The Trump administration is planning to make cost-saving cuts by merging two similar HIV/AIDS prevention programs run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an administration official told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. The cuts will pertain to administrative costs and DEI-related spending.

The tentative proposal, which is still ‘a concept of a plan,’ is to merge them into one program under HRSA to streamline efficiency – in line with the administration’s downsizing of federal government agenda – as having two separate programs doing similar functions doesn’t make sense, the official said.

‘One of those things is still very preliminary, but obviously, you don’t need two $1 billion budgets for this, with $1 billion going to the CDC and $1 billion going to HRSA,’ the official said. ‘Some of that will go toward paying the administrative overhead costs and that sort of thing.’ 

Both the CDC and HRSA are part of the Department of Health and Human Services, overseen by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

‘If this goes through, that will be more definitive… like with examining DEI spending with these two programs,’ the official said. The Trump administration has already moved to slash federal funding of DEI programs and initiatives in one of his early executive actions titled, ‘Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing.’

While the CDC has a department dedicated to the prevention of HIV and other infectious diseases, HRSA also runs a program called the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP), which provides medical care for low-income people with HIV. 

During his first term, in 2019, Trump launched the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, with the aim of reducing cases of HIV by 75% by 2025 and by 90% by 2030. The initiative is operated by the CDC.

The proposal, which is still being worked on this week, comes amid big government shake-ups across several federal sectors at the direction of Trump and the Elon Musk-run Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with thousands of workers let go in mass firings in recent weeks.

A House Republican town hall began and ended in chaos Tuesday night as angry protesters jeered for over an hour in a small Midwestern city and accused Republicans of trying to gut critical government programs.

Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., was the only House GOP lawmaker whose office set up an in-person town hall this week while Congress is in recess – and left-wing groups appear to have seized on the opportunity to disrupt.

The event kicked off on a contentious note just minutes after an opening prayer, with the moderator’s first audience question accusing President Donald Trump and Flood of not supporting the ‘rule of law.’ The crowd repeatedly booed any mention of Elon Musk or the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with Flood having to stop and plead for calm multiple times.

At one point protesters could be heard shouting, ‘Tax the rich.’

Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Fleming Kleeb posted on X, showing the number of people heading to Flood’s town hall minutes after it began. She said state Democratic Party operatives ‘are on site if you need an action handout of things you can do beyond the town hall!’

Meanwhile, progressive groups MoveOn and Indivisible advertised a ‘volunteer-organized event,’ titled, ‘Musk or Us: Demand Mike Flood Fight Back!’

The time and place listed matched Flood’s Tuesday night town hall. The event lasted roughly an hour and a half with little reprieve for the congressman as people peppered him with questions and the crowd jeered him during answers.

During the open mic portion of the event, a woman noted that Flood’s wife fought breast cancer and said her own sister died of the disease, before telling him, ‘You decided to capitulate your job of monitoring the funding of places that do research for breast cancer.’

‘I would like to know how you, personally, stomach that decision,’ she asked as the crowd applauded.

Flood said he supported medical research funding, and that while he was not aware of any such pause, DOGE was reviewing funds on a case-by-case basis as part of its mission to reduce the national debt. However, even mentioning Musk or DOGE set off the crowd inside Columbus High School’s auditorium, and Flood had to raise his voice and repeat himself several times at points as protesters grew louder.

‘How can you be against a balanced budget?’ an exasperated Flood asked the crowd.

After the event, Fox News Digital observed discussions on the message board site Reddit urging people to go protest Flood. One user posted on a Nebraska-focused message board, ‘I highly implore District 1 residents to make the drive and come out to make your voices heard.’

In response to another commenter noting the event was scheduled to last an hour, the same initial user replied, ‘That’s a whole hour’s worth of booing him and his stupid idea that he’ll get the support of his precious hometown.’

In a separate thread about the town hall, another user posted, ‘S— man isn’t even in my district, but I’m considering going up there.’

Flood’s decision to host a town hall in person comes in apparent defiance of House Republican leaders’ guidance to refrain from such face-to-face events, given the intense uptick in protests – both planned and unplanned.

