NationalWatch

The Trump administration designated an Ecuadorian gang as a “foreign terrorist organization” on Wednesday, extending its list of designated foreign terrorist groups in Latin America and the Caribbean to 21.

The State Department designated Los Tiguerones as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

According to the department, Los Tiguerones is an Ecuador-based gang linked to narcotrafficking and other illicit activity, along with several attacks targeting civilians, law enforcement officers and journalists, including the live takeover of an Ecuadorian TV station in 2024.

“The Trump administration will continue to use all available tools to protect our nation by keeping illicit drugs off our streets and disrupting the revenue streams funding violent narcoterrorists,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

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“Today’s action taken by the State Department further demonstrates that the Trump administration continues to deliver on its promises to the American people to dismantle cartels and narcoterrorist networks in our region, ensuring the safety of the American people,” he added.

The announcement came during Rubio’s diplomatic tour to South America, where he made stops in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to address U.S. efforts to combat drug trafficking in Latin America.

The label was previously reserved for terrorist groups such as ISIS and al-Qaida that use violence for political ambitions and not for financially motivated crime organizations like the ones in Latin America and the Caribbean that have recently been added to the list.

But the administration wants to increase pressure on the crime rings and anyone believed to be assisting them.

The government began using the strategy in February 2025, and it served as a pretext for the U.S. capture of then-Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro earlier this year, as well as dozens of deadly attacks on boats allegedly involved in narcotics trafficking.

The strategy also prompted Latin American countries, including Guatemala and Argentina, to take similar action against certain groups and led Ecuador to launch joint operations on its own soil.

Rubio said terrorist designations “expose and isolate entities and individuals, denying them access to the U.S. financial system and the resources they need to carry out attacks.” He also said designations can assist law enforcement actions of other U.S. agencies and governments.

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Mexico has the most groups of any country on the U.S. list for designated foreign terrorist organizations with eight. The Mexican government is under intense pressure from the U.S. to prevent President Donald Trump from taking unilateral action against cartels in Mexico.

Trump’s approach has also featured contradictions, as he pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was sentenced to 45 years in prison for drug trafficking and accused during his trial of protecting the Sinaloa Cartel. Hernández has since returned to his country.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s proposal to send $5,000 checks to American adults if Republicans win both chambers of Congress is forcing Republicans to debate an idea more commonly associated with the Democratic side of the aisle: sending direct government payments to voters.

Called a “socialist vote-buying scheme” by former GOP Rep. Bob Good of Virginia, the so-called Trump Dividend would only be handed down if Republicans keep the House and Senate in November, the president announced at the party’s midterm convention in Dallas.

Good warned that the checks would add to the national debt, which has topped $40 trillion.

The plan could cost more than $1.2 trillion, based on estimates of roughly 240 million eligible adults. The president cannot direct the Treasury to issue the checks without a law providing that authority, so Congress would need to authorize the spending plan.

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“If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them … I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000,” Trump said during his keynote address Wednesday night.

He compared the payment to a cash distribution from a successful company to its shareholders and said the money would have to be spent domestically. 

“The only caveat I have is that the dividend that we’re making must be spent in the United States of America,” Trump said. “We don’t want you going to Canada to spend the money.”

“If you keep us in power and allow us to continue to do these things, then you’re going to share in some of the benefit of this incredible wealth that we’re creating in the United States of America,” Vice President JD Vance said after Trump unveiled his new idea.

Conservative commentator Matt Walsh called the plan “flagrant bribery” and said Republicans could help working Americans by allowing them to keep more of their own money through tax cuts.

“Holding it as a carrot on the stick for after the election is just shameless,” Walsh wrote.

Vance and Trump both pointed to tariff revenue as a potential funding source for the payments, and questions emerged over where the money would come from to fund the dividends.

“The reason the Democrats can’t do that is because they don’t do tariffs. They don’t take in money. All they know is poverty,” Trump said Wednesday night.

Treasury data show the federal government collected about $154.4 billion in customs duties from Oct. 1, 2025, through July 31, 2026, which would cover roughly 13% of the estimated $1.2 trillion cost of sending $5,000 checks to about 240 million adults.

The administration has not provided an income threshold for the proposed middle-class payments or explained how much tariff revenue would be dedicated to the program. The remaining cost would have to be covered through other federal revenue, spending reductions or additional borrowing.

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Vance also suggested in an interview after the president’s speech Wednesday that the proposal could be limited to middle-class Americans rather than every adult citizen, potentially lowering the cost.

The VP defended the idea as “fundamentally a dividend for American workers,” arguing that tariffs have generated revenue from foreign companies and countries that have taken advantage of American workers.

The proposal’s funding and eligibility questions have fueled criticism from fiscal conservatives, who say the plan would create a new government benefit while adding to the national debt.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said the estimated $1.2 trillion cost of the dividend proposal could instead be used to eliminate taxes for married parents with dependents earning up to $200,000.

“Or maybe some of us think dependency is evil & soul-sucking in all its forms,” Roy wrote in a follow-up post.

That criticism from Republicans reflects a broader conservative argument that tax cuts are preferable to direct payments because they reduce the government’s role rather than create a new reason for Americans to rely on it.

James Fishback, a former Florida gubernatorial candidate who previously proposed a $5,000 DOGE dividend, said his plan would have returned savings generated by spending cuts. Meanwhile, he argued Trump’s proposal would add to the debt without a comparable reduction in government spending.

Investor Joe Lonsdale called the idea “bread and circus bribes.” Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson urged Republican leaders to reject it and focus on reducing the debt.

Other Republicans and Trump allies are moving in the opposite direction.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said he would prepare legislation to pass the dividend after the election, while Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., asked voters how they would spend their $5,000.

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The reactions show a Republican Party split between treating tariff revenue as money to return to Americans and preserving the party’s traditional emphasis on lower taxes, limited spending and less government dependence.

FIRST ON FOX: Roy Cooper, the former North Carolina governor and a Democratic candidate for the Senate, believes his party should incorporate a big-tent approach to an emerging wave of socialist candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

When asked if he would sign the Promise to America, a repudiation of socialist stances put out by moderate Democrats, Cooper said he wouldn’t.

“I don’t see any need to,” Cooper said in video footage obtained by Fox News Digital.

“I think the party needs a wide spectrum, particularly at a time when the Republican Party is shrinking and having all kinds of loyalty tests. I think we need to have all kinds of folks to be a part of our party.”

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Cooper’s comment comes as he wages a bid to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and win over a historically Republican-leaning state. It also raises questions of whether moderate Democrats believe their platforms can coexist with the aims of the DSA.

