NationalWatch

A sitting Democratic Senator, who is one of Graham Platner’s top donors, is now drawing backlash for shrugging off the most recent allegations of misconduct that have followed the controversial Maine Senate candidate.

Platner has received $10,000 in the form of two $5,000 donations from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s, D-R.I., leadership PAC, according to Federal Election Commission records reviewed by Fox News Digital.

One donation from Whitehouse’s Ocean PAC came in March of this year. Another one was made last October. Notably, the most recent donation was made before former governor Janet Mills, a second Democratic candidate for Senate, suspended her campaign at the end of April.

Although Whitehouse’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, the donations show the high degree of confidence lawmakers like Whitehouse have in Platner’s ability to unseat the moderate Republican incumbent, Susan Collins, R-Maine, currently holding office in a blue-leaning state.

WATCH: DEM SENATORS EXCUSE PLATNER’S CONDUCT AT CRISIS HUDDLE WITH EMBATTLED MAINE CANDIDATE

Whitehouse has been among Platner’s most constant supporters among lawmakers in the U.S. Senate, calling the controversial candidate “wonderfully appealing” in an interview with Politico.

“He’s off to a really strong start and has a wonderfully appealing local background and story,” Whitehouse said.

Whitehouse has remained supportive of Platner even as troubling details have emerged of Platner’s past web history, views and personal conduct. Most recently, reporting for the New York Times chronicled accounts from several of Platner’s former romantic interests, including allegations of rape fantasies, heavy drinking and violent episodes.

Despite the troubling allegations, Whitehouse told reporters he wasn’t alarmed by the reporting.

“Seems like a lot of nothing. I mean, the only one who had anything to say that seemed ‘unsettling’ was a woman who works for right-wing political operations,” Whitehouse reportedly told NOTUS after reading the article.

His reaction drew immediate backlash online.

“Whitehouse is the guy who grilled Brett Kavanaugh about ‘boofing.’ Just unreal,” Washington Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross wrote in a post to X, recalling Whitehouse’s grilling of President Donald Trump’s 2018 Supreme Court Justice nominee over high-school slang in a search for possible improprieties.

SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER SENT EXPLICIT TEXTS TO MULTIPLE WOMEN WHILE MARRIED, WIFE SAYS: REPORT

“To the people just now learning that Sheldon Whitehouse is an amoral cretin, your ignorance to this point has been a choice,” GOP consultant Luke Thompson wrote on X.

“Is there a more contemptible man in the Senate than Sheldon Whitehouse?” TPUSA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet wrote on X.

“:Sheldon Whitehouse, ringleader of the smearing of Kavanaugh, is a very bad person,” Capital Research investigative researcher Parker Thayer wrote on X.

“What an absolute dirt bag,” Republican operative Matt Whitlock wrote on X. “Dismissing a vivid account of physical abuse because it happened to a Republican operative is the most [Sheldon Whitehouse] thing I’ve ever heard.”

Amber Duke, the Editor-in-chief of the DailyCaller, also blasted Whitehouse’s seemingly uneven application of scrutiny.

“What happened to this energy, Sen?” Duke said, highlighting a Tweet Whitehouse had put out during Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing.

“Today I stand with women who are brave enough to come forward with their stories of abuse and mistreatment. They deserve to be heard and credible allegations must be investigated. We must believe survivors, not bully them,” Whitehouse had written at the time.

“Sheldon Whitehouse is the same guy who accused Brett Kavanaugh of being a rapist because he wrote ‘boofing’ in his yearbook,” conservative writer Bonchie wrote on X.

Apart from the Thursday report, Platner has received backlash for making off-color remarks on sexual abuse, race and terror, for a tattoo associated with Nazi imagery, and, most recently, for potentially interacting with several women outside his marriage in inappropriate ways.

Platner has also called himself a “communist” in previous posts online.

Among other resurfaced comments, Platner once blamed rape victims for failing to protect themselves in a now-deleted Reddit post.

“How about people just take some responsibility for themselves and not so f—ed up when they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to?” Platner wrote in 2013.

Whitehouse has his own controversial past, including details about his family having a membership at the exclusive Bailey’s Beach Club, formerly known as Spouting Rock Beach Association, which is rumored to have an all-White clientele.

“I think the people who are running the place are still working on that, and I’m sorry it hasn’t happened yet,” Whitehouse said in 2017, referring to allowing minority members. “It’s a long tradition in Rhode Island, and there are many of them. And we just need to work our way through the issues.”

SENATE DEM CANDIDATE WHO WROTE HE ‘BECAME A COMMUNIST’ NOW SAYS HE WAS JOKING

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Platner, who looks poised to take the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, met with senators earlier this week, reassuring them about his prospective candidacy.

Maine will hold its Senate primaries next Tuesday.

Senate Republicans managed to stitch together a unified front to advance President Donald Trump’s roughly $70 billion immigration enforcement package, but divisions over the president’s agenda were laid bare after a marathon day of votes. 

Passage of the budget reconciliation package geared toward funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol for the next three and a half years closes a long, drawn out chapter in the Senate that began during the longest shutdown in history. 

It’s a point that Senate Republicans tried to return to throughout the day, reiterating that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats had forced their hands after refusing to fund immigration operations without a plethora of reforms. 

DOZEN GOP REBELS FAIL TO PERMANENTLY KILL TRUMP’S CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND

“Democrats would not agree to anything, and eventually they walked away altogether, presumably because they thought that it would serve them better to have an issue for November,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said.

But the day, and preceding weeks, were dominated by a growing rift between Senate Republicans and the Trump administration that threatened to blow up the process altogether. 

First, it was the inclusion of $1 billion in funding for security upgrades to Trump’s ballroom, which was later stripped out. 

Then, it was the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) announcement that a nearly $2 billion “anti-weaponization” fund was being launched to allow people who felt targeted by the government to make a claim from the pot of taxpayer money.

GOP ADVANCES ICE FUNDING PACKAGE AFTER FORCING TRUMP’S CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND INTO RETREAT

Several Senate Republicans worried that the money could be accessed by Jan. 6, 2021, rioters who were convicted of assaulting police.

Schumer and Democrats leaned into that open wound and spent much of the marathon, “vote-a-rama” vote series trying to spell a permanent end to the fund, despite acting Attorney General Todd Blanche vowing that the administration would no longer pursue it. 

“Do we believe that Donald Trump, who has lied to us day in and day out, do we believe that he will be able to resist getting his sticky fingers in the slush fund when it would benefit himself and his family? No way, no way,” Schumer said.

GOP LEVERAGES ICE FUNDING PACKAGE TO MAKE TRUMP’S CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND ‘NEVER EXIST’ 

Many of the amendments pushed by Democrats placed Republicans in tough bids for reelection, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Jon Husted, R-Ohio, and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, into politically challenging positions. 

Republicans tried to kill it, too, causing tensions on the Senate floor to rise. 

“It’s not that tense,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said. “I mean, I’ve seen worse. Nobody’s stabbed anybody yet.”

Still, the process nearly came to a grinding halt because of the fund at the start of the marathon vote series when Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and others wanted to ensure that GOP attempts to end the fund would get a vote, too. 

“I just wanted to optimize the chances of success,” Cassidy said of the delay. 

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Ultimately, despite a dozen Republicans voting for Sen. Thom Tillis’, R-N.C., amendment, and X voting for Cassidy’s, all attempts to thwart future bids to revive the fund failed. 

The ballroom also came back into the picture when six Republicans joined Senate Democrats to prevent construction on the colossal structure from going forward without congressional approval.

Then there was an attempt by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to attach the SAVE America Act to the reconciliation package, which met Republican resistance and ultimately failed, too. 

The package now heads to the House, where Republicans are expected to pass it by the end of the week.

The House floor erupted into chaos Wednesday after Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, accused Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., of having ties to terrorist groups, including Hezbollah.

The shouting match came during a heated debate over a resolution that would force President Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from Lebanon. Tlaib, a progressive lawmaker and member of the Squad, is expected to force a vote on the measure Thursday, arguing that the United States should not assist Israel’s war in Lebanon. 

