Senate Majority Leader John Thune is weathering headwinds in his own conference over outstanding concerns in President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ that threaten to derail the legislation, but he’s taking it in stride and standing firm that the megabill will make it to the president’s desk by July 4.

‘We have to hit it, and you know whether that means it’s the end of next week, or whether we roll into that Fourth of July week,’ the South Dakota Republican told Fox News Digital during an interview from his leadership suite.

‘But if we have to go into that week, we will,’ he continued. ‘I think it’s that important. And you know what I’ve seen around here, at least in the past, my experience, if there’s no deadline, things tend to drag on endlessly.’

Senate Republicans have been working on their version of Trump’s mammoth bill, which includes priorities to make his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent, sweeping changes to healthcare, Biden-era energy credits and deep spending cuts, among others, since the beginning of June.

Now that each portion of the bill has been released, Thune is eyeing having the bill on the floor by the middle of next week. But, he still has to wrangle disparate factions within the Senate GOP to get on board with the bill.

‘It is a work in progress,’ Thune said. ‘It’s, you know, sometimes it’s kind of incremental baby steps.’

A cohort of fiscal hawks, led by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., are unhappy with the level of spending cuts in the bill. Some Senate Republicans want to achieve at least $2 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade, but Johnson has remained firm in his belief that the bill should go deeper and return to pre-COVID-19 pandemic spending levels.

Others, including Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, are upset with tweaks to Medicaid, and the impact those changes could have on rural hospitals and working people on the healthcare program’s benefit rolls.

Thune has to strike a precarious balancing act to sate the concerns of his conference, given that he can only afford to lose three votes. It’s a reality he acknowledged and described as trying to find ‘the sweet spot’ where he can advance the bill back to the House.

He’s been meeting with the factions individually, communicating with the White House and working to ‘make sure everybody’s rolling in the same direction.’

‘Everybody has different views about how to do that, but in the end, it’s cobbling together the necessary 51 votes, so we’re working with anybody who is offering feedback,’ he said.

Collins and others are working on the side to create a provider relief fund that could offer a salve to the lingering issues about the crackdown on the Medicaid provider rate tax in the bill.

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%.

‘We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that, for example, rural hospitals have some additional assistance to sort of smooth that transition,’ Thune said.

Thune, who is a member of the Finance panel, noted that ‘we all agree that the provider tax has been gamed’ and ‘abused’ by blue states like New York and California, and argued that the changes were done to help ‘right the ship’ in the program.

‘I think that’s why the sort of off-ramp, soft-landing approach [from] the Finance committee makes sense, but these are substantial changes,’ he said. ‘But on the other hand, if we don’t start doing some things to reform and strengthen these programs, these programs aren’t going to be around forever, because we’re not going to be able to afford them.’

The Senate’s product won’t be the end of the reconciliation process, however. The changes in the bill will have to be green-lit by the House, and one change in particular to the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap already has a cohort of blue state House Republicans furious and threatening to kill the bill.

The Senate’s bill, for now, left the cap unchanged at $10,000 from the policy ushered in by Trump’s first-term tax cuts, a figure that Senate Republicans view as a placeholder while negotiations continue.

Indeed, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., is working with members of the SALT caucus in the House to find a compromise on the cap. But the appetite to keep the House-passed $40,000 cap isn’t strong in the Senate.  

‘The passion in the Senate is as strong as it is in the House against changing the current policy and law in a way that… favors high-tax states to the detriment and disadvantage of low tax states,’ he said. ‘And so it’s the emotion that you see in the House side on that particular issue is matched in the Senate in a different direction.’

Meanwhile, as negotiations continue behind the scenes on ways to address issues among Senate Republicans, the Senate Parliamentarian is currently chunking through each section of the greater ‘big, beautiful bill.’ 

The parliamentarian’s role is to determine whether policies within each section of the bill comport with the Byrd Rule, which is the arcane set of parameters that govern the budget reconciliation process.

Thune has made clear that he would not overrule that parliamentarian on Trump’s megabill, and re-upped that position once more. The reconciliation process gives either party in power the opportunity to pass legislation on party lines and skirt the Senate filibuster, but it has to adhere to the Byrd Rule’s requirements that policy deals with spending and revenue.

However, he countered that Senate Republicans planned to take a page from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., when Democrats rammed former President Joe Biden’s agenda through Congress.

