DOGE discovers the Biden-Mayorkas illegal migration funding machine
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is doing some digital archeology into the dark closet of federal spending, and the skeletons they’re turning up aren’t pretty.
I’ve been writing for over two years about the Biden administration’s use of taxpayer money to facilitate illegal immigration. But I won’t complain about headlines like “Elon Musk said DOGE uncovered $59 million in payments for luxury hotels” – even if Musk’s work was more to “publicize” than to “uncover.”
Thanks to Biden’s open border and mass parole programs, millions of aliens entered the U.S. border illegally over the past four years. Over the same timeframe, Congress granted $31 billion to the Department of Health and Human Services to provide housing, medical and legal services to these aliens.
But the Biden administration also actively worked to facilitate mass migration using the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) – whose mission is to help disaster-stricken Americans, not aid illegal aliens.
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Via the Department of Homeland Security, the Biden administration channeled billions to FEMA, which in turn granted states, cities and nonprofits money to transport, house and care for illegal aliens.
From FY 2021 to FY2024, Congress gave FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program $2.2 billion for “nonprofits and local entities to provide support to noncitizens released from DHS custody.” This means “to pay for illegal aliens released at the border.”
In 2024 alone, FEMA set aside $640.9 million in Shelter and Services grants “to enable non-federal entities to off-set allowable costs incurred for services associated with noncitizen migrant arrivals in their communities.” The top recipients were Denver, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Massachusetts, New York and Philadelphia – Democrat-run states and cities with “sanctuary” policies offering free housing and services to illegal aliens.
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Biden also used the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (a FEMA grant program authorized in 1987 to help homeless veterans) to pipe another billion dollars into housing illegal immigrants. The $59 million DOGE just flagged was doled out as part of one FEMA grant to house illegal aliens in New York City in more than 200 jerry-rigged shelters that included formerly luxurious hotels like the Roosevelt.
This isn’t an anomaly. It’s just the latest payment in a four-year federal subsidy of sanctuary cities. And these FEMA grants are just one tool among many used by the Biden administration to fund an unauthorized, taxpayer-funded mass migration system.
Officially, refugees who have been vetted and selected are supposed to enter the U.S. through the congressionally authorized U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).
Funded by the U.S. government, USRAP already had a network of NGOs and charities such as Catholic Charities, Jewish Family Services, and Lutheran Refugee and Immigrant Services. Traditionally, these NGOs were paid to help bring in and resettle a fairly small annual number of refugees.
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The Biden administration took this existing NGO pipeline and supercharged it with billions of dollars of federal money, and these charities went from handling tens of thousands of cases per year to millions through many different channels and programs.
In November 2024, retired Border Patrol officer J.J. Carrell told a flabbergasted House Homeland Security Committee that DHS was cutting checks for $600 million to Jewish Family Services alone every three months that year.
Similarly, the government granted over $550 million to various Lutheran charities in FY2024, most of it for migration. Catholic Charities USA received $1.4 billion in federal grants in 2021 alone.
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Much of these taxpayer dollars went directly to the task of importing illegal aliens.
Americans have seen the consequences of wide-open borders but might not have focused on the fact that it was done with their money. DOGE’s candlepower can enlighten them.
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Trump’s EPA boss uncovers unprecedented $20B wasted in Biden admin’s ‘rush job’ scheme
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lee Zeldin said Wednesday that his team has located $20 billion in tax dollars that the Biden administration purposely wasted.
“An extremely disturbing video circulated two months ago, featuring a Biden EPA political appointee talking about how they were ‘tossing gold bars off the Titanic,’ rushing to get billions of your tax dollars out the door before Inauguration Day,” Zeldin said in a video posted to X, citing another video from December. “The ‘gold bars’ were tax dollars and ‘tossing them off the Titanic’ meant the Biden administration knew they were wasting it.”
Zeldin said the EPA has plans to recover the “gold bars” that were found “parked at an outside financial institution,” which he does not mention by name.
He said that “this scheme was the first of its kind in EPA history, and it was purposefully designed to obligate all the money in a rush job with reduced oversight” before Inauguration Day.
