Historically, the vice presidency has played a subdued political role, except for those who later became president. 

But since taking office, Vice President JD Vance has broken the mold, becoming a constant presence in international discourse from South America to Germany to Australia.

‘I think at a different time in American history it made sense for the vice president to be in the background, maybe a hundred years ago, when we didn’t have such a sophisticated media industry,’ said Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing, Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

‘But right now, especially with changes in the country, changes in [the] conservative movement, it’s a huge asset for President Trump and for the conservative movement to have not just a very active vice president, but someone who’s so articulate, and I’ll also say very winsome.’

Roberts spoke to reporters before Vance took the dais at a screening Tuesday night of ‘Live Not By Lies,’ an Angel Studios film chronicling the perils that spiritual and political dissidents faced in the communist Soviet bloc and beyond.

Of the 50 vice presidents throughout history, some would argue many names have been lost to the public memory, save for those who later ascended to the presidency, like George H.W. Bush, Joe Biden, Richard Nixon, Chester Arthur and Andrew Johnson.

Vice Presidents Dick Cheney of Wyoming, Aaron Burr of New York, John Calhoun of South Carolina and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts are considered three rare vice presidents who were more publicly active than naught. 

Gerry is who the term ‘gerrymander’ is named after.

Cheney was frequently a press foil for former President George W. Bush’s foreign policy. Burr famously killed Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in a duel. And Calhoun was one of the most vocal defenders of slavery in the 19th century.

Vance, however, appears to be tops in his prominence on the national and world stages, Roberts said.

The same way in which Vance spoke Tuesday on the importance of fighting for truth and being unafraid to speak out is also the way he carries himself in the nation’s second-highest office, he said.

Trump has skillfully ‘deployed’ his deputy to European countries, Roberts said, recounting his own discussions with European officials who are trying to understand how the U.S. is operating under Trump-Vance.

‘JD Vance is the interlocutor,’ he said, ‘But he’s really effective. His Munich speech is one of the most important [speeches] in the last few years.’

In Bavaria in February, Vance lambasted Western allies like Sweden and the United Kingdom for ‘backsliding’ on upholding free expression and personal liberty in a speech that shocked the international press.

As for why Vance has focused so much on Europe rather than the other geopolitical regions highlighted in Trump’s foreign policy, Roberts cited his experience in the Senate and U.S. military as preparing to deal with the Europeans.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to take a Vance-like role in Central and South America for reasons that likely transcend the diplomat’s Cuban heritage and Spanish proficiency: He understands southern geopolitics.

‘I think one of the legacies [of] Trump-Vance is going to be a revitalization of American power that only uses the threat of hard power and not the neoconservative adventurism that, of course, colored previous Republican administrations,’ he said.

A historic tree at the White House will meet the end of its lifespan soon – but an expert says that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced that he plans to chop down a southern magnolia purportedly planted by former President Andrew Jackson. The Republican wrote that he was working with ‘the wonderful people at the National Park Service’ to make ‘tremendous enhancements to the White House, thereby preserving and protecting History!’

‘One of the interesting dilemmas is a tree planted many years ago by the Legendary President and General, Andrew Jackson,’ Trump explained. ‘It is a Southern Magnolia, that came from his home, The Hermitage, in Tennessee. That’s the good news!’

‘The bad news is that everything must come to an end, and this tree is in terrible condition, a very dangerous safety hazard, at the White House Entrance, no less, and must now be removed,’ he continued. 

Legend states that Jackson, who served as president from 1829 to 1837, reportedly planted two magnolia trees at the White House to honor his late wife Rachel. But it is not clear if the trees were definitely planted by Old Hickory, and the National Park Service’s (NPS) website states that they date back to the 1860s at the latest.

Regardless, the tree is still considered historic, and Trump promised that the magnolia’s wood will be ‘preserved by the White House Staff, and may be used for other high and noble purposes.’

Speaking to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, consulting arborist Denice Britton explained that the tree ‘could very likely be potentially dangerous.’

‘Just from looking at a photograph, I can see that the tree is thin, meaning that there were lots of branches that didn’t have foliage on it,’ she observed. ‘So that’s a sign that it wasn’t as vigorous as the trees around it.’

Britton, who has worked as an arborist for over four decades, professionally consults clients on matters ranging from tree appraisal and tree management to risk assessment. A risk assessment is when an arborist inspects a tree for heavy wood, disease or any other type of risk.

‘As long as one of the [White House’s] tree service’s arborists has performed a risk evaluation on it, and declared it high risk, the tree should be taken down,’ she added. ‘The arborists who take care of the trees at the White House are highly qualified.’

