NationalWatch

President Donald Trump blasted the Supreme Court on Thursday as justices prepare to decide a major birthright citizenship case, predicting the court may rule against his effort to restrict automatic citizenship for some children born in the U.S.

“It would be a disgrace if the Supreme Court of the United States allows that to happen. Remember what I said ,20 to 25% of the people coming into our country will come in through birthright citizenship,” said Trump. “They’ll become citizens through birthright citizenship, and it will cost us numbers that are I don’t even think they’re doable.” 

The case centers on Trump’s January 2025 executive order seeking to limit automatic citizenship for some children born in the U.S., a move that has triggered a major constitutional fight. 

Trump sat in on oral arguments in April as Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson questioned whether the president’s executive order complies with the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment. The visit marked the first known time a sitting president attended oral arguments at the Supreme Court. 

SUPREME COURT’S SHOWDOWN ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP DECISION COULD RESHAPE AMERICA

Barrett warned at the time that investigating citizenship would create chaos, while Jackson asked, “Are we bringing pregnant women in for depositions?”

Trump predicted on Thursday that the court will rule against him, noting he is “not happy” with recent rulings, pointing to the recent tariff decision he said will cost the U.S. $149 billion.

“This decision by the Supreme Court is a very big one. They’ll probably rule against me because they seem to like doing that,” said Trump. “You know, frankly, I’m not happy with some of the decisions.”

The administration has argued that birthright citizenship has created incentives for illegal immigration and has been exploited by so-called “birth tourism” operations, in which foreign nationals travel to the U.S. to give birth so their children can obtain American citizenship.

“This was not meant for Chinese billionaires to have their children become citizens of our country. This was meant, or other rich people, poor people. This was meant for the babies of slaves,” said Trump.

“This was signed …. right after the Civil War. You look at the dates, the dates alone, immediately after, this was having to do with the babies of slaves, and people have used it. And if this is allowed to stand, it will be a disaster economically for our country,” he added.

The nation’s highest court is expected to rule on the executive order in the coming weeks. 

The case has drawn national attention, with protesters arguing that birthright citizenship is a fundamental American right.

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University of California Berkeley law professor John Yoo previously told Fox News Digital he believes the Supreme Court will overrule the Trump birthright order.

“The better way to operate under the current constitutional rule of birthright citizenship is to more vigorously enforce visas and to shut down businesses that encourage and enable birth tourism,” said Yoo.

JOHN YOO: SUPREME COURT SHOWDOWN EXPOSES SHAKY CASE AGAINST BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

A Fox News Poll found that 69% of voters support birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to illegal immigrants — which is up from 45%, when Fox News first asked in 2006.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Supreme Court for comment.

The Justice Department is threatening to sue four Democratic-led states for denying undercover license plates to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, opening a new constitutional front in the immigration fight. 

At issue is whether the blue states are simply refusing to help ICE carry out civil immigration enforcement, or whether withholding confidential plates interferes with the federal government’s ability to enforce immigration law.

Charles “Cully” Stimson, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said the states are playing a “dangerous game” by refusing to help protect ICE agents, but he also questioned whether DOJ’s Supremacy Clause argument is as straightforward as the department suggests. 

“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,” Stimson 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 said DOJ’s challenge is establishing that the states are doing more than just refusing to help ICE. The department would likely need to show that the plate restrictions conflict with a specific federal law.

“So as much as I think that the DOJ is putting forth a plausible argument, I don’t think there’s a lot of ‘there’ there in this argument,” he continued.

DOJ Civil Division Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate warned on May 12 that the governors of Maine, Massachusetts, Washington and Oregon that they were running afoul of the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which makes federal law supreme over conflicting state laws, by refusing to provide immigration enforcement officers with license plates that conceal their identities as federal agents. 

“By refusing to issue standard and undercover registrations and plates to federal agencies, including federal law enforcement agencies, while continuing to issue them to similarly-situated state and local agencies without restriction, Oregon’s DMV has directly run afoul of the Supremacy Clause by discriminating against the federal government,” Shumate wrote to Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek.

He used similar language in his letters to the three other Democratic governors.

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An official in the Massachusetts governor’s office told Fox News Digital that the commonwealth does issue undercover plates to federal agents, but only when they are investigating criminal offenses. Immigration enforcement typically involves civil infractions. 

The official added that state and local law enforcement are also barred from receiving undercover plates if they’re investigating civil offenses. They also claimed that fears of “doxing” of ICE officers, which were mentioned by Shumate, are unfounded, as non-confidential plates offered by the state to ICE only disclose that the agency owns the car, not the name of the individual agent. 

ICE claimed in January 2026 that agents and their families have experienced an 8,000% increase in death threats.

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“Massachusetts is not going to allow state resources to be used to help ICE operate in secret while they are violating people’s rights and making us all less safe,” a spokesman for the governor’s office told Fox News Digital. “Any federal, state or local agency engaging in legitimate criminal law enforcement work can receive a confidential plate. We all know that’s not what ICE is doing. This is an agency that can’t and won’t even tell us who they are arresting and why. We are not going to enable their tactics.” 

Oregon and Maine, however, appear to have issued broader suspensions of the issuance of undercover plates to federal agencies. The governor’s offices of Oregon, Maine and Washington did not respond to requests for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Tuesday. 

Stimson explained that there is an underlying assumption that, by virtue of being in the union and as implied under the Constitution’s separation of powers, states will help the federal government enforce laws.

“Every one of these states is part of the union. It is assumed that when the federal government is enforcing federal law, the states are going to play ball,” Stimson said. “And it’s assumed when the states are enforcing state law, and it bumps up against federal agents, that the feds are going to cooperate with the states.”

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Stimson did also question the motivations of the states in not issuing undercover plates. 

“On immigration, because they don’t like Trump and they don’t like ICE, even though apparently they loved ICE in the Obama administration, they are playing this very dangerous game. And it’s despicable, by the way, because it puts lives in danger, not only of the people they’re trying to pick up, but the agents themselves,” he told Fox News Digital.

Tony Pham, former ICE director and current senior fellow at the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute, believes the DOJ is well within its rights to compel the four states into issuing undercover plates using the Supremacy Clause.

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“The Justice Department’s position is firmly grounded in the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits individual states from discriminating against the federal government or interfering with lawful federal operations,” Pham, who is also a lawyer, told Fox News Digital. 

“The State of Washington and Commonwealth of Massachusetts admit to the legitimate safety and operational needs for confidential license plates when issuing them to their respective state and local law enforcement agencies,” Pham continued. “When their policies openly discriminate against the federal government, by denying federal law enforcement agents the same protections, this creates an unequal standard that directly undermines federal officers carrying out congressionally authorized law enforcement duties.”

Shumate made similar arguments in his letters to the governors. When reached for comment on Thursday, the DOJ referred Fox News Digital to the letters posted by the assistant attorney general.

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Rafael Mangual, a fellow at the right-of-center Manhattan Institute who holds a law degree, questioned the distinction between civil and criminal enforcement drawn by the blue states.

“These states can try to draw distinctions between criminal and civil enforcement to obfuscate basic realities; but they know full well that many of the individuals who would be subjected to civil immigration enforcement actions also pose real criminal threats in their communities,” he said. “This reality is illustrated all too often by the stories of sometimes heinous offenses committed by those unlawfully present in the United States. Making it easier to track and identify law enforcement vehicles will expose federal agents on the ground in those jurisdictions to the kind of harassment we saw in jurisdictions like Minneapolis and Chicago, which makes all involved less safe.”

“Federal agencies such as ICE and CBP are enforcing immigration laws that have been on the books for decades and enforced by both Republican and Democratic administrations,” he added.

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Mike Fox, a legal fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, was unimpressed with both sides of the debate, remarking it’s not a “slam dunk for one side or the other.”

“I think this is the type of case where you have one side that says we’re obviously right, and the other side that says we’re obviously right, and I think the answer is actually that they’re both wrong,” he told Fox News Digital. 

Fox said in cases where “the state’s imposing conditions on how federal law enforcement officers operate,” such as the attempted ban on masked federal agents in California, that “pretty clearly violates the Supremacy Clause.” Congress, he said, could and should mandate that agents identify themselves, but that such a rule-change is out of bounds for state legislatures.

“This, though, is different, and the reason I think this is different is because the state issues license plates, right?” Fox continued. ” It’s not like the state is only issuing license plates to ICE and are withholding them. They issue license plates to you and to me and to everyone else, and it’s also the case that most federal law enforcement, if they’re not operating, you know, undercover, they have U.S. government license plates.”

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“There’s nothing barring ICE from using vehicles with federal license plates,” he added.

Senate Republicans are breaking with President Donald Trump on his new, nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund as concerns over where the money comes from and who gets it ripple through the Capitol.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the $1.78 billion fund earlier this week in a deal struck between Trump and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to drop his $10 billion lawsuit. Shortly after, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was grilled by senators on the subject.

“This is an outrageous, unprecedented slush fund that you have set up,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said. “Simple question, will individuals who assaulted Capitol Hill police officers be eligible for this fund?”

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“Anybody in this country will be eligible to apply,” Blanche said.

That concern has driven several Senate Republicans to criticize the fund, given that several people convicted of assaulting police on the Hill, or who have tried to harm the president, could get access to taxpayer dollars.

“Imagine that,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said.
”A fund that is set up to compensate people who assaulted Capitol Police officers and other responding agencies, right? People that had pled guilty to physical acts against the president may actually be able to get compensated. How absurd does that sound coming out of my mouth?”