The DSA espouses positions like abolishing the U.S. Senate, establishing public ownership of corporations and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to its website.

The group paints a picture of what those policies could look like in practice on its website.

“You have no debt. You don’t need health insurance. You don’t pay a mortgage or have a landlord, because comfortable housing is a human right. Your retirement is publicly funded. Food, education, energy, medicine and transportation aren’t for-profit businesses; they are common goods and utilities,” the group states.

Cooper is not affiliated with or backed by the DSA and has pitched himself as a candidate with an ability to reach across the aisle. His campaign has highlighted his ability to work with a Republican-controlled legislature during his tenure as governor from 2017 to 2025.

In his own words, Cooper has pushed back on questions about being tied to the DSA.

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“For the record, no,” he told The New York Times about whether he was a communist. “I have a record of working across the aisle. The people of North Carolina know that I can be a senator that puts them first. Before power, before party, before politics. I feel confident that, at the end of the day, they’ll send me to Washington.”

When asked if Cooper’s platform is at odds with the DSA’s views, Cooper’s campaign declined to comment, noting that his commitments are reserved for his constituents.

“The only pledge Roy makes is to the people of North Carolina. Roy is not a socialist, and he will work with anyone, including Republicans, as he has done his entire career to lower costs for hardworking families and fight for North Carolina,” his campaign told Fox News Digital.

Some Republicans are skeptical of that reasoning.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, believes moderates are afraid to challenge their progressive flank as candidates championing the far left have surged in the 2026 midterm primaries.

“That dynamic is dangerous right now because they are terrified of the extreme left. Finding a middle ground on ideological issues right now is … the prospects for success, particularly between now and election day, are not high,” Cruz said at an energy summit hosted by Club for Growth and Arnold Ventures Thursday.

“Schumer is truly terrified right now,” he added, referring to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

In the video interview, Cooper said he believes the party will only weaken itself in its resistance to the administration if it doesn’t band together.

TRAFFIC DRAMA THREATENS TO END DEM GOVERNOR’S TENURE AS VOTERS HEAD TO POLLS IN RHODE ISLAND

“Particularly now when we’re in such difficult straits, and we’re in a foxhole right now. We’ve all got to be together to take our government back,” Cooper said.

“We could fall to the autocracy anytime we don’t stick together. So, I don’t see the need signing something.”

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Having secured the Democratic nomination, Cooper now heads to the Nov. 3 general election, where he faces Republican nominee Michael Whatley, the former chair of the Republican National Committee.

A socialist “Never Trumpers” protester blamed “conservative provocateurs” for a tense confrontation with police that resulted in multiple arrests just outside the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention in Dallas.

Videos posted on social media Thursday afternoon showed what appeared to be hundreds of Never Trumpers confronting Dallas police just blocks from where the president was set to deliver his convention-closing speech. Authorities responded with a strong show of force that included officers in apparent riot gear.

The Dallas Police Department confirmed with Fox News Digital that two protesters were arrested on charges related to their actions during the protest. The department said that officers assigned to the area arrested the two protesters after it said they “assaulted a counter-protester” and “obstructed a road.”

The department said the suspects’ names and specific charges will be released after they are booked into jail.

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Fox News Digital spoke with a protester named Rick Majumdar, who was wearing a shirt with the initials for the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), which, according to its website, is a “national organization of revolutionaries fighting for socialism in the United States.”

Majumdar said that the protest was organized by the Dallas Against the Trump Agenda Coalition, which, he said, consists of 16 “faith-based organizations, pro-immigrants’ rights groups and labor organizations.”

“We’re here to protest the Republican agenda, the Trump agenda and all its policies that it has enacted over the last few years,” he explained. “The march is an important event, we feel, against this convention that’s happening for the last two days.”

REPUBLICANS HEAD TO DALLAS WITH ONE MISSION: DEFY HISTORY AND WIN BIG

He said that, during the group’s march, “we encountered some street closures by the police” and that officers arrested a couple of protesters who “were at the front of the group.”

Pressed on why the protesters were arrested, Majumdar said, “Those people were trying to draw people away from rioting provocateurs, and I think the police heard something. And they immediately tackled two of them and arrested them, and some of them even pulled out their guns as well.”

The protest came amid heightened concerns over political violence and the targeting of public figures. It also coincided with the first anniversary of the assassination of conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk.

CHARLIE KIRK CONTINUES TO INSPIRE REPUBLICANS AS PARTY RALLIES FOR MIDTERM BATTLE: ‘HAVE COURAGE’

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Majumdar did not answer whether the protesters blocked any roads but said the confrontation occurred at the “closest entry point” to the convention.

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Asked whether he had any message directly for President Donald Trump, Majumdar paused, smiled and said, “Thank you.”

After publication, Freedom Road Socialist Organization shared an additional statement from Majumdar in response to Fox News Digital’s question on his direct message to Trump. 

The statement said that “today the people of Dallas marched on a near empty RNC, in fact, the people made their decision to stand against the billionaires class— the same class that supports the Republican Agenda, and we are empowering people to find their home in our organization.” 

FIRST ON FOX: Vice President JD Vance argued Thursday that Democrats have moved so far to the left that they no longer resemble the party of past Democratic presidents, branding the modern Democratic Party the “party of hatred” in a fiery convention address first obtained by Fox News Digital.

“They’re not the party of FDR or JFK. Hell, they’re not even the party of Bill Clinton anymore,” Vance said. “The Democrats are the party of hatred. They’re the party that despises America and the people who built it.”

Vance used the closing night of the Republican convention to build that charge across a series of cultural and economic flashpoints, pointing to a Democratic candidate’s attack on the nuclear family, his own clash with Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and what he cast as a broader Democratic message telling American children “who they ought to hate.”

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The vice president contrasted that portrait with what he called Americans’ “birthright” — the opportunity to build a family, own a home, find meaningful work and pass a better country to their children — while honoring his late friend Charlie Kirk one year after his assassination.

On the anniversary of Turning Point USA’s co-founder Charlie Kirk’s death, Vance honored his friend.

“I was elected Vice President of the United States one year ago today, on September the 10th of last year, that good friend was taken from us when Charlie was assassinated. Now, Charlie left behind two children, two little kids. They were too young to fully understand,” said Vance.

Vance recalled Kirk’s message to young men that few callings are greater than falling in love, starting a family and becoming a father — words that have taken on new meaning for the vice president since he and Second Lady Usha Vance welcomed their son Alec in July.

He used Kirk’s legacy to transition into touting what he called Americans’ “birthright” exceptionalism.

