INTERNACIONAL
Capitol Police arrest protesters disrupting budget markup as Cory Booker thanks them for defending Medicaid
More than two dozen protesters were arrested for disrupting the House Energy and Commerce’s budget reconciliation markup on Tuesday, as Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., thanked those holding court in the hallway.
«Around 2 p.m., 26 people were arrested for illegally demonstrating in the Rayburn House Office Building. They were arrested for 22-1307 Crowding, Obstructing, and Incommoding. It is against the law to protest inside the Congressional Buildings,» the U.S. Capitol Police Department told Fox News Digital.
Dozens of protesters, many in wheelchairs, filled the halls outside the John D. Dingell Room in the Rayburn House Office Building on Tuesday afternoon, chanting, «No cuts to Medicaid!» Several protesters, who were blocking the entrance to the committee room, were wheeled away and arrested by Capitol police after multiple warnings.
A defiant Booker walked by the budget markup during its first hour and was greeted by the cheers and whistles of those protesting Medicaid cuts. Booker, who spent more than 12 hours protesting President Donald Trump’s agenda on the steps of the U.S. Capitol just two weeks ago, thanked the protesters for showing up to protect Medicaid.
HOUSE GOP UNVEILS MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENTS IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’
Demonstrators calling for preservation of Medicaid funding, are removed from the House Energy and Commerce markup of the FY2025 budget resolution in Rayburn building on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
A Capitol police officer confirmed to Fox News Digital that disruptors were arrested for protesting and would be processed and released immediately. Many protesters remained in the hallway during the first few hours of the markup as others were removed for shouting during the representative’s testimonies and subsequently arrested.
ANTI-ABORTION PROVIDER MEASURE IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ COULD SPARK HOUSE GOP REBELLION
«The audience is supportive that you’re all here and participating. We want you here. You’re part of the process. We want you to be here, but we have to proceed. And the rules of the House, and the law is that – if you’re disruptive, you’ll be removed, and you’re subject to arrest. I don’t make that decision, the Capitol Police does,» Kentucky Republican Rep. Brett Guthrie, Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said following one of several disruptions by protesters.
Inside the budget markup, Democrats and Republicans sparred over rhetoric about Medicaid cuts. Democrats claimed the Republican budget bill would cut vital access to Medicaid, with many representatives sharing stories of their constituents who have benefited from its services. Meanwhile, Republicans accused Democrats of lying to the American people about Medicaid cuts – a word Guthrie deterred his colleagues from using.
«I want to send one very clear message: you’re being lied to. The other side is telling you a lot of things about this legislation. I’m not sure they have read this legislation,» Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., who chairs the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, said.
Republicans mostly avoided the deep cuts to Medicaid pushed by fiscal conservatives in the House Republican Conference, which could serve to benefit moderate Republicans who have fielded relentless attacks from Democrats over potential Medicaid cuts. House Republicans, however, have vowed to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in the Medicaid program.
Protesters staked out the House Energy and Commerce’s budget reconciliation markup on Tuesday. (Fox News Digital)
The committee’s budget markup includes increased regulations and program cuts to Medicaid, including tightened address verification requirements, ensuring deceased individuals are not enrolled, more provider screening requirements, removing excess Medicaid payments, revising home equity limits for determining eligibility, prohibiting illegal immigrants from obtaining Medicaid services, ensuring accurate payments, prohibiting funding for gender transition procedures for minors and requirements for states to establish Medicaid community engagement programs.
«This budget does not cut Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security benefits for the Americans who truly need them. We are strengthening and protecting Medicaid for pregnant women, children, individuals with disabilities, low-income seniors and vulnerable families. These Americans will continue to have access to the care they need and deserve. What we are doing is eliminating waste, fraud and abuse,» Rep. Erin Houchin, R-Indiana, told the committee.
But despite Republicans’ assurances that the proposed budget does not cut Medicaid, Democrats testified, one after the other, about the threats program cuts pose to Americans.
Protesters disrupted the House Energy and Commerce’s budget reconciliation markup on Tuesday. (Fox News Digital) (Fox News Digital)
«They are cutting this Medicaid care and these Medicaid dollars to pay for tax cuts for Elon Musk and billionaires, so this money isn’t even going towards funding better care for people who are eligible… We are cutting money and health care from people and families who are suffering, to pay for tax cuts for the rich. It is a crime happening in front of the American public right now,» Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said.
The proposed legislation would put a new 80-hour-per-month work requirement on certain able-bodied adults receiving Medicaid, aged 19 through 64.
It would also put guardrails on states spending funds on their expanded Medicaid populations. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) allowed states to expand Medicaid coverage to adults who make up to 138% of the poverty level.