Senate Republicans are currently trying to ram through a multibillion-dollar package that will fund immigration operations for the remainder of Trump’s presidency and are already grappling with a $1 billion funding request that will go toward security enhancements for his colossal ballroom.

That funding, which was already stripped out by the Senate rules referee, and whether to add restrictions to the DOJ fund, are gumming up the process in the upper chamber.

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Few Republicans are actively supporting the “anti-weaponization” fund. Lawmakers are set to meet with Blanche Thursday morning behind closed doors to learn more about how it works.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., previously said that he was “not a big fan” of the fund and questioned its purpose.

“Our members have very legitimate questions about it, and we’ve had some conversations about, if it’s going to be a feature going forward, what it might look like and how we might make sure that it’s fenced in appropriately,” Thune said ahead of the meeting.

Officers who protected the Hill on Jan. 6 sued to block the fund on Wednesday, but it hasn’t sated the concerns that Republicans have. Some want Congress to get involved.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who Trump successfully worked to oust during his primary election over the weekend, argued that the fund was adding to the nation’s staggering national debt, and that “if there needs to be a settlement, the administration should bring it to Congress to decide.”

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“People are concerned about paying their mortgage or rent, affording groceries and paying for gas, not about putting together a $1.8 billion fund for the president and his allies to pay whomever they wish with no legal precedent or accountability,” Cassidy said on X.

But it’s not a unanimous issue shared throughout the Senate GOP. Some, like Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., believe that there have been people “really harmed by the federal government,” and had no issue with setting up a fund to compensate them.

Johnson and a handful of his colleagues were the targets of former special counsel Jack Smith’s Arctic Frost probe and had their phone records subpoenaed without notice as part of the investigation.

That spurred now-defunct legislation that would have allowed senators targeted in the probe to sue for up to $500,000.

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Johnson believed that the five-member panel that would process the claims would prevent criminals and others from getting a piece of the fund.

“I’m assuming they’re not going to provide that type of funding for criminals. I mean, people who really should have been prosecuted, people who committed violence, that type of thing,” Johnson told Fox News Digital. “But, I mean, for the grandma and grandpas that just showed up and you’ve got the DOJ or FBI doing SWAT raids on their farms? Yeah, those people should be compensated.”

Former Cuban President Raúl Castro was indicted Wednesday in connection with the 1996 shootdown of two civilian aircraft that killed four people — reviving scrutiny of former President Barack Obama’s highly publicized 2016 trip to Havana. 

“President Obama’s approach to Cuba was not merely a policy mistake. It was a diplomatic disaster — naive at best, incompetent at worst, and deeply disrespectful to the dissidents, political prisoners and victims who suffered under the Castro regime,” former Miami mayor Francis Suarez, who is Cuban-American,  told Fox News Digital.

“Obama treated normalization as enlightened diplomacy. It handed legitimacy to a brutal dictatorship while asking little in return,” said the Fox News contributor. “The administration reopened relations, relaxed restrictions and gave Havana a public-relations victory, yet the Cuban people remained trapped under the same repressive system and the United States gained no meaningful security concessions.”

The Justice Department on Wednesday unsealed a superseding indictment charging Castro and five co-defendants over the deaths of four U.S. nationals aboard two unarmed civilian aircraft operated by the Miami-based exile group. Cuban-American critics said the charges underscore longstanding objections to Obama’s normalization push, which they argue gave legitimacy to the Castro regime.

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Obama traveled to Cuba in 2016 as part of his administration’s push to normalize U.S.-Cuba relations after decades of hostility, arguing that engagement on diplomacy, the economy and human rights would be more effective than isolation. The visit also included Obama and Castro attending a baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team in Havana. 

“I have come here to bury the last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas,” Obama said from Havana that year. “I have come here to extend the hand of friendship to the Cuban people.”

Photos of Obama and Castro embracing during the 2016 Havana trip quickly resurfaced online after the indictment, going viral across social media and triggering a wave of criticism from users who blasted the optics of the former president’s relationship with the communist leader.

“While Raoul was harboring American terrorists like Joanne Chesimard and Guillermo Morales. Disgusting,” wrote Fox News contributor Paul Mauro on X. 

“Barack Obama in his element with communists and criminals,” wrote General Mike Flynn on X.

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Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz reposted a photo with a cringe emoji.

Castro, 94, is the younger brother of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Raul Castro served as Cuba’s president from 2008 to 2018.

Suarez said that Obama’s Cuba policies were not just a human rights failure but a national security failure not understanding the serious threat the regime posed.

DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS CRITICIZE BIDEN ADMIN’S CUBA DETENTE’

“It did nothing to curtail Cuba’s role as a base for America’s enemies. It did nothing to confront the island’s use as an intelligence and spy platform so close to our shores. It did nothing to reduce the regime’s support for terrorism. It did nothing to confront Cuba’s narco-state behavior or its destabilizing influence throughout the hemisphere,” said Suarez.

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Obama’s trip came two decades after the 1996 incident, which became a major flashpoint in U.S.-Cuba relations, as the Trump administration adopted a more public and hardline approach toward Cuba.

TRUMP DECLARES NATIONAL EMERGENCY OVER CUBA, THREATENS TARIFFS ON NATIONS THAT SUPPLY OIL TO COMMUNIST REGIME

“Raúl Castro and five co-defendants participated in a conspiracy that ended with Cuban military aircraft firing missiles at those planes and killing four Americans,” said acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday during the indictment announcement. “Nations and their leaders cannot be permitted to target Americans. Kill them, and not face accountability.”

Following the indictment, Trump said Cuba is “very important.” 

“A lot of people have suffered very big, very, very at levels that few people would understand. And I think the Cuban population of Miami, and certainly beyond Miami,” said Trump. “People that came there that were decimated, whose families were ruined, appreciate what the Attorney General just did today, and he’s just doing it now. He’s just watching it. We have Cuba on our mind. Very important.”

Suarez said that for Cuban Americans, Obama cozying up with Castro was disrespectful. 

“It is about families torn apart, property confiscated, voices silenced, dissidents beaten, prisoners of conscience abandoned and generations forced to live under fear. To treat the Castro government as a normal partner without first honoring those victims was not diplomacy,” he said.

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Trump has previously joked the U.S. would be “taking over” Cuba “almost immediately.” 

“Cuba’s got problems. We’ll finish one first. I like to finish a job,” he added this month.

Fox News Digital reached out to Obama’s office and the White House for additional comment on the renewed criticisms of the trip. 

FIRST ON FOX: The discovery of 10,000 “phantom employees” exploiting a federal work program has helped spur Republicans to tackle the financial incentives behind a foreign worker pipeline costing Americans hundreds of thousands of jobs per year.

Under current federal law, hundreds of thousands of foreign students and employers participating in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension program are exempt from paying Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes, which companies are required to pay for domestic workers. This has led to the creation of a “significant financial incentive” for employers to hire foreign OPT workers over Americans.

Republican Rep. Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin introduced a bill Thursday, titled the “OPT Fair Tax Act,” that eliminates that incentive by requiring employers to pay the same Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes paid for American workers. By closing the loophole, Grothman believes the bill “helps create a more level playing field for American graduates entering the workforce.”

The congressman told Fox News Digital that “Americans should not be put at a disadvantage because Washington created a loophole that favors hiring foreign workers over qualified U.S. citizens.” He added that “too many young Americans graduating from our colleges and universities are forced to compete against a system that tilts the playing field against them.”

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Grothman’s bill is the House companion to a Senate bill introduced by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., in September.

Though Cotton’s bill has not passed, OPT has faced increased scrutiny after Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons announced federal investigators uncovered more than 10,000 foreign students connected to “suspect employers” as part of a massive fraud scheme involving the program.

Lyons said that OPT, which lets international students on F-1 visas work temporarily in the country in jobs related to their field of study, had “ballooned into an uncontrolled guest worker pipeline with hundreds of thousands of foreign students working in the United States.”

He said that “as the program size exploded, so has the fraud.”

 “Today, we are announcing we have identified over 10,000 foreign students who claim to be working for highly suspect employers, and that’s just among the top 25 OPT employers. This is only the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

The ICE director also said investigators uncovered what he referred to as “phantom employees,” who he said are foreign students who obtained work authorization through OPT but never actually showed up for work at the sites they claimed to work out of.

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Grothman told Fox News Digital that these findings “point to serious vulnerabilities within the OPT program.”

He said that “reports that thousands of foreign students in the OPT program were tied to phantom employees and suspicious employers should alarm every American,” adding, “Right now, the federal government has created a financial incentive to hire foreign workers over Americans.”

Grothman said the scale of the tax preference has been significant. He pointed to data gathered by the technology and industry think tank Institute for Progress, which found that between fiscal years 2017 and 2022, an average of approximately 330,000 students participated in OPT annually. The think tank also estimated that eliminating the tax exemption would increase federal revenue by between $27 billion and $36 billion over a 10-year period.

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“Congress should be focused on opening doors for young Americans, helping U.S. graduates find good-paying jobs and ensuring employers are encouraged to hire Americans first. Not creating incentives for companies to bypass American talent,” he emphasized.

“The American people deserve to know how so many questionable employers were able to operate within the system for so long,” he continued. “Congress should be prioritizing American workers and restoring integrity to programs that have become increasingly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.”

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., railed against California’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, which is facing scrutiny from the Trump administration over fraud allegations, as Kennedy highlighted reports during a Tuesday hearing that the state covers exorcisms and other faith-based healing practices.