‘The Democrats with the [Inflation Reduction Act] and [American Rescue Plan Act], for that matter, they dramatically expanded the scope of reconciliation and what’s eligible for consideration,’ he said.

‘So, we’ve used that template, and we’re pushing as hard as we can to make sure that it allows us to accomplish our agenda, or at least as much of our agenda as possible, and fit within the parameters of what’s allowed,’ he continued. 

A 50-year fight to put abortion back in the hands of states ended three years ago with the Supreme Court’s landmark Dobbs decision, but the pro-life movement is now grappling with a new reality — abortion remains prevalent.

Since securing the legal victory, abortion opponents’ concentration has become more fragmented as they contend with evidence that abortions have not decreased and could even be on the rise.

Their next big challenges, they say, include neutering the nation’s largest abortion vendor, Planned Parenthood, by targeting its funding. Restricting access to pills that terminate pregnancies is another top priority, as is investing in their preferred political candidates and ballot measures. 

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, told Fox News Digital in an interview that Dobbs prompted a ‘revolution,’ but she acknowledged that ‘there is a lot of work to do.’ She noted the Charlotte Lozier Institute found that abortions increased in the year after Dobbs and that at least 1.1 million occurred from July 2023 to June 2024.

‘People can sort of assume or just forget how big a moment [Dobbs] is. . . . It is shaking up and realigning public opinion based on where they really stand, so building consensus,’ Dannenfelser said. ‘It would be false to think that it could happen overnight, and we’re still right in the middle of it.’

She said she feels the prospect of defunding Planned Parenthood through a broader reconciliation bill in Congress is ‘strong.’ The measure would prohibit Medicaid funds for entities that perform abortions outside of rape, incest, and a threat to a mother’s life.

Planned Parenthood said in a statement in May, after the bill passed the Republican-led House, that the provision would eliminate other services besides abortion and could cause about 200 of its roughly 600 locations to shutter.

‘If this bill passes, people will lose access to essential, often lifesaving care — cancer screenings, birth control, STI testing, and yes, abortion,’ the organization said in a statement at the time.

In 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) eliminated a requirement that a customer must appear in person to receive mifepristone, the pill used to end a pregnancy. The pills became available by mail, and they are now being shipped all over the country from various organizations, including to most of the states that have abortion bans in place.

‘The abortion drugs that are being proliferated by big abortion and Planned Parenthood is a direct assault on the sovereignty of states,’ Dannenfelser said, noting that ‘the people of half the states have said this is the pro-life law that we want, so in order to undermine that and press their agenda, the abortion lobby is promoting abortion tourism across state lines.’

Dannenfelser also said her group, which, alongside its campaign fundraising arm, poured $92 million into the 2024 election cycle, is focused on next year’s midterm races. She noted she wants to maintain a ‘trifecta of pro-life administration, House and Senate.’ 

But some of those hoping to eliminate abortion say the current administration could do more to help their bottom line.

President Donald Trump granted clemency when he took office to nearly two dozen activists who were convicted of blocking abortion clinic entrances, and the president often touts that he appointed three justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.

But in terms of the abortion pill, the Trump administration recently moved to dismiss a case in court aiming to tighten FDA restrictions on mifepristone. Trump has vowed to have Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who is openly supportive of abortion access, conduct a study of the pill.

Katie Xavios, the national director of the American Life League, told Fox News Digital that she believes Trump ‘really hasn’t been the staunchest pro-life advocate.’

She said mifepristone distribution has ‘no guardrails.’ Dozens of organizations now offer easy access to the pill. Xavios said abortions-by-mail have become the ‘wild west,’ and that the government would have to work aggressively to contain it at this point.

‘I don’t think we’ll ever see anybody take that away unless we can really get a very truly pro-life person in office,’ Xavios said.

American Life League is a Catholic grassroots organization, and Xavios said one of her group’s efforts is to instill values in children that would lead them to opt against abortion if they were faced with the decision in adulthood.

Dobbs was not the win for her side that people have framed it to be, she said.

‘I think we’re still kind of seeing the reverberations of that a little bit in the movement, where a lot of people are struggling to find a new legal fight,’ Xavios said. ‘But I think the real issue that we’re left with is it doesn’t matter if it’s legal or not if people don’t really respect and value the dignity of the pre-born.’

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa, backed President Donald Trump’s decision to have the United States attack three of Iran’s most fortified underground nuclear sites amid rapidly escalating tensions in the Middle East and intensifying Israeli and U.S. military operations against Iranian targets. 

