Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., doesn’t envision, nor want, the U.S. military becoming directly involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran, but that hinges on whether the Islamic Republic rejoins the negotiating table.

‘Dismantling Iran’s nuclear program is what this is all about,’ Thune told Fox News Digital from his office in the Capitol. ‘And that can happen one of two ways. It can happen diplomatically — voluntarily —or can happen via force.’

Thune’s comments come as questions and concerns swirl on Capitol Hill among lawmakers about whether the U.S. will take a bigger, more direct role in the burgeoning conflict in the Middle East. There are active conversations among senators about what role Congress should play in whether to thrust the U.S. into an armed conflict or if that power should be ceded to the president. 

‘The Israelis may not have the military capability to do everything that’s necessary,’ he continued. ‘If the Iranians are smart, they’ll come to the table and negotiate this in a way in which they choose to end or disavow their nuclear program.’

Israel and Iran traded missile strikes for a fifth day following the Jewish State’s late-night strike last Thursday, where critical infrastructure that would aid Iran in its pursuit of creating a nuclear weapon was damaged or destroyed. Notably, Israel has been unable to damage the heavily fortified Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. 

Bipartisan resolutions requiring that Congress gets to weigh in and take a vote on going to war with Iran and disavowing an armed conflict entirely have circulated this week, while some lawmakers believe that the U.S. should go all in to snuff out Iran’s nuclear capabilities and back up Israel as fighting rages.

President Donald Trump has so far refused to say whether the U.S. would use direct military force to prevent Iran from creating or obtaining a nuclear weapon, and he has continued to urge Iranian leaders to negotiate a nuclear deal.

Still, the president met in the White House’s Situation Room on Tuesday with his National Security Team after leaving the G7 Summit in Canada early.

Ahead of that meeting, he said on his social media platform, Truth Social, ‘We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran.’ In that same post, he noted that the U.S. was aware of where Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was ‘hiding,’ but was not prepared to strike, ‘at least not for now.’

But Thune was more cautious, and contended that ‘we’ll wait and see what they do.’

‘I think right now, they’re definitely on their heels,’ he said. ‘Their command and control has been taken out. Nobody knows who’s really in charge.’

‘We’ll see. If they’re smart, they’ll come to the table.’

However, he hoped to see Iranians begin to rise up against the Ayatollah and believed that’s when the ‘seeds of change’ would begin to appear. He also noted that there are ‘a lot of things here that suggest to me, this may be that moment in time that we haven’t seen since 1979,’ a reference to the Iranian Revolution that saw the overthrow of the monarchy in Iran and the subsequent creation of the Islamic Republic. 

Asked whether lawmakers would put forward a supplemental spending package to further aid Israel, Thune said, ‘We’ll cross that bridge if and when we come to it.’ But he envisioned that if one were necessary, it would be dealt with after the budget reconciliation process, when lawmakers work to fund the government during fiscal 2026 appropriations.

‘I think, for right now, everybody is wishing the Israelis success and, again, hoping that the U.S. doesn’t have to get further involved, but realizing what’s at stake, and not only for Israel but for the region and the world,’ he said. 

A key House Republican says Israel will continue to have bipartisan support from Congress as its conflict with Iran worsens tensions in the Middle East.

‘Yeah, absolutely,’ Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said when asked about a hypothetical supplemental funding package in the event the crisis became a prolonged conflict. 

‘There’s very, very, very strong bipartisan support, in particular Republican support, for Israel, and I think again, what we are seeing is Israel doing what they need to do to protect themselves from literally being wiped off the face of the planet.’

He also commended President Donald Trump as having handled the volatile situation ‘brilliantly so far.’

The Florida Republican chairs the House Appropriations Committee panel responsible for overseeing foreign aid and State Department funding.

The National Security, Department of State, and Related Programssubcommittee was key to Congress crafting emergency foreign aid packages to Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine last year — all of which passed Congress with varying degrees of bipartisan support.

Diaz-Balart said he had not spoken with House leaders about the issue, noting most lawmakers were away in their home districts tending to their constituencies this week.

He added, ‘I’ve actually had informal conversations with members.’

He declined to say how those members felt about supplemental Israel funding, however, telling Fox News Digital, ‘I can’t speak for others, but I will tell you that there is a very strong appetite from me to make sure that Israel has all the help that it needs in order to finish the job that it’s doing.’

Meanwhile, he and his fellow subcommittee members have also been crafting their appropriations bill for the next fiscal year coming on Oct. 1.

