FIRST ON FOX: Senate Republicans last month were able to advance President Donald Trump’s desire to clawback billions in federal spending, an effort carried to fruition for the first time in nearly three decades by a first-term senator.

While the effort to slash funding to NPR, PBS and foreign aid was born in the White House, it was executed thanks in large part to Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.

Schmitt, who was first elected to the Senate in 2022, has become an envoy of sorts for Trump’s agenda in the upper chamber. He has a strong relationship with the president that dates back to his first campaign, which has developed into a regular invite to join Trump for rounds of golf.

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He’s launched probes against former President Joe Biden’s alleged mental decline, helped smooth over concerns during passage of Trump’s «big, beautiful bill» and contends that «intuitively» he understands the president’s America First message. 

And his role in bridging the gap between the White House and the Senate, along with negotiating among his conference to get the $9 billion package across the line, has seen his stock rise immensely within the Senate GOP.

But, in an interview with Fox News Digital, he said his entire goal is to just be helpful.

«I think I approach it with that kind of humility,» Schmitt said. «But I also, I want to be successful, and I want the agenda to move forward. I think it’s really important. Being on the golf course with President Trump is a great honor, and we have a lot of fun. He’s a very good golfer.»

Schmitt, who previously served as Missouri’s attorney general before launching a bid for the Senate, regularly clashed with the Biden administration and said that his role of rebuking lockdowns, vaccine mandates, censorship and mass migration informed how he currently views legislating.

SENATE TO DEBATE TRUMP’S $9B CLAWBACK BILL AFTER DRAMATIC LATE-NIGHT VOTES

President Donald Trump tees off during the opening ceremony for the Trump International Golf Links golf course, near Aberdeen, Scotland, on July 29, 2025.  (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

«My job was to stand in the gap and fight back, with the hopes that President Trump would return,» he said.

Trump endorsed Schmitt in 2022, and in return the lawmaker became one of the first senators to back his reelection campaign the following year. That turned into Schmitt becoming a mainstay on the campaign trail, jetting across the country in Trump Force One where «Big Macs and double cheeseburgers and quarter pounders with cheese» flowed.

And when Trump won, Schmitt had the opportunity to leave the Senate and join the administration as attorney general, but he opted to stay in the upper chamber.

Had he jumped ship, Trump’s recissions package may not have been able to pass muster with the Senate GOP, where appropriators raised concerns about the impact that clawing back already agreed-upon spending would have on the government funding process and others raised issues with the funding that was targeted.

«This wouldn’t have happened without Eric Schmitt,» Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., told Fox News Digital. 

Britt was part of the same 2022 class of freshman senators as Schmitt, which included other notable Republicans, like Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and Vice President J.D. Vance.

She said Schmitt’s leadership on the rescissions package, like listening to lawmakers’ concerns and negotiations with Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, to take the lead on the package, led to a final product that could actually pass in the diverse Senate GOP.

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Sen. Katie Britt talks to reporters following the weekly Senate Republican Caucus policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on January 14, 2025, in Washington. (Chip Somodevilla)

Indeed, Schmitt agreed to allow as many amendments to the bill as lawmakers wanted and included his own change to the clawback that would save funding for global AIDS and HIV prevention — a key change that helped bring more Republicans on board.

«When Eric speaks, people listen,» Britt said. «And he is thoughtful about when he uses his voice, and when he does it most definitely makes an impact.»

Schmitt, however, is more humble in how he views his part in the process.

«People can label,» Schmitt said. «I don’t get too hung up on any of that. Like for me, honestly, I feel fortunate to be in the position that I’m in. There’s really not a lot of daylight between the President’s agenda and the things that I support.»

Still, he was hopeful that another recissions package would come, describing it as «a good exercise for us,» but noted that the timing for the remaining fiscal year would be tricky given the GOP’s continued push to blast through Democrats’ blockade on nominees and the looming government funding deadline when lawmakers return after Labor Day.

But getting the first one done was key to opening the door for more.

«I think that was also part of what was on the line,» he said. «When we were, you know, in the middle of the night, trying to make sure we had the votes, was that we have to prove that we have the ability to do it. And once you do it, there’s muscle memory associated with that. There’s a cultural shift in how we view things.»

