NationalWatch

CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin publicly confirmed for the first time that her organization received an inquiry from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), seeking detailed information about its March trip to Cuba.

The inquiry, which is often called an administrative subpoena, comes as the Trump administration signals a broad effort to increase federal scrutiny of nonprofit organizations operating in foreign-policy and activist spaces. Last October, after the murder of conservative leader Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump directed federal agencies to strengthen enforcement against nonprofit entities that facilitate support for political violence.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reinforced that message this week, arguing that nonprofit organizations and fiscal sponsors can’t shield themselves from legal accountability when resources, funding, organizational infrastructure or grants are used to support unlawful activity and political violence.

“We’ve made substantial progress, and I think in the weeks and months ahead, we’re going to have a lot to report,” Bessent responded to a question in the White House press gallery. He said, for example, that under new changes, the IRS will “demand that nonprofits know their grant recipients.”

FEDS SUBPOENA HASAN PIKER, MEDEA BENJAMIN OVER CUBA TRIPS

“So, if a grant recipient is violent, if they are suppressing people’s rights, then you are responsible for that,” Bessent said. “I think that’s a very good first step.”

The shift reflects a growing administration focus on whether nonprofit networks are exercising sufficient oversight over the projects, activists and international campaigns they sponsor. Against that backdrop, the inquiry by the Office of Foreign Assets Control into the Cuba convoy fits within an effort by Treasury officials to examine whether activist organizations are complying with laws and other federal restrictions, such as sanctions laws.

Speaking on camera in a video promoted by a far-left media platform, BreakThrough News, Benjamin said she and political streamer Hasan Piker first learned about the query when Fox News Digital broke the news last Saturday evening that Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control had launched an investigation into the financial and logistical details of CodePink’s and Piker’s trip to Cuba trip.

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The Office of Foreign Assets Control enforces U.S. sanctions on Cuba, which restrict Americans from engaging in many financial transactions with the communist government and require travelers and organizations to comply with licensing and record-keeping requirements for authorized activities.

“I actually didn’t get anything, and neither did Hasan Piker,” Benjamin said. “I mean, we heard this on Fox News, that there was this subpoena out, and I was going outside my front door, looking around for somebody to serve me.”

Benjamin said the inquiry arrived by email and had been sent to CodePink co-founder Jodie Evans. Fox News Digital has learned that CodePink D.C. Coordinator Olivia DiNucci, who regularly harasses politicians as they are having dinner in D.C. restaurants, is also expected to get a query.

“It turns out that it was an email that was sent to CodePink co-founder Jodie Evans, and it was so unofficial that it landed in our spam box,” Benjamin said. “So it was a letter, and it came from the Treasury Department, from the Office of Foreign Assets Control, known as OFAC.”

FAR-LEFT ACTIVISTS STAY IN 5-STAR CUBAN HOTEL AS ISLAND SUFFERS TOTAL BLACKOUT

While criticizing the manner in which the inquiry was delivered, Benjamin acknowledged that the request itself was serious because of the volume of information federal officials are seeking.

“And I don’t want to say it’s not serious. It is serious, because they are asking for all kinds of information,” Benjamin said. “And this is a kind of intimidation tactic that means we have to get a lawyer, that we have to spend a lot of staff time, a lot of energy.”

According to Benjamin, the inquiry includes roughly a dozen detailed questions about the trip and its participants.

“They’re asking about 12 very detailed questions that include things like, ‘How did you get there? Where did you stay? What did you do every hour that you were there?'” Benjamin said. “I guess we have to tell them how many hours we slept.”

Benjamin said approximately 170 people participated in the convoy and suggested the scope of the inquiry could require organizers to account for the activities of every participant.

REVOLUTIONARY TOURISM: INSIDE THE $600M MARRIAGE OF DARK MONEY AND FAR-LEFT AGITPROP

“There were 170 people, so I don’t know if they want to know what every single person did every single minute of the day,” she said.

Benjamin also confirmed that organizers brought humanitarian supplies to Cuba.

“What we brought — and we brought about $600,000 worth of aid — so it’s a lot, a lot of information that they want,” Benjamin said.

Benjamin framed the inquiry as an effort to discourage Americans from traveling to Cuba or participating in humanitarian missions to the communist island, but said organizers would continue their activities despite the federal scrutiny.

“And of course, this is to make people think, ‘Uh oh, should I go to Cuba? Uh oh, should I keep doing humanitarian aid?'” Benjamin said. “And the answer to that is, yes. We can’t be intimidated. In fact, we have to use this as another reason that we’re so angry at the U.S. government and redouble our efforts.”

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Meanwhile, Piker has insisted that he hasn’t received the Treasury Department query. 

He stirred up another set of headlines speculating that the “real goal” of the investigation is to target American Marxist tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham, who has pumped $285 million since 2017 into a network of groups including CodePink and BreakThrough News, allegedly spreading pro-China propaganda and sowing discord with massive anti-American street protests.

CodePink and BreakThrough News have been fixtures in those street protests, and Piker has supported them on his hours-long livestreams.

Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche on Friday said that a man who made death threats against a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer and his family at a protest in New Jersey Thursday night had been arrested.

The arrest came just hours after Blanche promised the protester, who was captured on video, would be found and arrested.

“That’s a federal crime,” Blanche said on Fox News’ “The Will Cain Show” on Thursday. “Not only threatening the ICE officer — but think about how disgusting this individual is by threatening his wife and his children with death.

In the video, the protester can be heard taunting the officer: “I will kill your whole f—ing family. Your whole f—ing family is dead. Your children and wife all dead. I have your face mother—er! All dead!”

ANTI-ICE AGITATOR SCREAMS ‘I’LL KILL YOUR WHOLE F- FAMILY’ DAY AFTER DEM GOV PRAISES ‘PEACEFUL PROTESTING’

Blanche said the officer was just doing his job and “standing there.”

On Friday evening, Blanche wrote on X: Told you. @FBI just arrested the man who threatened to kill ICE officers and their families. FAFO.”

He has not yet been identified.

ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS CLASH WITH AGENTS OUTSIDE NEW JERSEY DETENTION CENTER AS GOV. SHERRILL DENIED ENTRY

The clash occurred Thursday evening outside of Newark’s Delaney Hall detention center where protesters were accused of biting, kicking and punching agents.

Agents responded by deploying pepper spray and beating back agitators as the protest continued into its sixth night.

Nine rioters were arrested during the clashes Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security told Fox News Digital.

ANTI-ICE AGITATORS THROW WOODEN PALLETS, MATTRESSES AT FEDERAL AGENTS DURING CHAOTIC NJ DETENTION CENTER CLASH

Approximately 100 protesters mobbed the area surrounding the detention center, chanting “F— ICE” and brandishing black umbrellas, gas masks and other gear to protect themselves from pepper spray and various anti-riot measures.

On Wednesday evening, DHS reported that approximately 100 anti-ICE protesters gathered around the Delaney Hall ICE facility. While rioters assaulted and threw objects at law enforcement, DHS said “local police refused to help our officers.” Six rioters were arrested Wednesday night for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers.

“We called local police, we called state police multiple times. Listen, I know the law enforcement there would love to respond, but because of Governor Sherrill’s behavior what the governor is doing, she’s not allowing public officers and state officers to respond,” Mullin said during a Thursday morning appearance on Fox & Friends.

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Demonstrations over conditions for detainees began Friday, May 22, after detainees penned an open letter claiming they were being denied access to medical care, being insufficiently fed and detained without due process.

DHS has denied those claims.

Fox News’ Charles Creitz and Robert McGreevy contributed to this report. 

EXCLUSIVE: The U.S. Coast Guard will be ending admissions for college students wanting to commission as officers that take race into consideration as part of the Trump administration’s continued anti-diversity, equity and inclusion initiative, Fox News Digital has learned.

“The Trump Administration is more focused than ever on eliminating unconstitutional DEI policies like this one,” DHS General Counsel James Percival said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital on Friday.

He added, “Racial quotas, like those included in this program for students who want to enlist and commission as officers in the U.S. Coast Guard, are a direct violation of the United States Constitution’s equal protection requirements. By getting rid of these unconstitutional diversity quotas, we are returning the Coast Guard’s focus to military readiness, upholding the law, and making America a safer place.”

The College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative (CSPI), program previously included a preference for students from schools that had met quotas for including students from specific racial groups.

PETE HEGSETH DIRECTS MILITARY ACADEMIES THAT ALL FUTURE ADMISSIONS WILL BE BASED SOLELY ON MERIT

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced at end to those requirements on Thursday.

“Eliminating racial quotas in federal programs remains a priority of the Justice Department,” Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said. “Access to opportunities like the Coast Guard’s pre-commissioning initiative should be based exclusively on merit, not the racial composition of your college. This resolution helps ensure that equality of opportunity.”

ROGER GOODELL SAYS NFL WITH COOPERATE WITH FLORIDA AG PROBE INTO ROONEY RULE AND DEI HIRING PROGRAMS

The Trump administration has taken similar steps to end DEI policies in the federal government and in the military as a whole.

