NationalWatch

California gubernatorial hopeful Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., took at least six trips to Doha backed by Qatar-linked sponsors from 2020 through 2024, extending a pattern of foreign-funded travel that previously drew criticism, according to House filings reviewed by Fox News Digital.

The disclosures show Swalwell returned to Qatar repeatedly over multiple years, even after he was slammed for taking an $84,000 trip with a few other lawmakers to the Gulf emirate  in 2021, sponsored by the U.S.-Qatar Business Council. In addition to that trip, filings from the House of Representatives clerk show Swalwell also went to Doha in 2020, twice in 2022, once in 2023, and once in 2024, with the trips sponsored by either the Embassy of Qatar, or the U.S.-Qatar Business Council. Swalwell’s financial disclosures for

Swalwell faced criticism for his 2021 trip to Doha that surfaced after Business Insider shared a photo of a shirtless Swalwell and now-Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., as well as their spouses, during a camel excursion along the Persian Gulf – not far from where they were reportedly staying at the Four Seasons in Doha. While not illegal, such trips are an “ethical gray area” Business Insider pointed out at the time, which can offer powerful interests a chance to influence lawmakers. Swalwell was on the House Intelligence Committee at the time, and Gallego on the House Armed Services Committee. Business Insider also added that such privately funded trips are different than congressional delegations paid for by the government. 

UNEARTHED PHOTO OF SWALWELL MEETING WITH TOP CCP OFFICIAL RAISES ALARM BELLS: ‘VERY DISTURBING’

Meanwhile, in February, Fox News Digital found that Swalwell’s current gubernatorial campaign continued receiving tens of thousands of dollars in donations from lawyer Keliang “Clay” Zhu, despite concerns over his anti-American efforts and connection to a law firm with deep Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ties. 

The month prior, Fox News Digital also covered a previously unreported 2013 Facebook post by China’s San Francisco consulate showing then-freshman Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif. during a meeting with a senior CCP diplomat. The photo’s caption touted “great potential” for U.S.-China cooperation, and came during the same time period when Swalwell was allegedly targeted by Chinese espionage efforts via his relationship with a Chinese national named Christine ‘Fang Fang’ Fang. 

“It’s corrupt. You shouldn’t be bought by foreign governments,” said Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host and one of Swalwell’s top GOP rivals in the race, in response to Fox News Digital’s reporting on Zhu, DeHeng Law Offices, Swalwell’s unearthed photo and the congressman’s Qatar-sponsored trips. “We are sick of all these corrupt career politicians being bribed by foreign governments. They’re supposed to be representing us, not other countries.”

Swalwell’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. Ali Al-Ansari, media attache at the Embassy of Qatar in the United States, responded, noting that visits by members of Congress to Doha are “a routine and longstanding practice across administrations and parties,” whether organized via the embassy or through partner organizations.

“These exchanges are part of broader efforts to strengthen bilateral ties, foster mutual understanding, and provide opportunities for policymakers to engage directly with counterparts in the region. Such engagements are a common feature of international diplomacy, with many close U.S. allies similarly hosting congressional delegations,” Al-Ansari continued. “Such visits typically include meetings, briefings, and cultural activities that reflect the importance of the U.S.-Qatar relationship. All travel is conducted in full compliance with applicable U.S. laws and disclosure requirements, and is transparently reported.”

SWALWELL PLAYS UP ATHLETIC CREDENTIALS IN EFFORT TO BLUNT DHS SWEEPS AT WORLD CUP

Business Insider reported in 2021 that Swalwell, Gallego and the three other lawmakers that attended the trip with them in 2021 got approval by the House Ethics Committee, as required, but noted that the documents detailing the trip did not indicate when they were posted, and it appeared Swalwell’s disclosure may have missed the proper reporting deadline. Besides the camel ride excursion along the Persian Gulf, the trip’s agenda, shared publicly, indicated there would be meetings about business opportunities between Qatar and the U.S., meetings with people in the hospitality industry, meetings with the Qatari ambassador to the United States, a briefing on the FIFA World Cup that was held in Qatar in 2022, and other planned events.

Qatar has faced scrutiny for years over its alleged ties to Hamas. In 2025, Qatar threatened to “retaliate” against Israel after they targeted some Hamas leaders with airstrikes. Khalil al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin, who was responsible for Hamas’ finances and is a key player in the terrorist organization’s West Bank operations, were two targets of the explosion that rocked the Middle Eastern nation’s capital last September, according to Israeli media reports. 

While Swalwell did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment about the repeated Qatar-funded trips he has taken, he did recently defend himself against criticism about his ties to Fang Fang, who was suspected of being a Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) operative and worked closely with Swalwell’s campaign, like fundraising and directing interns to his office. The pair could also be seen in photos at public outings together before Swalwell became a member of Congress.

“This decade-old story is, of course, nonsense,” Swalwell told local news outlet KRON4.com. 

“The air was cleared immediately by the FBI when there was even a suggestion of wrongdoing,” he also told the Sources Say podcast last week. “I think Independent folks have said enough on this. And, you know for me, defamation is the highest form of flattery.”

Eventually, U.S. intelligence officials became so concerned with Fang Fang’s activities that they alerted Swalwell and other members of Congressional leadership in 2015. At the time, Nancy Pelosi was serving as House Minority Leader while McCarthy was the House Majority Leader, but McCarthy indicated he was not briefed on the matter until later. Meanwhile, Swalwell immediately cut ties with Fang Fang upon the defensive briefing, sources speaking to Axios said.

HUNTER BIDEN’S FORMER ‘SUGAR BROTHER’ LAWYER DROPS BIG MONEY ON SWALWELL’S CAMPAIGN: ‘BIGGEST CHEERLEADER’ 

Shortly after Axios broke its investigation of Swalwell’s ties to Fang Fang in 2020, top-level Democrats and Republicans, including then-House Minority Leader McCarthy and then-House Speaker Pelosi, received further briefings on the matter, which was followed by GOP calls for Swalwell to be removed from the powerful House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Swalwell has denied any wrongdoing and a multi-year congressional ethics report backed that assertion and did not take any further action against the congressman over his questionable associations, but McCarthy did eventually boot Swalwell from the powerful House intel committee. In the past week, reports have surfaced that FBI Director Kash Patel wants to release old investigative files on Fang Fang, with some sources reportedly indicating FBI officials have even discussed sending agents to China to talk to her, according to the Washington Post.

Swalwell and his campaign have been embattled in other ethics controversies recently as well, including related to his artificial intelligence start-up company, which Swalwell established with his congressional chief of staff and later hired to do work for his campaign. Swalwell and his chief of staff, according to a report from NOTUS, were reportedly pitching their product to Democratic lawmakers, aides and staff. The report also raised questions about investments the company received from Democratic campaigns, including Gallego and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. 

Meanwhile, Swalwell’s California residency has also become a central issue of his campaign for a short period of time, after Swalwell reportedly listed his lawyer’s address in California on paperwork to run for governor. Swalwell reportedly defended the address he listed, arguing he listed his attorney’s office due to a fear of death threats he had received. Additionally, in a sworn statement, Swalwell’s alleged landlord said she had been renting a place in Livermore, California, to Swalwell and his wife since 2017. This was also backed up by Swalwell’s attorney who reportedly also defended Swalwell’s California residency.

An effort to remove Swalwell from the 2026 gubernatorial ballot over accusations he was not truly a California resident ultimately failed after a judge knocked down the move on its merits. 

Similarly, a mortgage and tax fraud investigation by one of Donald Trump’s top housing officials, Bill Pulte, alleging Swalwell falsely treated his Washington, D.C. home as his primary residence on mortgage paperwork in order to get more favorable loan terms, has not gone anywhere. Swalwell turned around and sued Pulte, but eventually dropped the case after nothing came from Pulte referring Swalwell to the DOJ over the matter.