Fetterman called the move ‘correct’ in a post on X just minutes after Trump shared the news on Truth Social. 

‘As I’ve long maintained, this was the correct move by @POTUS,’ Fetterman said. ‘Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism and cannot have nuclear capabilities. I’m grateful for and salute the finest military in the world.’ 

Trump declared the operation a ‘very successful attack’ targeting Iran’s key nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

‘We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, incluidng Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,’ Trump wrote in the announcement. ‘All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this.’

He concluded his statement with a call for de-escalation: ‘NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.’

The overnight strike against Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility involved six bunker buster bombs, Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity Saturday night. Additionally, 30 Tomahawk missiles were launched from U.S. submarines in the attacks on Natanz and Isfahan facilities. 

The strike, marking a major escalation in an already volatile landscape, comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel to eradicate Iran’s offensive missile capabilities. 

The extent of the damage caused to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure so far remains unclear. 

Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.

A top expert on the Iran nuclear program believes the regime’s atomic program has been obliterated by Saturday night’s strikes by the United States.

‘The nuclear program is no longer,’ Jonathan Schanzer, Executive Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a ‘national security and foreign policy’ think tank, told Fox News Digital.

‘Sources in Israel report with high confidence that this chapter is over. Responsible parties must still remove nuclear materials from the facility in Isfahan. But that appears to be the final page to turn,’ he continued. 

President Donald Trump said during his address on Saturday night that ‘Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.’ 

Fox News reported earlier on that Isfahan was ‘the hardest target,’ according to a senior U.S. official.

‘Everyone was talking about and focused on Fordow, but Isfahan was actually the hardest target,’ the official said on background. The U.S. used B-2 bombers to carry out the mission.

A senior U.S. official also told Fox News that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu communicated after the strikes and that Israel had been informed ahead of time.

Lisa Daftari, Iran expert and Editor-in-Chief of The Foreign Desk, told Fox News Digital, ‘Both Israeli and U.S. officials understand that anything less than total destruction of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure will only result in a temporary pause, not a permanent end. But to truly end Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the U.S. and its allies must commit to a campaign—beyond these targeted strikes—backed by sustained pressure, intelligence, and the credible threat of further action if Iran attempts to rebuild.

‘To ensure the eradication of the regime’s nuclear weapons capability, the U.S. must maintain persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to detect any attempts by Iran’s regime to disperse, hide or rebuild its nuclear infrastructure. This would be coupled with continued diplomatic isolation and strict multilateral sanctions blocking the regime’s access to nuclear technology, materials and financing,’ she said.

Trump announced that the U.S. had struck nuclear sites in Iran – a major development amid rising tensions in the region, as Israel and Iran continued to launch airstrikes against each other.

‘We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,’ Trump posted to Truth Social on Saturday night.

‘All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter,’ he continued.

Fox News’ Sean Hannity said on Saturday night that President Donald Trump had given him details on the U.S. strikes in Iran. According to the ‘Hannity’ host, the U.S. used six bunker-buster bombs — each of which weighs 15 tons — in its strikes on Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility. The bombs were dropped from American B-2 stealth bombers.

During a press conference on Sunday morning, the number of bunker busters used was updated to 14 by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Caine.

‘President Trump took decisive leadership and action to eliminate the last vestiges of Iran’s nuclear weapons program, after Israel’s sustained strikes, which seriously damaged the atomic weapons supply chain from uranium conversion to enrichment, and all the way to weaponization,’ Andrea Stricker, FDD’s Director of Nonproliferation and Biological Weapons told Fox News Digital. 

‘While Tehran’s program is likely set back by years, the United States and Israel need to ensure the regime’s highly enriched uranium stockpiles and all secret advanced centrifuges are fully recovered and destroyed — which means more work ahead,’ she added.

Fordow had two entrances and one ventilation shaft, which likely served as the entrance points for the Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs).

Additionally, 30 Tomahawk missiles launched from U.S. submarines were used in the attacks on the Nanatz and Isfahan facilities. There is speculation that the missiles were shot from an Ohio Class Submarine, but there has been no confirmation.

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.

Amid a week of daily attacks between Middle Eastern juggernauts Israel and Iran, President Donald Trump has repeatedly drilled home a key point.

‘IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,’ the president wrote on social media.

And speaking with reporters in the Oval Office at the White House, Trump highlighted, ‘I’ve been saying for 20 years, maybe longer, that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.’

