Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips announced Friday that he had to lay off ‘a lot’ of his campaign staff as he faces difficulties raising enough cash to operate his campaign the way he wants to, but said he will remain in the race for the White House.

‘I found it almost impossible to raise enough to do this campaign the way I want. And today, sadly, I had to announce layoffs to a lot of my staff members,’ Phillips, who currently represents Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District in the House, said in a video shared to X.

Describing those he laid off as ‘amazing people who gave up a lot personally and a lot professionally’ to help his campaign, Phillips said it was a ‘really tough day’ between himself and those who were let go.

Despite the layoffs, Phillips vowed to remain in the race, insisting that’s a ‘promise’ he made to those who are no longer working on his campaign.

‘I made a promise to them, and I’m gonna make it to you,’ he continued. ‘I’m not giving up. I’m going to continue. I’m on ballots in 43 states, our country is desperate for change.’

‘We can be hopeful again, we can be optimistic again, and we can celebrate America again. But we gotta do it together,’ he added.

Speaking to his supporters in the video, Phillips said, ‘I’m going to continue this journey as long as you want this journey continued.’

The video of Phillips featured repeated pleas for financial support for his campaign, which has struggled in recent weeks as incumbent President Biden strengthens his hold on Democratic voters.

‘I love you all and thank you for keeping the faith,’ he said. ‘Join me, the Dean team, we can do it.’

Phillips, who announced he was entering the 2024 White House race with a long-shot Democratic primary challenge against Biden last October, has so far struggled against the president in a handful of key, early-voting states.

In the New Hampshire Democratic primary election last month, Phillips garnered 20% of the vote, compared to Biden who earned 64% as a write-in-candidate. In the South Carolina Democratic primary election earlier this month, Phillips was wiped out by Biden who earned 96% of the vote. Phillips failed to clear 2% support in that election and was also topped by Marianne Williamson, who ended her campaign last week.

Phillips is set to go up against Biden again this month in the Feb. 27 Michigan Democratic primary election.

Following Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report this month that found Biden struggled to remember basic events in his life, Phillips said Biden’s ‘decline’ was clear.

The report outlined instances where Biden had a difficult time remembering key details and events, including when he served as vice president and the exact date his son, Beau, died.

‘Anybody who has their eyes open can see what’s going on,’ Phillips said of Biden. ‘I think it’s a shame. I think it’s embarrassing. And I think it’s sad. And I think it’s a shame for a president who could cement a legacy, pass the torch and do what’s best for the country. It’s not just about him.’

‘[W]e all see with our own eyes his speeches and the decline. He’s an 81-year-old man,’ Phillips said, adding that Biden would serve until 2029 if he were re-elected.

Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who is likely to be the next secretary-general of NATO, urged fellow European leaders to stop ‘whining’ about former President Trump.

The blunt admonition comes days after the GOP 2024 front-runner suggested the U.S. should not honor its NATO commitments if European countries do not increase their defense contribution to the North Atlantic alliance. Trump’s comments sparked outrage throughout Europe and provoked an immediate condemnation from President Biden’s White House. 

‘We should stop moaning and whining and nagging about Trump,’ Rutte said Saturday at the Munich Security Conference. 

‘It’s up to the Americans. I’m not an American, I cannot vote in the U.S. We have to work with whoever is on the dance floor,’ he added. 

Rutte, who is retiring from Dutch politics in July, said that Europe should increase its defense spending and ramp up ammunition production whether or not Trump returns to the White House in 2024. 

He also said it was in the continent’s interests to increase support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion. 

Rutte is the front-runner to succeed NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg, who will step down in October, according to Reuters. He has said he would not campaign for the job. 

Stoltenberg was among those who lambasted Trump’s comments this week, stating that the forme president’s rhetoric ‘undermines’ the security of its members.

‘The whole idea of NATO is that an attack on one ally will trigger a response from the whole alliance, and as long as we stand behind that message together, we prevent any military attack on any ally,’ Stoltenberg said at a press conference Wednesday.

He continued, ‘Any suggestion that we are not standing up for each other, that we are not going to protect each other, that does undermine the security of all of us.’

The warning came after Trump offered harsh words for NATO allies at a campaign rally last week, going so far as to suggest that the U.S. would not defend NATO allies that do not contribute their full share.

Trump recalled a conversation he had with the president ‘of a big country,’ who he says asked him if they did not increase their defense contribution to the North Atlantic alliance ‘and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?’

‘NATO was busted until I came along,’ Trump said. ‘I said, ‘Everybody’s gonna pay.’ They said, ‘Well, if we don’t pay, are you still going to protect us?’ I said, ‘Absolutely not.’ They couldn’t believe the answer.’