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“The Democrats are obviously in a complete muddle here, because they’ve got all these – for the past 16 years, with the governor’s race, they’ve had an inevitable candidate. For eight years it was Jerry Brown and then the last eight years Gavin Newsom, and there’s no one like that now and everyone who might have been didn’t run – Kamala Harris chose not to run, Sen. Alex Padilla chose not to run. So they’ve ended up with these non-entities or flawed, you know, deeply flawed candidates in various ways and they’ve been all over the place. That’s why you’ve got this very fragmented field,” Hilton told Fox News Digital, adding that he also believes this is why polls show him doing so well. 

“I’ve always had a sense that the machine, to a certain extent, would get behind one candidate and I’ve always thought that one candidate would be Swalwell because he’s a useful puppet.”

Hilton pointed out that Swalwell recently scooped up an endorsement from the powerful California’s Teachers Union, which also follows endorsements he got from the SEIU’s state council, the United Food and Commercial Workers and the statewide firefighters union.  

 Greg Norman-Diamond contributed to this report.

Ahead of Tax Day, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is spotlighting a new tax break enacted by Republicans last year that is boosting millions of Americans’ take-home pay.

Bob Mitchell, an Uber driver from South Florida, recently gave Johnson a first-hand account detailing how the “no tax on tips” deduction allowed him to claim a 20% larger refund compared to last year, according to a video obtained by Fox News Digital. 

“I usually get a very nice return. And I was shocked. Even my accountant was shocked,” Mitchell told Johnson after delivering an Uber Eats order to his office.

“This is going to make a big difference,” he continued, adding that the new deduction put more money in his pocket to manage expenses such as his children’s tuition.

HERE’S THE MONEY PEOPLE IN EACH STATE COULD POCKET UNDER TRUMP’S ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ SAVINGS

Mitchell is one of more than 3.5 million Americans that have claimed the “no tax on tips” deduction so far this year, according to data released by the Treasury Department.

The new deduction was among a flurry of tax benefits enacted by President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July 2025. Every Democratic lawmaker voted against the measure, citing the legislation’s reforms to Medicaid and food assistance programs.

Republicans notably made the tax break retroactive, allowing tipped workers to claim the deduction for the 2025 calendar year.

Under the legislation, individuals who receive qualified tips can deduct up to $25,000 annually through 2028. The deduction gradually phases out for individuals making over $150,000 and married couples earning more than $300,000.

THUNE PROMISES ‘SAFE STREETS, MORE MONEY IN POCKETS’ AS GOP SENATORS HIT THE ROAD TO TOUT TAX CUTS

In the video, Johnson called the “no tax on tips” deduction one of the “greatest achievements” of Trump’s second term so far.

“We wrote the working families tax cuts for lower- and middle-class earners; that’s where I come from, those are our people,” the speaker said. “And it’s going to benefit those folks.”

It’s stories like Mitchell’s that Republicans hope will put a human face on their tax relief efforts ahead of November’s midterm elections.

President Trump first floated a tax break for tipped workers while on the campaign trail in 2024.

Republicans are also highlighting new tax breaks for overtime pay and seniors as part of their messaging on the economy.

Roughly 45% of tax filers have claimed at least one deduction passed by Republicans through their 2025 tax and spending cut law, according to the Treasury Department.

Despite the “no tax on tips” deduction’s popularity, various Democratic-led states have declined to implement the tax code change, citing impacts on revenue. Republicans passed legislation in February overruling a D.C. City Council ordinance that would have blocked new tax breaks for tipped workers and those working overtime from going into effect.

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Republicans’ tax messaging push comes as the party faces headwinds over the economy and inflation, though recent polling shows that Americans still favor the GOP over Democrats on those issues.

Three-quarters of voters say the economy is in bad shape, according to a Fox News poll released in March. The same survey also found that 71% of voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of inflation.

While thousands of Department of Homeland Security employees have gone seven weeks without a paycheck, some lawmakers are defending a planned recess as the funding stalemate drags on.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., objected Monday to the idea that senators should have stayed in session until lawmakers come to an agreement to fund DHS. The Democratic lawmaker traveled to the U.S. Capitol to block potential floor action related to ending the partial government shutdown from Republicans during a planned “pro forma” session.

“How do you justify being off for the next two weeks?” CBS News congressional correspondent Nikole Killion asked Coons. “We’re 45 days in. Can Democrats and Republicans keep affording to play this blame game?”

“You know very well that we’re not off,” Coons responded. “We’re working every day in our home states. For most of us, this is when we have time to go up and down our state and to meet with our constituents and listen to their concerns.”

DEMS BLOCK DHS FUNDING AFTER GOP REJECTS THEIR COUNTER, THUNE SAYS SCHUMER ‘GOING IN CIRCLES’

The fiery exchange comes as tens of thousands of DHS employees have been furloughed or are reporting to work without pay during the record-breaking funding lapse. Though President Donald Trump has taken executive action to pay the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workforce with existing funds, many other DHS employees have not received a full paycheck in over seven weeks.

With both chambers of Congress scheduled to be in recess until mid-April, those individuals will continue to have their pay withheld as the funding impasse drags on.

Lawmakers, however, continue to be paid, but have the option to defer their salary during a government shutdown. 

The House of Representatives approved a two-month DHS funding extension measure largely along party lines late Friday evening after rejecting a bipartisan Senate deal that would have funded the whole department except for DHS and parts of the Border Patrol.

Republicans advanced the measure despite Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., arguing the bill would be “dead on arrival” in the upper chamber due to opposition from Democrats.

Though no Senate Republican attempted to ask for unanimous consent Monday to approve the House bill, Coons voiced frustration that lawmakers could pursue that approach during the Senate’s recess.

“It is incredibly inconvenient for members to have to come back to Washington just to be there for five minutes,” Coons said. “But ultimately, if that’s what it takes, I’m willing to be the one who comes in again.”

Senate Democrats have consistently refused to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) without sweeping reforms to rein in Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. 

House Republicans, conversely, have fiercely objected to not including DHS and CBP money in a DHS funding bill. 

“Republicans are not going to be any part of any effort to reopen our borders or to stop immigration enforcement,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Friday.

TSA WARNS OF ‘LONGSTANDING’ SHUTDOWN FALLOUT EVEN AFTER FUNDING CLEARS, AND A MAJOR EVENT COULD MAKE IT WORSE

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., also defended the planned recess on Monday, telling reporters that lawmakers are continuing to negotiate as the shutdown enters its seventh week. The North Dakota lawmaker chaired a “pro forma” session during which no Senate business was considered.

“TSA is getting paid, because of the president’s action, and we appreciate that very much,” Hoeven said. “Also, ICE and CBP, there is funding there from the ‘big beautiful bill.’ So they’re getting paid as well. Third, we’re working to set up the reconciliation bill and continuing negotiations.”

Both ICE and CBP are relying on an unprecedented amount of cash from Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. However, certain civilians and support staff employed by these agencies have not received a paycheck during the funding lapse.

CORNYN TARGETS LAWMAKERS’ AIRPORT FAST PASS AS TSA LINES GROW DURING DHS SHUTDOWN

When asked by Fox News about the thousands of DHS employees who are not being paid, Hoeven said Republicans are considering a second “big, beautiful bill” that could make DHS shutdown proof for the remainder of Trump’s presidency.

“We want to now do reconciliation for three years,” Hoeven said, referring to a three-year DHS funding extension. “So the Democrats can’t do this to us again.”

A second budget reconciliation package is likely to be an arduous task in an election year and could take several months to accomplish. The approach also risks dividing Republicans. House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., told Fox News Digital on Friday that she would prefer funding DHS through the normal appropriations process.

Amid the funding stalemate, some Senate Republicans are calling on their colleagues to return to Washington and cancel the recess.

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“We can’t reward unprecedented obstruction with two-week recesses,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote on social media on Sunday evening, referring to Senate Democrats. 

The Utah Republican was not present during the upper chamber’s pro forma session Monday.

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in what could be one of the most significant cases of the 21st century: birthright citizenship.

Before the Court is whether the Trump executive order that ends birthright citizenship complies with the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment, after multiple judges blocked the order from taking effect as it was litigated. 