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Last week, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth spoke at the graduation ceremony at West Point, telling the cadets,  “The battlefield does not grade on a curve, and you can’t throw your pronouns at the enemy. Combat is the ultimate test, and our best Americans must ace it.”

He also accused West Point’s leadership of having attempted to turn West Point into a “woke Princeton.”

Fox News Digital’s Preston Mizell contributed to this report.

In a recent podcast appearance, Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed admitted to destroying property in a liquor store in Detroit over remarks about the length of his beard, a sign of religious observance among Muslim communities.

“He says, ‘Are you Muslim?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘Well, your beard is too short.’ I said, ‘Ok you’re gonna judge me? Ok, give me a second, I forgot something,’” El-Sayed said while on left-leaning YouTube show “Intellectually Petty.” 

“So, I walk back, I get a fifth of vodka, and put it on the counter. He’s like, ‘Hey, you can’t buy that,’ and I was like, ‘You’re right, and you can’t sell it.’ So, I smashed it on the ground and walked out.”

The account is emerging as a new line of attack for some Republicans in the closely watched Senate race.

SQUAD MEMBER SUMMER LEE CALLS ‘UPPER CLASS’ THE ‘ENEMY’ AT EL-SAYED RALLY

Hunter Lovell, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee (RNC), believes it displays a willingness to become aggressive over matters of faith.

“Abdul El-Sayed thinks he gets a free hall pass by using his religion as a way to promote violent extremism,” Lovell said. “In reality, Michigan voters see a deeply disturbed man with anger management issues who belongs nowhere near the United States Senate.”

El-Sayed’s campaign, when asked about Lovell’s comments, did not address the incident in the liquor store.

“Yes — Abdul is angry on behalf of the people. Unlike Trump who seems more focused on drapes in a ballroom, Abdul gets mad when everyday people get exploited,” Roxie Richner, a spokesperson for the campaign, told Fox News Digital.

El-Sayed finds himself in a heated three-way Democratic primary to replace outgoing Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich.

Voters will soon have to pick between him, fellow progressive Mallory McMorrow, a state legislator, and Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., a more establishment-leaning candidate.

HOUSE DEM JUMPS INTO CROWDED MICHIGAN SENATE RACE

El-Sayed has positioned himself as the most leftward-leaning of the three, espousing positions such as “Medicare for all,” free college education and the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Notably, El-Sayed has attracted criticism for his opposition to the current U.S. partnership with Israel, citing humanitarian concerns during the war in Gaza.

He’s also drawn scrutiny for campaigning with Hasan Piker, a political commentator and media personality who has described Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror group, as the “lesser of two evils,” in its war with Israel and said that the U.S. “deserved 9/11.” 

El-Sayed himself has clearly said he condemns all forms of religious violence.

In the wake of an attack on a synagogue in Temple Israel Michigan earlier in 2026, El-Sayed called it an act of “terrorism.”

MICHIGAN DEMOCRAT DEFENDS APPEARING WITH HASAN PIKER, DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM PODCASTER’S CONTROVERSIAL REMARKS

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“He was an Arab American and a Muslim. I condemn what he did. There is never a justification for attacking innocent people or houses of worship. Never,” El-Sayed said in a press release.

The Michigan Senate primary will be held Aug. 4.

Insurgent candidate Spencer Pratt has what it takes to become Los Angeles’ next mayor despite the “difficult job” ahead of winning over a heavily Democratic electorate, a senior California lawmaker told Fox News Digital.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said mayoral hopeful Spencer Pratt is resonating with voters in the deep-blue city by offering “common-sense” solutions to the dysfunction that has persisted under incumbent Mayor Karen Bass.

Pratt, a former reality television personality best known for “The Hills,” has risen to prominence in the race by calling attention to Bass’ alleged mismanagement of devastating wildfires that destroyed more than 18,000 structures — including his Pacific Palisades home — and the stalled recovery. He has also lit into Bass’ failure to make significant headway on street homelessness, drug addiction and crime.

“He’s catching fire among ardent historic Democrat voters because Karen Bass has been so ineffective,” Issa said in an interview. “And every time she opens her mouth, she’s talking about more of the same to people who have seen their streets, both crime-ridden and in fact … ineffectively managed.”

NBA STAR PLACES $36,000 BET ON OUTSIDER LA MAYORAL CANDIDATE SPENCER PRATT WINNING HEATED RACE

“Do I see his common-sense campaigning as resonating? Absolutely,” he continued.

Pratt is vying in a nonpartisan June 2 primary against Bass and socialist City Council member Nithya Raman. No candidate is expected to receive more than 50% of the vote, meaning the top two vote-getters will advance to a November runoff election.

Recent polling shows all three candidates in a dead heat, even as Bass enjoys the support of high-profile Democrats, including former Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif.

But Pratt, a registered Republican, faces long odds in a city where fewer than 20% of voters identify with the GOP.

Bass-aligned groups have also run ads criticizing Pratt’s party affiliation despite the political newcomer officially running as an independent.

KAREN BASS REFUSES TO GIVE ‘YES OR NO’ ANSWER ON WHETHER NONCITIZENS SHOULD VOTE IN LA: ‘IT DEPENDS’

Issa, however, said there is precedent for Los Angeles electing a mayor with Republican ties despite its Democratic leanings.

“I will say that Dick Riordan, now deceased, but a Republican who was mayor a generation ago, had that same sort of common sense … and he did resonate. He was elected,” the California Republican said. “He goes down in history as a period in which Los Angeles did improve very much, like New York and Rudy Giuliani.”

Riordan was the last Republican elected mayor of Los Angeles after winning a second term in 1997.

Billionaire developer Rick Caruso, a Republican-turned-Democrat, lost a 2022 mayoral battle against Bass despite spending north of $100 million on his campaign.

In a likely attempt to win over Democratic voters, Pratt has sought to divorce the race from national politics.

“In LA, they want to feel safe, they don’t want to step in human poop,” he told NBC News in an interview Thursday. “I don’t need to have personal opinions about anybody that doesn’t affect them stepping in human poop.”

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Asked by the outlet about President Donald Trump’s vocal support for his campaign, Pratt said he did not need it. Trump has yet to offer a formal endorsement.

“I don’t need anyone’s endorsement but mothers’. That’s who’s getting me elected,” he replied.

The Department of Justice announced on Thursday that it filed lawsuits against four Democrat-led states over their refusal to issue undercover license plates to ICE agents.

DOJ Civil Division Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate previously issued an ultimatum to Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington, giving them until May 22 to provide immigration enforcement officers with undercover plates for their vehicles. Justice Department officials argue the states’ refusal unlawfully discriminates against federal law enforcement and violates the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.

These lawsuits escalate a months-long standoff between the Justice Department and Democrat-led states over immigration enforcement. The cases could test the limits of the Supremacy Clause as the DOJ seeks to assert legal authority over state motor vehicle departments, while the states themselves maintain that they are not required to assist with civil immigration enforcement.

“This Department of Justice will exercise any and all lawful authorities to support the brave men and women of law enforcement,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “Law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe and must be able to carry out their duties effectively. By denying undercover license plates to DHS components, including ICE, while issuing them to their own state agencies, these governors are pursuing discriminatory and obstructionist policies against federal law enforcement.”

DOJ PUTS BLUE STATES ON NOTICE AS ICE FIGHT BARRELS TOWARD NEXT CONSTITUTIONAL SHOWDOWN

An official in the Massachusetts governor’s office previously told Fox News Digital that the commonwealth does issue undercover plates to federal agents, but only if they are investigating criminal offenses. It refuses to do so in cases where civil infractions are being investigated, which covers most immigration cases.

“In Massachusetts, we support law enforcement doing legitimate criminal investigative work, and local, state and federal agencies doing that work can request confidential plates,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement flagged for Fox News Digital by her staff. “But that’s not what we are seeing from ICE and its unconstitutional tactics.”

Oregon, meanwhile, has gone a step further by placing a general moratorium on issuing undercover plates to federal agents, while Maine and Washington, like Massachusetts, are declining to provide plates for civil investigations.

FEDERAL JUDGE RULES AGAINST DHS ON WARRANTLESS IMMIGRATION ARRESTS IN OREGON 

“We look forward to defending this lawsuit,” Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said in a statement his office shared with Fox News Digital. “We take public safety seriously, and work with federal partners to voluntarily provide hundreds of undercover plates every year for criminal investigations. Judges across the country have found that the Department of Homeland Security’s tactics in conducting civil immigration enforcement routinely violate the Constitution.”

“That is unacceptable,” he added. 

A spokesman for the Oregon governor’s office told Fox News Digital that Gov. Tina Kotek is waiting for the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles to conduct a review of its undercover plate policy and that she expects the agency to “communicate next steps.”

ANTI-ICE LAW SET TO TAKE EFFECT IN MAINE AS GOVERNOR FACES INCREASED CRITICISM FOR ALLOWING IT AMID SENATE RUN

The Maine governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday.