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Zeldin said “there is zero reason to suspect any wrongdoing by the bank,” but he thinks an agreement with the institution “needs to be instantly terminated” and all the money should be immediately returned.
He says the EPA needs to resume responsibility for all of these funds, adding that his team will “review every penny that has gone out the door.”
THROUGH THE EPA, WE CAN PURSUE ENERGY DOMINANCE, LEE ZELDIN SAYS | FOX NEWS VIDEO
“The days of irresponsibly shoveling boatloads of cash to far-left activist groups in the name of environmental justice and climate equity are over,” Zeldin said. “The American public deserves a more transparent and accountable government than what transpired these past four years.”
He also said that he would be referring this matter to the inspector general’s office and that he would work with the Department of Justice to assist President Donald Trump in regaining control.
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“Now we will get them back inside of control of government as we pursue next steps. As President Trump has vowed, we’re going to usher in a new Golden Age of American success for the citizens of every race, religion, color and creed,” Zeldin said at the end of the video.
Elon Musk also commended Zeldin on X for an “awesome job” saving taxpayer money.
NASCAR star responds to Trump possibly attending Daytona 500 after past feud
President Donald Trump is rumored to be attending this year’s Daytona 500 on Feb. 16. If he shows up, he will be there to watch a driver he has a spotty history with.
Bubba Wallace, who drives the McDonald’s car for Michael Jordan’s NASCAR team 23XI Racing, engaged in a public feud with Trump in 2020.
In July 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of the George Floyd riots, Wallace made multiple posts on X, then known as Twitter, condemning Trump for promoting hate.
Trump himself attacked Wallace on social media over the driver calling for a ban on confederate flags at races and alleged that an investigation into a noose being found in his garage was a “hoax.” An FBI investigation found that the noose had been in the garage stall since October 2019, and no crime had been committed.
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Later that year, Wallace alleged that he had been told he was “bringing politics into NASCAR,” in response to his condemnation of Trump. However, in 2024, Wallace made no political posts to speak of. Wallace previously told Fox News Digital why.
“Investing my time into that seems like a waste of time,” Wallace said at the time. “I was definitely more vocal then because our sport was in desperate need of change.”
Now, with Trump set to possibly attend the Daytona 500, Wallace feels just as indifferent as he did during the past year’s election. At the Daytona 500 media day on Wednesday, Wallace said he “couldn’t care less” if Trump showed up or not.
“We’re here to race. Not for the show,” Wallace added.
The response is in line with Wallace’s recent approach to politics. Unlike in 2020, he no longer makes any political social media posts. His feed on X is now just a curated mix of racing photos, promotional posts and photos of family.
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One of the biggest reasons Wallace abandoned that habit from 2020 is because of cultural shifts in social media during that time. Wallace said there is overwhelming “negativity” on the platforms he would use to get any messages of his beliefs out.
“Social media nowadays is just a way for people to hide behind a screen and voice their opinions on things they don’t really know about,” Wallace previously told Fox News Digital.
“It’s just too much negativity that it’s going to take years and years and years to get rid of, and we don’t have time for that,” Wallace said of the current culture of social media. “Now, with being a dad and trying to be the best that I can be here for my race team and my team here, that’s where I’m investing my energy so that’s all you can really ask for.”
For Wallace, the impact of becoming a father has been a transformative experience for him in such a short amount of time. Since his son was born, Wallace has two top-10 finishes in the three races he has competed in. He is also looking at life through a lense he was not looking through before.
“You have your kid at home and a full family to provide for now, so it’s crazy to go through all that,” Wallace said.
Meanwhile, if Trump shows up, it will be two major sporting event appearances for the president within the span of a week.
Last Sunday, Trump became the first sitting president in U.S. history to attend a Super Bowl when he traveled to the Superdome in New Orleans to watch the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
Trump previously served as grand marshal for the 2020 Daytona 500 and gave the command for drivers to start their engines. He also took a parade lap around the 2 1/2-mile speedway in his armored limousine, leading the 40-car field before the green flag. The presidential motorcade remained on the apron in the corners instead of taking to the high-banked turns.
