INTERNACIONAL
Senators agree to forgo shutdown paychecks — but many won’t feel the pain
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Senators will now go without pay during future government shutdowns, but for many, they don’t need the paycheck.
The Senate unanimously agreed to forgo their paychecks during future shutdowns, with the money being withheld until a deal is struck to reopen the government. But much of the upper chamber is populated with lawmakers who are already wealthy before their time in office.
«There are some members who are very independently wealthy that their congressional paycheck is a rounding error to their investments,» Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital. «Fine, I’m not pejorative of that at all. But we need to actually end government shutdowns.»
SENATORS AGREE TO GO WITHOUT PAY DURING SHUTDOWNS AFTER HISTORIC CLOSURES LEFT WORKERS UNPAID
A sign at the entrance of the U.S. Capitol Visiting Center states it is closed due to a lapse in appropriations after the government shut down. (Probal Rashid/LightRocket)
In the last year, Congress has been unable to keep the government open twice. The first time for 43 days, and the most recent for 76 days.
Republicans worry that before the midterm elections, and before the rule change becomes official, that Senate Democrats may again try to shutter the government to gain a political edge. They hope that the rule change, pushed by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., is at least enough to convince some lawmakers not to do it.
However, nearly three-quarters of the Senate are millionaires, according to an analysis of financial disclosure data reviewed by Fox News Digital and first reported by NOTUS, meaning the fear of missing a paycheck may not be enough to quell the desire to score political points.
SENATE WEIGHS NEW, PAINFUL LEVERAGE TACTIC AS FEARS OF ANOTHER GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN GROW
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., pushed the resolution to dock senators’ pay. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«It certainly doesn’t stop future shutdowns,» Lankford said. «It just says, ‘Hey, people are not being paid, we’re not being paid either.’»
Others were more optimistic that by installing the new guardrails on themselves, it could open the door to future legislation that may take shutdowns off the table entirely — like Lankford’s bill that would automatically extend government funding on a temporary, two-week basis if lawmakers miss the mark.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, who is one of the wealthier members of the Senate, believed that the success of Kennedy’s resolution could open the valve to his legislation that would dock members’ pay during shutdowns.
«It’s about brick by brick, rebuilding confidence in the institution,» Moreno told Fox News Digital.
GOP CAN’T AGREE ON KEY PART OF TRUMP’S HOUSING AFFORDABILITY PUSH AS INFIGHTING CONTINUES
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., speaks to reporters as he arrives for a vote at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 23, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty Images)
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., another of the Senate’s wealthiest members, contended that lawmakers shouldn’t hold federal workers «hostage based on what we’re doing.»
Over the past several months, hundreds of thousands of federal employees went without pay. And in the case of workers under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), they went without paychecks twice.
«Hopefully it’ll get people to focus on getting [appropriations] done, because, you know, we don’t have a process to get this stuff done,» Scott told Fox News Digital.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Meanwhile, Kennedy, who successfully pushed Senate Republican leadership to put the bill on the floor, viewed its success as progress.
But it’s not as far as he wanted to go.
«Look, if I were king for a day, I would pass a bill that doesn’t suspend member pay, it forfeits member pay during a shutdown,» Kennedy told Fox News Digital. «And I will also include in the bill a prohibition against members leaving Washington while we’re in a shutdown. But I don’t have the votes to do that. So I’m doing as much as I can.»
congress, government shutdown, republicans, senate elections, democrats senate, politics
INTERNACIONAL
‘Baked to death’: Homan rips media while sharing horrific scenes from border enforcement career
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
White House border czar Tom Homan erupted at critics of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda Friday, recalling horrific scenes from his decades in border enforcement — including migrants he said were «baked to death» in a tractor-trailer — as he argued that secure borders save lives.
Homan used the graphic stories during remarks at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., to push back on critics who have accused the Trump administration of being inhumane, arguing instead that tougher border enforcement saves lives by deterring migrants from making dangerous journeys controlled by cartels.
«I want to talk about why I’m pissed off this morning,» Homan told the crowd, arguing that media coverage has falsely portrayed Trump’s immigration policies as cruel or inhumane.
BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN SLAMS CATHOLIC CHURCH, SAYS ‘SECURE BORDER SAVES LIVES’
White House border czar Tom Homan is seen as he holds a press conference along the border wall between San Diego, Calif., and Tijuana, Mexico, on Dec. 13, 2025, to announce increased security along the Southwest border. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)
«There’s nothing further from the truth,» Homan said. Rather, the border czar said critics have it backward, arguing that lax border enforcement creates the conditions for migrants to be exploited, assaulted or killed by smugglers and cartels. «What President Trump is doing is saving lives,» Homan told the crowd.
He then described one of the most graphic scenes he said he witnessed during his career in border enforcement.
«I’ve stood in the back of a tractor-trailer with 19 dead people at my feet,» Homan told the crowd at the Washington Hilton Friday morning, adding that the victims included a young boy and that they were found in their underwear while trying to escape extreme heat in the back of the truck.
«They all baked to death,» Homan said. «I got to that crime scene. They’re all in underwear, trying to get some relief from the 170 degree heat in the back of a steel truck with no air. Think of the way these people died.»