Her resolution does not mention Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization in Lebanon and a proxy force of the Iranian regime. Republicans seized on the omission, arguing the measure would aid Hezbollah and that its supporters were acting as the group’s “proxies.”

“Hezbollah is a terrorist organization … and its members are butchers that you like to hang out with to a certain extent,” Miller said on the House floor Wednesday evening, referring to Tlaib.

REP RASHIDA TLAIB MOVES TO BLOCK US OPERATIONS IN LEBANON BUT IGNORES HEZBOLLAH

When Tlaib responded by yelling, Miller retorted, “Are we getting a little emotional?” 

Tlaib then responded, “That is an attack on my character,” and demanded that Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., the presiding chair, rule that Miller’s remarks were out of order.

Obernolte ultimately struck the Ohio lawmaker’s words from the record after the House floor was frozen for more than an hour while lawmakers deliberated.

Miller was barred from speaking on the House floor for the rest of Wednesday.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., then delivered a statement on Miller’s behalf, saying, “Yes, I said it. I own it, and I stand by it.” 

Mast also attempted to enter materials into the record about Tlaib’s alleged association with terrorist groups, but the Michigan Democrat objected. The documents included a Fox News Digital story from 2023 reporting that Tlaib was a member of a private Facebook group that glorified Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion of Israel.

TRUMP URGED TO LOOK INTO US FUNDING OF LEBANESE ARMY AMID ACCUSATIONS OF ITS TIES TO HEZBOLLAH

Tlaib’s resolution targeting U.S. forces in Lebanon is likely to die on the House floor Thursday amid bipartisan opposition. The measure is expected to divide Democrats, and it is unclear how House Democratic leadership will vote.

GOP lawmakers have also argued the resolution is “dangerous” because it could affect U.S. military operations in the country to protect the American embassy in Beirut and train the Lebanese Armed Forces to fight Hezbollah.

Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., a co-sponsor of the resolution, did not answer directly when asked by Mast whether she would like to see U.S. forces stay in the country to help train Lebanon’s army to combat the terrorist group.

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“He’s having a different debate here,” Ramirez insisted.

FIRST ON FOX: As the Trump administration continues negotiations with Iran, it is also taking its message directly to the Iranian people.

In a video obtained by Fox News Digital, the State Department bypasses Iran’s leadership to tell ordinary Iranians that their country’s problems stem not from its citizens, but from a government that “chooses confrontation over opportunity.” 

“The Iranian people are not the problem. A leadership that fears openness and chooses confrontation over opportunity is the problem.”

The video will run Thursday in Persian language outlets Iran International and BBC Persian.

IRAN PROTESTERS EMBOLDENED BY TRUMP ADMIN’S PERSIAN MESSAGING AFTER OBAMA-BIDEN INACTION, ACTIVISTS SAY

The video is likely to be viewed by some regime opponents as symbolic support at a time when many critics of the Islamic Republic have called for more concrete measures from Washington.

It also comes as millions of Iranians regain access to the outside world after months of digital isolation. 

Iranian authorities recently began restoring internet access following an 88-day nationwide blackout that was initially imposed during anti-government protests and later expanded after the outbreak of war with the United States and Israel. Internet monitoring groups say connectivity has improved, though significant restrictions remain in place across the country.

Earlier in 2026, anti-government protests spread across the country and evolved into one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic Republic in decades before being crushed by a sweeping government crackdown. Protesters faced mass arrests, internet blackouts and lethal force from security services, according to human rights groups and international monitors.

Iran’s opposition remains fragmented, divided among monarchists, reformists, ethnic movements and other factions, and intelligence assessments have questioned whether any unified alternative is positioned to take power should the Islamic Republic fall.

Throughout the new video, the State Department, through a narrator speaking Farsi, emphasizes themes of freedom, opportunity and self-determination, portraying the Iranian people as capable of building a more prosperous future while suggesting the country’s leadership has prevented it from reaching its full potential.

“When Americans see Iran, we see a great people with a rich history and a generation full of talent and potential,” the video’s translation says. “Today, millions of Iranians want what people everywhere want: opportunity, stability, a chance to speak freely, and live without fear. Iran has the talent, resources, and educated young people to be among the world’s most prosperous nations.”

“The future of Iran should be shaped by its people, not by intimidation or fear. It should be built by the people themselves,” the video goes on. “Iran’s story is still being written. Its best chapter may still lie ahead.”

MIKE POMPEO: OPERATION EPIC FURY IS RIGHTEOUS — AND REGIME CHANGE MUST FOLLOW

“The Iranian people deserve to hear the truth directly, without the lies and propaganda of a regime that has spent decades violently suppressing dissent, enriching itself, and ignoring the needs of its own citizens,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott told Fox News Digital about the video.

“Speaking directly to the people of Iran is important because our disagreement has never been with them, it has always been with a regime that prioritizes funding terror and pursuing a nuclear weapon over the aspirations, prosperity, and freedom of the Iranian people. By speaking directly to them, we’re making clear that America stands with the people of Iran.”

The outreach comes as U.S. and Iranian officials continue discussing a potential agreement, creating the unusual dynamic of Washington negotiating with Iran’s government while simultaneously telling its citizens that the regime is holding the country back.

The message echoes comments from President Donald Trump earlier in 2026 suggesting that meaningful political change in Iran would ultimately have to come from within the country.

“We hope the Iranian people can overthrow the government,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on March 2, shortly after the U.S. launched offensive strikes known as Operation Epic Fury.

While the Trump administration has publicly maintained that negotiations with Tehran remain active, significant obstacles remain, including Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions relief and security arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz.

Rubio told lawmakers in recent days that any agreement would require major Iranian concessions and insisted the administration would not ease sanctions simply in exchange for reopening the strategic waterway.

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The protests featured prominently in administration messaging at the time, with Trump and other senior officials voicing support for demonstrators and drawing a distinction between the Iranian people and the country’s leadership.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Republican nominee for governor in Iowa pulled back the curtain for Fox News Digital on the time he went viral for stumping Barack Obama at a 2009 town hall centered on the then-president’s namesake legislation.

Zach Lahn pulled off an upset victory Tuesday night when he defeated Trump-backed Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, for the party’s nomination for governor.

But 17 years ago, when he was a student at the University of Colorado Boulder, Lahn confronted Obama at a town hall where the 44th president was promoting the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. The old clip went viral after his Tuesday win.

At the time of the exchange, the video was circulated by late conservative radio titan Rush Limbaugh, who praised Lahn as “amazing,” and said that with “one simple question that Obama can’t answer, [he] nukes the entire foundation of Obamacare.”

The candidate in what will be a hotly contested Iowa gubernatorial race posted the clip to his social media in May, but it gained widespread traction after Tuesday’s primary election.

GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE IN KEY 2028 WHITE HOUSE ELECTION CYCLE STATE ANNOUNCES RECORD FUNDRAISING HAUL

Lahn recounted the moment to Fox News Digital on Thursday and remembered how shocked he was to be called upon at the event. Lahn and his roommate purchased tickets to the 2009 event in Grand Junction and then drove eight hours round trip twice to attend the event — first to pick up tickets and again days later to attend the town hall.

“You know, I was young, and, I was in college at the time, going to University of Colorado Boulder, and so I was pretty fired up about this whole healthcare discussion,” he said. “It was just my entrance, sort of, into some of the political discussions.”

Speaking to Obama in 2009, Lahn said: “We all know the best way to reduce prices in this economy is to increase competition.”

“How in the world can a private corporation providing insurance compete with an entity that does not have to worry about making a profit, does not have to pay local property taxes, they’re not subject to local regulations? How can a company compete with that?” he questioned.

REPUBLICANS DIVIDED OVER WHETHER TO SALVAGE OBAMACARE — OR REPLACE IT — AHEAD OF SUBSIDY DEADLINE

“I don’t want generalities — I’m not looking for philosophical arguments. I’m just asking a question,” he asserted.

