INTERNACIONAL
Republican unveils Declaration of Independence bill ahead of America’s 250th birthday
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A newly elected Republican lawmaker is putting America’s founding principles back before Congress ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday, arguing the country must recommit to them as socialist ideas gain traction on the left.
Rep. Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn., unveiled legislation reaffirming the Declaration of Independence — a move he said follows a congressional tradition of marking major national anniversaries with the founding document.
«Congress did this in America 100 to celebrate the 100th Anniversary,» Van Epps told Fox News Digital in an interview. «We felt like this was the right time to do it so that generations forward understand that we love our country at America 250.»
The Tennessee Republican, who was elected in a December 2025 special election, said he filed the bill in response to socialism’s rise in the Democratic Party, with the far-left attempting a major power grab ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Rep. Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn., leaves the House Republican Conference caucus meeting at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
AMERICA’S NEXT 250 YEARS DEPEND ON PASSING FAITH AND FREEDOM TO OUR CHILDREN
Van Epps specifically referenced a slate of socialist candidates poised to serve in Congress after winning primaries in deep-blue districts anchored in New York City.
Democratic congressional nominee Darializa Avila Chevalier, a 32-year-old activist who won an upset victory against an establishment Democrat, has argued that the deportation of any illegal migrant is wrong, voiced support for the prison abolition movement and questioned Israel’s right to exist. She also co-founded a pro-Palestinian organization at Columbia University that called for «the total eradication of Western civilization.»
«These folks that are supported and endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America are antithetical to the founding,» Van Epps told Fox News Digital. «We’ve got to fight against that.»
«Socialism, Marxist, leftist ideas have failed every time they’ve been tried in the history of the world,» he continued, adding that those ideas are «not America at its core.»
«What the founders set out to do 250 years ago … We’ve got to continue so that the next generations know about that freedom and liberty and pursuing that greatness.»
It is unclear when the House will consider the resolution, as lawmakers left Washington early for the July 4 recess after a group of conservative Republicans effectively froze the floor in protest over the SAVE America Act and border security priorities.
Rep. Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn., unveiled legislation reaffirming the Declaration of Independence. (iStock)
MAMDANI-BACKED SOCIALIST IN HOT SEAT AGAIN OVER DELETED POSTS PRAISING COMMUNISM, MARXISM: ‘CRAZYPANTS’
Earlier this month, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., also put the Declaration of Independence on the floor in the Senate, where it easily passed in the upper chamber.
Both Schmitt and Van Epps agreed to put forward companion legislation after playing in the annual Congressional baseball game ahead of America’s 250th birthday.
For Schmitt, it was to reinvigorate Americans’ pride in their country, which over the years, he contended, has steadily declined.
«A generation ago, American pride was nearly universal,» Schmitt said on the Senate floor at the time. «After 9/11, more than 90% of Americans said they were proud to be an American. Today, Gallup puts that number at 58%.»
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., talks to reporters as he leaves a Republican Caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol on November 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
He described the idea behind the document as an inheritance passed down through the generations to remind Americans why the founding fathers opted to wrench control of the colonies’ future from England, and carve their own path as a new nation.
«That inheritance now rests in our hands, and too many powerful voices in this country teach the next generation to receive it with suspicion instead of gratitude,» Schmitt said. «We are done being ashamed of America. We love our country. We honor the men who built it. We give thanks for the inheritance they placed in our hand, and we intend to keep it.»
politics, republicans elections, american stories, democratic party, congress
INTERNACIONAL
¿Rusia planea atacar Polonia? Estados Unidos lanzó una advertencia y crece la inquietud en Europa
Los planes del Kremlin
Putin necesita mostrar una victoria
La estrategia
El rol de los países bálticos
El artículo 5 de la OTAN
INTERNACIONAL
Trump grants pardons to ‘persecuted’ mechanics in right-to-repair crackdown: ‘I am setting them all free’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
President Donald Trump on Friday announced full executive pardons for six people he claims were «persecuted» by the Biden administration for simply «fixing their car.»
In a Truth Social post Friday afternoon, the president took aim at federal prosecutions he characterized as part of the «Weaponization and Stupidity» of the prior administration, saying, «I AM SETTING THEM ALL FREE, RIGHT NOW!»
