European allies are working together on a plan in case the Trump administration acts on acquiring Greenland, a report said Wednesday. 

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France Inter radio that the subject will be raised at a meeting with the foreign ministers of Germany and Poland. 

‘We want to take action, but we want to do so together with our European partners,’ Barrot said, according to Reuters.

A German government source also told Reuters that Germany is ‘closely working together with other European countries and Denmark on the next steps regarding Greenland.’

The White House said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump views acquiring Greenland as a national security priority and that the use of the U.S. military remains an option as his administration weighs how to pursue control of the Arctic territory.

‘President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to Fox News.  

‘The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal,’ she added. 

When asked Wednesday for a response to the Reuters report, the White House referred Fox News Digital to Leavitt’s remarks.

Trump told reporters on Air Force One over the weekend that the U.S. needs Greenland, a Danish territory, for ‘national security.’ 

European and Nordic leaders pushed back against the comments, with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Denmark’s Ambassador to the United States Jesper Møller Sørensen underscoring their support for Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland and stressing that its future must be determined by Greenland and Denmark alone.

A senior European official told Reuters on Wednesday that Denmark must lead any effort to coordinate a response and ‘the Danes have yet to communicate to their European allies what kind of concrete support they wish to receive.’ 

Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump unleashed his fury on a handful of Senate Republicans who rebelled against him on Thursday, demanding that they never be re-elected. 

Five Senate Republicans broke ranks to support a bipartisan war powers resolution from Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., geared toward reining in Trump’s ability to pursue further military action in Venezuela. 

It served as a rare rebuke from Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Todd Young, R-Ind., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., in a Republican-controlled Senate that has largely accepted and advanced many of Trump’s legislative desires. 

Trump was not happy about it. 

‘Republicans should be ashamed of the Senators that just voted with Democrats in attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

‘Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, and Todd Young should never be elected to office again,’ he continued. ‘This Vote greatly hampers American Self Defense and National Security, impeding the President’s Authority as Commander in Chief.’ 

Collins, in particular, faces a tough re-election challenge in Maine, where Senate Democrats got their prized candidate, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, to jump into the race late last year. 

The Republicans that voted for the resolution argued that while they supported Operation Absolute Resolve, the code name of the mission carried out to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, they wanted Congress to have a say should any further military action take place. 

That decision came in part after lawmakers received briefings throughout the week from top administration officials to explain what the next steps in the country would be. 

‘With Maduro rightfully captured, the circumstances have now changed,’ Collins said in a statement ahead of the vote. ‘While I support the operation to seize Nicolás Maduro, which was extraordinary in its precision and complexity, I do not support committing additional U.S. forces or entering into any long-term military involvement in Venezuela or Greenland without specific congressional authorization.’

Trump rejected Congress’ war powers authority, calling the War Powers Act ‘unconstitutional, totally violating Article II of the Constitution, as all Presidents, and their Departments of Justice, have determined before me.’

‘Nevertheless, a more important Senate Vote will be taking place next week on this very subject,’ he said. 

President Donald Trump called for defense spending to be raised to $1.5 trillion, a 50% increase over the current budget. 

‘After long and difficult negotiations with Senators, Congressmen, Secretaries, and other Political Representatives, I have determined that, for the Good of our Country, especially in these very troubled and dangerous times, our Military Budget for the year 2027 should not be $1 Trillion Dollars, but rather $1.5 Trillion Dollars,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday evening. 

‘This will allow us to build the ‘Dream Military’ that we have long been entitled to and, more importantly, that will keep us SAFE and SECURE, regardless of foe.’ 

The president said he came up with the number after tariff revenues created a surplus of cash. He claimed the levies were bringing in enough money to pay for both a major boost to the defense budget ‘easily,’ pay down the national debt, which is more than $38 trillion, and offer ‘a substantial dividend to moderate income patriots.’

The boost likely reflects efforts to fund Trump’s ambitious military plans, from the Golden Dome homeland missile defense shield to a new ‘Trump class’ of battleships.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget found that the increased budget would cost about $5 trillion from 2027 to 2035, or $5.7 trillion with interest. Tariff revenues, the group found, would cover about half the cost — $2.5 trillion, or $3 trillion with interest. 

The Supreme Court is expected to rule in a major case Friday that will determine the legality of Trump’s sweeping tariff strategy.

In 2026, the defense budget is expected to breach $1 trillion for the first time thanks to a $150 billion reconciliation bill Congress passed to boost the expected $900 billion defense spending legislation for fiscal year 2026. Congress has yet to pass a full-year defense budget for 2026.