Obama thanked him for the question, and then for the first time during the Obamacare debate, said he might not be in favor of the public option, which would have allowed Americans to buy government-run health insurance alongside private insurance.

“Certainly they can’t compete if the taxpayer is standing behind the public option just shoveling more and more money in,” Obama replied. “That’s certainly not fair, and so I’ve already said I would not be in favor of a public option of that sort because that would just mean more expenses out of our pockets and we wouldn’t be seeing much improvement in quality.”

WATCH: DOCTOR-LAWMAKER BLAMES OBAMACARE FOR DRIVING HEALTH COSTS HIGHER

There was no public option when Obamacare became law.

“Ultimately, what came out of it was, maybe in an inadvertent way, he mentioned for the first time that they might not have the public option in Obamacare,” Lahn told Fox News Digital. “Then right afterwards, Fox and CNN and these people wanted to talk to me because Obama had just said that this key part of his plan may not be included, and then it ended up not being included.”

For another minute or so, Obama stuttered through an answer to Lahn’s question about competition, wrestling publicly with the idea that private insurance companies would also have to borrow money at high interest rates, something else the government would not have to do.

TRUMP WILL MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN WITH AN UNLIKELY COALITION

Lahn told Fox News Digital he wasn’t quite satisfied with Obama’s answer at the time, describing it as “word salad.”

“I feel like most politicians today, like, they can’t give me a real answer or they or they dance around something and never get to the real issue,” he said.

Lahn, a farmer and businessman who has centered much of his campaign on making Iowa healthy again and was strongly backed by the MAHA wing of the conservative movement, now squares off with Democratic Auditor of Iowa Rob Sand.

Though he stepped away from politics for several years to build his business and run his family farm, Lahn’s passion for issues plaguing Iowans drew him back into the fold.

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“I really haven’t been involved in this in over a decade, and these issues that I’m running on I truly care about, whether it’s all these kids leaving Iowa, our family farms, our education system or the outlier cancer rate that we are in the world.”

“I don’t know how much longer we can go as a state without addressing these issues.”

Senate Republicans rallied against permanently killing President Donald Trump’s nearly $2 billion “anti-weaponization” fund despite heavy criticism among their ranks.

Republicans and Democrats shut down an amendment from Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., that would prevent the fund from ever returning and instead divert the funding to the nation’s fraud fund. Though Senate Democrats despise the “anti-weaponization” fund, diverting the money was a bridge too far for nearly the entire caucus.

A dozen Republicans voted for the amendment, however, signaling a broad distaste for the fund and any future plans the administration may have for it. 

The amendment’s failure could put to bed the growing push to codify a permanent end to the fund and comes after hours of delays at the onset of the Senate’s marathon voting spree to pass the GOP’s nearly $70 billion immigration enforcement package.

BOTH PARTIES TARGET TRUMP’S $2B FUND AS ICE FUNDING PACKAGE ENTERS DANGER ZONE

The fund, announced last month as part of a settlement between the Trump family and the Internal Revenue Service, received strong pushback from Republicans who feared that without proper guardrails, people convicted of assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill could access the taxpayer funds.

Still, Republicans who were already incensed over the issue weren’t sold on Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s vow that the administration would no longer pursue the fund.

Though Blanche said the administration wasn’t looking to move forward with the fund, Trump struck a different tone in the Oval Office on Wednesday when asked about the fate of the fund, telling reporters, “I’d have to ask the lawyers. I don’t know.”

GOP ADVANCES ICE FUNDING PACKAGE AFTER FORCING TRUMP’S CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND INTO RETREAT

“The weaponization fund, as far as I’m concerned, was a beautiful thing,” Trump said. “I love it. I think it’s so important.” 

Tillis said that while he heard Trump’s comments that were “to the contrary” of Blanche’s, he argued that if the administration truly wanted to end the fund, “Why not use this moment to codify that?”

“Otherwise, you’re exposing every one of our members who are in cycle to having to deal with this between today and Election Day,” Tillis said. “And that makes no sense for something that the White House says they’re not moving forward, or the DOJ says they’re not moving forward.”

REPUBLICANS RECOIL AS TRUMP’S BILLION-DOLLAR DOJ ‘SLUSH FUND’ FOR ALLIES THREATENS ICE, BORDER PATROL PLAN

Tillis’ amendment likely won’t be the last from the GOP. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who on Thursday signed on to an amicus brief with Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., blasting the fund, also has an amendment to ensure it won’t return from the grave.

But Republicans who still disagreed with the fund argued that there was nothing in the underlying bill related to it, and that it should be an issue dealt with later on should Trump and the administration try to revive it.

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“People say, ‘But, oh, Trump may someday again do the weaponization fund from his remarks yesterday,'” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said. “Well, then address it if he tries to do it, if it’s unpopular. People can address it when it happens.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio put U.S. organizations on notice: they can no longer do business with a key Cuban organization that has spent over six decades – since the launch of Fidel Castro’s communist revolution in 1959 – cultivating relationships with U.S. activists and groups, many of them now funded by communist American tycoon Neville Roy Singham.

The sanctions target the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, known by its Spanish acronym ICAP, an organization founded by Castro in 1960 to spread Marxist ideology and support for Cuba. Long ago, U.S. officials and intelligence assessments concluded ICAP is a key component of Cuba’s intelligence apparatus.

“For decades, Cuba has been the world capital for radical left-wing terrorism,” Rubio said. “The regime in Havana has recruited, trained and backed violent Marxist and third-worldist movements across our hemisphere and beyond.”

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

Earlier this year, ICAP worked with U.S. nonprofits, including the People’s Forum, Progressive International and CodePink, to organize a March “convoy” that included controversial Marxist streamer Hasan Piker landing in Cuba to support Cuba’s communist party.

The trip has since attracted federal scrutiny, with CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin confirming she received questions from federal officials about the trip, investigating whether she violated sanctions.

Late last month, Fox News Digital published a three-part series, reporting that federal investigators are examining Cuba’s alleged malign foreign influence operation in the U.S., investigating a network of 145 groups with collective revenues of about $1 billion, promoting Cuba’s agenda and communist ideology.

“Today, we are targeting the network that enables and funds Cuba’s subversive and radical operations,” Rubio said.

The groups working closely with ICAP include the People’s Forum, CodePink, BreakThrough News and Tricontinental, funded by Singham, a Marxist tech tycoon living in Shanghai. As reported, Singham has pumped $285 million into nonprofits since 2017 that have built very close relationships with ICAP and the communist government of Cuba.

Singham is married to CodePink co-founder Jodie Evans.

INSIDE CUBA’S FOREIGN INFLUENCE CAMPAIGN: FROM THE VENCEREMOS BRIGADE OF THE 1960S TO SATURDAY IN A UNION HALL

ICAP is today led by Fernando González Llort, one of five former Cuban intelligence officers, known as the “Cuban Five,” convicted in the U.S. years ago on espionage-related charges and released after spending time in jail. 

Critics say ICAP acts as a gateway for revolutionaries from around the world to get embedded in the propaganda, organizing tactics and strategic goals of the Communist Party of Cuba. ICAP has denied wrongdoing and says it’s a civil society organization.

ICAP was one of five entities that Rubio designated as off-limits under sanctions authorities established by President Donald Trump’s Cuba executive order. The sanctions also target Cuba’s Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR), the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), Minera La Victoria S.A. and the state-run tourism company Amistur Cuba S.A., which has arranged trips to Cuba with U.S. nonprofits in the Singham network.

Experts said the move signals that the Trump administration is focused not only on the Cuban government but also on U.S. institutions that U.S. officials believe help project Cuban influence internationally.

A declassified CIA report from the Cold War era, “Cuba: Castro’s Propaganda Apparatus and Foreign Policy,” described Cuba’s international propaganda and influence activities as a central component of Castro’s foreign policy strategy. The report named ICAP among organizations that act as important instruments for cultivating sympathetic political movements abroad and extending Cuban influence beyond the island.

