EXCLUSIVE: While Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., has been a vocal opponent of President Donald Trump’s tariff and deportation policies, the president’s latest executive order targeting prescription drug prices inspired the Silicon Valley congressman to trade political disses for diplomacy. 

Khanna proposed legislation on Wednesday to codify Trump’s executive order aimed at lowering drug prices, and the Democrat is urging his Republican colleagues to follow his lead, reaching across the aisle to deliver for everyday Americans. 

«President Trump’s executive order says that Americans should pay the least price. We should not pay any more than people are paying in countries overseas. Then, it gives the Cabinet secretaries the ability to go after Big Pharma companies that are price-gouging. Now, he tried something similar in his previous administration. Big Pharma sued him, it got tied up in courts, nothing happened. That’s why we need Congress to act. I have introduced something that codifies President Trump’s language, and I’m hoping we get a Republican co-sponsor,» Khanna told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. 

As Democrats search for party unity after losing the White House, the Senate and failing to regain the House of Representatives last year, Democrats have gravitated toward an outright rejection of the Trump administration, as depicted through ongoing protests. Khanna, however, said he does not mind if Trump «gets a political win» if it benefits the American people. 

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«If Donald Trump says that’s something that’s good for the American people, I’m not going to oppose it just for political points,» Khanna said. 

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Khanna is considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate and, like many ambitious Democrats, has crisscrossed the United States this year, bringing his vision for America to the national conversation. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., also expected to harbor 2028 ambitions, faced some flack within the party this year for engaging directly with Trump to deliver for Michiganders. 

Rep. Ro Khanna was a campaign surrogate for then-President Joe Biden in 2024 before he dropped out of the race. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

«If Donald Trump has a good idea that’s going to help the American people, we should work with him. If we have a philosophical disagreement, we shouldn’t. But the barometer for me, the test case is, is this helping people? Is this something that I think is going to help this country? Where I have philosophical disagreements, I speak up. But when I think that it is good legislation, I am willing to support him. And I don’t care, like some people, if he gets a political win. So much of politics is, ‘Oh, we don’t want to give the other side a political win.’ For all I care, he can have a great political win if the American public gets lower drug prices,» Khanna told Fox News Digital. 

While Khanna said he has not communicated with Trump directly about codifying his executive order, he delivered a now-viral House floor speech Wednesday, urging his Republican colleagues to join the bipartisan effort to lower prescription drug prices. 

«Are you on the side of the people, or are you on the side of the $16 billion in Big Pharma lobbyist money that was spent last year? My legislation, there’s no trick to it. It is President Trump’s idea, President Trump’s executive order, President Trump’s language into law. Every Republican should support this, and every Democrat should,» Khanna added. 

Ahead of Trump’s executive order signing, Khanna affirmed his support for lowering drug prices, reminding Americans that he proposed similar legislation alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., with the same goal in mind. 

«I just don’t understand why any Republican wouldn’t support this. It’s President Trump’s executive order, and every American agrees that prescription drug price costs are too much, that it’s so unfair that Americans are stuck with all these high bills when other countries are paying pennies on the dollar for their drugs. It’s time that Americans be treated fairly,» Khanna said. 

Democrats have rejected President Donald Trump’s executive orders since his first day back in the Oval Office. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

As Khanna, who was a surrogate for then-President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign in 2024, finds common ground with the current administration, he told Martha MacCallum on «The Story» Wednesday that Biden should not have run in 2024. 

«I do think it’s important that, given what has come out, that we take accountability,» Khanna said. «Obviously, he should not have run. We should be clear to say that. Obviously, there should have been an open primary. And, I don’t think that’s very difficult that Democrats should just be straight up that he should not have run, now that we have all the facts. There should have been an open primary. I think to move on and move forward, it’s important to take accountability and be straight-forward with the American people.»

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While Khanna said he did not have the full picture of Biden’s health and mental acuity when he defended him before the disastrous debate performance, Khanna admitted, «We should be honest as a party that we made a mistake.»

El expresidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, reconoció la grave crisis humanitaria que afecta a la Franja de Gaza, señalando que “muchas personas están muriendo de hambre”. Estas declaraciones se dieron durante un foro empresarial en Abu Dabi, en el marco de su reciente gira por Oriente Medio. Según su análisis, la situación en Gaza es una de las múltiples crisis globales que busca abordar. Este reconocimiento se produce mientras la guerra entre Israel y Hamas amenaza con intensificarse aún más.

Trump afirmó que su administración está observando de cerca los acontecimientos en Gaza y expresó su preocupación por las condiciones extremas que enfrenta la población. “Debemos encargarnos de eso. Mucha gente está muriendo de hambre… Están pasando muchas cosas malas”, declaró. Estas palabras coinciden con un contexto de ataques israelíes en la región, que han dejado decenas de muertos y han incrementado la presión internacional para buscar soluciones al conflicto.

El primer ministro de Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, afirmó que su gobierno está dispuesto a aceptar una pausa temporal en las operaciones militares en la Franja de Gaza con el objetivo de facilitar la liberación de rehenes, pero descartó categóricamente la posibilidad de poner fin a la guerra sin la derrota total del grupo terrorista.

El conflicto fue desatado el 7 de octubre de 2023 con la incursión de miles de yihadistas en el sur de Israel, donde asesinaron, violaron y secuestraron a miles de personas. Desde entonces, las Fuerzas de Defensa han realizado una ofensiva en la que eliminaron a los principales jefes políticos y militares de Hamas, y Netanyahu tiene como objeivo barrer lo que resta de las milicias de la Franja.

“La situación ha cambiado. En los próximos días, entraremos [en Gaza] con toda nuestra fuerza para completar la operación. Completar la operación significa someter a Hamas. Significa destruir a Hamas”, expresó el mandatario.

