Several Republican senators have taken issue with the American Bar Association (ABA) and are calling for President Donald Trump to take drastic action against the group. In a letter to ABA President William Bay, lawmakers said the group, which plays a key role in judicial nominations, had become ‘biased and ideologically captured.’ Now, those lawmakers want President Trump to ‘remove the ABA from the judicial nomination process entirely.’

Sen. Eric Schmitt, Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Sen. Josh Hawley, Sen. Bernie Moreno and Sen. Mike Lee are also calling on their fellow senators to ‘disregard the ABA’s recommendations.’

In the explosive letter there are allegations, including that the ABA has taken political stances against the Trump administration and that the group has been quiet about its taking funds from USAID. The federal aid group has been a target of the Trump administration, something the ABA has criticized.

‘The ABA states, ‘Americans expect better.’ But President Trump won both electoral and popular votes. It seems Americans expect — and want — the Trump administration,’ the senators’ letter reads.

Sen. Schmitt tweeted out the letter along with several criticisms of the ABA’s recent actions and statements. In particular, Schmitt took issue with statements the ABA published on Feb. 10 and March 3, both of which were critical of the Trump administration.

‘It has been three weeks since Inauguration Day. Most Americans recognize that newly elected leaders bring change. That is expected. But most Americans also expect that changes will take place in accordance with the rule of law,’ the ABA wrote in its Feb. 10 statement. Additionally, the Feb. 10 statement condemns the ‘dismantling of USAID.’

The senators reference this statement in their letter, saying that the ABA made ‘inflammatory claims’ against the Trump administration ‘without citing legal reasoning for those arguments.’  One of these claims is that the ‘dismantling of USAID’ is illegal, but the senators note that the ABA does not explain why these actions are not permitted under the law.

‘It is questionable whether the ABA is committed to defending liberty or its own sources of funding,’ the senators wrote, referring to the organization’s defense of USAID.

The lawmakers also criticized the ABA’s March 3 statement in which the group slams purported ‘efforts to undermine the courts.’ In their letter, the lawmakers note that the association did not issue any statements against former President Joe Biden when he defied the Supreme Court on student loan forgiveness.

In their letter, the senators call out the ABA’s implementation of diversity, equity and inclusion policies, which the Trump administration has been working to root out of the government.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s warning of a terrorist takeover in Syria looks to be coming true amid reports that al Qaeda-linked terror forces aligned with Syria’s interim new president—a former al Qaeda terrorist—are being accused of massacring Alawites as well as members of the country’s dwindling Christian community. 

Syrian security forces and affiliated gunmen have killed more than 340 civilians, the vast majority of them from the Alawite minority, over the last two days, Rami Abdulrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told Reuters on Saturday.

At Gabbard’s Senate confirmation hearing she said ‘I have no love for Assad or any dictator. I just hate al-Qaeda. I hate that our leaders cozy up to Islamist extremists, calling them ‘rebels’, as Jake Sullivan said to Hillary Clinton, ‘al Qaeda is on our side in Syria.’ Syria is now controlled by al-Qaeda offshoot HTS, led by an Islamist Jihadist who danced in the streets on 9/11, and who was responsible for the killing of many American soldiers.’

An Alawite woman from the region of Al-Ghab plain, where there is a majority Alawite population, told Fox News Digital that the forces said, ‘Alawites are pigs, and they have to execute all of them and the small children before the elderly people.’ 

The witness spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal from the authorities. She said that two militias had entered her house on Thursday and searched her residence for weapons. One of the members ‘put a gun to my head and asked for all my money. They took all the money and took money from our neighbors.’

She confirmed reports that the Islamist forces murdered the prominent Alawite 86-year-old cleric Shaaban Mansour and his son Hussein Shaaban. Reuters reported that Mansour was killed on Friday with his son in the village of Sahlab in western Syria. Residents there accused fighters aligned with Damascus of killing them.

A sizable Christian population living in the area has also reportedly been under attack. Greco-Levantines Worldwide media reported that a young family, including their infant child, was killed on Friday.  A father and son, Tony and Fadi Petrus, were also executed by Islamists.

The witness said that in other Alawite towns—Nahr al-Bared and Deir Shamil—the Islamist militias ‘are entering houses and killing people and stealing everything. They are covering their faces.’ 

‘I feel there is no safety. There is no homeland. There is nowhere to escape to, and no one to defend us. I feel fear and horrifying feelings.’

