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Before President Donald Trump’s dramatic reveal of the ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense project on Tuesday, the proposal wasn’t even on the radar of many lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Several senators told Fox News Digital they had received no briefing on the initiative’s costs – and some hadn’t heard of it at all.

‘I don’t support blank checks. I haven’t seen the cost figures,’ Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Fox News Digital. 

Two senior members of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, one Republican and one Democrat, asked, ‘what’s Golden Dome?’ in response to questions about the project Trump commissioned in January. 

Trump’s sweeping plan – pitched as an American version of Israel’s Iron Dome – carries an ambitious price tag and timeline. He’s floated a $125 billion estimated cost and says it could be built in three years, by the end of his term. A government funding package moving through Congress, dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, includes $25 billion to jumpstart the project.

But defense experts and even some Republican allies anticipate the cost to be much higher. 

‘This is not going to be a $25 billion or $35 billion project. It will likely cost in the trillions if and when Golden Dome is completed,’ said Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., who announced plans to form a Golden Dome Caucus during a recent Washington Times defense industry event earlier this month. 

Sheehy warned that simply scaling up Israel’s Iron Dome to protect the U.S. is ‘a fundamentally different technological proposition.’

‘The challenges don’t scale linearly with the size of Israel, which is the size of New Jersey,’ he added.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated the project could cost around $500 billion – though some believe even that figure is likely too low.

CBO estimated that the space-based interceptors portion of the dome could cost at least $161 billion but up to $542 billion. But it didn’t account for any ground-based interceptors in that cost. 

‘I’ve been 34 years in this business, and I’ve never seen an early estimate that was too high,’ said Space Force chief of space operations Gen. Chance Saltzman. ‘We don’t always understand the full level of complexity until you’re actually in execution, doing the detailed planning.’

Some Republican lawmakers suggest the potential benefits outweigh the massive spending required.

‘It might very well prevent a war,’ Sen. Mike Rounds, R-N.D., said. ‘When we talk about spending billions on defense, that is small compared to one single major war – not only in trillions of dollars, but in bloodshed.’

Once a missile is launched toward the U.S. homeland, the Golden Dome system aims to detect it, and orbital systems would aim to hit the missile during its ‘boost’ phase, either with a laser or a kinetic interceptor. Otherwise, ground-based systems could deploy to knock it off its path.  

Others noted competing defense priorities.

‘That’s gonna be a long, drawn-out process, and it’s gonna cost a lot of money,’ said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. ‘Right now, we’re redoing our missile silos… we’re transitioning to different types of warfare. If we’re gonna do [Golden Dome], we do it the right way.’

Supporters of the plan argue that technological advances have dramatically lowered the cost of missile defense, enough to potentially flip decades-old strategic assumptions.

Chuck DeVore, a defense expert at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and former Reagan administration official, said the old logic – that it’s always cheaper to build offensive missiles than defenses – may no longer apply.

‘That calculation is changing now,’ DeVore said. ‘With low-cost orbit launches and inexpensive electronics, it may actually be less expensive to defend against nuclear missiles than to build them. If that’s the case, we’re at a truly revolutionary inflection point.’

DeVore also warned that traditionalists in the defense establishment may push back.

‘You’re going to see people defending the status quo,’ he said. ‘They’ll say we need that money for more conventional defense – more divisions, more jet fighters, maybe another aircraft carrier.’

Still, DeVore argued that a homeland missile defense system is overdue.

‘The ability to truly defend the homeland and save American lives is better than mutual assured destruction – especially in an age of nuclear proliferation where we can’t always be sure where the threat is coming from.’

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., agreed on the project’s importance, even as he said he hadn’t been briefed on the cost and needs of the project. 

‘I think it’s the most important thing we could do to keep our homeland safe.’

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Bombshell developments continue to emerge about former President Joe Biden’s declining health along with allegations of a White House cover-up. In response, a top Republican is urging the Justice Department to investigate whether any laws were broken in how Biden’s condition was presented to the public.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas is expected to write Wednesday afternoon to Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding that the DOJ open a probe into ‘any potential violations of federal law surrounding the representations made to the American people about the health and wellbeing (sic) of then-President Biden.’

In the letter obtained by Fox News Digital, Cornyn cited the May 18 report from Biden’s camp that he is battling late-stage aggressive prostate cancer that had metastasized to his bones.

‘This announcement follows the publication of news reports calling into question the former president’s capacity and awareness during his time in office,’ Cornyn said as other Biden critics questioned what then-White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor knew while treating the president.