It’s a stance U.S. presidents have taken for a couple of decades. And it appears most Americans agree with Trump and his presidential predecessors when it comes to the possibility of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of registered voters questioned in a new Fox News national survey said they think Iran poses a real security threat to the U.S. That’s a 13-point boost since Fox News last asked the question six years ago.

And the poll, conducted June 13-16, indicates wide support across the partisan spectrum. Majorities of Republicans (82%), Democrats (69%) and Independents (62%) agreed that Iran poses a threat.

The survey also showed that 78% of those questioned said they were very or extremely concerned about Iran obtaining a nuclear bomb. And eight in 10 said what happens in the Middle East does matter in the U.S.

Daron Shaw, a veteran GOP pollster and the Republican partner on the Fox News poll, said that ‘the increased sense that Iran constitutes a threat is real, but it also reflects the unique timing and circumstances surrounding this poll.’

‘The poll was in the field as images of Iranian missiles falling on Tel Aviv dominated television and the internet — the immediacy and clarity of the conflict undoubtedly contributes to how voters gauge what is at risk,’ noted Shaw, who is also a politics professor and chair at the University of Texas.

There was a similar response regarding the threat from Iran in a Ronald Reagan Institute national survey conducted earlier this month, before Israel’s initial attack last week sparked the daily bombardments by both nations.

Eighty-four percent of those questioned in the poll, which was shared first with Fox News, said preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons matters to U.S. security and prosperity. 

Trump is weighing whether the U.S. should join Israel in striking Iran to cripple its nuclear program and prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

‘President Trump doesn’t often get a political softball sent his way. His decision to support Israel’s attacks on the Islamic Republic of Iran and the prospective decision to deal a limited but decisive blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions by striking the Fordow facility can prove to be political mana from heaven,’ veteran political scientist Wayne Lesperance said. 

Lesperance, president of New England College, noted that ‘If the President makes the case clearly and firmly to the American people, polling data suggests he would enjoy support from his own party, Democrats and Independents. What’s more, Trump’s decision and subsequent action would crowd out any of the issues or coverage like immigration, the budget, or tariffs in the near term. Politically, a decision to act against Iran is smart politics.’

But Lesperance cautioned that ‘this all assumes that the attacks are successful. It also assumes Americans are tolerant of the repercussions of backlash over the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.’

Fox News’ Dana Blanton and Victoria Balara contributed to this report.

As tensions between Israel and Iran escalate, the airwaves are full of alarmist commentary. Military analysts and political leaders alike are warning that Tehran is ‘on the brink’ of possessing a nuclear weapon. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt even claimed, ‘Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon … and it would take a couple weeks to complete the production of that weapon.’ This is not just a misstatement. It is misinformation—and it risks pushing the United States into a hasty and unjustified war.

The reality is far more complex. Enriched uranium—even at weapons-grade levels—is only one component of a long, technically demanding process required to create a functional nuclear bomb. Understanding why this alarmism is premature requires a clear breakdown of what’s actually involved in building such a device.

According to U.S. experts and declassified intelligence assessments, a nuclear weapon requires at least the following elements:

1. Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU): Iran would need U-235 enriched to 90%, but that alone is insufficient.
2. Precision Shaping: The uranium must be machined into a flawless sphere, requiring high-end metallurgy and computing.
3. Explosive Lenses: Carefully placed charges must detonate simultaneously to compress the core—a method called implosion.
4. Trigger Mechanisms: These detonators must be precisely synchronized; even a microsecond delay renders the weapon ineffective.
5. Reflectors and Tampers: Elements like beryllium are required to maintain compression and sustain the chain reaction.
6. Weaponization: The bomb must be ruggedized into a functional assembly, including casing and electronics that can survive delivery.
7. Delivery Systems: The weapon must be fitted onto a missile, aircraft, or another platform capable of reaching its target.

In addition to enriched uranium and implosion mechanisms, a functional nuclear weapon requires several other complex components that Iran has not demonstrably mastered. These include a neutron initiator to trigger the chain reaction, precision fusing and arming systems, and reentry vehicle technology if the weapon is to be missile-delivered. A credible nuclear arsenal also demands sub-critical testing infrastructure to validate design functionality and safety protocols to control explosive yield. These technical requirements involve advanced engineering, testing, and materials—none of which are confirmed to exist in Iran’s program today.

Each of these steps represents a serious technological challenge. While Iran has demonstrated enrichment capabilities, there is no credible open-source evidence that it has mastered the other essential components. The most difficult hurdle—weaponization—remains the most classified and technically advanced part of the entire process.