‘We’re going to do what we’ve been consistently doing, is just, we’re going to be helping Israel. And if there is a need to do more, obviously you’re going to see strong support, whether it’s in the appropriation… bills, or if we need a supplemental, I think you would see strong bipartisan support,’ he said.

Last year, the House authorized just over $26 billion in emergency U.S. funding for Israel, humanitarian aid in the region, and shore up American military operations. The bill passed in an overwhelmingly bipartisan 366 to 58 vote — an increasingly rare occurrence for major legislation in the current political climate.

Twenty-one House Republicans and 37 Democrats voted against the measure at the time.

But since then, Democrats have continued to grow increasingly critical of Israel’s war in Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative government.

At the same time, there’s been a growing skepticism of foreign aid among the House GOP — particularly with the national debt climbing toward $37 trillion.

Diaz-Balart, however, was still optimistic that a hypothetical aid package could pass if brought up in Congress, when asked about both of those factors.

Israeli officials said Iran was dangerously close to having a nuclear weapon when its military launched an attack on Tehran that killed the Islamic regime’s top military figures and hit nuclear sites in and around the capital.

Since then, both sides have exchanged rocket fire, with fatalities reported on both sides.

Fox News Digital reached out to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., for comment on the possibility of supplemental funding to Israel.

A key House Republican says Congress should consider sending emergency U.S. aid to Israel amid its worsening conflict with Iran.

‘Yeah, absolutely,’ Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said when asked about a supplemental funding package in the event the crisis became a prolonged conflict. 

‘There’s very, very, very strong bipartisan support, in particular Republican support, for Israel, and I think again, what we are seeing is Israel doing what they need to do to protect themselves from literally being wiped off the face of the planet.’

He also commended President Donald Trump as having handled the volatile situation ‘brilliantly so far.’

The Florida Republican chairs the House Appropriations Committee panel responsible for overseeing foreign aid and State Department funding.

The National Security, Department of State, and Related Programssubcommittee was key to Congress crafting emergency foreign aid packages to Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine last year — all of which passed Congress with varying degrees of bipartisan support.

Diaz-Balart said he had not spoken with House leaders about the issue, noting most lawmakers were away in their home districts tending to their constituencies this week.

He added, ‘I’ve actually had informal conversations with members.’

He declined to say how those members felt about supplemental Israel funding, however, telling Fox News Digital, ‘I can’t speak for others, but I will tell you that there is a very strong appetite from me to make sure that Israel has all the help that it needs in order to finish the job that it’s doing.’

Meanwhile, he and his fellow subcommittee members have also been crafting their appropriations bill for the next fiscal year coming on Oct. 1.

‘We’re going to do what we’ve been consistently doing, is just, we’re going to be helping Israel. And if there is a need to do more, obviously you’re going to see strong support, whether it’s in the appropriation… bills, or if we need a supplemental, I think you would see strong bipartisan support,’ he said.

Last year, the House authorized just over $26 billion in emergency U.S. funding for Israel, humanitarian aid in the region, and shore up American military operations. The bill passed in an overwhelmingly bipartisan 366 to 58 vote — an increasingly rare occurrence for major legislation in the current political climate.

Twenty-one House Republicans and 37 Democrats voted against the measure at the time.

But since then, Democrats have continued to grow increasingly critical of Israel’s war in Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative government.

At the same time, there’s been a growing skepticism of foreign aid among the House GOP — particularly with the national debt climbing toward $37 trillion.

Diaz-Balart, however, was still optimistic that a hypothetical aid package could pass if brought up in Congress, when asked about both of those factors.

Israeli officials said Iran was dangerously close to having a nuclear weapon when its military launched an attack on Tehran that killed the Islamic regime’s top military figures and hit nuclear sites in and around the capital.

Since then, both sides have exchanged rocket fire, with fatalities reported on both sides.

Fox News Digital reached out to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., for comment on the possibility of supplemental funding to Israel.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was taken to the hospital on Tuesday after suffering an allergic reaction, according to a DHS spokesperson.

She was transported to the hospital out of an abundance of caution, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital.

It is unclear what triggered the event.

Noem is said to be alert and recovering.

Bruce LeVell, former Executive Director of President Donald Trump’s National Diversity Coalition, took to social media to send Noem well wishes.

‘My dear friend @Sec_Noem, our fearless Secretary of Homeland Security, was just rushed to the hospital,’ LeVell wrote on X. ‘My heart is with her during this challenging time, but I know her strength and determination will shine through. Please join me in keeping Kristi in your prayers for a swift and full recovery. 