Medi-Cal’s spending practices have faced growing scrutiny as California’s Medicaid spending has more than doubled since 2019, rising from roughly $100.7 billion to a projected $222 billion in 2026.

Just last week, the Trump administration suspended $1.4 billion in federal funding for California home health and hospice programs after Vice President J.D. Vance’s anti-fraud task force identified an estimated $600 million in suspected fraud within the state’s Medicaid system.

Kennedy alleged during his line of questioning to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche that taxpayer dollars were being used to cover the cost of exorcisms, a religious practice most commonly associated with the Catholic Church, and other indigenous spiritual practices.

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“California’s got 12% of the population in the last ten years,” Kennedy told Blanche. “They’re responsible for half of these new so-called health providers to provide exorcisms and other things. Now, what the hell are we doing about it? Why has this gone on for so long?”

Reports that California provides Medicaid coverage for exorcisms and other spiritual rituals were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

In 2024, Medi-Cal expanded coverage for recipients seeking traditional healers and natural helpers within tribal communities. Services covered by taxpayer dollars include music therapy and spiritual interventions such as ceremonies, rituals and herbal remedies, according to a press release from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office.

To be recognized by the state as a traditional healer, a person must have served as a spiritual leader within an American Indian tribe for at least two years and be contracted by an Indian Health Care Provider. Meanwhile, the requirement for a natural helper is less stringent and can apply to anyone considered a “trusted” member of an American Indian tribe.

Newsom said this expansion of coverage for tribal medicine was made to assist in “helping heal the historical wounds inflicted on tribes.”

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“Like many of the issues that plague successive generations of Native people, those inequities can be traced back to the historical atrocities the U.S. inflicted on tribes across the country,” Newsom said in a press release announcing the Medi-Cal expansion. “By supporting greater access to traditional medicine and healing, we are taking another step toward a healthier, brighter future.”

It remains unclear how much Medi-Cal has spent covering services provided by traditional healers or natural helpers. The California Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions by the time of publication.

Maine’s presumptive Democratic Senate nominee is facing considerable backlash over unearthed social media posts where he made controversial statements about race, sexuality, political violence and his own ideological beliefs.

Graham Platner, a 41-year-old Marine Corps veteran, attributed his online behavior to depression and PTSD stemming from serving in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. He says he became accustomed to “crude humor” and “offensive language” while serving as an infantryman.  

“I’m sorry for this. Just know that it’s not reflective at all of who I am,” Platner said of his previous comments posted online. “I don’t want you to judge me on the dumbest thing I ever wrote on the internet. I would prefer if people could judge me on the person I am today.”

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While he no longer operates under the “p-Hustle” username on Reddit, thousands of Platner’s deleted posts and comments have been made easily searchable by outlets like the Maine Monitor. It’s sparking renewed criticism in his bid to replace incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins and flip the Maine Senate seat blue.

8. ‘Why don’t black people tip?’

Many of Platner’s old Reddit posts struck a progressive tone on race, but that didn’t stop him from making the occasional off-color comment. 

“Why don’t black people tip?” he wrote in August 2013.

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“I work as a bartender and it always amazes me how solid this stereotype is,” he continued. “Every now and again a black patron will leave a 15-20% tip, but usually it [is] between 0-5%. There’s got to be a reason behind it, what is it?”

It came in response to a thread on a page called AskReddit where a user prompted: “What is one question you have always wanted to ask someone of another race?”

7. Repeated use of slurs 

Platner made liberal use of slurs intended to demean homosexuals and mentally disabled people on his Reddit account.

“Betcha not a single downvoter is a real combat vet,” he posted under a now-deleted post on a firearms subreddit.  “Feel free to back it up with facts, f–s.”

He also used the word “gay” in a derogatory context on multiple occasions. 

The Maine Monitor’s repository of Platner’s comments shows he used variations of the word “r-tard” at least 18 times between 2013 and 2021.

“If you believe that, it’s pretty clear you’re, in fact, a r-tard,” he wrote under one since deleted post.

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While Platner may have used the f-slur, he didn’t express any homophobia on his account. In fact, Platner advocated for greater acceptance of homosexuals in the armed forces.

“I can see how some of the same Marines who would be accepting of gay peers would happily use their officer being a ‘f-ggot” as another reason to s–t on leadership,” Platner wrote, consoling a purported Marine officer who reported having had a negative experience being gay in the military.

“Just know this: I can’t imagine how much it must suck not being able to share who you are with the people who are supposed to be your comrades. I’m sorry that we have to work through this bulls–t,” he continued. 

6. ‘I’m afraid to tell you they actually are’

On Sept. 1, 2020, Platner responded to a post on the politics subreddit declaring that “White People Aren’t as Racist or Stupid as Trump Thinks.”

“Living in white rural America, I’m afraid to tell you they actually are,” Platner wrote of the people he is now seeking to represent in the U.S. Congress.

Maine is the whitest U.S. state with an estimated 91.3% of the population being non-Hispanic white as of 2024, according to the Census Bureau. 

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Platner also stated that the general public only cares about certain crimes when white people are victimized.

“The vast majority of which involves handguns,” he wrote in response to a post about gun deaths. “It’s pretty absurd no one ever talks about that, although I’m assuming it’s because handguns mostly kill young black men. Nobody really gives a s–t about things until it’s well spoken white kids getting hurt.”

5. ‘I got older and became a communist’

On multiple occasions, Platner used his Reddit account to express support for Marxism, which could be problematic in a moderate state such as Maine.

“I got older and became a communist,” he posted in November 2021 on an anti-work subreddit. 

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As recently as April 2020, Platner claimed on Reddit that he was a member of his local chapter of the Socialist Rifle Association (SRA) — a left-wing answer to the NRA that provides firearms training and education. He made over 100 posts to socialist subreddits between 2018 and 2021.

In one such post, Platner described himself as a “vegetable-growing, psychedelics-taking socialist.” 

“I’m not a communist. I’m not a socialist. I own a small business. I am a Marine Corps veteran,”  Platner told CNN when the posts first resurfaced as he continues to distance himself from the labels he previously embraced.

4. ‘Kill a motherf—er’

In September 2013, Platner expressed his support for using deadly violence against political opponents.

“There are times in this world when, for the good of tolerance and humanity, you need to kill a motherf—er,” Platner wrote. “Sadly most people who are true believers in tolerance and humanity find that activity repulsive. Which I suppose is morally good, but pragmatically a shortfall.”

BERNIE SANDERS DEFENDS MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE UNDER FIRE FOR REDDIT COMMENTS

Platner was responding to a post cheering on thousands of anti-fascist protestors attacking the offices of a far-right ultra-nationalist political party in Greece.

Describing his left-wing drift following his discharge from the armed forces, Platner stated: “Still got the guns though, I don’t trust the fascists to act politely.”

Platner has described Republican politicians as fascists. 

3. ‘I drop a 53 lbs kettlebell on their little heads’

Platner also expressed views about animals that some may find unsettling.

On a subreddit dedicated to sharing cute pictures of animals, one user posted a picture of her cat who “had to have surgery to keep her ribs from crushing her heart.”

“Why not just get a less f—ed up cat?” Platner responded.

When a user on another subreddit asked for advice on how to humanely kill mice, Platner said that he “drop[s] a 53 lbs kettlebell on their little heads.”

“Ends it right quick,” he added.

UNEARTHED POSTS SHOW DEM SENATE HOPEFUL PRAISING VULGAR GRAFFITI, MAKING CRUDE PORTA-POTTY ADMISSION

In arguing in favor of cooking lobsters alive, Platner accused those living far from nature of treating animals too much like humans.

“People who aren’t close to nature tend to anthropomorphize the hell out of everything,” he said.

2. ‘Dumb motherf—er didn’t deserve to live’

In 2019, Platner reacted to a video of an American soldier being shot by the Taliban by stating that the “dumb motherf—er didn’t deserve to live.”

Platner was criticizing the soldier’s tactical approach to dealing with oncoming fire. 

“This video never gets old,” he wrote under the “P]Hustle” username. “Dumb motherf–ker didn’t deserve to live. At least his stupidity and fat a– wheezing are available for all future infantrymen to witness and hold in contempt.”

“Poor marksmanship on the Taliban’s part is the only reason this mouthbreather made it home, he managed to make every possible s–t decision possible when it comes to small unit combat.”

VETERAN WHO SERVED IN MIDDLE EASTERN WARS LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN AGAINST SEN. SUSAN COLLINS

While the identity of the wounded soldier is unclear, as the video has since been deleted, commenters suggested that it was Ted Daniels, who earned a Purple Heart for his injuries.

“We don’t make jokes about our brothers and sisters dying, that’s not something we do, that’s not normal,” Adam Schwarze, a former Navy SEAL and Marine veteran running for U.S. Senate as a Republican in Minnesota, said on social media. 

1. ‘Latin American hookers’

Platner also, at one point, implied that he had intimate knowledge regarding South American call girls.

“You don’t have much experience with Latin American hookers, do you?” he wrote, responding to another user who claimed that prostitutes in Colombia “are part of a giant sex trade and the women are effectively slaves.”

It’s possible Platner was joking, as he often did on the “P-Hustle” account.

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“Platner’s perverted and bigoted comments are disqualifying and degrade women, black Americans, the gay community, and even wounded U.S. soldiers,” National Republican Senatorial Committee press secretary Bernadette Breslin told Fox News Digital “Try as he may, Platner can’t outrun his own words, and Mainers won’t excuse them in November.”