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., right, and Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., attend the House Energy and Commerce markup of the FY2025 budget resolution in Rayburn building on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
More specifically, states that provide Medicaid coverage to illegal immigrants could see their federal Medicaid reimbursement dollars diminished, putting more of that cost on the state itself.
The bill would also require states with expanded Medicaid populations to perform eligibility checks every six months to ensure the system is not being abused.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The Energy & Commerce Committee, which has broad jurisdiction, including over federal health programs, telecommunications and energy, was tasked with finding at least $880 billion in spending cuts to pay for other priorities in Trump’s «big, beautiful bill.»
Guthrie told House Republicans on a lawmaker-only call on Sunday night that the panel had found «north of $900 billion» in savings.
House Of Representatives,Capitol Protests,Elections,Cory Booker,US protests
INTERNACIONAL
US allowing some Nigeria embassy staff to evacuate over ‘deteriorating security situation’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The State Department said it authorized the departure of some staff at its embassy in Nigeria over the «deteriorating security situation» in the African country.
The development comes weeks after the U.S. military reportedly sent MQ-9 Reaper drones to Nigeria amid fears of a renewed insurgency by the terrorist group Boko Haram. The day before the authorization was issued, gunmen attacked two villages about 155 miles from Abuja, where the U.S. embassy is located, killing 20 people, residents told The Associated Press.
«On April 8, 2026, the U.S. Department of State authorized the voluntary departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees and family members from U.S. Embassy Abuja due to the deteriorating security situation,» the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria said. «The U.S. Embassy in Abuja will remain open but will have limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Nigeria.»
«The U.S. Consulate General in Lagos will continue to provide routine and emergency services to U.S. citizens in Nigeria,» it added. «The Department of State Travel Advisory for Nigeria remains at Level 3, recommending travelers reconsider travel to Nigeria due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, armed gangs, and inconsistent availability of health care services.»
GUNMEN ON BIKES STORM NIGERIA VILLAGE ON PALM SUNDAY, KILLING AT LEAST 20
Nigerian soldiers prepare to patrol in Maiduguri on March 18, 2026, following a deadly triple suicide bombing that killed 23 people on March 16. (Audu Marte/AFP/Getty Images)
The embassy also said, «U.S. citizens in Abuja should consider departing if you do not need to remain for emergency or essential purposes.»
The recent attacks occurred in the early hours of Tuesday in Bagna and Erena, located in the Shiroro area of Niger state.
«They came on motorbikes and began shooting. It was a surprise attack, because it was in the early hours of the morning,» Jibrin Isah, who lives in Erena, told the AP.
100 US TROOPS LAND IN NIGERIA AS ISLAMIC MILITANTS THREATEN WEST AFRICA REGIONAL SECURITY
Police officers gather at the scene of Sunday night gunmen attack in the Gari Ya Waye community in Nigeria, Monday, March 30, 2026. (Samson Omale/AP)
Residents said at least 20 people were killed, with more missing. However, local police said only three people were killed.
The State Department said in a travel advisory issued Wednesday that there is «risk of terrorist violence, including terrorist attacks and other activity in Nigeria,» adding, «Terrorists collaborate with local gangs to expand their reach» and «They may attack with little or no warning.»
The MQ-9 drones reportedly were deployed to Nigeria in late March after 200 U.S. troops arrived in February to provide training and intelligence. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is battling a complex security crisis, especially in the north of the country.
A spokesperson for AFRICOM, the U.S. Africa Command, had told the AP that U.S. troops «are working alongside their Nigerian counterparts to provide intelligence support, advisory assistance, and targeted training in support of the Nigerian Armed Forces.»
Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups active in Nigeria are Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, which is affiliated with the Islamic State and is known as Islamic State West Africa Province, or ISWAP.
A U.S. military MQ-9 Reaper drone approaches for landing at Rafael Hernandez Airport in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, on Dec. 29, 2025. (Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP)
There is also the ISIS-linked Lakurawa, as well as other «bandit» groups that specialize in kidnapping for ransom and illegal mining.
President Donald Trump has spoken out against violence targeting Christians in Nigeria, telling Fox News Radio last year, «I’m really angry about it» and «What’s happening in Nigeria is a disgrace.»
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also met with Nigerian national security advisor Nuhu Ribadu last November amid threats from Trump to cut off aid to Nigeria if the country «continues to allow the killing of Christians.» Nigerian officials have pushed back on the accusation.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
warnings, counter terrorism, us, state department, military
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
House Democrats are weighing a long-shot scenario to remove President Donald Trump using the 25th Amendment, but are declining to say whether they’ll act before the November midterm elections.
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., will brief congressional Democrats Friday afternoon on the constitutional mechanism that would rely heavily on Trump’s Cabinet agreeing to push him out of office.