The majority of House Republicans have transitioned to holding tele-town halls, which the lawmakers have defended as a more productive and controlled environment.

Several have cited issues of safety for their staff, with mobs at in-person constituent events growing raucous at times.

Meanwhile, left-wing groups that had been urging people to protest at GOP town halls are now taking advantage of the change in strategy, and have pushed activists to hold mock town halls with empty chairs representing lawmakers who in some cases were not even invited.

Prominent Democrats like Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have also seized on the vacuum to hold their own events in Republican districts.

Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) deployed troops to Gaza for the first time since the collapse of Israel’s ceasefire agreement with Hamas on Wednesday.

The IDF troops are deployed to the Netzarim corridor, a key section of Gaza that essentially cuts the strip in half. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has continued to vow that Israel will maintain is military operations until every hostage has been returned from Hamas custody.

The IDF described Wednesday’s deployment as a ‘limited ground operation,’ but has not said whether it will remain limited to the Netzarim corridor.

The move follows a multi-day wave of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza that killed over 400 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

The IDF says its strikes on Monday and Tuesday eliminated a number of mid- and high-level Hamas officials. Among them was Essam al-Da’alis, head of the Hamas government and ‘the most senior figure of authority in the Gaza Strip.’

The IDF and ISA also determined with ‘high probability’ that Israeli strikes eliminated Mahmoud Marzouk Ahmed Abu-Watfa, the Minister of Internal Affairs in charge of Hamas’ Internal Security Forces; Bahajat Hassan Mohammed Abu-Sultan, who served as Head of Hamas’ Internal Security Forces; and Ahmed Amar Abdullah Alhata, who served as Hamas’ Minister of Justice.

Israel on Wednesday also said it eliminated Yasser Muhammad Harb Musa, who was responsible for security affairs in Hamas’ political bureau, in addition to Muhammad Al-Jamasi, Head of the Hamas Emergency Committee.

President Donald Trump’s administration backed Israel’s move to end the ceasefire in a statement on Monday.

‘Hamas could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war,’ National Security Council (NSC) spokesman Brian Hughes told Fox News.

The White House has not responded to the deployment of Troops in Gaza on Wednesday.

Israel will intensify its military actions against Hamas moving forward, authorities said.

‘Under the direction of the political echelon, the IDF and Shin Bet are widely attacking terrorist targets of the Hamas terrorist organization throughout the Gaza Strip, more details below,’ the IDF and ISA said. 

This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.

A federal judge who blocked President Donald Trump from implementing an executive order banning transgender troops from serving in the military has a long history of activism in the Democratic Party, including volunteering for Joe Biden and donating tens of thousands to Democrat campaigns. 

U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes, a Biden appointee who is the first openly gay federal judge in D.C., acknowledged in her Senate questionnaire during her confirmation process that she volunteered for Biden’s 2020 campaign ‘providing limited legal assistance regarding potential election law issues.’

Reyes, who assumed office in February 2023, has been donating to Democratic causes to the tune of more than $38,000 since 2008, sending money to liberal efforts such as ActBlue, Democratic Sen. Jon Ossof’s campaign, and maxed out contributions to Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, FEC records show.

Additionally, Reyes has been a frequent contributor to Defeat By Tweet, a Democratic-aligned super PAC that supports the Justice Fund, which Influence Watch describes as a group that ‘raises money for liberal groups in swing states each time President Donald Trump makes a post to his controversial Twitter account.’

Defeat By Tweet’s website is currently shuttered but says it is ‘transferring’ its resources to Black Church PAC, a group aligned with defunding the police that received at least $150,000 from the Kamala Harris presidential campaign.

Reyes, who was born in Uruguay before her family immigrated to the United States when she was in kindergarten, has been active in representing illegal immigrants in her previous capacity as a lawyer. 

During a speech accepting the 2017 Woman’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia’s Woman Lawyer of the Year award, Reyes said she was ‘privileged’ to represent asylum seekers and thanked lawyers at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, stating it was an honor ‘fighting for the rights of refugees in the United States.’