De acuerdo con funcionarios de salud en Gaza, al menos 64 personas perdieron la vida en ataques israelíes recientes, que se concentraron en áreas como Deir al-Balah y la ciudad de Jan Yunis. Los hospitales locales, como el hospital Indonesio y el hospital Nasser, recibieron los cuerpos de las víctimas. Según informó un funcionario israelí bajo condición de anonimato, estos ataques forman parte de acciones preparatorias para una operación militar de mayor envergadura, cuyo objetivo sería presionar a Hamás para liberar a los rehenes que mantiene cautivos.

En este contexto, las familias de los rehenes han solicitado a su gobierno que colabore con Trump para lograr la liberación de las personas retenidas en Gaza. Un comunicado emitido por un foro de apoyo a las familias expresó su preocupación por los informes de ataques intensificados en la región. Según Israel, se estima que 23 rehenes permanecen con vida. La visita de Trump a Oriente Medio había generado expectativas de un posible cese al fuego o de la renovación de la ayuda humanitaria, pero no se lograron avances concretos en estas áreas.

Durante la parte final de su viaje, Trump también visitó la Casa de la Familia Abrahámica en Abu Dabi, un complejo interreligioso que incluye una mezquita, una iglesia y una sinagoga. Este lugar, construido tras la firma de los Acuerdos de Abraham en 2020, simboliza el reconocimiento de Israel por parte de los Emiratos Árabes Unidos y representa un esfuerzo por fomentar la cooperación entre las tres principales religiones abrahámicas. La visita marcó el cierre de su primer viaje internacional significativo durante su segundo mandato.

En otro tema, Trump expresó su intención de reunirse próximamente con el presidente ruso, Vladímir Putin, afirmando que “es momento de simplemente hacerlo”. Según Trump, Putin no asistió a la reunión en Turquía entre funcionarios ucranianos y rusos porque él no estaba interesado en participar. Trump aseguró que la reunión con Putin se llevará a cabo “tan pronto como la podamos organizar”.

El presidente también aprovechó su visita a Oriente Medio para destacar las relaciones comerciales entre los Emiratos Árabes Unidos y empresas estadounidenses. En un evento empresarial, Trump se refirió a sí mismo como un “animador” para su país, subrayando la importancia de promover los intereses económicos de Estados Unidos en el extranjero. “¿Creen que Biden estaría haciendo esto? No lo creo”, comentó, en una crítica directa a su sucesor.

Finalmente, Trump anunció que regresará a Estados Unidos para conocer a su nuevo nieto, hijo de su hija Tiffany Trump, quien recientemente dio a luz. “Mi hija tuvo un bebé y voy a ir a casa a conocerlo”, declaró, describiendo su viaje a Oriente Medio como “increíble” pero señalando que es momento de volver a casa.

Mientras tanto, en Israel, miembros del gabinete se reunieron para evaluar las negociaciones en Qatar y decidir los próximos pasos en relación con la situación en Gaza. Según un funcionario israelí, estas discusiones son clave para determinar el curso de acción en medio de la creciente tensión en la región.

President Donald Trump on Friday told reporters he wants to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the war in Ukraine «as soon as we can set it up.» 

The president, speaking from Abu Dhabi during the last stop of his four-day Middle East tour, said: «I think it’s time for us to just do it.» 

Trump had said earlier that a meeting between him and Putin was crucial to breaking the deadlock. 

Putin spurned an offer this week by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet face-to-face for peace talks in Istanbul. Trump said he didn’t think Putin would show up if he didn’t attend the talks himself.

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«I said, you know, they all said Putin was going, Zelensky was going, and I said, if I don’t go, I guarantee Putin’s not going. And he didn’t go,» Trump told reporters Friday. 

When asked for a timeline, Trump said, «as soon as we can set it up.» 

In place of Zelenskyy and Putin, a Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov is expected to meet with a low-level Russian team headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the media following an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Antalya, on May 15, 2025, ahead of potential peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Turkey. (UMIT BEKTAS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Officials and observers expect these talks to yield little immediate progress on stopping the more than three-year war between Russia and Ukraine. 

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The two sides are far apart in their conditions for ending the war. Ukraine has accepted a U.S. and European proposal for a full, 30-day ceasefire, but Putin has effectively rejected it by imposing far-reaching conditions.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian government and Western military analysts allege that Russian forces are preparing a fresh military offensive.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy holds a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 13, 2025.  (Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

After Putin declined Zelenskyy’s challenge to sit down with him in the Turkish capital on Thursday, the Ukrainian president accused Moscow of not making a serious effort to end the war by sending a low-level negotiating team that he described as «a theater prop.»

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Even so, Zelenskyy said that he was sending a team headed by his defense minister to Friday’s meeting in Istanbul. That would show Trump that Ukraine is determined to press ahead with peace efforts despite Russian foot-dragging, Zelenskyy said, amid intense diplomatic maneuvering by Kyiv and Moscow.

The Russian delegation also includes three other senior officials, the Kremlin said. Putin also appointed four lower-level officials as «experts» for the talks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Russian delegation and some officials ahead of the Istanbul talks, on May 14, 2025 in Moscow, Russia.  (Kremlin Press Office / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Ahead of Friday’s talks, a three-way meeting between Turkey, the U.S. and Ukraine also took place, per Turkish Foreign Ministry officials. The U.S. side included Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well as retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg.

Rubio on Thursday said he did not foresee any major breakthroughs in Istanbul.

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«We don’t have high expectations of what will happen tomorrow. And frankly, at this point, I think it’s abundantly clear that the only way we’re going to have a breakthrough here is between President Trump and President Putin,» Rubio told reporters Thursday in Antalya, Turkey.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.