“I believe the Founders built this nation on a promise that echoes our Creator: That every American child is born an heir, born with a birthright,” said Vance. “Born with the right to inherit the blessings of this country. Not because of who their parents are. Not because of what they look like or where they come from. But because they are Americans.”

Vance used the opportunity to outline his vision for rebuilding the nuclear family, while taking shots at Democrats.

“I think about what the Democrats have said about our shared birthright as Americans, or frankly, the lack thereof in Michigan. One Democrat in particular, one candidate has said, and I quote ‘f the nuclear family.’ What are you even talking about?” said Vance.

“They come not from a desire to serve you or our fellow Americans, but they come from a very deep emptiness in the soul,” he added.

CROWD ERUPTS AS VANCE SMACKS DOWN PROTESTER WAVING MEXICAN FLAG: ‘GET YOUR A– OVER THERE’

A protester emerged carrying Mexican and Palestinian flags, prompting Vance to respond, “What the people at home missed is that we just had a protestor interrupting us and waving the Mexican flag.”

“Well. Well, my friend, if you love Mexico so much, get your ass over there. I’ll buy you the plane ticket,” the vice president said.

Vance said the protester should have been waving the American flag, adding that it is a symbol of the fight for the American dream.

“This fall, the Democrats are running candidates who will tell your children what they’re allowed to say, how they’re allowed to live, and importantly, who they ought to hate. Because that’s what the Democrat Party is about in 2026. It’s not about you, it’s about foreign fraudsters, and it’s about who they hate,” said Vance. 

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Vance spoke about the economy former President Joe Biden left, pointing to housing costs and Americans competing against illegal immigrants in the job market.

“Our nation became a place where you had to be rich to enjoy what used to be the birthright of every ordinary middle-class life,” he said. 

Vance touted his wins from leading the White House Task Force on fraud and calling out Democrats for “refus[ing] to prosecute the crime.”

He said the task force has found $250 billion of fraud just since he was appointed fraud czar.

Vance took aim at Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, with whom he has sparred in recent weeks after El-Sayed made comments about the second family.

“He saw me describing what a decent man and my papa was genuinely a decent and good man. He saw me talking about my papa and his work and his history and what he loved and what he cared about. And you know what old Abdul did? He asked mockingly whether I’d be willing to bring Usha back in time to meet Papa,” Vance resurfaced. 

Vance said El-Sayed saw “the color of his skin, sees his background, and decides that he could never have loved my wife.”

“Abdul himself was raised by his own white step-grandparents. He knows exactly that kind of bond and what it looks like in a family, and he chose any way to say that a man like my grandfather couldn’t have love from the bottom of his heart,” Vance added.

Vice President JD Vance blasted a heckler waving foreign flags and yelling at him from the GOP convention floor during his primetime keynote address Thursday night.

The rabble-rouser emerged from the crowd waving Mexican and Palestinian flags, catching Vance’s eye as he delivered his rallying cry to thousands of GOP voters at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The incident wasn’t captured by the convention’s official television feed, but Vance described it for viewers at home.

“What the people at home missed is that we just had a protester interrupting us and waving the Mexican flag.,” he said. “Well, my friend, if you love Mexico so much, get your a– over there. I’ll buy you the plane ticket.”

JD VANCE TO INVOKE CHARLIE KIRK, FAMILY ‘BIRTHRIGHT’ IN FIERY MIDTERM KEYNOTE SPEECH THRASHING DEMS

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The crowd erupted into chants of “USA! USA! USA!” as the troublemaker was escorted out of the event.

Vance delivered a deeply nationalistic keynote focused on America First principles.

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“I believe the Founders built this nation on a promise that echoes our Creator: That every American child is born an heir, born with a birthright,” said Vance. “Born with the right to inherit the blessings of this country. Not because of who their parents are. Not because of what they look like or where they come from. But because they are Americans.”

Throughout his speech, event attendees interrupted with a chorus of “JD! JD! JD!” chants, and the roared as finished and departed the stage. 

DALLAS — As Republicans huddle for a last show of unity before the home stretch of the midterm elections, a top Senate Republican revealed what his Democratic colleagues are predicting about the future of their party.

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told Fox News Digital that in private, his colleagues across the aisle are wringing their hands over the insurgent progressive wave that has fast become the standard-bearer of the Democratic Party during this election cycle.

“It’s surprising how the energy of the Democrat Party has moved to the far, far left,” Barrasso said during an interview at the Republican National Committee midterm convention.

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“Those are the people that are driving the party. And the concern that I have, talking to other colleagues in the Senate, who they’ll say that is the future of their party,” he continued.

Republicans are trying to fight against history and anxious voters feeling the crunch on their wallets, and as the war in Iran continues to sputter on without a clear end in sight.

The convention in Dallas is meant to hammer home that while President Donald Trump’s name isn’t on the ballot, his agenda, and the incumbents and fresh candidates that could execute it, are.

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While that push to energize Trump’s base to hit the polls in November ensues, key races across the Senate map have seen progressive and far-left candidates emerge as the standard-bearers for the party during this cycle.

Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, James Talarico in Texas and Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota all bucked expectations, and the Democratic old guard in Washington, D.C., including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to earned the nomination in their respective races.

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El-Sayed and Talarico, in particular, have been targeted heavily during the convention, which Trump declared was, in part, dedicated to ensuring Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton would win out and prevent the Lone Star State from turning a shade of purple.

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“And we cannot allow that to become the future of our country,” Barrasso said. “So that’s, to me, the reason that we need to win all of these races, why it’s so critical, is that these people that are winning the Democrat primaries, I believe, would be terrible for our nation.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

DALLAS, Texas — The 30-minute U.S. military operation that removed Nicolás Maduro from power has helped clear the way for a sweeping expansion of Venezuela’s battered energy sector, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said, sharing that the country’s national energy production will more than double by the end of 2027.

“Chevron is going to more than double their energy production. In fact, that national energy production in Venezuela will more than double by the end of next year from the intervention on Jan. 3 this year,” Wright told Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the RNC Midterm Convention.

Wright said the military actions in Venezuela helped open the door for a major increase in oil production as the administration has increasingly taken an active role in the socialist country as part of a broader push to expand U.S. influence and investment.

U.S. forces entered Venezuela for Operation Absolute Resolve Jan. 3, capturing Maduro and his wife Flores. War Secretary Pete Hegseth said the attack was part of “massive joint military and law enforcement raid” and lasted less than 30 minutes.

