One Senate Republican has crafted a blueprint for how conservatives can take on Democrats in the courts and win.

Before he was in Washington, D.C., Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. served as Missouri’s attorney general during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. And during that time, he filed lawsuit after lawsuit challenging the Biden administration, Dr. Anthony Fauci and even going so far as to sue China.

And more often than not, be it through uncovering discrepancies during the discovery process or winning multibillion-dollar settlements, Schmitt was mostly successful in challenging Democratic ‘lawfare.’

‘The fact of the matter is, what our fights were, were about restoring individual liberty and pulling back the expanse of government,’ Schmitt told Fox News Digital in an interview. ‘What the Left is trying to do now with their lawfare machine was, number one, they’re trying to put their opponents in jail, but then also to defend the expanse of government, to defend the administrative state. And I think if we have the right arguments, we can win.’

Schmitt detailed how to secure those winning arguments through his own experiences in his latest book ‘The Last Line of Defense: How to Beat the Left in Court.’

He described the book as ‘a field manual from the front lines of the battles that were fought against the left-wing law machine.’ Indeed, Schmitt outlined a guide for attorneys general across the country to take on challenges at all levels, from local to federal.

‘Our playbook really is… really in response to what their playbook was, to create a manufactured emergency, a real or manufactured emergency, to aggregate power, to exercise it in ways that never were imagined to other folks who disagree and silence dissent,’ Schmitt said. ‘That’s what they were really trying to do.’

In some cases, he went beyond the country’s borders and sued a foreign country, as Schmitt did to China. He argued in the book that the Chinese Communist Party had withheld information on the COVID-19 virus, and was actively hoarding high-quality personal protective equipment (PPE) while producing and selling lower-quality PPE for the rest of the world. That case resulted in an eventual $24 billion judgment earlier this year.

From there, Schmitt challenged former President Joe Biden’s student loan debt cancellation plan by focusing his case on a local student loan servicing company, a plan that was ultimately blocked by the Supreme Court just months into Schmitt’s first year as a lawmaker in 2023.

Through it all, the pandemic was the ‘inflection point,’ Schmitt said, and his biggest target became Fauci.

He got an opportunity to depose Fauci, who served as the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and medical advisor to Biden, as part of his lawsuit taking on censorship and suppression by social media platforms like Facebook.

‘He wanted to silence anybody who talked about it being a lab leak,’ Schmitt said. ‘Which, of course, we know is that’s exactly what it was now. It wasn’t some bat mating with a penguin, you know, this was actually in the Wuhan Institute of Virology is where this thing came from.’

Schmitt, who is a fan of both Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and the late Justice Antonin Scalia — particularly Scalia’s usage of originalism, or interpreting the Constitution as it was written rather than as a living document — noted in the book that there has been a ‘complete shift’ in the courts.

In particular, conservative-leaning justices have the majority on the Supreme Court, and courts across the country are being filled, albeit slowly, with President Donald Trump’s picks.

When asked if he was at all concerned about partisan politicking coming to the bench, Schmitt countered that courts are returning to a legal system that had been ‘disrupted by the progressive era, beginning with Woodrow Wilson and the rise of the administrative state, FDR, who threatened to pack the court.’

‘The Constitution means exactly what it says, nothing more, nothing less, just like our laws,’ he said. ‘They mean what they say, nothing more, nothing less.’ 

‘I don’t want a judge to necessarily agree with my politics,’ he continued. ‘I just want a judge to adhere to the Constitution.’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio applauded President Donald Trump for the progress he has made towards peace when it comes to the war in Ukraine, while he accused the former Biden administration of doing nothing to change the circumstances of the war.

Rubio appeared on Fox News’ ‘Jesse Waters Prime Time’ Monday evening after the day-long talks between U.S. and European officials that included Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During the appearance, he praised Trump as ‘the only leader in the world’ who has proven he can broker a peace deal between Zelenskyy’s Ukraine and Vladimir Putin’s Russia, adding that the Monday talks were ‘unprecedented.’   

‘After three years of deadlock, and no talks, and no change in circumstances, this is the first time where there seems to be some movement,’ the secretary said. ‘This has been going on for three-and-a-half years. A lot of people have died, a lot of territories exchanged back-and-forth, so it’s not an easy thing to unwind, but nothing was happening on this war. Literally, the only option we were given under the previous administration was continue to fund Ukraine for however much they need, for however long it takes.’