‘She has been tirelessly spearheading @realDonaldTrump initiative to uphold law and order and utilize ICE to keep our country safe from criminals. Let’s stand strong for her, just as she’s stood strong for America.’

Charlie Kirk, Founder and CEO of Turning Point USA asked his followers to ‘Pray for Kristi.’

Allegations that the Chinese Communist Party manufactured fake driver’s licenses and shipped them to the U.S. in a scheme to influence the 2020 presidential election in favor of Joe Biden are being investigated by the Senate Judiciary Committee after the FBI revealed its own probe into the potential bombshell Monday night.

FBI Director Kash Patel located and declassified the document at the request of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley in late May and transmitted it to the committee Monday evening.

Grassley, R-Iowa, is demanding further information about the document, which alleges the plot sought to deliver fake driver’s licenses to Chinese sympathizers in the U.S. who would cast a vote for candidate Biden. The document does not say whether any ballots were cast as part of the scheme.

‘Chairman Grassley is in receipt of an FBI document (response) to a request he made based on legally protected whistleblower disclosures,’ a Grassley spokesperson told Fox News Digital. ‘The document alleges serious national security concerns that need to be fully investigated by the FBI.’ 

Fox News Digital has reviewed the declassified document, which includes a ‘warning’ section, stating it ‘is an information report, not finally evaluated intelligence.’

‘It is being shared for informational purposes but has not been fully evaluated, integrated with other information, interpreted or analyzed,’ the document states.

‘Receiving agencies are requested not to take action based on this raw reporting without prior coordination with the FBI,’ the document states. ‘Unless a conviction in a criminal proceeding occurs, a presumption of innocence exists for any person being reported in this IIR.’ 

The subject states, ‘[REDACTED] Chinese Government Production and Export of Fraudulent US Drivers Licenses to Chinese Sympathizers in the United States, in Order to Create Tens of Thousands of Fraudulent Mail-In Votes for US Presidential Candidate Joe Biden, in late August 2020.’ 

The ‘source’ of the document is ‘a collaborative source with indirect access, none of whose reporting has been corroborated for less than one year.’ 

The ‘context’ states that ‘the source obtained the information from an identified sub-source, who claimed they obtained the information from unidentified PRC government officials.’ 

The document states that ‘in late August 2020, the Chinese government had produced a large amount of fraudulent United States drivers licenses that were secretly exported to the United States.

‘The fraudulent drivers licenses would allow tens of thousands of Chinese students and immigrants sympathetic to the Chinese Communist Party to vote for US Presidential Candidate USPER Joe ((Biden)), despite not being eligible to vote in the United States.

‘China had collected private US user data from millions of TikTok accounts, to include name, ID and address, which would allow the Chinese government to use real US persons’ information to create the fraudulent drivers license,’ the document states. 

‘The fraudulent drivers licenses were to include true ID number and true address of US citizens, making them difficult to detect,’ the document adds. ‘China planned to use the fraudulent drivers licenses to account for tens of thousands of mail-in votes.’ 

FBI notations on the document, however, show the bureau had some questions. 

In one spot, the agency wrote that ‘a persons address information was not a valid field when creating a TikTok account. It was unspecified how China would attain US address data from the application.’ 

Another FBI comment on the document states, ‘[REDACTED] Source is available for re-contact.’ 

The next page of the document states, ‘SUBSTANTIVE RECALL’ of the information, which took place Sept. 25, 2020 — just a day after then-FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before Congress that the FBI had not seen any coordinated voter fraud ahead of the 2020 election. 

The ‘context’ section of the document states, ‘[REDACTED] The source obtained the information from an identified sub-source, who claimed they obtained the information from unidentified PRC government officials.’ 

The ‘warning’ section of the document repeats the first warning that the allegations are part of ‘an information report, not finally evaluated intelligence.’ 

The document stated the ‘report was recalled in order to re-interview the source.’ It also states that ‘recipients should destroy all copies of the original report and remove the original report from all computer holdings.’ 

‘Recipients should also ensure that any citation of the information in finished intelligence products draws on the SUBSTANTIVE RECALL of this report rather than the previous version.’ 

More information is being requested from the FBI as part of the Senate’s investigation.

‘Grassley is requesting additional documentation from the FBI to verify the production and is urging the FBI to do its due diligence to investigate why the document was recalled, who recalled it and inform the American people of its findings,’ a Grassley spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

The remainder of the document is heavily redacted. 