TRUMP TOUTS ACCESS TO 65 BILLION BARRELS OF VENEZUELAN OIL IN DEAL HE SAYS WILL SLASH GAS PRICES

“You had 25 years of communist dictatorship. The standard of living has just plummeted in Venezuela. Eight million Venezuelans fled. About a million of them, and not all of them good actors, came to the United States of America. People tried to beg, borrow, bribe, anything they could to change the Venezuelan government. No luck,” Wright said. 

“President Trump is an out-of-the-box, bold foreign policy leader.

“A brief military operation, arrest two criminals and now we have leverage over the government. It’s an existing government. Are they perfect? No. But we have a lot of leverage.”

Chevron scored an investment of more than $7 billion over five years and more than double its Venezuelan oil production to 600,000 barrels per day, according to its press release.

Venezuela controls more than 300 billion barrels of crude reserves, roughly 20% of the world’s total. Despite holding an estimated 17% of the world’s oil reserves, Venezuela produces only about 1% of global output after years of political instability and deteriorating infrastructure undermined its energy industry.

TOP ENERGY TRADER HAILS TRUMP’S VENEZUELA OIL DEAL AS A ‘GENERATIONAL WIN’ FOR GAS PRICES

Wright said shifting the center of global energy production toward the Western Hemisphere will put the U.S. at the center and major producers, including Canada, Guyana and Mexico supplying more of the world’s oil and gas.

Millions of barrels of new Venezuelan production would be processed through U.S. refineries and produced using American rigs and infrastructure, creating thousands of American jobs, according to the White House.

STATE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES ‘TOTAL COMPLIANCE’ FROM VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT IN RELIEF EFFORTS AFTER MADURO ARREST

The administration’s emerging approach to Venezuela could use U.S. leverage with energy investment to prompt political change.

That deal comes with added importance as the war with Iran disrupts oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. The average U.S. price for regular gasoline rose to about $4.22 a gallon Wednesday, according to AAA, up from roughly $3.19 a year earlier.

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“We’re solving a 47-year conflict with Iran. We cannot have a nuclear-armed Iran. This is a nation sounding death to America and doing everything they can to implement it. But we’ve massively grown United States natural gas exports, good for our economy, good for the world economy,” Wright said.

A Trump administration policy to detain migrants on bond without a chance for release harkens back to the mass detention of Japanese Americans during World War II, a federal court said Thursday.

In a 2-1 decision, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the administration’s mass detention policy, a major part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

“Mass detention of marginalized individuals without due process harkens back to some of the darkest moments in our country’s history,” the court wrote.

BIDEN JUDGE OVERRULED ON KEY TRUMP IMMIGRATION POLICY

Nine federal appeals courts have now separately ruled that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) new mandatory detention policy is illegal, concluding it could apply to recent arrivals at or near the border but not to migrants determined to be living elsewhere within the country.

Two other appeals courts have upheld it, meaning the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to take up the case in its upcoming term.

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Immigrant rights groups say basic due process is being violated when longtime residents are denied bond hearings during removal proceedings.

“The courts have resoundingly rejected the administration’s cruel policy and its blatant disrespect for the rule of law,” said My Khanh Ngo, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. “We are thrilled for our clients and their families.”

Mass arrests of suspected illegal immigrants during President Donald Trump’s second term have prompted widespread protests, particularly in Democratic-led cities like Chicago. In July 2025, the administration announced it would detain every migrant found anywhere in the U.S. whom ICE determines was not granted permission to enter.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the agency was disappointed with Thursday’s decision but said it recently sought a Supreme Court review of a similar decision from the 6th Circuit.

FEDERAL JUDGE IN NEW YORK TIES TRUMP ADMIN HANDS ON ARRESTS AT IMMIGRATION COURTS

“Opinions from the Board of Immigration Appeals and two other federal courts of appeals reflect the soundness of DHS’ legal position,” the spokesperson said. “This legal position was the nail in the coffin for Biden’s catch and release policies. That is why the left and their activist proxies on the judiciary are resisting it so vigorously.

“President Trump and Secretary Mullin are now enforcing the law as it was actually written to keep America safe,” the spokesperson added. “As our record in the U.S. Supreme Court demonstrates, the law is on our side.”

Writing for the majority, 4th Circuit Judge Nicole Berner invoked the mass internment of Japanese Americans during World War II as a warning against sweeping executive detention authority without due process.

“The stain of these detentions on our nation — and the judiciary’s abdication of its obligation to protect basic freedoms — continues to haunt us,” Berner wrote.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and ICE.

Joseph diGenova has resigned from his Justice Department role investigating the alleged “Grand Conspiracy” surrounding the Trump-Russia investigations, according to two sources familiar with the matter. 

Fox News has learned diGenova had lost the confidence of both the Justice Department and the White House. According to sources familiar with the matter, he had been effectively sidelined well before his departure.

His resignation comes after months in which his role had diminished internally, ending his involvement in the investigation amid questions about his standing within both the administration and DOJ leadership.

ABC News first reported his resignation. 

This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.

The Trump administration on Wednesday blasted the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law for allegedly favoring Black applicants while discriminating against Asian and White students, marking its latest federal action targeting race-conscious admissions policies at universities.

The Department of Justice (DOJ), along with the Department of Education, found Berkeley Law in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits racial discrimination in programs and activities receiving federal funds.

“The data produced by Berkeley Law demonstrates a strong bias against Asian and White applicants, with a corresponding bias in favor of Black applicants,” the DOJ said.

The findings came after officials launched a compliance review of Berkeley Law in March 2025, roughly two years after the Supreme Court struck a major blow to affirmative action programs many universities used in admissions for decades. California had already banned affirmative action in public education under Proposition 209, enacted in 1996.

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According to the DOJ’s analysis, Black applicants in 2025 had “5.8 times higher odds of admission than comparable white applicants.”

An analysis of LSAT scores for admitted students in 2024 and 2025 found that 37% of Black admitted applicants scored below 99% of admitted White applicants.

In addition, half of the school’s admitted Black applicants had LSAT scores “below 95% of the admitted white applicants.”

According to figures cited by the DOJ, median LSAT scores from 2021 through 2025 showed a persistent disparity between racial groups, with Black admits scoring around 165. Asian and White admits scored around 172, while Hispanic admits had median scores around 169.

“The median Black admit consistently has an LSAT score about 5 points lower than the median white or Asian admits,” the department said in a letter to attorney Tania Faransso, who is representing the law school.

DOJ OPENS PROBE INTO PRESTIGIOUS COLLEGE OVER ALLEGED DISCRIMINATION FAVORING MINORITY STUDENTS

As of October 2025, Berkeley Law had 1,128 students enrolled. Of those, 516 were White, 293 were Asian, 51 were Black and 130 were Hispanic.