Rubio pointed out that finally, under a new administration, people are ‘actually talking about pathways toward ending [the war in Ukraine].’ 

‘It’s going to take a little bit more work, and a little bit more time, but we are making progress,’ Rubio argued. ‘It’s not me saying it, that is virtually every leader there [on Monday] said that.’

Rubio said that prior to Trump, the fighting in Ukraine was nothing more than a ‘stalemated war of death and destruction.’ He also complained that under Biden there was no plan other than to continue giving weapons to Ukraine. 

‘That’s the other dynamic that’s changed – we’re no longer giving Ukraine weapons, we’re no longer giving Ukraine money, we are now selling them weapons and European countries are paying for it through NATO. They are using NATO to buy the weapons and transferring them to Ukraine,’ Rubio pointed out. ‘That’s another big change from the way this war was approached under the Biden administration.’

Following the Monday peace talks in D.C., reports surfaced that Putin had agreed to a future meeting with Zelenskyy, followed by a trilateral meeting involving the United States.

For Rubio, just the fact that the two countries are open to talking to each other is a win and a big change from the previous administration.   

‘I’m not saying they are going to leave that room with a peace deal, but I think the fact that people are now talking to each other – this wasn’t happening for three-and-a-half years,’ Rubio told host Waters, adding that Trump has ‘made it a priority’ to bring about peace in Ukraine.

The secretary also cited six previous peace agreements that he said Trump has brokered, which Rubio said proves Trump’s commitment to peace and fewer wars.

‘President Trump is the only leader in the world – acknowledged by all the Europeans – the only leader in the world that can talk to both [Putin and Zelenskyy] and bring them both to a meeting,’ Rubio said Monday evening. ‘We should be proud that we have a president who has made peace a priority in his administration.’

A conservative think tank that played a key role in shaping President Donald Trump’s ‘one big, beautiful bill’ is circulating a new roadmap of recommendations for Republicans’ second act.

The Economic Policy Innovation Center, which styles itself as ‘EPIC For America,’ has been circulating a new memo with key congressional GOP figures in recent days, a source familiar with the group’s plans told Fox News Digital.

The memo, which was obtained by Fox News Digital, advises lawmakers to broadly push for further Medicaid and regulatory reforms, crack down on federal dollars for government pensions and student loans, and use fiscal policy to extend conservative goals on abortion and transgender treatment.

Passing Trump’s massive agenda bill despite razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate was a major victory for Republican leaders. EPIC, which hails the bill as a success, argues that continued reforms are needed for meaningful fiscal reform.

‘Unfortunately, even with the victories for the American people in the OBBB, our work is far from done. We must rebuild an economy that truly works for every American, while protecting the nation’s financial foundation to ensure lasting resilience,’ the memo said.

‘The federal government is rapidly running out of fiscal space. Maintaining sufficient fiscal space is critical in order to respond appropriately to a crisis. Without space between the fiscal limit and the current level of debt, elected officials will not have room to maneuver in the event of war, a natural disaster, or a recession.’

On Medicaid, the memo advises further cuts to the cost-sharing burden on the federal government – known as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) – for ‘large, wealthy states’ as well as Washington, D.C.

FMAP refers to the rate at which the federal government matches state Medicaid payments, which is currently 50%.

The memo calls to ‘end the special Medicaid subsidy FMAP treatment’ for D.C., whose minimum is 70%.

Republicans’ first budget reconciliation bill reduced certain FMAP expansions permitted under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including for emergency care for states that provide Medicaid coverage to illegal immigrants.

In turn, EPIC advises lawmakers to enhance personal and employer-based healthcare, like Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).

Medicaid cuts were one of the largest sticking points during talks for the initial bill and will likely be just as politically fraught for Republicans in the second round. Meanwhile, Democrats have been using those reforms as a political cudgel, accusing the GOP of trying to take healthcare from millions of Americans. 

But conservatives have viewed Medicaid as fraught with waste, fraud, and abuse – insisting their reforms better protect the program for vulnerable people who truly need it.

The memo also advises congressional Republicans to use the budget reconciliation process to ‘reform federal bureaucrat compensation and retirement’ and ‘eliminate public sector student loan forgiveness,’ among other goals.

On the social conservative policy front, EPIC appears to view an extension of the ban on taxpayer funds to abortion providers as critical to a second reconciliation bill.

The first bill was viewed as a victory for pro-life advocates in its ban on Medicaid funds for large healthcare providers that perform abortions, which would affect Planned Parenthood and other similar organizations. But that ban is only effective for a year.