‘Thanks to the oversight work and partnership of Chairman Grassley, the FBI continues to provide unprecedented transparency at the people’s Bureau,’ Patel said upon declassifying the document and transmitting it to Grassley. ‘To that end, we have located documents Chairman Grassley requested, which detail alarming allegations related to the 2020 U.S. election. 

‘Specifically, these include allegations of plans from the CCP to manufacture fake driver’s licenses and ship them into the United States for the purpose of facilitating fraudulent mail-in ballots — allegations which, while substantiated, were abruptly recalled and never disclosed to the public.’ 

Patel added, ‘In accordance with Chairman Grassley’s request for documents, I have immediately declassified the material and turned the documents over to the Chairman for further review.’

But Grassley is seeking more information specifically related to the FBI’s decision under the leadership of former Director Wray to recall the document to ‘re-interview the source,’ and ‘destroy all copies of the original report and remove the original report from all computing holdings.’ 

Grassley is demanding Patel turn over all records relating to the follow-up interview, including all communications between and among agents and intelligence analysts. 

‘In addition, please describe all investigative steps the FBI has taken, or will take, to determine the veracity of the allegations in the IIR as well as who recalled the IIR and the basis for the recall, if that basis extends beyond the request for the source to be re-interviewed,’ Grassley wrote in a letter Tuesday to Patel. 

‘Lastly, explain why the FBI under your predecessor required the original IIR to be destroyed, whether this practice is consistent with the FBI’s past and current practice, and how it comports with federal record preservation requirements.’ 

The FBI reporting document came just a month after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the International Mail Facility at Chicago O’Hare International Airport seized nearly 20,000 fraudulent driver’s licenses. 

From January 2020 through June 30, 2020, CBP officers at that location reported seizing 1,513 shipments of fraudulent documents that included a total of 19,888 counterfeit US driver’s licenses. 

‘The majority of these shipments were arriving from China and Hong Kong,’ CBP posted in a July press release.

It was not immediately clear if the seizure had any relation to the document’s allegations.

Senate Republicans are steadily moving along in their quest to advance President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill,’ but some remain dissatisfied with one of the most crucial portions of the package.

The Senate Finance Committee unveiled its portion of the budget reconciliation package Monday night that deals directly with making the president’s first-term tax cuts permanent and the more controversial proposed changes to Medicaid, niche tax issues and Biden-era green energy subsidies.

Senate Republicans met behind closed doors to get a crash course on the bill, and some left distraught over provisions they hoped they would see on the cutting room floor. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., can only afford to lose three votes in the upper chamber.

And due to the nature of budget reconciliation, which allows lawmakers to skirt the filibuster, he can’t count on Democrats, who would demand serious changes to the broader legislation, to help get the package across the line.

The changes to the Medicaid provider tax rate, which were a stark departure from the House GOP’s version of the bill, particularly ruffled feathers among Republicans who have warned not to make revisions to the healthcare program that could shut down rural hospitals and boot working Americans from their benefits.

‘I want changes,’ Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said. ‘I’m still not satisfied with where we are on Medicaid.’

The Senate Finance Committee went further than the House’s freeze of the provider tax rate, or the amount that state Medicaid programs pay to healthcare providers on behalf of Medicaid beneficiaries, for non-Affordable Care Act expansion states, and included a provision that lowers the rate in expansion states annually until it hits 3.5 percent.

To date, 41 states and Washington, D.C., have opted into the Medicaid expansion program. The idea behind the changes to the provider rate taxes was to help pay for Trump’s mammoth bill in part and discourage the remaining states from opting into Medicaid expansion.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., argued, for a state like his dotted with rural hospitals, that the bill ‘is not a good development’ for their survival. 

‘I mean, it’s really not,’ he said. ‘And in order to pay for increased subsidies for the Green New Deal? I mean, it just baffles me.’

The Senate’s version of the tax package does add more flexibility to green energy tax credits than the House’s, an issue pushed for by a handful of Senate Republicans who wanted to see the truncated phase-out of the credits in the House bill slowed down.

Senate Republicans met with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz Tuesday afternoon to discuss the Medicaid tweaks in the bill. Oz said the White House did ‘not believe’ changing the provider tax would influence the ability of hospitals to stay viable. 

‘In fact, the provider tax and the state-directed payments are often used to pay institutions that have the best connections to the government of the state, not necessarily the hospitals that need the help the most,’ he said. ‘It is important that we clean up this system.’

