Senators are not thrilled with a top White House official’s comments that the government funding process should become more partisan, and fear that doing so could erode Congress’ power of the purse.

Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought told reporters during a Christian Science Monitor Breakfast Thursday morning that he believed ‘the appropriations process has to be less bipartisan.’

His sentiment came on the heels of Senate Republicans advancing President Donald Trump’s $9 billion clawback package, which would cancel congressionally approved funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting, just a few hours before.

Unlike the hyper-partisan bills that have dominated the Senate’s recent agenda, including the rescissions package and the president’s ‘big, beautiful bill,’ the appropriations process is typically a bipartisan affair in the upper chamber.

That is because, normally, most bills brought to the floor have to pass the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, and with the GOP’s narrow majority, Senate Democrats will need to pass any spending bills or government funding extensions to ward off a partial government shutdown.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who alluded to issues down the line with the appropriations process if Republicans advanced Trump’s resicssions package, took a harsh stance against Vought. 

‘Donald Trump should fire Russell Vought immediately, before he destroys our democracy and runs the country into the ground,’ Schumer said. 

Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee also did not take kindly to Vought’s comments.

‘I think he disrespects it,’ Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said. ‘I think he thinks that we are irrelevant, and I wish I had actually heard the speech, because, you know, again, everything in context.’

‘But you have to admit that when you look at the quotes that are highlighted in the story this morning, it is pretty dismissive of the appropriations process, pretty dismissive,’ she continued.

Vought has no intention of slowing the rescissions train coming from the White House, and said that there would be more rescissions packages on the way.

He noted another would ‘come soon,’ as lawmakers in the House close in on a vote to send the first clawback package to the president’s desk.

‘There is no voter in the country that went to the polls and said, ‘I’m voting for a bipartisan appropriations process,’’ Vought said. ‘That may be the view of something that appropriators want to maintain.’

Both Murkowski and Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted against the rescissions package, and warned of the cuts to public broadcasting, lack of transparency from the OMB and the possible effect it could have on legislating in the upper chamber.

‘I disagree with both those statements,’ Collins said of Vought’s push for a more partisan appropriations process. ‘Just as with the budget that the President submitted, we had to repeatedly ask him and the agencies to provide us with the detailed account information, which amounts to 1000s of pages that our appropriators and their staff meticulously review.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the OMB for comment. 

Vought’s comments came at roughly the same time as appropriators were holding a mark-up hearing of the military construction and veterans’ affairs and Commerce, Justice and Science spending bills.

Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said during the hearing that Senate Republicans coalescing behind the rescissions package would only make hammering out spending bills more difficult, and argued that ‘trust’ was at the core of the process.

‘That’s part of why bipartisan bills are so important,’ she said. ‘But everyone has to understand getting to the finish line always depends on our ability to work together in a bipartisan way, and it also depends on trust.’

Other Republicans on the panel emphasized a similar point, that, without some kind of cooperation, advancing spending bills would become even more challenging.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said that finding ‘critical mass’ to move spending bills was important, and warned that people have to ‘quit saying it’s gotta just be my way or the highway,’ following threats Schumer’s threats last week that the appropriations process could suffer should the rescissions package pass. 

‘People better start recognizing that we’re all gonna have to work together and hopefully get these [appropriations] bills to the floor and see what we can move,’ he said. ‘But if somebody just sits up and says, ‘Oh, because there’s a rescission bill, then I’m not going to work on Appropriations,’ you can always find an excuse not to do something. Let’s figure out how we can work forward.’

A top former Biden administration aide invoked the Fifth Amendment during her closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee on Friday, Fox News Digital was told.

Annie Tomasini becomes the third Democratic ex-official to stonewall investigators looking into whether signs of former President Joe Biden’s alleged mental decline were covered up by his inner circle.

The former White House deputy chief of staff was seen entering the committee room in under an hour, saying nothing to reporters either time.

A source familiar with the discussions told Fox News Digital that she invoked the Fifth Amendment multiple times, which likely is what led to the hasty meeting.

Tomasini is the third ex-Biden administration official to come before committee investigators under subpoena, and the fifth to appear overall.

She was meant to appear Friday for a voluntary transcribed interview, but a committee aide previously told Fox News Digital that Tomasini’s lawyers had asked House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., to issue a subpoena specifically.

Both prior officials who appeared under subpoena – ex-White House physician Kevin O’Connor and Anthony Bernal, a longtime aide to ex-First Lady Jill – also invoked the Fifth Amendment.

Comer is investigating allegations that Biden’s former top White House aides covered up signs of his mental and physical decline while in office, and whether any executive actions were commissioned via autopen without the president’s full knowledge. Biden allies have pushed back against those claims.

In an interview with The New York Times on Thursday, Biden affirmed he ‘made every decision’ on his own.