DOJ, TREASURY INVESTIGATE NONPROFITS AND LEADERS ALLEGEDLY COORDINATING WITH CUBA IN INFLUENCE CAMPAIGN

One of the most notable examples was the Venceremos Brigade, a Cuba solidarity program established in 1969 that brought generations of American activists to the island through exchanges organized with Cuban authorities and institutions including ICAP.

The program became one of the most visible pipelines connecting American activists to the Cuban revolutionary government.

Today, the Venceremos Brigade operates as a fiscally-sponsored project of the People’s Forum.

Lawmakers and federal authorities are examining whether organizations funded by Singham have acted on behalf of foreign interests without properly registering and have helped amplify messaging favorable to the Chinese Communist Party and the Communist Party of Cuba.

HOW A RHODES SCHOLAR WITH TIES TO CUBA’S PRESIDENT ORGANIZED THE CONVOY THAT BROUGHT HASAN PIKER TO HAVANA

During the recent convoy in March, Progressive International co-founder David Adler appeared alongside Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and ICAP President González at an official event hosted by ICAP.

Years ago, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass participated in Venceremos Brigade trips, a connection that her mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt resurfaced during her campaign. Bass has denied any wrongdoing.

Supporters of such exchanges describe them as educational and humanitarian programs intended to foster international understanding. Critics argue they function as political influence operations designed to build support for the Cuban regime and its ideological objectives.

The Cuban government condemned Rubio’s sanctions shortly after the announcement.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel accused the United States of escalating economic pressure against Cuba and attempting to intensify tensions between the two countries.

“The Treasury Department has added new names of Cuban leaders, organizations and companies to an illegitimate sanctions list,” Díaz-Canel wrote on social media. “They are aimed at reinforcing the blockade measures and the scenario of conflict between Cuba and the United States.”

Rubio’s warning extended beyond the sanctioned entities.

The action signals that the administration is increasingly focused on the networks, partnerships and influence channels that U.S. officials believe have helped advance Cuban interests abroad long after the Cold War officially ended.

“Anyone providing services to these sanctioned actors is at risk of sanctions themselves,” he said. “Foreign banks and other companies that provide services to these entities should freeze those activities.”

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Fox News Digital’s Reagan Schroeder contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump entertained the idea of Hunter Biden running for president in 2028, quipping on Thursday that the former first son might have a shot if scandal-plagued candidates like Maine Senate hopeful Graham Platner can survive the political spotlight.

“[Hunter Biden’s] on social media now, and he has suggested – maybe joking, I don’t know – that he could run for president in 2028. How would he do, Hunter Biden, in a 2028 Democratic primary?” Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked Trump on Thursday. 

The former first son became active on X in May, sparking speculation that he is gearing up for a potential run for political office.

“I would say his past is not the greatest,” Trump responded. 

CARVILLE AVOIDS ADDRESSING CLAIM THAT HUNTER BIDEN ‘COULD BE PRESIDENT’

“Hey, if the guy from Maine can do well,” the president continued. “Well, I guess Hunter could do well, too, because the guy from Maine is a basket case.”

Platner, who Trump was referencing, faces a myriad of campaign controversies stemming from his deleted Reddit account, a Nazi-linked tattoo, hard-drug use, sexting allegations and a newly-released New York Times report detailing his alleged behavior with ex-girlfriends. Biden, meanwhile, has a documented history of drug use and legal troubles, culminating in a sweeping pardon from his father weeks before Trump returned to office.

Despite mounting controversies, Platner remains competitive in polls as he seeks to unseat incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins.

Trump also compared a potential Hunter Biden 2028 run to James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Texas.

“And I would say worse than him is the one from Texas that looks like Alfred E. Neuman,” he said “I would say that if he can do well, maybe Hunter can do well. I’m not sure, it’ll be pretty close as far as I’m concerned.”

DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS GRAPPLE WITH BIDEN’S LEGACY AS 2028 RACE BEGINS

Trump, speaking to the press during an event focused on the administration’s investment in coal energy, also provided some new information about former President Joe Biden’s mental state during a private meeting they held after the 2024 elections.

“President Biden is out promoting a new book this week. When you met with Joe Biden, President Joe Biden, right here in the Oval Office on November the 13th of 2024, could you detect any cognitive decline in President Biden at that time?” a reporter asked.

“No, not really. I mean, he was the same guy I’ve been watching for a long time,” the president answered. 

“He was fine as far as I was concerned,” Trump said, adding that “I don’t know, something happened to him during the debate. It could have been me.”

BIDEN ‘A LITTLE OLDER AND A LITTLE SLOWER’ IN THE FINAL DAYS OF HIS PRESIDENCY: NEW YORK TIMES REPORT

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Trump noted that the elder Biden was “never the sharpest guy.”

Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for the former president and Hunter Biden on Thursday.

Hunter Biden could possibly mount a successful White House bid despite his shaky past, given some of the congressional candidates recently backed by Democrats, President Donald Trump said Thursday.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump was asked by Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy about Biden — the son of former President Joe Biden — running for president in 2028. This came after the younger Biden reacted to a parody account on X touting him as the 2028 Democratic presidential nominee.

“You would think that the past has something to do with winning an election. And I would say his past is not the greatest,” Trump said.

MAINE DEM SENATE HOPEFUL BACKED BY BERNIE SANDERS APOLOGIZES FOR NAZI-STYLE TATTOO, VOWS TO STAY IN RACE

“Hey, if the guy from Maine can do well, I guess Hunter could do well, too, because the guy from Maine is a basket case,” Trump added, referring to Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner. “And I would say worse than him is the one from Texas that looks like Alfred E. Neuman,” referencing Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico.

Platner, a Marine veteran who has emerged as one of the party’s fastest-rising political figures, has come under fire for controversies ranging from sexually explicit messages and offensive social media posts to a Nazi-linked tattoo and campaign staff upheaval.

DELETED POSTS URGING VIOLENCE HAUNT DEMOCRATIC SENATE HOPEFUL IN MAINE RACE

Despite the criticism, Platner has retained the support of prominent Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

In Texas, Talarico has drawn pushback from conservative opponents over his use of his religious background, such as when he said “God is nonbinary” during a 2021 debate in the Texas legislature. In addition, he has previously said there are six biological sexes and referred to the radicalization of white men in an old social media post.

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Hunter Biden’s controversies involve his foreign business dealings, convictions for tax evasion and illegal possession of a weapon, and drug addiction.

Fox News Digital’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will hold a massive rally in Washington, D.C., later this month to kick off the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration.

Trump said in a Truth Social post that the event would feature guest speakers and musical performances as part of what he described as a “rally to end all rallies.”

“On Wednesday, June 24th, at 7 P.M., in magnificent Washington, D.C., now totally beautified, and one of the Safest Cities anywhere in the World, and in celebration of our Country’s 250 Year History, we will be bringing you, LIVE, the Greatest Rally, EVER!” Trump wrote.

“It will be special at every level — A Rally to end all Rallies!” Trump continued. “We don’t want singers with no talent, but big fees to put you to sleep, we’ve told them all to stay home. All we want is you, me, a few speakers, and the Greatest Music ever played, the same Music you have listened to for years!”

TRUMP-BACKED MEGA EVENT TO BRING ALL 50 STATES TO DC IN WORLD’S FAIR-STYLE BASH

The announcement comes days after Trump floated the idea of replacing a planned Freedom 250 concert with a MAGA rally after several performers withdrew from the event.

Trump previously suggested scrapping the Freedom 250 concerts, which are part of the Great American State Fair, a 16-day festival scheduled to run from June 25 through July 10 on the National Mall as part of the nation’s America 250 celebrations.

The fair is being organized by Freedom 250, a nonprofit aligned with Trump and working alongside the White House Task Force 250.

MARTINA MCBRIDE CALLED A ‘COWARD’ AFTER DROPPING OUT OF AMERICA 250 CELEBRATION

While the concerts have not been canceled, Freedom 250 previously announced that Trump would headline the opening ceremony.

After the lineup was unveiled in May, several performers — including Martina McBride, Bret Michaels, Young MC, The Commodores and Morris Day — announced they would no longer participate.