The lawsuits filed by the DOJ cite the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which establishes federal law as supreme over conflicting state laws, arguing that it can be used to make the four Democratic states issue undercover license plates to ICE agents. 

“The United States has sovereign authority to manage federal law enforcement activities and, under the Supremacy Clause, need not cede that authority to Maine (or any state) by abiding by its dangerous policy which jeopardizes federal law enforcement operations and the officers who carry them out,” the lawsuit reads.

JONATHAN TURLEY: WHY BLUE STATES’ NEW ANTI-ICE LAWS ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL VIRTUE SIGNALING

“Under the Supremacy Clause, States do not have the power to dictate how the Federal Government executes its constitutional powers within their borders,” it continued.

Conservative legal experts previously told Fox News Digital that they believe the DOJ is fighting an uphill battle in trying to compel states to issue specific license plates by leveraging the Supremacy Clause.

“Federal law preempts state law when state law conflicts with a supreme federal law. And when it does, the state law is preempted, meaning that the state law cannot be given legal effect in those instances of conflict,” Charles “Cully” Stimson, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. “There is no law in my mind that is conflicting with federal law. You simply have state actors refusing to issue these types of license plates.”

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Stimson did add that there is an underlying assumption that, by virtue of being in the union and as implied under the Constitution’s separation of powers, the four Democratic states should cooperate with the federal government to enforce laws.

The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday.

A federal judge on Friday ordered that President Donald Trump’s name be removed from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said the iconic venue cannot be renamed without an act of Congress, ruling that the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees overstepped its “statutory bounds by unilaterally renaming” the building.

As part of his ruling, the Trump administration will be required to take down all physical signage bearing Trump’s name and eliminate any references to a “Trump-Kennedy Center” from official materials.

TRUMP KENNEDY CENTER’S BOARD VOTES UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE $257M RENOVATIONS AND TWO-YEAR CLOSURE

“The Kennedy Center’s organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board’s unilateral say-so,” Cooper wrote. “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.”

The ruling was part of a lawsuit filed by U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

BOARD VOTES KENNEDY CENTER TO BE RENAMED ‘TRUMP-KENNEDY CENTER,’ LEAVITT SAYS

Cooper previously denied a request for a preliminary injunction filed by a preservation group to block the planned two-year closure of the Kennedy Center for a rehabilitation project. Both cases will continue to be litigated and appeals are likely.

Beatty, who serves as an ex officio member of the board, praised Friday’s ruling.

“Today’s ruling rightly affirms that this administration’s efforts to rename and close the Center have no basis in law,” Beatty said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. “The Kennedy Center is an institution that belongs to the American people, not to Donald Trump. He has desecrated this sacred memorial for his own vanity. I am proud to have fought for the rule of law and to protect this sacred institution.”

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Trump’s name was added to the venue last December following a unanimous decision by the board. In February 2025, Trump was elected chairman of the Kennedy Center board after removing 18 trustees appointed by former President Joe Biden.

Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., announced Friday she will not seek reelection, ending a long House career just days after she dismissed reports of her looming retirement as a “crazy rumor.”

Wilson, 83, known for her bedazzled cowboy hats and brightly colored suits, represents Florida’s 24th Congressional District, a heavily Democratic South Florida seat that includes parts of northern Miami–Dade County and southeastern Broward County. In Congress since 2011, Wilson has been a frequent critic of President Donald Trump across both of his administrations.

“I think it’s time, and I think I really held on as long as I did because of the 5000 Role Models program, and my concern about the future of it,” the Democratic lawmaker told the Miami Herald, referring to the mentorship program she created for minority boys more than 30 years ago. 

The Herald reported that Wilson had made her decision a while back, but wanted to be “politically strategic” about how she went about it.

CONGRESS HAS TWO DOZEN LAWMAKERS 80 OR OLDER; MORE THAN HALF SEEKING RE-ELECTION IN 2026: REPORT

“I figured if I announced that I was retiring, what would the Legislature and the governor do? What would they say? Would District 24 be an easy target because Frederica is no longer there? I’m a strong candidate,” she told the Miami Herald. “With me not here, would that weaken the survival of District 24?”

Wilson’s future has been in question following a prolonged absence from Capitol Hill. The absence has been attributed to recovery from left eye surgery, though the weekslong stretch away from Washington also fueled broader questions about the 83-year-old lawmaker’s health and future in Congress.

Wilson’s announcement comes after Axios reported several days ago that Wilson had told allies she was preparing to retire, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter. But, Wilson denied the report at the time, telling the outlet it was “a crazy crazy rumor.”

“I’m almost distraught. It’s not true. I am still planning on running,” Wilson reportedly said.

‘DIVA’ CROCKETT SLAMMED IN SCATHING REPORT ALLEGING ‘TOXIC STAFF ENVIRONMENT’ WHERE STAFF IS BERATED TO TEARS

The outlet added that Wilson had returned to Capitol Hill to vote May 21 following her hiatus from Washington that included missing more than 40 votes, which Republican critics highlighted earlier in May. 

One of Wilson’s highly publicized clashes with Trump came in 2017 after Army Sgt. La David Johnson, a soldier from Miami, was killed in an ambush in Niger. Wilson said she was in the car with Johnson’s widow, Myeshia Johnson, when Trump called to offer condolences.

Meanwhile, Wilson claimed that Trump said on the call that the Army Sgt. “knew what he signed up for” when he became a soldier, a characterization Trump and his aides denied.

The feud escalated further when then-White House chief of staff John Kelly defended Trump from the White House briefing room and attacked Wilson for having a history of politicizing solemn moments to score political points.

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Wilson and her supporters subsequently demanded an apology from Kelly, arguing he painted her in a false-light about allegedly seeking credit for obtaining funding for a new FBI field office in Miami at a dedication ceremony that included remarks from survivors of a 1986 clash between law enforcement and drug traffickers.

So far, Florida state Sen. Shevrin Jones and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Oliver Gilbert are among those who have reportedly been mulling runs if Wilson retires, NOTUS reported earlier in May. 

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who has repeatedly referred to Russia as a “pariah state,” reiterated his call for the United Nations Security Council to remove Russia from the panel.

“The United Nations General Assembly should vote on removing the Russians from the Security Council. Russia is a pariah state and should be treated that way,” Bacon asserted in a Friday post on X.

The Russian Federation is one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

ISRAEL ACCUSES UN OF PLACING IT ON SAME SEXUAL VIOLENCE BLACKLIST AS HAMAS TERRORISTS, SEVERS TIES

The other permanent members include the U.S., the United Kingdom, China and France.

In a February 2022 post on X, Bacon wrote, “It is obscene reality that Russia now Chairs the UN Security Council. We should kick the Russians out of as many international organizations and forums as possible. Russia is a pariah state and should be treated as such.”

In a December 2023 post, he declared, “The United Nations is an embarrassment with Russia sitting on the Security Council. Russia invaded its neighbor and is committing crimes against humanity. Kick Russia off the Security Council.”

DRONE STRIKES APARTMENT BUILDING IN NATO MEMBER ROMANIA AS RUSSIA ATTACKS NEIGHBORING UKRAINE

Bacon wants the U.S. to provide more military assistance to Ukraine.

“Russia is losing on the battlefield and in the Black Sea. Its economy is in tatters. All it can do is bomb Ukrainian cities and civilians. This is why we must pass Russian sanctions and military aid to Ukraine. The House will vote on this in two weeks,” he declared in a Sunday post on X.

PENTAGON SLASHES NATO COMBAT COMMITMENTS AS TRUMP PUSHES EUROPE TO DEFEND ITSELF

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The lawmaker, who has served in Congress since early 2017, announced last year that he would not run for re-election in 2026.

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi, who spoke before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Friday, stood behind the Trump administration’s work releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files, according to a copy of her prepared opening remarks obtained by Fox News Digital.

“Before we start today, I want to reiterate what I have said many times regarding the Department’s handling during my tenure as Attorney General of the voluminous materials that are now commonly known as the Epstein Files,” she told the committee, according to the document.

“I am proud of the Department’s record and commitment to transparency under my leadership. We demonstrated an unprecedented commitment to transparency in the Department’s search for, collection, and review of the Epstein files, producing nearly 3 million pages of material, including thousands of videos and hundreds of thousands of images,” Bondi asserted.

Bondi has since departed from the Capitol following her voluntary transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee, Fox News has learned. Friday’s interview was transcribed, though not video recorded.

BONDI GRILLED ON EPSTEIN FILES IN FIRST CAPITOL HILL RETURN SINCE DOJ OUSTER

“These investigations span FOUR administrations, dating back to the Bush administration and have gone on through the Obama administration, the first Trump administration, and the Biden administration. The only time federal prosecutors were permitted to launch investigations against Epstein and Maxwell was when President Trump occupied the White House. Only under President Trump were 3 million Epstein related documents released,” Bondi said, according to her prepared remarks.

The former attorney general further described “an enormously complicated and labor-intensive process.”

“To the best of my knowledge, the Department produced everything required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Our diligent and good faith effort to collect materials ensured that all potentially responsive documents that could be reasonably located would see the light of day,” she noted, according to the copy of her remarks.