Some Republicans have long called for a major increase to defense spending to bring the topline total to 5% of GDP, as the $1.5 trillion budget would do, up from the current 3.5%.

Trump has ramped up pressure on Europe to increase its national security spending to 5% of GDP — 3.5% on core military requirements and 1.5% on defense-related areas like cybersecurity and critical infrastructure.

Trump’s budget announcement came hours after defense stocks took a dip when he condemned the performance rates of major defense contractors. In a separate Truth Social post, he announced he would not allow defense firms to buy back their own stocks, offer large salaries to executives or issue dividends to shareholders. 

‘Executive Pay Packages in the Defense Industry are exorbitant and unjustifiable given how slowly these Companies are delivering vital Equipment to our Military, and our Allies,’ he said. 

‘​Defense Companies are not producing our Great Military Equipment rapidly enough and, once produced, not maintaining it properly or quickly.’

He said that executives would not be allowed to make above $5 million until they build new production plants.

Stock buybacks, dividends and executive compensation generally are governed by securities law, state corporate law and private contracts, and cannot be broadly restricted without congressional action.

An executive order the White House released Wednesday frames the restrictions as conditions on future defense contracts, rather than a blanket prohibition. The order directs the secretary of war to ensure that new contracts include provisions barring stock buybacks and corporate distributions during periods of underperformance, non-compliance or inadequate production, as determined by the Pentagon.

Vice President JD Vance announced a new federal task force aimed at tackling fraud across the country on Thursday.

Vance says the Justice Department will feature a new associate attorney general position to address fraud, in addition to the 1,500 subpoenas and 100 indictments the DOJ has already sent out on the issue.

Vance says the administration hopes to announce a nominee to the position ‘within the next few days.’

‘This is the person that is going to make sure we stop defrauding the American people,’ Vance said.

‘We have activated a major Interagency task force to make it possible to get to the heart of this fraud,’ he continued. ‘We also want to expand this. We know that the fraud isn’t just happening in Minneapolis. It’s also happening in states like Ohio. It’s happening in states like California.’

Vance made the announcement alongside White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt at a Thursday briefing.

Prior to Vance’s remarks, Leavitt reiterated the administration’s rock-solid support for federal immigration officers operating across the country.

Addressing the deadly officer-involved shooting in Minnesota on Wednesday, she blamed the incident on an ‘organized attack’ by a ‘broader left-wing network’ on federal officers operating in multiple states.

The statement echoed comments from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the victim, 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, tried to ‘weaponize her vehicle’ and ‘attempted to run a law enforcement officer over.’

Noem also accused Good of ‘stalking and impeding’ federal agents all day. Noem told reporters that Good was instructed to get out of her car and stop ‘obstructing’ law enforcement, but she did not comply.

The agency is labeling the incident as an act of ‘domestic terrorism.’

On Thursday, in a separate post on X, Vance expanded on his defense of the officer’s actions, slamming critics for engaging in ‘gaslighting.’ The post was made in response to comments from Jenin Younes, the national legal director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, who argued that the officer was not in danger and had time to get out of Good’s way. Vance said Younes’ arguments were ‘preposterous.’

‘The gaslighting is off the charts, and I’m having none of it. This guy was doing his job. She tried to stop him from doing his job. When he approached her car, she tried to hit him,’ Vance wrote. ‘A tragedy? Absolutely. But a tragedy that falls on this woman and all of the radicals who teach people that immigration is the one type of law that rioters are allowed to interfere with.’

This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates. 

Vice President JD Vance unleashed on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Thursday, and gave him a new nickname: ‘a joke.’ 

Vance’s comments come after Walz reminisced on Minnesota’s contribution to the Union during the Civil War, following an incident where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, 37. 

Walz, who announced Monday he wouldn’t run for re-election, already has faced increased scrutiny in recent weeks as Minnesota faces investigations into multiple alleged fraud schemes plaguing the state’s social services system.

‘Look, Tim Walz is a joke. His entire administration has been a joke,’ Vance told reporters Thursday. ‘The idea that he’s some sort of freedom fighter, he’s not. He’s the guy who has enabled fraud and maybe, in fact, has participated in fraud.’

‘I don’t care what Tim Walz says,’ Vance said. ‘I care about getting to the bottom of this fraud for the American people.’ 

Walz’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

On Wednesday, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said that Good ‘weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them.’ 