In plain speak, the Court will look at whether someone born on U.S. soil automatically becomes a citizen irrespective of their parents’ status. 

ALITO BLASTS LAWYER’S WORD-SALAD BLURRING ASYLUM LAW

Given that courts have routinely upheld birthright citizenship for over a century now, the Trump administration faces an uphill battle. 

However, the current Court has not shied away from overturning high-profile decisions: think Dobbs overturning Roe (abortion), and Loper overturning Chevron (the administrative state). The mere fact the Court decided to take up this issue at all is very interesting. As always, the devil will be in the details in terms of how broadly, or narrowly, they decide the case – or if they find some way to punt it altogether.

How did we get here? 

The Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1 of the Constitution states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”  

SUPREME COURT PREPARES TO REVIEW TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

Its history: The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868 in response to 1) the end of the Civil War and 2) the 1857 Dred Scott decision, which concluded that enslaved people (and their children) were not American citizens and thus had no rights and couldn’t sue in federal court, among other things. Notably, Michigan Senator Jacob Howard wrote the “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” clause and said in speeches at the time that the clause did not include “persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, who belong to families of ambassadors or foreign ministers.” 

Why this matters: In the upcoming arguments, expect a lot of discussion about what “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” means, especially because the subsequent Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 mirrors the language of the 14th Amendment  – that a citizen is someone who is born in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof. 

DC COURT RULINGS STALL TRUMP AGENDA ACROSS IMMIGRATION, POLICING, FED — RAISING STAKES ON EXECUTIVE POWER 

Wong Kim Ark: The 1898 U.S. Supreme Court decision that gave us birthright citizenship as we know it today. The case involved the U.S.-born adult child of Chinese nationals – who had been permanently domiciled in the U.S. –  who was denied reentry into the U.S. after returning from a trip to China. At the time, it was generally difficult for Chinese nationals to become citizens.

In its decision, the Supreme Court held that children born on U.S. soil are automatically granted citizenship with very few exceptions, such as children of diplomats. It interpreted the “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” to mean subject to the laws of the U.S. 

The Court reasoned that citizens and non-citizens alike are subject to the laws of the nation they are in. The Court emphasized that Ark’s parents were “permanently domiciled” in the U.S. This decision was controversial at the time because it ignored previous Supreme Court language that had found children born to alien parents were not citizens. However, in Wong Kim Ark, the Court dismissed that argument in its opinion, finding that previous language was mere “dicta,” i.e., language that was not necessary to those decisions, and thus, did not create binding precedent. 

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The bottom line: This is the blockbuster case of this Supreme Court term. A decision is expected late June. 

The White House is calling on Congress to return from Easter recess to pass funding to end the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, arguing the standoff has disrupted TSA operations and airport travel nationwide.

“Nothing will be truly normal again until Democrats do the right thing to fund this agency fully again,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at Monday’s daily press briefing. “The president has stepped in – in the meantime to do what’s right to end this crisis that we’ve had at air travel, at airports across the country in the meantime. 

“But again, Congress needs to come back. Democrats need to fund the Department of Homeland Security so we can formally and fully get these great employees paid long into the future.”

TOM COTTON SLAMS DEMOCRATS’ ‘TEMPER TANTRUM’ FOR FUELING TSA CHAOS AMID FUNDING FIGHT

The funding impasse has stretched beyond six weeks, with reports of major TSA staffing shortages, long security lines, and the deployment of ICE personnel to assist at some airports.

Congress left Washington without a final deal after negotiations over DHS funding and immigration provisions stalled. Both parties have traded blame as travel disruptions and pressure from unions and aviation officials continue to grow.

AIRPORTS BEG FLIGHT PASSENGERS TO CHANGE THEIR TRAVEL HABITS AFTER DHS SHUTDOWN JAMS LINES

President Donald Trump has “said it repeatedly” that the Senate cannot justify being on vacation while DHS is left unfunded through Easter.

“I think you recall, he said that he’ll host a big Easter dinner here at the White House if Congress will come back and fight the Democrats on this issue, which we should do, because, again, the Democrat Party is in the wrong here,” Leavitt concluded at the end briefing. “They have voted seven times against funding the Department of Homeland Security, which is completely egregious with everything we have going on in the world – and these brave men and women who serve DHS deserve to get their paychecks. 

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“The president wants to see that happen, and he wants Congress to come back to get it done.”

A growing standoff between President Donald Trump and a key NATO ally escalated Monday after Spain blocked U.S. military aircraft involved in the Iran conflict from using its airspace, marking the latest rupture between Washington and Madrid over defense policy and the war in the Middle East.

Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles confirmed the move, saying Spain has denied both airspace access and the use of joint U.S.-Spanish bases for any operations tied to the Iran conflict.

“This was made perfectly clear to the American military and forces from the very beginning,” Robles said. “Neither the bases are authorized, nor, of course, is the use of Spanish airspace authorized for any actions related to the war in Iran.”

Spain already had refused to allow U.S. forces to use the strategically critical Rota and Morón bases in southern Spain, installations long viewed as key hubs for American military operations into Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The expansion of that restriction to Spanish airspace effectively cuts off another logistical pathway for U.S. operations and signals that Madrid is willing to directly limit U.S. military movement despite its NATO membership.

NATO HEAVYWEIGHTS BALK AT HORMUZ MISSION AS TRUMP WARNS ALLIANCE AT RISK

The dispute has increasingly become a direct clash between Trump and Spain’s left-wing government under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, which has taken one of the most outspoken positions in Europe against U.S. and Israeli military action.

Sánchez has described the Iran war as “illegal,” “reckless” and “unjust,” and his government has framed its refusal to cooperate as a matter of international law and national sovereignty.

“This decision is part of the decision already made by the Spanish government not to participate in or contribute to a war which was initiated unilaterally and against international law,” Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said in a radio interview when asked whether the move could further strain ties with the United States.

IRAN BACKLASH FORCES GULF ALLIES TOWARD WASHINGTON AS REGIONAL TENSIONS RISE

Trump previously lashed out at Spain after it denied base access, saying, “We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain” and “We don’t want anything to do with Spain.”

A White House official downplayed Spain’s latest move. 

“The United States Military is meeting or surpassing all of its goals under Operation Epic Fury and does not need help from Spain or anyone else,” the official told Fox News Digital.

The U.S. maintains a significant military presence in Spain under long-standing bilateral agreements, including Naval Station Rota and Morón Air Base, which serve as key hubs for American forces moving between the United States, Europe and the Middle East. Naval Station Rota, in particular, supports U.S. Navy operations in the Mediterranean and hosts warships tied to the U.S. Sixth Fleet, some of which have been operating in the broader Iran conflict.

Spain’s earlier decision to bar the use of those bases for Iran-related operations forced U.S. aircraft, including refueling tankers, to relocate to other European bases such as Germany and France.

The standoff also reflects broader, long-running friction between Trump and Spain over defense spending and burden-sharing inside NATO, where Madrid has lagged behind alliance targets — an issue Trump has repeatedly used to pressure European allies.

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Spain’s decision underscores a deeper divide within NATO over how to respond to the Iran conflict, with Madrid emerging as one of the clearest dissenting voices willing to translate political opposition into operational limits on U.S. military activity.

Robles reiterated that position Monday, calling the war “profoundly illegal and profoundly unjust,” underscoring Spain’s continued resistance despite pressure from Washington.

The Spanish embassy and NATO could not immediately be reached for comment. 

Emergency security lanes at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, one of the airports that were most affected by the ongoing partial government shutdown, were seen being cleared by staff on Monday after President Donald Trump signed an executive order over the weekend to pay Transportation Security Administration officers.

Though complications from hundreds of TSA agents quitting, and even more calling out of work, are likely to continue, the effects of the resumed paychecks could be seen almost immediately.

At Bush, where wait times were more than four hours and lines stretched out of terminal doors and into underground subway tunnels, the emergency appears to finally be over. Fox News filmed airport staff clearing the emergency lanes set up outside the terminal doors. Several travelers could be seen strolling past where the lanes had previously been. Current security wait times listed on the airport’s website are five and nine minutes.