Having spent her career in California, Britton said that she’s worked with a few southern magnolias before, particularly one in Napa.

‘The southern magnolia is a fairly common tree that’s planted pretty much all over the country… it is similar to cherry trees,’ Britton said. ‘It is a hardwood, but it’s considered a ‘soft’ hardwood in that it’s got straight grain. It’s valued by woodworkers.’

‘Because so many of the original old growth trees have been removed over the years, [the Jackson magnolia] is not a particularly old tree for a magnolia.’

Britton also noted that environmentalists who oppose the tree’s felling would be remiss to ignore that repurposing wood helps save carbon.

‘If you burn it, you release that carbon back to the atmosphere,’ she explained. ‘If you cut it up and put it into a structure, then you’re actually saving it… so you’re prolonging the life of the carbon that’s in the tree.’

The expert also expressed contentment over seeing how well the trees have been taken care of.

‘I’m sure that [Trump] spoke to an expert with the NPS or the tree service that takes care of the trees and was reiterating what he was told,’ Britton said. ‘It’s just nice to see trees talked about positively… they have always been revered as part of our culture. And I’m so glad to see them revered and cared for like they do in Washington.’

: Senate Committee on the Budget Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is unveiling on Wednesday the upper chamber’s changes to a House-passed budget resolution in a breakthrough for getting President Donald Trump’s key agenda items through Congress. 

With the Senate’s latest action, Republicans’ much-anticipated budget reconciliation resolution is one step closer to passage, in what would be a huge win for Trump and the GOP. 

The Senate amendment includes raising the debt ceiling in the key budget process by no more than $5 trillion. This has been a request of Trump since before he took office the second time. The date estimated for a potential default has been inching closer, presenting a looming problem for Republicans in the Senate.

Republicans who argued to include the debt ceiling in reconciliation said it would prevent Democrats from having leverage down the road, when a vote to raise it would need 60 votes, forcing them to lobby Democrats for support. 

The amendment also stipulates that the provision to raise the debt ceiling can be voted on separate from the rest of the resolution, in the case that the ‘X Date,’ when the Treasury is unable to meet its financial obligations without intervention, is set to arrive sooner than Republicans are prepared to vote on the entire reconciliation package. 

Reconciliation notably lowers the vote threshold in the Senate from 60 to 51, allowing Republicans to move legislation through without Democrat support. This is viewed as a key tool for the Republican trifecta in Washington to get Trump’s policies passed. 

The Senate amendment would further make the House’s proposed extension of the Trump tax cuts permanent, doing so by using a current policy baseline that allows budget projections to be made in what some view as a more practical and realistic way. 

Senate Republicans also avoid needing the parliamentarian to make a ruling, which could have presented issues. They are relying on the authority given by statute to the budget chairman to set the current policy baseline.

The amendment’s release comes after countless meetings between key parties to the budget process, including Trump, House leaders, Senate leaders and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. 

On Wednesday morning, Trump met with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Budget Committee Republicans ahead of the amendment text coming out. 

The White House discussion was meant to be a final check-in to make sure all parties were on the same page, a source familiar told Fox News Digital.

House Republicans are still divided after proceedings ground to a halt on Tuesday over a push by a small group of GOP lawmakers to block Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., from changing chamber procedures.

Nine House Republicans joined Democrats in blocking a normally sleepy procedural vote, known as a ‘rule vote,’ from passing on Tuesday afternoon. It came after House leaders tucked an unrelated provision into the measure that would have stopped Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., from forcing a vote on giving new parents in the House the ability to vote remotely.

Johnson called the move ‘disappointing’ and cut the House’s legislative week short, sending lawmakers back to their districts two days early and canceling the remaining votes.

‘If a career in politics doesn’t work out for me, I have ample credentials to work at a circus,’ a senior House GOP aide said when asked about the current situation. 

It’s led to bitter feelings on both sides of the standoff – and in some cases, toward both parties.

‘America did not vote for Congress paternity proxy voting at home. America did not vote for Congress to put a lid on the week on a Tuesday,’ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wrote on X on Wednesday morning. ‘I’m pretty disgusted with the events of yesterday. Republicans should not be joining with Democrats for their own personal agendas, and we shouldn’t quit and go home when things don’t go our way.’

Republicans who were against Luna’s push accused her of acting against the will of the House GOP majority and the country.

‘I don’t think most Americans want their Congress members voting from home. Our constituents have to show up to work, and we should too,’ Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, told ‘The Ingraham Angle.’

