the unique capability to do that – including the energy dominance to fuel it – and we now have the political will to lead. 

U.S. policy has often prioritized climate idealism over energy pragmatism. Wind, solar and battery technologies will play a key role in our energy future, but they are not available at the scale or reliability needed to fuel expected AI data center demand. And these combined sources are more expensive than U.S. natural gas. 

Without a balanced and clear-eyed approach, we risk pushing AI innovation – and the economic and national security advantages that come with it – overseas.

Other countries are already trying to lure investment away from the United States by subsidizing AI computing power. In China, dozens of data centers are being built – 39 approved in the last quarter of 2024 alone. In Malaysia, authorities are fast-tracking electricity infrastructure for data centers, cutting lead times to just 12 months, compared to five years in the U.S. Some American companies are already helping to finance data center growth in the Middle East.

The path to powering America’s AI dominance is rooted in abundant American natural gas. The United States is already by far the world leader, accounting for a quarter of global natural gas production. And we are also one of the lowest-cost producers. 

Equally important is to ensure AI power demand doesn’t drive up electricity costs for consumers. We can develop natural gas-based power generation independent of the current electric grid and co-locate it with data centers across the country. Providing this dedicated electricity prevents a competition for grid-connected power, which would drive up costs and burden our already strained electricity grid. 

New solutions like this require creative partnerships and continued innovation – which is why Chevron is working with Engine No. 1 and GE Vernova to establish facilities designed to provide reliable, affordable, long-term power-generating solutions to underpin American AI leadership.

President Donald Trump, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Sen. David McCormick, R-Pa., recognize the opportunity for the United States to achieve AI dominance. By leveraging abundant American natural gas as a foundation to meet surging AI power demand, we can strengthen our national security, grow our economy and protect our technology leadership.

We have the power to lead the race to develop and deploy AI. It’s time to use it. 

Members of the ‘Squad’ are undermining coexistence between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East, Israeli-Arab activist Yoseph Haddad told Fox News Digital.

‘Representatives of the Squad are trying to harm the coexistence and partnership that exist in the region between Arabs and Jews,’ Haddad said. ‘I think it was [Alexandria] Ocasio-Cortez herself who said she had no idea about the geopolitics of this region—she’s right. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib know exactly what’s going on here, but they decide to lie and twist the facts.’

Haddad, the CEO of Together Vouch for Each Other — an organization founded in 2018 by young Israeli Arabs to bridge cultural and religious divides — has emerged as a prominent voice in Israel’s public diplomacy efforts following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 massacre. 

Since the attack, Jewish communities across the United States and Europe have faced a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents, with pro-Hamas demonstrations appearing on college campuses as early as October 8.

‘The first group is what I call the useful idiots — people who have no idea what’s going on but joined because it felt like the cool thing to do,’ Haddad said. ‘Then there are the paid protesters. You see the same faces at different rallies holding different signs — sometimes it’s about LGBTQ issues, sometimes it’s pro-Palestinian, sometimes it’s about internal American problems.’

‘It’s always the same person, just a different outfit and a different sign,’ he continued. ‘And the third group — the most dangerous—are the extremists who’ve come from the Middle East. Those are the ones we should be most concerned about.’

Haddad traced the rise of extremist voices in the West to waves of immigration and population displacement from conflict zones in the Middle East. While the majority of Muslim immigrants fled persecution in search of a better life, he said, a vocal minority brought with them the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, effectively holding their communities hostage.

‘When you have so many immigrants all around the world, it’s enough for 10 or 20 percent of them to be extremists — and suddenly, you’re dealing with millions of extremists,’ he said.

‘Ostriches, when there is a danger and there is a problem, what they do is they stick their head in the sand thinking the problem will just pass because nobody will notice them,’ he added. ‘And this is what the weak governments are doing right now, becoming like an ostrich. The only problem is that no one will skip them over, it will make it easier to chop their heads off.’

Addressing accusations that Israel enforces an apartheid system between Jews and Arabs, Haddad rejected the comparison outright.

‘In real apartheid, like in South Africa, everything was segregated — transportation, hospitals, courts, sports, even walking on the sidewalks,’ Haddad said. ‘But if you actually come to Israel and see life here, it’s the complete opposite — 180 degrees different.’

‘Stop speaking from a place of emotion — that’s exactly what The Squad is doing,’ he continued. ‘Start talking about facts. Then you’ll realize that anyone who concludes Israel is an apartheid state is an imbecile.’

He also mentioned a run-in he had with a protester, who he refers to as ‘the useful idiots.’

They have no clue … One time, I read the charter of Hamas to some pro-Palestinian useful idiot, I read it to them, and I said you agree to this, and they said no, no, no I didn’t know that. And I said yes, but this is what you are supporting, and he had the headband of Hamas on his head. You understand that this is what you are supporting.

‘He literally took the band off after that. Such useful idiots like this you have a lot, not just in the United States, you can see it in Europe as well.’

When asked what he believes the Palestinians ultimately want, Haddad pointed to slogans often heard at anti-Israel and antisemitic protests, such as ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ and ‘There is only one solution: Intifada revolution.’

‘The majority of Palestinians do not want to live side by side with Israel,’ Haddad said. ‘So when people talk about a two-state solution and question Israel’s commitment, I say: Don’t ask the Israelis — ask the Palestinians. You’ll be shocked to find that many of them aren’t willing to accept it.’