The witness added that the Islamists are Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other such groups affiliated with HTS, who stormed her region. She said HTS terrorists were Syrian Arabs, because of their spoken Arabic.

Ahmed al-Sharaa and his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a U.S.-designated Sunni terrorist organization, toppled the former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December. Assad is a member of the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. The Alawites comprise roughly 10% of the Syrian population.

The Alawite source told Fox News Digital that the community is seeking support from the U.S., noting that the Islamists ‘want to kill all of us. They don’t want us in Syria. We have to flee Syria. They are seeking revenge from the former regime. I am asking for protection and to live in dignity, because we can be killed at any moment.’ 

One Alawite, who asked to remain anonymous, and who lives in Europe and is in constant contact with her community in Syria, claimed that in the coastal region and Alawite, more than 4,000 people are estimated to have been killed. She claimed to have received lists of people from Alawites who have documented the mass murder.

She and her group wrote on Telegram that al-Sharaa’s ‘fighters have unleashed a wave of terror against civilians in Syria’s coastal cities. Reports from Alawite community sources indicate hundreds of casualties, with Christians also among the victims.’

In his first comments on the violence, interim President al-Sharaa said that government forces would pursue ‘remnants’ of the ousted Bashar Assad government.

‘We will continue to pursue the remnants of the fallen regime. . . . We will bring them to a fair court, and we will continue to restrict weapons to the state, and no loose weapons will remain in Syria,’ Sharaa added in a pre-recorded speech.

The U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, European politicians and diplomats from the former Biden administration have sought to woo Sharaa with sanctions relief and diplomatic relations since December. Critics argue that a former Islamic State and al-Qaeda terrorist, Sharra, can’t simply sport a suit and pretend he has abandoned his terrorist ideology and methods.

Just two days before the slaughter of Alawites, Guterres met with Sharaa on Tuesday in Cairo where they discussed views about a new course for Syria.

While an official statement has yet to come from the U.N. chief, his special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said he was ‘deeply concerned’ by the reports of killings.

A group of Alawite clerics, the Alawite Islamic Council, blamed the violence on the government, saying that fighters had been sent to the coast ‘with the pretext of (combating) ‘regime remnants,’ to terrorize and kill Syrians.’ It called for the region to be put under U.N. protection.

Syrian authorities said the violence began when remnants loyal to Assad launched a deadly and well-planned attack on their forces on Thursday.

The violence has shaken Sharaa’s efforts to consolidate control as his administration struggles to get U.S. sanctions lifted and grapples with wider security challenges, notably in the southwest, where Israel has said it will prevent Damascus from deploying forces.

The violence spiraled on Thursday when the authorities said groups of Assad-aligned militias had targeted security patrols and checkpoints in the Jableh area and surrounding countryside, before spreading.

Moussa al-Omar, a Syrian media figure close to the country’s new leadership, told Reuters that tens of thousands of fighters in Syria’s newly constituted security forces had been deployed to the coast in the operation and that order had been largely restored as of Friday night.

He said the crackdown was ‘a message to anyone in the south or east of Syria that the state . . . is capable of a military resolution at any time, even as it seeks peaceful solutions.’

Alawite activists say their community has been subjected to violence and attacks, particularly in rural Homs and Latakia, since Assad was overthrown in December after decades of repressive family rule and civil war.

Saudi Arabia condemned ‘crimes being undertaken by outlaw groups’ in Syria and their targeting of security forces.

Turkey, a close ally of Syria’s new government, also stated its support for Damascus, saying, ‘The tension in and around Latakia, as well as the targeting of security forces, could undermine the efforts to lead Syria into the future in unity and solidarity.’

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz blasted Syria’s Islamist rulers on Friday for their campaign to smash a nascent insurgency by fighters from ousted President Assad’s Alawite group.

‘[Abu Mohammed] al-Julani switched his robe for a suit and presented a moderate face,’ Katz said in a statement on X, using the nom de guerre of Ahmed al-Sharaa. ‘Now he’s taken off the mask and exposed his true face: A jihadist terrorist of the al-Qaeda school who is committing horrifying acts against a civilian population.’

Katz added, ‘Israel will defend itself against any threat from Syria. We will remain in the security zones and Mount Hermon and protect the communities of the Golan and Galilee. We will ensure that southern Syria remains demilitarized and free of threats, and we will protect the local Druze population—anyone who harms them will face our response.’