Johnson accused Luna and her allies of delaying Trump’s agenda.

Luna, however, has pointed out that Johnson could have stripped the provision killing her measure out of the ‘rule’ and held the vote again, when it likely would have passed.

‘I am 100% supportive of [President Donald Trump] and his America First agenda. It is disingenuous for [Johnson] to lie about me,’ Luna wrote on X in response to the speaker’s comments. ‘[House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Johnson] did not have to send us home.’

Rep. Erin Houchin, R-Ind., appeared to defend Johnson’s decision to end the week.

‘What I would say is, the speaker has a responsibility, and he is engaging in that responsibility to protect the institutions from proxy voting,’ Houchin said. ‘I support that, and we’ll continue to have these conversations and hope that we’ll come back together next week, and we’ll get back to business.’

Another House Republican told Fox News Digital of the decision to send lawmakers home early, ‘Lots of torn-up feelings. Might be better to press pause for a couple of days.’

The ‘rule,’ if passed, would have allowed for debate and eventual House votes on a bill to limit district judges’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions and a measure requiring proof of citizenship in the voter registration process, respectively.

But House leaders also added a provision that would have neutered lawmakers’ ability to file discharge petitions, a mechanism that forces the chamber to consider legislation even if those in charge oppose it.

Luna had used a discharge petition to try to force a vote on a bipartisan bill to allow new parents in the House to vote remotely for 12 weeks surrounding the birth of their child.

That bill gained support from all Democrats and enough House Republicans to net the necessary majority threshold, despite Johnson and a group of conservatives being vehemently opposed.

Republicans who voted with Luna on Tuesday argued they did so to protect a tool of the House majority.

‘Don’t buy the BS. My ‘no’ vote was about process—not whether new parents should be able to proxy vote,’ Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., wrote on X. ‘I voted against a rule bill that undermined a Member’s right to utilize the discharge petition—a century-old tool that empowers individual Members to force a vote when leadership blocks legislation.’

Steube himself successfully used a discharge petition last year to force a vote on legislation to offer tax relief for disaster victims.

Luna said in a statement Wednesday night, ‘The reason a discharge petition is put in place is in the event that members are unable to bring legislation to the floor because, for whatever reason, the leadership blocks it. There are a few bills that have been filed for a while but have never been voted on. This place loves to consolidate power. The discharge petition must be protected at all costs.’

Johnson huddled with members of the House Rules Committee on Wednesday morning, but Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., one of the conservatives opposed to Luna’s push, told Fox News Digital that no decisions had been made.

‘Nothing has changed. I like Anna Paulina Luna. I just don’t like proxy voting. I think that opens Pandora’s Box,’ Norman said. ‘We didn’t come up with any solutions today, but I think we’ll come up with something.’

If Johnson decides to strip out the discharge petition language from the ‘rule,’ the measure will have to be debated and advanced out of the House Rules Committee again.

He said little to Fox News when asked about the standoff on Wednesday.

‘We’ll work through it. We’ve already begun that process today,’ Johnson said. He added that ‘another rule’ will be moved ‘early next week.’

Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

Elon Musk will exit his role with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on schedule later this spring, once ‘his incredible work at DOGE is complete,’ the White House confirmed Wednesday. 

‘This ‘scoop’ is garbage,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted to X Wednesday. ‘Elon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete.’ 

Leavitt was referring to a Wednesday Politico article reporting that ‘Trump has told his inner circle & members of his Cabinet that’ Musk ‘will be stepping back in the coming weeks from his current role.’ Musk, however, has long been anticipated to step back from DOGE when his 130 days as a ‘special government employee’ run out in May. 

Musk has been the public face of DOGE since President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the office Jan. 20. 

Musk officially was hired as a ‘special government employee,’ which is a role Congress created in 1962 that allows the executive or legislative branch to hire temporary employees for specific short-term initiatives.

Special government employees are permitted to work for the federal government for ‘no more than 130 days in a 365- day period,’ according to data from the Office of Government Ethics. Musk’s 130-day timeframe, beginning on Inauguration Day, runs dry May 30. 

‘Politico has become a tabloid paper that would rather run fake news for clicks than real reporting,’ White House spokesman Harrison Fields told Fox Digital Wednesday of Politico’s report. ‘This is exactly why President Trump and DOGE have terminated millions of dollars in wasteful, government contracts to so-called news organizations that have diminished their credibility with the American people.’ 

DOGE is a temporary cross-departmental organization that was established to slim down and streamline the federal government. The group itself will be dissolved on July 4, 2026, according to Trump’s executive order.