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However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has demanded that Republicans commit to a bipartisan appropriations process and eschew further rescissions packages.

Should another come from the White House in the waning days of this fiscal year, it could spell trouble in Congress’ bid to avert a partial government shutdown by Sept. 30.

«I really think it would be a bad idea for Republicans to alter our course of action based on what Democrat threats are,» Schmitt said. «At the end of the day, they’re an obstructionist party without a message, without a messenger.» 

President Donald Trump is preparing to announce new secondary tariffs Friday on nations who conduct trade with Russia amid its deadly war in Ukraine. 

The White House has remained tight-lipped on what those tariffs will look like after the president first said in July they would amount to «100%» tariffs before causing confusion earlier this week when he told reporters he «never said a percentage.»

While the specifics of what tax rates nations that trade with Russia could face remain unclear, Trump’s change in posture toward Russian President Vladimir Putin has become increasingly evident. 

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«Trump’s frustrated that the Russians have not taken advantage of his patience and generous offers, but it’s very interesting that even after Trump announced he was moving submarines, and even after he announced the tough tariffs, the Russians still want to talk to him,» Fred Fleitz, who served as a deputy assistant to Trump and chief of staff of the National Security Council during the president’s first term, told Fox News Digital.

«Putin does not want to anger Trump,» he added. «Putin never worried about angering Biden, and I think that this shows a degree of respect. 

«It shows what Trump has achieved by exercising leadership on the global stage. And we’ll see what happens,» Fleitz said, adding he hoped it was not merely a stalling tactic by Putin.

Trump’s return to the White House brought with it a sense of shock as he appeared to distance Washington from its top allies in Europe in favor of attempting to improve diplomatic relations with Putin, culminating in the infamous Oval Office showdown with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February. 

While the tussle brought renewed support from his top MAGA base, who favor ending U.S. involvement in foreign wars, it prompted concern among security experts. Ultimately, Trump’s patience with Putin began to shift, with the president consistently expressing his frustration at the Kremlin chief’s continued brutal attacks in Ukraine. 

In mid-July, while sitting next to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump announced Putin had 50 days to enter into a ceasefire or face «very severe» tariffs that would affect Moscow’s top commodity, oil. 

President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Oval Office of the White House Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

ZELENSKYY TELLS PUTIN TO ‘BE BRAVE’ AND FINALLY AGREE TO TRILATERAL MEETING WITH TRUMP

«Tariffs at about 100%, you’d call them secondary tariffs,» he had said, indicating that nations that trade with Russia will see 100% tariffs slapped on them when trading with the U.S. 

This would most greatly affect China and India, according to data released by the U.S. government Thursday, which showed both nations account for 46% of all Russian oil purchases in 2025.

But the U.S. is also the No. 1 export market for both China and India, which means higher price tags at the checkout line on their products will make Americans think twice before completing those purchases. 

After ongoing trade negotiations with both nations and Putin’s continued war effort in Ukraine, Trump last week pushed up his deadline to within 10 days of July 29, forcing a new deadline of Friday.

But while his promised tariffs were met with applause by some in the GOP, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. — he, along with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-N.Y., is pushing the charge for 500% sanctions on Russia — other Republican members have not backed the move. 

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has been outspoken against not only Trump’s tariffs but the bipartisan sanction push and argued to Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow this week that Trump’s tariffs on allies and foes alike will amount to $2 trillion in taxes for the American consumer.

But Fleitz pushed back on this argument and said he is not convinced that the tariffs will hurt the U.S. or Chinese economy, though Russia and India are likely to feel the pain. 

«I think they’re going to hurt the Russian and Indian economies,» he said, noting that India could recover by buying oil elsewhere. Though some reporting has suggested that India may have saved over $30 billion by increasingly turning to Russian oil during 2022-2024 due to Moscow’s price cuts. 