“All Department components were directed to submit any potentially responsive records, resulting in a comprehensive review of millions of documents. As the head of a large Department with broad responsibilities, I did not lead every aspect of this effort or conduct that document review myself. I delegated oversight over this process to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche,” Bondi continue.

Blanche was appointed acting attorney general on April 2 after President Donald Trump announced Bondi’s departure. He is not considered Bondi’s permanent replacement as head of the DOJ.

Bondi told the committee on Friday that “the team of professionals who reviewed all of the materials that we collected assured me the only materials that were withheld were either non-responsive, privileged, or duplicative.”

“Although not required by the Act, the Department has given Congress access to unredacted, duplicative materials in the Reading Room in an effort at maximum transparency,” Bondi said.

“There were redaction errors,” she continued. “But since day one of this process, this Department has been committed to accountability and transparency. Our stance has always been that the Department stands ready to review any potential evidence of criminal activity related to Epstein and his associates and would pursue appropriate investigative or prosecutorial action wherever the facts and law warrant.”

FORMER PRINCE ANDREW, SARAH FERGUSON DUBBED ROYAL FAMILY’S ‘BONNIE AND CLYDE’ AS EPSTEIN FALLOUT GROWS: AUTHOR

“I would like to repeat what I shared before the House Judiciary Committee in February: I have spent my entire career fighting for victims and I will continue to do so. I am deeply sorry for what any victim has been through, especially as a result of that monster. If they have any information to share with law enforcement about anyone who has hurt them or abused them, the FBI is waiting to hear from them,” Bondi’s opening statement said.

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“The bottom line is: justice and transparency in this matter have been delivered at the direction of President Trump and his administration,” she asserted.

Bondi was diagnosed with thyroid cancer shortly after departing the Department of Justice last month, according to reports this week. Katie Miller, a former White House staffer and podcast host who is married to White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, reposted an Axios report on X on Tuesday.

“Pam has been quietly kicking cancer’s ass the last few weeks,” she wrote.

A U.S. judge temporarily blocked the Justice Department Friday from “taking any further action pursuant to the creation or operation” of a $1.778 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” 

The Trump administration said last week that the fund will compensate Americans unfairly targeted by politicized federal investigations on a “case-by-case” basis.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema’s order on Friday comes in response to a lawsuit filed by a group of plaintiffs that includes a former career prosecutor who alleges he was fired for his handling of Jan. 6 cases. The plaintiffs are suing to block payout from the fund. 

The order, which lists the Justice Department as a defendant, states that the DOJ is blocked “from taking any further action pursuant to the creation or operation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund, which includes the transferring of money to the Fund; the consideration of any claims submitted to the Fund; and the disbursing of any funds from the Fund.” 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PUSHES BACK ON ‘SLUSH FUND’ ATTACKS AGAINST ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND AND LAYS OUT WHO QUALIFIES

The judge also set a hearing for June 12 in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.

The plaintiffs challenging the fund include former Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Floyd, an Alexandria resident who prosecuted Capitol riot cases in Washington, D.C., before he was fired last year by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Floyd was a deputy chief of the Justice Department’s Capitol Siege Section. He said he believes his firing was retaliation for his Jan. 6 work, according to The Associated Press. 

Another plaintiff is California State University Channel Islands professor Jonathan Caravello, who was acquitted of an assault charge. He was accused of throwing a tear gas canister at federal agents during a 2025 protest against an immigration raid at a Camarillo, California, cannabis farm. 

Also named as plaintiffs are the government watchdog Common Cause; the city of New Haven, Connecticut; and the National Abortion Federation, an association of abortion providers.

New Haven claims the Trump administration officials have targeted it and other municipalities that they perceive to be “sanctuary” cities. The federation said it fears that the fund will issue payments to people who have attacked abortion clinics, providing an incentive for more violence against its members, the AP also reported. 

NEWSOM WANTS TO CLAW BACK TRUMP FUND CASH AS CALIFORNIA BURNS BILLIONS ON RAIL AND OTHER ‘BOONDOGGLES’

The Anti-Weaponization Fund was born out of a settlement between President Donald Trump and the Internal Revenue Service. Trump filed the lawsuit against the IRS in January over the unauthorized disclosure of his tax records. 

Claims will be determined by a five-person board appointed by the attorney general, with at least one member selected with consultation with congressional leadership, according to a Justice Department press release. At any point in time, the president has the power to remove a member without cause, it added. 

“This is about seeking accountability for all Americans who were victims of law fare and weaponization: millions of Americans whose online speech was censored at the behest of the government, parents silenced at school boards, Senators whose records were secretly subpoenaed, churchgoers targeted by the FBI, and so on,” a Justice Department document stated. 

The Anti-Weaponization Fund was slated to last until Dec. 1, 2028. 

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Funding for the Anti-Weaponization Fund is coming from the Judgment Fund, which is a permanent Treasury account used to pay for settlements and claims against the government. 

Fox News’ Elaine Mallon, Kerri Urbahn and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The New York City lawmaker who describes himself as the first “formerly undocumented immigrant” member of Congress was defiant this week when he arrived at Newark’s Delaney Hall detention center waving a court order and demanding entry.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat, a Washington Heights Democrat, was one of three Manhattan lawmakers who converged on the center Wednesday to demand the Trump administration shut it down and, in the interim, treat those held inside more humanely.

“Shut it down,” Espaillat boomed, after spending some time inside Delaney Hall purportedly visiting inmates.

When he arrived, Espaillat and his aides approached the entrance gate, and the lawmaker pulled out a document and waved it, telling guards who he was and that a judge had given him clearance to enter.

DEM CONGRESS MEMBERS STORM NEW JERSEY ICE PRISON TO CONDUCT ‘OVERSIGHT VISIT’: ‘PEOPLE DESERVE DIGNITY’

“I have a court order here that allows me to come in. I will go in because the Constitution protects me,” Espaillat hollered to the people at the gate.

Espaillat said he is also one of 12 plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking to force DHS to allow lawmakers into any detention center, including privately operated facilities such as Delaney Hall, at any time without notice.

The order Espaillat waved appeared to have District of Columbia federal court letterhead and included a line stating the case appeared before two Obama appointees, Cornelia Pillard and Robert Wilkins, and one Trump appointee, Neomi Rao, who replaced Justice Brett Kavanaugh on the appellate bench. The lead plaintiff listed was Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo.

“I’m going to be introducing legislation that would allow Governor Mikie Sherrill and any governor or any state to be able to come and inspect a federal detention center like this. So I plan to do that very soon,” Espaillat said.

He said any public official should be allowed into Delaney Hall to inspect conditions and claimed the majority of those being held are “working people” before briefly switching to Spanish.

“They are not criminals they… have been ripped from their families and thrown in here,” he said.

ICE FACILITY DEMOCRATS ‘STORMED’ HOLDS CHILD RAPISTS, MURDERERS: OFFICIALS

Soon after he departed, Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Daniel Goldman arrived together, and spent close to two hours inside.

Nadler began speaking out against conditions at the center before he even reached the microphone, alleging the “food is very sparse” and that inmates eat only at 4 a.m., noon and 4 p.m.

“And very often, they eat maggots in the food,” he said, making an allegation denied by those on the other side.

He also claimed medical services were limited and that inmates were waiting a long time for treatment, an allegation protesters also shouted at ICE agents later in the day.

However, ambulances from a local Newark hospital regularly arrived throughout the day Wednesday and Thursday, appearing to contradict claims that detainees were not receiving treatment.

“We know that they’re not getting any kind of justice because we know that the president is — these cases go before immigration judges. And we know the president is firing all immigration judges who grant asylum,” Nadler claimed.

DHS SAYS FOUR HOUSE DEMOCRATS ‘CHOSE TO STAND WITH CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS’ AFTER VISITING ICE DETAINEE

He then yielded to Goldman, who spoke along similar lines but, unlike Nadler, was repeatedly heckled by some in the crowd.

A protester could be heard calling out something about the Israel-Gaza conflict — as both Goldman and Nadler are Jewish — while another man whom a protester verbally accused of being a “Proud Boy” began heckling Goldman about federal statutes that govern the ability to enforce immigration law.

“I want to thank the advocates who are here every day fighting for the freedom of those who are unjustly and illegally being held in there. My colleague, Mr. Nadler, spoke a bit about the conditions. And they, I think, are easiest to be summed up as: this is criminal jail and none of these people are criminals,” Goldman said.

DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN CLAIMS TRUMP’S ICE IS ‘PRIMARILY GOING AFTER INNOCENT PEOPLE, INCLUDING US CITIZENS’

He said he met with a man who had been in the U.S. for 23 years and has American-citizen children — but was detained by DHS when he showed up for a “green card interview.”

“I don’t care what your view is on immigration policy or how you think that the policy should be. The bottom line is if you are human, if you’re American, you cannot support what is going on here,” he said.

Goldman, an attorney who famously represented then-Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., during the Trump impeachment investigation, said the inmates have “almost no [legal] representation.”