While Stoltenberg expressed concern at Trump’s remarks, the former president’s comment did spark a rush to confirm member countries’ contributions in the coming year.

The NATO chief announced that 18 of the alliance’s 31 members are on track to meet their pledges of contributing 2% of GDP to the group. European states are on track to contribute $380 billion this year, and Germany will meet its 2% pledge for the first time since the Cold War.

Rutte suggested that focusing on Trump’s comments only serves to distract from supporting Ukraine and meeting NATO’s commitments. 

‘And all that whining and moaning about Trump. I hear that constantly over the last couple of days. Let’s stop doing that,’ Rutte said, adding that after talking with U.S. politicians in Munich he was ‘cautiously optimistic’ that Congress will pass the national security supplemental package with funding for Ukraine. 

Fox News Digital’s Timothy H.J. Nerozzi, Anders Hagstrom and Reuters contributed to this report. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy extended an offer to Former President Trump to visit Ukraine and even take him to the front lines, during his appearance Saturday at the Munich Security Conference. 

‘If Mr. Trump will come, I am ready even to go with him to the front line,’ Zelenskkyy said on Saturday, followed by applause from the audience. 

‘I think if we are in dialogue how to finish the war, we have to demonstrate people who are decision-makers, what does it mean — the real war. Not on Instagram — the real war,’ he continued. 

Zelenskyy noted that he had extended this same offer to Trump before, but that the visit ultimately depended on Trump. 

‘I invited him publicly but it depends on his wishes,’ Zelenskyy stated. 

Zelenskyy also commented that the invitation was open to candidates and officials in both parties, stating he was a proponent of bipartisan support. 

Trump, the current GOP frontrunner, has been vocal in his stance against sending additional aid to Ukraine. Just this past week, Trump called on Republicans to block a $95 billion package that would provide aid to both Ukraine and Israel. 

The White House recently criticized the former President’s remarks after a campaign speech in Conway, South Carolina where Trump encouraged Russia to do ‘whatever the hell they want’ to NATO members that did not meet spending guidelines on defense, calling them ‘appalling and unhinged.’

‘NATO was busted until I came along,’ Trump said during the speech. ‘I said, ‘Everybody’s gonna pay.’ They said, ‘Well, if we don’t pay, are you still going to protect us?’ I said, ‘Absolutely not.’ They couldn’t believe the answer.’

Zelenskky’s appearance at the Munich Security Conference comes as Russia’s war on Ukraine nears its second anniversary this month. Zelenskyy spoke on an ‘artificial deficit’ in ammunition as well as continued support from the international community. 

Zelenskyy also stood alongside Vice President Kamala Harris during a joint press conference where the Vice President pledged continued U.S. support of Ukraine.

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom and Landon Mion contributed to this report. 

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito temporarily halted the Boy Scouts of America’s $2.46 billion settlement Friday following decades of sexual abuse claims after a group of claimants appealed. 

Alito issued the stay ‘pending further order of the undersigned or of the Court.’ The stay gives the court additional time to decide a February 9 request by the 144 abuse claimants seeking to block the settlement from moving forward. 

The claimants are a small group of the 82,000 who filed claims for payment in the Boy Scouts of America’s bankruptcy. They previously asked the Court to halt the organization’s bankruptcy settlement, arguing that the settlement unlawfully prevents them from pursuing lawsuits against other organizations that are not bankrupt, including churches that ran scouting programs and local Boy Scout councils. 

Retired bankruptcy judge Barbara Houser, the trustee in charge of administering the Boy Scouts settlement, said the order will suspend all work on the settlement, including ‘evaluating claims and mailing checks to abuse survivors,’ according to Reuters. More than 3,000 men have already been paid nearly $8 million by the settlement trust. 

‘This is an administrative stay only and is not a decision on the merits of the plaintiffs’ application for a stay of the plan,’ the Boy Scouts of America told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

‘As BSA’s brief in opposition to the stay application explained to the Court, the BSA plan has already been effective for ten months and will fully compensate all Scouting-abuse survivors. Staying that plan now would inflict severe harm on both the Scouting movement and Scouting-abuse survivors, many of whom have already waited decades for compensation and emotional closure,’ the organization said. ‘We look forward to the Court’s ruling soon on the stay application. We hope the Court will swiftly deny the application and permit the BSA plan’s settlement trustee to resume her work compensating survivors.’