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that Good ‘hit’ the ICE agent involved with a vehicle, and described the incident as an act of ‘domestic terrorism.’

However, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey later challenged the administration’s description of events, and claimed that the shooting wasn’t an act of self-defense like the administration was trying to ‘spin’ it. 

Earlier Thursday, Walz described the contributions of the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Battle of Gettysburg, who were responsible for holding the Union line against Confederate troops. 

‘I’ve seen it throughout our history,’ Walz said. ‘When things looked really bleak, it was Minnesota’s 1st that held that line for the nation on that July 3rd, 1863. And I think now we may be in that moment, that the nation is looking to us to hold the line on democracy, to hold the line on decency, to hold the line on accountability.’

Vance isn’t the only one to unleash on Walz recently. SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently called Walz a ‘traitor.’ 

Meanwhile, Walz has come under fire from Republicans and President Donald Trump, who has labeled Minnesota a ‘hub of fraudulent money laundering activity.’

The Trump administration and lawmakers have launched probes into Minnesota’s alleged ‘Feeding Our Future’ $250 million fraud scheme that allegedly targeted a children’s nutrition program the Department of Agriculture funded and that Minnesota oversaw during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Likewise, another alleged fraud scheme in the state stems from the Housing Stability Services Program, which allegedly offered Medicaid coverage for housing stabilization services in an attempt to help those with disabilities, mental illnesses and substance-use disorders receive housing.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., expressed support for the idea of the U.S. buying Greenland, which is linked to the nation of Denmark.

‘I believe Greenland has massive strategic benefits for the United States. I do not support taking it by force. America is not a bully. Ideally, we purchase it — similar to our purchases of Alaska or the Louisiana Purchase. Acquiring Greenland is a many decades-old conversation,’ the senator noted in a Wednesday post on X.

In a Fox News appearance last year, Fetterman had similarly noted that he would not support forcibly seizing Greenland but expressed an openness to the prospect of purchasing the land. He pointed to the Louisiana Purchase and the Alaska Purchase.

President Donald Trump has been eyeing the island, categorizing the U.S. acquiring the territory as a national security matter.

In a 2024 Truth Social post, he asserted, ‘For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.’

During a Sunday news gaggle aboard Air Force One, he said, ‘We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security. And the European Union needs us to have it.’

Trump has previously floated the idea of acquiring Greenland in the past, but the commander-in-chief spoke about the Artic territory recently when someone brought it up during the gaggle on Air Force One after the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Nicolás Maduro. Since then, the president said the U.S. is in charge of Venezuela and will be for the foreseeable future until a secure transition of power can take place.

In a Fox News appearance on Monday, Fetterman described the U.S. capture of Maduro as a ‘good thing,’ calling the operation ‘surgical.’ 

‘Removing Maduro was positive for Venezuela. As a Democrat, I don’t understand why we can’t acknowledge a good development for Venezuelans — and how deft our military’s execution of that plan was,’ he noted in a Tuesday post on X.

President Donald Trump suffered a rare defeat from his own party on Thursday when a handful of Senate Republicans rebelled to curb his usage of military force in Venezuela. 

The attempt to reassert Congress’ war powers authority, led by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., survived despite broad support among most Senate Republicans, who argued that Trump’s use of the military in Venezuela was justified. 

Among the defectors were Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who co-sponsored the resolution, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Susan Collins, R-Maine, Todd Young, R-Ind., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo. 

But Thursday’s successful vote, which also handed Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., a rare defeat on the floor, is just the first step before the resolution officially passes. The Senate will have to take another vote, this time with the 60-vote filibuster threshold, before it becomes official. 

Kaine’s resolution would effectively end any further military operations involving Venezuela without explicit congressional approval. It was one of many bids since Trump took office last year by the bipartisan group to claw back Congress’ authority in weighing in on military action.

The outcome of the vote remained an open question, even just moments before the final gavel. 

The defectors were on the fence as to whether to rein Trump in following a classified briefing with administration officials on Operation Absolute Resolve, the code name of the mission to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Their issues weren’t necessarily with the actual operation itself but with what comes next. And more specifically, if there would be further military activity in the country.

‘We were told that there are currently no boots on the ground. Is it an option? What I heard was that everything is an option,’ Hawley said.

But top administration officials, and several congressional Republicans briefed on the matter throughout the week, argued that the strikes in Venezuela were justified and that the military was used to assist in a law enforcement operation to capture Maduro.

Still, Senate Republican leadership was confident they would have the votes needed to kill the bipartisan resolution.