Yet Israel’s recent week of strikes on Iranian nuclear and military facilities—including the deeply buried Fordow enrichment site near Qom—were reportedly driven by fears that Iran had crossed the 90% enrichment threshold. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Iran now possesses enough enriched uranium for ‘nine nuclear weapons’ and the IDF’s Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir warned of an ‘immediate operational necessity’ as Iran had ‘reached the point of no return.’ However, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and U.S. intelligence assessments have not publicly corroborated any progress toward assembling a usable bomb.

The Fordow facility, often portrayed as a doomsday site, is not a weapons lab. It is an enrichment plant—too deep to strike easily, but also too constrained to test, assemble, or launch a nuclear weapon. That fact alone should prompt the question: Why strike now?

Netanyahu’s warnings are not new. In 2012, he told NBC’s Meet the Press that Iran would have enough material for a bomb in ‘six or seven months,’ urging the U.S. to draw a ‘red line’ before it was ‘too late.’ The dire prediction never materialized. No bomb was built. No red line crossed. The episode offers a lesson in how worst-case scenarios, not verified facts, can drive the conversation.

Before the United States commits to military action, President Trump—and the American people—deserve clear answers: Does Iran possess the necessary components, the design knowledge, and the capacity to assemble and deliver a functioning weapon? Or are we risking war based on fear and incomplete intelligence?

We have been here before. In 2003, the U.S. invaded Iraq over weapons of mass destruction that did not exist. That war cost thousands of lives, almost three trillion dollars to the present, destabilized a region, and damaged U.S. credibility for decades. To repeat such a mistake would be strategic malpractice of the highest order.

None of this downplays the threat Iran poses. The regime’s support for proxy militias, its ballistic missile program, and its pattern of obstructing IAEA inspections are deeply troubling. But deterrence and diplomacy—not preemptive war—must be the first response. The United States retains a full suite of tools: cyber operations, regional missile defense, economic sanctions, and multilateral diplomacy. Military action should remain the final option—not the opening move.

As Australian novelist Kate Forsyth reminds us: ‘War is an unpredictable beast. Once unleashed, it runs like a rabid dog, ravening friend or foe alike.’ Let us not unleash that beast over uranium that is dangerous—but not yet detonatable.

President Trump, Congress, and our intelligence community must deliver a full, honest accounting. What does the United States know—not suspect—about Iran’s nuclear readiness? What pieces are still missing? What tools short of war can ensure they stay missing?

These are the questions that must be answered before another missile is fired. Panic is not a policy. Precision is.

Recent arrests of Chinese nationals at the University of Michigan have resurrected concerns about CCP-owned farmland and property in the United States, particularly in Michigan, and caused some to draw parallels with the current conflict between Iran and Israel. 

Earlier this month, two Chinese nationals were charged with allegedly smuggling a ‘dangerous biological pathogen’ into the U.S. to study at the University of Michigan in an incident that FBI Director Kash Patel described as a ‘sobering reminder that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate our institutions and target our food supply, an act that could cripple our economy and endanger American lives.’

Later, a third Chinese national with connections to the university was arrested, renewing questions about China’s efforts to infiltrate and influence various sectors in the United States, including buying up farmland, which has been a growing concern nationwide.

A 2023 report from the United States Department of Agriculture found that ‘foreign persons held an interest in nearly 45 million acres of U.S. agricultural land,’ which represents 3.5% of all privately held agricultural land and 2% of all land in the country.

While China is not at the top of the list of countries in that report, the arrests in Michigan have prompted calls from Congress to ensure that the CCP, viewed by many as the nation’s top geopolitical adversary, is not buying up farmland in the United States.

Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts exclusively told Fox News Digital this week that China has been aggressively buying American agriculture, ‘which is why we need to have a heightened sense of vigilance around protecting our homeland.’

Ricketts, along with Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, introduced the bipartisan Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure (AFIDA) Improvements Act that seeks to implement recommendations published by the Government Accountability Office in January 2024, which found the AFIDA was ill-equipped to combat foreign ownership of American agricultural land. 

‘China’s land purchases aren’t just about acreage—they’re about access,’ Michigan GOP Rep. John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the CCP, told Fox News Digital. 