Haddad pointed out that history can be approached in multiple ways — through religious texts like the Torah for Jews, the Bible for Christians and the Quran for Muslims. Even those who are atheists can look to history books for evidence of the deep-rooted connection of the Jewish people to the land of Israel.

Haddad argued that the Torah explicitly mentions the presence of Jews in Israel, tracing their presence back thousands of years. He also highlighted the Biblical reference to the birthplace of Jesus in Jewish Bethlehem, challenging the notion that Palestinian Muslims have a historical claim to the land before the Jews.

Haddad noted that while Jerusalem is never mentioned in the Quran, the term ‘sons of Israel’ appears more than 43 times. He also emphasized that the name ‘Palestine’ was imposed by the Romans as a punishment for the Bar Kokhba revolt.

Haddad highlighted that in 1947, Arabs had the opportunity to establish a Palestinian state through the U.N. Partition Plan, which the Jews accepted despite receiving less land and fewer resources. However, the Arabs rejected the plan and opted to wage war. When the Jews emerged victorious, 156,000 Arabs remained within what became Israel. Sharing his personal connection to this history, Haddad explained that his grandfather was one of those Arabs who stayed and eventually became part of the Arab Israeli identity.

‘It’s either you accept the fact that Israel exists and is here to stay, or you continue with this cycle of bloodshed and death that we are trying to escape,’ said Haddad. ‘But the ones who will suffer the most are you, the Palestinians, whether in the West Bank or Gaza.’

Several requests for comment sent to Reps. Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib and Omar were not returned.

Former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz is poised to face members of the Senate on Tuesday to get the ball rolling on his nomination to represent the U.S. at the United Nations.

Waltz’s appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee comes months after he exited his job at the White House amid controversy surrounding his role in a Signal group chat with other top administration officials. 

Democrats vowed to grill Waltz during his confirmation process in the aftermath of The Atlantic magazine’s reporting about a Signal group chat that his team had set up to discuss strikes against the Houthis in March.

Even so, the tough questioning from Democrats on the so-called ‘Signalgate’ issue isn’t expected to derail Waltz’s confirmation to the post, given that Republicans hold a 53–47 majority in the Senate. 

‘It’s all theater — you know he’s going to get confirmed,’ a GOP foreign relations source told Fox News Digital. ‘If Signalgate’s a big thing against him, it wasn’t enough to get anyone else fired or impeached or anything like that.’ 

Waltz, a former congressman who represented Florida’s 6th congressional district, is a retired Army National Guard colonel and former Green Beret. During his time in uniform, he served four deployments to Afghanistan and earned four Bronze Stars — the fourth-highest military combat award, issued for heroic service against an armed enemy.

Waltz and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth were both entangled in the Signal chat that Waltz’s team created where members of the Trump administration discussed strike plans against the Houthis. 

Waltz in March said he took ‘full responsibility’ for the Signal group chat, and the Trump administration has maintained that no war plans were shared in the chat. The Atlantic published the full exchange of messages, which included certain attack details such as specific aircraft and times of the strikes from Hegseth. 

On May 1, President Donald Trump announced Waltz’s departure from his role as national security advisor and hours later unveiled the former Florida congressman’s nomination to represent the U.S. at the U.N. 

Democrats called for Hegseth’s resignation as a result of the chat and warned that Waltz would face the heat during the confirmation process for U.N. ambassador. 

Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois said in a May interview with CBS News that Waltz could count on a ‘brutal, brutal hearing’ from senators, and described his nomination as ‘failing up.’ 

‘He’s not qualified for the job, just by nature of the fact that he participated in this Signal chain,’ Duckworth, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CBS News. 

Duckworth, who served in the Illinois Army National Guard as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot and lost both of her legs during a 2004 deployment to Iraq, told Fox News Digital Monday that Waltz’s involvement in the group chat should disqualify him from serving as U.N. ambassador. She also said that every official included in the chat should be fired. 

‘As a retired Soldier, Waltz should have shut the unclassified chain down as soon as he saw Hegseth share such classified information that could’ve gotten our pilots killed,’ Duckworth said in a statement. ‘It’s clear Waltz cannot be trusted to make critical and sensitive national security decisions, and I look forward to pressing him on his conduct and holding him accountable.’

Duckworth has pinned most of the blame on Hegseth for Signalgate. Prior to Trump’s announcement on Waltz’s U.N. ambassador nomination, Duckworth said in a May post on X that of ‘all the idiots in that chat, Hegseth is the biggest security risk of all — he leaked the info that put our troops in greater danger.’ 

In addition to Waltz and Hegseth, administration officials including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe were part of the group chat. 

Additionally, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Chris Coons, D-Conn., said that Waltz could brace for a meticulous confirmation hearing before the committee’s members. 

‘I look forward to a thorough confirmation hearing,’ Coons said in a post on X in May. 

A spokesperson for Coons did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

The GOP foreign relations source described the fallout from Signalgate a ‘huge nothing burger,’ and pointed out that Democrats’ previous efforts to use Signalgate against Waltz and Hegseth have proven unsuccessful. 

‘If this was their deathly bullet, it would have killed Hegseth, and it would have killed Waltz, but they’re both left standing,’ the source told Fox News Digital. 

A Senate aide told Fox News Digital that while Waltz took the brunt of the blame for Signalgate because his team created the chat, Democrats’ expected questioning of the group chat during the hearing is actually about finding a new avenue to go after Trump. 