Other artists, including Vanilla Ice, have publicly reaffirmed their plans to perform.

VANILLA ICE DOUBLES DOWN ON FREEDOM 250 AFTER ARTIST EXODUS: ‘ONCE YOU COMMIT, YOU DON’T QUIT’

In an interview with Fox News Digital this week, Vanilla Ice said he remains “100%” committed to the event and that criticism directed at participating performers has only strengthened his resolve to take part.

Trump also announced that country singer Lee Greenwood would introduce him at the rally and perform his hit song, “God Bless the U.S.A.”

Opera singer Christopher Macchio is expected to perform several songs, including “Nessun Dorma,” “Hallelujah,” “Ave Maria” and “God Bless America,” Trump said.

The president added that multiple military ensembles will also perform.

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“The Rally will also be featuring the wonderful U.S. Army Band ‘Pershing’s Own’ and Armed Forces Choir, and ‘The President’s Own’ Unites States Marine Band, with the Joint Armed Forces Chorus, all of your favorite Hits, PLUS a fine and highly dignified gentleman known as, President DONALD J. TRUMP!” he wrote.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Hume and Larry Fink contributed to this report.

The Republican-led House on Thursday passed a sweeping security package providing new military aid to Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia, delivering a sharp rebuke to the Trump administration, who opposed the measure. 

Eighteen Republicans crossed party lines to support the Democrat-authored legislation in a vote of 226-195. California Rep. Kevin Kiley, an independent who caucuses with Republicans, also supported the legislation. Meanwhile, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was the lone Democratic lawmaker to vote against the bill.

House GOP leadership and the vast majority of Republicans opposed the legislation aimed at bolstering Ukraine’s defenses amid a surge in Russian missile and drone strikes as the conflict enters its fifth year.

The measure now heads to the Senate, where it faces an uphill battle to clear the chamber. The White House said the legislation would undermine President Donald Trump’s goal of ending the prolonged conflict and that he would veto the measure, according to a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: GOP REBELS DEFY TRUMP AS CONGRESSIONAL GRIP CONTINUES TO WEAKEN ACROSS MULTIPLE VOTES

“The bill seeks to tie the President’s hands by mandating a wide-ranging U.S. response to the Russia-Ukraine war while adding hundreds of millions in unfunded authorizations,” the White House document reads, in part. 

The security package would reaffirm U.S. support for Ukraine and NATO, authorize more than $1.5 billion in new security assistance and $8 billion in direct loans, and extend a Pentagon program that procures weapons and military equipment for Ukraine. 

The legislation would also target the Kremlin’s energy profits, which are central to keeping Russia’s war effort going, as well as organizations and companies that do business with sanctioned Russian entities.

The White House warned that the legislation’s mandatory sanctions would “plunge the global economy into chaos.”

But Republicans who supported the measure said its passage should not be viewed as defying the president. 

“President Trump has been the leader to support the people of Ukraine, and so I’ll be voting for the people of Ukraine, continuing the Trump tradition of support,” Wilson, a South Carolina lawmaker, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

When asked about GOP opposition, Wilson said, “Putin needs to know that the American people stand with the brave and courageous people of Ukraine.”

PRO-UKRAINE GOP REP. BACON DECLARES ‘REAL REPUBLICANS KNOW THAT PUTIN’S RUSSIA HATES THE WEST AND FREEDOM’

Still, several Republicans who opposed the measure said their opposition should not be viewed as a lack of support for Ukraine. 

“This bill is not about helping Ukraine. This is not about standing up to Vladimir Putin,” Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., said. “This is about engaging in Trump Derangement Syndrome as President Trump tries to bring this [conflict] in for a landing.”

Others in the GOP conference voiced firm opposition to additional U.S. aid for the country.

“I oppose further funding of Ukraine,” Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., told Fox News Digital.

The successful vote came after the legislation, sponsored by Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., had languished in the House Foreign Affairs Committee for more than a year after being introduced in early 2025. 

But the measure gained momentum after a handful of defecting Republicans signed a Democrat-authored discharge petition that triggered a vote over the objections of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who controls the floor.

Most Republicans are reluctant to support legislation that comes to the floor via a discharge petition, which is often seen as undermining GOP leadership and aiding Democrats in the minority.

“Democrats have repeatedly governed in the minority as if we were in the majority, and we’re going to do so again this week,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Tuesday.

Some GOP lawmakers also argued the Ukraine measure was poorly drafted and outdated. 

For example, the bill calls on NATO countries to increase defense spending to 2% of their economic output, but Trump secured a 5% commitment from allies in 2025.

“This bill literally moves us backwards, and a decrease of NATO defense member spending would be the result,” Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., said.

The legislation also proposes a lower figure for training and equipping Ukraine’s military than what Congress authorized last year in annual defense policy legislation.

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“It’s increasingly obvious that this [war] will end, and when it ends, it will be through negotiation,” Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, said during debate on the House floor. “If you support this bill, then clearly you are not interested in peace, because the consequences would tie the hands of this president and could lead to future hostilities that would bleed over into Europe.”

But the legislation’s proponents fired back that Ukraine is in desperate need of military aid amid stalled efforts to end the war.

“This is our Churchill moment or our Chamberlain moment,” Bacon, who is not running for reelection, said. “By God, I want to choose Churchill, and this House better choose Churchill.”

Four Senate Republicans broke ranks to kill another effort to pass President Donald Trump’s marquee voter ID and election integrity legislation as the GOP marches to fund immigration enforcement. 

Just like last time, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Thom Tills, R-N.C., joined all Democrats to thwart the move.

It’s the second attempt by Republicans to attach the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act to their budget reconciliation package, and the second time that they’ve failed to get the legislation across the line months after launching a quasi-floor takeover to debate the bill. 

DOZEN GOP REBELS FAIL TO PERMANENTLY KILL TRUMP’S CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND

Trying to attach the bill to the nearly $70 billion budget reconciliation package geared toward funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol meant that the amendment from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., needed at least 60 votes to pass.

That threshold again proved too high a bar on Thursday night. 

And it’s a result that further solidified the political reality in the upper chamber that the SAVE America Act has little chance of passing, given the unanimous Democratic resistance and lack of total buy-in among the Senate GOP, even if Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., launched the long sought after talking filibuster. 

REPUBLICANS FAIL TO ATTACH SAVE AMERICA ACT TO PARTY-LINE FUNDING PACKAGE

Still, Graham challenged Democrats to bat down the amendment, accusing them of being “probably into cheating” in elections for not supporting voter ID.

 “There’s no other reason to say you don’t have to have an ID. It just makes cheating easier,” Graham said. “Who wants a noncitizen voting in our election if you’re against that, that makes me wonder.”  

“And biological males playing girls sports [is] not good for anybody, and a minor should not be allowed to transition their sex,” he continued. “That’s the biggest change you can make in your entire life. You shouldn’t be allowed to do that as a minor. This is what we say. What do you say?”

DEMS BLOCK GOP AMENDMENT TYING VOTER ID BILL TO TRANSGENDER SPORTS BAN

But Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., noted “that just over a month ago, a similar proposal was defeated on a bipartisan basis.”

“Current safeguards are working,” Padilla said. “And yes, it is already unlawful for non-citizens to vote in the United States. What this amendment does is mirrors earlier attempts to push through the president’s priorities, to try to take over elections, to ban vote by mail.” 

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“And while we’re at it, while they’re at it, attacking trans folks during pride month, that’s pretty damn offensive,” he continued.

Some of Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner’s ex-girlfriends spoke out in a damning report Thursday, which chronicled new allegations of rape fantasies, heavy drinking and violent episodes.

Platner continues to be under fire for a chest tattoo called the Totenkopf; used by Nazi death camp guards, alleged sexting of younger women and publicly finding humor in a Taliban attack that nearly killed former Pennsylvania lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Teddy Daniels.

One of his ex-girlfriends, Lyndsey Fifield, told the New York Times the two met in 2013 when he was a George Washington University student and she was with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce with a growing presence in conservative circles.