The 25th Amendment has never been used before to involuntarily remove a president and is effectively moot without widespread Republican buy-in. But a bevy of House Democrats have embraced that scenario following the president’s escalating conflict with Iran.
«Donald Trump’s deranged threat to destroy ‘a whole civilization’ in Iran is a threat to commit war crimes and genocide,» Raskin wrote on social media Tuesday. «Republicans in Congress must prevail upon Vice President Vance, now campaigning for Putin’s puppet Viktor Orban in Hungary, to return to the U.S. and invoke Section 4 of the 25th Amendment.»
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., speaks to reporters outside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office in Washington, D.C., on July 22, 2021, after meeting with members of the select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. The committee is scheduled to hold its first hearing next week. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
MASSIE-LED PUSH TO HANDCUFF TRUMP ON IRAN GETS JEFFRIES’ BACKING
«The 25th Amendment should be invoked to spare our country and the world from his increasingly unhinged behavior,» Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., a member of the Judiciary Committee, also said Tuesday.
Dozens of House Democrats have continued to press for the president’s ouster despite the announcement of a two-week ceasefire.
«All options should be on the table,» Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., said Thursday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has offered support for the briefing and ongoing discussions about the president’s removal, saying Democrats are considering a «range of accountability mechanisms.»
The lead Democrat, however, has remained ambiguous about his personal views despite signaling that all options remain on the table. That is largely in keeping with Jeffries’ efforts over the past year to keep the focus away from impeachment talk while leaning into policy fights over health care costs, tariffs and immigration enforcement.
Fox News Digital reached out to members of House Democratic leadership, but did not receive a response before publication.
A spokesperson for the House Judiciary Committee declined to comment on the 25th Amendment briefing.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., are seen before a rally with House Democrats on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to oppose the Senate passed spending bill that would reopen the government because it does not extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, on Wednesday, November 12, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
LONGTIME TRUMP CRITIC REVEALS WHY SHE THINKS HIS IRAN ACTIONS ARE WRONG, WARNS IT’S A ‘MUCH BIGGER WAR’
Jeffries largely sidestepped a question Thursday regarding why Democrats are having conversations about removing Trump during a news conference in New York City.
«We have a responsibility as a separate and co-equal branch of government to defend the American people, and we want to be able to do it in an informed way,» Jeffries said before pivoting to criticizing Republicans over the cost of living.
«We’ve ruled nothing out and we’ve ruled nothing in,» Jeffries told MS Now when asked about whether he thought the 25th Amendment should be invoked.
In both appearances Jeffries did not acknowledge that Democrats, who are effectively powerless in Washington, lack the numbers to successfully push impeachment or constitutional mechanisms to oust Trump.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to address the nation from the Cross Hall of the White House on April 1, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
In the 25th Amendment scenario, the power rests with Vice President JD Vance and Trump’s Cabinet, who would have to agree the president is unfit to serve. Assuming Trump were to challenge that decision, two-thirds of the House and Senate — meaning a significant number of Republicans in Congress — would have to vote in support of that judgment.
At present, Democrats also have a math problem when it comes to impeachment and conviction, which requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate. Congressional Democrats failed twice to convict Trump in his first term.
midterm elections, republicans, congress, donald trump, democrats
Óscar Puente llama a cuidar carreteras, vías y puentes como el patrimonio «que se recorre» Por EFE
Argentina enfrentará a Brasil en busca de la clasificación a semifinales del Sudamericano Sub 17: hora, TV y posibles formaciones
Javier Milei confirmó que viajará a Israel para participar del Día de la Independencia a fin de mes
A menos de un mes de haber sido designado, renunció uno de los veedores que debía revisar los balances y contratos de la AFA
El peronismo observa la caída de Milei en las encuestas y debate con qué perfil de candidato enfrentarlo: ¿kirchnerista o moderado?
Renunció uno de los veedores en la AFA y el Gobierno deberá redefinir el control sobre los balances del fútbol
Mario Kart Tour avanza su siguiente temporada de primavera con ciudades europeas – Nintenderos
Melania Trump’s forceful Epstein denial draws bipartisan support from lawmakers
Un gobernador presentó un amparo contra la reforma de la Ley de Glaciares y pidió suspender su aplicación
Trump blasts Biden admin for releasing illegal immigrant now charged in fatal hammer attack on Florida mother
-
SOCIEDAD7 horas agoMario Kart Tour avanza su siguiente temporada de primavera con ciudades europeas – Nintenderos
-
INTERNACIONAL7 horas agoMelania Trump’s forceful Epstein denial draws bipartisan support from lawmakers
-
POLITICA6 horas agoUn gobernador presentó un amparo contra la reforma de la Ley de Glaciares y pidió suspender su aplicación