In the letter, Cornyn expressed concern that Biden’s ‘associates,’ including O’Connor, misrepresented or made ‘material omissions’ to the public about his mental and physical fitness.

Conservatives beat the drum of Biden’s alleged senility for years but were often lambasted by the mainstream media for questioning the White House’s line on the matter.

‘I fear the American people were deliberately misled about President Biden’s health. Instead of providing full transparency, which is the obligation of the commander-in-chief, important information was kept secret,’ Cornyn wrote.

‘I do not have confidence in the former president’s aides and staff, including medical staff, or their ability to be honest and straightforward about President Biden’s cancer diagnosis.’

He noted how President Donald Trump assented to calls that he take a cognitive test to demonstrate fitness for office while contrasting that with Biden’s refusal, which famously resulted in a tense exchange with a CBS News correspondent when the then-president asked, ‘Why the hell should I take a test?’ and asked if the Black news anchor was ‘a junkie’ who might want to undergo a test for cocaine in his system.

Cornyn contrasted White House claims that Biden was ‘fit for duty’ with revelations, including those in a CNN anchor’s new book, that he was only capable of working ‘four to six good hours’ per day.

‘These positions are in direct conflict,’ Cornyn will tell Bondi, adding that despite having the world’s best medical care at his fingertips, Americans have been asked to ‘accept coincidence after coincidence’ involving his health.

He also cited the 25th Amendment, which he noted provides Americans an insurance policy that their government can continue to function if the infirmity or death of a president should occur.

‘These actions potentially impacted the trust the American people have in their government and weakened us on the world stage.’

He cited a report from earlier this week that White House staff had secretly discussed the possibility that Biden would be confined to a wheelchair while still putting on a brave face to the public.

Former President Franklin Roosevelt, stricken by polio, conducted the nation’s business from a wheelchair.

‘I encourage the Department to conduct a full investigation and ensure that no federal laws were violated during the previous administration,’ Cornyn concluded.

Fox News Digital reached out to a Biden representative for comment.

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President Donald Trump has officially accepted Qatar’s Boeing 747 jet gift to be refitted as Air Force One, the Pentagon revealed. 

‘The Secretary of Defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations,’ chief spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed to Fox News. ‘The Department of Defense will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the President of the United States. For additional information, we refer you to the United States Air Force.’

News of the deal prompted concerns from lawmakers, both over how to retrofit a foreign nation’s plane to serve as a mobile Oval Office with the highest levels of security and over what Qatar might want from Trump in return for the gift. 

Trump ally Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has said the plane poses ‘significant espionage and surveillance problems’ while liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., declared, ‘Trump cannot accept a $400 million flying palace from the royal family of Qatar. Not only is this farcically corrupt, it is blatantly unconstitutional.’

‘Qatar is not, in my opinion, a great ally. I mean, they support Hamas. So what I’m worried about is the safety of the president,’ Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told reporters last week. 

When asked about the latest news, Trump told a reporter at the White House, ‘They’re giving the United States Air Force a jet, okay, and it’s a great thing.’ 

‘You’re a terrible reporter. You don’t have what it takes to be a reporter,’ he said.  

He boasted that he secured $5.1 trillion in investments during his trip to the Middle East last week. 

Earlier, Trump had said of the criticisms, ‘So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane,’ Trump wrote. ‘Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!! MAGA.’

Trump in 2018 awarded Boeing a $3.9 billion fixed-price agreement to manufacture two new jets, after months of haggling over the price. The jets were supposed to be delivered in 2024, but the project is around five years behind schedule and already $2.5 billion over budget. 

Fox News’ Liz Friden contributed to this report. 

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio clashed with Rep. Brad Sherman during a House hearing on Wednesday, telling the California Democrat that ‘this is not a game show’ when Sherman demanded that he only answer questions with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no.’

Rubio testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C., fielding questions on foreign aid, nuclear proliferation in Saudi Arabia and Iran, the war in Ukraine and more. Sparks began to fly early on when Sherman questioned Rubio on a potential nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia.

‘First, I will tell you that there has been no conversation about entering into one. For example, during the recent trip,’ Rubio began before Sherman cut him off.

‘I’ve got limited time,’ the congressman interjected. ‘Either give me a yes or a no.’

‘Well, I’m going to give you my answer if you want my answer,’ Rubio replied.

But Sherman cut Rubio off, stating that he was reclaiming his time.