In a statement to Fox News, Berkeley Law firmly rejected the allegations, saying its admissions decisions comply with federal law and Proposition 209.

However, the school noted that the laws still allow institutions to build diverse student bodies by considering race-neutral factors, which can include socioeconomic status and personal experiences.

“Our admissions policy is clear that race is not considered in any way in admissions decisions,” the school said. “Proposition 209, federal statutes and the Supreme Court’s decisions do not preclude schools from pursuing diversity so long as they give no preferences based on race. Berkeley Law does not do so.”

UC Berkeley’s central administration also said the school is “committed to ensuring that every student is admitted based on their merit, and not on their race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin.”

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“UC Berkeley will spare no effort to provide ample evidence showing that the university complies with all relevant laws, policies and rules governing admissions,” the school said.

President Donald Trump signed legislation Thursday authorizing the future National Medal of Honor Monument to be located within the Reserve of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., near the Lincoln Memorial, during a ceremony honoring Medal of Honor recipients in Arlington, Texas.

Trump signed the Hershel “Woody” Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act at the National Medal of Honor Museum after touring the museum and meeting more than a dozen recipients.

The legislation does not create the monument itself, which Congress previously authorized in 2021. Instead, it allows the future monument to be located within the Reserve, a protected area of the National Mall that includes some of Washington’s most prominent monuments and memorials.

EXCLUSIVE: NEW AMERICA 250 MONUMENT LETS FAMILIES FIND MILITARY RELATIVES IN SECONDS: ‘I HAD TEARS IN MY EYES’

Trump greeted and shook hands with recipients before taking the stage for the signing ceremony.

“We’re privileged to have with us 15 of the 65 living recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor,” Trump told the audience.

“When I see the recipients of the Congressional Medal, those that are living, many are dead. They died. And, they died in battle. Some of the battles are I read inscriptions of what took place. That level of bravery is incredible,” Trump said.

The act is named for Williams, a Marine who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Iwo Jima and was the last surviving World War II Medal of Honor recipient when he died in 2022.

HEGSETH UPGRADES ABBEY GATE MARINES’ VALOR AWARDS AFTER 5-YEAR DELAY: ‘THOSE DAYS ARE OVER’

Trump recounted Williams’ heroism before recognizing members of his family who attended the ceremony.

“In the Battle of Iwo Jima, he carved a path to American victory, literally carved a path, so soldiers could get in and win through a deadly gantlet of enemy strongholds,” Trump said.

“And back and forth, he went. He just kept going back and forth,” Trump continued. “And one machine gun nest after another. He knocked [them] out, and he did it for hours and hours. People said they’ve never seen anything quite like it.”

National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation Chairman Charlotte Jones said 16 of the nation’s 65 living Medal of Honor recipients were present at the museum Thursday.

SIX AMERICAN HEROES EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW THIS MEMORIAL DAY, FROM DELTA FORCE TO A WWII BOMBER CREW

“This is not a war museum. This is a museum about heart, about courage, about sacrifice and patriotism,” Jones said.

The museum foundation said the effort to create and locate the monument has received eight votes in Congress over six years, all unanimously. The location act itself also passed both chambers without opposition, according to the foundation.

Jones said that bipartisan support reflected the significance of the Medal of Honor and the values associated with it.

“That is the inspirational power of the Medal of Honor,” Jones said. “And that is why this project matters.”

‘BLACK HAWK DOWN’ SNIPER SHINES LIGHT ON BRUTAL REALITY OF VIOLENT COMBAT

The future monument will be located near the Lincoln Memorial, though its precise site has not yet been selected. The National Park Service will award the specific site, after which the foundation said it will launch a design competition.

No federal funds will be used to construct the monument, according to the foundation, which will raise the money needed for the project.

Trump also reflected on the sacrifices represented by the recipients gathered for Thursday’s ceremony.

9/11 MUSEUM TO OFFER FREE ADMISSION FOR VETERANS AHEAD OF MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

“People like this, they stood tall when their country needed heroes,” Trump said.

“They carried the wounded out of battle and on their own backs and carried them back and forth,” he continued. “They gave their bodies the shields for their brothers at arms. They stood in the way of bullets, purposely standing just like this and taking bullets. And it’s amazing. These are amazing.”

Trump said the future monument, together with the museum, would provide a permanent way to preserve those stories.

FIRST ON FOX: BEHIND THE SCENES OF ARLINGTON’S MEMORIAL DAY TRIBUTE FOR AMERICA’S 250TH BIRTHDAY

“With this museum and a new monument in Washington, D.C., America will never, ever forget what they did and what they risked and how much they risked, what they meant to their families and what they’ve meant to our country,” Trump said.

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The White House told Fox News Digital that the signing was intended to recognize the recipients’ service and sacrifice.

“Medal of Honor recipients represent the very best of America. President Trump honored their courage today, and a new monument will ensure the nation never forgets their valor and sacrifice,” White House spokeswoman Liz Huston said.

An illegal immigrant from El Salvador was returned to his home country this week after the Department of Homeland Security took him into custody in sanctuary Fairfax County, Virginia, where he had just served an abbreviated jail sentence, and deported him.

The case is only the latest in a string of controversies involving illegal immigrants plaguing the Democrat-led county adjacent to Washington, D.C., where sanctuary policies run up against the Trump administration’s heavy-handed approach to removing people who do not belong in the U.S.

“This groper is gone,” an ICE spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ISRAEL FLORES ORTIZ GETS 360 DAYS FOR GROPING GIRLS AT FAIRFAX COUNTY VA. HIGH SCHOOL

“Israel Flores-Ortiz, an illegal alien who groped multiple high school girls in Fairfax County, VA, was deported to El Salvador yesterday. DHS will never stop fighting to remove sickos like Flores-Ortiz, and make America safe again.”

Flores-Ortiz was facing a lengthy jail sentence after being arrested for touching the private parts of nine schoolgirls earlier this year.

GUATEMALAN MAN CHARGED WITH CHILD PORN POSSESSION RELEASED BY FAIRFAX COUNTY DESPITE ICE DETAINER, DHS SAYS

He had been released into the nation’s interior during the Biden administration and enrolled as a junior at Fairfax High School, according to ABC’s Washington affiliate.

Despite facing several years in prison, Flores-Ortiz was released after only about nine months. Several days before his ultimate release, a DOJ immigration judge reportedly ordered him removed from the U.S.