He suggested he repeatedly asked inmates if they had criminal records and routinely was told no.

In turn, he used that recollection to slam the White House and a top Trump confidant who has been active in advising on immigration-related policy.

“When Donald Trump and Stephen Miller say that this ICE deportation dragnet is going after the worst of the worst, they are lying,” he said.

DHS SAYS ‘ARRESTS ARE STILL ON THE TABLE’ AFTER NEW JERSEY HOUSE DEMS CAUGHT ON CAMERA ‘STORMING’ ICE FACILITY

Goldman accused Trump and Miller of intentionally creating dire conditions, such as those alleged inside Delaney Hall, that would lead inmates to opt for “voluntary departure” and self-deportation.

As Goldman continued speaking, a man standing next to him began calling out and interrupting him, asking him to condemn protester violence.

Goldman appeared unfazed but occasionally turned to admonish the man before he was confronted by another member of the congressmen’s security detail.

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The visit by the Manhattan lawmakers was less raucous, however, than another public official’s visit the previous day, when Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., was pepper-sprayed by ICE after allegedly interceding between the two factions on the street in an apparent attempt to calm tensions.

Things did not cool off after the congressmen left, however, as pepper spray was again deployed Wednesday and Thursday evening while the at-times-heated demonstrations showed no signs of subsiding.

Illinois GOP Chairman Bob Grogan is calling on a Democratic Waukegan city official to resign after prosecutors said she submitted her dead mother’s vote-by-mail ballot, a case conservatives say exposes broader concerns about mail-in voting and voter-roll safeguards even though the ballot was caught before it was counted.

A Waukegan, Illinois alderman, Sylvia Sims Bolton, turned herself on Wednesday after prosecutors said she submitted her dead mother’s vote-by-mail ballot during a March primary election, which has resulted in two charges, including one Class 4 Felony.

According to the Office of the State’s Attorney in Lake County, Illinois, a vote-by-mail ballot for Mary Sims, Bolton’s late-mother, was issued in the first tranche of ballots to go out from the Lake County Clerk’s Office in February. Just days later, however, the same office processed the cancellation of Mary Sim’s voter registration after receiving a notification of her passing from the Illinois Department of Public Health via the state’s Board of Elections voter registration system. 

After the ballot was dropped by Bolton at an official ballot drop box, it went through the county’s established security and verification protocols, which flagged that the voter’s death record was processed prior to the ballot being submitted and ultimately spurred the sheriff’s office investigation leading to the charges against Bolton.

PA WOMAN CHARGED WITH TRYING TO REGISTER DEAD PEOPLE, INCLUDING OWN FATHER, TO VOTE

“A dead person voting, that you’re actually aware that they’re dead, is the easiest voter fraud to find. It’s like somebody leaning over the cash register and grabbing the cash out of the till,” Grogan told Fox News Digital. “But the complicated stuff, the behind-the-scenes stuff, that’s something that is harder to find … This is a one-off incident and if fraudsters do it right, it could be many, many more votes like this.”

Election integrity advocate Jason Snead, who runs the Honest Elections Project, added that the Bolton case “plainly shows that voter fraud occurs.”

“Mail ballots are especially vulnerable, which is why they should be secured, should never be mailed without a specific request from the voter, and should always be verified before they are tabulated. This case also shows how essential it is to maintain clean voter rolls,” Snead said. “Had the list maintenance process been slower, it is possible this illegal vote would have been counted before the fraud was discovered. Unfortunately, too many states—particularly blue states—actively resist commonsense safeguards, which begs the question: how many other illegal votes have slipped through the system?”

A press release from the Lake County State’s Attorney Office indicated that “all ballot envelopes” get reviewed through automated systems designed to flag irregularities that may require additional review.

Readability issues due to barcode problems, ballots being submitted for the wrong election, ballots that were previously rejected, and ballots associated with a canceled voter registration record, are all examples of irregularities that might be flagged. Other, less obvious irregularities, include whether a ballot is overweight or underweight.

TRUMP CALLS FOR DOJ PROBE INTO MARYLAND MAIL-IN BALLOT ERROR, SUSPECTING ‘CORRUPT’ GOV WES MOORE TIES

The investigation into Bolton, who represents Waukegan’s Ward 1, began in March, and she turned herself in Wednesday, according to a spokesperson for Rinehart’s office. She has been charged with one count of Mutilation of Election Material, a Class 4 felony, for allegedly knowingly falsifying election material, and one count of Disregarding Election Code, a Class A misdemeanor.

If convicted on the felony count, Bolton could face one to three years in prison, though Illinois law also allows probation or conditional discharge for Class 4 felonies. The election-material charge also carries a five-year ban on public employment after completion of the sentence. A Class A misdemeanor conviction carries less than one year in jail and a possible fine.

According to the State’s Attorney’s office, the investigation by law enforcement officials “did not uncover any facts linking these allegations to her city duties,” adding that she “is not charged with official misconduct.”

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Officials in the State’s Attorney’s office also noted that they were not aware of any previous investigations related to individuals trying to use the vote-by-mail system to cast a ballot on behalf of deceased individuals.

Fox News Digital reached out to Bolton and her attorney but Fox News Digital did not receive a response in time for publication.

“This case shows the importance of having a well-funded, independent Clerk’s office that also has state-of-the-art technology,” State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Clerk Vega and his team followed national best practices in order to detect and report this crime. We must say loudly to people that if you improperly vote for others, you will be caught, investigated, and prosecuted.”

Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico is fully embracing his “Talafreako” moniker given to him by Republican opponent Ken Paxton, and is even selling t-shirts with the slogan “I’m a Talafreako.”

While speaking at a general election kickoff event in Houston this week, Talarico encouraged supporters to purchase a T-shirt, saying, “I also saw that Ken Paxton started calling me ‘Talafreako,’ and I am proud to announce that we have ‘I’m a Talafreako’ t-shirts on our website. So, when you go home tonight, make sure you grab one.”

After Talarico exited the stage, the crowd at the Houston rally began chanting “Talafreako” repeatedly.

Despite the bravado, some believe that, with Talarico already having to deal with a series of highly controversial resurfaced comments, the move will backfire with moderate Texas voters. Talarico’s prior comments include saying that “God is nonbinary,” that there are six genders and that the Bible supports abortion.

‘GOD IS NON-BINARY’: TEXAS DEM NOMINEE TALARICO’S PAST REMARKS ON ABORTION, RACE AND GENDER DRAW SCRUTINY

A strategist familiar with the Senate race remarked to Fox News Digital that “Talarico can’t run from his record of supporting every freaky left-wing policy under the sun.”

“Selling merch that says ‘Talafreako’ on it is just going to remind people that he is on the wrong side of every 80/20 issue,” the strategist said, adding, “It’s so weird.”

Commenting on a clip of Talarico saying in an interview, “I love” transgender-identifying children, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., posted on X, “Talarico was constructed in a Woke Lab. In the end, that dog won’t hunt.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who is now set to become the state’s senior senator, posted on X, “Texas will never elect someone who thinks God is nonbinary.”

DEMOCRAT RISING STAR CALLED OUT FOR ‘CREEPY’ COMMENT ABOUT TRANSGENDER CHILDREN

Despite this, not all believe embracing Talafreako will backfire. Eric Koch, founder of Downfield Strategies, told Fox News Digital that he “love[s]” the Talarico campaign “coopting” the jab.

“There were a lot of people wondering if James Talarico can throw a punch. In the first 24 hours of the general election, James made the case that Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in the country and called him out for giving Epstein-style sweetheart deals to pedophiles,” said Koch.

He added that the Democratic candidate “can throw a punch and will make this race a choice between himself and Paxton.”

During the kickoff rally in Houston, Talarico ripped Paxton as the “most corrupt politician in America,” who he said, “Has sold us out for years.”

If elected, he pledged that his first move in the Senate would be to file a “comprehensive anti-corruption package,” which he said would include a ban on “unlimited donations” from corporate political action committees and super PACs, as well as banning congressional stock trading, instituting term limits and establishing a national ban on gerrymandering. He also said the package would include a measure to “overhaul” the Supreme Court.

JAMES TALARICO ADMITS PAST COMMENTS ‘MISSED THE MARK’ WHEN CONFRONTED ON CLAIMS LIKE GOD IS ‘NON-BINARY’

He addressed some of the criticisms already being lodged against him, saying, “They’re going to throw everything they’ve got at us. They’ve already called me a radical leftist. They’ve already called me a fake Christian. They’ve even called me a vegan. And those are fighting words in the state of Texas.”

“They’re going to call us a threat,” he continued. “The only truth out of all of those lies is that we are a threat. We’re a threat to their corrupt system.”

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Speaking on MS NOW, Talarico asserted, “Ken Paxton has a criminal record. I have a legislative record.”

He touted himself as a bipartisan legislator, saying, “For over 4 terms in the Texas House of Representatives, I have brought Democrats and Republicans together to pass more than 60 bipartisan bills to cut property taxes, to raise teacher pay, to lower the cost of housing, prescription drugs, and childcare across Texas — and I’m gonna put that record up against Ken Paxton’s criminal record any day of the week, twice on Sunday.”