‘Well, reclaim your time. But it’s not a game show,’ Rubio said. ‘I get to answer. These are complex questions.’

‘Mr. Secretary, I’m reclaiming my time,’ Sherman said. ‘The filibustering takes place in the Senate. Not here.’

‘I’m not filibustering. I’m trying to answer your question,’ Rubio replied.

Sherman then moved on to his next question, asking whether Rubio could assure Congress that the Trump administration would continue sanctions on Iran until they verifiably agree to abandon all nuclear enrichment.

‘That’s a yes or no question,’ Sherman told Rubio.

Rubio replied: ‘No, it’s not.’

‘Well, can you give me a yes or no? Should I go on to go on to the next?’ Sherman asked.

‘We believe that Iran should not be allowed to enrich uranium, correct,’ Rubio answered. 

‘You believe that?’ Sherman asked.

‘We believe that an acceptable deal with Iran is one in which they cannot enrich, because if they can enrich, they can weaponize,’ Rubio said.

‘I know why we don’t want – I asked you will we agree, will we continue the sanctions until they verifiably agree to get rid of enrichments.’

‘Oh, you have nothing to worry about,’ Rubio said. ‘The worry was the previous administration. This administration–’ 

‘Your refusal to give me an answer is loud and clear,’ Sherman interjected before shouting over Rubio that he was reclaiming his time.

The House hearing brought Rubio to testify on the State Department’s posture on protecting American interests. Throughout the hearing, Rubio asserted that any actions taken by the government must have measurable outcomes for the American people, specifically making the country safer, stronger or more prosperous.

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President Donald Trump appeared to distance the U.S. from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine — just two days after speaking over the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Trump, who called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday after speaking to Putin, told reporters Wednesday that the conflict didn’t involve the U.S., despite the fact that the U.S. has adopted the role of mediator between the two countries since Trump came into the White House in January. 

‘It’s not our people, it’s not our soldiers … it’s Ukraine and it’s Russia,’ Trump said in the Oval Office Wednesday while hosting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. 

Trump also mentioned speaking with Zelenskyy while the Ukrainian president was traveling to South Africa. Zelenskyy visited Ramaphosa in April, but cut his trip short amid attacks from Russia against Kyiv. 

‘I called Zelensky and they said, he’s in South Africa. I said, what the hell is he doing in South Africa?’ Trump said. 

Ramaphosa responded that Zelenskyy was talking with South Africa speaking with him about securing peace. 

‘He’s trying to make peace,’ he said. 

Trump also said Wednesday he believed he ‘made a lot of progress’ with Putin in his Monday call, during which both countries ultimately agreed to a ceasefire and to advance peace talks. However, Trump also indicated that both Moscow and Kyiv would need to take the lead on future talks. 

‘The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know the details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of,’ Trump said in a Monday post on Truth Social. 

Trump and other members of his administration have signaled in recent weeks that the U.S. is willing to step aside from peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv. For example, Vice President JD Vance said Monday that the discussions between the two had reached a bit of an ‘impasse’ and that the U.S. was ‘more than willing’ to step aside from the talks. 

‘There is fundamental mistrust between Russia and the West. It’s one of the things the president thinks is, frankly, stupid,’ Vance told reporters Monday. ‘That we should be able to move beyond. The mistakes that have been made in the past, but … That takes two to tango.’ 

‘I know the president’s willing to do that, but if Russia’s not willing to that then we’re eventually just going to have to say… This is not our war,’ Vance said. ‘It’s Joe Biden’s war, it’s Vladimir Putin’s war. It’s not our war. We’re going to try to end it, but if we can’t end it we’re eventually going to say, you know what? That was worth a try, but we’re not doing it anymore.’

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

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The conservative House Freedom Caucus is demanding House GOP leaders delay plans to vote on President Donald Trump’s ‘one big, beautiful bill’ this week.

The group of GOP rebels is joining House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for a meeting at the White House later on Wednesday in an apparent bid to hash out differences on the massive piece of legislation, Fox News was told.

‘I don’t think it can be done today. I mean, the runway is short today,’ House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told reporters in a press conference on Wednesday.

Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., said the group accepted an ‘offer’ from the White House on Tuesday night. He suggested the offer was not yet included in the broad-based bill that Republicans are hoping to pass via the budget reconciliation process this year.

‘We need to continue to work at that. We as members are at the table. We don’t want the deal to be ended,’ Perry said.

