Rep. John Larson, D-Ct., appeared to freeze mid-remarks on the House floor on Monday. In the middle of impassioned remarks aimed against President Donald Trump and his team, including Elon Musk, Larson took a long pause and when he resumed speaking his speed was noticeably slower. The lawmaker was also slurring his words.

Following the incident, Larson’s D.C. office put out a statement expressing the congressman’s gratitude to those who reached out and clarifying a possible reason for the lawmaker’s long pause.

‘Congressman Larson appreciates the well wishes from everyone who has reached out. This afternoon, he had what was likely an adverse reaction to a new medication and is having tests administered by the House Attending Physician out of an abundance of caution,’ Larson’s office wrote in a statement.

 ‘He later participated in multiple meetings in his office and was alert and engaged. The Congressman remains in touch with his staff and in good spirits.’

The 76-year-old lawmaker’s office, however, did not provide details on what the medication was or why the congressman was purportedly taking it. Larson also reportedly skipped two House votes held on Monday night, according to Axios.

American voters have grown increasingly concerned over lawmakers’ ages. The issue of age in politics is not new, as former President Ronald Regan combated questions about his age when running for re-election in 1984. Reagan famously joked about the issue in a debate against former Vice President Walter Mondale.

‘I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience,’ Reagan joked during the debate, eliciting laughs from the audience and Mondale.

However, the 2024 election brought age back into the spotlight as many questioned then-President Joe Biden’s cognitive abilities. When the president dropped out of the race in July 2024, some Democrats tried to flip the age question onto Trump, but this mostly fell flat.

Additionally, just days before Larson’s incident, Senator Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who will turn 83 later this month, left the Capitol in a wheelchair as a precautionary issue after falling twice.

‘Senator McConnell is fine. The lingering effects of polio in his left leg will not disrupt his regular schedule of work,’ a spokesperson for the senator said in a statement.

The average age of America’s lawmakers is changing, according to a report from the Pew Research Center. In January, Pew reported that the average age of voting members in the House and the median age in the Senate had dropped. The House’s median age went from 57.9 years in the 118th Congress to 57.5 years in the 119th, while the median age in the Senate went from 65.3 to 64.7 years.

Pew shows that the majority of the House in the 119th Congress is made up of Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, with the younger generation slowly outpacing the older one. Baby Boomers are no longer the largest generation in the House, now accounting for just 39% of the legislative body. Their numbers have also dropped in the Senate, despite Baby Boomers still making up a majority of the chamber.

Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., is the only Gen Z lawmaker in Congress. Members of Frost’s generation are not yet eligible to run for Senate, where the minimum age to serve is 30 years old.

President Donald Trump has the highest approval rating now compared to any point during his first term in office, according to a new poll. 

Forty-seven percent of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance in the less than a month since he was sworn in as the 47th president, the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center found. 

While that’s higher than at any point while he served as the 45th president, Trump’s inaugural approval rating sinks below that of most other presidents since Ronald Reagan. George W. Bush’s approval rating early in his second term, however, was about the same as that of Trump now. 

The poll, conducted Jan. 27 to Feb. 2 among 5,086 adults, found nearly three in ten adults, or 28%, view Trump’s actions as better than expected, while 36% said they have been what they expected. 

His actions are viewed as worse than expected by 35% of adults. 

Americans are fairly evenly split over how they believe Trump’s White House will affect the federal government. The survey found 41% of adults said they believe Trump’s administration will improve the way the federal government works, and 42% said they believe the state of the federal government will worsen with him in office. 

Public opinion on Trump’s agenda remains starkly divided along partisan lines. The poll found 67% of Republicans, including those who lean red, support all or most of Trump’s plans and policies. For Democrats and those who lean blue, 84% support few or none. Almost an identical share of Republicans, 76%, said Trump will improve the way the federal government operates, as Democrats, 78%, said Trump will make the federal government run worse. 

For Republicans, 53% viewed Trump’s recent actions as better than expected, while the poll found 60% of Democrats view the president’s accomplishments as worse than expected. 

As Trump enters his fourth week back in office, his efforts to slash wasteful federal government spending through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have caused a stir in Washington. 

His threat of tariffs against Canada and Mexico and levied against China over the flow of deadly fentanyl across American borders has similarly raised concerns. Trump’s angling for the Panama Canal and Greenland amid the increasing Chinese presence in the Western Hemisphere, as well as his administration overseeing a collapsing ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in the Middle East have put the world on notice. 