‘I don’t think he’s the target. He’s just the mechanism to go after the target,’ the Senate aide said. ‘At the end of the day, Democrats want to criticize and go after the president, so these guys are just a mechanism to get there.’ 

Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers have voiced support for Waltz, with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, calling him a ‘great choice’ for the position in a post on X in May. Additionally, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said at the time that the Senate would ‘for sure’ confirm Waltz. 

‘Some things I know for sure: the sun rises in the East, sets in the West and Mike Waltz will be confirmed as the next UN Ambassador,’ Graham said in an X post in May. ‘He is highly qualified, well-positioned, and will be a strong voice for our nation at the UN.’

Since Waltz’s departure as serving as national security advisor, Rubio has stepped in to fill that role. 

Trump previously nominated Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to represent the U.S. at the U.N. However, her nomination was pulled in March, and Trump claimed at the time that the House could not give up another Republican seat with its slim 220–212 Republican majority. 

If confirmed as U.N. ambassador, Waltz would be responsible for representing U.S. interests at the U.N.’s New York headquarters, weighing in on resolutions, treaties and other global matters.  

Waltz could not be reached for comment by Fox News Digital. 

The 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly is scheduled for Sept. 9, providing a window of time for Waltz’s nomination to make it through the entire confirmation process beforehand. 

‘The hope is to have him in place before the U.N. General Assembly is in session,’ the GOP foreign relations source told Fox News Digital. 

MAGA supporters are nor pleased with President Donald Trump following his full-throated defense of Attorney General Pam Bondi, whose Department of Justice denied the existence of a Jeffrey Epstein client list after years of Trump surrogates vowing to reveal the disgraced financier’s secrets. 

Longtime conservatives and supporters of Trump sounded off on social media this weekend, as well as in person during a convention in Florida, with various messages pledging that the Epstein scandal will not ‘go away.’ The DOJ determined that Epstein committed suicide in 2019 and that there is no list detailing the names of the world’s elite who allegedly took part in Epstein’s history of sexual deviancy. 

‘.@realDonaldTrump please understand the EPSTEIN AFFAIR is not going away,’ retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, Trump’s national security advisor from his first administration, posted to X on Saturday. ‘If the administration doesn’t address the massive number of unanswered questions about Epstein, especially the ABUSE OF CHILDREN BY ELITES (it is very clear that abuse occurred), then moving forward on so many other monumental challenges our nation is facing becomes much harder.’

The DOJ and FBI said in a joint memo obtained by Fox News last week that the two agencies had no further information to share with the public about Epstein’s case and death. That led to FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino clashing with Bondi over ‘lack of transparency’ and threatening to resign over the matter, Fox News reported. 

Epstein was a notorious predator who pleaded guilty to procuring underage girls for prostitution in 2008, before he was arrested in 2019 on new federal charges of sex trafficking minors and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors. Epstein, who had rubbed elbows with the world’s elites stretching from Bill Gates to being photographed with Trump long before his presidency, was found dead in his New York City jail cell in August 2019 by apparent suicide. 

Many MAGA supporters, however, have claimed Epstein did not hang himself, and the death was allegedly part of a bigger cover-up protecting elites allegedly involved in his sexual abuse of minors.  

Trump took to Truth Social on Saturday evening and offered a strong endorsement of Bondi as conservatives demanded answers over the long-running scandal. 

‘What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’ They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB,’ Trump wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social on Saturday. ‘We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening.’ 

He referred to Epstein as the ‘guy who never dies,’ adding, ‘For years, it’s Epstein, over and over again.’

Trump questioned why people were ‘giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden administration.’  

‘They created the Epstein Files, just like they created the FAKE Hillary Clinton/Christopher Steele Dossier that they used on me, and now my so-called ‘friends’ are playing right into their hands,’ Trump wrote. ‘Why didn’t these Radical Left Lunatics release the Epstein Files? If there was ANYTHING in there that could have hurt the MAGA Movement, why didn’t they use it?’

‘LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB – SHE’S GREAT! The 2020 Election was Rigged and Stolen, and they tried to do the same thing in 2024 – That’s what she is looking into as AG, and much more,’ he wrote. ‘One year ago our Country was DEAD, now it’s the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World. Let’s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.’

Trump supporters repeatedly posted on X that the Epstein scandal will not simply dissipate after years of high-profile Trump allies, including Bondi, Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel, previously vowing to expose the corruption surrounding Epstein, his alleged client list and the alleged crimes that played out on his notorious island, Little Saint James. 

‘We cannot allow pedophiles to get away. I don’t personally care who they are or what elite or powerful position they hold. They must be exposed and held accountable!!!’ Flynn continued in his X post. 

Activist and Trump ally Laura Loomer also slammed Bondi over her leadership, while taking a swipe at the president as well. 

‘President Trump says he thinks Blondi is ‘doing a Fantastic job’ as AG in a post he posted on Truth Social today….’ Loomer posted to X on Saturday, accompanied by screenshots of his Truth Social post praising Bondi. 

‘People make their own choices and decisions, but mark my word, the lack of actual results at the DOJ and lack of transparency that translates into incompetence will cost the GOP House and Senate seats. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,’ she added in a follow-up post on Saturday. 

Robby Starbuck, another longtime Trump supporter and conservative social media personality, railed online that the ‘age of secrets’ must come to an end – beginning with Epstein. 