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Thousands cheered, and a band played patriotic music when Air Force One flew over the famed track, a flyover that was simultaneously shown on big screens. Trump’s presence energized fans and caused huge headaches because of logistical issues at entrance points.
Trump, with first lady Melania Trump by his side, addressed the crowd before the race and called the Daytona 500 “a legendary display of roaring engines, soaring spirits and the American skill, speed and power that we’ve been hearing about for so many years.”
A notice from the Federal Aviation Administration posted Monday indicated that Trump was expected to attend the race, but NASCAR said Wednesday it had gotten no confirmation.
Rogan’s warning to bureaucrats now that Elon Musk and DOGE are slashing spending
Podcaster Joe Rogan argued that members of the political establishment are in for a reckoning now that “super genius” Tesla-founder Elon Musk is reforming the system.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Musk has canceled millions of dollars of government contracts that the administration says were a waste of taxpayer dollars. President Donald Trump also put DOGE on the hunt this Tuesday with an executive order instructing the department to coordinate with federal agencies and execute massive cuts in federal government staffing numbers.
While some Democrats have warned about Musk having access to Americans’ private information and using it to personally benefit himself, Rogan mocked the idea that he would be using it to steal from them.
“’Elon’s going to steal everybody’s money!’” Rogan said, mocking the idea, before clarifying, “He has $400 billion. I’m telling you he’s not going to steal your money. I’m telling you that’s not what he’s doing.”
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He argued instead that Musk has his eyes on the class of government employees among numerous government agencies.
“What he’s doing is, he’s a super genius that’s been f—ed with, okay? And when you’ve been f—ed with by these nitwits that hide behind three-letter agencies, and you’re dealing with one of the smartest people alive, and he helps Donald Trump get in office, and he goes, ‘I want to find out what kind of corruption is really around,” Rogan said, jokingly warning government bureaucrats, “Well you f—ed up! You f—ed up and picked the wrong psychopath on the spectrum.”
“Because he’s gonna f—in’-He’s gonna hunt you down,” Rogan said, chuckling.
The podcast host then added, “He’s gonna find out what’s going on, and that’s good, that’s good for everybody, that’s how you should be looking at this, like, ‘Wow we have a brilliant mind that is examining these really f—in’ corrupt and goofy systems and bringing in a bunch of psychopath wizards.’”
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In July 2023, Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) calling for Musk and the Tesla board to be investigated due to what she said was the board’s “failure to address possible misappropriation of Tesla resources and conflicts of interest arising from Mr. Musk’s dual role at Tesla and X – renamed from Twitter.”
The senator sent another letter to the SEC last week urging the financial regulator to investigate Tesla’s board of directors for conflicts of interest with Musk.
In August 2023, The Dept. of Justice announced a lawsuit against Musk’s SpaceX alleging that the company “routinely discouraged asylees and refugees from applying and refused to hire or consider them, because of their citizenship status, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).”
According to the suit, SpaceX wrongly claimed that federal laws and regulations restricted the company to only hiring U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, also known as green card holders.
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GOP rebels, tax hawks throw wrench in budget bill crucial to Trump agenda
The House GOP’s proposal for a massive conservative policy overhaul has already gotten a rocky reception from Republican lawmakers, and with their current majority, Republicans will need to vote in near lock-step to pass anything without Democratic support.
“I think it’s probably going to have to be modified in some way before it comes to the floor,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital.
Other members of the GOP hardliner group also balked at the bill. Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., called it a “pathetic” attempt at cutting spending.
“We’ll still be accelerating towards a debt spiral,” Burlison said.
SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN
House and Senate Republicans are working to use their majorities to advance President Donald Trump‘s agenda via the budget reconciliation process. By reducing the threshold for passage in the Senate from two-thirds to a simple majority, which the House is already at, it allows the party in power to pass budgetary and fiscal legislation without help from the opposition.
The first step in the process is to advance a framework through the House and Senate budget committees, which then gives directions to other committees on how much funding they get to implement their relevant policy agendas.