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., sought to extinguish anger among his colleagues, noting that Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Senate leaders were still working on what the final product would look like.

‘Everybody’s got an opinion, and I think it’s gonna be that way right up until we vote,’ he said.

Fiscal hawks were not pleased with the bill, either.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., has stumped for a return to pre-COVID-19 pandemic era spending, a gouge to federal spending that would be trillions of dollars more than the rough goal of $2 trillion in spending cuts that some Senate Republicans are eying.

He believed there was ‘no way’ that the current parts of the broader reconciliation package could be fixed and stitched together by the Senate GOP’s self-imposed July 4 deadline.

‘The problem is it just simply doesn’t meet the moment,’ he said.

But Crapo cautioned he and lawmakers were still working out the kinks and that a resolution to his colleagues’ issues could still be found.

‘All I can say is that we will work it out,’ Crapo said. ‘We have to work that out, not only among our colleagues in the Senate, but with the House and with the White House.’

An American citizen was among the 15 killed in Russian drone and missile strikes on the Ukrainian capital city, Kyiv, on Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed in a press conference Wednesday.

In response to a reporter’s question on U.S. diplomats in Kyiv having to spend the night in a bunker, Bruce said ‘we can confirm the death of a U.S. citizen in Ukraine.’

‘We are aware of last night’s attack on Kyiv that resulted in numerous casualties, including the tragic death of a U.S. citizen,’ she said, noting, ‘We condemn those strikes and extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected.’

Bruce did not offer any more details on the identity of the citizen killed by the Russian strikes, citing ‘respect to the family during this obviously horrible time.’

She noted that ‘the president in the recent past has made his thoughts clear about striking civilian areas in that regard’ and reiterated that ‘the thread throughout all of the work that we do is the department has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens abroad.’

She added that the State Department ‘stand[s] ready to provide all possible consular assistance.’

The AP reported that 15 people were killed and 156 wounded in a Russian bombardment of Kyiv that lasted nearly nine hours. According to the outlet, Russia fired over 440 drones and 32 missiles, making it the deadliest attack on the Ukrainian capital this year.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on X that six other Ukrainian regions — Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad and Mykolai — were also hit during the attacks.

This comes as world leaders converge on Canada for the G7 Summit. President Donald Trump attended the first day of the summit but left early to deal with the growing Iran-Israel conflict.

Trump slammed former President Barack Obama and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for their 2014 ‘very big mistake’ when Russia was removed from the G8 summit, which Trump argued would have prevented further war from breaking out between Russia and Ukraine. 

‘The G7 used to be the G8. Barack Obama and a person named Trudeau didn’t want to have Russia in,’ Trump said Monday from Canada, where the G7 summit is being held, while joined by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. 

‘I would say that that was a mistake because I think you wouldn’t have a war right now if you had Russia. And you wouldn’t have a war right now if Trump were president four years ago,’ Trump continued. ‘But it didn’t work out that way. But it used to be the G8.’ 

The White House is in ongoing discussions with Capitol Hill to amend a proposed sanctions bill targeting Russia, and prefers that route over sanctions led by the executive branch. 

Now, with Trump increasingly skeptical of Vladimir Putin’s intentions to end the war, the bill could soon come to the floor. According to three sources familiar with the matter, talks between lawmakers and the White House are active, though no firm timeline has been set.

Trump has pushed for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, which have so far not yielded an end to the three-year conflict, and has begun to sour on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reluctance to find a peaceful end to the ongoing conflict. He recently questioned ‘what the hell happened’ to the Russian leader.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller, Emma Colton and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump has refused to say whether the U.S. will use direct military force against Iran to stop it from getting a nuclear weapon, but one top security expert is sounding the alarm that taking out Iran’s nuclear threat ‘is a job only the U.S. can do.’

Israel launched a series of strikes against Iran beginning overnight on Thursday, and according to the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, the Natanz nuclear facility’s underground structures, some 36 feet underground, did see ‘direct impact’ from the strikes, though the extent of damage remains unclear.

However, Israel did not strike the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant – which is believed to be capable of producing a nuclear warhead in as little as two to three days, according to the Institute for Science and International Security – likely because Israel does not possess the military capabilities it would take to strike the Fordow facility, which is reported to be up to 300 feet underground.

‘Fordow is not the only remaining important nuclear facility, but it’s the most dangerous,’ Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. ‘Destroying it from the air is a job only the U.S. can do.’