Musk and Trump have both previously previewed that Musk’s role was temporary and would come to end in the coming weeks. 

‘You, technically, are a special government employee and you’re supposed to be 130 days,’ Fox News’ Bret Baier asked Musk during an exclusive interview with the DOGE leader and members of his team Thursday. ‘Are you going to continue past that or do you think that’s what you’re going to do?’ 

‘I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that time frame,’ Musk responded. 

Trump hinted at Musk’s departure in comments to the media Monday when asked if he wants Musk to remain in a government role for longer than the predetermined 130 days. 

‘I think he’s amazing. But I also think he’s got a big company to run,’ Trump responded. ‘And so at some point he’s going to be going back.’

‘I’d keep him as long as I can keep him. He’s a very talented guy. You know, I love very smart people. He’s very smart. And he’s done a good job,’ the president added. ‘DOGE is, we’ve found numbers that nobody can even believe.’ 

The man accused of planning to murder Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh plans to plead guilty, according to court documents. Attorneys for Nicholas Roske confirmed his plea on Wednesday in a letter to Judge Deborah Bordman.

‘We write to inform the Court that Mr. Roske wishes to plead guilty to the one-count indictment pending against him,’ Roske’s attorneys wrote in a letter to the judge. The legal team also submitted a letter that Roske signed, which outlined the offense, penalties and ‘a factual basis in support of a guilty plea.’

Roske was set to go on trial on June 9, 2025. However, after the filing, both his attorneys and the government are seeking to schedule a hearing on April 7 or 8, during which he will formally enter the plea.

In May 2022, months before the midterms, a draft decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that would strike down Roe v. Wade was leaked and t. This ignited protests as pro-choice advocates and Democrats fought to keep Roe in place. The Court overturned Roe on June 24, 2022, making abortion a key issue in the November midterms and fueling anger among many Americans, including Roske.

When Roske made his way from Los Angeles to Maryland on June 7, 2022, to attempt to kill Kavanaugh, only the leaked draft was available to the public. 

The letter that Roske signed detailed the series of events that led to his arrest outside of Kavanaugh’s home on June 8, 2022. According to the document, Roske admits that the government would be able to prove ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ that he flew to Washington with an unloaded firearm and ammo, took a taxi to Kavanaugh’s neighborhood, and told police he had suicidal and homicidal thoughts and that he was there ‘to act on them.’

Roske was picked up by police on a nearby street after calling 911 on himself. At the time, he allegedly told police he wanted ‘to give his life a purpose’ by breaking into Kavanaugh’s home, killing the justice and then himself. He was later charged with attempted murder. 

According to an affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Roske told detectives that ‘he was upset about the leak of a recent p regarding the right to an abortion as well as the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas,’ and believed Kavanaugh ‘would side with Second Amendment decisions that would loosen gun control laws.’

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is celebrating the GOP’s victory in two Florida special elections, despite Democrats’ full-throated fundraising efforts.

‘Decisive and double-digit wins in Florida show yet again that Americans are fired up to continue electing House Republicans, despite being significantly outraised and underestimated by misleading narratives from the media,’ Johnson told Fox News Digital.

‘Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine will now be strong voices for Florida and our nation who will help us deliver on the mandate voters have given us in Congress,’ he added.

He is celebrating having ‘full’ House GOP membership after kicking off the year – and Republicans’ government trifecta – with a razor-thin majority after two key departures amid Trump administration turnover.

‘Democrats are in disarray, and even after wasting tens of millions of dollars, they could not sell their extreme, radical, and rejected ideas to voters,’ Johnson said. ‘With our full House Republican Conference now in place, we will continue our work to advance President Trump’s America First agenda and defend our majority in 2026.’

Victories for Patronis, who served as Florida’s chief financial officer, and state Sen. Fine means Republicans will have a 220-213 majority in the House for the time being.

Democrats have two vacancies of their own after the recent deaths of two lawmakers.

However, until those are filled, Johnson will be able to afford up to three GOP defections on any party-line vote.

Their votes will be critical for Johnson as he works to enact President Donald Trump’s agenda with little to no Democratic support – particularly with Republicans trying to pass sweeping legislation via the budget reconciliation process.

Fine won his race against Democrat Josh Weil with nearly 57% of the vote in Florida’s 6th Congressional District. He ran to replace National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.

In Florida’s 1st Congressional District, which former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., vacated during an unsuccessful bid to become attorney general, Patronis beat Democrat Gay Valimont by nearly the same margin.

Both districts lean heavily Republican, despite Democrats’ significant fundraising efforts.