Trump’s advisers are expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week in Munich as the war with Russia stretches into its third year. Raging wildfires in California, a deadly military helicopter-passenger jet collision in D.C., and the continuing aftermath of last year’s hurricane devastation in the southeast, particularly in North Carolina, are putting Trump’s new Cabinet chiefs to the test on the domestic front, as is Trump’s crackdown on criminal illegal immigration. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime suggested relations between Washington, D.C., and Moscow are on ‘the brink’ of collapse this week.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov made the announcement during a Monday press conference. Ryabkov reiterated Putin’s stance that there would be no peace in Ukraine unless the country dropped its ambitions to join NATO and ceded Russian-occupied regions.

‘We simply imperatively need to get … the new U.S. administration to understand and acknowledge that without resolving the problems that are the root causes of the crisis in Ukraine, it will not be possible to reach an agreement,’ Ryabkov said.

While President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he has spoken to Putin, a spokesman for the Russian leader declined to confirm the call this week.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that he expects to have ‘many more conversations. We have to get that war ended.’

‘I hate to see all these young people being killed. The soldiers are being killed by the hundreds of thousands,’ he added.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is preparing to meet with Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference later this week after confirming on Friday he is ready to ‘do a deal’ with President Donald Trump.

According to an interview with Reuters, Zelenskyy said he was ready to supply the U.S. with rare-earth minerals in exchange for Washington’s continued backing of its war effort.

‘If we are talking about a deal, then let’s do a deal, we are only for it,’ Zelenskyy said. 

The Ukrainian president has made clear he is also open to engaging in peace talks with Russia to end the three-year-long war, though possible terms for securing a peace deal remain varied and unknown. 

Though Zelenskyy has said he is looking for ‘guarantees’ when it comes to future security assurances for the war-torn country.

These security assurances will likely need to be more than a formal handshake paired with a signed document, as Russia has twice violated its last agreement with Ukraine, known as the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.

Zelenskyy apparently first floated the idea of trading Ukraine’s mineral resources – roughly 20% of which are located in now Russian-controlled territory, including half of the rare-earth variety – under his ‘victory plan’ first presented to Western allies last fall, reported Reuters. 

Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Bill Cassidy, R-La., both announced that they would vote to confirm former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to serve as Director of National Intelligence.

In a party-line vote on Monday, Murkowski, Cassidy, and the other Republican senators who voted opted to move forward with the confirmation process by supporting cloture, while the members of the Senate Democratic caucus who voted opposed cloture. 

‘I will vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence,’ Murkowski declared in a post on X. 

‘While I continue to have concerns about certain positions she has previously taken, I appreciate her commitment to rein in the outsized scope of the agency, while still enabling the ODNI to continue its essential function in upholding national security,’ the senator continued. 

‘As she brings independent thinking and necessary oversight to her new role, I am counting on her to ensure the safety and civil liberties of American citizens remain rigorously protected.’

Murkowski voted against confirming Pete Hegseth to serve as Defense Secretary last month. 

‘President Trump chose Tulsi Gabbard to be his point person on foreign intelligence,’ Cassidy said in a statement. ‘I will trust President Trump on this decision and vote for her confirmation.’

Gabbard, who served in Congress from early 2013 to early 2021, announced in 2022 that she was leaving the Democratic Party. 

Last year she backed Trump in the 2024 presidential contest and announced she was joining the Republican Party.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday ending the ‘procurement and forced use of paper straws.’

The order directs the federal government to stop purchasing paper straws and ensure they are no longer offered in federal buildings, according to a White House fact sheet.

It also requires the development of a ‘National Strategy’ to end the use of paper straws within 45 days and ‘alleviate the forced use of paper straws nationwide.’

The White House said paper straws are more expensive than plastic straws and use chemicals that may carry risks to human health.

‘The irrational campaign against plastic straws has forced Americans to use nonfunctional paper straws,’ the fact sheet reads, adding: ‘This ends under President Trump.’

The order comes after Trump vowed last week to end bans and restrictions on plastic straws.

‘I will be signing an Executive Order next week ending the ridiculous Biden push for Paper Straws, which don’t work,’ Trump said Friday on Truth Social. ‘BACK TO PLASTIC!’

Several Democrat-run states, including California, Colorado, New York, Maine, Oregon, Vermont, Rhode Island and Washington, have bans or restrictions on single-use plastic straws.

Some of those states currently have laws limiting the use of single-use plastic straws in full-service restaurants unless requested by the customer.

Democrat-led states have also adopted the use of paper straws as a more environment-friendly alternative, which Trump has criticized for years. He said in a 2019 social media post that ‘liberal paper straws don’t work.’

This comes after former President Joe Biden’s administration announced plans in July to phase out single-use plastic in the federal government.