Platner’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Wednesday on any of his previous Reddit posts.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger is directing state employees to demand proof of legal authority from federal immigration agents operating on state property, prompting pushback from a legal expert.

Specifically, in an executive order signed on Tuesday, Spanberger is asking state employees to get federal agents to produce a valid warrant on “property of the Commonwealth” and instructs them to “not permit” federal agents from using those areas as staging or processing locations.

The order would include polling sites.

Spanberger’s move continues Democratic efforts to test the boundaries between state and federal power, exploring what roadblocks they can legally create to taper Trump’s immigration crackdown methods.

SPANBERGER REFUSES TO HONOR ICE DETAINER IN MURDER CASE, ESCALATING SHOWDOWN WITH TRUMP DHS

Hans von Spakovsky, a constitutional scholar with Advancing American Freedom, believes Spanberger’s order is for show, and that she knows it’s an overreaching attempt to create requirements for agencies she has no power over.

“This is political theater,” Spakovsky said. “First of all, no warrant is required under federal immigration law to detain individuals.”

“And it is a completely unnecessary provision. There’s actually a provision in federal law that bans an officer of the Army or Navy or any other person in the civil service of the U.S. to be at polling places unless they’re there to cast a vote,” Spakovsky added.

He pointed to restrictions under 18 U.S.C. 592.

Spanberger first announced her executive order on Monday when she was asked about concerns over how Trump might use federal agents in upcoming elections.

“How concerned are you that he will send either the military or the National Guard or even ICE to polling places, and what can you do, if anything, to stop him?” Spanberger was asked at an event hosted by MS Now.

SLOTKIN PRESSES DHS PICK ON ICE AT POLLS, SAYS SHE CAN’T TRUST TRUMP TO ALLOW ‘FREE AND FAIR’ ELECTION

“The reality is, throughout history, we have seen efforts at intimidating voters. My worry is we will continue to see those heightened,” Spanberger replied.

“I’ll be issuing guidance across public spaces, including polling places, of how Virginia state employees can react to federal agents who might be appearing at a location where the worry is that they’re principally there to intimidate or scare people,” Spanberger said.

Notably, Spanberger vetoed a separate bill that would have outright banned ICE from making detentions in hospitals, schools, courthouses and polling places without a judicial warrant or subpoena, stating that such a ban would likely invite a legal challenge.

“I veto House Bill 650, which would create unavoidable legal liability for security personnel and local law enforcement officers when assessing federal immigration enforcement activities in certain protected areas,” Spanberger wrote.

Spanberger’s new executive order follows on the heels of states like New York and California that have pushed more direct state-level attempts to restrict federal immigration activity.

In New York, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is asking lawmakers to pass legislation that would ban ICE from entering schools, libraries, polling locations and homes without a judicial warrant.

Massachusetts tried something similar.

There, Gov. Maura Healey asked lawmakers in January to consider legislation that would keep ICE from entering courthouses, schools, childcare programs, hospitals and churches.

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE PASSES BILL PROHIBITING LAW ENFORCEMENT FROM WEARING FACE MASKS TO SHIELD IDENTITIES

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Those state-level requirements lack the power to bind federal agencies or their operations.

Homeland Secretary Markwayne Mullin slammed Spanberger’s executivie order on Wednesday in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“No surprise: Governor Spanberger continues to put illegal alien criminals over her own constituents,” Mullin said.

Former Trump envoy Morgan Ortagus warned Wednesday that Iran may be using ongoing nuclear negotiations to “buy time” as President Donald Trump pauses planned military strikes and extends a fragile ceasefire to allow more room for diplomacy.

Speaking with Fox News Digital after the Middle East Forum in Washington, Ortagus said Iran has long used drawn-out negotiations as a strategy to delay pressure while preserving leverage.

“It’s the tactic of the regime to stall, to draw negotiations, to buy time,” Ortagus said of Iran. “I would encourage the president not to fall into the trap that the Iranians like to do … which is to drag things out to buy time.”

Trump recently paused planned strikes and extended diplomatic talks with Iran following pressure from Gulf allies seeking more time for negotiations, even as the administration continues pressing Iran over its nuclear program and regional proxy network.

GEN JACK KEANE ‘SKEPTICAL’ THAT IRAN CEASEFIRE WILL HOLD, WARNS TEHRAN WILL ‘DELAY AND OBFUSCATE’

Ortagus, who served as State Department spokeswoman during Trump’s first term and later worked on Middle East negotiations during his second administration, argued the White House now has more leverage than previous administrations in dealing with Iran.

Critics of past Iran negotiations, including many Trump administration officials, have long argued Iran used diplomacy to prolong talks while continuing to advance aspects of its nuclear program. Trump withdrew from the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, in 2018, calling it a “disastrous” agreement that failed to permanently curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Ortagus said she remains confident in Trump’s negotiating approach and emphasized that the president ultimately has final authority over any military or diplomatic decisions.

“I’m always hopeful in President Trump’s ability to give his negotiating team leverage,” Ortagus said. “I think this negotiating team has more leverage in their negotiations with Iran than any negotiating teams that preceded them.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S NEGOTIATING TEAM PRAISED BY NUCLEAR EXPERTS FOR WALKING AWAY FROM PAKISTAN TALKS

“The president has seriously degraded them in a way that no one has since the Islamic Republic’s founding,” she added.

Iranian officials have rejected demands for “zero enrichment,” arguing Tehran has a sovereign right to maintain a civilian nuclear program under international law. Iranian leaders have also accused Washington of using military threats to pressure Tehran during negotiations.

Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is intended for peaceful energy purposes, though Western governments and the International Atomic Energy Agency have raised concerns about Iran’s uranium enrichment levels and lack of transparency.

The Iranian embassy could not immediately be reached for comment. 

With the current Iran conflict, some America First conservatives have warned the administration risks deeper military entanglement in the Middle East and argue U.S. resources should instead focus on domestic priorities. Ortagus said the current Iran conflict is different from “forever wars” in the Middle East in years past. 

“I think there’s an in-between,” she said. “A very careful, thoughtful use of force when necessary, always preferring to negotiate … but also being willing to use American firepower if necessary.”

“I totally respect the office of the presidency and that he’s the one that has to make the final decisions on these,” she added.

She described the ongoing Republican foreign policy debate as “healthy,” arguing the party is openly wrestling with how aggressively the U.S. should confront Iran and its regional proxies.

The Iran negotiations come as the U.S. is also trying to stabilize the Israel-Lebanon front, where Hezbollah and Israeli forces have continued exchanging strikes despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire extension reached during talks in Washington last week. 

The talks are aimed at stabilizing the Israel-Lebanon border and addressing Hezbollah’s armed presence in southern Lebanon.

Ortagus, who previously led Israel-Lebanon negotiations, framed Hezbollah’s role in Lebanon as part of the broader challenge posed by Iran’s regional proxy network, which she argued must be addressed alongside Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

“The big dispute comes with Hezbollah, which is an Iranian proxy that has, of course, been a cancer to the state of Lebanon and has in many ways occupied that country,” Ortagus said.

She argued the Lebanese and Israeli governments ultimately share an interest in avoiding a broader conflict, but said Hezbollah repeatedly undermines that possibility by operating independently of the Lebanese state.

“The Lebanese government didn’t decide,” she said of the current conflict. “Hezbollah decided for the country of Lebanon.”

Ortagus said she believes Israel and Lebanon could eventually move toward a more stable relationship if Hezbollah’s influence were diminished.

US CHAMPIONS LEBANON’S RESPONSE TO HEZBOLLAH DISARMAMENT, HINTS AT ABRAHAM ACCORDS OPPORTUNITY

“I actually think the goals for the Lebanese government and the Israeli government are very similar,” she said.

“There’s not territorial claims from Israel into Lebanon,” Ortagus added. “The big dispute comes with Hezbollah.”

Her comments echoed remarks delivered earlier in the evening by Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, who said Israel has “no territorial claims” in Lebanon and suggested the countries could eventually move toward broader normalization if Hezbollah were removed from the equation.

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But negotiations remain complicated by continued tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border. Lebanese officials have accused Israel of violating the ceasefire through ongoing military operations and troop presence in parts of southern Lebanon, while Israeli officials argue previous agreements failed because Hezbollah was allowed to rebuild and operate near the border unchecked.

“There’s nothing stopping normalization,” Leiter said during his keynote address at the Middle East Forum. “It would all be fine, but Hezbollah is holding Lebanon hostage.”

President Donald Trump signaled support for former reality TV star turned Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt while speaking to reporters Wednesday at Joint Base Andrews.

“Oh, I’d like to see him do well. He’s a character,” Trump said.

“I don’t know him. I assume he probably supports me. Does he support me?” Trump asked a reporter.

“I heard he does. I heard he’s a Big MAGA person. He’s doing well,” Trump said of Pratt after being asked if he saw any similarities between himself and the former “The Hills” star.

REALITY TV STAR SPENCER PRATT GAINS TRACTION IN LOS ANGELES MAYORAL RACE AFTER FIERY DEBATE

Trump questioned whether Pratt could win the election in California, claiming the state’s voting system is “rigged.”

“I don’t know if, you know, if you have a rigged vote out there. That’s the problem. The votes are rigged. You have a really rigged vote in California. You have all the mail-in ballots, everything else. Very hard to win because the elections are very dishonest. If we had Jesus Christ come down and count the votes, I would have won California because I do great with Hispanics. But it’s a rigged vote,” he said.