‘People want truth, they want the rapists exposed and brought to justice, they want to break the deep state, they want the 100 year storm of lies from government to end and they want to end the two tiered system of justice. People want peace, safety, justice and sanity,’ Starbuck posted in a lengthy message on Saturday. 

‘They want their country back. This case became a symbol for all of that. Fair or unfair, that’s the truth. President Trump rarely loses touch with what’s happening among the base but he’s missing the pulse on this one. Saying so doesn’t mean disloyalty or hatred, it means that this matters so much that we must remind him why it matters so much. We want President Trump to succeed on EVERYTHING he ran on. To do so requires disclosure and transparency on every issue. We need to end the age of secrets,’ he continued. 

Amid the fallout surrounding the DOJ’s Epstein findings, Turning Point USA is holding its Student Action Summit in Tampa Bay, Florida, where some conservative allies spoke out against the DOJ and Trump over the lack of answers regarding Epstein. 

‘I think that these people – and I don’t know, for whatever reason, there could be reasons – but I don’t think they’re telling us the truth about Epstein,’ podcaster Brandon Tatum said during the convention. ‘I think that that guy was involved in something nefarious that implicates a whole lot of people. And my guess is that the whole lot of people may have, may happen to be some of our allies and some people that we don’t want to have a bad relationship with.’

‘Trump is losing his touch,’ former Republican Florida state Rep. Anthony Sabatini said, according to NBC. ‘Bad personnel are undermining him left and right. We need a full reset.’

The lack of additional details on Epstein has also spurred liberals to call on the Trump administration to release the files surrounding Epstein. 

‘Dear Donald Trump and Pam Bondi: Release the Epstein files. What ever happened to ‘Promises Made, Promises Kept?’’ Democratic New York Rep. Ritchie Torres posted to X. 

Officials in Trump’s orbit, including those who ultimately rose to high-level positions within the administration, had vowed to uncover alleged details and corruption that had not yet been made public or confirmed both before and after the high-stakes 2024 election. 

Patel told conservative social media personality Benny Johnson in 2023, before he became FBI director under Trump’s second administration, that Republicans at the time could easily obtain Epstein’s alleged client list with subpoena, while adding in another interview that year that Trump should ‘roll out the black book’ containing Epstein’s alleged client list on ‘day one.’ 

Patel also doubled down during his Senate confirmation hearing that he would assist lawmakers in investigating Epstein’s alleged web of the world’s elite involved in his sex crimes. 

‘Child sex trafficking has no place in the United States of America,’ Patel told Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn when asked about investigating Epstein during his Senate confirmation hearing this year. ‘And I will do everything, if confirmed as FBI director, to make sure the American public knows the full weight of what happened in the past and how we are going to counterman missing children and exploited children going forward.’

Patel on Saturday posted to X that the ‘conspiracy theories’ weren’t and have never been true, but it was unclear if he was referring to Epstein or reports that he intended to step down if Bongino did. 

‘The conspiracy theories just aren’t true, never have been. It’s an honor to serve the President of the United States @realDonaldTrump – and I’ll continue to do so for as long as he calls on me,’ he posted. 

Bondi has landed in hot water over her comments during a February Fox News interview when she was asked about the Epstein files, and said it was ‘sitting on her desk.’ The Epstein investigation came as the DOJ also readied to release files on former President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. 

‘It’s sitting on my desk right now to review,’ Bondi told ‘America Reports’ in February when asked about Epstein’s alleged client list. ‘That’s been a directive by President Trump.’

Bondi argued during a Cabinet meeting this month that she was referring to files on Epstein, ‘along with the JFK, MLK files’ when she told Fox News that ‘it’s sitting on my desk.’

Trump slammed a reporter for asking about Epstein during the Cabinet meeting, calling Epstein a ‘creep’ who should not take media attention away from other tragic news stories, such as the devastating flooding that rocked Texas’ low country this month. 

‘Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?’ Trump said to a reporter on July 8. 

‘This guy’s been talked about for years. You’re asking.… We have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things. And are people are still talking about this guy, this creep?’ Trump asked. ‘That is unbelievable.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, DOJ and FBI on Sunday morning regarding some MAGA allies criticizing the administration over the handling of the Epstein case but did not immediately receive responses. 

Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson and Amanda Macias contributed to this report. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino all called for Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking secrets to be made public long before the DOJ’s stunning about-face last week.

‘This systemic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list,’’ read a joint memo leaked to Axios a week ago. ‘There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.’ 

The revelation shocked many MAGA Republicans and Trump supporters, who had for years believed that Epstein was at the heart of a child sex trafficking ring that involved blackmailing prominent movers and shakers worldwide. Many also doubt the government’s finding that Epstein died by his own hand in New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2019.

Trump has since brushed off the Epstein investigation as old news, slamming a reporter who asked about Epstein during a Cabinet meeting last week, and posting a Truth Social message on Saturday defending Bondi for her leadership over the case and claiming that Epstein is ‘somebody that nobody cares about.’

‘LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB — SHE’S GREAT! The 2020 Election was Rigged and Stolen, and they tried to do the same thing in 2024 — That’s what she is looking into as AG, and much more,’ Trump wrote in a lengthy Truth Social post defending Bondi. ‘One year ago our Country was DEAD, now it’s the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World. Let’s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.’