DOJ OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO SOROS-BACKED DA ACCUSED OF SHIELDING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM CONSEQUENCES

It was then that DHS agents arrested Flores-Ortiz.

A spokesperson for Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said Flores-Ortiz’ss custody and transfer were the responsibility of the sheriff’s office, not the commonwealth’s attorney.

Kincaid’s office told Fox News Digital on Thursday that the agency released Flores-Ortiz into ICE custody, citing a Virginia law that allows for transfer up to five days before a release.

SOROS-BACKED DA ACCUSED OF GOING EASY ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS GETS SQUEEZED BY HOUSE GOP

Virginians for Safe Communities leader Sean Kennedy told FOX’s Washington affiliate the decision was “heartening,” noting Kincaid refused 615 detainer requests over a 16-month period and turned over only 11 people to federal authorities. In Flores-Ortiz’s case, the existence of a court order may have influenced the decision, but her office did not immediately elaborate.

Descano and Kincaid were grilled by congressional lawmakers over their general noncooperation with ICE earlier this year.

ICE told Fox News Digital that the agency arrested Flores-Ortiz on August 31 and deported him on Wednesday.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S IMMIGRATION PUSH FUELS ICE’S BIGGEST ARREST MONTH IN AGENCY HISTORY

“Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Mullin, criminal illegal aliens are not welcome – especially those who harm our American communities,” the spokesperson said.

A parent of one of the victims told ABC’s Washington affiliate that there were about 12 students who reported encounters with Flores-Ortiz:

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“He just sneakily walked up behind them and put his hand in between their legs. It was not just a butt smack or a butt grab. It was a groping of a private area. It had been occurring for several months,” the mom said.

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In a letter to parents earlier this year, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid wrote that such behavior is “unacceptable” and that the district hired outside counsel to “conduct a comprehensive review of the matter.”

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are preparing to propose a rule that would eliminate an existing grace period for visa holders who can’t find a job, according to an unpublished document posted to the Federal Register.

Under current immigration laws, holders of certain visas, particularly H-1B visas, which are non-immigration visas that allow employers to sponsor skilled workers with Bachelor’s degrees or higher, get a 60-day grace period to find a new job if they lose the employment tied to their visa.

The new rule proposal would eliminate that grace period, according to the document.

FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN TRUMP’S $100K H-1B VISA FEE, RULING IT AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL TAX

“This proposal restores a direct relationship between an alien’s nonimmigrant status and the specific employment or activity that formed the basis of his or her admission or grant of status in the United States and reduces administrative burden,” the document reads.

A noncitizen would have to immediately leave the U.S. if no longer working for an employer linked to a visa status if the rule were to be implemented.

US STATE DEPARTMENT HAS YANKED MORE THAN 175K VISAS UNDER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SO FAR

“DHS believes that restoring the expectation that aliens depart the United States upon cessation of the employment or activity upon which the alien’s status was based, would better promote program integrity and be more consistent with statutory purpose,” the rule proposal reads.

The agency also claimed that eliminating the grace period would greatly reduce administrative burden “as the process of determining when the up to 60-day grace period may apply, reviewing the information submitted, and determining whether to shorten or eliminate the grace period may be time consuming and complex for the agency and confusing or unpredictable for the petitioner, alien and the alien’s dependents.”

AMERICA’S BROKEN LEGAL IMMIGRATION SYSTEM IS REPLACING US WORKERS BY DESIGN

Before 2017, the document states, there was no 60-day grace period. But in 2016, DHS established the grace period in a rule that came into effec Jan. 17, 2017, three days before President Donald Trump first took office.

DHS also wrote that the rule’s elimination would favor U.S. workers because employers who previously filled jobs with foreign workers would have less foreign-born labor to choose from.

“DHS assumes that almost all these entities would offer the same jobs to equally qualified U.S. workers, go through the I-129 petition process to sponsor nonimmigrant workers, or reassign the work to other current employees. DHS acknowledges that some of these petitioners may incur a temporary loss of productivity due to labor turnover,” the rule proposal reads.

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The unpublished rule is scheduled to publish Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, according to the Federal Register. It will then be subject to a two-month period of public comment before becoming law.

Fox News Digital contacted DHS and the White House for further comment.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas — who lost the Lone Star State GOP attorney general primary runoff in May and will depart the U.S. House of Representatives when his current term expires — said that Republicans have “delivered significantly” but “need to finish the job.”

“Well, we’ve done so much that frankly, it kinda gets lost in a lot of the noise,” Roy told Fox News Digital during an interview on Wednesday, pointing to issues such as tax provisions in the “Big Beautiful Bill” signed by President Donald Trump last year.

The Texan pointed to the nation’s border as the “biggest example” of Republicans’ achievements, saying that “we’ve literally shut down the flow across the border” through enforcing the law.

He also pointed to the passage of the “Laken Riley Act,” a measure named after the 22-year-old woman murdered in 2024 by Jose Ibarra, a man who, according to a 2024 statement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), had previously been “arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)” after illegally entering the U.S., but was “paroled and released for further processing.”

Roy said that Republicans “need to unite with a singular vision about where we wanna take the country if we wanna be… rewarded in November… and then frankly looking ahead to 2028.”

TEXAS MAGA BATTLE ENDS WITH MIDDLETON VICTORY AS CHIP ROY FALLS SHORT IN AG RACE

“Have we done everything we should do? No,” Roy said, claiming that “Congress has fallen short” regarding some of what they “should do.”

But he still believes the GOP could potentially retain their majorities in both congressional chambers during the midterms.

“I think right now Republicans are staring at barely holding onto the Senate and slightly losing the house, but I still think we can win the house,” he said.

The House is now only scheduled to work for several days next week before a lengthy break until after the Nov. 3 elections. Roy indicated that Republicans should get back to work after the midterms “to do our part to finish the job.”

“Obviously I’m not campaigning. So I’m thinking a lot about what we could do with another reconciliation package or what we might be able to do in the lame duck or in January, when I’m not in office,” he noted.

FENTANYL DEATHS COULD NOW COST DRUG DEALERS THEIR LIVES UNDER NEW GOP PROPOSAL

In a Sunday post on X, Roy wrote, “Government does not fund anything. It takes money from people under force of law and distributes it to other people very inefficiently and usually tyrannically. Child care is unaffordable because government (& corporate cronyism) has made life unaffordable. Stay out.”

The New York Times reported last week that the Trump administration is moving to enable some married people with a stay-at-home parent situation to receive a childcare subsidy from a federal program that was meant to help parents who work.