Fifield recounted how Platner would poke fun at his chest tattoo of a Totenkopf — an emblem used by Nazi death camp guards.

Fifield told the paper that Platner explained he and other members of his military unit chose it because of parallels between them and the Schutzstaffel — in that “they were a death unit… killers,” which appears to contradict his narrative that he did not know the tattoo was associated with Nazi symbols.

DEMOCRATIC MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER CONFRONTED BY MS NOW HOST ABOUT TATTOO CONTROVERSY

She also recalled how the oyster farmer and veteran would sharpen an ax while watching television and ruminate about raping home invaders.

“He said this a lot: If anybody ever broke in here, I would rape them,” but not in a sexual or “gay” way, Fifield said, adding that Platner stated he would want to instead impose dominance over them through penetration.

She also alleged that when they were previously in public, Platner purportedly pulled her out of a taxi by her wrist during an altercation.

LEFT-WING DEM SENATE HOPEFUL CHEERED ON ANTIFA VIOLENCE IN UNEARTHED RANT: ‘KILL A MOTHERF—ER’

Platner, who has acknowledged his battle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from his time in the military, told Fox News Digital that he has “been open about what was a very dark period of my life where I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD.”

“Throughout this campaign, I’ve been open about what was a very dark period of my life where I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD, too often self-medicated with alcohol, and was a far from perfect boyfriend,” Platner said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“I take responsibility for all of that, and wish I had been better. Any characterization beyond that is false, and I believe, politically motivated. I’m not proud of who I was then, but I am proud of the work I’ve done since, and the movement we are building in Maine.”

Fifield recounted another incident when Platner reportedly pushed her into a bedroom and held the door shut. She later was able to leave after falling asleep and waking after some time had passed.

SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER SENT EXPLICIT TEXTS TO MULTIPLE WOMEN WHILE MARRIED, WIFE SAYS: REPORT

Besides the rape visualizations, Platner would “fantasize about killing people he deemed a threat,” according to the Times’ conversation with Fifield – who declined to comment for purposes of this article.

Fifield added that in addition to the ax which he had from prior work bushwacking on the Appalachian Trail, Platner kept an AR-15 in his Capitol Hill home. The firearm type is currently prohibited in the District of Columbia, but that law is under legal challenge from the Trump Justice Department.

Of Fifield’s allegations, Platner’s campaign pointed to her conservative-leaning politics and called her a “lifelong GOP operative who’s dedicated her career to electing Republicans.”

NEW WEBSITE PUTS PLATNER ON NOTICE BY AMPLIFYING SCANDALS: ‘ONE RED FLAG AFTER ANOTHER’

In turn, Fifield said she is not affiliated with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine; the five-term incumbent Platner is challenging.

Another woman, Jenny Racicot, is a fellow Maine Democrat who was in an “off-and-on” relationship with Platner between 2019 and 2021, according to the Times.

She told the paper some of Platner’s controversial Reddit posts hardened her view that he has issues with women.

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

“I recognized a version of him that I had experiences with,” she said.

Another Maine Democrat who he dated declined to have her name published by the Times and said Platner would at times drink heavily, and that her role in the relationship seemed like “collateral damage to the world that is his.”

The Republican National Committee said the report appears to be nothing new in the cadence of scandals facing the Democratic challenger.

WATCH: SCANDAL-PLAGUED PLATNER DODGES QUESTIONS BEFORE DC MEETING WITH DEMOCRATS

“Every day brings another deeply disturbing revelation about Graham Platner,” spokeswoman Delanie Bomar said.

“If he’s willing to do this to his own girlfriend, imagine what he’s willing to do in a position of political power. Maine voters deserve to know why Democrats are willing to excuse this deranged behavior,” said Bomar.

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“If Chuck Schumer and national Democrats don’t distance themselves from Platner, they’ll be forced to answer for his behavior every day from now until Election Day,” she continued.

Fox News Digital also reached out to Collins, Gov. Janet Mills, Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, and Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Old Orchard Beach; the legislature’s top Democrat, for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Leo Briceno contributed to this report.

Democrats splintered over a resolution seeking to block the U.S. from assisting Israel’s war against Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terrorist group, on Thursday. 

The measure, offered by progressive Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., would require President Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from Lebanon. For months, Israel and Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist group and Iranian proxy, have been at war in southern Lebanon, but the United States has not joined the conflict.

A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., rejected the measure. Critics argued the resolution could aid Hezbollah and potentially hamstring U.S. military operations in the country. 

Tlaib’s resolution failed 92-324, with more than half of House Democrats joining nearly all Republicans to vote it down.

REP RASHIDA TLAIB MOVES TO BLOCK US OPERATIONS IN LEBANON BUT IGNORES HEZBOLLAH

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., an Israel critic, was the lone Republican to support Tlaib’s measure. Meanwhile, Reps. Derek Tran, D-Calif., and Betty McCollum, D-Minn., voted present.

House Democratic leaders said shortly before the vote they would oppose Tlaib’s resolution and work with the progressive lawmaker on a narrower measure exempting some U.S. military operations in the country. Their statement also denounced Hezbollah as a “violent terrorist organization” and a “sworn enemy of the United States.”

Tlaib, who has accused Israel of committing “ethnic cleansing” in Lebanon, did not mention Hezbollah in her resolution. She and other proponents of the measure also avoided discussing the Iranian proxy force during heated floor debate over the measure. 

Republicans highlighted the omission and accused the legislation’s supporters of serving as “proxies for Hezbollah.”

“Apparently they don’t want to see Israel killing Hezbollah, even though it’s Hezbollah that is killing Israeli children, Israeli adults, Israeli elders,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., said Wednesday, referring to his Democratic colleagues.

Tlaib asserted that her resolution would only affect U.S. forces actively engaged in hostilities. Republicans, however, disputed that claim and suggested it would hurt U.S. efforts to counter Hezbollah. 

“It doesn’t say anything about [whether] you can keep the Marines that are in the embassy,” Mast said, referring to the U.S. embassy in Beirut. “That’s a pretty big oversight. It doesn’t say anything about whether we can keep United States armed forces that are training missions with the LAF [Lebanese Armed Forces]. Again, pretty big oversight.”

RASHIDA TLAIB HIT WITH HOUSE CENSURE THREAT, ACCUSED OF ‘CELEBRATING TERRORISM’ IN PRO-PALESTINIAN SPEECH

The debate turned personal when Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, linked Tlaib to Hezbollah.

“Hezbollah is a terrorist organization … and its members are butchers that you like to hang out with to a certain extent,” the Ohio lawmaker said, referring to Tlaib.

A shouting match between the two then broke out, with Tlaib demanding that Miller’s remarks be stricken from the record.

The presiding chair ultimately complied with her request, but Miller doubled down on his remarks.

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“Yes, I said it. I own it, and I stand by it,” Mast said on behalf of Miller on the floor.

Tlaib’s failed war powers resolution comes as Iran has sought to tie Israel’s invasion of Lebanon to its ceasefire negotiations with the United States.

Hezbollah, which has long helped Iran project power in the region, rejected a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon’s government Thursday.

Several Democratic senators repeatedly declined to say whether they still support Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner when pressed about leaked explicit sexual messages tied to the candidate.

Platner’s latest controversy in the public eye involves sexually explicit text exchanges with multiple women that surfaced publicly while he was married to his wife, Amy Gertner.

The Maine candidate also has an active profile on Kik — private messaging app associated with casual sex and anonymous encounters. The app lacks proper identification methods that have led it to enable child predators to share inappropriate material.

His profile, Phustle0331, has been active since 2016, but Platner’s campaign previously acknowledged that the Kik account, which was created in 2016, belonged to him, stating that he had deleted the app from his phone but did not deactivate the account, according to The Wall Street Journal.

WATCH: SHAHEEN DODGES REPORTER’S PLATNER QUESTIONS AS AIDE CREATES DONUT DISTRACTION

While most Democrats were hesitant to vocalize their support for Platner, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., made it clear that he supports Platner in securing the Senate spot in Maine because of his opposition to President Donald Trump.