The pardons align with Trump’s broader push to defend the «right to repair.»
Earlier in the week, he signed a presidential memo designed to make it easier for Americans to repair their own vehicles by protecting self-repair rights and opening up options for aftermarket parts.
President Donald Trump previously signed a presidential memo to make it easier for Americans to repair their own cars by protecting the right to fix vehicles and opening up more options for approving aftermarket parts. (Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
FORMER INDIANA REP STEPHEN BUYER RECEIVES FULL PARDON FROM TRUMP FOR 2023 INSIDER TRADING CONVICTION
«It came to my attention because I noticed they were arresting people for fixing their car,» Trump said during an Oval Office news conference. «We rule by common sense.»
The executive clemency is seemingly linked to a federal environmental case involving Elite Diesel Service Inc. and its owner, Troy Lake Sr.
Lake received a full and unconditional pardon Nov. 7, 2025, wiping away his conviction in the case United States v. Elite Diesel Service, Inc. et al.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., joined Fox News in 2025 to discuss the Biden administration’s «EPA overreach» in the case of Troy Lake, a diesel mechanic who was prosecuted for violating the Clean Air Act. (Cynthia Lummis)
WATCH: TRUMP EPA CHIEF SPARKS EXPLOSIVE HEARING SHOWDOWN OVER GLOBAL WARMING ALARM FROM DEMS: ‘I’M TALKING’
According to federal plea agreements, Elite Diesel had instructed employees to disable computerized on-board diagnostic systems on at least 344 heavy-duty commercial trucks between January 2017 and December 2020.
The diagnostic systems are federally mandated under the Clean Air Act to monitor emissions control systems.
Lake was sentenced on Dec. 5, 2024, to more than a year in prison and a $2,500 fine. The company was put on probation for five years, ordered to pay a fine of $37,500 and required to make a $12,500 payment to a Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment program designed to repair emissions systems for low-income drivers.
REPUBLICANS DECLARE WAR ON ‘ORGANIZED THEFT’ WITH GOVERNMENT FRAUD CRACKDOWN
Government prosecutors also argued that Elite Diesel’s co-conspirators, other diesel truck garages and fleets, hired Lake’s company to manipulate the computers so that emission system malfunctions would go undetected, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.
The EPA’s sprawling investigation ultimately swept up eight alleged co-conspirator garages and fleets across seven states, including Kansas, North Dakota and Oklahoma.
The businesses were ordered to pay heavy fines and fund local community service projects, such as buying clean school buses or electric groundskeeping equipment to offset environmental impacts, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The Environmental Protection Agency accused the defendants of diminishing air quality. (Reuters/Andrew Kelly/File Photo)
At the time, Biden administration officials defended the criminal prosecutions as essential for public health.
EPA Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent Lance Ehrig accused the defendants of leading a «large-scale conspiracy» that «diminished air quality.»
A study cited by the prosecution claimed the tampered trucks collectively released more than 1,300 tons of excess nitrogen oxides and other pollutants into the air.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney website has not yet been updated to list the people granted clemency by the president on Friday.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
controversies environment, donald trump, justice department, pollution
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz scolded Iran during this week’s U.N. Security Council meeting, saying Tehran «will not silence» the body following claims by the Islamic Republic’s representative that council members were spreading falsehoods about its recent attack targeting neighboring Gulf states.
«Let me remind you where you are,» Waltz told Iranian diplomat Amir Saeid Iravani. «This is the United States of America. This is the United Nations Security Council. You will not silence this body.»
Waltz’s remarks came during an emergency meeting of the council in response to drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait Sunday after new U.S. airstrikes against Iran.
GULF COUNTRIES STRONGLY CONDEMN IRAN’S DRONE ATTACK ON BAHRAIN AS RISING TENSIONS THREATEN MOU
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz holds up images he said show the aftermath of Iranian drone and missile attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait. (U.N. Security Council)
During his remarks, Iravani argued the council should not have met, while accusing the U.S., Bahrain and other members of lying.