“They send out 38 million votes. Nobody knows where they’re going. Of course, the Democrats do, so I guess, but, disproportionately, Democrats get many more votes. Some get eight votes, they get eight cards, and Republicans have to call in. ‘Where’s my card?’ It’s a rigged system. One of the most. Not the worst. I’ll give you a list. Maybe I’ll do my list. But it’s… California’s one of the most dishonest states,” he concluded.

Pratt and his wife Heidi Montag lost their Pacific Palisades home in the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, which destroyed thousands of homes across the area. Those fires, and Democratic Mayor Karen Bass’ alleged “mismanagement” of the aftermath, were a prime catalyst in Pratt’s decision to run for mayor.

“Standing here one year later, I have to tell you the most heartbreaking part of the last year wasn’t being displaced or losing everything I own, it was the realization that all of this was preventable,” Pratt said when he announced his candidacy on Jan. 7, 2026, the one-year anniversary of the Palisades Fires.

SPENCER PRATT SAYS A-LISTERS PRIVATELY CHEER HIS CRITICISM OF CALIFORNIA LEADERSHIP, FEAR CAREER FALLOUT

“While our lives were literally burning to the ground, Mayor Karen Bass was in Ghana,” Pratt charged.

Pratt has an Airstream trailer parked on the dirt lot where his Pacific Palisades home burned down in the 2025 wildfire. He has said he stopped staying there after receiving death threats and because his security team warned the exposed lot was unsafe. Pratt and his family have reportedly spent time in temporary housing, including the Hotel Bel-Air and rentals near Santa Barbara/Carpinteria, while he campaigns for Los Angeles mayor, and he has publicly questioned whether he can afford to rebuild permanently in the Palisades.

He has garnered campaign buzz with provocative AI-generated campaign videos and hardline stances on homelessness and drug addiction, including calls for stricter enforcement, mandatory treatment and expanded incarceration for some repeat offenders and people involved in street crime.

Pratt trails the incumbent Bass in most major polling, though a recent Emerson College poll showed him surging up from 10% in March to 22% in May. Bass is polling at 30% in the same poll.

The candidates are heading for a June 2 primary that could see a winner declared if one candidate pulls in more than 50% of the votes. If no candidate reaches the 50% threshold, the top two candidates will advance to a head-to-head general election slated for November.

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Fox News Digital contacted Pratt, Bass and the California Secretary of State for further comment.

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is speaking out over mounting questions from critics about her possible connection to the massive Feeding Our Future fraud scandal in Minnesota and suggested the Trump administration bears responsibility. 

“Any claim that I had knowledge of this scheme is flat-out false,” the Minnesota congresswoman said in a written statement to Fox News Digital on Wednesday. 

“The MEALS Act was signed into law by President Trump and passed with bipartisan support as part of a broader legislative package. Trump’s USDA Secretary set the regulatory framework during the rollout of the program. I have always championed feeding kids and will continue to ensure our children do not go hungry.”

Omar went on to say that the “moment this fraud came to light” she “immediately sent a letter to the USDA Secretary demanding answers and accountability.”

ILHAN OMAR PRESSED TO EXPLAIN HOW FRAUD IN MINNESOTA GOT ‘SO OUT OF CONTROL’

“As I stated from the beginning, stealing millions of dollars under the guise of feeding hungry children to bankroll lavish lifestyles and extravagant expenses is reprehensible,” Omar said. “I’m grateful that Aimee Bock and every individual involved in this abhorrent scheme are being held accountable for defrauding taxpayers and betraying vulnerable children.” 

Omar’s comment comes after she faced mounting pressure to explain her knowledge of and connections to the scandal that cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee invited Omar to testify about what she knew but says she never responded, which prompted an effort to subpoena information from her. That effort was blocked by Democrats on the committee.

JD VANCE SAYS DOJ LOOKING INTO IF ILHAN OMAR COMMITTED IMMIGRATION FRAUD AMID BROTHER-MARRIAGE ALLEGATIONS

Just last week, the committee released its final report that accused Gov. Tim Walz’s administration of fostering a “culture of tolerance” that allowed fraudsters to steal billions in taxpayer dollars overall.

The report offered a strong critique of Omar, asserting that her MEALS Act, implemented into the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, “took the guardrails off” federal nutrition programs by allowing for-profit restaurants to participate and permitting “grab-and-go” flexibilities that made it nearly impossible to verify if children were actually being fed by the Feeding Our Future program.

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The committee’s Republican chair, state Rep. Kristin Robbins, has suggested that Congress should take action to enforce the subpoena and get more answers about questions related to Omar’s alleged association with convicted fraudsters, her public promotion of a Minneapolis restaurant that later became linked to the program, along with communication and meeting records with the Minnesota Department of Education and constituents.  

“She only sent a letter once the fraud was exposed,” Robbins told Fox News Digital in response to Omar’s statement.

“Prior to that, she sent letters urging the administration to keep the waivers in place — allowing the fraud to continue. Sounds like revisionist history. I don’t buy it at all.”

Earlier this month, Fox News Digital reported that a former Omar staffer sent an email to the committee also pointing to Trump’s USDA during his first term and downplaying the potential negative impact of Omar’s MEALS Act legislation.

“The reality is simple: Minnesota officials had warnings, complaints, and evidence for months – what MN staff described as an ‘open secret’ – yet failed to stop one of the largest COVID fraud schemes in history,” a USDA spokesperson told Fox News Digital after publication. “USDA’s Office of Inspector General helped investigate and arrest dozens involved in the scheme. Regulations do not force states to ignore fraud, and do not absolve them from doing the right thing.  Blaming federal rules after the fact does not erase Minnesota’s failure to act while taxpayers were defrauded of hundreds of millions of dollars meant to feed hungry children.”

Colorado Democrats formally censured Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday after he commuted the prison sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, a prominent election denier convicted in a voting system breach case.

The Colorado Democratic Party State Central Committee voted Wednesday to censure Polis, a fellow Democrat, after he issued a controversial commutation for Peters, who was convicted in connection with a 2021 voting equipment breach case.

“Reducing her sentence now, under pressure from Donald Trump, is not justice,” the party said in a statement. “It sends a message to future bad actors that election tampering has consequences, unless you’re friends with the president.”

“That’s a dangerous and disappointing precedent to set,” the statement added.

COLORADO GOVERNOR COMMUTES TINA PETERS’ SENTENCE AS TRUMP POSTS ‘FREE TINA!’

The party accused Polis of having “materially harmed” the state party’s credibility and barred him from participating in official Democratic Party-sponsored events moving forward.

It also said the clemency decision “does not reflect the values, institutional positions, or democratic commitments of the Colorado Democratic Party.”

When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Polis defended the governor’s decision in a statement to Fox News Digital.

TRUMP CONTINUES TO PUSH FOR RELEASE OF TINA PETERS AS COLORADO GOVERNOR WEIGHS CLEMENCY

“The Governor made this decision based on the facts of the case and what he believed was the right thing to do,” the spokesperson said. “Sometimes the right thing isn’t the popular thing with everybody. Democracy is strongest when disagreement is met with debate and dialogue, not censorship.” 

The reprimand came after Polis announced clemency for 44 individuals last Friday, including 35 pardons and nine commutations.

Peters was among those granted a commutation, reducing her prison sentence and making her eligible for parole beginning June 1, 2026.

APPEALS JUDGE SEEMS SKEPTICAL OF SENTENCE FOR PRO-TRUMP COLORADO CLERK TINA PETERS

Peters became a nationally known figure among 2020 election skeptics following the Mesa County voting equipment breach controversy and subsequent criminal prosecution.

President Donald Trump quickly weighed in on the commutation, posting on Truth Social: “FREE TINA!”

According to the executive order signed Friday, Peters’ sentence was reduced from eight years and three months to four years and four-and-a-half months.

The order also stated the clemency action “shall not in any way affect the underlying criminal conviction.”

Peters was convicted in 2024 of three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, along with conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, official misconduct, violation of duty and failure to comply with secretary of state requirements.

In a statement announcing the clemencies, Polis said, “the Clemency power is a serious responsibility, and not one that I take lightly.”

“This power has the ability to change lives — help grant a second chance for someone who has made grave mistakes — and it comes with great consideration, and sometimes even controversy,” he added.

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The move was immediately condemned by Democrats, including Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who accused Polis of legitimizing “the election denial movement.”

Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.

Former Cuban President Raúl Castro has been indicted in connection to his alleged role in the 1996 downing of two planes operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue.

The indictment, which a Florida grand jury returned in April, was unsealed Wednesday, Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said during an announcement in Miami on Wednesday. It charges Castro with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, destruction of aircraft and four separate counts of murder, Blanche revealed. 

The indictment stems from a February 1996 incident in which four Americans — Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña and Pablo Morales — were flying in civilian aircraft when Cuban military aircraft shot their planes down in international waters and killed them, the indictment alleges, according to Blanche. 

“They were unarmed civilians and were flying humanitarian missions for the rescue and protection of people fleeing oppression across the Florida Straits,” Blanche said.

CUBA SAYS CIA CHIEF RATCLIFFE MET WITH OFFICIALS IN HAVANA AMID US TENSIONS

“As alleged in the indictment, Raúl Castro and five co-defendants participated in a conspiracy that ended with Cuban military aircraft firing missiles at those planes and killing four Americans,” he continued. 

“Nations and their leaders cannot be permitted to target Americans. Kill them, and not face accountability,” Blanche also said.