As MAGA supporters continue calling for details on Epstein’s crimes and alleged ties to the world’s elite, Fox News Digital took a look back at what Bondi, Patel and Bongino had to say about Epstein before the anticlimactic memo dropped. 

AG PAM BONDI 

Just a couple of weeks after Bondi was sworn in as the nation’s 87th attorney general on Feb. 5, she joined Fox News Channel and touted her mission of transparency, most notably on Epstein, and the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. 

‘The DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients. Will that really happen?’ Fox News’ John Roberts asked Bondi in an interview on Feb. 21. 

‘It is sitting on my desk right now to review. That’s been a directive by President Trump. I’m reviewing that. I’m reviewing the JFK files, the MLK files. That is all in the process of being reviewed because that was done at the directive of the president from all these agencies,’ Bondi responded. 

‘Have you seen anything that you said, ‘Oh, my gosh?’’ Roberts asked.

‘Not yet,’ Bondi responded. 

Bondi released an initial batch of files on Epstein to a handful of social media personalities in late February, but the packets did not contain new evidence. However, Bondi once again vowed to come through on Trump’s message of transparency on Epstein’s ‘disgusting actions.’

‘This Department of Justice is following through on President Trump’s commitment to transparency and lifting the veil on the disgusting actions of Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators,’ Bondi said in press release. ‘The first phase of files released today sheds light on Epstein’s extensive network and begins to provide the public with long overdue accountability.’ 

The next month, in March, Bondi joined Fox News’ Sean Hannity and said she ordered the FBI to deliver evidence related to Epstein under a firm deadline, claiming a local field office in New York initially withheld evidence on Epstein. 

‘I gave [the FBI] a deadline of Friday at 8 a.m. to get us everything,’ Bondi said. ‘And a source had told me where the documents were being kept, Southern District of New York, shock. So we got them all by Friday at 8 a.m.’

‘Thousands of pages of documents. I have the FBI going through them… and Director Patel is going to get us a detailed report as to why the FBI withheld all of those documents,’ she continued at the time. 

Bondi again in May fanned the flames of a potential Epstein bombshell when she stated there were no files missing from her investigation and that the DOJ had uncovered tens of thousands of videos showing Epstein with ‘children and child porn.’

‘No, the FBI, they’re reviewing tens of thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child porn,’ Bondi told the media in May when asked about the Epstein files. 

‘There are hundreds of victims,’ she added. ‘… The FBI is diligently going through that.’

Bondi was confronted about her February comments on the Epstein files during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, where she defended her remarks to Fox News regarding claims that the Epstein files were on her desk and ready for review. 

‘I was asked a question about the client list, and my response was, ‘it’s sitting on my desk to be reviewed,’ meaning the file along with the JFK, MLK files as well,’ Bondi responded. 

‘That’s what I meant by that. Also, to the tens of thousands of video, they turned out to be child porn downloaded by that disgusting Jeffrey Epstein,’ she continued, saying no such videos would be released or ‘see the light of day.’ 

DIRECTOR PATEL

Long before Patel was floated and named as Trump’s FBI chief, the longtime opponent of the ‘Deep State’ claimed the FBI was in control of Epstein’s reported client list and said it could be released on Trump’s first day in office via a subpoena. 

‘That’s under direct control of the director of the FBI,’ Patel said in 2023 during an interview with BlazeTV’s Glenn Beck. ‘That’s a thing I think President Trump should run on. On day one, roll out the black book.’ 

Patel added in an interview with conservative social media personality Benny Johnson that same year that the FBI was keeping the list private due to the high-profile names in Epstein’s orbit. 

‘Put on your big boy pants and let us know who the pedophiles are,’ Patel said, aiming his remarks at Republican lawmakers. 

He continued that ‘one subpoena to the FBI’ would have forced the release of the alleged list during the same interview with Johnson. 

Patel, who was seen as one of Trump’s more controversial Cabinet picks, earned the praise of key senators for his public calls to uncover details on Epstein ahead of his confirmation hearings. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., for example, promoted Patel’s nomination as FBI director as he would reveal details on Epstein. 

‘I look forward to working with Kash Patel as FBI Director to release Epstein’s flight logs and black book,’ Blackburn posted to X following Patel’s nomination in November. ‘Under the Trump administration, the American people are going to get answers.’

Fast-forward to his confirmation hearing in January, Patel vowed he would work to uncover Epstein’s alleged vast web of crimes and connections to high-profile individuals. 

‘I want to talk to you about the Epstein case,’ Blackburn told Epstein in January during his confirmation hearing. ‘I have worked on this for years, trying to get those records of who flew on Epstein’s plane and who helped him build this international human trafficking, sex trafficking ring. Now earlier I urged then Chairman Durbin to subpoena those records and I ended up being blocked by Senator Durbin and Christopher Wray. They stonewalled on this and I know that breaking up these trafficking rings is important to President Trump. So will you work with me on this issue so we know who worked with Jeffrey Epstein in building the sex trafficking rings?’

‘Absolutely, Senator,’ Patel responded. ‘Child sex trafficking has no place in the United States of America. And I will do everything, if confirmed as FBI director, to make sure the American public knows the full weight of what happened in the past and how we are going to counterman missing children and exploited children going forward.’

Patel again vowed in February that he would let no stone go unturned as Bondi demanded more documents from the FBI related to Epstein. 