In a section titled ‘Protect Life and American Values,’ EPIC urges lawmakers to ‘extend the prohibition of taxpayer funding for big abortion providers’ as well as block Medicaid funds for gender transition care.

It also calls on lawmakers to ‘invest in election security’ and ‘impose an excise tax on higher education institutions that allow males to participate in women’s sports.’

EPIC was founded by Paul Winfree, who served as director of budget policy during the first Trump administration.

The group also has close ties to Capitol Hill, which it flexed during talks for Trump’s first agenda bill by both recommending policy initiatives and tailoring its advice through the various steps of the budget reconciliation process.

Budget reconciliation, which can be used three times during a given congressional term, allows the party in power to enact broad fiscal policy changes while sidelining the opposition – in this case, Democrats – by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51.

Brittany Madni, EPIC executive vice president and a former congressional aide, confirmed the memo’s veracity to Fox News Digital. She said the group would use the same ‘playbook’ it did during the first reconciliation process.

She said EPIC is looking to offer ‘an initial suggestion to lawmakers on what to target, and is readying to work with Republicans through the various steps of the process as details change and evolve.’

‘Mandatory spending reform is an essential target for actual fiscal change in order to stave off a debt spiral. This is why a second reconciliation bill building on the wins in the OBBB is important,’ Madni said.

Two sources told Fox News Digital that the group’s efforts so far have included a staff-level briefing with the Republican Study Committee (RSC), a 189-member-strong House GOP group that serves as its own de facto think tank for the Republican conference.

Many of the aforementioned proposals were discussed at that meeting, Fox News Digital was told, with EPIC being invited to speak as part of the RSC’s new initiative to workshop a second reconciliation bill.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has already publicly stated his goal of passing further reconciliation bills. But what a second bill would look like is still unclear.

Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware, who identifies as a transgender woman, accused President Donald Trump of waging an attack against ‘American democracy.’

‘This president is taking notes from his favorite dictator. Let’s be clear: a president with popular policies wouldn’t need to illegally gerrymander districts, ban voting machines, or abolish vote-by-mail,’ a Monday night post on the lawmaker’s @Rep_McBride X account declared. ‘This is an all-out assault not just on free and fair elections—but on American democracy itself.’ 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment early on Tuesday morning.

Trump, who has been aiming to help bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and multiple other European figures in Washington, D.C., on Monday after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

During an interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity on Friday after meeting with Putin, Trump said of the foreign leader, ‘Vladimir Putin, smart guy, said you can’t have an honest… election with mail-in voting.’

Trump declared in a Truth Social post on Monday that he will ‘lead a movement to’ eliminate voting machines and mail-in balloting from U.S. elections.

‘WE WILL BEGIN THIS EFFORT … by signing an EXECUTIVE ORDER to help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm Elections,’ he declared in part of the lengthy post.

‘ELECTIONS CAN NEVER BE HONEST WITH MAIL IN BALLOTS/VOTING, and everybody, IN PARTICULAR THE DEMOCRATS, KNOWS THIS. I, AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, WILL FIGHT LIKE HELL TO BRING HONESTY AND INTEGRITY BACK TO OUR ELECTIONS. THE MAIL-IN BALLOT HOAX, USING VOTING MACHINES THAT ARE A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER, MUST END, NOW!!!’ the president exclaimed in another portion of the post.

After meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week, President Donald Trump touted that he had a ‘very good meeting’ with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders at the White House on Monday.

Trump, who has voiced he would like to put an end to mass bloodshed in Eastern Europe, called the multilateral meetings on Monday ‘a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years.’

In a Truth Social post after the discussions, Trump wrote, ‘I had a very good meeting with distinguished guests,’ and that ‘everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine.’

Here are the top five takeaways from the president’s ‘big day’ with European leaders.

1. Smiles all around

Monday’s summit marked a dramatic and noticeable shift from Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s now-infamous Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy in February.

During that meeting, the leaders were caught on camera getting into a heated argument over several topics, including Zelenskyy allegedly not being sufficiently grateful for U.S. support.

On Monday, all the tension seemed to have disappeared. Both Trump and Zelenskyy were all smiles throughout the day, and the Ukrainian leader received a warm welcome from Trump’s Cabinet, including Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Both Zelenskyy and European leaders appeared more at ease with Trump throughout the day and took an optimistic tone. After the meetings, European Union President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X, ‘We are here, as allies and friends, for peace in Ukraine and in Europe. This is an important moment, as we continue to work on strong security guarantees for Ukraine and a lasting and durable peace.’