President Donald Trump displays a signed executive order imposing tariffs on imported goods during a «Make America Wealthy Again» trade announcement event in the Rose Garden of the White House April 2, 2025. (Getty Images/Andrew Harnik)

TRUMP OPEN TO MEET PUTIN FACE-TO-FACE NEXT WEEK FOLLOWED BY THREE-WAY TALKS WITH UKRAINE’S ZELENSKYY

«It is going to be another factor that’s going to pressure Putin to agree to a ceasefire. I don’t know if that’s going to happen immediately or in a few months, but I think it is going to put real pressure, inflict real pain on Russia,» Fleitz said. 

Once a staunch Trump ally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R- Ga., took to X this week in response to a post by Trump that he would be enforcing tariffs on India for purchasing Russian oil and said, «End Indian H1-B visas replacing American jobs instead and stop funding and sending weapons to the Obama/Biden/Neocon Ukraine Russia war.»

Trump’s favorable transition toward Ukraine and European allies has also ruffled some MAGA feathers, though security experts have argued it has given the president better leverage to take on major adversaries like Putin, and by extension, China. 

President Donald Trump, right, and Mark Rutte, NATO secretary general, shake hands during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., July 14, 2025.  (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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«Diplomacy and negotiations are a good thing,» said Fleitz, who serves as vice chair of the America First Policy Institute’s Center for American Security. «Peacemaking takes time, and the U.S.-Russia relationship was in a very bad situation when Trump came to office.

«I think these sanctions will hurt Russia very badly,» Fleitz continued. «The fact that Trump knows that secondary sanctions on India has, at least temporarily, hurt our relationship is really a remarkable sign of how committed Trump is to these sanctions.

«There’s not going to be exceptions. It’s not going to be some type of soft strategy with all kinds of loopholes,» he added. «I think it shows to Putin how serious Trump is, and it gives Trump leverage to negotiate with Putin.»

Sin grandes gestos y con un perfil más reservado, el papa León XIV cumple este viernes sus primeros tres meses de Pontificado con una impronta distinta a la de su antecesor, Francisco.

Introvertido y cauto, Robert Prevost se muestra hoy más preocupado por escuchar e impulsar la unidad de una Iglesia dividida por el “progresismo” de Jorge Bergoglio que por tomar decisiones que marquen el futuro de su propio gobierno.

Si bien el papa peruano-estadounidense sigue la misma línea reformista que el papa argentino, dejó claro desde el principio que estaba dispuesto a restablecer algunas tradiciones vaticanas desterradas durante el último pontificado.

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Así, León XIV dejó de lados los autos modestos que trasladaban a Francisco, reanudó las vacaciones veraniegas en la lujosa residencia de Castel Gandolfo, en las afueras de Roma y se mudó al Palacio Apostólico. Francisco, en cambio, durmió durante sus casi 12 años de pontificado en la modesta Casa de Santa Marta.

Los italianos, que por cercanía suelen estar más al tanto del devenir cotidiano del Vaticano, sienten la diferencia, en especial aquellos menos comprometidos con la fe católica que se vieron seducidos por esos inconfundibles “gestos” de Bergoglio.

“Este papa indudablemente atrae mucho menos a nivel emotivo e instintivo que el papa Francisco. Bergoglio, desde sus primeras palabras, se hizo querer. Tenía un modo de comunicar empático, con una sonrisa abierta. Le gustó mucho a las personas comunes, incluso laicos y ateos”, reflexionó en diálogo con TN la fotógrafa y documentalista italiana Francesca Ragusa.

León XIV recorre el camino de Francisco, pero a su propio ritmo

León XIV rara vez ha sido noticia más allá de sus posicionamientos claros a favor del fin de la guerra de Gaza y sus cuestionamientos al gobierno israelí tras el bombardeo a la única capilla cristiana del enclave palestino devastado por 22 meses de conflicto.

Ha dedicado gran parte de sus primeros tres meses de gobierno a escuchar. Participó de numerosas audiencias, pero no viajó al exterior ni realizó grandes cambios, como sí hizo Francisco al asumir el trono de Pedro. Prevost parece privilegiar su veta diplomática.

Su hito más importante de estos primeros tres meses de pontificado fue su participación en el Jubileo de los Jóvenes celebrado en Roma, donde fue aclamado por decenas de miles de asistentes, aunque no está “haciendo lío” como Bergoglio.