Last week, travelers told Fox News Digital that they had to walk “miles” to get to the back of the security line, and at times, wait times were over four hours. Neither party escaped travelers’ ire over the fiasco, as several told Fox News Digital that they blamed “all congressmen” and “politicians.”

WATCH: TRAVELERS REVEAL WHOM THEY BLAME FOR MILES-LONG HOUSTON AIRPORT LINES AS TRUMP RESCUES TSA PAY

Disagreements in Congress over immigration enforcement have resulted in the Department of Homeland Security experiencing a lapse in funding. Democrats have made renewed funding for the department contingent on a set of reforms, including changes in enforcement tactics by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol.

Calling the situation an “emergency,” Trump warned that mounting disruptions at airports have pushed the system to a breaking point. On Friday, Trump signed an executive order directing federal officials to ensure that TSA employees receive pay during the DHS shutdown.

TSA agents finally began receiving paychecks on Monday after 42 days without pay, though the department remains unfunded as debates continue to roil in Congress.

TSA agents speaking with Fox News on Monday shared that they had received a paycheck Monday morning but that it was only half of what they were owed. Officers expressed that the TSA workforce remains very frustrated and worried about making ends meet with delayed pay and continued uncertainty.

‘AMERICANS FIRST’: ICE SWEEPS UP CHILD PREDATORS, RAPISTS ACROSS US AS MULLIN TAKES HELM OF DHS

According to DHS, 3,101 TSA officers, at a rate of 10.59 percent of the force, called out of work on Sunday.

Houston, whose two major airports are currently undergoing significant renovations, continued to experience some of the highest TSA officer call-outs in the country over the weekend. The airport with the highest call-out rate in the country was Baltimore’s Thurgood Marshall Airport, at 38.5 percent. Houston’s Bush and William P. Hobby Airport were ranked number two and three for the highest call-out rates at 36.4 percent and 34.1 percent, respectively.

Airports in New Orleans, Atlanta, New York City, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia also experienced significant call-out rates well above the national average.  

WATCH: DEMOCRATS TOLD AMERICANS TO FEAR ICE, HERE’S HOW AIRPORT TRAVELERS ACTUALLY FEEL

DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told Fox News that “at the direction of President Trump and the Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, TSA has immediately begun the process of paying its workforce.”

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She decried the continuing funding lapse, saying, “This is the longest government shutdown in history.”

“Enough is enough. We have to reopen DHS,” she said, adding, “Democrats must stop using federal workers as political pawns and start focusing on what matters—taking care of the American people.”

Fox News Digital’s Sophia Compton contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: A consumer watchdog group is accusing the federally funded National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine of using taxpayer dollars to support DEI, transgender-related and other left-leaning initiatives, according to a new report.

Consumers’ Research compiled the “Woke Alert” report outlining what it describes as left-leaning research, workshops and grants from the congressionally chartered institution, including projects related to transgender youth, diversity and inclusion initiatives, policing and climate advocacy.

Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research, accused the organization, which receives 70% of its budget from federal funds, of being “a radical woke organization masquerading as a nonpartisan educational institution.”

“From pushing transgender ideology onto kids to spreading ‘defund the police’ insanity, this taxpayer-supported organization regularly abuses its status and reputation to fund the left’s favorite causes,” Hild said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “It has shamefully used hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars to push a highly polarized woke agenda behind lofty BS rhetoric about independence and objectivity.”

TRUMP-SIGNED SHUTDOWN BILL SENDS $4M TO CHILDREN’S HOSPITALS UNDER FEDERAL PROBE FOR TRANSGENDER CARE

Consumers’ Research argued that NASEM has established its allegiance with left-leaning transgender ideology through its various publications, such as a workshop titled “Supporting the Health and Well-Being of Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth,” and a book titled “Reducing Inequalities Between Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Adolescents and Cisgender, Heterosexual Adolescents: Proceedings of a Workshop 2022.”

The report highlighted that for years, NASEM has run a variety of DEI workshops with titles including “Advancing Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEMM Organizations: Current Context and Challenges;” and another titled “Protecting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Higher Education and the Workforce,” which was focused on putting affirmative action in place without race-based criteria.

HHS GOLD STANDARD STUDY FLIPS ‘GENDER AFFIRMING CARE’ ON ITS HEAD AS DEMS KEEP PUSHING TRANS ISSUES AT SCOTUS

In 2022, the National Academies partnered with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to hand out grants worth $1.15 million per recipient in an effort to promote DEI among biomedical researchers.

In response to the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, NASEM established its Committee on Reducing Racial Inequalities in the Criminal Justice System. The committee evaluated a proposal to cut $50 million from Austin, Texas’s police budget.

WATCHDOG FINDS DEI, CRT BAKED INTO ACCREDITATION RULES FOR HUNDREDS OF UNIVERSITY SOCIAL-WORK PROGRAMS

The report noted that committee co-chair Bruce Western accused police officers of having “caused a great deal of harm in low-income communities and communities of color.”

In one of NASEM’s studies, researchers accused police officers of being a “leading cause of death for young men in the United States.”

The National Academies have also published multiple studies raising concerns over climate change. In one of the studies, the Academies focused on elevating techniques that would make Americans more likely to participate in climate activism.

NASEM previously came under fire in August 2025 for publishing a climate review seeking to influence the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision on whether to rescind an Obama-era greenhouse gas finding. Critics suggested that NASEM was seeking to undermine the authority of the Trump administration.

Roger Pielke Jr., a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute specializing in science and technology policy, told Fox News Digital that in recent years, the National Academies has gone from acting under the direction of Congress to acting as an “independent actor” for the interests of billionaires and foundations.

Pielke said the National Academies received funding from the Bezos Earth Fund, a Jeff Bezos project created to address climate change. Through that support, the National Academies published a manual titled “Constructing Valid Geospatial Tools for Environmental Justice.” Pielke noted that the Bezos Earth Fund funds litigation centered on climate change and argued that “there is pretty strong evidence of a bias” in the Bezos Earth Fund.

“So I think issues about conflicts of interest and bias go well beyond just funding sources,” Pielke said. “They also extend to the groups researchers choose to partner with when conducting work that is supposed to be neutral and scientific.”

Fox News Digital reached out to NASEM for comment.

An illegal alien with a long criminal history remains on the run after he attempted to hit a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer with his vehicle in California as authorities were trying to arrest him, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Monday.

ICE was attempting to take Xa Lee, a fugitive and Laotian citizen, into custody on March 25 in Sacramento. Lee was driving when he was pulled over, according to DHS. 

LEAVITT CALLS ON CONGRESS TO END EASTER RECESS TO WORK ON DHS SHUTDOWN

During the vehicle stop, Lee attempted to flee and tried to strike an ICE officer with his car.

“The officer, thankfully, did not sustain injuries. During the incident, ICE officers deployed their tasers. He fled the scene and remains at large,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said. “This is just the latest in a disturbing trend of vehicle attacks.”

COLLEGE STUDENT’S ALLEGED MURDER BY ILLEGAL WENT EXACTLY AS DEMS ‘INTENDED,’ HOUSE SPEAKER SAYS

A federal immigration judge issued a deportation order for Lee in 2010. His criminal record includes convictions for vehicle theft, stolen property, conspiracy, petty theft, two DUIs, resisting an officer, battery, and felony possession of a firearm.

DHS noted that Lee’s evasion of arrest came amid a history of webinars by Democratic elected officials who advised undocumented immigrants on how to evade ICE and report encounters with federal immigration authorities. 

The agency cited California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Dan Goldman, both Democrats.

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All four politicians have repeatedly called for the Trump administration to halt its deportation campaign targeting criminal illegal immigrants. 

“DHS is once again calling on sanctuary politicians, agitators, and the media to turn the temperature down and stop calling for violence and resistance against ICE law enforcement,” the agency said.

DHS requests that if the public has any information about Lee’s whereabouts, contact the ICE tip line at 866-347-2423 or online.

Amid President Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown, one congressional Democrat is calling for reparations for foreign nationals who are affected.