A House Freedom Caucus source told Fox News Digital that the speaker was still ‘digesting’ the agreement, though lawmakers at the press conference declined to say what the deal was, but a White House official pushed back in a statement to Fox News Radio.

‘There was no deal. The White House presented HFC with policy options that the Administration can live with, provided they can get the votes, but they cannot get the votes,’ the official said. ‘There was no deal. The HFC will meet with the president at 3pm to hopefully strike one.’

A House GOP leadership aide also told Fox News Digital that the White House only provided the Freedom Caucus with policy options rather than a deal.

Johnson had told reporters this week that the bill could see a chamber-wide vote as early as Wednesday. However, Harris said, ‘I’m not sure this can be done this week. I’m pretty confident it could be done in 10 days. But that’s up to leadership to decide.’

House conservatives have been pushing for the bill to include more aggressive cuts to Medicaid – specifically the expanded population who became eligible under the Affordable Care Act – and a full repeal of former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and its green energy subsidies.

Allies of Johnson and other House GOP leaders have accused the GOP rebels of ‘moving the goal posts’ from their initial demands of needing at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts to offset the cost of new spending in the bill. 

However, Harris challenged that notion during the press conference.

‘We’re saying work within the goalposts, rearrange it within the goalposts in accordance with what the president wants – end waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid, which is wasting dollars that should be spent on the truly vulnerable, and then end as much of the green new scam as possible,’ Harris said.

Earlier this morning, two key critics of the bill told Fox News Digital that negotiations between the House Freedom Caucus and House GOP leaders had regressed.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said talks went ‘massively south’ but declined to go into detail. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., similarly said in a text message to Fox News Digital, ‘THINGS ARE NOT GOING WELL!!’

There are several outstanding issues with the bill that have not yet been resolved – blue state Republicans pushing for a raise in state and local tax (SALT) deduction caps, and conservatives demanding stricter work requirement rules for Medicaid as well as a full repeal of green energy subsidies in the IRA.

Conservatives have been wary of the New York and California GOP lawmakers’ push, however.

The House Rules Committee, the final gatekeeper before most legislation sees a House-wide vote, has been debating the bill since 1 a.m. Wednesday. The debate is expected to go through the better part of the day.

Critically, Norman and Roy are members of the rules panel – but even if they both voted against it in committee, the numbers are still on Republicans’ side to advance it.

The House of Representatives, where Republicans can lose just three votes to pass anything along party lines, is another story.

Republicans are working to pass Trump’s policies on tax, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt all in one massive bill via the budget reconciliation process.

Budget reconciliation lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, thereby allowing the party in power to skirt the minority — in this case, Democrats — to pass sweeping pieces of legislation, provided they deal with the federal budget, taxation or the national debt.

House Republicans are hoping to advance Trump’s bill through the House and Senate by the Fourth of July.

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Sports giant Fanatics is pitting fans against greats Tom Brady, Kevin Durant and Alex Rodriguez at an upcoming marketing event.

The company announced Tuesday it is introducing a skills-based competition at Fanatics Fest 2025, taking place June 20-22 in New York City. Fanatics says more than $2 million will be given away in prizes, including a $1 million cash prize for first place, a Ferrari 812 GTS for second place and a Lebron James collectors card worth $250,000 for third place. If no fans finish in the top three, falling short of the celebrity competitors, the highest-scoring fan will receive $100,000.

If a celebrity competitor comes in first, they take home the seven-figure prize.

“I think the thinking was, how do we create even more of an insane environment where fans and athletes and streamers are all running around, in this case, quite literally, having a great time and showcasing all of that,” said Lance Fensterman, CEO of Fanatics Events.

It’s the second Fanatics Fest after the inaugural event last year drew more than 70,000 fans and brought together major sports leagues and hundreds of current and former athletes. The offerings last year included league activations, autograph sessions and a trading cards and collectibles show.

This year, Fanatics is hoping to go even bigger — with a goal of bringing in 100,000 attendees — as the company continues to broaden its reach in sports marketing.

Michael Rubin acquired Fanatics in 2011 after merging it with his company, GSI Commerce. What began as a sports e-commerce platform has evolved in recent years into a diverse sports platform offering trading cards and sports memorabilia, live shopping, betting and gaming, as well as an events business.

Fifty fans will be selected to compete at Fanatics Fest 2025 against top talent that also includes comedian Kevin Hart, former New England Patriot Rob Gronkowski, Los Angeles Clippers shooting guard James Harden and Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles.