“We have in Maine, a candidate, that is Platner, who wants to stop Trump’s authoritarian destruction of our democracy,” Markey told Fox News Digital. “And we have another candidate, an incumbent, who hasn’t stood up to Trump. And so if you care about our Constitution, there’s really only one choice.”

Many Democratic lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have continued to back Platner despite the growing scandal, arguing that flipping Maine’s now Republican-held Senate seat remains a top political priority.

WATCH: CHUCK SCHUMER SIDESTEPS PLATNER SCANDALS, CONFIRMS SUPPORT FOR CONTROVERSIAL DEM 

Not all Democrats offered an outright endorsement. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said the decision ultimately belongs to Maine voters.

“I think that’s up to the voters of Maine to decide,” Shaheen said. “I don’t think inappropriate sexual behavior should be approved by anybody who does it, but the voters of Maine will have to decide that.”

Some Democrats declined to weigh in on the controversy or say whether they still support Platner as the countdown to Maine’s primary election enters its final days.

“I haven’t met him, I haven’t engaged with him, and I’m not going to answer that,” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said.

THE GROWING LIST OF CONTROVERSIES THREATENING DEMOCRAT GRAHAM PLATNER’S MAINE SENATE BID

“I don’t do campaign stuff in the Capitol,” Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said when asked both if he was still supporting Platner and if he attended the meeting between some Democratic senators and Platner on Tuesday.

Platner invited the entire Senate Democratic caucus to a meeting Tuesday, though only about half a dozen senators were seen attending. Those in attendance included Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., and Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt.

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The primary election is set for Tuesday, leaving Maine voters just days to decide whether the controversy changes the trajectory of one of Democrats’ most closely watched Senate races.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Pack and Taylor Penley contributed to this report.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Rep. Linda Sánchez, D-Calif., traded barbs during a Thursday congressional hearing after she pressed him over a DOJ settlement requiring the IRS to end any existing tax audits of President Donald Trump, with Sánchez ultimately accusing him of overseeing the “most corrupt Treasury Department” in U.S. history. 

“I hope that you’re proud of your performance today, Mr. Secretary,” Sánchez told Bessent as he testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday. 

“I hope you get some social media clips,” he shot back.

The tense exchange came as Sánchez cited a settlement reached between the Department of Justice and the Trump family in May that forced the IRS, which is overseen by the Treasury Department, to end any existing tax audits of Trump, his family and their business interests. By the end of the back and forth, both parties had become incensed, with the congresswoman accusing Bessent of running the “most corrupt Treasury Department.”  

TRUMP FILES $10B LAWSUIT AGAINST IRS OVER ALLEGED TAX RETURN LEAKS TO MAJOR NEWS OUTLETS 

“Why are you allowing President Trump and his family to have complete immunity from being audited?” Sánchez asked Bessent as he testified before the House Ways and Means Committee. 

“Again, since you are a lawyer, you will understand that the U.S. Treasury and the IRS are represented by the Justice Department and the acting attorney general,” Bessent responded.

The clash highlighted a broader fight over how far executive power should extend when it intersects with federal agencies, personal finances and politically charged investigations. It also provided a familiar dynamic: Democrats warning of special treatment for Trump, and the administration framing the issue as another example of combating institutional overreach against him.

It is unclear whether Trump is currently facing any audits, a detail pressed by Bessent, eliciting indignation from Sánchez.

“Do you have specific knowledge of an audit of President Trump?” he asked Sánchez.

DEMOCRAT CONGRESSWOMAN DRAWS BOOS OVER ‘SHAMEFUL’ SEXISM REMARK IN COMMITTEE HEARING WITH TREASURY SECRETARY 

“Excuse me? It’s my time. You’re not here to ask me questions. I’m here to ask you questions. And hopefully you’re here to try to answer some of them,” she responded. “I’m curious to know who counts as Trump’s family for the purposes of this immunity. Is it his children, his in-laws, his grandchildren, his second or third cousin? His great-great-grandchildren? Do you know the answer to that question, Mr. Secretary?”

“Again, I imagine you have the Justice Department phone number. I suggest you call them,” the secretary responded. 

The exchange only heightened from that point. 

“Safe to say that this is probably the most corrupt Treasury Department in our nation’s history,” Sánchez said as her time speaking expired. 

“And I am going to have to take exception with that,” Bessent hit back, waving away her claim as “slanderous.” 

“The congresswoman is slanderous,” Bessent continued. “She has nothing but … the unsubstantiated opinions. And I will not stand for that. There is nothing corrupt. We move at the highest levels.” 

ACTING AG BLANCHE REVEALS FATE OF TRUMP’S ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND’ UNDER PRESSURE FROM HOUSE LAWMAKERS

Critics have questioned whether the DOJ has authority to bind the IRS and accused Trump, who was in 2024 reportedly facing a tax investigation that could have cost him up to $100 million, of pressuring the government for personal gain. Supporters, meanwhile, argue that the immunity is an appropriate response to alleged government weaponization.

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The state of the Trump family’s immunity is currently uncertain, especially after a federal judge blocked the president’s proposed $1.8 billion compensation fund. Bessent has declined to comment on whether the immunity deal is still in place, citing pending litigation.

The Department of War has officially removed 180 faiths from its list of recognized religions, acting on a change previously announced by War Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The U.S. Military Chaplain Corps previously recognized over 200 faith codes that servicemembers could claim affiliation with. That number now sits at just 31 as of a Thursday memo from Undersecretary of Defense Anthony Tata, according to Military.com.

Tata’s memo says the change will “streamline the DoW collection of religious preferences for service members to enhance the delivery of targeted religious support from the Chaplaincy.”

“The new list will provide chaplains with clear, readily available information that will better enable them to anticipate the religious support needs of service members and to provide religious support activities that align with service members’ personal faith and practices,” he added.

AMERICA’S COMBAT CHAPLAINS OF ‘ALL FAITHS’ ARE THE FOCUS OF NEW FILM

The new list includes Agnostics, Buddhists, Hindus, Islam (Muslims), Judaism, Sikh, and a wide range of Christian-based groups like Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans and Methodists, the outlet reported.

Hegseth had announced the intention to trim the list of faiths earlier this year.

“The previous system had ballooned to well over 200 faith codes.… It was impractical and unusable, and many codes were never used at all,” Hegseth said in March. He went on to note that the vast majority of military members fit under just six of the faith codes.

Alongside that change, the Pentagon also directed serving chaplains to replace their rank insignia with their religious insignia.

“A chaplain is first and foremost a chaplain, and an officer second. This change is a visual representation of that fact,” Hegseth said in a statement in March.

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“Specifically unique to the role of a chaplain, they are first and foremost called and ordained by God. And, while they will retain rank as an officer to those they serve, their rank will not be visible,” he added.

FIRST ON FOX: A top Republican confirmed he will seek a “full investigation” of a likely Democratic colleague whose ties to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing mastermind roiled the 2026 midterm landscape after New Jersey’s Tuesday primaries.

Dr. Adam Hisham Hamawy is a veteran combat plastic surgeon who operates his own practice near Princeton but has been heavily criticized for his ties to and service as a defense witness for terrorist Omar Abdel-Rahman — better known as the “Blind Sheikh” — who later died in a North Carolina federal prison.

Rep. Michael Lawler, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Middle East Subcommittee, expressed his concerns about Hamawy serving in Congress and later confirmed to Fox News Digital that he will indeed seek a probe of the controversial progressive.

Hamawy won a 12-way Democratic primary Tuesday for a Central Jersey seat that has not elected a Republican this century — and now faces perennial candidate Prof. Gregg Mele in November.

LONE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FINDS HIS EDGE AS A DOZEN DEMOCRATS CLASH IN RACE TO REPLACE MIKIE SHERRILL

Lawler told Fox News Digital that Hamawy’s resume is more than disqualifying for someone whose day job would give him access to the nation’s most sensitive national security information.

“Adam Hamawy was a defense witness for Omar Abdel-Rahman, the Blind Sheikh behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and a year earlier volunteered in Bosnia with an organization the U.S. Treasury designated a financier of terrorism and the 9/11 Commission tied to Osama bin Laden’s network,” Lawler said.