Joining Blanche in announcing the indictment were United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason A. Reding Quiñones, Deputy FBI Director Christopher Raia and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.

TRUMP ADMIN READIES RAUL CASTRO INDICTMENT AS FATAL SHOOTDOWN CASE RESURFACES: SOURCES

The indictment comes amid rising tensions in the Caribbean and a series of comments from Trump and his surrogates hinting at a regime change in Cuba. 

Uthmeier also hinted at a leadership change Wednesday.

“There can be no future for a free Cuba so long as the Castros and their criminal gang of thugs remain in power,” Uthmeier said, to thunderous applause from the Miami crowd. “We now have the leaders that will pursue that which is right and just,” Uthmeier added, concluding with “get ready, there’s more to come. God bless America and God bless the free state of Cuba.”

Several South Florida lawmakers praised the indictment Wednesday, calling it a long-awaited step toward justice nearly three decades after the Brothers to the Rescue shootdown.

IF CUBA FALLS, WHO STEPS IN? CASTRO DYNASTY SHADOWS ISLAND’S FUTURE

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., said he, Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis sent a Feb. 13 letter urging action in the case.

“We’re very, very happy that it did happen,” Gimenez said.

Gimenez accused former Cuban President Raul Castro of personally ordering the attack, saying Castro “actually boasted that he was the one that gave the order to shoot down these planes” during the 1996 incident over international waters.

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., described the Brothers to the Rescue pilots as humanitarians helping Cubans fleeing the communist regime.

FLORIDA LAUNCHES PROBE AFTER CUBA KILLS 4 ABOARD US-FLAGGED SPEEDBOAT NEAR KEYS

“People were swimming across the Florida Strait and the Brothers to the Rescue were going out on their own to help people get to our shores, to escape tyranny,” Donalds said.

Salazar said the indictment marked a historic moment for Cuban Americans in South Florida and confirmed that “him and the four pilots” involved in the shootdown were charged.

Salazar also contrasted the case with the Trump administration’s posture toward Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, warning the Castro family to “look at Maduro.”

“There is a new sheriff in town, and that sheriff is Donald Trump,” Salazar said. “Cuba is the mothership of evil in the Western Hemisphere.”

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., called the indictment “a good day for America” and “a good day for Cuba” on the country’s Independence Day celebration, saying Castro “made the decision” that led to the deaths of “three Americans and one resident.”

Scott also said the U.S. should not “take anything off the table” in supporting democratic change in Cuba, while adding he hopes Castro ultimately stands trial in the United States.

Speaking with Fox News correspondent Dana Marie McNicholl in Little Havana following the announcement, Cuban exile Oscar Fernandez became emotional while describing what the indictment meant to many in the Cuban American community.

“It means some justice for the Cuban people for 67 years,” Fernandez said. “We hope this is the beginning of the downfall of the Castro regime.”

Fernandez said Cuban Americans were prepared to help rebuild the island if the communist government eventually falls. “We’re ready to go back and help in the reconstruction of our country,” Fernandez said. “We are not going to let this opportunity go by.”

President Donald Trump praised the indictment of Castro, saying Cuban Americans whose families suffered under the communist regime had waited decades for accountability.

“We have big news on Cuba, as you know, with the indictment of Castro,” Trump said. “A lot of people have suffered very big, very, very, at levels that few people would understand.”

Trump said Cuban Americans in South Florida and across the U.S. appreciated the move by the Justice Department after years of alleged abuses under Castro’s leadership.

“I think the Cuban population of Miami, and certainly beyond Miami, people that came here that were decimated, whose families were ruined, appreciate what the Attorney General just did today,” Trump said.

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Trump also suggested the Cuban government was weakening under continued economic pressure.

“The place is falling apart,” Trump said of Cuba. “They’ve really lost control of Cuba.”

Asked whether the U.S. planned further escalation against Cuba following Castro’s indictment, Trump replied, “There won’t be escalation. I don’t think there needs to be.”

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

President Donald Trump wants Senate Republicans to boot the upper chamber’s rules referee after security funding for his ballroom was nixed. 

Trump pointed his fury on Wednesday at Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, who holds a nonpartisan role that dictates what can and cannot make it through the budget reconciliation process. 

Republicans are currently trying to ram through a $72 billion immigration enforcement funding package, but MacDonough over the weekend stripped out one of Trump’s major requests for $1 billion to, in part, pay for security enhancements to his colossal White House ballroom project. 

DEMS SCORE WIN AS GOP SENATOR HELPS ADVANCE IRAN WAR POWERS RESOLUTION

“Shockingly, Republicans have kept the very important position of ‘Parliamentarian’ in the hands of a woman, Elizabeth MacDonough, who was appointed, long ago, by Barack Hussein Obama and a vicious Lunatic known as Senator Harry Reid, who ran the Senate for the Dumocrats with an ‘iron fist,’” Trump said on Truth Social.

“Over the years, she has been brutal to Republicans, but not so to the Dumocrats — So why has she not been replaced? There are many fair people who would be qualified for that vital job,” he continued. 

But it’s not a move Republicans are keen to make, especially in retaliation for the ballroom security funding getting stripped out. Trump earlier this week privately pushed Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to axe MacDonough. 

Thune said he wasn’t having any discussions on firing MacDonough, but noted that tempers flare against the parliamentarian “every time there’s a reconciliation.”

SENATE REPUBLICAN THREATENS TO DERAIL ICE, BORDER PATROL PACKAGE OVER TRUMP’S BILLION-DOLLAR REQUEST

“There are always people that are unhappy with some decisions that come down, and it’s kind of the nature of the beast. So, you know, we will work through the process and do our best to get the things that we want, you know, on the floor, later this week,” Thune said. 

Still, Republicans are continuing to haggle over whether to include the security funding at all. Much of the money, about $600 million, would go to the Secret Service, while $220 million was intended to bolster security on the East Wing Modernization project. 

Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, whose portion of the package contained the controversial funding, noted that the parliamentarian hasn’t just ruled against Republicans during reconciliation.

“I think the best answer to that is that the parliamentarian has demonstrated in the Biden administration with their recommendations, reconciliations that they didn’t get everything they wanted,” Grassley said. 

Like Thune, other Republicans recognized that reconciliation is difficult, but not worth firing MacDonough over. 

GOP SENATOR CALLS FOR PARLIAMENTARIAN’S FIRING AFTER SERVING MEDICAID BLOW TO TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

“For what,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said when asked if MacDonough should go. “Does she have a DWI or something?”

It’s also not the first time that Republicans have called for MacDonough to be fired. Last year, after MacDonough stripped out provisions that would have caused steep cuts to Medicaid spending, a handful in the GOP demanded that she be replaced. 

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Fox News Digital at the time that there was already a precedent in place to do it. 

“In 2001, Majority Leader Trent Lott fired the Senate parliamentarian during reconciliation,” Marshall said.

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Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital that the true root cause of the issue was the 60-vote filibuster threshold.

Republicans took the reconciliation route because they couldn’t muster enough votes from Senate Democrats to smash through the threshold and fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without making steep concessions on immigration enforcement funding. 

“We’re as likely to end the filibuster as we are to get rid of the parliamentarian, so you might as well put pressure on Republicans to address the root cause, which is the 60-vote threshold,” Johnson said.

A former Justice Department prosecutor was charged Wednesday with allegedly emailing confidential records tied to former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Donald Trump.

Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, faces four criminal charges stemming from her handling of Smith’s final report: one felony count of obstruction of justice, one felony count of concealing government records and two misdemeanor counts of theft of government property valued at less than $1,000.

According to the indictment filed in the Southern District of Florida, Lineberger allegedly altered electronic file names of government records to conceal unauthorized transmissions of the documents to her personal email accounts.

At the time, she was serving as the Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Fort Pierce branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS RELEASE OF JACK SMITH REPORT’S SECOND VOLUME

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon previously blocked the public release of the volume of Smith’s report related to the classified documents investigation involving Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in January 2025.

FBI Director Kash Patel announced the charges in a post on X.

“This afternoon, a former managing assistant U.S. Attorney who supported Jack Smith’s politicized investigation of President Trump has been charged with stealing the confidential investigation documents,” Patel wrote. “Carmen Lineberger allegedly emailed the confidential material to her own personal email, disguising them as dessert recipes to conceal them from record searches.”

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT MOVES TO DROP PROSECUTION OF MAR-A-LAGO STAFF IN TRUMP CLASSIFIED DOCS CASE

Lineberger’s attorney declined to comment to Fox News Digital.

Smith previously brought indictments against Trump alleging he illegally attempted to overturn the 2020 election and improperly retained classified national defense information.

The classified documents case was later dismissed by Cannon, who ruled Smith had been unlawfully appointed as special counsel.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS RELEASE OF SECOND VOLUME OF SPECIAL COUNSEL REPORT TO JUDICIARY COMMITTEE LEADERS

Prosecutors alleged Lineberger concealed her actions by saving electronic copies of government records under misleading file names, including “chocolate cake recipe” and “bundt cake recipe,” before sending them to personal Hotmail accounts.

According to the indictment, Lineberger received a copy of Smith’s report before Cannon ordered it sealed. Months later, she allegedly forwarded the report to her personal email account.

The indictment further alleges Lineberger knew transmitting the volume outside the Department of Justice violated Cannon’s court order.

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Lineberger pleaded not guilty during a federal court appearance Wednesday.

If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison on the obstruction charge, three years for concealment or removal of public records and up to one year on each theft count.