‘Even small parcels near military bases or critical infrastructure pose serious national security risks. In my home state, we’ve seen concerning cases like Gotion’s site near Camp Grayling. We need full transparency into who’s buying land and where—because the Chinese Communist Party shouldn’t be allowed to hide behind shell companies to gain a foothold in our country.’

China’s encroachment into Michigan’s agriculture was enough of a concern for Republican state Rep. Gina Johnsen to introduce legislation earlier this year banning foreign adversaries from buying up farmland.

‘Our state’s agricultural industry is a pillar of our economy. My community is an agricultural community,’ Johnsen said. Our farms provide food security, jobs, and economic stability for countless residents. However, there is growing concern about losing our farmland to countries of concern.’ 

Additionally, Chinese farmland has become a topic of conversation in the wake of revelations that Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear capabilities was aided by years of covert planning, surveillance and infiltration by Israeli intelligence. 

Code-named ‘Am Kelavi’ (Rising Lion), the preemptive operation was the product of unprecedented coordination between the Israeli air force, the Military Intelligence Directorate, the Mossad and the country’s defense industries. For years, they worked ‘shoulder to shoulder’ to gather the intelligence files needed to eliminate Iran’s most sensitive military and nuclear assets.

As part of that operation, Israel was able to establish a drone base inside Iran, where Mossad operatives retrieved them from hiding spots to use against Iranian sites. 

Bryan Cunningham, president of Liberty Defense and former CIA intelligence officer, told Fox News Digital that the Israeli operation is a ‘wake-up call’ for the United States about what a foreign adversary like China could potentially carry out in the United States.

‘As an intelligence officer, part of me says, I wish that the sources and methods of building these drone factories inside the target countries hadn’t been revealed,’ Cunningham said. ‘But on the other hand, it does serve as a wake-up call, hopefully for our policymakers, and it also ties in, and if I were the administration, I would make this tie in immediately and loudly with the Trump administration’s border strategy.’

Cunningham continued, ‘Our borders are where you’re most likely to actually intercept these kinds of toxins, explosives, flares, 3D-printed weapons, ceramic weapons, whatever it is. So if it were me and I were the Secretary of Homeland Security, I would be tying this all together. You know, it is important to get people out of the country that have committed violent or other serious crimes in the country, but it’s also really important to prevent people like these guys from bringing in those kinds of materials.’

The FBI is increasing its surveillance of Iranian-backed operatives inside the United States as Trump weighs strikes, a senior law enforcement official told Fox News on Friday. 

Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Heavey, Lucas Tomlinson and Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.

Several provisions in the Senate GOP’s version of President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ have run afoul of Senate rules and must be stripped if Republicans want to pass the package without the help of Democrats.

The bill is undergoing what’s called a ‘Byrd Bath,’ when the parliamentarian meticulously combs through each section of the mammoth bill to determine whether policies comport with the Senate’s Byrd Rule.

The point of the budget reconciliation process is to skirt the Senate filibuster and pass a massive, partisan legislative package. But if provisions are left in that fail the test, Senate Republicans will have to meet the typical 60-vote threshold. Provisions that don’t pass muster can still be appealed, however.

Senate Democrats vowed to use the Byrd Bath as a cudgel against the Senate GOP to inflict as much pain as possible and slow momentum as Republicans rush to put the colossal bill on Trump’s desk by July 4. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., could also overrule the parliamentarian but has remained adamant he would not attempt such a move. 

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough scrutinized three chunks of the megabill from the Senate Banking, Environment and Public Works and Armed Services committees and found numerous policies that failed to meet the Byrd Rule’s requirements.

Among those was a provision that would have eliminated funding for a target of the GOP’s since its inception in 2008, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which would have effectively eliminated the agency. Doing so also would have slashed $6.4 billion in spending.

Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., said in a statement he would ‘remain committed to cutting wasteful spending at the CFPB and will continue working with the Senate parliamentarian on the Committee’s provisions.’

Attempts to put guardrails on the $150 billion in Defense Department funding baked into the package also failed to pass muster. The language would have required that Pentagon officials outline how the money would be spent by a certain deadline or see the funding reduced.

Other provisions on the chopping block include language that cut $300 million from the Financial Research Fund and cut jobs and move the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board under the umbrella of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which would have saved roughly $773 million.

An attempt to change the pay schedule for Federal Reserve employees was also nixed, which would have saved about $1.4 billion.

Environmental standards and regulations set by the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act were also determined to have run afoul of the Byrd Rule, including a repeal of tailpipe emissions standards for vehicles with a model year of 2027 and later.