The competition will include Major League Baseball pitching accuracy, National Hockey League slapshot accuracy, National Football League passing accuracy, a National Basketball Association shooting competition, a FIFA goal scoring challenge and a golfing contest. Fans can apply to participate by submitting a short video in the Fanatics app.

While Fanatics’ events business represents just a small fraction of business — last valued at $25 billion, according to a person familiar with the company — Fensterman said Fanatics Fest creates a lot of positive sentiment around the company.

“It’s incredibly impactful in terms of bringing the entire ecosystem together for the sole focus of delighting,” he said.

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Boston Red Sox pitcher Walker Buehler returned from the injured list Tuesday night to face the New York Mets. But his first start in nearly a month was even shorter than expected when he was ejected by home plate umpire Mike Estabrook in the top of the third inning.

The confrontation began simmering one batter earlier when Mets batter Francisco Lindor made little effort to avoid getting hit with a pitch.

With Juan Soto at the plate, Lindor took off for second base, sliding in safely ahead of the tag. Red Sox catcher Omar Narvaez had to jump out of his crouch to get in position to make the throw to second − possibly distracting Estabrook, who called the pitch squarely inside the strike zone a ball.

When Buehler began complaining, Estabrook gave him the quick heave-ho.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora quickly came out to argue, but by then Buehler had already gotten the rest of his day off.

Although the game was scoreless at the time, Narvaez and Rafael Devers later hit solo home runs to give Boston a 2-0 victory.

In his first year with the Red Sox after spending his first eight MLB seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Buehler has a 4-1 record and 4.00 ERA in seven starts. He went on the injured list May 2 with shoulder inflammation, but returned to the active roster this week.

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Former President Joe Biden and his late son actively chose to conceal details and misled the public regarding Beau Biden’s cancer diagnosis while he served as attorney general of Delaware, a new book claims. 

The book, ‘Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,’ said that the Biden family wanted to keep Beau Biden’s cancer diagnosis a secret and misled the media about his condition. The nonfiction book, authored by journalists Jake Tapper of CNN and Alex Thompson of Axios, was released Tuesday. 

The revelation comes just after former President Biden announced Sunday he had been diagnosed with an ‘aggressive form’ of prostate cancer. The former president’s office later said Tuesday he had never received a prostate cancer diagnosis. 

‘Beau’s cancer treatment also demonstrated the Biden’s capacity for denial and the lengths they would go to to avoid transparency about health issues, even when the person in question is an elected official, in this case the sitting attorney general of Delaware,’ the book alleges. 

The book details how Beau collapsed in the summer of 2013 during a family vacation and that he subsequently faced surgery to remove a brain tumor. By the fall, Beau started to reduce his public appearances and media interviews. 

‘In September, Biden and Beau’s team internally debated how much to disclose about Beau — the vice president’s son and a state’s top law enforcement officer — but ultimately said nothing,’ the book said. ‘In November, Beau told a local reporter he had been given a ‘clean bill of health.’’

Months later, in February 2014, a neurologist revealed that a ‘small lesion’ was removed from Beau’s brain — even though the former president later shared the tumor was larger than a golf ball. 

Beau continued to serve as attorney general of Delaware as he received treatments all over the country. He would enter hospitals using the name George Lincoln, according to the book. 

The book details that Beau’s wife, Hallie, told others she remained confused regarding why Beau’s declining health was kept under wraps, since the public would have likely provided support. However, Joe and Beau remained against sharing details with the public, the book said. 

Hallie did not immediately respond to Fox News Digita’s request for comment. 

Additionally, the book said that the then-vice president ordered his staffers to ‘mislead’ the media regarding his whereabouts as vice president. While his team would say he was departing Washington and going to Delaware on weekends, the vice president would also travel to Houston to be with Beau, who was receiving treatment there. 

‘Publicly acknowledging Beau’s illness would make it a reality,’ the book said. ‘It was them against the world.’ 

A spokesperson for the former president did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Beau died of a glioblastoma brain tumor in May 2015 at the age of 46. 

‘Original Sin’ details the 2024 election cycle and how former President Biden’s team allegedly orchestrated a cover-up to hide just how severely his mental faculties had suffered. 

The book is one of several that detail Biden’s decision to run in 2024 and assert the dramatic decline of his cognitive function.

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U.S. health officials knew about the risks of myocarditis from COVID-19 vaccines but downplayed the concern and delayed informing the public about the risks of taking the jab — that is according to a new Senate report released by Sen. Ron Johnson Wednesday.  

Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has been investigating the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines. Earlier this year, he subpoenaed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for records relating to COVID-19 vaccine safety data and communications about the pandemic. 

The interim report, spanning 55 pages, obtained and reviewed by Fox News Digital, revealed that Biden administration officials ‘withheld crucial health information from the Subcommittee and the public.’ 

Since 2021, Johnson has sent more than 70 oversight letters, which he says were ‘either completely ignored or inadequately addressed.’ 

The report highlights the records Johnson has obtained pursuant to the subpoena from the new, Trump administration-led health agency. Specifically, the report focuses on HHS’ awareness of and response to cases of myocarditis—a type of heart inflammation—following COVID-19 vaccination.

Johnson’s report says the 2,473 pages of records he obtained ‘contain evidence of the Biden administration’s efforts to downplay and delay warning the public about the risks of myocarditis associated with the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.’ 

The report points to records from May 2021, in which health officials at HHS discussed whether to issue a formal warning about myocarditis.

According to the report, the formal warning about myocarditis was initially going to be distributed nationwide as a Health Alert Network message, which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is CDC’s ‘primary method of sharing cleared information about urgent public health incidents with public information officers; federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local public health practitioners; clinicians; and public health laboratories.’ 

However, Johnson’s report said that health officials at CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ‘ultimately decided against issuing a formal HAN and, instead, posted ‘clinical considerations’ on CDC’s website about myocarditis.’ 

‘Based on the subpoenaed records the Subcommittee has received to date, as well as public FOIA documents, this interim report will highlight records and present a timeline showing U.S. health officials knew about the risk of myocarditis; those officials downplayed the health concern; and U.S. health agencies delayed informing the public about the risk of the adverse event.’ 

The report also highlights the Israeli Ministry of Health notifying officials at the CDC in February 2021 of ‘large reports of myocarditis, particularly in young people, following the administration of the Pfizer vaccine.’ 

The report also highlights documents showing CDC officials discussing ‘safety signals’ for myocarditis with mRNA vaccines in April 2021 based on Defense Department and Israeli data, but ‘still not taking immediate steps to warn the public.’ 

Documents obtained by Johnson also show CDC officials communicating with Moderna and Pfizer representatives about the risks. 

Johnson also obtained ‘draft meeting notes from late May 2021 exchanged between U.S. public health officials which included the question: ‘Is VAERS signaling for myopericarditis now?,’ and the answer: ‘For the age groups 16-17 years and 18-24 years, yes.’’ 

‘VAERS’ is an acronym for the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. 

‘Rather than provide the public and health care providers with immediate and transparent information regarding the risk of myocarditis following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination, the Biden administration waited until late June 2021 to announce changes to the labels for the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines based on the ‘suggested increased risks’ of myocarditis and pericarditis,’ the report states. ‘Even though CDC and FDA officials were well aware of the risk of myocarditis following COVID-19 vaccination, the Biden administration opted to withhold issuing a formal warning to the public for months about the safety concerns, jeopardizing the health of young Americans.’ 

The report added that the Biden administration’s decision ‘to downplay the COVID-19 vaccine health risks and delay warning the public about cardiac-related adverse events associated with the mRNA vaccines jeopardized the public’s health.’ 

According to the report, as of April 25, 2025, VAERS reported 38,607 deaths and more than 1.6 million ‘adverse events worldwide associated with the administration of COVID-19 injections.’ 

Of the more than 38,000 deaths, the report said 25% occurred on Day 0, 1, or 2 following injection, compared to ‘2,663 deaths reported to VAERS associated with the flu vaccine over a period of 35 years.’ 

‘No other reports of adverse events associated with any other drug or vaccine even come close to these statistics,’ the report states. ‘And yet, those who oversaw the development and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines continue to insist it is safe and effective, without providing the data to prove their claims.’ 

Johnson’s report demands that the ‘full extent’ of the Biden administration’s ‘failure to immediately warn the public about all COVID-19 vaccine adverse events must be completely exposed.’ 

‘The American people fund the federal health departments and agencies with their hardearned tax dollars,’ the report states. ‘The information developed by these departments and agencies belong to the American people, and should be made fully and transparently available.’ 

The report states that as ‘the roadblocks are removed and more documents that have been hidden and withheld for years become available, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will provide transparency and let the American public see what is their right to see.’ 

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