Paxton, meanwhile, has cast Talarico as too progressive, posting on X on Thursday that “James Talarico is too radical for California, let alone Texas.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Paxton and Talarico’s campaigns for additional comment.

FIRST ON FOX: The National Parent Teacher Association (NPTA), a parent-teacher organization many families associate with bake sales, book fairs and school fundraisers, is facing scrutiny over the group’s DEI and other left-wing political priorities trickling down to state and local chapters.

A report from conservative watchdog Defending Education shines a spotlight on the trusted parent-school organization known for local volunteer work and school fundraisers, suggesting it has become involved in politically charged fights over race, gender identity, and immigration in K-12 education. 

Defending Education asserts the examples show National PTA’s left-wing priorities filtering into state and local affiliates, while National PTA told Fox News Digital its resources are meant to support respectful dialogue, family engagement and “safe, inclusive and welcoming school communities.”

“The NPTA is given a lot of credibility by the public, making it an authoritative voice on education issues from the parent perspective. It is deeply concerning when it advances far-left policies that are often very unpopular amongst parents nationwide,” Rhyen Staley, Director of Research for Defending Education, told Fox News Digital. “The NPTA should be a politically neutral organization that advocates for improving the education system and the success of all students.”

NEW STUDY FINDS DEI INITIATIVES CREATING ‘HOSTILE ATTRIBUTION BIAS’

The National PTA’s own “curriculum and educational materials” describe diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as central to the organization’s mission and day-to-day work. Among the learning outcomes, according to the National PTA, is to “develop critical consciousness by recognizing racism … and developing a student’s awareness to openly address these situations.”

Meanwhile, a document part of a National PTA DEI initiative tells PTA leaders, caregivers, parents and educators that “it’s never too early to talk about race with your children,” while listing a recommended reading titled, “Your 5-Year-Old Is Already Racially Biased. Here’s What You Can Do About It” by Andrew Grant-Thomas of the nonprofit Embrace Race. The same resource also recommends Robin DiAngelo’s controversial book titled “White Fragility.”

In addition to DEI initiatives, the National PTA priorities extend to immigration policy. A National PTA position statement says districts should not voluntarily report undocumented students to ICE or other immigration authorities, supports treating schools as “sensitive locations” where immigration enforcement officers refrain from actions against students, and backs confidentiality for school records related to immigration status.

These left-wing political priorities from the National PTA stand in contrast to its stated mission of being “devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of family engagement in schools,” the Defending Ed report suggests. The report also claims that these priorities are not just abstract, but are actually trickling into classrooms, citing a tranche of documents, materials and records from various state-level and local PTA chapters that are pushing politics on teachers and families.

‘THEY BULLY SILENCE’: ELEMENTARY TEACHER TAKES ON STATE UNION OVER PARENTAL RIGHTS BALLOT MEASURE

One of the state-level examples cited in Defending Ed’s report is the Washington State PTA, which passed a resolution in 2020 titled “Dismantling Institutional and Systemic Racism.” The resolution says Washington State PTA and its local chapters and councils should not only commit to being anti-racist, but also conduct anti-racism and equity audits, provide trainings on anti-racism, equity, inclusion and unconscious bias “at all levels,” and create anti-racism, equity and inclusion committees.

The resolution adds that the Washington State PTA would collaborate with district and school staff to prioritize and maintain “meaningful and ongoing anti-racist and anti-bias training … for all educators and staff … plus anti-racist and anti-bias pre-teacher training.”

“Washington State PTA believes firmly in educational spaces that are welcoming to all students, and learning environments where all students feel like they belong,” Tori Emerson, the Washington State PTA President, told Fox News Digital. “Our vision is that all children achieve their potential in Washington schools, and that includes understanding, learning and instruction that honors and reflects the diverse histories, cultures, experiences and identities of all of the people who have contributed to America’s story since our founding 250 years ago.”

IT’S NOT STUDENTS ORGANIZING ICE WALKOUTS — HERE’S WHO’S REALLY BEHIND THE NATIONWIDE PROTESTS

Emerson added that the Washington State PTA is committed to ensuring all Washington state students “see themselves in their educators,” adding that they “collaborate with district and school staff to have, when needed, crucial conversations about racial disparities that remain today.”

The Defending Ed report also cited Washington State PTA immigration guidance issued in January 2026, which the watchdog said was developed in consultation with National PTA. The guidance advised PTA members on how to respond if immigration enforcement actions occur at school events, including coordinating with school administrators and understanding legal limits on enforcement access to school spaces.

In Maryland, Defending Education cited a Montgomery County PTA-linked meeting titled “ICE Response & Organizing Tools,” which the watchdog said briefed families on how parents and community members could respond to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity, including warning others about ICE presence.

ONE STATE’S BOLD FIGHT AGAINST CLASSROOM INDOCTRINATION TARGETS WOKE ‘WELCOME’ SIGNS

San Francisco’s Second District PTA, which said in a DEI statement that the entity “can and should establish itself as an anti-racist organization,” suggested education around “white dominant culture” could help improve PTA communications, actions and structure, and said anti-racism should be incorporated into regular PTA trainings and annual officer trainings.

“The focus of PTAs at all levels – individual, district, state, and national – is to advocate for and improve the lives of children, youth, and families at their school communities,” 2nd District President Karen Meiselman, said when asked how she would respond to parents who may believe PTA should focus on school support and family engagement rather than anti-racism or DEI work.

Portland Public Schools’ Abernethy Elementary PTA has many of the same DEI programs as the other chapters, such as DEI committees, audits and trainings, but also has a “racial justice parent resource library purchased through PTA Mini Grants,” that lists titles including “White Awareness,” “Waking Up White,” “White Rage,” “White Like Me,” “Race, Whiteness and Education,” “Raising White Kids,” “So You Want To Talk About Race” and “How To Be An Antiracist.”

GEORGIA GOP GUBERNATORIAL HOPEFUL VOWS TO ‘BAN DEI’ IN STATE BUT HIS OWN NONPROFIT URGED CEOS TO INVEST IN IT

An Abernethy PTA DEI representative told Fox News Digital that DEI spending is voted on by the board, but said many of the events she organized did not require a budget. She said her DEI work has included a Ruby Bridges walk/bike-to-school day, a Black History Month Bike Day and a BMX anti-bullying assembly, and described the response from the community as “overly positive.”

“The work I have done through DEI has been centered around community, education, empathy, and belonging,” the Abernethy representative said, adding that the goal was to help children “better understand the diverse world around them and the history before them so they can go out in the world with kindness, respect, and humanity.”

In addition to the audits, trainings and committees, many of the state and local chapters also have dedicated DEI personnel or directors. Some encourage direct political action.

PARENTS’ RIGHTS GROUP RELEASES SCATHING ‘LOOKOUT’ WARNING TARGETING TOP 2 TEACHERS UNIONS: ‘INDOCTRINATION’

In Ohio, the state PTA chapter urges its members to reach out to lawmakers to condemn legislative efforts that do not support LGBT youth or “silence” conversations about sexual orientation among students. The Ohio chapter cites National PTA positions on LGBT youth in a “Ohio PTA Board position statement” to back its position.

Other materials from the Ohio PTA chapter explicitly targeted certain state-level DEI bills, while a DEI “position statements” from 2021 said the group would continue to “recommend, initiate, and support legislation and appropriations.”

The Ohio PTA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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Defending Education argues all of these examples, and more, show National PTA’s left-wing political priorities are not staying at the national level, but are trickling down to affiliates that operate under the PTA brand in local school communities.

“While the public tends to view the PTA as a neutral actor helping to organize family events and raise funds for schools, the national organization and many state and local affiliates have become left-leaning political entities driving radical ideologies into schools, communities, and even state legislation,” the report argues.

Meanwhile, the National PTA defended its materials in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying the association provides “resources and guidance intended to help parents and caregivers navigate complex issues affecting children and schools.”

“These materials are designed to encourage respectful dialogue, support family engagement and reflect PTA’s longstanding commitment to ensuring all children feel supported, valued and able to succeed,” National PTA said. “National PTA’s mission is to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.”

The association added that it is “the nation’s oldest and largest child advocacy association,” and works to support “safe, inclusive and welcoming school communities where every child and family can thrive.”

Maine Republican state Sen. Trey Stewart is warning that Democrats are “selling their soul” by defending controversial Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner and that the Democratic Party is moving to a “dangerous place” if he wins a Senate seat in November.

“The voters care a lot,” Stewart told Fox News Digital about the mounting criticisms of Platner, including deleted social posts where he described himself as a “communist” and “socialist,” used alleged homophobic slurs, and disparaged the military.

“I think that he’s a flash in the pan for right now amongst extreme liberal Democrats who can’t see past defeating Susan Collins at any cost, and what they’re really doing is selling their soul to somebody who has a tattoo that’s affiliated with the Nazis on his chest, has made slanderous remarks, really pretty ugly and horrifying remarks about veterans who have been injured in combat, racist and bigoted statements that were misogynist, so literally everything that you hear the left trying to villainize the right about, he’s actually guilty of and there’s a track record of this.”