TRUMP BORDER CZAR HAS BLUNT MESSAGE FOR SELENA GOMEZ: ‘WHERE’S THE TEARS’ FOR SEX TRAFFICKED CHILDREN?
Texas Department of Public Safety said about 50 illegal immigrants were found in a junkyard tractor trailer in Webb County and turned over to Border Patrol. Five adult males who initially exited the trailer were apprehended. (Texas DPS)
Homan also said he has spoken with young girls who were raped by cartel members while making the journey to the U.S. border.
«I’ve gotten on my knees to talk to little girls as young as 9 that were raped multiple times by members of a cartel,» Homan said.
«That’s what happens when you have an unsecured border,» he added. «Well, guess what? There’s no little 9-year-old girl right now that everybody’s getting on their knees and talking to. President Trump has closed the border down.»
Homan repeatedly defended Trump personally and politically, saying the president has delivered the «most secure border in the history of this nation» and arguing that the administration’s immigration crackdown is aimed at preventing more deaths, trafficking and cartel exploitation.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda has faced criticism from Democrats and immigrant-rights advocates. (Michael M. Santiago and Nathan Howard / Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
«Secure borders save lives,» Homan said near the end of his remarks. «Secure borders protect our national security. No one’s done it better than President Trump. And we ain’t finished yet.»
The remarks came as the Trump administration continues to face criticism from Democrats and immigrant-rights advocates over its mass deportation push, expanded immigration enforcement and efforts to reverse Biden-era border policies. Homan, however, framed the crackdown as a moral necessity, saying the administration is making the country safer while reducing incentives for migrants to place themselves in the hands of criminal cartels.
border security, tom homan, immigration, border wall, mexican cartel violence
INTERNACIONAL
León XIV inaugura el Consistorio: pide franqueza y lealtad a los cardenales para afrontar los desafíos globales
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Video captured a large emergency response after a small plane crashed into Beijing’s tallest skyscraper on Friday, prompting an immediate information blackout from Chinese authorities, The Associated Press reported.
Video and photos shared on social media appear to show the aircraft plummeting to the ground after smashing a large hole in the 108-story CITIC Tower, located in the Chinese capital’s business district.
Police, fire and EMS workers were spotted at the scene preventing witnesses from taking photos and attempting to clear the area.
People gather near the CITIC Tower in Beijing on June 26, 2026, after an eyewitness reported plane debris at the base of Beijing’s tallest building. Video footage taken from a nearby building by the witness showed fire trucks blasting water at smoke billowing from the 528-metre (1,732-foot) CITIC Tower, while the wreck of a plane lay on the ground beside the building. (Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images)
SEE IT: SMALL PLANE CRASH IN CALIFORNIA LEAVES GAPING HOLE IN ROOF, PILOT KILLED
A person working inside the high-rise said the plane crash triggered the building’s fire alarms.
Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 indicated the aircraft was a Sunward SA 60L Aurora, which took off about 30 miles east of the city and crashed shortly before 6 p.m. local time.
ADS-B data for the flight only includes a partial flight path and stops prior to the crash, according to air traffic data.
A hole is seen (R) on the side of the CITIC Tower in Beijing on June 26, 2026, after a reported plane crash. (Peter Catterall/AFP via Getty Images)
FBI SEARCHING FOR OPERATOR OF PRIVATELY OWNED DRONE THAT PUNCHED HOLE IN CANADIAN FIREFIGHTING PLANE
The AP reported that photos and videos of the incident escaped the country’s «great firewall» and were circulated on social media platform X, though Chinese censors have removed content about the crash from the country’s restricted internet.
No information has been released by government officials or state-run media, as of Friday afternoon.
Police personnel block the road near the CITIC Tower in Beijing on June 26, 2026. (Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The cause of the crash, identity of the pilot, and the number of casualties remain unclear.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
video, hong kong, organization, associated press, airlines
‘Baked to death’: Homan rips media while sharing horrific scenes from border enforcement career
Los gobernadores aliados no quieren aparecer como los verdugos de Manuel Adorni
Sueldo empleada doméstica: cuánto cobran por hora y por mes en julio 2026
Máxima tensión en La Plata: manifestantes incendiaron la Municipalidad durante una protesta por una licitación
Los hermanos en el Mundial 2026: la curiosa historia de familias unidas o divididas que se encuentran jugando el Mundial 2026
¿Qué pasó? Estefanía Pasquini se quebró en llanto al lado de Alberto Cormillot y él no pudo decir ni una palabra
Diputados: con el apoyo de bloques aliados, LLA logró frenar la sesión en la que la oposición buscaba interpelar a Adorni
Wos cerró la Gira Bonaerense ’26 con ocho shows que reunieron a 25 mil personas
El desempleo registró una leve baja y alcanzó el 7,8%, pero creció fuerte el trabajo informal
El horóscopo de hoy: martes 23 de junio
ECONOMIA2 días agoNuevos controles a las devoluciones de 30% por gastos en el exterior: cómo pedir el reembolso del dólar tarjeta ante ARCA
- SOCIEDAD2 días ago
Desesperación y burocracia: Pacientes con cáncer denuncian esperas de más de 20 días en PAMI para recibir su medicación
- SOCIEDAD3 días ago
El CEO de Epic Games tiene claro por qué fracasan los nuevos juegos multijugador, y el culpable puedes ser tú y tus amigos