But Republicans have repeatedly accused those who have pleaded the Fifth Amendment so far of intentionally hiding critical information about the former president, even as their attorneys argue it is not an admission of guilt.

Israel’s military strikes in Syria this week — launched in response to atrocities against the Druze minority — represent a strategic turning point in a deeper power struggle that now entangles Iran, Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the U.S., according to regional analysts.

Just days ago, speculation swirled about a potential normalization agreement between Israel and Syria — a breakthrough quietly brokered by U.S. officials, but that fragile prospect has been swiftly overtaken by violence, as Israeli airstrikes this week struck near Damascus.

A ceasefire agreement between Druze factions and the Syrian government, announced July 16, was meant to calm days of deadly clashes, but it remains tenuous and largely unenforced, with sporadic fighting continuing and tensions running high.

‘For the Druze in Israel, what’s happening in southern Syria feels like October 7 all over again,’ said Avner Golov, vice president of the Israeli think tank Mind Israel. ‘Israel can no longer treat Syria as just a neighboring crisis. It’s now a domestic one.’

In a rare scene, Israeli Druze citizens crossed the border into Syria to support their embattled relatives — prompting a stern warning from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

‘My Druze brothers, citizens of Israel… Do not cross the border,’ Netanyahu said. ‘You are putting your lives at risk — you could be killed, you could be kidnapped — and you are harming the IDF’s efforts. Let the IDF do its job.’

In his first televised address since the Israeli strikes, Syrian transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa framed the Israeli intervention as a destabilizing act.

‘Government forces deployed to Suweida succeeded in restoring stability and expelling outlawed factions despite the Israeli interventions,’ he said, warning that the strikes led to ‘a significant complication of the situation’ and ‘a large-scale escalation.’ He insisted that protecting the country’s Druze minority was a top priority and declared that Syrians ‘are not afraid of war.’

Within Israel, the collapse of order in Syria has triggered sharp debate. Some policymakers argue for supporting Sharaa as an anti-Iranian strongman, while others advocate broader military action to create a buffer zone in southern Syria. Golov supports a middle course: conditional strikes paired with demands for Druze autonomy and accountability for war crimes.

‘If Sharaa shows he’s willing to punish those responsible for the massacre and agree to Druze autonomy, then Israel can gradually work with him,’ Golov told Fox News Digital.

He also called for a regional diplomatic effort to stabilize Syria. ‘We need a regional summit — the U.S., Saudi Arabia, even Turkey, and Israel’ he said. ‘Bring positive forces into Syria and use Israeli military power not just tactically, but to gain diplomatic leverage.’

‘There’s a temptation to miss the victory lap,’ said Behnam Taleblu, senior director of the Iran Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). ‘Rather than see Syria through the prism of competition with Turkey, Israel should first see it through the prism of diminished competition with Iran. That in itself is a huge achievement.’

Turkey: Alarmed, but invested

While Iran’s position has weakened, Turkey has quietly expanded its footprint in Syria by backing the al-Sharaa government. 

Turkey’s strategic interest in Syria, Sinan Ciddi, a senior fellow at FDD and director of the Turkey program, explained, is to fill the vacuum left by Iran with its own political and economic influence — using al-Sharaa regime as a conduit. ‘Turkey has a lot riding on al-Sharaa success,’ he said. ‘They’d like to see increased trade, the reconstruction of Syria through al-Sharaa. They want to use him as a means to influence the region politically.’

However, Israel’s military response has triggered alarm in Ankara.

‘Turkey is not in a position to militarily challenge Israel — it would be a disaster,’ said Ciddi. ‘They’re talking tough, but they’re deeply concerned.’

Ciddi emphasized that Turkey’s aging military hardware and lack of air defense leave it highly exposed. Yet, Turkey is deeply invested in al-Sharaa political survival, hoping to leverage him for influence and economic ties in post-war Syria.

A direct clash between Turkey and Israel, Ciddi warned, would ‘result in a diplomatic fiasco… and require the United States and European countries to step in as mediator.’

Iran: Watching, waiting, and ready to return

Even as Israel dismantled key parts of Iran’s military infrastructure in Syria, Tehran remains a long-term threat. Taleblu said Iran is now lying in wait — ready to exploit missteps by others.

‘This is a regime that capitalizes on the mistakes of others,’ he said. ‘They don’t need to win outright — they just need everyone else to lose.’

Tehran is betting that the region’s rival powers — Turkey, Israel, the U.S. and the Gulf — will overplay their hands, allowing Iran to reenter through proxies, sectarian militias, or diplomatic manipulation.

The United States: Pulled back in

Though President Trump recently said Syria’s internal affairs are ‘not our war,’ his administration’s tone has shifted. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for de-escalation, and regional partners are urging a clearer U.S. role.

‘Real success will come from creating contingencies,’ Taleblu said. ‘What are the costs if Syria collapses? What if Turkey overreaches, or Israel overextends? What if Iran comes back? The states that prepare for these questions.’