Stewart said he is confident five-term incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins will remain “victorious” in “middle-of-the-road” Maine, despite Platner leading in the polls, saying that the Platner campaign is “not going to work” because “Maine people don’t subscribe to that line of thinking that Mr. Platner does.”

SUSAN COLLINS SHRUGS OFF ATTACKS BY DEMOCRATS AND TRUMP, SAYS MAINE VOTERS ‘DON’T VOTE PARTY LINE’

“Susan Collins, who is one of, if not the most influential votes in the United States Senate, and certainly an incredible influence financially and otherwise for the state of Maine, is going to be victorious,” he said. “That’s because Maine, at the end of the day, is a middle-of-the-road state.”

This isn’t the first time Collins has seen a progressive challenger surge in the polls. In 2020, Collins consistently trailed former Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, sometimes by double digits in the polls, before ultimately winning re-election in one of the most expensive races in state history.

Stewart says that Maine voters typically reject both far-right and far-left candidates and that Platner’s “extreme position is not going to be something that voters reward here in November.”

Overall, Stewart said Democrats’ “embarrassing” decision to stand behind Platner reflects where the party stands today as a whole and exposes a “soul-searching” problem within the party.

TOP OFF-THE-WALL REDDIT POSTS HAUNTING GRAHAM PLATNER’S MAINE SENATE BID

“I find it highly embarrassing that this is where the Democrat party is, not just in the state of Maine, but across the country at this point, with the most extreme sort of tail-wagging-the-dog effect,” he said. “Maybe that is the direction that the Democrat party in Maine and in our country is going,” he said. “If it is, then ultimately that’s going to be a very dangerous place for them and a very dangerous place for our country.”

Platner, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, has faced a wave of scrutiny over his deleted Reddit posts and has been heavily criticized by Republicans who say he has not adequately explained or apologized for them.

DEMOCRAT BLASTED BY LEFT AND RIGHT AFTER SOFTENING STANCE ON SCANDAL-HIT MAINE CANDIDATE

In a post from June 2019, Platner mocked a video of Purple Heart veteran Teddy Daniels being shot four times during a 2012 clash with Taliban fighters, saying Daniels “didn’t deserve to live.”

“Platner declined to apologize or acknowledge regret over the comment in a video taken by Fox News Digital over the weekend.

“This is not the right course of action that he should be taking,” Stewart said. “If anything, he owes a number of apologies to the people who he has said highly offensive things to. But beyond that, certainly United States Senate is something that is completely out of grasp for an individual like this.”

He really just needs help,” Stewart said. “He doesn’t need a seat in the United States Senate.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Platner campaign for comment.

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Following Democratic Gov. Janet Mills’ announcement to end her campaign for Senate last month, Platner became the Democrats’ presumptive nominee in the June 9 primary to decide who will face Collins in November.

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi returns to Capitol Hill on Friday for the first time since being ousted from the Justice Department, as lawmakers prepare to grill her over the Epstein files. 

Bondi will voluntarily participate in a transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee as part of the panel’s investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

Democrats walked out of a heated briefing hosted by Bondi and then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on the Epstein files in March, but lawmakers on the oversight panel are expected to heavily scrutinize her tenure during the closed-door testimony, which could stretch for hours.

“Pam Bondi will finally have to answer our questions tomorrow about the Epstein files,” House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., wrote on social media. “It’s time for the truth.”

HOUSE OVERSIGHT SUBPOENAS AG BONDI IN PROBE OF EPSTEIN CASE ‘MISMANAGEMENT’

Bondi’s appearance comes after Democrats and a handful of Republicans on the committee threatened to recommend civil contempt charges against her if she did not comply with a subpoena for her testimony. 

The Trump administration initially argued that Bondi should not have to testify and sit for a deposition as part of the committee’s probe because she was no longer in her official role as attorney general.

The transcribed interview setting will not require Bondi to testify before congressional investigators under oath, but individuals speaking before Congress are still criminally prohibited from making false statements. A transcript of the interview could also be made available at a later date. 

The interview is taking place during Congress’ Memorial Day recess, and it remains unclear how many lawmakers will attend.

Some Democrats on the panel have voiced objections to the interview setting.

“Bondi must testify under oath, on camera, for the public to see,” Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-Ariz., said Thursday. “We demand transparency and accountability for Bondi and Blanche.”

PAM BONDI DIAGNOSED WITH THYROID CANCER WEEKS AFTER DEPARTING AS TRUMP’S ATTORNEY GENERAL: REPORT

Bondi has faced relentless scrutiny over the Department of Justice’s handling of the Epstein files under her leadership, including from some Republicans, such as Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky.

She told Fox News at the start of her DOJ tenure that the files were “sitting on my desk right now for review,” but later appeared to backtrack on that claim.

Scrutiny mounted after a months-long delay in releasing information to the public, which accelerated after President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, mandating the release of the files.

The department has since released more than three million pages of documents, though critics have complained that the records were not appropriately redacted.

Bondi will be represented by Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, who has served as Bondi’s counsel since her firing.

“Because former Attorney General Bondi oversaw the Department at the time the Act was enacted and carried out, DOJ’s presence is solely to ensure accurate representation of Department processes, facilitate any necessary clarifications, and support a complete factual record for the Committee,” a DOJ spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement.

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The interview also comes as Bondi has undergone treatment for thyroid cancer, Axios first reported. The former top prosecutor was diagnosed shortly after leaving the Justice Department in April. 

“Pam has been quietly kicking cancer’s a– the last few weeks,” former Trump official and podcaster Katie Miller wrote on social media.

FIRST ON FOX: The U.S. Air and Marine Operations (AMO) deployed a Black Hawk helicopter to intercept a boat suspected of smuggling drugs off the coast of Puerto Rico earlier this month.

On May 14, AMO detected a 25-foot blue vessel carrying three people and visible packages. After surveilling its activity, the San Juan Marine Unit deployed a pair of law-enforcement boats, flanked by the Black Hawk, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The agency seized three Dominican Republic nationals along with five bales containing 391 pounds of cocaine.

The helicopter-assisted takedown is just the most recent display of American military might that has been targeting narcotrafficking operations south of the U.S. border.

BORDER CRISIS SHIFTS TO CARIBBEAN: HOMELAND SECURITY FIGHTS SILENT WAR IN PUERTO RICO

“Our Air and Marine Operations teams demonstrated exceptional skill and coordination in this interdiction. The decisive use of air disabling fire by our Black Hawk crew was instrumental in stopping the vessel and preventing dangerous narcotics from reaching our communities,” Caribbean Air and Marine Branch Director Christopher Hunter said.

“This operation highlights our commitment to working with partners across all levels to disrupt smuggling networks and protect the security of the United States and its territories,” he added.

Early on in his second administration, President Donald Trump made it clear he would use all available designations to label drug smuggling as a threat to the homeland.

On Jan. 20, 2025, Trump declared a state of emergency brought on by the influx of narcotics.

“They present an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with those threats,” the White House said in its executive order.

SPEC OPS CHIEF ORDERED DEADLY CARIBBEAN STRIKE ‘IN SELF-DEFENSE’ WITH HEGSETH’S SIGN-OFF, WHITE HOUSE SAYS

In turn, the Department of War caught the attention of the country when it began carrying out strikes on boats off the coast of Venezuela, in a manner it said was consistent with the administration’s posture.

After nearly 20 strikes in waters around the Caribbean, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the efforts had successfully choked off some trafficking operations.

“WINNING: Some top cartel drug-traffickers in the U.S. Southern Command have decided to cease all narcotics operations INDEFINITELY due to recent (highly effective) kinetic strikes in the Caribbean,” Hegseth said in a post to social media.

In the Black Hawk confrontation, U.S. agents opted to approach the vessel instead of striking it from afar.

Infrared video footage shared with Fox News Digital showed the three men on the boat desperately throwing the contents of the boat overboard as the Black Hawk and other U.S. boats encircled the craft.

TRUMP’S WAR ON CARTELS ENTERS NEW PHASE AS EXPERTS PREDICT WHAT’S NEXT

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The three suspects put their hands above their heads as agents approached their vessel and were pulled onto U.S. boats. A search of the boat revealed empty plastic containers and other unidentified packages.

The contraband thrown into the water was recovered, according to CBP.

Democrats running to replace retiring Rep. Jared Golden in Maine’s Trump-friendly 2nd Congressional District are lining up behind controversial Senate candidate Graham Platner despite mounting backlash from centrists within their own party.

After Gov. Janet Mills, D-Maine, exited the Senate race in late April, the three leading Democratic contenders vying for the open House seat backed Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee, ahead of the June 9 primary.

Unlike the Democrats seeking to replace him, Golden has not publicly backed Platner and indicated to the Portland Press Herald that he does not plan to get involved in the Senate race.