The Syrian Alawite source in Europe told Fox News Digital that the Alawites want Israel to protect them like Israel’s offer of aid to the Syrian Druze population, who are also being targeted by the Islamist government in Damascus.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Congressional negotiators have released a bill that, if passed, will avert a partial government shutdown during the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s term.

The 99-page legislation would roughly maintain current government funding levels through the beginning of fiscal year (FY) 2026, which begins Oct. 1. The current deadline to avert a shutdown is Friday, March 14.

House GOP leaders are confident that they can pass a bill to keep the government funded with Republican votes alone, something that has not been achieved since they took over the chamber majority in January 2023.

But on a call with reporters on Saturday morning, House Republican leadership aides emphasized that the bill was ‘closely coordinated’ with the White House – while stopping short of saying Trump backed the measure completely, noting he has not reviewed the specific pages yet.

It includes an additional $8 billion in defense dollars in an apparent bid to ease national security hawks’ concerns, while non-defense spending that Congress annually appropriates would decrease by about $13 billion.

There’s also an added $6 billion for healthcare for veterans.

The White House has requested additional spending in areas that were not present in the last government funding extension, known as ‘anomalies.’

Among the anomalies requested by Trump and being fulfilled by the bill is added funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Aides said the funding is meant to meet ‘an operations shortfall that goes back to the Biden administration.’

‘That money, most of that, has already been obligated prior to the start of this administration. So that request reflects an existing hole,’ a source said.

The bill also ensures that spending caps placed under a prior bipartisan agreement, the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), are followed. The FRA mandated no more than a 1% federal spending increase in FY 2025. 

Cuts to non-defense discretionary spending would be found by eliminating some ‘side deals’ made during FRA negotiations, House GOP leadership aides said. Lawmakers would also not be given an opportunity to request funding for special pet projects in their districts known as earmarks, another area that Republicans are classifying as savings.

Overall, it provides for $892.5 billion in discretionary federal defense spending, and $708 billion in non-defense discretionary spending.

‘Discretionary spending’ refers to dollars allocated by Congress on an annual basis, rather than mandatory spending obligations like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

The bill is what’s known as a continuing resolution (CR), which differs from Congress’ annual appropriations bills in that it just extends the previous fiscal year’s government funding levels and priorities.

It would be the third and final CR extending FY 2024 numbers, through the remainder of FY 2025. Republicans believe it will put them in the best possible position to negotiate conservative government funding priorities in time for Oct. 1.

The previous two extensions were passed under the Biden administration, when Democrats controlled the Senate.

And while some Democratic support is needed to reach the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, it’s very possible Republicans will have to carry it through the House alone with their razor-thin majority.

House Democrats traditionally vote to avoid government shutdowns. Now, however, Democratic leaders are directing lawmakers in the lower chamber to oppose the Republican CR.

In a joint letter to colleagues sent on Friday, House Democratic leaders accused Republicans of trying to cut Medicare and Medicaid through their CR – despite it being the wrong mechanism to alter such funds.

‘Republicans have decided to introduce a partisan continuing resolution that threatens to cut funding for healthcare, nutritional assistance and veterans benefits through the end of the current fiscal year,’ the statement said. ‘House Democrats would enthusiastically support a bill that protects Social Security, Medicare, veterans health and Medicaid, but Republicans have chosen to put them on the chopping block to pay for billionaire tax cuts.’

But House GOP leaders will need to work to convince nearly all Republican lawmakers to support the bill – despite a history of dozens of conservative defections on CRs over the last two years.

At least one Republican has already signaled he will oppose it. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, who has voted against CRs previously, wrote on X last week, ‘I am a NO on the CR. Congress needs to do its job and pass a conservative budget! CR’s are code for Continued Rubberstamp of fraud, waste, and abuse.’

GOP leaders are hoping their close coordination with the White House and a blessing from Trump, however, will be enough to sway remaining holdouts. 

While he has not weighed in on the specific bill, Trump posted on Truth Social this week, ‘I am working with the GREAT House Republicans on a Continuing Resolution to fund the Government until September to give us some needed time to work on our Agenda.’

‘Conservatives will love this Bill, because it sets us up to cut Taxes and Spending in Reconciliation, all while effectively FREEZING Spending this year,’ Trump wrote.

A $53 billion Arab-backed plan for the reconstruction of Gaza has garnered support from France, Germany, Italy and the U.K., after receiving pushback from the U.S. and Israel. 