Fox News’ Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided millions of dollars in funding to extremist groups tied to designated terrorist organizations and their allies, according to a report published by Middle East Forum, a U.S. think tank.

‘The Middle East Forum’s multi-year study of USAID and State Department spending has uncovered $164 million of approved grants to radical organizations, with at least $122 million going to groups aligned with designated terrorists and their supporters,’ the conservative think tank wrote in its report published Feb. 4. 

‘Billions more of federal dollars have been given to leading American aid charities which have consistently failed to vet their terror-tied local partners, and show little interest in improving their practices, to the apparent indifference of the federal government.’

The Middle East Forum’s report focuses specifically on funds from USAID and the State Department that wound up in the hands of radical groups and organizations tied to terrorism.  

The think tank reported that among its top findings, USAID was found to have given more than $900,000 to a ‘Gaza-based terror charity’ called Bayader Association for Environment and Development. The funding began in 2016, and its most recent allocation was made just days before Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. 

Bayader describes itself as a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that works ‘to build a civil society’ on the Gaza Strip. 

‘Founded in 2007, shortly after Hamas’s takeover of the Gaza Strip, Bayader operates in close cooperation with the Hamas regime. Its 2021 annual report notes ‘coordination’ and ‘meetings’ with Hamas’s Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Social Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture,’ the report found. 

The funds were secured through other NGOs, such as Catholic Relief Services and medical groups. 

‘​​But USAID coordinates directly with Bayader as well,’ according to the report. ‘USAID officials have praised Bayader’s work on social media, and even visited Bayader’s offices, where one senior USAID official, Jonathan Kamin, received an award from the terror-linked charity.’ 

The report also found that USAID approved a $12.5 million grant in 2024 to the American Near East Refugee Agency, which is also ‘a long-standing partner’ of Bayader. The American Near East Refugee Agency is an NGO that was established in 1968 in an effort to assist refugees following the Arab-Israeli War. 

The report found staffers with the NGO have repeatedly and publicly posted ‘violent ideas, without apparent censure from top charity officials.’ The comments on social media posted by employees include: calling on God to ‘erase the Jews,’ expressing support for the ‘brave prisoners’ in Israeli jails during the Hamas-Israel war, and describing Oct. 7, 2023, as a ‘beautiful morning.’

Sam Westrop, the director of the Middle East Forum’s counter-extremism project, Islamist Watch, posted a highlight thread on X of the report’s findings, describing the examples as ‘horrifying.’

‘USAID won’t even tell us how much they gave the Unlimited Friends Association, a Gaza terror charity which operates with help from Hamas. The head of the charity promises to ‘cleanse’ their land of ‘impure Jews,’’ Westrop posted in the thread of an example. 

‘USAID gave millions to Islamic Relief, whose Gaza branch openly works with senior terrorist officials in Gaza, including Hamas politburo member Ghazi Hamad. who promised that Hamas would repeat Oct 7 attacks ‘time and again until Israel is annihilated,’’ he posted in another example from the report. 

USAID funds totaling $125,000 were found in the hands of the Islamic Relief Agency (ISRA) in 2015, despite the U.S. Treasury designating the group a global terrorist organization in 2004 due to its ties to Osama bin Laden. 

The report continued that USAID ‘undoubtedly knew of ISRA’s terrorism activities. In 2010, the executive director of ISRA’s U.S. branch (IARA-USA) and a board member pleaded guilty to money-laundering, theft of public funds, conspiracy, and several other charges. The plea was listed on USAID’s own website,’ the report found. IARA-USA stands for the Islamic American Relief Agency.

The funds were directed to ISRA via an evangelical charity called World Vision that works to provide clean water to areas of Sudan, according to the report. 

A World Vision official told Fox News Digital when asked about the report that the charity earned approval to work in Sudan ‘to help build a better world for the most vulnerable children and their families’ and that it takes ‘compliance obligations seriously.’

‘As soon as we became aware that a local partner, Islamic Relief Agency, might be on the list of organizations banned from transactions by the United States, we suspended the grant and asked the US Government to confirm its status,’ the official said. ‘We would never knowingly put those we serve or our staff at risk by working with a partner on the list of banned organizations. We exist to help build a better world for children and their families, serving in the name of Jesus Christ. We have no evidence that any of our funds have been used for anything other than urgent humanitarian work.’ 

‘As a Christian humanitarian organization, we do not compromise our beliefs nor commitment to integrity as we work with governments throughout the world,’ the official said. ‘It is not easy to operate in fragile contexts, yet this is where the Lord is calling us.  We remain committed to our vision of bringing life in all its fullness to vulnerable children around the world.’ 