President Donald Trump was the biggest winner of Tuesday’s wide slate of primary elections as the president celebrated a large swath of his preferred candidates winning GOP primaries or advancing to runoff elections. 

Massie Ousted in Historic, Multimillion-Dollar Kentucky Primary

In the most expensive primary in U.S. House history, a longtime thorn in Trump’s side, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., lost to former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein in Kentucky’s 4th District. Gallrein defeated Massie soundly with nearly 55% of the vote to Massie’s 45.1%, according to The Associated Press.

The defeat will mark the end to Massie’s congressional stint, a tenure which, toward its end, saw Massie increasingly opposing Trump and criticizing the president’s actions on trade deals, the Jeffrey Epstein files and the Iran war.

In his concession speech, Massie highlighted the influx of support his opponent received from pro-Israel groups like the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

“I would have come out sooner, but I had to call my opponent to concede and it took a while to find him in Tel Aviv,” he joked to his supporters Tuesday night.

TRUMP TARGETS MASSIE IN EXPLOSIVE KENTUCKY SHOWDOWN AS SIX STATES HOLD HIGH-STAKES PRIMARIES

Pro-Israeli groups like AIPAC and the Republican Jewish Coalition, as well as other pro-Trump groups, poured millions of dollars into attack ads against Massie and support ads for Gallrein. With over $32 million spent on the race overall, the contest became the most expensive primary in House history.

Trump and surrogates, like Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, campaigned arduously against Massie in Kentucky and in national media, with Trump referring to Massie as the “Worst Republican Congressman in History” in one of many pre-primary attacks on Truth Social.

Gallrein, for his part, thanked Trump for his support and told supporters “the winner of the race tonight is not so much Ed Gallrein… but it’s the Republicans of Kentucky Congressional District 4 and their families, who I will be a champion for in Washington.”

ANDY BARR BESTS CROWDED SENATE PRIMARY WITH HELP FROM TRUMP ON WAY TO REPLACING MCCONNELL

Elsewhere in Kentucky, Trump-backed Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., won the GOP nomination for the state’s Senate seat, vacated by Sen. Mitch McConnell’s decision not to run for re-election. Barr defeated former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron handily, winning over 60% of the vote, according to AP. He will face former Kentucky state Rep. Charles Booker, who won the Democratic Party’s nomination Tuesday. 

Raffensperger Falls Short in Georgia as Runoffs Take Shape

In Georgia, another Trump foe conceded defeat when the state’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger failed to advance in the GOP gubernatorial primary, falling behind Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson, both of whom will advance to a June 16 runoff. 

Raffensperger drew Trump’s ire in 2021 when he publicly contested claims Trump made that the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia were inaccurate.

TRUMP’S GEORGIA CANDIDATE HEADS TO GOP RUNOFF FOR GOVERNOR AGAINST BILLIONAIRE BUSINESSMAN JACKSON

While Trump did not actively campaign against Raffensperger, he threw his support behind Jones, the race’s top vote-getter with over 38% of the vote, according to AP. Jackson finished with roughly 32.5%, compared to Raffensperger’s 15%, per AP. 

The winner of June’s runoff will face Keisha Lance Bottoms, a former mayor of Atlanta who earlier this month collected former President Joe Biden’s first political endorsement since leaving office. Bottoms defeated her Democratic opponents comfortably, collecting over 56% of the vote, per AP.

In the state’s Senate primary, a race in which Trump chose not to place his thumb on the scale, Rep. Mike Collins and former NFL coach Derek Dooley both advanced to the June 16 primary, both gaining more votes than Rep. Buddy Carter, who will not advance.

TRUMP-BACKED REPUBLICAN PADS GOP’S FRAGILE HOUSE MAJORITY BY WINNING SHOWDOWN FOR MTG’S FORMER SEAT

Collins, a strong and vocal supporter of Trump’s, gained the most votes, pulling in over 40%, according to AP. Dooley, a former football coach who most recently coached at the University of Alabama, advanced with just over 30% of the vote. 

Tuberville Clinches Nomination; Tight Race for Alabama Senate Seat

Speaking of Alabama and football, former Auburn University head football coach and current U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., secured his party’s nomination to become the next governor of Alabama. Tuberville, who was also backed by Trump, will face former Democratic Sen. Doug Jones, who won his party’s nomination Tuesday. 

To replace Tuberville in the Senate, Trump-favored Rep. Barry Moore advanced in the GOP Senate primary with close to 40% of the vote, according to the AP.

Former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson and Alabama Secretary of State Steve Marshall are neck-and-neck competing for the second spot to see who will advance to the June runoff to compete against Moore. With an estimated 5,500 votes remaining to be counted as of this writing, Hudson leads Marshall with 123,531 votes compared to Marshall’s 118,228, according to the AP. 

Trump Sweeps Northwest as Democrats Notch Wins in Pennsylvania

Elsewhere in the country, Trump-backed candidates enjoyed victories in Idaho, as incumbents Gov. Brad Little and Sen. Jim Risch won their primaries. In Oregon, Trump-backed incumbent Rep. Clifford Bentz won his primary handily.

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Outside of Trump’s sphere of influence, Pennsylvania Democrats celebrated primary victories for a trio of candidates backed by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro. Bob Harvie, Bob Brooks and Janelle Stelson all won their primaries and will advance to face GOP incumbents in districts the Democrats hope to flip in November. 

Fox News’ Sally Persons and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Alabama is one step closer to anointing the Republican successor to Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.

But determining which candidate will come out on top is still weeks away, given that Tuberville’s decision to run for governor and vacate his Senate seat ignited a crowded race to replace him. And in Alabama, if a candidate doesn’t get a majority of votes, a runoff is triggered.

Out of the field of Republican hopefuls, Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., and former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson emerged from the seven-way clash. They will again square off on June 16.

TRUMP’S EARLIEST SUPPORTER ANNOUNCES BID FOR ALABAMA SENATE SEAT

It will also be another test of President Donald Trump’s endorsement power in Alabama, where his track record has not been 100%.

Moore, who announced his candidacy to Fox News Digital last year, has Trump’s backing. It’s an endorsement he re-upped during a recent tele-rally urging support for the three-term member of the House.

“He’s a true America First Patriot who’s been with me from the very beginning,” Trump said during the rally.

ALABAMA REPUBLICANS PLOW FORWARD AFTER KEY SUPREME COURT WIN PUTS CONGRESSIONAL MAP IN QUESTION

Moore, who is a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and a self-styled fiscal hawk, has a long-standing history of supporting Trump. Indeed, he was the first elected official in the country to endorse Trump during his first run for office in 2015.

“I think my number one job is to protect the people’s liberty and to support the president in that process,” Moore told Fox News Digital last year. “And so, for us, it’s an opportunity to continue to fight for the America First agenda, and also make sure we have conservatives in the Senate from Alabama that are truly the voice of the people.”

TRUMP BACKS PAXTON IN TEXAS REPUBLICAN SENATE SHOWDOWN WITH CORNYN

Hudson narrowly squeaked into the second place spot against Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall in a race that wasn’t locked in until several hours after polls closed.

Marshall had a stronger name ID heading into the race, and has served as the Yellowhammer State’s top law enforcement officer since 2017.

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And most recently, he made waves after demanding that a federal court in Alabama adhere to the Supreme Court’s recent redistricting decision in Louisiana and allow the state’s maps drawn during the 2020 cycle to be used on primary day.

But it wasn’t enough to best either Moore or Hudson. And the winner of that contest next month will face the Democratic candidate, either Everett Wess and Dakarai Larriett, who are similarly headed for a runoff race.

A woman allegedly tied to Minnesota’s massive “Feeding Our Future” scandal has been charged in a daycare fraud scheme after being featured in a viral video by influencer Nick Shirley, authorities said.

She is accused of pocketing millions of dollars meant for children’s meals.

Fahima Egeh Mahamud was charged Wednesday with wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States, according to court documents.

STATE OFFICIALS AND DAYCARE MANAGER PUSH BACK ON VIRAL VIDEO FRAUD ALLEGATIONS IN MINNESOTA

Earlier this year, Mahamud was indicted for her alleged role in the initial $250 million “Feeding Our Future” scheme. Prosecutors allege she enrolled Future Leaders Early Learning — a Minneapolis daycare where she served as CEO — into the federal child nutrition program, falsely claiming to serve thousands of meals at her childcare center.

In addition to her involvement in the nutrition program fraud, Mahamud was federally charged Wednesday with a secondary scheme to defraud the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), which provides daycare assistance to low-income families.

Between October 2022 and December 2025, she allegedly submitted over 13,000 fraudulent claims to CCAP totaling approximately $4.6 million. Prosecutors state the claims were fraudulent because she falsely certified that she had collected mandatory co-payments from families, which is a material requirement for federal reimbursement.

ILHAN OMAR PRESSED TO EXPLAIN HOW FRAUD IN MINNESOTA GOT ‘SO OUT OF CONTROL’

The Future Leaders Early Learning center was featured in Shirley’s viral video, FOX 9 Minneapolis reported, which showed him visiting apparently empty, Somali-run childcare centers in and around Minneapolis while alleging widespread fraud.

The video served as a catalyst for an immediate and aggressive multiagency crackdown by the Trump administration.

Following its release, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) froze roughly $185 million in federal childcare funding to Minnesota.

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Additionally, over 2,000 federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) were deployed to the Twin Cities to escalate investigations and enforcement.

President Donald Trump took to social media on Wednesday morning to showcase the power of his political endorsements, touting that the candidates he backed went 37-0 in Tuesday’s GOP primaries from coast to coast.