“He has never answered for any of it.”

Lawler questioned Hamawy’s “fit[ness] to serve” in Congress and to be privy to the same information he is on the Foreign Affairs panel.

“If he’s elected in November, I’ll push for a full investigation because the American people deserve the truth.”

Lawler notably represents Rockland County, N.Y. — an area just north of New York City with a sizable Orthodox Jewish population — and has been a steadfast defender of Israel and the Jewish people against threats from Iran and Hezbollah.

DEM FREE-FOR-ALL ENGULFS NJ AS 13 CONTENDERS SCRAMBLE FOR SHERRILL’S HOUSE SEAT AHEAD OF CRITICAL 2026 FIGHT

Hamawy previously volunteered at a Gaza hospital amid the conflict.

Lawler’s district recently hosted President Donald Trump’s rally featuring New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart — and his visibility on counterterrorism and Israel issues was brought to the fore when Sen. Rand Paul’s, R-Ky., son drunkenly confronted Lawler at a Washington bar and “accused” him of being Jewish during a diatribe about Israel.

Neighboring Congressman Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from North Jersey, didn’t directly call for a probe but told Jewish Insider that he has “serious questions and deep concerns” about Hamawy’s “associations with terrorist organization and leaders who have attacked America.”

Like Lawler, Gottheimer said Hamawy must answer for these connections to the people of the Garden State.

Abdel-Rahman’s team called Hamawy as a witness, where he described traveling to Detroit for a conference at which the extremist cleric would appear.

Hamawy testified Abdel-Rahman regularly spoke of “jihad” and that at one point the Sheikh questioned Emad Salem — who later became a government informant — as to why Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had not yet been assassinated.

Hamawy has blamed Islamophobia for some of the invective directed his way — and pushed back on similar characterizations, including from one of his own Democratic primary challengers, Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp.

“Any Muslim is going to be called a terrorist at some point, and these tropes are outdated and worn,” he told the New Jersey Monitor in response to Mapp.

Hamawy’s campaign previously told Fox News Digital that he was in the military when the events covered Abdel-Rahman’s trial took place, and pointed to allies like Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who credited the surgeon with saving her life on the battlefield.

The prosecutor who led the U.S. government’s case against Abdel-Rahman, however, noted how Hamawy appeared voluntarily to defend the Blind Sheikh.

“He didn’t have to come unless he wanted to,” former U.S. Attorney Andrew McCarthy told “The Story” on Wednesday.

“It wasn’t like I subpoenaed him. It wasn’t like the government brought him in as a hostile witness. He volunteered to testify for this guy. He knew exactly who he was. And in fact, on cross-examination, his testimony that he didn’t recall a conversation about Mubarak was not very persuasive,” McCarthy said, referring to the cleric’s trip to Detroit.

Hamawy also greeted Abdel-Rahman from the stand with the Muslim greeting of Salaam Alaykum, suggesting personal familiarity, according to several critics.

When pressed by reporters earlier in the primary, Hamawy argued that Abdel-Rahman was a spiritual leader in the state’s Muslim community and “wasn’t preaching death and destruction all the time” while adding that he himself abhors all violence.

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Hamawy and Abdel-Rahman first met at a middle school forum in Matawan, New Jersey, in 1991, according to the former’s testimony in court.

The candidate did not respond to Fox News’ latest request for comment.

Outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, in a heartfelt X post Thursday, revealed her husband Abraham Williams is recovering at home after undergoing nearly seven hours of surgery for what she described as a “very rare sacral chordoma.”

“My husband Abraham was diagnosed with a very rare sacral chordoma,” Gabbard wrote Thursday on X. “The surgery to remove bone and surrounding tissue lasted almost seven hours and was successful.

“He had a rough night and is in a lot of pain but is finally home resting. Now recovery begins.”

Gabbard announced her pending resignation as DNI to support her husband through his battle with “an extremely rare form of bone cancer,” as first reported by Fox News Digital last month.

DEMOCRATS, MEDIA SPARK FURY WITH ‘DISGUSTING’ RESPONSE TO TULSI GABBARD’S DNI RESIGNATION

Gabbard notified President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office in mid-May. Her last day at ODNI was expected to be June 30.

“We’re so grateful for the outpouring of prayers and kind messages from all of you,” Gabbard’s Thursday post, revealing the precise diagnosis for the first time, concluded. “Our hearts are full.”

Trump announced Tuesday he appointing Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Bill Pulte as acting DNI to succeed Gabbard.

TRUMP NAMES BILL PULTE ACTING DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE

“During this period, he will remain Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

Gabbard assumed office in February 2025 and is a U.S. Army Reserve officer and combat veteran. She previously served in Congress for multiple terms as a Democrat before leaving the party to become an independent and later joining the Republican Party.

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained her formal resignation letter, in which Gabbard says she is “deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me and for the opportunity to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for the last year and a half.”

RARE SPINAL CANCER TUMOR REMOVED THROUGH PATIENT’S EYE AT UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

“Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026,” she wrote. “My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer.”

Gabbard said her husband “faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months.”

“At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle,” she said.

I’M 41 WITH A HUSBAND AND CHILD. I HAVE TOO MUCH TO LOSE AND WON’T GIVE UP MY FIGHT AGAINST CANCER

Gabbard added: “Abraham has been my rock throughout our eleven years of marriage — standing steadfast through my deployment to East Africa on a Joint Special Operations mission, multiple political campaigns and now my service in this role.”

She wrote that she “cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming position.”

Trump responded to the resignation on Truth Social, writing that she “rightfully” wants to support her husband during a tough battle.

‘REAL HOUSEWIVES’ STAR TEDDI MELLENCAMP HOSPITALIZED WITH MULTIPLE TUMORS ON HER BRAIN

“I have no doubt he will soon be better than ever. Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her,” he wrote.

A sacral chordoma is a rare, slow-growing cancerous bone tumor that develops in the sacrum, the triangular bone at the base of the spine above the tailbone.

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The National Cancer Institute describes chordoma as a rare bone cancer that can develop at the base of the skull, in the spine or at the end of the spine in the sacrum or coccyx.

Fox News’ Madison Colombo, Brooke Singman and Robert Schmad contributed to this report.

Former White House national security advisor John Bolton will plead guilty to retaining classified information, two sources confirmed to Fox News Digital on Thursday.

Authorities raided Bolton’s home and office in August of last year, and he was officially indicted in October. That indictment charged Bolton with both transmission and retention of classified information.

He is now expected to accept a plea deal with federal authorities to plead guilty to a single count of retention of classified information. He faces 60 months in jail and a fine of up to $2.25 million.

“From on or about April 9, 2018, through at least on or about August 22, 2025, BOLTON abused his position as National Security Advisor by sharing more than a thousand pages of information about his day-to-day activities as the National Security Advisor—including information relating to the national defense which was classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level—with two unauthorized individuals,” the indictment read.

“BOLTON also unlawfully retained documents, writings, and notes relating to the national defense, including information classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level, in his home in Montgomery County, Maryland,” it continued.

The documents, according to the indictment, revealed intelligence about future attacks by an adversarial group in another country; a liaison partner sharing sensitive information with the U.S. intelligence community; intelligence that a foreign adversary was planning a missile launch in the future, and a litany of other “TOP SECRET” information.

“The FBI’s investigation revealed that John Bolton allegedly transmitted top secret information using personal online accounts and retained said documents in his house in direct violation of federal law,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in October. “The case was based on meticulous work from dedicated career professionals at the FBI who followed the facts without fear or favor. Weaponization of justice will not be tolerated, and this FBI will stop at nothing to bring to justice anyone who threatens our national security.”

Bolton served as Trump’s White House national security advisor during his first administration, from 2018 to 2019.

A source familiar with the early stages of the investigation told Fox News Digital that CIA Director John Ratcliffe provided Patel with limited access to U.S. intelligence that served as the basis for the search warrant. The source told Fox News Digital that the evidence justified the raid on Bolton’s home.

Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report.