Reyes said in the same speech that she deferred law school for a year to work for the Feminist Majority Foundation, a group that describes itself as a ‘cutting edge organization dedicated to women’s equality, reproductive health, and non-violence.’

Reyes said in her Senate questionnaire that she served on the board for the group from ‘2014-present’ although she is not currently listed on the organization’s website.

The Feminist Majority Foundation has previously called abortion a ‘necessity’ and opposed in a January press release the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which blocks men from playing in women’s sports.

The questionnaire also acknowledges that she was a panelist in a 2021 discussion called ‘Did You Really Just Say That? Recognizing and Managing Microaggressions.’ The discussion was hosted by Centerforce, which touts a DEI series that includes several conferences aimed at ‘address[ing] the obstacles posed by the backlash against DEI initiatives and the consequences of Affirmative Action repeal.’

Despite her history of progressive activism, Reyes has sided with Trump in the past, including last April when she berated Biden’s Justice Department after two of its employees failed to appear in court for depositions related to the Republican push to impeach Biden, NBC News reported. 

Earlier that year, Reyes also called it ‘an attack on our constitutional democracy’ when a former IRS consultant leaked Trump’s tax returns. 

She also ripped the lawyers of eight inspectors general who were fired by Trump and denied their immediate reinstatement last month, asking, ‘Why on earth did you not have this figured out with the defendants before coming here?’ The lawsuit against the Trump administration is still ongoing.

At issue currently is a Jan. 27 executive order signed by Trump requiring the Defense Department to update its guidance regarding ‘trans-identifying medical standards for military service’ and to ‘rescind guidance inconsistent with military readiness.’ 

Reyes questioned the Trump administration at length over the order, demanding to know whether it was a ‘transgender ban’ and if the government’s position is that being transgender is an ‘ideology.’ 

Reyes, who previously stated that the idea of only two sexes is not ‘biologically correct,’ issued a preliminary injunction this week barring the Pentagon from enforcing Trump’s order, which asserted ‘expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.’

In her 79-page ruling, Reyes in part cites Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical ‘Hamilton’ to justify blocking the ban on transgender troops. 

‘Women were ‘included in the sequel’ when passage of the Nineteenth Amendment granted them the right to vote in 1920,’ Reyes wrote in the footnotes, adding, ‘That right is one of the many that thousands of transgender persons serve to protect.’

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch, Stephen Sorace and Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.

In a push to protect infants, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched a new initiative Tuesday to ensure baby formula is safe, nutritious, and free from harmful contaminants.

Titled ‘Operation Stork Speed,’ news of the new initiative followed a meeting between Heath and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and several chief executives from baby formula manufacturers. 

The new, comprehensive review of baby formula in the U.S. follows a shortage in 2022 under former President Joe Biden, after a recall from a major manufacturer over bacterial contaminants and COVID-19 supply chain disruptions forced the military to fly in more formula from other countries. A Pro-Publica report last year also highlighted how, under the previous administration, the U.S. pushed more than half-a-dozen countries to loosen their baby formula regulations. 

Operation Stork Speed will commence with several steps. One includes the initiation of a nutrient review, which will be the FDA’s first comprehensive update and review of infant formula nutrients since 1998. Another step includes ramping up testing for heavy metals and other contaminants in baby formula, while other steps revolve around addressing transparency and labeling concerns in the baby formula manufacturing industry.

‘The FDA is deeply committed to ensuring that moms and other caregivers of infants and young children and other individuals who rely on infant formula for their nutritional needs have confidence that these products are safe, consistently available, and contain the nutrients essential to promote health and well-being during critical stages of development and life,’ said acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner. ‘Whether breastfed, bottle-fed or both, the rising generation must be nourished in a way that promotes health and longevity over the course of their lives.’

Research from Consumer Reports released this week tested 41 types of baby formula for a number of toxic chemicals and found that roughly half of the samples they tested contained potentially harmful levels of contaminants. 