The Fordow nuclear facility is believed to be Iran’s most heavily protected nuclear site, built deep into mountain bedrock and divided into two enrichment halls capable of holding some 3,000 centrifuges.

The only way to penetrate this facility may be by using a 30,000-pound bomb, known as the ‘bunker buster,’ a GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) specifically designed to penetrate deeply buried targets, though even this capability is estimated to have a reach of some 200 feet, according to publicly available information.

Dubowitz explained that to ‘inflict real damage’ more than just bunker-busting munitions are needed, including ‘stealth delivery platforms like the B-2 Spirit bomber to penetrate advanced air defenses and deliver the MOP’ as well as precision Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) ‘to ensure you’re not just damaging outer entrances or fake decoys.’

‘Only the United States possesses the full spectrum,’ he told Fox News Digital. Israel, despite its unmatched regional capability and world-class Air Force, does not yet have the MOP or the platforms to deliver it. 

‘It’s F-35I Adirs and F-15I Ra’ams can inflict serious damage – but penetrating Fordow fully remains beyond current Israeli capability without U.S. cooperation or creative alternatives like internal sabotage or specialized ordnance,’ he added.

Trump took to Truth Social on Tuesday to tout the U.S. military’s capabilities, saying, ‘We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran. Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured ‘stuff.’ 

‘Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA,’ he added.

The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions about whether the president is considering a direct hit on Iranian soil, though he has repeatedly said Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and on Monday issued an ominous warning and said, ‘everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran.’

Earlier on Monday, the president told reporters he ‘didn’t want to talk about it’ when asked what it would take for the U.S. to get ‘directly involved’ in the Israel-Iran conflict.

However, he left the G7 meeting in Canada one day early to address the ongoing conflict and told reporters aboard Air Force One that he is looking for a ‘real end’ to the conflict.

‘I’m not looking at a ceasefire. We’re looking at better than a ceasefire,’ he said, adding, ‘I’m not too much in the mood to negotiate.’

Trump is expected to be in the Situation Room today, but any upcoming attack by the U.S. or Israel on Iran remains unconfirmed. 

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon told ‘Fox and Friends’ on Tuesday that ‘as we speak, our planes, our air force is acting in Iran right now,’ adding, ‘we have very impressive results on the ground.’ 

‘We will continue, and you will see more results. But you know when you look at the side of Israel and compare[d] to the side Iran, we are a tiny country…9 million people compared to 90 million Iranians,’ he added. ‘So, we have limited capabilities, but we punch high.’ 

– When it comes to Iran’s nuclear program, President Donald Trump has been clear about one key point.

‘IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,’ the president reiterated this week.

It was one of a handful of signs from the president that he’s considering joining Israel’s nearly week-long bombardment of Iran, as the two Middle Eastern juggernauts continue to blast each other with missiles and other aerial attacks.

And a new poll indicates that Americans agree with Trump on the importance of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Eighty-four percent of those questioned in a national survey released by the Ronald Reagan Institute said preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons matters to U.S. security and prosperity. The figures were shared first with Fox News on Tuesday.

Preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons was the top response, followed by 75% who said a potential war between China and Taiwan matters to U.S. security and prosperity, with illegal immigration across the southern border of the U.S. one point back at 74%.

Seventy-three percent of those surveyed in the poll said the war between Russia and Ukraine matters to U.S. security and prosperity, followed by 71% saying the security of Israel and 69% pointing to tariffs to promote trade deals.

The poll of adult Americans was conducted from May 22-June 2, before Israel’s unprecedented attack late last week on Iran, named ‘Operation Rising Lion,’ which included strikes on both the Islamic State’s nuclear program and military leaders. The attack triggered a response by Iran, and the two sides have since traded fire daily.

According to numbers shared with Fox News late last week, 45% of those questioned said they would support Israel conducting targeted airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities if diplomatic efforts between the U.S. and Iran fail.

Thirty-seven percent said they opposed Israeli airstrikes, with 18% unsure.

But the poll indicated a partisan divide.

Six in 10 Republicans said they support the airstrikes, but that backing dropped to 35% among independents and 32% among Democrats.

Twenty-seven percent of Republicans opposed the Israeli airstrikes, with a third of independents and just over half of Democrats opposed.

After years of advertising campaigns targeting ‘woke’ hospitals for putting politics before patients, a prominent nonprofit consumer advocacy group has compiled a comprehensive report on what it says are the worst offenders and urges President Donald Trump and lawmakers nationwide to take action. 