Fox News Digital reached out to Bayader, the American Near East Refugee Agency and Catholic Relief Services but did not receive replies. 

USAID is under fire from the Trump administration as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its chair, Elon Musk, investigate the agency’s spending practices and prepare to revamp and potentially shutter the agency. USAID is currently led by interim director Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 

The agency announced on its website on Tuesday, Feb. 4, that nearly all personnel would be placed on leave by Friday, making a few exceptions for those in roles related to ‘mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.’ Its overseas missions reportedly also had been told to shut down.

Lawmakers, news outlets and think tanks have dug into past reports related to USAID spending amid the apparent dismantling of the agency, finding countless examples of money channeled to questionable organizations or programs, such as creating a version of ‘Sesame Street’ in Iraq or funding pottery classes in Morocco. 

USAID was established in 1961 under the Kennedy administration, operating as an independent agency that works closely with the State Department to allocate civilian foreign aid. Under Rubio, the agency could be abolished after its reorganization over the coming days, he said in a letter to bipartisan lawmakers on Feb. 3. 

‘In consultation with Congress, USAID may move, reorganize, and integrate certain missions, bureaus, and offices into the Department of State, and the remainder of the Agency may be abolished consistent with applicable law,’ Rubio wrote.

Musk, meanwhile, has posted on X that USAID is a ‘criminal organization’ and that it is ‘time for it to die.’

President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Labor, former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., has left Republicans in the Senate with some questions over her pro-union stances, but at the same time, she has generated some interest from pro-labor Democrats. 

In particular, the moderate Republican will need to explain to Republicans her support for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), a controversial piece of legislation that was proposed a few years ago. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters that ‘support for the PRO Act is not something that most Republicans have tolerated in the past, but I think she’s attempted to address that, and my hope is that she can further clarify her position on some of those issues when she goes through the hearing process.’

The Protecting the Right to Organize Act was championed by Democrats and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters upon introduction. But others, such as most Republicans and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, opposed it. 

The legislation would effectively kill state-level laws that prohibit employers and unions from requiring workers to pay union dues as a condition of their employment. 

Chavez-DeRemer will have her hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) on Wednesday. 

One committee member she’ll have to answer to is Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has already said he doesn’t plan to support her. 

‘Her support for the Pro Act, which would not only oppose national right to work, but it would preempt state law on right to work. I think it’s not a good thing, and it’d be sort of hard for me since it’s a big issue for me to support her. So I won’t support her,’ the senator previously told reporters. 

This puts Chavez-DeRemer in a difficult position, as she will need to rely on Democrats to help her advance out of the HELP committee favorably if Paul follows through on his commitment to voting against her. 

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., who is far from the most pro-union Republican in the upper chamber, is full speed ahead in favor of Trump’s pick as Chavez-DeRemer gears up for her hearing and eventual committee vote. 

In a phone interview with Fox News Digital, he explained that he and Teamsters President Sean O’Brien were involved in Trump’s selection of her for the key Cabinet role. Mullin further detailed the significance of union members in Trump’s winning 2024 election coalition. 

He claimed Democrats have ‘come to us and actually said this is actually a really good pick’ because it puts them in a difficult position and is hard to vote against with her support among labor unions. 

The senator didn’t give away any names of Democrats that might see her appeal, however. 

Paul previously predicted he wouldn’t be the only one unwilling to back her in the Republican conference.

‘I think she’ll lose 15 Republicans and she’ll get 25 Democrats. She’s very pro-labor, she might get all the Democrats. Who knows? So, we’ll see,’ he said. 

If his vote leaves her nomination tied at the committee level, it could still be reported and scheduled for a floor vote, but without a favorable recommendation. In this case, she would need to amass 60 votes in the full Senate to move on to confirmation. 

With her appeal among labor groups, Chavez-DeRemer may manage to put together a 60-plus bipartisan coalition to be confirmed. 

While Paul predicted more than a dozen GOP defectors, Mullin said the real number is likely much smaller.

‘I haven’t heard from any other Republicans that are a ‘no.’ Rand is the only one,’ he said. 

‘I don’t think his numbers are accurate, even close,’ the Oklahoma Republican added. 

A representative for Chavez-DeRemer did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.

FBI records from the Mar-a-Lago classified documents probe will soon be released despite the dismissal of the case against President Donald Trump and his presidential immunity, according to a federal judge’s ruling Monday.

In a court filing first obtained by Politico, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell found that the FBI must disclose more information related to the case by Feb. 20. 

The decision concerned a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case brought by journalist Jason Leopold.