“We are going to have some form of reparation for the kids and the families that have been traumatized through all of this,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said Friday during a congressional hearing, referring to illegal immigrants. “You talked about how there’s no support for people even once they’re released. We need to make sure that we are funding that kind of work to continue to provide relief.”

Jayapal, the former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), made the comments during the seventh installment of a hearing series titled “Kidnapped and Disappeared: Trump’s Attack on Children.”

The left-wing lawmaker said reparations for illegal immigrants affected by Trump’s crackdown efforts would be just one item in a series of reforms she would push Democrats to pursue if they retake House control in November. 

HOUSE DEM COMPARES TRUMP’S ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN TO ‘TERRORISM,’ VOWS TO ABOLISH ICE

Jayapal, who was born in India and became a U.S. citizen in 2000, also said she wants “offensive action” regarding those who are carrying out Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown. 

“We need real accountability, because at the end of the day, the people that have been inflicting this harm need to be prosecuted,” Jayapal said. “They need to be brought before us, and they need to be held to account for the trauma that they have created.”

A spokesperson for Jayapal did not respond to a Fox Digital inquiry about who specifically she wants to see prosecuted or who would be eligible for reparations.

Reparations refer to financial compensation for a specific group intended to address reputed economic harms. Many progressive Democrats have long advocated for reparations for the descendants of American slaves.

JAYAPAL DOUBLES DOWN ON ANTI-ICE TERROR CLAIMS AS DHS SHUTDOWN TRIGGERS HISTORIC TRAVEL CHAOS

Throughout the hearing, congressional Democrats repeatedly called attention to the children of deported illegal immigrants, while saying little about the victims of illegal immigrant crime.

The group of Democratic lawmakers did not discuss 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman, who was allegedly shot and killed by a Venezuelan national illegally living in the United States in Chicago earlier this month.

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Jayapal’s comments came during the record-breaking Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has continued to drag on with no end in sight.

She and nearly all House Democrats have refused to fund the department until the Trump administration agrees to various proposals that could rein in immigration enforcement.

“I have been clear since the start of the appropriations process: I will not vote to give Trump’s ICE or CBP another cent without major reforms,” Jayapal said Friday following her vote against a two-month DHS funding extension.

Though Democrats have been willing to fund the non-immigration parts of DHS, most Republicans have rejected that idea because it would effectively defund law enforcement.

Zeroing out appropriations for ICE and the Border Patrol would continue to force support staff employed by those agencies — have not received a full paycheck during the seven-week funding lapse — to keep working without pay.

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) slammed a California county for not honoring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests for two illegal aliens accused of murdering a 24-year-old mother earlier this month. 

Franquin Inestroza-Martinez, a Honduran national, and Gerzon Jose Chirinos-Munguia, also of Honduras, were arrested in Santa Clara County for allegedly killing Kembery Chirinos-Flores with a shotgun in early January. 

Chirinos-Munguia is the father of Chirinos-Flores’ 5-year-old son, and was previously arrested in 2018 for battery and false imprisonment, and subsequently in 2019 for domestic battery and threatening crime with the intent of terrorizing, DHS said.

He was released back into California without ICE being notified in both 2018 and 2019, according to DHS.

ANGEL MOM, GOP BLAME SPANBERGER AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WITH 30 ARRESTS CHARGED IN KILLING

“A man lost his life, and a child is now without a mother. These illegal aliens should have never been able to commit these horrific killings and must NEVER be released from jail into American communities,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Inestroza-Martinez, the alleged accomplice of the boy’s father, also had an outstanding arrest warrant from New Jersey for the homicide of a 55-year-old in March 2025, according to DHS.

DHS said he was deported from the U.S. in 2013, then again in 2018. He illegally re-entered the country at an unknown date and time before allegedly murdering both the man in New Jersey and Chirinos-Flores.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF FATAL HIT AND RUN THAT KILLED NORTH CAROLINA MOTORCYCLIST

DHS pointed to the California Value Act (CVA), a “sanctuary” law which prohibits local police from asking suspects about immigration status and limits cooperation between federal immigration agents and local authorities. 

“Instead of cooperating with ICE, Santa Clara sanctuary politicians REFUSED to honor ICE’s arrest detainer and will not notify ICE when these murderers are released from jail,” Bis added. “This insanity of refusing to turn cold-blooded killers over to ICE must end.”

The CVA was signed into law in 2017 in response to the immigration efforts of President Donald Trump during his first term.

DHS CALLS RAPE OF AUTISTIC TEEN ‘MOST HEINOUS WE’VE SEEN’ AS ICE DETAINER TESTS CALIFORNIA SANCTUARY LAWS

The Trump administration sued California over the law throughout 2017-18, though the suit was dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. The suit failed again during appeal and the Supreme Court declined to hear the case in 2020. 

CBS News reported that the child was not harmed in the incident and has since been placed in the custody of child protective services.

“Kembery was in the prime of her life. She was working two jobs, and she was the loving mother of a 5-year-old son,” Santa Clara Department of Public Safety Chief Dan Pistor said at a press briefing following the arrests.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Board President of Santa Clara County but did not receive a response. 

The Santa Clara County Board president did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston

FIRST ON FOX: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are continuing deportation operations despite a lapse in federal funding and being deployed to assist with massive airport security lines across the country, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told Fox News Digital.

According to the department, ICE officers continuing immigration enforcement operations nationwide arrested child predators, rapists, drug traffickers and a member of the violent Salvadoran MS-13 gang over the weekend.

This comes as ICE officers were seen assisting the understaffed Transportation Security Administration and airport staff at terminals across the country, including New York City, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Atlanta and New Orleans. On Sunday, Trump border czar Tom Homan told CBS News that ICE agents will “continue a nice presence” at airports until they “feel like they’re 100% … in a posture where they can do no normal operations.”

DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis addressed concerns that ICE would not be able to sustain its normal operations while assisting TSA by telling Fox News Digital that ICE “will continue arresting public safety threats from our communities and will not allow the Democrats to slow us down from making America safe again.”

LEAVITT CALLS ON CONGRESS TO END EASTER RECESS TO WORK ON DHS SHUTDOWN

Bis said that “over the weekend, ICE arrested more dangerous criminals, including an MS-13 gang member, child predators, rapists and drug traffickers.” 

In the New York City area, where ICE was seen at John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty airports, the agency arrested Pierre Bell, a criminal illegal from Jamaica, who was convicted of rape in the Bronx.

In Illinois, where dozens of ICE agents were seen assisting TSA at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, ICE agents arrested Miguel Benitez-Campos, from Mexico, who was convicted of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon in Cook County.

Two criminal illegal aliens were also arrested in Harris County, which is home to Houston, the largest city in Texas, where two airports experienced massive delays and saw a heavy ICE presence. ICE officers arrested Jose Santos Vigil-Mendez, from El Salvador, and Jorge Luis Carrera-Hernandez, from Mexico. Vigil-Mendez was convicted of deadly conduct, and Carrera-Hernandez was convicted of deadly conduct and possession of a controlled substance.

WATCH: DEMOCRATS TOLD AMERICANS TO FEAR ICE, HERE’S HOW AIRPORT TRAVELERS ACTUALLY FEEL

Meanwhile, in Alexandria, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C., ICE arrested Pedro Antonio Luna, from El Salvador, who was convicted of three counts of aggravated sexual battery of a victim under 13 years old and aggravated sexual battery by a family member of a child under 15 years old. This comes as nearby Fairfax County, Virginia, is embroiled in a scandal involving 19-year-old Salvadoran illegal alien Israel Flores Ortiz, who is accused of groping several minor girls at a high school he was attending.

DHS also shared that over the weekend it arrested six illegal aliens with serious criminal convictions in California.

ICE officers arrested Luis Calderon-Martinez, who, according to DHS, is a Salvadoran illegal alien and a member of the MS-13 gang. Calderon-Martinez has several felony convictions in New Jersey, Arizona and California, including conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine, carjacking, hit-and-run, property damage and driving under the influence.