‘The plan shows a realistic path to the reconstruction of Gaza and promises – if implemented – swift and sustainable improvement of the catastrophic living conditions for the Palestinians living in Gaza,’ the foreign ministers wrote in a joint statement. 

The foreign ministers called for a post-war plan based on ‘a solid political and security framework,’ but reiterated the need for Hamas to not be able to govern Gaza. Additionally, the European leaders said that they are supportive of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) ‘central role’ in a post-war Gaza and ‘the implementation of its reform agenda.’

The $53 billion Egyptian plan was meant as a counter to President Donald Trump’s U.S. takeover idea and comes after Cairo rejected the idea of accepting displaced Gazans for ‘national security’ reasons. While Trump’s plan would resettle Palestinians outside the Strip, Egypt’s proposal focuses on Palestinian-led reconstruction efforts. 

Both the U.S. and Israel have rejected the Arab-backed plan for Gaza reconstruction. Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said in a statement that the plan ‘fails to address the realities of the situation following October 7th, 2023, remaining rooted in outdated perspectives.’

Marmorstein’s statement also criticized the plan for its reliance on the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). He says that both the PA and UNRWA ‘have repeatedly demonstrated corruption, support for terrorism, and failure in resolving the issue.’

While U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff called the plan a ‘good faith first step,’ State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters that it ‘does not fulfill the requirements, the nature of what President Trump is asking for.’

Additionally, National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes expressed concerns about the plan in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

‘The current proposal does not address the reality that Gaza is currently uninhabitable, and residents cannot humanely live in a territory covered in debris and unexploded ordnance. President Trump stands by his vision to rebuild Gaza free from Hamas.’

Trump received heavy criticism last month when he suggested the U.S. take over Gaza during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netnayahu. Trump’s proposal would involve the relocation of Palestinians and turning the enclave into the ‘Riviera of the Middle East.’ 

Fox News’ Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.

The White House has always been the most noble stage to present some of America’s finest performers, including musicians, singers, composers and more, while presidents have always interjected their favorite styles, artists and genres into entertaining at the White House. And our current president is no different.  

One thing that President John F. Kennedy and President Donald J. Trump have in common is a love for musicals. It was First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy who coined her husband’s administration the name ‘Camelot,’ due to President Kennedy’s love of the song. Fast-forward more than six decades and First Lady Melania Trump has reintroduced the connection of musicals to the White House, in what has recently become a viral subject on social media. 

President and Mrs. Trump have continued the tradition of hosting the nation’s governors at the White House during the National Governors Association’s annual winter meeting, which was held in late February. Instead of the customary review of the event being the unifying elements of bringing the nation’s governors together or the beautifully planned and executed candlelight dinner by the First Lady and the Executive Residence staff, and the stunning choice of Mrs. Trump’s Dolce & Gabbana tuxedo suit, much attention has been made to the selection of music performed by the United States Army Chorus.  

As the military chorus processed down the majestic red carpet of the Cross Hall of the President’s House into the East Room in their crisp uniforms surrounded by the audience of governors, cabinet officials and White House senior staff, the familiar sounds of ‘God Bless the USA’ and ‘Do You Hear the People Sing?’ from the iconic Broadway musical, ‘Les Misérables’ were brilliantly performed.  

Across a variety of media platforms, some have been quick to assume that the performance of the musical number had some sort of alternative meaning or was a protest by the military, assuming they had chosen the music. But, in actuality, the truth is, President Trump loves musicals and that particular song. Additionally, President and Mrs. Trump have a deep appreciation for highlighting our magnificent United States military, which is why they were selected to perform over an individual artist.  

By most accounts, President Lyndon B. Johnson was the first to invite the nation’s governors to dinner at the White House. According to an AP report, Johnson felt ‘the chief executives of the states and the chief executive of the federal system ought to work with the same information,’ a sentiment that still holds true today. It was the Nixons, enthusiastic entertainers, however, who turned the event into the modern-day Governors Ball, a beautiful black-tie evening, often with a receiving line, a formal dinner and after-dinner entertainment.  

In 1974, President Richard Nixon’s final year in office, the Governors Ball included one of the liveliest after-dinner shows of his White House tenure, courtesy of Pearl Bailey, one of the president’s favorite performers. The 50-minute performance was supposed to end with her hit ‘Hello Dolly.’ However, once the song had concluded, as Nixon went onto stage to thank her, Bailey began kidding him about his piano playing, reportedly saying: ‘You don’t play as well as I sing, but I don’t sing as well as you govern.’  