“We won all races last night. Every one of them,” Trump told reporters.

The brute force of the president’s endorsement power and the immense grip he has on the Republican Party were on full display in a number of high-profile ballot-box showdowns, including Trump-backed Ed Gallrein ousting Rep. Thomas Massie in the GOP primary in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, a race that grabbed outsized national attention.

But Trump’s heavy hand in this year’s primaries could cause repercussions in the autumn, when Republicans will be defending their razor-thin House and slim Senate majorities in the midterm elections.

TRUMP-BACKED FORMER NAVY SEAL DEALS KNOCKS OUT MASSIE IN HIGH-STAKES SHOWDOWN

While those concerns will mount as the midterms creep closer, on Tuesday night the political headline was Trump once again successfully flexing his muscles to exert payback on Republicans who defied him.

Two weeks after purging five state senators in Indiana’s primary who had opposed his push for congressional redistricting, and three days after helping to oust Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — as the senator who, five and a half years ago, voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial lost his bid for renomination — Trump obliterated Massie.

Massie, who for 14 years has represented Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, in the northeastern part of the red-leaning state, has long been one of Trump’s most vocal GOP critics in Congress. The libertarian-minded lawmaker has repeatedly taken aim at the president over foreign policy, including the Iran war and unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel. And he’s also been a thorn in Trump’s side for successfully pushing for the release of government files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

Gallrein’s nearly ten-point victory over Massie in a race that was expected to be much closer represents a major win for Trump’s political operation and pro-Israel allied groups, who spent aggressively to unseat the sitting lawmaker.

Speaking at his victory celebration, Gallrein thanked Trump for his support, saying, “My focus is on advancing the president’s and the party’s agenda to put America first and Kentucky always.”

Taking to social media after Massie’s defeat, White House communications director and longtime Trump aide Steven Cheung warned, “Do not ever doubt President Trump and his political power. F–k around, find out.”

Veteran Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams told Fox News Digital, “The Republican Party is Trump’s party, and if you cross him, he’ll hit back at you ten times as hard and defeat you. He’s getting better at this as time goes on. His grip on the party has increased, not decreased.”

“Anybody at this point who doesn’t understand this will be out of a job if they cross the president,” Williams emphasized.

Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky, backed by Trump in recent days, cruised to the Republican Senate nomination in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell, a former longtime Senate GOP leader.

And Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a top Trump ally in the Senate, easily captured the GOP gubernatorial nomination in solidly red Alabama.

But some Trump-backed candidates will have to wait a little longer before securing a ticket to the general election.

Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones of Georgia finished first in the GOP gubernatorial primary, but didn’t top 50%, forcing a runoff next month with billionaire businessman Rick Jackson.

It was the same story in Alabama, where Trump-backed Rep. Barry Moore finished first but will need another victory in next month’s runoff to secure the Republican Senate nomination in the race to succeed Tuberville.

And this past weekend, Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow was forced into a runoff with Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming as Cassidy was sent packing.

Trump putting his hand on the scale in red states like Louisiana, Alabama and Kentucky shouldn’t be an issue in the general election, but it could be in battleground Georgia, and in red-leaning Texas, where Democrats are hoping to win a U.S. Senate election for the first time in nearly four decades.

Democrats feel Trump gave them an early Christmas gift by endorsing MAGA firebrand and ally and supporter Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over longtime GOP Sen. John Cornyn with one week to go until the runoff election for the Republican nomination.

“Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” Trump wrote in a social media post as he announced his backing of Paxton, which likely ends Cornyn’s hope of winning renomination.

The winner of the GOP runoff will face off in the autumn with rising Democratic Party star state Rep. James Talarico, who has built a massive war chest this year while Cornyn and Paxton have traded fire in their combustible race.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and many GOP leaders in the nation’s capital saw Cornyn as the candidate better equipped to successfully defend the seat in Texas, which Democrats are trying to flip as they work to win back the chamber’s majority.

That’s because Paxton has faced a slew of scandals and legal problems that have battered him over the past decade, as well as his ongoing messy divorce.

Some Republicans are concerned this could be a flashback to 2022, when then-former President Trump flexed his muscles in the GOP primaries, with some of his picks, including Georgia’s Herschel Walker, falling short in the midterms, as Republicans failed to win back the Senate.

“Trump got his way in most of the primaries in 2022 also. Didn’t portend great results in the general election,” vocal Trump critic and GOP consultant Sarah Longwell posted on social media Tuesday night.

Williams said, “The president has shown that he puts personal loyalty over political considerations even when it puts a safe seat at risk.”

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And pointing to this year’s midterms, when the GOP as the party in power will face traditional headwinds as well as an extremely challenging political climate, Ryan said, “That’s the situation Republicans find themselves dealing with heading into what should be a challenging midterm election.”

Voters are increasingly pessimistic about the economy and President Trump’s handling of key issues, while a majority opposes continued U.S. military involvement in Iran even as most believe the U.S. is winning the war. That’s according to a new Fox News national survey.

Affordability continues to dominate the political landscape.

Fifty-eight percent flag the cost of living as their top economic worry, up from 50% in February. This eclipses other issues, such as government spending (16%), jobs (8%) and tariffs (8%).

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More than three-quarters also say the economy is in bad shape (77%), worse than last month (73%) and a year ago (71%). Only 23% rate it positively, the lowest in more than a year. 

The pessimism is personal too. A slim majority of voters (51%) say their family’s finances are worse now than two years ago. Before the 2022 midterm elections, 44% said the same. 

FOX NEWS POLL: 56% DOUBT WHITE HOUSE’S COMPETENCE AT MANAGING GOVERNMENT

All that helps explain the deterioration in Trump’s ratings on the economy.  A year ago, 56% of voters disapproved and last month it was 66%; now, it’s 71%.  The increase since April comes from a 7-point rise in disapproval among Republicans. 

Notably, approval of Trump on the economy among non-MAGA Republicans (36%) is more in line with independents (18%) than with MAGA Republicans (74%).  The president’s overall approval on handling the economy stands at just 29%, down from 34% in April. 

Trump gets his lowest ratings on inflation, where only 24% approve — down from 35% in January. Inflation marks a rare issue where a slim majority of Republicans (51%) disapprove of Trump. It reaches 85% among independents and 96% among Democrats.

His job numbers are also net negative on foreign policy (38-62%). Until this month, border security was the one issue where Trump received a positive rating. Now voters are split (49-51%) on his border security performance, pushing his ratings underwater for the first time this term. That shift comes even as 45% of voters say border security is better today than two years ago, while 29% say it’s worse.

Approval of Trump’s overall job performance is 39%, down 3 points since last month and 10 points since his second term started — and only 1 point above his lowest in October 2017.  A record 61% disapprove of the job he’s doing, including 48% who strongly disapprove. 

Since April, approval has declined among some of his key constituencies, such as rural Whites (-6 points), White men without a degree (-5), and Republicans (-3). 

Trump approval is at all-time lows among Republicans (80%), non-MAGA Republicans (54%), Whites (43%) and rural voters (43%).

“Despite consistently strong GOP support, the president’s numbers are leaking a bit,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News Poll with Democrat Chris Anderson. “Make no mistake; it’s all about affordability. Independents jumped ship in 2025, and now non-MAGA Republicans and other core constituencies are wavering.”

Plus, in the long run, more voters think Trump’s policies will hurt the country (57%) than help it (34%). The share saying “hurt” is up 6 points since last April. Fully 88% of MAGA Republicans say his policies will help, while only 43% of non-MAGA Republicans agree.

Meanwhile, gas prices are squeezing voter budgets: 86% call rising prices a problem, including 51% who label them a “major” problem. Concern is nearly universal for the broader economy, where 96% see gas prices as a problem and 75% call it “major.”

When assigning blame for gas prices, voters aimed heavily at domestic factors, with about 8 in 10 pointing to Trump’s policies, domestic oil companies, and government regulations. However, they overwhelmingly view the Iran war as the primary driver, with 91% saying it is responsible.

Iran

Two-thirds think the U.S. is winning the war in Iran, yet opposition to U.S. military action increased to 60%, up from 55% last month. 

Half think the war will last a year (18%) or more (33%), unchanged since March, while 6 in 10 favor a limited timeframe for U.S. involvement in Iran, including 3 in 10 war supporters and 4 in 10 Republicans. 

Almost all Republicans (89%) and two-thirds of independents believe the U.S. is winning the war, while more than half of Democrats say Iran is winning (56%). Generationally, voters under age 30 are the most likely to believe the U.S. is winning (79%), yet they are also some of the most opposed to the war (67%).

Among voters who have served in the military, 55% support the U.S. action against Iran and 72% believe the U.S. is winning the war.

Last summer, voter concern about Iran getting a nuclear bomb was at a record high 78%.  Today, it’s at a record low 56%, down from 66% in March.  Concern since March is down among Democrats (-13 points), independents (-11), and Republicans (-6).

Poll-pourri

While 45% approve of Trump’s handling of the U.S.-China summit, a 54% majority disapproves.

That matches views of the negotiation’s outcome: 52% believe Chinese President Xi Jinping got more of what he wanted compared to 46% for Trump.  More than a quarter of Republicans (27%) join majorities of Democrats (75%) and independents (56%) in thinking Xi won the summit, as do nearly a quarter of those who otherwise approve of Trump’s handling of the trip (24%). 

CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE

Conducted May 15-18, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,002 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (109) and cellphones (635) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (258). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data.

Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.