In Fullerton and Santa Barbara, California, near Los Angeles, ICE also arrested Angel Navarro-Camarillo and Higinio Gonzalez Machorro, both from Mexico. Navarro-Camarillo is a registered sex offender and active gang member. He was convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years old. Gonzalez Machorro was convicted of rape by use of drugs.

Just north of San Francisco, ICE also arrested Alfredo Luna-Ruiz, also from Mexico, who is convicted of false imprisonment, domestic violence, providing a false ID to a peace officer and driving under the influence in Sonoma County, California. 

This comes as Homeland Security continues to undergo a lapse in funding due to disagreements in Congress about immigration enforcement operations. Democrats have made resumed funding for the department contingent on changes to ICE and Border Patrol’s enforcement tactics. 

AIRPORTS BEG FLIGHT PASSENGERS TO CHANGE THEIR TRAVEL HABITS AFTER DHS SHUTDOWN JAMS LINES

Bis told Fox News Digital that “Democrats must stop playing political games and reopen DHS now.” 

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She added that TSA “is extremely grateful to the patriotic men and women of ICE who have deployed to airports that are facing a high number of callouts because of the Democrats’ shutdown.” 

“At the direction of President Trump and the Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, TSA officers should begin seeing paychecks as early as today,” said Bis, adding, “Working without pay forced more than 500 officers to leave TSA and thousands were forced to call out. ICE will continue working with TSA for as long as the President determines necessary to ensure Americans are able to travel safely nationwide.”

Amid Democrats’ failed attempts to block President Donald Trump’s military action in Iran, some progressive lawmakers are turning their focus to another target.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., recently unveiled a resolution that would prevent Trump from participating in or assisting Israeli military operations in Lebanon absent congressional approval. 

The progressive lawmaker could force the House of Representatives to take up the measure when the chamber resumes session in mid-April. Progressive Reps. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., and Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., are co-sponsoring the measure. 

Tlaib’s resolution notably does not mention the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah, who joined the war against Israel after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei.

DEMOCRATS PRESSURE MIKE JOHNSON TO KEEP HOUSE IN WASHINGTON OVER ‘RAPIDLY DEVELOPING’ IRAN OPERATION

The Lebanon-based terror group has launched rocket attacks on Israel since the start of the Iran conflict, including a coordinated strike with Iran involving cluster munitions earlier in March.

Hezbollah’s attacks were met with Israeli counterstrikes and a major ground offensive by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in southern Lebanon, aimed at pushing the militant group out of range of Israeli communities.

The United States military has not joined the conflict.

“This ethnic cleansing campaign is only possible because of U.S. support, funded by our tax dollars,” Tlaib, the sole Palestinian-American serving in Congress,” said. “We must act now to stop these crimes against humanity and illegal invasion of Lebanon.”

A spokesperson for Tlaib did not respond to a Fox inquiry about whether she condemned Hezbollah and the Iran-backed group’s strikes on Israel. 

Tlaib’s war powers push comes after a bipartisan resolution targeting Trump’s military authority in Iran failed to pass the House earlier in March.

HOUSE VOTES TO LET TRUMP’S OPERATION EPIC FURY CONTINUE IN IRAN

Tlaib also rolled out a separate resolution that would order the Trump administration to call on Israel to end its military campaign in Lebanon and cut off all weapons transfers to Israel.

The measure similarly does not mention Hezbollah but accuses Israel of plotting “crimes against humanity and genocide” in Lebanon.

“[T]he United States is coauthoring this destruction through the weapons, intelligence, logistics, and diplomatic cover it provides the Israeli Government,” the resolution says in part.

Tlaib is a vocal critic of Israel and has previously faced scrutiny for possible ties to foreign terrorist entities.

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Israel severely weakened Hezbollah after the terror group repeatedly attacked the country in support of Hamas after the Oct. 7 attacks. However, the Iran-backed militia has still proven to be a threat in the current conflict.

Hezbollah rocket fire killed two Israelis in northern Israel earlier in March.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly removed multiple officers from a military promotion list — a decision that diverges from standard practice and is now under review at the White House, a U.S. official confirmed to Fox News Digital.

The list included candidates for dozens of senior roles, but four were removed after they had been approved by a promotions board. 

The U.S. official said the officers were not under investigation and were not facing misconduct allegations, and that no formal explanation for the decision was provided to military leadership.

PETE HEGSETH TOUTS HIGHER PHYSICAL STANDARDS FOR MILITARY, SAYS ‘SO BE IT’ IF IT EXCLUDES WOMEN

Fox News Digital has learned that Army Secretary Dan Driscoll initially declined to remove the officers from the promotion list before Hegseth ultimately intervened to strike their names. The disagreement caught the attention of the White House, an official said, which reviews the revised promotion list before it is sent to the Senate. 

Initial New York Times reporting and congressional criticism have focused in part on claims that some of the officers removed were women and minorities, prompting military officials to question whether they were singled out on account of race or gender — an assertion Pentagon officials have strongly disputed.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in response: “This story, like many others at the failing New York Times is full of fake news from anonymous sources who have no idea what they’re talking about and are far removed from actual decision-makers within the Pentagon.”

“Under Secretary Hegseth, military promotions are given to those who have earned them,” he went on. “Meritocracy, which reigns in this department, is apolitical and unbiased.” 

Pentagon chief of staff Ricky Buria added: “This is completely false. Whoever placed this made up story is clearly trying to sow division among our ranks and within the department and the administration. It’s not going to work, and it never will work when this department is led by clear-eyed, mission driven leaders unfazed by Washington gossip.”

The Pentagon has not publicly detailed the specific rationale behind the reported removals.

The reported move has drawn scrutiny on Capitol Hill, where senior military promotions require Senate confirmation. Individual lawmakers can delay or block nominations through procedural holds.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that if the reports are accurate, removing officers after a promotion board already has selected them based on merit and performance would be “outrageous” and potentially unlawful.

Military promotions to senior ranks typically are vetted through formal boards and approved as a group, with limited intervention at the individual level.

According to multiple reports, one of the officers removed from the list served in a logistics role during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, while another had previously authored academic work examining why minority service members are more likely to serve in support roles.

The U.S. official said those explanations had not been formally communicated as justification for the decision.

PETE HEGSETH SLASHES MILITARY ‘FAITH CODES’ FROM OVER 200 TO 31 IN PENTAGON CHAPLAIN CORPS OVERHAUL\

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said: “Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth have launched an unprecedented politicization of the military promotion process, most recently, reportedly blocking promotions for Black and female officers,” Wyden said.

Wyden on Wednesday placed holds on the promotions of Marine Lt. Col. Vincent Noble, Col. Thomas Siverts and Navy Lt. Cmdr. Thomas MacNeil, citing past wartime controversies and concerns about judgment.

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The White House could not immediately be reached for comment. 

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Rahm Emanuel is shrugging off the Democratic Party‘s identity debate and emphasizing that the showdown for the Democrats’ 2028 presidential nomination should be about ideas and not gender.

The former Chicago mayor and White House chief of staff to President Barack Obama is mulling a White House run of his own in 2028 in the race to succeed term-limited Republican President Donald Trump. But in a party that has made diversity one of its core tenets, Emanuel will have to face the question: will the Democratic Party elect a straight White male to represent it?

Emanuel told Fox News Digital on Monday that Democrats should be asking potential presidential contenders different questions entirely, such as: “Do you have the ideas of how to make sure the American Dream is alive and well, accessible and affordable to another generation?”

POTENTIAL 2028 DEMOCRATIC CONTENDER PROPOSES 75-YEAR-OLD MANDATORY RETIREMENT FOR POLITICIANS

In the wake of former Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeat to Trump in the 2024 election, former First Lady Michelle Obama made headlines late last year when she emphasized in a conversation posted on YouTube that the U.S. has “a lot of growing up to do” and that the nation is “not ready for a woman” as president.

And former President Joe Biden, in an interview last year on “The View,” argued that Harris lost to Trump because of sexism and racism.

Harris was the second female Democratic presidential nominee to come up short to Trump, following Hillary Clinton’s defeat in the 2016 election.