The Senate Budget Committee approved its own plan on Wednesday night, while the House counterpart is poised to meet on their proposal Thursday morning.
It is not immediately clear if that bill will pass, however. Four conservatives on the House Budget Committee – Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, Ralph Norman, R-S.C., Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., and Josh Brecheen – did not commit to voting for the 45-page proposal backed by GOP leaders that was released on Wednesday morning.
Roy said he was “not sure” if the legislation could advance on Thursday morning when asked by Fox News Digital.
“We’ll see,” Norman said when asked if the bill would pass out of committee.
Clyde and Brecheen similarly would not say how they felt about the proposal when leaving the speaker’s office on Wednesday afternoon.
If all four voted against the legislation, it would be enough to block the resolution from advancing to the House floor.
Other conservatives also expressed reservations. Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., told Fox News Digital, “I’m not super happy with it.”
“It just doesn’t do enough to address fiscal cuts,” Crane said.
The House’s 45-page bill would mandate at least a $1.5 trillion reduction in federal spending over the next 10 years, coupled with $300 billion in new spending for border security and national defense over the same period.
It would also raise the debt ceiling by $4 trillion – something Trump had demanded Republicans deal with before the U.S. runs out of cash to pay its debts, projected to happen by the spring if Congress does not act.
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Additionally, while hardline conservatives wanted deeper spending cuts written into the bill, Republicans on the House Ways & Means Committee are uneasy about the $4.5 trillion allocated toward extending Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 – which expires at the end of 2025.
“Let me just say that a 10-year extension of President Trump’s expiring provisions is over $4.7 trillion according to CBO. Anything less would be saying that President Trump is wrong on tax policy,” Ways & Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., told The Hill earlier this week.
A member of the committee, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital, “I have some concerns regarding Ways & Means not being provided with the largest amount to cover President Trump’s tax cuts — especially [State and Local Tax deduction (SALT)] relief and a tax reduction for senior citizens, which are both also priorities of mine.”
Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, said he had not read the legislative text but that Smith believed the $4.5 trillion figure was “about a trillion off from where we need to be in order to make it work.”
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The resolution’s first big test comes at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Republicans are aiming to use reconciliation to pass a broad swath of Trump’s priorities, from more funding for law enforcement and detention beds at the U.S.-Mexico border to eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages.
The Senate’s plan would advance border, energy and defense priorities first while leaving taxes for a second bill.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called that plan a “nonstarter” this week, however. House leaders are concerned that leaving tax cut extensions for a second bill could allow those measures to expire before lawmakers reach an agreement.
New York Stock Exchange is going down south — joining several high-profile companies
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Texas, “a fully electronic equities exchange,” is coming to Dallas.
The announcement came Wednesday, and stated the NYSE Chicago “will reincorporate in Texas and be renamed NYSE Texas,” providing companies with a new venue to list their securities.
Several high-profile firms, including Elon Musk’s Tesla, and SpaceX, have relocated their headquarters to Texas, attracted by the state’s perceived favorable legal and regulatory environment.
“As the state with the largest number of NYSE listings, representing over $3.7 trillion in market value for our community, Texas is a market leader in fostering a pro-business atmosphere,” Lynn Martin, president of NYSE Group, said in a statement.
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“We are delighted to expand our presence in the Lone Star State, which plays a key role in driving our U.S. economy forward” Martin continued.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott met with NYSE leaders on Monday to discuss the launch, local FOX 4 reported.
“With the launch of NYSE Texas, we will expand our financial might in the United States and cement our great state as an economic powerhouse on the global stage,” Abbott said, according to FOX 4.
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A potential competitor is already in the works, as the Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE), a new venture backed by financial giants including BlackRock, Citadel Securities and Charles Schwab, is targeting a 2026 launch after submitting paperwork late last month to operate as a national securities exchange, Reuters reported.
It will also be a fully electronic equity exchange headquartered in Dallas.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 357.55 | +21.04 | +6.25% |
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“We have known all along that Texas is the best place to do business,” a TXSE spokesperson said in a statement obtained by Reuters following the news. “The Texas Stock Exchange is harnessing this momentum to build a national securities exchange in our home state.”