«Once again, the representative of the United States has resorted to lies and disinformation against Iran in a desperate attempt to justify the US’s unlawful acts of aggression,» Iravani said.
He also rejected the «unfounded accusations made by certain Western members of the Council and the representative of Bahrain.»
IRAN HARDLINER BEHIND US DEAL WARNS TEHRAN WON’T HONOR AGREEMENT IF TRUMP FAILS TO DELIVER
Ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani of Iran speaks during a Security Council meeting after members voted on draft resolution on reopening of Strait of Hormuz at U.N. Headquarters. (Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
«Instead of addressing the root cause of the current crisis, they have ignored the unlawful aggression committed against Iran and sought to shift blame onto the victim,» he added. «Their double standards and hypocritical behavior have deprived them of any credibility to lecture others.»
In a post on X, Waltz reiterated his position.
«Iran will not silence us on our own soil,» he wrote. «That might work in Tehran, but not in the UN Security Council. We will tell the truth.»
HOW IRAN ATTACKS ARE FORCING THE PENTAGON TO RETHINK ITS DECADES-OLD MIDDLE EAST BASE STRATEGY
Firefighters work to extinguish fire in the aftermath of Iranian drone attacks, according to Bahrain’s Interior Ministry, at a location given as Bahrain, in this handout image released on June 11, 2026. (Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Bahrain/Handout via Reuters)
During the exchange, Waltz held up what he said were images of the aftermath of the Iranian attacks, including a family whose home in Bahrain was destroyed by a Shahed drone, a hotel full of tourists that was also hit and a building used by first responders that Waltz said was deliberately targeted.
«Are they lying?» Waltz said of the victims of the attack. «Is this hypocrisy? Is this what this council is here to denounce today? I ask the representative, are these lies? … I’d say not.»
Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Bahrain’s minister of foreign affairs, said that, since Feb. 28, the island nation has been subjected to 808 attacks comprising 203 ballistic missiles and 605 armed drones.
«These attacks deliberately targeted civilian facilities, critical infrastructure and residential areas, resulting in the deaths of three innocent civilians and injuries to 465 others,» he said, disputing Tehran’s claim that its aggression is directed solely against military objectives.
Washington and Tehran have repeatedly accused each other of violating a fragile ceasefire agreement. On June 27, President Donald Trump said U.S. forces struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites after Iran violated the deal.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz speaks after the United Nations Security Council voted on a resolution calling for the unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Iran and the Middle East at U.N. headquarters in New York April 7, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The exchanges of fire began when an Iranian drone struck a merchant vessel off Oman last week and the U.S. military retaliated, officials said.
«It is very possible that they will never learn! There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started,» Trump wrote on Truth Social. «If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!»
war with iran, united nations, politics, middle east, security council
El futbolista caboverdiano que dejó su huella en el fútbol argentino
Jornada financiera: las acciones y los bonos argentinos subieron, pero sin la referencia de Wall Street
Quién es Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi, el juez que debilitó el caso $LIBRA
Así se se prepararon Caro Calvagni, Agus Gandolfo y Rocío Espósito para el partido de la Scaloneta: looks, hijos y ansiedad
Pese a la orden de la Corte, Cristina Kirchner busca frenar el remate de sus bienes
La psicología dice que tener una taza favorita y usarla todos los días puede estar vinculado con la búsqueda de seguridad emocional
Con la incorporación de Santilli al Gabinete, el Gobierno relanza su estrategia para las elecciones 2027
En medio de su separación, Magui Bravi contó por primera vez su traumático embarazo: «El parto fue de emergencia y…»
¿Se recupera el mercado de los autos?: qué muestran los números de las cinco marcas que más 0 km venden en el país
Construir los cimientos de la Inteligencia Artificial: los desafíos de la infraestructura del futuro
POLITICA3 días agoCon la incorporación de Santilli al Gabinete, el Gobierno relanza su estrategia para las elecciones 2027
- CHIMENTOS2 días ago
En medio de su separación, Magui Bravi contó por primera vez su traumático embarazo: «El parto fue de emergencia y…»
- ECONOMIA2 días ago
¿Se recupera el mercado de los autos?: qué muestran los números de las cinco marcas que más 0 km venden en el país