That’s got some in the Democratic Party suggesting that in order to recapture the White House in 2028, it might be better for the party to nominate a White male as their standard-bearer.

WHITE HOUSE RACE UNDERWAY: WITH 2026 LOOMING, BOTH PARTIES ARE ALREADY PLAYING FOR 2028

While Democrats take pride in their party’s diversity, an Axios article this past weekend, headlined “Some Dems’ 2028 strategy: a straight, White, Christian man,” included quotes from party operatives and strategists suggesting that parts of the American electorate are too biased to back a female or other diverse presidential candidate.

Emanuel disagrees.

“More important is the voters’ take. They’ll make a decision. And so to me, that’s the wrong thing. The question is, do you have the ideas that address the challenges that are facing America, regardless of who’s speaking it,” he said.

Emanuel spoke with Fox News and other news organizations after headlining “Politics and Eggs,” a speaking series at Saint Anselm College’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics that’s a must stop for White House hopefuls visiting the which for a century has held the first presidential primary in the White House race. And hours earlier, on Sunday evening, he was the main attraction at the latest “Stand Up New Hampshire” town hall hosted by top Democratic activists.

Emanuel has been crisscrossing the country in recent months, as he considers a presidential bid, including stops in two other crucial early primary states, Nevada and South Carolina, where he heads later this week.

He said he’ll become a presidential candidate “if I think I have what it takes to answer what I think is ailing the greatest country.”

Emanuel, who hails from the more moderate center-left wing of the party, emphasized that in order to win in 2028, Democrats need to “centralize and ground ourselves in middle class values, tough enforcement at the border, put more police on the beat, and get kids, guns and gangs off the street, and invest in education opportunities.”

“Get to the core of what they expect from us and don’t get caught up in some cultural cul-de-sac that leads nowhere,” he added.

As Democrats look for a fighter in 2028 to win back the White House, Emanuel is showing off his scrappy side.

“These are tough times that require a tough leader that knows how to do tough things and get them done on behalf of the American people. That’s the measure,” he told Fox News Digital.

And Emanuel also repeatedly took aim at Trump and his administration for their handling of the president’s efforts to acquire Greenland and the month-long strikes against Iran.

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“It’s a war of choice, and it’s a bad choice,” Emanuel said of Trump. “He could have gotten everything he wanted without going to war.”

And taking another shot, he said, “If they ever run a sequel to ‘Dumb and Dumber,’ I have recommendations for the lead roles, and there’s lots of competition in this administration.”

Vice President JD Vance has long been seen as the heir apparent to President Donald Trump and his MAGA and America First base. While Vance remains the hypothetical clear front-runner ahead of the start of the 2028 White House race, which won’t ignite until after this year’s midterm elections, Secretary of State Marco Rubio appears to be on the rise.

Thanks to an increase in his responsibilities and public profile, most recently around the U.S. operation in Venezuela and the month-long strikes against Iran, Rubio has seen his support for a possible presidential bid soar in recent weeks.

The latest example — Rubio’s strong second-place finish this weekend in the 2028 Republican presidential nomination straw poll at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

WHITE HOUSE RACE UNDERWAY: WITH 2026 LOOMING, BOTH PARTIES ARE ALREADY PLAYING FOR 2028

Rubio, who was one of more than a dozen Republican contenders who ran and lost to Trump in the tumultuous 2016 presidential race, grabbed 35% of the vote at CPAC when the straw poll results were announced this past weekend, up from a mere 3% a year earlier.

Vance, who is popular with MAGA and America First groups, saw his support slightly edge down to 53% from 61% last year. All the other potential Republican 2028 White House candidates scored in the low single digits in the informal survey of CPAC attendees.

HILLARY CLINTON’S RETURING TO NEW HAMPSHIRE – BUT NOT FOR 2028

The CPAC straw poll follows recent numbers from the Saint Anselm College Survey Center in New Hampshire, the state that has long held the first primary in the GOP presidential nominating calendar, that also showed Rubio surging. And a handful of national polls have also pointed to a rise in support for a hypothetical Rubio bid.

The results are fuel for intrigue over what some in the Republican Party see as a budding rivalry between Rubio and Vance, who describe each other as friends.

“His overall favorability is going up because voters see him as a capable and steady person in the president’s cabinet, and Trump supporters are reacting,” New Hampshire Institute of Politics Executive Director Neil Levesque, who oversees the Saint Anselm poll, told Fox News Digital.

Partially fueling Rubio’s rise is Trump, who has lavishly praised his secretary of state.

The president recently declared that Rubio would go down as “the greatest secretary of state in history.”

Trump has also promoted a Vance-Rubio ticket — calling it “unstoppable” a few months ago—but has not said who should be at the top of the ticket.

But the president did say last year that Vance is “most likely” his heir apparent. “In all fairness, he’s the vice president,” Trump added.

While Vance has demurred when questioned about 2028, he has built a political team of advisers who, if he runs as expected, would quickly build out a presidential campaign.

Rubio, who is crisscrossing the globe as part of job requirements, doesn’t have a similar group of political aides. And Rubio has said he’ll back Vance if the vice president launches a 2028 campaign.

“If JD Vance runs for president, he’s going to be our nominee, and I’ll be one of the first people to support him,” Rubio told Vanity Fair late last year.

Regardless, Republican sources confirm to Fox News that a group of GOP donors who support the secretary of state are quietly working on ways to boost Rubio’s political profile.

That’s not sitting well with some in the president’s political orbit.

“Vice President Vance is the future of the Republican Party and Marco Rubio is one of his closest friends in the administration,” an operative in Trump’s political orbit told Fox News.

“The divisive stories from some donors trying to cause chaos are not helpful,” the operative, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, emphasized.

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Vance has also weighed in, telling Fox News’ Martha MacCallum last month that “Marco is my closest friend in the administration.”

And the vice president, in his interview on Fox News’ “The Story,” added, “I think it’s so interesting the media wants to create this conflict where there just isn’t any conflict.”

President Donald Trump has spoken with the family of Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old college student who was allegedly murdered by an illegal immigrant in Chicago earlier this month, Fox News has learned.

A White House official confirmed to Fox News on Monday that Trump spoke with Gorman’s family, though did not immediately share details about the conversation the president had with her loved ones.

Gorman, a New York native who was attending Loyola University Chicago, was killed at around 1:06 a.m. on March 19 while with friends near a pier in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood.

Officials allege Jose Medina-Medina, 25, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, fired one shot at the student, killing her.

SLAIN DC INTERN’S MOM URGES SHERIDAN GORMAN’S FAMILY TO ‘FIGHT BACK’ AFTER OBITUARY OLIVE BRANCH

Medina-Medina was apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol on May 9, 2023, and was released into the U.S. under the Biden administration, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Gorman was reportedly only a few months away from completing her freshman year.

FATHER OF SLAIN 20-YEAR-OLD KILLED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ISSUES STARK WARNING AFTER SHERIDAN GORMAN KILLING

Her mother, Jessica Gorman, delivered emotional remarks Saturday at a vigil in Yorktown Heights, vowing a “fight for justice.”

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“I want to say this gently, but honestly, as a mom. I’m angry,” Jessica Gorman said. “I’m like completely heartbroken, and we are going to fight for justice for our sweet Sheridan, and we’re going to fight for change.”

Fox News Digital’s Sophia Compton and Adam Sabes contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of more than 20 state attorneys general is urging the Trump administration to expand state authority to combat drones, warning that current federal limits and legal uncertainty are allowing contraband to be flown into prisons with little ability for local officials to stop it.

“We have a situation where drones are being used to drop drugs, cellphones, weapons, razors, knives, whatever it may be behind the wire in a prison,” Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr told Fox News Digital. “It’s causing all kinds of problems.”

In a Friday letter to the White House’s Task Force to Restore American Airspace Sovereignty, Carr led a group of more than 20 state attorneys general from across the country asking for “carefully defined authority” for states to detect, monitor and mitigate unauthorized drones, including stopping them before contraband is delivered.