‘The FBI is entering a new era – one that will be defined by integrity, accountability, and the unwavering pursuit of justice. There will be no cover-ups, no missing documents, and no stone left unturned – and anyone from the prior or current Bureau who undermines this will be swiftly pursued. If there are gaps, we will find them. If records have been hidden, we will uncover them. And we will bring everything we find to the DOJ to be fully assessed and transparently disseminated to the American people as it should be. The oath we take is to the Constitution, and under my leadership, that promise will be upheld without compromise,’ he posted to X a the time. 

Patel and Bongino joined Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo in May and defended that evidence showed Epstein killed himself in his New York City jail cell in 2019 – a death many speculated was not suicide, but a cover-up to allegedly protect elites wrapped up in Epstein’s crime – which sparked outrage among conservatives for their handling of the case. 

‘As someone who has worked as a public defender, as a prosecutor who’s been in that prison system, who’s been in the Metropolitan Detention Center, who’s been in segregated housing, you know a suicide when you see one, and that’s what that was,’ Patel said when questioned about Epstein’s death during the interview. 

As Trump supporters spoke out against the FBI and DOJ memo determining there was no Epstein bombshell, reports circulated that a rift at DOJ could lead to Patel resigning. The FBI chief denied such claims on X while also adding that ‘the conspiracy theories just aren’t true.’ 

‘The conspiracy theories just aren’t true, never have been. It’s an honor to serve the President of the United States @realDonaldTrump – and I’ll continue to do so for as long as he calls on me,’ he posted to X. 

DEPUTY DIRECTOR BONGINO 

Back when Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino hosted a popular national podcast, he urged Americans to keep their eyes peeled on details related to Epstein because it’s a ‘big deal.’

‘That Jeffrey Epstein story is a big deal. Please do not let that story go. Keep your eye on it,’ he told his audience in May 2023. 

In January 2024, Bongino again claimed to his audience that details surrounding Epstein were shocking and that he heard from trusted sources that there were multiple videos showing Epstein with associates abusing children. 

‘Ladies and gentlemen, it has been speculated by many people who are extremely credible,’ Bongino said on a podcast in 2024, ‘including multiple sources to others and to me – one I spoke to directly – that there are a multitude of tapes.’

‘This is where I get really upset at the media,’ he said later in the podcast, adding that journalists had ‘done almost like no – maybe because I was an investigator before, it’s like, I’m amazed at how few people are putting two and two together.’

Following Patel and Bongino reporting to the public that evidence showed Epstein committed suicide, Bongino posted to X that he was not asking Americans to ‘believe me, or not,’ but was telling them the facts surrounding ‘what exists, and what doesn’t.’

‘I was asked about some of the details surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein case. I have reviewed the case. Jeffrey Epstein killed himself. There’s no evidence in the case file indicating otherwise,’ Bongino posted on the social platform X after the interview. ‘I’m not asking you to believe me, or not. I’m telling you what exists, and what doesn’t. If new evidence surfaces I’m happy to reevaluate.’

Reports spread over the weekend that Bongino clashed with Bondi over the Epstein files, including allegedly raising his voice at White House chief of staff Susie Wiles before abruptly leaving a meeting. Bongino was said to be irate over Bondi’s ‘lack of transparency from the start’ over the handling of the files. Bongino is considering resigning over the matter, but no decision has been made publicly known. 

Trump, meanwhile, threw his support behind Bondi in the Saturday Truth Social post while underscoring members of his administration are all on the same team. 

‘What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’ They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB,’ Trump wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social on Saturday. ‘We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening.’ 

‘For years, it’s Epstein, over and over again,’ Trump continued while pinning blaming for the files on Democrats. ‘Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden administration.’

‘They created the Epstein Files, just like they created the FAKE Hillary Clinton/Christopher Steele Dossier that they used on me, and now my so-called ‘friends’ are playing right into their hands,’ Trump wrote. ‘Why didn’t these Radical Left Lunatics release the Epstein Files? If there was ANYTHING in there that could have hurt the MAGA Movement, why didn’t they use it?’

Trump, who said from the campaign trail he was open to releasing such Epstein files if re-elected, slammed a reporter on Tuesday for inquiring about the files, calling Epstein a ‘creep’ who was old news in comparison to national tragedies such as the floods that gripped Texas this month. 

‘This guy’s been talked about for years. You’re asking.… We have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things. And are people are still talking about this guy, this creep?’ Trump asked. ‘That is unbelievable.’

‘I mean, I can’t believe you’re asking a question on Jeffrey Epstein,’ Trump added. ‘At a time like this, where we’re having some of the greatest success and also tragedy with what happened in Texas. It just seems like a desecration. But you go ahead.’ 

The DOJ and White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment on the previous remarks from DOJ leadership ahead of the memo determining Epstein did not have a client list. 

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Oliver, Brooke Signman, and Brie Stimson contributed to this report. 

Former President Joe Biden defended his use of an autopen during a recent interview, shedding light on his administration’s rationale for the controversial use of the technology.

The interview with the New York Times was centered around his use of an autopen during the last pardons that he made during the end of his administration.

In his final weeks in office, Biden granted clemency and pardoned more than 1,500 individuals, in what the White House described at the time as the largest single-day act of clemency by a U.S. president.

Speaking to the Times on Thursday, Biden said that he ‘made every decision’ on his own.

‘We’re talking about [granting clemency to] a whole lot of people,’ the Democrat said.