The new report, titled ‘Woke hospitals: Embracing Political Priorities Ahead of Patient Care,’ was released by Consumers’ Research on Tuesday and took aim at five hospital systems across the country: Cleveland Clinic, Vanderbilt University Medical, Henry Ford Health, Memorial Hermann and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. 

‘U.S. consumers should be aware that many nonprofit hospital systems have leveraged taxpayer dollars and federal funding to advance controversial political and social causes,’ the report states. 

‘Instead of lowering costs and passing savings onto patients, hospitals have spent considerable money, time, and manpower pursuing a partisan agenda pertaining to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), radical gender ideology, and climate activism. This report examines five of these ‘woke’ hospital systems and the specific ways in which they have opted to engage in various forms of political activism unrelated to – and in some cases at odds with – their core missions as healthcare providers,’ the report continues. ‘Each of them is a tax-exempt beneficiary receiving numerous funding streams and benefits from the federal government.’

The report’s accusations against Cleveland Clinic, which Fox News Digital previously reported on, highlight a comment from CEO Tom Mihaljevic when he stated that ‘healthcare is only part of our mission.’

That mission, according to Consumers’ Research, includes promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) which the hospital’s chief of diversity of inclusion said in 2023, ‘has to be embedded in everything we do.’

In addition to several examples of the hospital system pushing DEI, the report outlines ways that Cleveland Clinic has engaged in ‘climate activism’ while pouring millions into ‘green initiatives’ as well as administering transgender care to children. 

Vanderbilt University Medical, a hospital system that Fox News Digital previously reported was found to be deleting some of its references to DEI commitments and resources while also keeping some and hiding them from public view, is said in the report to have received $468 million in NIH grants for medical research. 

While receiving substantial funding from the federal government, the hospital system is also pushing a ‘woke’ agenda, according to the report. 

‘VUMC’s Emergency Medicine Department featured a Diversity, Inclusion & Wellness Office co-led by two directors of ‘Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Anti-Racism,’’ the report states. ‘In January 2025, VUMC’s Psychiatry Department hosted a webinar addressing ‘The War on DEI,’ identifying racism, sexism, caste systems, and nationalism as significant barriers to DEI objectives.’

The report also outlines what it says are examples of VUMC promoting climate activism and providing ‘gender-affirming care’ to minors. 

‘According to the nonprofit organization Do No Harm, VUMC has provided sex-change treatments to 33 minors since 2019, with 22 patients receiving irreversible body-altering surgery,’ the report states. 

‘VUMC even awarded grants to a reproductive clinic in Memphis that assists LGBTQ+ youth in acquiring gender-change hormone therapy. Following the implementation of Tennessee’s new law, the clinic announced on its website that it now refers minors seeking such services to its affiliated clinic in Carbondale, IL, pending parental consent,’ the report continued.

Henry Ford Health has also been a previous target of Consumers’ Research, Fox News Digital reported in April, and is mentioned in the report as a place where the ‘racist DEI agenda is so egregious that America First Legal, a pro-Trump legal nonprofit, filed an official complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) calling for an investigation.’

The report outlines several examples of the hospital allegedly pushing ‘gender ideology’ and cites Do No Harm’s database, which found that Henry Ford Health ‘treated at least 63 sex-change patients who were minors, including eight patients who underwent surgery.’

Memorial Hermann Health System in Texas was also highlighted by the report as an organization rife with examples of DEI, which critics for years have argued puts politics before patients.

‘Memorial Hermann maintains that ‘health equity’ is paramount,’ the report states. ‘The system has stated its intention of embedding EDI practices at the core of its mission and vision and believes overcoming ‘historical and contemporary injustices’ is critical.’

The report adds that ‘Memorial Hermann publicly claims not to offer gender-transition services to individuals under 18’ but, according to Do No Harm, ‘has reportedly performed 15 sex-change surgeries on minors and prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy to three children.’

The fifth hospital in the report, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, has said that it considers DEI to be part of its founding values and declared racism to be a ‘public health issue’ after the death of George Floyd. 

The report states that the hospital ‘was the first hospital in the U.S. to offer transgender surgeries, doing so as early as 1966’ and pointed to a 2022 statement from a spokesperson that stated children should have access to transgender care to ‘improve their mental health.’

‘The Johns Hopkins All Children’s website formerly included a page about children’s gender and sexual development,’ the report says. ‘ It referred to the ‘emotional and physical foundation for sexuality’’ among ‘infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and young school-aged kids.’’