2. Wardrobe upgrade

Another marked shift from February was Zelenskyy breaking from his trademark jumpsuit attire to wear a suit, something he even joked with the press about while sitting in the Oval Office with Trump.

Zelenskyy, who has been criticized for wearing casual attire to meetings with world leaders, wore all-black attire, including a button-down shirt and jacket. 

‘First of all… President Zelenskyy, you look fabulous in that suit,’ a reporter told Zelenskyy after he sat down with Trump in the Oval Office. 

‘You look good,’ the reporter said before Trump added, ‘I said the same thing.’ 

At another point during the Zelenskyy-Trump bilateral press meeting, the Ukrainian president ribbed a reporter for wearing the same suit he had in February.

‘You’re in the same suit. You see, I changed, you’re not,’ Zelenskyy quipped as both he and Trump burst into laughter.

3. Ceasefire not needed

On a more substantive note, Trump doubled down on his position that a ceasefire is ‘not needed’ to broker a permanent peace between Ukraine and Russia. He cited his recent successes in negotiating peace agreements between other countries across the globe.

‘I don’t think you need ceasefire. You know, if you look at the six deals that I settled this year, they were all at war,’ Trump said during his press conference with Zelenskyy.

‘I didn’t do any ceasefires,’ he went on, adding, ‘And I know that it might be good to have, but I can also understand strategically why, you know, one country or the other wouldn’t want it.’ 

In a rare tense moment during the day, Trump clashed with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the need for a ceasefire.

Speaking with Trump and other leaders gathered around a large conference table in the White House, Merz said, ‘To be honest, we all would like to see a ceasefire at the latest from the next meeting on,’ adding, ‘I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire. So, let’s work on that.’

He urged the leaders, ‘Let’s try to put pressure on Russia, because the credibility of this effort, these efforts we are undertaking today are depending on, at least, a ceasefire from the beginning of the serious negotiations from the next step on. So, I would like to emphasize this aspect and would like to see a ceasefire from the next meeting, which should be a trilateral meeting wherever it takes place.’

In response, Trump shot back that he is determined ‘to go directly to a peace agreement’ without a ceasefire, saying, ‘Well, we’re going to let the president [Zelenskyy] go over and talk to the president [Putin], and we’ll see how that works out.’

4. United European front

In addition to Zelenskyy, seven major European leaders were present at the White House on Monday, a rare occurrence signaling a united European front and something Trump called an ‘honor’ for the U.S.

This follows Zelenskyy doubling down on Sunday that Ukraine will not agree to cede Crimea or any of its territory to Russia as part of a peace deal.  

‘Since the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia at the trilateral [talks with] Ukraine, United States, Russia,’ Zelenskyy said.

Trump said that though the U.S. would be involved with providing Ukraine with security guarantees after the war’s end, he said going forward, Europe must take much of that ‘burden.’

‘I think that the European nations are going to take a lot of the burden,’ Trump said. ‘We’re going to help them, and we’re going to make it very secure. We also need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory, taking into consideration the current line of contact. That means the war zone, the war line center. Pretty obvious. Very sad, actually, to look at them and negotiating positions.’

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe is aware that it will shoulder much of the weight of responsibility tied to various security guarantees — and acknowledged it is necessary in order to preserve each respective country’s safety. 

‘In order to have such a long-standing peace for Ukraine and for the whole continent, we do need the security guarantees,’ Macron said. ‘And the first one is clearly a credible Ukrainian army. For the years and decades to come. And the second one is our own commitments. All of us… You can be sure that the Europeans are very lucid about the fact that they have their fair share in the security guarantees for Ukraine, but their own security is clearly at stake in this situation.’

5. Putin on the line

Trump shared that he called Putin after the meetings and that there is already movement on the next step, that is, scheduling a meeting between Zelenskyy and the Russian president. After that meeting, Trump said there would then be a trilateral meeting between Zelenskyy, Putin and himself.

‘At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy. After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself,’ wrote Trump.

In another post, Trump called the summit ‘a big day at the White House.’

‘We have never had so many European Leaders here at one time. A great honor for America!!!’ he wrote. ‘Lets see what the results will be???’ 

Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy, Emma Colton and Amanda Macias contributed to this report.