Leopold filed a request with the FBI in 2022 after reports that Trump during his first term ‘allegedly flushed some presidential records down the toilet when he was still in the White House and brought presidential records, including sensitive classified documents, to his personal residence in Florida,’ according to the filing.

The FBI asked the court to authorize withholding the records under Exemption 7A, which concerns ‘records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that production of such law enforcement records or information…could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.’

In light of the SCOTUS ruling on presidential immunity as well as Trump’s election win in November, Trump is exempt from criminal proceedings, but Howell found the documents could still be released because of that fact, as there are no law enforcement proceedings against him.

‘Somewhat ironically, the constitutional and procedural safeguards attached to the criminal process include significant confidentiality mechanisms…. with a parallel safeguard in Exemption 7(A) to help preserve the necessary confidentiality of ongoing criminal investigations leading to anticipated enforcement actions, but for an immune president, Exemption 7(A) may simply be unavailable, as it is here,’ Howell said.

‘Defendants’ motion for summary judgment seeking judgment in their favor as to the legality of relying on Exemption 7(A) to withhold entirely the FBI’s investigative files from the processing of the FOIA request at issue and to assert a Glomar response to the sixth category of requested information, must be denied, and plaintiff’s cross motion for summary judgment as to these legal issues is granted,’ the decision concluded. ‘The parties are directed to submit jointly, by February 20, 2025, a status report proposing a schedule to govern future proceedings to conclude this case expeditiously.’

Howell also noted that though Trump is immune from prosecution, anyone who may have helped to ‘aid, abet and execute criminal acts,’ is not.

‘Of course, while the Supreme Court has provided a protective and presumptive immunity cloak for a president’s conduct, that cloak is not so large to extend to those who aid, abet and execute criminal acts on behalf of a criminally immune president,’ Howell wrote in a footnote. ‘The excuse offered after World War II by enablers of the fascist Nazi regime of ‘just following orders’ has long been rejected in this country’s jurisprudence.’

President Donald Trump said if Hamas does not return all hostages by noon on Saturday, he will call for the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to be canceled and ‘let all hell break out.’ 

Trump made the comments after signing executive orders in the Oval Office Monday evening. 

When asked if he felt the ceasefire deal should be canceled, the president said that is ‘Israel’s decision.’ 

‘If all the Gaza hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 p.m., I would say cancel the ceasefire,’ Trump said in the Oval Office. ‘Let all hell break out; Israel can override it.’ 

Trump stressed that Hamas needs to release ‘all of them—not in drips and drabs.’ 

‘Saturday at 12pm and after that, I would say, all hell is going to break loose,’ Trump said.  

A Hamas spokesperson said Monday that the terrorist group will delay the next planned release of hostages in the Gaza Strip after accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement.

‘Over the past three weeks, the resistance leadership has monitored the enemy’s violations and failure to fulfill its obligations under the agreement; including the delay in allowing the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip, targeting them with direct shelling and gunfire in various areas across Gaza, and denying relief supplies of all kinds to enter as agreed, while the resistance has implemented all its obligations,’ Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for Hamas’ military wing, said. 

‘Therefore, the release of the Zionist prisoners next Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, will be postponed until further notice, and until the occupation commits to and provides compensation for the entitlements of the past weeks retroactively,’ he said. ‘We reaffirm our commitment to the terms of the agreement, as long as the occupation remains committed to them.’

Israel and Hamas are in the midst of a six-week ceasefire, during which Hamas has committed to releasing 33 hostages captured in its Oct. 7, 2023 attack in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

The sides have carried out five swaps since the ceasefire went into effect last month, freeing 21 hostages and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners. The next exchange, scheduled for next Saturday, calls for three more Israeli hostages to be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

‘Hamas’ announcement to stop the release of Israeli hostages is a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement and the hostage release deal,’ Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday. ‘I have instructed the [Israeli Defense Forces] IDF to maintain the highest level of readiness for any possible scenario in Gaza and to fortify the defense of Israeli communities. We will not allow a return to the reality of Oct. 7.’

Hamas released three gaunt, frail-looking Israeli hostages – civilians Eli Sharabi, 52; Or Levy, 34, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56 – on Saturday after forcing them to speak at a handover ceremony. Israel in turn freed 183 Palestinian prisoners that day. 

On Sunday, Trump commented on the conditions of the released Israeli hostages, saying they ‘looked like Holocaust survivors’ and ‘like they haven’t had a meal in a month.’

‘I don’t know how much longer we can take that,’ Trump said, referring to the treatment of the hostages, adding, ‘You know, at some point, we’re gonna lose our patience.’

Fox News’ Danielle Wallace, Yonat Friling and The Associated Press contributed to this report.