Fox News Digital reached out to all five hospitals in the report for comment. 

‘Henry Ford Health respects and fully complies with all state and federal anti-discrimination laws,’ a Henry Ford Health spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. ‘For more than a century, Henry Ford Health has been fully committed to serving Michigan’s richly diverse communities, providing health care services and employment opportunities to everyone. Our commitment to non-discrimination remains steadfast.’

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a Cleveland Clinic spokesperson said, ‘For more than a century, Cleveland Clinic’s mission has been to care for life, research for health, and educate those who serve.  Cleveland Clinic is a nonpartisan organization and we neither have nor promote any political agenda. We are in full compliance with all state and federal laws and strongly refute the false and misleading assertions made in this report. The report intentionally shares information that is outdated.’   

A VUMC spokesperson told Fox News Digital, ‘Vanderbilt University Medical Center fully complies with the current federal and state mandates and directives, and any accusations otherwise are simply false.’

A spokesperson for Memorial Hermann told Fox News Digital the report ‘reflects information that is outdated, factually inaccurate and intentionally misleading.’

‘As one example of factually inaccurate information, Memorial Hermann does not provide and has never provided any form of pediatric gender transitioning treatment to patients younger than 18 years of age at any of our facilities. Secondly, we are compliant with all state and federal price transparency regulations. As the largest nonprofit health system in Southeast Texas, we are committed to delivering compassionate, patient-centered care that provides high-quality outcomes to all we serve. We do not discriminate based on race, gender or any other characteristics, and we abide by ethical and legal standards of care. We are equally committed to ensuring our policies comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.’

One of the top concerns outlined in the report is what Consumers’ Research describes as ‘insult to injury’ when it comes to federal tax dollars propping up these hospitals that are pushing ‘woke’ ideologies and shelling out millions in salaries for top leadership.

‘Nonprofit hospitals highlighted in this report and across the U.S. receive millions of dollars in federal funding, government-mandated savings programs, and tax exemptions,’ the report states. 

‘This means taxpayers are often left footing the bill for hospitals’ political activism. Hospitals receive nonprofit, tax-exempt status on the basis that they provide a broader benefit to the community. These health systems are able to couple their billions of dollars in tax savings with significant federal funding sources and government-mandated savings programs. These avenues for federal funding include Medicare payments, Medicaid payments, and federal grant funding.’

The report alleges that these hospitals often ‘leverage their position’ to receive ‘multiple special designations through Medicare and Medicaid that allow them access to more taxpayer dollars while arguing against federal cuts to current revenue streams.’

‘As outlined in this report, hospitals are taking advantage of their billions of dollars in tax breaks, federal funding, and mandated discount programs to fund frivolous projects outside the scope of patient care,’ the report alleges. ‘Instead of passing benefits along to patients and lowering costs – as these programs intended – hospitals use these programs to fund political priorities outside of their core mission of providing high-quality care and benefiting their communities.’

In addition to the report, Consumers’ Research has sent letters to President Trump, Senate and House leadership, and governors of the states where the hospitals are located calling for an investigation into the federal dollar funding streams to the organizations that could be violating anti-DEI rules and running counter to state values. 

‘The content of this Consumer Warning should provide your administration with more than enough justification for initiating a formal investigation into these federally supported hospitals’ internal activities and a subsequent review of their tax-exempt privileges and the specific government funding streams which support them,’ the letter to Trump and officials in his administration states. 

Additionally, Consumers’ Research is running a mobile billboard in Washington, D.C., and launching the website BadMedicine.Org to highlight their warning to consumers. 

‘Consumers need to be aware that hospitals in their own backyards have found ways to use taxpayer dollars to advance a woke agenda, which takes away vital resources that should be going to patient care,’ Consumers’ Research Executive Director Will Hild said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

‘Our Consumer Warning spotlights five nonprofit hospitals that are prioritizing radical causes like DEI, child sex-change procedures, and climate activism, all while receiving millions in taxpayer dollars. Every hospital CEO should read this Consumer Warning and promptly end woke policies in their organizations and refocus on their core mission, which is providing the best quality patient care at affordable prices. Until every hospital in America stops pushing discriminatory DEI policies, mutilating kids’ bodies, and promoting climate politics, their federal funding streams and other government benefits like tax-exemptions should be investigated to ensure taxpayers are not supporting any hospital’s reckless ideological activism. It is time to stop funding woke hospitals.’