The proposal “creates the option for a new category of care, parent-based child care, that will allow one married parent to receive C.C.D.F. [Child Care and Development Fund] assistance to care for their own child, while a spouse works at least 35 hours per week,” the outlet reported, citing a draft document.

Roy said during the interview on Wednesday, “I just don’t believe that it’s good for the human soul to have the government coming in with a grant and making you dependent on government. I just don’t philosophically think that that’s freedom. I think freedom, non-dependence, independence is what makes America great.”

A White House official said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Thursday that the Trump administration “has not announced any such proposal. Until and unless it does, any discussion about potential policies is baseless speculation.”

CHIP ROY FIELDS PROPOSAL TO BLOCK PAY AND POWER FOR LONGTIME LAWMAKERS

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As for whether he has any interest in ever running for office again, Roy said the matter is “up to God” and to Texans, adding that he has “a calling for service” and his current focus is on attempting to “solve the big problems for” Americans.

DALLAS — There’s a rising star in the Democratic Party that is generating buzz for a possible presidential run, but one Republican argues he’s the only thing standing in the way of a future “DSA candidate” in 2028.

Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., is running to unseat Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., in one of the most closely watched contests of this midterm election cycle. Ossoff has sought to nationalize their battle, focusing more on President Donald Trump and leaning into viral clips on social media to sell his message.

But Collins told Fox News Digital during the GOP’s midterm convention that Ossoff’s intentions extended beyond a second term representing the Peach State. Instead, Collins charged that Ossoff is eyeing the White House and using this cycle as a springboard to get there.

TRUMP-BACKED CANDIDATE SURVIVES GRUELING RUNOFF, ADVANCES TO HIGH-STAKES SENATE RACE

“This guy is nothing but a trust fund kid who’s never had a real job in his life,” Collins said. “And at the end of the day, and I think the whole puzzle has been put together now, you can put the pieces of this thing so easy.”

“He caters to that far-left base, and at the end of the day, we’ve got to stop him in Georgia,” he continued. “If we don’t stop him in Georgia, this guy’s going to be a problem for the entire country in 2028.”

Those puzzle pieces were scattered throughout his voting record, which Collins said aligned over 90% of the time with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., through his support of progressives, like former Maine Senate Democratic nominee Graham Platner and Michigan Senate Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, and because the bulk of his campaign donations are from out-of-state.

‘JESUS WAS A RADICAL’: PROGRESSIVES INVOKE CHRIST TO SELL LEFT-WING AGENDA ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Collins contended that the final piece was when the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) opened their first permanent field office in Atlanta last month. The organization has not endorsed Ossoff.

“That just tells you, yes, Jon Ossoff is really running for president,” Collins said. “He’s going to be the DSA candidate. He uses Georgia as a platform to raise money.”

Ossoff’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

OBAMA STRATEGIST TURNS ON RISING DEM STAR OVER VIRAL TRUMP ATTACK: ‘GRATUITOUS AND UNNECESSARY’

He has previously thrown cold water on the notion that he was chasing the White House and told MSNOW last month, “I have zero interest in running for president in 2028, and, frankly, zero interest in the 2028 fantasy football right now.”

The first-term senator is considered one of the most vulnerable incumbents on the Democrats’ Senate map this cycle, running in a state that Trump won in 2024 over former Vice President Kamala Harris by nearly three points.

Still, he has gained national attention over the summer for his speeches on the campaign trail, particularly when he needled Trump in a viral social media clip bringing into question his relationship with his executive assistant, Natalie Harp.

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“He doesn’t want to do the job,” Ossoff said. “He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar.”

That remark stoked a news cycle and earned him accolades from the likes of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who noted that Ossoff was one of the top communicators on the trail when it came to targeting Trump.

Democratic socialist David Morales’ victory in Rhode Island’s mayoral primary Wednesday night got the attention of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who says it is evidence of where the party as a whole is headed as November’s midterm elections draw near.

“I think it comes back to what I’ve said before, which is what is the Democratic Party, if not its voters?” Mamdani asked during a Thursday morning news conference on the first day of school in his city.

“We’re seeing that the voters across this country are eager for not only a change, but also for a vision of something that we are fighting for,” Mamdani added. “And, you know, I’ve spoken a lot about childcare this morning. I’ve often couched it as the second driver of the cost of living crisis. The first driver is housing.”

MAMDANI CLAIMS DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS CAN WIN ‘ANYWHERE’ AS DEMOCRATS FEUD OVER PARTY’S FUTURE

Mamdani was hailing a new free education program for 2,000 needy families, as Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled a pledge for $425 million more in next year’s state budget to expand early childhood programs, including services for families with disabilities.

At the end of Thursday’s news conference, Mamdani responded to a question about Morales, a 27-year-old state representative and Democratic socialist who defeated one-term Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, 47, in the Democratic primary.

Republicans hold no seats on the Providence City Council, and Democrats make up a majority of registered voters in the city. Former Vice President Kamala Harris beat President Donald Trump in the city by 51 points in 2024.

Mamdani hailed Morales’ campaign for rent stabilization and affordability in the deep-blue city.

MAMDANI RIPPED OVER RECORD-HIGH NYC RENTS WITH CRITICS POINTING TO POLICY THEY SAY IS FUELING CRISIS

“The little that I do know about this soon-to-be new mayor is that one of the central issues in his race was around rent stabilization and around the importance of delivering on affordability, not just as a goal, but as a result,” Mamdani concluded. “And what we’ve seen is that his constituents agreed with exactly that.”

Morales, who was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., won roughly 54% of the vote to Smiley’s 46%, ousting the incumbent after one term. If he wins the November general election, Morales would become Providence’s youngest mayor.

“Few believed that a 27-year-old democratic socialist could ever, few believed that we could ever take on big money, corporate real estate interests and endless attack ads — and we took them on and we won,” Morales said in his victory speech.

SOCIALIST SURGE: MAMDANI FLEXES GROWING POLITICAL MUSCLE AS HE TAKES ON DEM ESTABLISHMENT

The Providence contest unfolded amid a broader debate within the Democratic Party over the influence of democratic socialists and progressive candidates. Housing costs and rent control were key issues in the primary, with Morales backing rent control while Smiley argued that the policy could discourage development.

Providence rents have risen sharply since 2020 and the race centered on how to address the city’s housing affordability crisis.

Republicans, particularly Vice President JD Vance, argue that former President Joe Biden’s open border policies and blue-state sanctuary for illegal migrants brought exploding demand for a finite supply of housing in Democratic-run sanctuary cities like Providence.

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“The city of Providence must use every tool that we have at our disposal to defend our immigrant community and protect us from the fascist ICE agents,” Morales said in his primary victory speech.