‘Republicans support what the president has done,’ Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said. ‘It was an incredible act and the military was absolutely superb.’

Before the vote, Kaine and Paul were already looking ahead at other opportunities to curb the administration’s use of military force without congressional approval.

Greenland reemerged as a hot topic on the Hill this week, following comments from Trump officials that indicated that military action wasn’t off the table to capture the colossal, resource-rich Arctic territory, where the U.S. already has a military base.

Several Republicans like the idea of purchasing the territory from Denmark but have not yet committed to claiming it by force. There are other countries that have entered or long been in Trump’s crosshairs for conquest, too, that the duo want to ensure Congress has a say on.

‘We’re going to be working with others to file resolutions about Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and Greenland,’ Kaine said. ‘And Nigeria — people didn’t pay attention, but there was a U.S. military strike in Nigeria.’

Paul said he would likely support future war powers resolutions, given his strong feelings about Congress’ constitutional authority.

‘I’ve supported most of them, all of them,’ Paul said. ‘I probably will continue to support them, because I — there’s some symbolism to this, too, and symbolism is over who should initiate and declare war, which I feel strongly about.’

The New Year is a time when many Americans make resolutions to ditch bad habits and improve their health. In that same spirit, the Trump administration is excited to announce the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030, marking the most significant reset of federal nutrition policy in our nation’s history. 

The message is simple and should be non-controversial: eat real food. 

That means more protein, dairy, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats and whole grains. Paired with a dramatic reduction in highly processed foods — which are often laden with refined carbohydrates, added sugars, excess sodium, unhealthy fats and chemical additives — this approach has the potential to improve the health trajectory of Americans. 

These improvements are long overdue. It’s no secret that the United States is currently facing a national health emergency. Nearly 90% of healthcare spending goes toward treating people with chronic diseases. Many of these illnesses are not due to genetic destiny; they are the predictable result of the standard American diet — a diet high in processed foods, added sugars, unhealthy fats and sodium, while being low in fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

The consequences have been devastating. More than 70% of American adults are overweight or obese, and nearly one in three American adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 has prediabetes. 

While these statistics constitute a tragedy for the individuals directly affected, they have also put our national security at risk. Diet-driven chronic disease now disqualifies large numbers of young Americans from military service, undermining national readiness and cutting off a historic pathway to opportunity and upward mobility. 

For decades, federal incentives have promoted low-quality, highly processed foods and pharmaceutical intervention instead of prevention. This has been a recipe for disaster, and it was the inevitable outcome of poor policy choices, inadequate nutrition research and a lack of coordination across federal, state, local and private partners. 

Thanks to the bold leadership of President Donald Trump, this string of failure ends today.

At long last, we are realigning our food system to support American farmers, ranchers and companies that grow and produce real food. Farmers and ranchers are at the forefront of the solution, whether they raise beef, provide dairy, or harvest nourishing fruits and vegetables. 

These Dietary Guidelines recognize that the national health crisis affects us all and must be addressed through a holistic nationwide effort. We are calling on everyone — especially healthcare professionals, insurers, educators, community leaders, industry and lawmakers across all levels of government — to join in.

Together, we can shift our food system away from chronic disease and toward nourishment, resilience and long-term health. 

As we ring in the new year, let’s recommit to Making America Healthy Again, affecting real improvement through real food. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the 26th secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

Senate Republicans have been mulling whether to again use a powerful yet divisive legislative process, and tackling the unfolding Minnesota fraud scandal could be at the top of the list.

Congressional Republicans last year used the budget reconciliation process to ram through President Donald Trump’s crowning legislative achievement of his term so far, his ‘one, big beautiful bill.’

The GOP is considering taking another stab at the process, which would allow them to pass partisan legislation without Democratic votes in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that one option could be dealing with the alleged fraud in Minnesota.

‘I think that one of the issues that’s been raised is this issue of waste, fraud and abuse coming out of the investigation in Minnesota, and whether there might be, you know, some bill that we could do that addresses that issue,’ Thune said when asked if Republicans would go through the reconciliation process once more.

‘But I think there are, you know, a number of candidates for consideration,’ he continued. ‘I always think the best solution, if possible, is to try and do things through regular order.’

The situation in Minnesota has become a hot topic on Capitol Hill since lawmakers returned for the new year and the start of a new legislative session this week.

Federal prosecutors estimate that up to $9 billion in taxpayer money was stolen through a network of fraudulent fronts posing as daycare centers, food programs and health clinics, among others.