She then fast-talked him into playing the piano, and invited the president to choose his own song, but she protested when he played ‘Home on the Range.’ Eventually, the entire audience stood up and joined in a chorus of ‘God Bless America.’

Show tunes and great entertainment at the Governors Ball did not end with the Nixon administration. President Gerald Ford and First Lady Betty Ford had only planned on dancing in the East Room to the music of Mike Carney, a New York-based pianist, but it quickly took a livelier note, as did most Ford galas, thanks again to Pearl Bailey. Following dancing and music, Bailey treated and delighted the crowd to her vintage hits.  

Even the Carter administration, which was not known for its entertaining, put on a show to bring America’s governors together. In 1978, the Carter White House secured for the entertainment Beverly Sills, who was about to open a revival of ‘Merry Widow’ at the Metropolitan, and built the entire evening around her.  

The Washington Evening Star reported, ‘Sills transformed it into a truly elegant ball. In her turn-of-the-century style gown of ivory satin with giant leg-of-mutton sleeves, the soprano with the strawberry blonde hair began to sing the beautiful music of ‘The Merry Widow.’ Together with baritone Alan Titus, she sang her way through several songs from the Viennese operetta.’ 

More recent presidents have also invited top performers. President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush invited Vince Gill and Amy Grant once to entertain their guests. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, well-known music lovers, enjoyed legends such as Gladys Knight, Dianne Reeves, and Earth, Wind & Fire to the White House for the dinner honoring the nation’s governors. 

Sometimes our presidents are not sending a political message, they are simply enjoying music. President Trump is widely known for being an admirer of musical theater, and for having a rather eclectic playlist where thousands of supporters hear songs like ‘YMCA’ as well as ‘Phantom of the Opera’ at his rallies.  

What made President and Mrs. Trump’s most recent gubernatorial dinner special was not the music selection, but who performed it. The Trump White House is continuing its tradition of using military bands for nearly all events, and they have chosen to highlight them more so than any other administration.  

The bands have performed at events at all levels, from the annual White House Easter Egg Roll to the most formal state dinners, including the State Dinner in honor of Australia, which was the largest gathering in the history of premier United States military musicians for such an occasion at the White House. 

More than any other modern-day White House, President and Mrs. Trump have created a signature hallmark of their entertaining by placing America’s finest up on the greatest stage, the People’s House, with our United States military musicians.  

The White House is calling out ‘rogue bureaucrats’ at a small federal agency for attempting to bar members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from entering their headquarters this week.

Elon Musk’s DOGE team members and acting head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Peter Marocco, in accordance with President Donald Trump’s executive order to downsize the federal government, sought to enter the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) building on Wednesday, but were denied entry after reportedly being intentionally locked out by members of the staff.

The cost-cutting team returned to USADF the next day with U.S. marshals after the Department of Justice (DOJ) determined that they had a right to enter the building, a White House official told Fox News Digital, prompting a lawsuit from USADF President Ward Brehm, who asked a district court to bar the administration from removing him from his position.

Brehm, who admitted to directing employees to deny DOGE entry, is attempting to block DOGE from entering the USADF offices, but the White House responded that ‘entitled, rogue bureaucrats have no authority to defy executive orders by the President of the United States or physically bar his representatives from entering the agencies they run.’

‘President Trump signed an executive order to reduce the federal bureaucracy, which reduced the USADF to its statutory minimum, and appointed Peter Marocco as acting Chairman of the Board,’ White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.

In the lawsuit, filed on Thursday, Brehm alleges ‘unlawful overreach’ from DOGE and asks the court to give him a ‘clear entitlement to remain in his office as the President of USADF’ after Trump, according to the White House, appointed Marocco to serve as acting Chairman of the Board.

‘The threatened termination of Brehm from his position as President of USADF, whether by Marocco, President Trump, Director Gao, or any of the remaining Defendants, is unlawful,’ the 26-page complaint reads.

On Friday, District Judge Richard J. Leon in Washington, D.C., issued a temporary restraining order preventing Brehm’s removal.

Trump has applauded DOGE’s efforts to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in ‘waste’ from the federal government as he makes ‘bold and profound change’ within the federal government.

‘My administration will reclaim power from this unaccountable bureaucracy, and we will restore true democracy to America again,’ Trump said during his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. 

‘Any federal bureaucrat who resists this change will be removed from office immediately, because we are draining the swamp. It’s very simple,’ the president said. ‘The days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Brehm and USADF for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.