The Supreme Court turned back another effort to use Missouri congressional maps supported by President Donald Trump.

“The application for stay presented to Justice Kavanaugh and by him referred to the Court is granted,” Thursday’s ruling read.

While the Missouri Supreme Court’s ruling paved the way for use of the old maps, the state’s primary was already held under the new maps.

It comes after a pitched court battle shortly before ballots begin going out for the pivotal November elections. It is the second time the high court has refused to intervene to keep the Trump-backed maps in place.

This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s vowed to issue to Americans a $5,000 “dividend” that could cost the federal government more than $1 trillion — but it’s contingent on Republicans retaining control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections.

Trump made the pledge Wednesday night during his nearly two-hour speech at the Republican Party’s midterm convention in Dallas, promising to issue the payment to every adult citizen if the GOP wins both the House and Senate in November.

“Here is my promise: If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000,” Trump said.

FOLLOW FOX NEWS DIGITAL’S COVERAGE OF THE GOP’S 2026 MIDTERM CONVENTION

The president’s proposal comes as the national debt hovers just north of $40 trillion and the federal government recorded a budget deficit of roughly $1.8 trillion in fiscal year 2025, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The payments could cost approximately $1.2 trillion, based on the roughly 240 million adult citizens in the United States, potentially adding significantly to the government’s eye-watering borrowing.

It’s unclear where the money would come from, but the motivation behind the idea is crystal clear — Trump wants to incentivize voters who are feeling a pocketbook squeeze to keep his party in power so his agenda is not brought to a screeching halt should one of the congressional chambers flip blue in this year’s midterms.

Vice President JD Vance suggested after Trump’s speech that wealthy Americans could be excluded from the payments, potentially reducing the plan’s overall cost.

“What the president is talking about is fundamentally a dividend for American workers,” Vance told Fox News.

He also defended the proposal’s funding by pointing to the administration’s tariff revenue.

“We’re taking an extraordinary amount of revenue because the president of the United States is standing up to both foreign companies but also foreign countries who have been taking advantage of America’s workers,” Vance said.

Treasury data shows the government collected a record $34.2 billion in customs duties in a single month. Since January, those collections totaled approximately $208.5 billion, still far below the estimated $1.2 trillion cost of Trump’s proposed $5,000 payments.

However, those figures reflect gross tariff collections and do not account for refunds tied to tariffs that were later struck down by the Supreme Court.

The administration has since returned billions of dollars to importers, meaning the amount ultimately available to the government could be lower.

“If you keep us in power and allow us to continue to do these things, then you’re going to share in some of the benefit of this incredible wealth that we are creating in the United States of America,” Vance added.

‘WE WERE RIGHT’: HE TOOK TRUMP’S TARIFFS TO THE SUPREME COURT AND WON

The White House has not provided specific eligibility requirements or a detailed funding proposal.

Trump said the dividend would be similar to a cash distribution from a successful company to its shareholders and indicated that the money would need to be spent in the United States.

The proposal would require approval from Congress before any payments could be issued. Trump does not have the unilateral authority to distribute the checks.

Trump has previously floated other direct-payment proposals, including a $2,000 tariff dividend and a plan to return a portion of government savings to taxpayers. Neither proposal has become law.

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The president’s latest pledge came as he urged voters to treat the midterm elections as a referendum on his administration.

“If the Republicans win, you win with us,” Trump said. “Now all we have to do is win.”

Rhode Island State Rep. David Morales, a 27-year-old democratic socialist endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., defeated Providence Mayor Brett Smiley in the Democratic primary Wednesday night, ousting the incumbent after one term.

If Morales wins the general election, he will be Providence’s youngest mayor in history.

“Few believed that a 27-year-old democratic socialist could ever, few believed that we could ever take on big money, corporate real estate interests and endless attack ads – and we took them on and we won,” Morales said in his victory speech, delivered partly in Spanish, after winning by roughly 8 points (54%-46%).

Smiley, 47, who faced his heaviest media scrutiny over his handling of the Brown University shooting last December, served just one term.

AMERICA’S QUIET SOCIALIST TAKEOVER IS SPREADING FROM TOWN HALLS TO CLASSROOMS

“So neighbors, with the bold agenda and the mandate that we have voted for, let’s get ready. Providence, let’s get ready.”

Morales will face Republican nominee Dave Talan, 77, in November. Republicans hold no seats on the Providence City Council, and Democrats make up a majority of registered voters in the city. Former Vice President Kamala Harris beat President Donald Trump in the city by 51 points in 2024.

“The voters of Providence made their choice, and they chose David Morales as our next mayor in the Democratic primary,” Smiley said in his concession speech after calling Morales. “While I’m not happy with that outcome, I’m so happy and proud of the campaign that we ran.”

STATE OF PLAY: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT POTENTIAL SOCIALIST SHOWDOWN BETWEEN TRUMP AND DC MAYOR AS VOTES POUR IN

Morales, who also received backing from Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., former Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza and several labor unions, campaigned on a progressive platform that included capping rent hikes, expanding affordable housing and raising taxes on polluters and corporate landlords.

“Nearly a year ago today, we launched a campaign centered around a simple vision that the working people who make Providence home deserve to live here,” Morales said. “A simple vision that our neighbors deserve a mayor who will fight for them.”

The contest was part of a broader series of Democratic primary battles between progressive challengers and more established incumbents. Morales sought to tap into frustration over housing costs and the direction of city government, while Smiley argued that his experience and record made him the better choice to lead Providence.

SOCIALIST INSURGENTS FORCE MODERATE DEMOCRATS INTO HIGH-RISK SHOWDOWN OVER MUST-HOLD RACES

“The same way that we campaigned, we are going to govern — in coalition, side by side with our neighbors,” Morales said.

The primary also featured a battle over rent stabilization. The Providence City Council approved a measure that would have capped annual rent increases at 4% for certain apartments, but Smiley vetoed it in April. The council fell one vote short of overriding the veto in May.

MAMDANI’S AFFORDABILITY REVOLUTION STUMBLED AS RENT COSTS SOAR TO RECORD HIGHS

“When working people are getting priced out of the city that they love, then we must cap rent increases at 4% every single year,” Morales said.

“We put housing justice on the ballot.”

Morales also ran as a hard-liner on Providence being a sanctuary for illegal migrants, and against the Trump administration’s effort to enforce U.S. immigration law.

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“The city of Providence must use every tool that we have at our disposal to defend our immigrant community and protect us from the fascist ICE agents,” Morales, the son of a Mexican immigrant mother, said.