“Está recorriendo el camino de Francisco. Lo hace a su ritmo y a sus pasos. Pero a medida que pasa el tiempo han surgido señales del entendimiento entre ambos”, dijo a TN la periodista y escritora italiana Francesca Ambroggeti, coautora de los libros “El Jesuita” y “El Pastor”, sobre la vida y el pensamiento del papa argentino.

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Para Ambrogetti esas señales tienen que ver con la “vocación misionera” que comparten ambos papas. “Francisco decía que el próximo pontífice debía ser un pastor. Él nunca dudó de eso, como tampoco hay dudas de que León XIV es un pastor. Con él la Iglesia profundiza el rumbo de ampliar horizontes que había marcado Francisco”, indicó.

Pero las diferencias de estilo son palpables. “Prevost tiene un temperamento distinto. No es un reaccionario, pero no comunica como Bergoglio. Tiene una personalidad mas reservada que se hace difícil de descifrar, aunque en este Jubileo comenzó a crear una relación de empatía con los jóvenes” católicos, dijo Ragusa.

Unidad de la Iglesia y un fuerte compromiso por la paz

Prevost busca privilegiar la unidad de la Iglesia por sobre todas las cosas. Allí parece estar la clave de su elección en el cónclave cardenalicio de mayo pasado. León XIV es un papa que sigue la línea aperturista de Francisco, pero con un estilo menos avasallante y progresista que Francisco, un perfil “tolerable” para el ala más ortodoxa del Vaticano, hoy en minoría.

De hecho, a contramano de las primeras decisiones de Francisco al asumir, no realizó nombramientos claves ni hizo declaraciones que causaron grietas en la Iglesia, como cuando el papa argentino se refirió a la homosexualidad con la recordada frase “¿quién soy yo para juzgar?“ que provocó la ira del sector más duro de la Curia.

“León XIV es un gerente muy reservado, alguien a quien le gusta hacer su tarea. Aún no ha hecho nombramientos importantes, pero ha acogido muchas audiencias, como una forma de escuchar. Está pensando cómo va a dirigir la empresa y se guarda sus cartas en secreto”, afirmó Christopher White, autor del libro “Papa León XIV: Dentro del Cónclave y el Amanecer de un Nuevo Papado”, citado por The Guardian.

Pero el nuevo papa sí decidió meterse de lleno en la geopolítica mundial. De hecho, se reunió dos veces con el presidente ucraniano, Volodimir Zelenski, y habló por teléfono con el mandatario ruso, Vladimir Putin, en busca de consensos para terminar la guerra en Ucrania. Incluso, reafirmó la disposición del Vaticano de acoger eventuales conversaciones de paz.

Además, reforzó los cuestionamientos vaticanos a Israel tras el ataque a la parroquia católica de Gaza. Incluso, conversó con el primer ministro de ese país, Benjamin Netanyahu. Su discurso se endureció con una fuerte condena a la “barbarie” de la guerra y “el uso indiscriminado de la fuerza” contra la población palestina.

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El gobierno de Israel se había distanciado de Francisco por sus posicionamientos sobre el conflicto. Tras la muerte del pontífice argentino, pasaron algunos días hasta que se conoció una reacción oficial. Ahora, León XIV se maneja en la misma dirección que su antecesor.

“Se mueve con cautela, pero es claro en su denuncia del gobierno israelí. Esto representa un problema para Israel porque, a diferencia de Francisco, quien podría haber sido considerado un poco imprudente, demuestra que nada ha cambiado en el continuo apoyo del Vaticano a los derechos palestinos”, dijo Marco Politi, periodista vaticano y autor del libro “La revolución inconclusa: La Iglesia después de Francisco”, también citado por el diario británico.

Además, a diferencia de Bergoglio, Prevost busca delegar muchas de sus decisiones. De hecho, el ataque israelí a la parroquia de Gaza mereció pronunciamientos fuertes del secretario de Estado, Pietro Parolin, y del cardenal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, patriarca católico latino de Jerusalén.

“No quiere ser como Francisco, que trabajaba solo y tomaba decisiones solo”, concluyó Politi.