Former Biden administration staffer Annie Tomasini is on Capitol Hill Friday after being subpoenaed by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.

She did not say anything to reporters on her way into her closed-door deposition with investigators.

Tomasini, former Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for ex-President Joe Biden, was previously scheduled to appear for a voluntary transcribed interview on Friday.

A committee aide told Fox News Digital earlier this week that Tomasini’s counsel requested the subpoena, but did not say why. 

She is the third ex-Biden administration aide to come under subpoena in Comer’s probe in recent weeks.

Comer is investigating allegations that Former President Joe Biden’s former top White House aides covered up signs of his mental and physical decline while in office, and whether any executive actions were commissioned via autopen without the president’s full knowledge. Biden allies have pushed back against those claims.

In an interview with The New York Times on Thursday, Biden affirmed he ‘made every decision’ on his own.

Just before Tomasini, House investigators heard from Anthony Bernal, a longtime aide to ex-first lady Jill Biden. 

Bernal pleaded the Fifth Amendment on all questions about Biden and was out of the committee room less than an hour after going in.

Lawmakers are largely not expected to attend the closed-door deposition, which is traditionally staff-led.

Comer has been to several so far, and progressive firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, has made surprise appearances as well.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios political correspondent Alex Thompson revealed in their book, ‘Original Sin,’ that Tomasini and Bernal ‘loaded a written Q&A into a prompter ahead of a local interview – a document that the campaign had used in prep with Biden.’

Tomasini and Bernal brought out the teleprompter as his aides were trying to soften his blunders as Biden struggled to stay on message, according to the book. But the teleprompter fiasco became an easy attack line throughout Biden’s re-election campaign, as President Donald Trump ‘weaved’ through his myriad unscripted moments.

The book described how Tomasini and Bernal grew closer to Biden during the pandemic, eventually becoming Joe and Jill Biden’s most trusted aides. 

Tapper and Thompson describe the ‘intensely loyal’ duo – Tomasini and Bernal – as taking on an ‘older-brother-and-little-sister vibe’ among Biden’s inner circle.  

Bernal and Tomasini later took on some of the residence staffers’ roles in the White House. Tapper and Thompson said the aides ‘had all-time access to the living quarters, with their White House badges reading ‘Res’ – uncommon for such aides.’

‘The significance of Bernal and Tomasini is the degree to which their rise in the Biden White House signaled the success of people whose allegiance was to the Biden family – not to the presidency, not to the American people, not to the country, but to the Biden theology,’ the authors wrote. 

A source familiar with the Biden team’s thinking called House Republicans’ probe ‘dangerous’ and ‘an attempt to smear and embarrass.’

‘And their hope is for just one tiny inconsistency between witnesses to appear so that Trump’s DOJ prosecute his political opponents and continue his campaign of revenge,’ the source said.

President Donald Trump late Thursday directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to work on releasing grand jury transcripts in the case of Jeffrey Epstein. 

It’s unclear exactly when any testimony may go public. The Justice Department is expected to file Friday asking a judge to unseal transcripts.

The order came after a barrage of criticism against the Trump administration following the release of a joint DOJ-FBI memo that concluded there was no evidence that the disgraced financier had blackmailed powerful people, kept a client list or was killed while in jail. 

The memo has created deep fissures among Trump supporters who have complained of a lack of transparency from the administration. A source told Fox News Digital that FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino had been considering resigning over the matter, though he has not stated anything publicly. 

The president, meanwhile, has pushed back at the criticism, calling the charges a ‘hoax’ and contending that his supporters are being ‘duped’ by Democrats. Trump posted to Truth Social on Friday morning, ‘If there was a ‘smoking gun’ on Epstein, why didn’t the Dems, who controlled the ‘files’ for four years, and had [then-Attorney General Merrick Garland] and [then-FBI Director James Comey] in charge, use it? BECAUSE THEY HAD NOTHING!!!’

Before joining the Trump administration, Bondi was among the staunchest advocates for releasing the Epstein list, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity in 2024: ‘It should have come out a long time ago.’ 

The Justice Department released a new batch of Epstein files in February, but the documents revealed no new revelations in the case. Many of the documents had already been released during the federal criminal trial of Epstein’s associate, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. 

Trump has defended Bondi over the latest fallout, telling reporters earlier this week: ‘She’s handled it very well, and it’s going to be up to her, whatever she thinks is credible she should release.’ 

On Thursday, Trump said he had directed Bondi to release all ‘pertinent’ transcripts on the case.   

‘Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Testimony, subject to Court approval,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social late Thursday. ‘This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!’ 

Bondi said her team was ‘ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts.’ 

Epstein, a 66-year-old millionaire financier with a private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, died in federal custody in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. 

Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf and Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.