Airspace in the United States traditionally has been controlled by the federal government, leaving state and local officials with limited authority to respond to drones involved in illicit activity.

UNAUTHORIZED DRONES DETECTED OVER U.S. AIR FORCE BASE HOUSING NUCLEAR-CAPABLE B-52 BOMBERS: MILITARY

The task force was created by President Donald Trump to review drone threats and recommend changes to U.S. airspace policy.

In recent years, however, states and law enforcement groups have increasingly pushed for expanded authority, arguing that federal restrictions have left them able to detect drone threats but not stop them in real time.

Congress has started to respond, including through provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act that would allow trained state and local agencies to take limited counter-drone actions in certain circumstances, such as near prisons and critical infrastructure.

But those authorities remain restricted, and many state officials say they do not go far enough.

US MILITARY SHOT DOWN PARTY BALLOON NEAR EL PASO AFTER SUSPECTING DRONE, OFFICIAL SAYS

Carr said the limitations have created uncertainty for officials responding to drone activity over prisons.

“There is a lot of question as to whether federal law preempts state law,” he said. “It doesn’t say specifically what you’re allowed to do nor what you are prohibited from doing.”

The attorneys general argued in their letter that this lack of clarity has left correctional officials — who often are the first to detect drone activity —without the tools to intervene before contraband is delivered.

Georgia’s Department of Corrections averages around 58 drone incidents per month, but that figure is “just what we know and see,” Carr said. “That’s the problem.”

State officials recorded roughly 500 drone-related incidents over Georgia correctional facilities in 2025, according to Carr, resulting in the seizure of nearly 1,200 cellphones.

“We need to give corrections and law enforcement the tools they need to stop it before it becomes a mass casualty event.”

PENTAGON WATCHDOG WARNS DRONE INCURSIONS REQUIRE ‘IMMEDIATE ATTENTION’ AT US MILITARY BASES

The push from state attorneys general comes amid a broader effort by state and local officials to gain greater authority over drones, particularly as their use in criminal activity has increased.

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Law enforcement groups and corrections officials have in recent years urged Congress to expand counter-drone powers, arguing that while agencies can often detect unauthorized drones, they lack the legal authority to stop them.

“Detection without mitigation is not a viable strategy for public safety,” a group of 17 law enforcement groups wrote in a letter to Congress in August 2025. “Now is the time to act to provide law enforcement with the authority and tools necessary to meet this moment.”

“We commend Congress for supporting proposals that provide funding for drone detection and tracking systems. But without corresponding legal authority to mitigate threats, that funding cannot be fully leveraged to protect our people.”

The 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics, which will be hosted in Los Angeles, bring added urgency to the matter.

The White House could not immediately be reached for comment on the letter. 

FIRST ON FOX: The American Bar Association’s expected panelist from its council on law school accreditation ended up no-showing at a conservative Federalist Society event about the ABA’s “monopoly” on law school accreditation.

The Trump administration has accused the ABA of acting as a politicized gatekeeper, executive agencies have restricted their members from attending ABA events, and its diversity-related law school accreditation standards have been regarded as unlawful. Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi later escalated that effort by telling the ABA it would no longer receive special access to the judicial vetting process, which followed concerns its rating process for federal judicial nominees was biased as well. .

At the Thursday event, which was held across the street from where the ABA was holding its spring antitrust conference, America First Legal President Gene Hamilton suggested the ABA no-showed because the group’s position on the matter is “indefensible.” 

“I don’t know all the backstory. I mean, I’m just a moderator, but I think that there’s a certain amount – if I was a betting man – my suspicion is that the ABA’s status quo and their position and their involvement in the process is indefensible from the perspective of somebody who tries to present themselves as being an unbiased, uninterested party that is just simply involved in accrediting law schools,” said Hamilton.

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 “When they’re confronted with hard facts and evidence and data and actual experiences from real people, multiple people, not just one person, but multiple people, it doesn’t make for a great environment if you’re trying to maintain an image that does not match reality.”

The panelists at Thursday’s event pointed to what they described as concrete, firsthand clashes with the ABA and the legal institutions tied to it. First Assistant Attorney General of Texas, Brent Webster, for example, argued that the politicization of the legal establishment became real for him when the State Bar of Texas sought to strip him and Attorney General Ken Paxton of their law licenses over litigation Texas had filed after the 2020 election. 

Webster said that fight, which ended with the Texas Supreme Court vindicating him, helped expose to Texas officials how deeply bar institutions had been “radicalized” and contributed to the state’s decision to loosen the ABA’s hold over law-school approval. 

Meanwhile, David Dewhirst, Solicitor General for the State of Florida, made a parallel argument through the experience of St. Thomas University’s law school in Miami, which he said was left in prolonged uncertainty by the ABA over whether its Catholic identity could coexist with the ABA’s nondiscrimination standards, especially on sexual orientation and gender identity. 

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Together, those stories were presented as real-world examples of the broader complaint underscored at the Thursday event – that the ABA is no longer acting as a neutral professional body, but as an ideological gatekeeper with the power to shape who gets trained, licensed and recognized in the legal profession.

A representative from the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar said former Colorado Supreme Court Justice and Chair-elect of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Bar Admissions, Melissa Hart, was not even aware she had been listed as a panelist. They added that the invitation, sent to them on March 13, according to the Federalist Society, was “last-minute” and no one was available to attend, despite the Federalist society telling Fox News that their open invite to the ABA had been confirmed about a week after it was sent.

“From the perspective of the ABA, when they’re under significant pressure right now from both the federal administration, the states and a lot of people waking up to their shenanigans – it makes it a tough time to be in an environment that is a little bit more direct and blunt and to the point,” Hamilton added about the ABA’s absence at the event.

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At the event, Hamilton unveiled a new report from America First Legal, which showed ABA’s Standing Committee on Amicus Curiae Briefs, over the last decade, has produced 80% of left-leaning liberal arguments, 20% neutral and zero that are conservatively aligned. In all six cases, the ABA has filed amicus briefs involving Trump, the ABA went against the president or his allies.

“The ABA requires that amicus briefs be authorized by its board of governors and must be consistent with existing ABA policy or involve matters of ‘special significance to lawyers or the legal profession,'” a press release from AFL argued. “Briefs on birthright citizenship, transgender healthcare for minors and the Texas heartbeat law fall well outside that mandate,” AFL said in a press release announcing the new research.  

As artificial intelligence expands into classrooms, workplaces, and homes, a new coalition warns that risks to children and workers are growing faster than efforts to control the new technology.

The newly formed Alliance for a Better Future (ABF) is pushing for AI safeguards as Washington debates regulation.

“We know that we’ve got to decide, is this great new technology going to be something that propels kids into the future or something that causes harm to them?” ABF CEO Janet Kelly told Fox News Digital. 

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“We are on the side of families who want to make sure that it is done well and that it is good for kids, and we believe that that is possible,” Kelly added.

The group is launching as AI spreads quickly into everyday life with little oversight, even as Washington scrambles to catch up. Supporters warn the decisions being made now will shape whether the technology protects families or puts them at risk.

ABF debuted with a striking video featuring congressional testimony from parents whose children were harmed, some driven toward suicide, after interacting with AI chatbots. 

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Positioning itself as both pro-innovation and pro-family, ABF argues AI can deliver enormous benefits but only if developed responsibly. 

“We believe that it’s possible to make great AI with American values, not just Silicon Valley values,” said Kelly, a mother of three.

She added that policymakers must focus on the interests of children, workers and creators, not just the companies building the technology. 

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ABF plans to engage aggressively at both the federal and state levels, equipped with targeted ads and public education campaigns. The group expects to spend at least eight figures this year to elevate the voices of concerned parents and workers.

The organization builds on earlier battles over online child safety, bringing multiple groups under one umbrella. 

Its policy council is chaired by Dr. Brad Littlejohn of American Compass and includes representatives from the Family Policy Alliance, National Center on Sexual Exploitation, Institute for Family Studies, Heritage Foundation, and American Principles Project.