However, the Times reported that Biden ‘did not individually approve each name for the categorical pardons that applied to large numbers of people,’ according to the former president and his aides.

‘Rather, after extensive discussion of different possible criteria, [Biden] signed off on the standards he wanted to be used to determine which convicts would qualify for a reduction in sentence,’ the Times’s report read.

Instead of repeatedly asking the president to resign updated versions of official documents, his staff used an autopen to put Biden’s signature on the final version.

Biden’s comments came as Republicans attacked him for his autopen use on a massive number of official documents.

In June, President Donald Trump sent a memo to the Department of Justice directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the autopen use, and to determine whether it was related to a decline in Biden’s mental state.

‘In recent months, it has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden’s aides abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden’s cognitive decline and assert Article II authority,’ Trump wrote. 

‘This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history. The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden’s signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts.’

Also in June, Trump told reporters that he thought it was ‘inappropriate’ to use an autopen at all, though past presidents have used them.

‘Usually, when they put documents in front of you, they’re important,’ Trump said. ‘Even if you’re signing ambassadorships or – and I consider that important, I think it’s inappropriate.’

‘You have somebody that’s devoting four years of their life or more to being an ambassador. I think you really deserve that person deserves to get a real signature… not an autopen signature.’ 

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.

The Trump administration is speeding up its efforts to address a nationwide shortage of Air Traffic Controllers. 

Earlier this year, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a push to hire 2,000 new controllers by the end of the year. 

Inside the Federal Aviation Administration’s Oklahoma City training site, there is cutting-edge simulation technology that gives trainees a real feel for working in the tower. 

According to the FAA, that technology cuts weeks off the time required for certification. Now, federal aviation officials say they’re on track to reach the goal of 2,000 new controllers by mid-September. 

‘Keying up, telling an aircraft to do something is not something that just comes natural to people…It’s learning that phraseology,’ explained Chris Wilbanks, the FAA’s Vice President of Mission Support. ‘It’s making sure that the pilot completely understands the instruction that you just gave him.’ 

Each trainee starts with a 30-day basics course, followed by six to eight weeks of specialized training in both tower and radar operations. 

You impact people’s lives,’ said Wilbanks. ‘They get on an airplane; they make it to their destination safely. They don’t know who got them there, but it’s you.’ 

The push for more air traffic controllers comes as staffing shortages caused delays earlier this year at busy airports such as Newark, New Jersey. 

‘We just put a brand-new simulation in Newark … We do have our problem spots out there. We keep our eyes on it every day,’ Wilbanks said. 

To help meet the demand, Transportation Secretary Duffy launched the Supercharge Initiative earlier this year. Part of that $12.5 billion boost to FAA infrastructure includes $100 million for training. 

July alone has seen the highest number of academy students in training in FAA’s history, with 550 students expected by the end of the month. 

The FAA reports it has shaved more than five months off the administrative process. Students who scored in the top percentile are now being placed into the academy more quickly. 

‘It’s going to take time to address the nationwide controller shortage, but I’m pleased to see our supercharge initiative is taking off. With our new streamlined hiring process, the best and the brightest candidates are starting their careers in air traffic control faster,’ said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy in a newsletter sent to FOX early Friday. ‘We’ll continue to leverage opportunities big and small to keep chipping away at the shortage to keep our skies safe.’

President Donald Trump and his team are tackling the messy and bloody world we inherited with historic achievements. Through deftly negotiated truces in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, our recent agreement with NATO and the successful strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, the U.S. is now well positioned to win lasting peace. 

But despite this historic run, tremendous global challenges remain. Russia’s war against Ukraine goes on, and Communist China rattles sabers in the Pacific. 

President Trump needs his full diplomatic team in place, and the time has come to fill the gap at the United Nations with his chosen successor, my friend, fellow veteran, and former House colleague Mike Waltz.

In September, the U.N. will hold its 80th annual gathering of world leaders at the General Assembly in New York, and so that the United States is fully represented, the U.S. Senate should act swiftly to confirm Mike Waltz before their annual August recess.

Mike is the right man for the time we’re living in – and for an America First approach to foreign policy. As I see it, there are six major issues facing the U.N. that Mike will address during his tenure there.

First, the U.N. Security Council must refocus its central mission of settling disputes and brokering deals. No more progressive political signaling.

Second, the U.N. needs to reform its terribly ineffective and toothless ‘peacekeeping’ missions. These security forces sitting on their bases for decades aren’t making dangerous places any safer.

Third, we must counter China in standards-setting bodies. For too long, we have failed to push back on Communist China’s influence. Mike understands the need to be tough with the CCP and I know he will deliver on this front.

Fourth, it is time to dismantle the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and its $1.2 billion budget. Corruption pervades this sham agency. President Trump has not been shy about calling out other U.N. deficiencies. He pulled the U.S. out of the so-called Human Rights Council and the World Health Organization, and Mike will see to it that we do not engage with such insidious works on his watch.

Fifth, antisemitism itself must be stamped out at the U.N. For too long the corrosive hatred of the Jewish people has festered at the organization. Israel has a right to exist, a right to live free of fear and with peaceful neighbors. 

Finally, it is time to defund foreign aid programs not in line with President Trump’s America First agenda. Woke waste is rampant at the U.N. and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which I chair, has identified several ridiculous examples. Programs promoting ‘Gender sensitive approaches to addressing the Digital Information Disorder’ and ‘Being LGBTI in the Caribbean,’ for example, need to end and Mike will see that that they do.