Abbott Laboratories, which was responsible for the 2022 recall that contributed to a nationwide baby formula shortage, was among one of the companies whose products tested above average for heavy metals. However, the company took issue with the Consumer Report’s methodology, citing the fact that heavy metals exist in the environment and these substances ‘may be present in trace amounts in food products, including all brands of infant formula and even human breast milk.’

In a statement following news of the initiative, Scott Stoffel, a spokesperson for Abbott Laboratories, said the company was looking forward to supporting the efforts of Operation Stork Speed. 

‘We look forward to working with the Secretary, the FDA, and the scientific and medical communities to continue to make infant formulas even closer to breast milk and support the aims of Operation Stork Speed,’ Stoffel said. ‘Each ingredient in our formulas is purposefully chosen for the type of baby we’re feeding and their unique dietary needs.’

Congressional Democratic unity still appears to be in tatters after a public fracture between Capitol Hill’s top two left-wing leaders over government funding.

At least two House Democrats took shots at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., at their respective events on Tuesday after Schumer and nine other Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to avert a partial government shutdown last week.

‘I thought it was critical to make sure that we blocked that bill. I was deeply disappointed that Senator Schumer voted with the Republicans,’ Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., told residents of his deep-blue district. ‘You know you’re on bad ground when you get a personal tweet from Donald Trump thanking you for your vote.’

He said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who got all but one Democrat to oppose the bill in the lower chamber, ‘met the moment,’ while Schumer ‘did not.’

‘I think he’s had a great, long-standing career. He’s done a lot of great things, but I’m afraid that it may be time for the Senate Democrats to pick new leadership as we move forward,’ Ivey said to applause.

However, despite his praise for Jeffries, Ivey’s public message appeared in stark contrast to the Democratic leader’s overtures to his counterpart earlier on Tuesday.

‘Yes, I do,’ Jeffries briefly answered when asked whether he still had confidence in Schumer as the Senate Democratic leader.

Jeffries told reporters at a press conference in Brooklyn, New York, that ‘we are all aligned on the fights that are in front of us’ and that he and Schumer had a ‘good conversation about the path forward, particularly as it relates to making sure we all speak with one voice.’

While still reserved in his praise, it is a much different tone than what Jeffries took last week, after he was reportedly blindsided by Schumer breaking the dam of Democratic opposition to say he would vote for the Republicans’ federal funding bill.

Democrats had accused Republicans of walking away from bipartisan government funding talks at the expense of critical government programs, while Republicans said Democrats were making unrealistic demands about constraining President Donald Trump’s power.

After that vote, Jeffries twice refused to back Schumer when pressed by reporters. ‘Next question,’ he said to a pair of questions about his support for his fellow Brooklyn Democrat.

However, his message of unity on Tuesday was similarly undercut by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who answered affirmatively when asked if she supported Schumer as Senate Democratic leader, but she criticized the way he handled the funding matter.

‘I myself don’t give away anything for nothing. I think that’s what happened the other day,’ Pelosi said at an event in San Francisco. ‘We could have, in my view, perhaps gotten them to agree to a third way, which was a bipartisan [funding bill] for two to four weeks, in which we could have had bipartisan legislation to go forward.’

She said of Republicans, ‘They may not have agreed to it, but at least the public would have seen their not agreeing to it, and then they would have been shutting government, because we don’t want government to shut down.’

Meanwhile, other sources told Fox News Digital that frustrations lingered among Democrats over Schumer’s decision.

‘Hardly ever, if ever, have there been votes that are significant where House Dems and Senate Dems split. So this is a big problem,’ one Democratic source told Fox News Digital. ‘We should be doing everything possible to take back the House. And that means if the House makes a call, like Hakeem did…that’s because they have a political assessment that it’s in their best interest electorally. 

A senior House Democratic aide said Schumer’s move was bad, but the party needed to coalesce to oppose Trump.

Outside the D.C. Beltway, criticism of Schumer has gained traction among Democrats, despite Jeffries publicly mending fences.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, both floated as early possible 2028 contenders, signaled they were frustrated by Schumer’s move.

Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer’s office for comment.

The longtime Senate Democrat said he is ‘the best leader’ for his caucus during an interview on ‘CBS Mornings’ this week.