Maine State Auditor Matt Dunlap and former congressional aide Jordan Wood explicitly endorsed Platner’s campaign. State Sen. Joe Baldacci, a Democrat with establishment support, also signaled support in a statement criticizing former Gov. Paul LePage, R-Maine, who is running unopposed for the GOP nomination in the 2nd District.

DEMOCRATS BREAK WITH SCANDAL-PLAGUED GRAHAM PLATNER, WARN OF ‘CIVIL WAR’ IN PARTY

But the candidates have been largely silent on Platner’s inflammatory social media posts and controversy over his covered-up tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol — issues that have fueled backlash from some elected Democrats.

Fox News Digital reached out to Baldacci, Wood and Dunlap’s campaigns and did not hear back.

Their alignment with Platner could complicate Democrats’ already difficult path to holding the swing seat vacated by Golden, who won re-election in 2024 by fewer than 3,000 votes, despite the district’s Republican tilt.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the open House race “Likely Republican,” citing the rural district’s red hue and Golden’s decision not to seek re-election.

Dunlap, who is seeking to occupy the contest’s progressive lane, is scheduled to appear with Platner at a get-out-the-vote rally next week. The event is being headlined by left-wing populist Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who has endorsed both Dunlap and Platner.

“With Graham Platner now the clear choice, I am prepared to rally behind his candidacy,” Dunlap wrote on social media. “He will be a phenomenal United States senator.”

BERNIE SANDERS DEFENDS MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE UNDER FIRE FOR REDDIT COMMENTS

“He is the kind of leader Maine has been waiting for, as demonstrated by the strong support he has generated,” he continued.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), House Republicans’ campaign arm, is seeking to exploit the candidates’ ties to Platner in one of the reddest districts held by a Democrat in the country.

“By continuing to embrace Graham Platner, Matt Dunlap and Joe Baldacci have shown a stunning lack of judgment that Mainers will not overlook,” NRCC spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole told Fox News Digital.

Their support for Platner stands in stark contrast to centrist Democrats, such as Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., who have sharply rebuked Platner’s campaign.

Auchincloss, a Jewish Democrat, has argued that Platner’s Nazi-linked tattoo and his remarks defending it are “personally disqualifying.”

Meanwhile, senior Democrats in Washington have largely declined to comment on Platner’s slate of controversies or distance themselves from the Senate hopeful.

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Melissa DeRosa, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s chief of staff, told Fox News’ Bret Baier earlier this week that disagreement over Platner’s candidacy among Democrats is indicative of a burgeoning rift within the party.

“The Maine race really demonstrates the civil war that’s happening within the Democratic Party, and there are a lot of Democrats, moderate Democrats like myself, who will not cry tears should we lose Maine,” DeRosa said. “I mean, that would be a pickup to begin with.”

As the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Cuba, renewed scrutiny is falling on expanding intelligence infrastructure on the island that analysts say could help China and Russia monitor sensitive U.S. military activity near Florida.

New reporting and satellite analysis of a major Cuban signals intelligence facility outside Havana have intensified concerns about foreign surveillance capabilities positioned near Key West naval operations, Homestead Air Reserve Base and launches from Cape Canaveral.

Recent reporting, including a Wall Street Journal report citing U.S. officials who believe Chinese and Russian intelligence personnel and capabilities in Cuba have significantly expanded in recent years, has renewed focus on the island’s role in foreign intelligence gathering against the United States. 

CHINA’S SPYING IN CUBA SPARKS ALARM ON CAPITOL HILL AFTER FRESH SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW SURVEILLANCE BUILDUP

Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently acknowledged that Cuba hosts Russian and Chinese intelligence presence near Florida, while Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., warned the facilities pose “a big threat” to nearby military operations.

“They’re 90 miles from our coast. They’re friends with our enemies,” Scott told Fox News Digital. “It’s a big threat.… It’s a very significant risk to us.”

Analysts caution that highly sensitive U.S. military communications likely are encrypted and difficult to intercept directly. But facilities like Bejucal, Cuba, can still help adversaries track how U.S. military assets move, communicate and operate over time by monitoring electronic signatures and communications patterns. 

“You might not know what one system talking to another system is saying, but you know that they talk to each other,” CSIS fellow Matthew Funaiole told Fox News Digital. “Over time that helps reveal operational patterns.”

Funaiole said the facilities likely are more useful for mapping military activity and identifying electronic signatures than directly intercepting sensitive communications. 

“That helps you understand where assets are operating, how systems communicate and whether there’s unusual activity taking place,” he said.

The renewed focus comes as the Trump administration sharpens its crackdown on Havana through expanded sanctions, criminal charges against former Cuban leader Raúl Castro and tougher warnings about Chinese and Russian influence operating near the U.S. mainland.

Scott pointed specifically to military operations at Naval Air Station Key West, which supports military aviation training and testing, and Homestead Air Reserve Base, which hosts fighter aircraft and homeland defense missions, and testing ranges in the Gulf of America. 

The renewed attention also follows a May 2025 analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies identifying new construction at the Bejucal, Cuba, signals intelligence site outside Havana, including a significantly larger circularly disposed antenna array, or CDAA, which analysts say could improve the facility’s ability to monitor air and maritime activity across the region.

CHINA EXPANDS SPACE FOOTPRINT IN LATIN AMERICA, RAISING MILITARY ALARMS IN AMERICA’S BACKYARD

The Bejucal, Cuba, site has undergone visible changes in recent years. In its May 2025 report, CSIS identified a new circularly disposed antenna array under construction at the facility replacing an older and smaller array previously located nearby. 

Circularly disposed antenna arrays are used for high-frequency direction finding, allowing operators to identify the origin of radio signals across long distances. CSIS said the systems can potentially track signals from thousands of miles away.

Funaiole noted the technology dates back to the Cold War, when the Soviet Union operated extensive intelligence infrastructure in Cuba aimed at monitoring the United States.

“CDAAs are old technology,” he said. “But China clearly sees a value” in them.

CSIS previously identified similar Chinese-built CDAA facilities at military outposts in the South China Sea, including on Mischief Reef and Subi Reef.

Analysts and U.S. officials have long suggested China has access to or involvement with Cuban intelligence facilities, though publicly available evidence has not definitively established direct Chinese control of the sites.

Rubio recently said Cuba hosts “Russian and Chinese intelligence presence” near the United States, while the Biden administration acknowledged in 2023 that Chinese intelligence collection activity tied to Cuba was an “ongoing issue” and said Beijing had upgraded intelligence collection facilities on the island in 2019.

“I’m not going to comment on military matters or national security threats directly linked to the United States with specificity,” Rubio told reporters on May 21. “Here’s what I can tell you. Cuba not only has weapons that they’ve acquired from Russia and China over the years, but they also host Russian and Chinese intelligence presence in their country not far from where we’re standing right now.” 

“So Cuba’s always posed a national security threat to the United States.”

The White House referred to Rubio’s comments when asked for comment. The Pentagon, Cuban embassy and Chinese embassy did not return a request for comment. 

China repeatedly has denied involvement in surveillance facilities in Cuba, while Cuban officials have dismissed allegations of Chinese spy operations on the island as “totally untrue” and politically motivated.

Funaiole cautioned that expanding infrastructure does not necessarily mean large numbers of foreign personnel are physically operating at the facilities full-time.

“There’s certainly more capabilities, and you’re going to need personnel to support that in one way or the other,” he said. “But you don’t physically have to be on the ground to benefit from these facilities.”

Cuba has long played a role in foreign intelligence gathering against the United States. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union operated the Lourdes signals intelligence complex near Havana, which monitored U.S. military and communications activity for decades.

Analysts say the same geographic advantages that once made Cuba valuable to Soviet intelligence continue to make it attractive to U.S. adversaries today.

“Physical distance matters,” Funaiole said. “If you’re trying to monitor the U.S. as an adversary, it makes sense to try and have access to facilities in Cuba.”

That proximity places Cuban intelligence infrastructure near a dense concentration of sensitive U.S. military and aerospace activity, including U.S. Southern Command in Doral, Florida — the military command responsible for operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

Funaiole said facilities like Bejucal, Cuba, may be especially useful for identifying shifts in military activity over time.

“If there’s an anomaly, if there’s more activity and systems are talking to each other that haven’t before, what could that potentially signal?” he said.

Still, analysts caution against overstating the capabilities of the Cuban facilities or drawing firm conclusions about Chinese control of the sites.

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In its May 2025 report, CSIS noted there is “no smoking gun” in the unclassified space directly linking China to the facilities, even as U.S. officials have repeatedly suggested Beijing has access to intelligence infrastructure on the island.

Experts also emphasize that the value of facilities like Bejucal, Cuba, may lie less in directly reading encrypted communications and more in understanding how U.S. military systems operate, identifying electronic signatures and monitoring operational patterns over time.

The intelligence concerns are likely to strengthen calls from some Cuba hawks for a more aggressive U.S. posture toward Havana, which they argue has become an increasingly important platform for Chinese and Russian influence near the U.S. mainland.

Scott told Fox News Digital that indicted former Cuban leader and de facto power broker Castro should either flee the island or face what he described as a “Maduro-style operation” to bring him to justice.