‘They’ve waited a long time to be able to bring claims for their abuse in Scouting,’ Gillion Dumas, one of the lawyers whose firm is currently representing 69 of the claimants, told Fox News Digital. ‘They appealed the Boy Scout bankruptcy because the plan takes away their right to sue sponsoring organizations and local Boy Scout councils – organizations that caused their abuse and are not bankrupt. 

These claimants are excited about the Court’s order. While the order is temporary, it shows that the Supreme Court takes their appeal seriously,’ Dumas said. 

John Reeves, an attorney representing the claimants, told Fox News Digital that temporary stays such as the one issued by Alito only occur ‘in the most extraordinary of circumstances,’ thus demonstrating ‘how seriously he and the other justices are taking the claimants’ argument.’ 

‘Only the national Boy Scouts of America organization has declared bankruptcy, but its bankruptcy plan also discharges non-bankrupt Local Councils and Chartered Organizations from civil liability,’ Reeves said. ‘This is a blatant violation of the claimants’ due process rights. We look forward to further litigating this issue before the Court, and are cautiously optimistic that it will ultimately grant us a full, permanent stay of the bankruptcy plan.’

Fox News Digital has reached out to Dumas for additional comment. 

The bankruptcy deal was upheld by a federal judge in the U.S. District Court of Delaware last March. The plan would allow the Texas-based organization to continue operating while it compensated the sexual abuse claimants. 

The ruling rejected arguments claiming the bankruptcy plan was not proposed in good faith and that it improperly strips insurers and survivors of their rights. 

The Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy in 2020 following the passing of several laws allowing accusers the opportunity to sue over abuse allegations that were decades old. The organization later reached a settlement that was approved in court in 2022. The settlement would pay between $3,500 and $2.7 million to abuse victims.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the key battleground town of Avdiivka in the east of the country, which could pave the way for a Russian advance as the war nears its second anniversary. 

The withdrawal, announced as Ukraine faces acute shortages of ammunition with U.S. military aid delayed for months in Congress, aimed to save troops from being fully surrounded by Russian forces after months of fierce fighting, Kyiv said.

Most of the city’s pre-war population of 32,000 people has already left, and the town has been almost completely destroyed.

General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who took the helm of the Ukrainian military in a major shakeup last week, announced the withdrawal as a tactical move to save the lives of troops in a town that has been under heavy attack for months.

‘I decided to withdraw our units from the town and move to defense from more favorable lines in order to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of servicemen.’

‘Our soldiers performed their military duty with dignity, did everything possible to destroy the best Russian military units, inflicted significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment,’ he said.

Russia stepped up its offensive on Avdiivka in October and Ukraine’s position had been looking increasingly fraught for weeks.

The Third Assault Brigade, a prominent Ukrainian infantry assault unit, was rushed into the town to help reinforce troops this week as other Ukrainian forces pulled back from the southeast of the town. The unit described the fighting as ‘hell’ and said on social media that Ukrainian defenders had been outnumbered by Russian forces by a ratio of about six to 100 in some places.

The withdrawal is seen as a massive win for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the biggest since Russia captured the city of Bakhmut in May 2023.

The timing is critical as Russia is looking for a morale boost ahead of the second anniversary on February 24 of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the March presidential election in Russia. It also comes in the wake of news that Putin critic and opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died at the age of 47.

It comes just days after National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the town was at risk of falling into Russian control.

‘This is happening because Ukrainian forces on the ground are running out of artillery ammunition,’ Kirby said during a press briefing Thursday. 

‘Russia is sending wave after wave of conscript forces to attack Ukrainian positions, and because Congress is yet to pass the supplemental bill, we’ve not been able to provide Ukraine with the artillery shells that they desperately need to disrupt these Russian assaults.’

The United States is Ukraine’s biggest single supporter but some $60 billion for Kyiv is being held up by political disagreements among American lawmakers.

Earlier this month, all 27 countries of the European Union agreed on a €50 billion ($54 billion) financial aid package to Ukraine.

The withdrawal came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday made another trip to western Europe, hoping to press his country’s Western allies to keep providing military support.

Speaking at the Munich security conference on Saturday, Zelenskyy urged Western countries to help Ukraine defeat Putin, saying that the war poses a threat to the entire world.

‘How long will the world let Russia be like this? This is the main question today,’ Zelenskyy said.

‘Please, everyone in the world, do not ask Ukraine when the war will end. Ask yourself – why is Putin still able to continue it. Let’s not fear Putin’s defeat and the destruction of his regime. Let’s instead – work together to destroy what he stands for. It is his fate to lose, not the fate of the rules-based world order to vanish. And may our world, based on rules, never become the world of yesterday.’

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.