Reconciliation has been a powerful tool for either party that commands a majority in Congress — congressional Democrats used the process to pass former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act years ago.

But it’s a time-consuming, labor-intensive process that laid bare intra-party divisions last year and nearly imploded before leaving the walls of Congress. Still, some Senate Republicans have been pounding the drum for another chance, particularly to tackle the growing affordability issue in the country.

Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who acts as the de facto quarterback for the process, has signaled that he is ready to take another crack at reconciliation.

Thune didn’t close the door on using the process but reiterated that if Congress wants to reopen that Pandora’s box, they need to have a good reason to do it.

‘I’ve always said that, if you’re gonna do reconciliation, you really have to have a reason to do it, well,’ he said. ‘What is the ‘it’ that we’re talking about here? And, you know, is it something that the House and the White House are all on board with doing?’

The Trump–Kennedy Center is pushing back on a recent media narrative that its annual Honors awards show suffered a ratings flop under President Donald Trump compared to years prior, arguing that the broadcast performed strongly despite industry-wide headwinds and a dramatically different scheduling landscape.

‘Comparing this year’s broadcast ratings to prior years is a classic apples-to-oranges comparison and evidence of far-left bias,’ Roma Daravi, Trump–Kennedy Center vice president of public relations, told Fox News Digital of the ratings. ‘The program performed extremely well across key demographics and platforms, despite industry and timing disadvantages, including a Tuesday air date two days before Christmas.’

The 48th Kennedy Center Honors awards show was held in Washington, D.C., Dec. 7 and honored artists such as country singer George Strait, the members of rock band KISS, Tony-award winner Michael Crawford, Grammy-winner Gloria Gaynor, and Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone. The awards show is held each year to celebrate ‘individuals whose unique artistic contributions have shaped our world,’ according to its website. 

Trump hosted the event, with its broadcast held weeks late Dec. 23, 2025, on CBS and Paramount+. 

The event averaged 3.01 million viewers, which is a 25% drop from 2024’s ratings when an average 4.1 million viewers tuned in, according to a report from Nielsen Live + Same Day Panel + Big Data reported by Variety in December. The ratings yielded headlines reporting that viewership ‘plummeted,’ and late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert mocked Trump for hosting ‘the lowest-rated Kennedy Center Honors telecast of all time,’ as Kimmel said in his Monday monologue.

Daravi countered that viewership for the awards show ‘tied for the #1 spot among adults aged 25–54, alongside a live NBA doubleheader’ while citing that overall TV usage is ‘down roughly 20 percent year over year.’ 

The NBA’s Tuesday night doubleheader Dec. 23, 2025, featured the Denver Nuggets visiting the Dallas Mavericks, followed by the Houston Rockets taking on the Los Angeles Clippers.

 ‘And on social media, Honors garnered 1.5 Billion impressions in just one night—up from only 50 Million similar impressions last year,’ Daravi continued. ‘This was a successful night celebrating the outstanding achievements of our Honorees at the Trump Kennedy Center.’ 

Trump predicted ahead of the event that ratings would be sky-high and that he would garner more viewers than late-night host Kimmel, who is a longtime critic and political foe of Trump’s. The president also predicted critics would ‘say, ‘He was horrible. He was terrible. It was a horrible situation.’ No, we’ll do fine. I’ve watched some of the people that host.’ 

Trump celebrated during the event that ‘we’re bringing this building back to life like nobody ever thought was even possible.’ The Honors awards show raised a record $23 million, nearly doubling 2024’s $12.7 million raised under the Biden administration’s final days. 

The 2024 broadcast was also held on a Sunday and had an NFL viewership in the lead up to the program, including a New England Patriots versus Buffalo Bills game that afternoon. 

The broadcast was held just days after the Trump administration announced that the center’s board of trustees unanimously voted to rename it ‘The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.’ 

Presidents appoint the majority of the board’s trustees, with Trump dismissing the previously appointed Board of Trustees ‘who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture’ in the early weeks of his second administration. Trump is also the first and only president to serve as the center’s chairman of the board. 

The name change set off swift rebuke among Democrats, with nonvoting board members including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and others claiming the move was illegal as it did not earn congressional approval ahead of time. 

The center said that the board agreed Trump saved the institution from financial ruin during his second term. 

‘The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously today to name the institution The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,’  Daravi told Fox News Digital of the name change. ‘The unanimous vote recognizes that the current Chairman saved the institution from financial ruin and physical destruction.’