Mike dedicated his life to national service. He’s a retired U.S. Army colonel and Green Beret who was awarded four Bronze Stars. He’s spent nearly three decades defending our country on the battlefield and serving the American people in the halls of power. 

The title of Mike’s 2014 book is ‘Warrior Diplomat,’ and at the U.N. it is his understanding of foreign policy that may be his greatest asset. Before joining the Trump administration, he was policy director for two secretaries of defense and was elected three times to Congress, where he served on the Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, as well as the House China Task Force.

Mike is a seasoned operator, a principled America First conservative, and a skilled communicator who is unafraid to take America’s case directly to the world. Mike will be the president’s voice at the U.N. and will faithfully implement President Trump’s agenda while maintaining our historic ‘peace through strength’ philosophy that won the Cold War.

Earlier this year, in an executive order initiating a full review of U.S. involvement in the U.N., President Trump criticized the organization for being more eager to take ideological stances and back our adversaries than to tackle difficult global issues. 

Still, as the president signed the order, he repeated a sentiment he’s expressed frequently since 2017: ‘I’ve always felt that the U.N. has tremendous potential. It’s not living up to that potential right now.’ Realizing that potential will be a big part of Mike’s job as the president’s emissary.

For all its imperfections, the United Nations remains a forum for advancing American interests and challenging our adversaries on the world stage. At this time of global tension and conflict, we need someone smart, tested and clear-eyed representing us there. It’s time to confirm Mike Waltz.

In his 26th week back in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump is expected to make a ‘major announcement’ related to Russia, hold a meeting with the NATO chief, and join a summit in Pennsylvania as America’s race to lead the world on artificial intelligence continues. 

July 13 marks the one-year anniversary of the first assassination attempt on Trump during the 2024 presidential cycle. Trump spent the anniversary at his home in Bedminster, N.J., before traveling with first lady Melania Trump to the FIFA Club World Cup final on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in the Garden State. 

Trump returned to the White House on Sunday evening and is expected to have another whirlwind workweek. 

MEETING WITH NATO CHIEF

Trump will meet with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte this week following the U.S. president saying last week that the U.S. is selling weapons to its NATO allies for them to be passed along to Ukraine as it continues battling Russia. 

The NATO chief will be in Washington, D.C., on Monday and Tuesday, and will meet with Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to The Associated Press. Additional details on the meetings, however, have not yet been publicly released. 

Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said on CBS’ ‘Face the Nation’ on Sunday that Ukraine can expect to see an influx of weapons. Russia first invaded Ukraine in February of 2022. 

‘In the coming days, you’ll see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves,’ Graham said on CBS’ ‘Face the Nation. 

‘One of the biggest miscalculations Putin has made is to play Trump. And you just watch, in the coming days and weeks, there’s going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table.’

Trump and Rutte most recently met in the Netherlands in June for a summit, where the NATO chief showed the makings of a blossoming friendship with Trump, including referring to Trump as ‘daddy’ for his handling of the Middle East. 

‘MAJOR’ RUSSIA ANNOUNCEMENT 

Trump teased last week that he would make a ‘major statement’ on Russia in the coming days as the NATO meetings prepare to kick off this week. 

‘I’m disappointed in Russia, but we’ll see what happens over the next couple of weeks,’ Trump told NBC last week. 

‘I think I’ll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday,’ he added, without elaborating. 

Graham said in his interview on ‘Face the Nation’ on Sunday that ‘a turning point regarding [the Russian] invasion of Ukraine is coming,’ as Congress works to impose new economic sanctions on Russia to help end the war. 

‘For months, President Trump has tried to entice [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to the peace table. He’s put tariffs against countries that allow fentanyl to come in our country, other bad behavior — he’s left the door open regarding Russia. That door is about to close,’ Graham said on Sunday. 

TRUMP HEADS TO ENERGY AND AI SUMMIT

Trump will head to Pittsburgh on Tuesday for Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Dave McCormick’s inaugural Energy and Innovation Summit hosted at Carnegie Mellon University. 

The event is slated to focus on the U.S. power grid, America bid to win the AI race against China, as well as promoting the Keystone State as an ideal resource to help power the country’s future with AI and energy. 

‘The United States needs to win the artificial intelligence fight. We have to stop China, and we have to win this war for dominance in AI. And the way you win the war for dominance in AI is to win the war for energy dominance. That’s why our focus is on producing more here in the United States,’ said Mike Sommers, CEO and president of the American Petroleum Institute who will attend the summit, told Fox News Business of the event. 

‘Over the course of the last few years, energy demand has only gone up by about 2.5% a year. In the next seven years, we expect that energy demand is going to go up by 25%. The question that policymakers have to answer is: ‘Where is that energy going to come from?’ We think it should come from the United States,’ Sommers added. 

The event is expected to attract protesters, with Carnegie Mellon’s president calling on the school community to continue its history of ‘constructively engaging’ with presidencies across the ‘political spectrum.’

‘We have a history of constructively engaging with the federal government and administrations across the political spectrum. We view these opportunities as consequential to elevating and advancing both Carnegie Mellon’s mission and impact, and we bring to those moments the full measure of our expertise, our values and our voice in service to the nation,’ school president Farnam Jahanian said in a letter previewing the event on Sunday. 

Fox News Digital’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report.