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California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill earlier this week that would impose a 25% tax on private detention centers, a policy that would apply to all the facilities that partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Golden State.

“If we can’t kick out private facilities, we’ll go after their profits,” Newsom said in a press release.

The move, which Newsom hailed as a way to push back against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and what he sees as the practice of privatizing federal enforcement, is raising concerns among immigration experts who believe the increased tax could force the government to explore alternative facilities less suited to housing detainees. It also poses questions about what would happen if all eight of ICE’s detention facilities chose to suspend their operations in California.

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That’s the view of Hans von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow and an immigration expert with Advancing American Freedom, a conservative-leaning think tank.

“It’s very clear that there’s only one purpose to this California gigantic tax increase, and that is to make sure that the federal government cannot find any private property owners, any private contractors in California that are willing to lease space to the federal government,” Spakovsky said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

“The alternative for the federal government is to look at all the different federal properties that the government actually owns out there, over which neither Newsom or anybody else in California can impose any kind of tax, and see if any of those federal facilities can be converted to being a detention facility.”

Spakovsky explained that could mean repurposing warehouses or office space.

The newly minted law, AB 1633, is among 20 other bills that Newsom signed on Tuesday. In its current form, the 25% tax applies to the gross income of any private detention facility and applies to federal, state and local contract recipients. Revenue from the bill will go to a “Due Process for All Fund,” designated for immigration-related services, according to the bill’s language. Now that AB 1633 has been signed into law, it will go into effect on July 1, 2028.

Alongside the bill, Newsom signed a handful of other restrictions.

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“We’re also banning the Orwellian practice of using shock gloves in enforcement activity as well as further protecting access to our court system,” Newsom said.

“We may not be able to dictate federal immigration policy, but we can make clear that activities taking place in California will be subject to California law.”

Despite Newsom’s framing, Spakovsky believes the governor will affect federal immigration law enforcement by limiting the overall space it has to operate. He pointed to reporting from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that details its detention needs. He explained that the government relies on private contractors, at least partially, to avoid the costs of building their own facilities.

“If you look at that report, currently ICE has about enough detention space for about sixty-six thousand aliens. Okay, that’s the full size of the federal government’s detention capacity,” Spakovsky said.

If an entire state’s private detention contractors decided the tax is too high, ICE’s overall capacity could shrink.

California is home to eight ICE detention facilities, according to reporting from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). All of them are privately operated.

The GEO Group, a corrections company, owns five facilities. Imperial Valley Gateway Center LLC, a local detention company, owns one more. Two more were purchased by DHS in July but are run by CoreCivic, a prison company, and have contracts through 2027 and 2029.

Although the bill won’t go into effect until 2028, in Trump’s last year of his second term, Spakovsky believes that the government might begin evaluating where else it can find partnerships to meet its detention needs sooner rather than later.

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“Look, if I was the federal government and I couldn’t find enough federal properties in California to do this, I would then go into neighboring friendlier states that I could quickly transport aliens I’ve detained and I would lease and rent facilities there.”

“I’d go to Arizona. I’d potentially go to Nevada. I’d go to other states where they might be eager for federal government money and the increased employment from private contractors hiring people to work on these facilities.”

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The office of Gavin Newsom did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

The Supreme Court temporarily cleared the Trump administration to continue its third-country deportation policy this week, as DHS’ top lawyer mounts a public defense of an immigration authority the administration says previous presidents largely left dormant.

DHS has increasingly used so-called “third-country” removals when a removable alien cannot be returned to their home country or that country refuses to take them back — part of what agency General Counsel James Percival describes as a broader Trump strategy of reviving immigration authorities already on the books.

“Imagine going to a country and saying, hey, we’ve got a guy, he’s not your guy, and he’s a rapist, but can he please live there?” Percival told Fox News Digital.

“That’s not an easy ask. It requires significant diplomatic energy… Norway is not taking a rapist from Cuba.”

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The justices on Tuesday stayed a lower-court judgment restricting DHS’s policy, allowing the administration’s guidance to remain in effect while the Court considers the case on the merits. Arguments are set for December over whether agency procedures comply with federal immigration law, due process and safeguards against torture.

The case does not squarely challenge DHS’s underlying authority to conduct third-country removals, but rather the procedures it must follow beforehand.

“It’s in the statute expressly that we can do this,” he said. “If you go back and read most of the immigration laws, there’s a lot of really good tools in there that people just haven’t used.”

The third-country provision was included in a major immigration reform package passed by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996: the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA).

“A lot of people in government sort of treat their authority like fine china,” Percival remarked.

“They’re afraid if they ever actually use it, someone will take it away. And if you’ve ever owned fine china, it’s like you can find yourself at the end of your life and you were so afraid you would break it you never used it.”

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But Percival’s strategy has not come without blowback from human rights advocates, who pointed most recently to allegations that deportees were beaten by authorities in Equatorial Guinea, a tiny nation on Africa’s Atlantic coast that has been under the control of President Teodoro Obiang since 1979.

Obiang’s government received $7.5 million from Washington as part of an agreement with Malabo to accept third-country deportations.

“I’d rather live in the United States than Equatorial Guinea too, but I’m an American citizen and I haven’t killed anybody,” Percival said.

The detention issue traces in part to the Supreme Court’s 2001 decision in a case involving a stateless legal resident whom the government ordered deported due to his criminal record. Kestutis Zadvydas was born to Lithuanian parents in a German displaced- persons camp, but neither Lithuania nor Germany would accept him.

The court held that six months of post-removal detention is presumptively reasonable, after which continued detention can be challenged if removal is not reasonably foreseeable.

Percival is making that case publicly through his “Daily Deportee” series on X, highlighting criminal deportees whose home countries will not accept them.

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“If the person is a child rapist and serves 20 years, we have two choices: Find a third country — or let the child rapist go live in an American community,” he said, adding that the effort is intended to shape public understanding of the issue and highlight its stakes.

Percival cited Burmese national Kyaw Mya, whose home country won’t take him back.

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Percival said another case he plans to feature involves a migrant who committed a violent crime, was not removed by the Bush administration after serving time and then allegedly reoffended after his release:

“[He] tried to kill somebody, the gun misfired, so he pistol-whipped them instead. He served time for that. He got out,” Percival explained.

As DHS continues seeking to use underutilized tools in the IIRIRA and other laws, Percival pointed illegal immigrants and criminal resident aliens to another oft-repeated option that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin continues to keep on the table:

“It’s not too late to get $3,000 and a flight home.”

A conservative political activist who has been deeply entrenched in right-wing politics for decades is calling on the government to implement safety guardrails on artificial intelligence (AI), especially when it comes to protecting children and ensuring that the booming technology doesn’t displace American workers en masse.

“If something happens with one of these companies, whether it’s a child taking their own life due to suicide by manipulation with a chatbot, these companies are not required to report it to the federal government,” Amy Kremer told Fox News Digital.

Kremer is the chairwoman of Humans First, a gorup that advocates for government safeguards on the technology and says it gives the American people a voice in the AI conversation, rather than leaving all the power in the hands of what it calls “Big AI globalists” who have little concern for ordinary Americans.

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“We are a grassroots organization focused on putting guardrails and safety mechanisms in place around AI technology in order to protect the American people, our children, jobs and so forth, and also to put those guardrails in place to to make sure that the people have a seat at the table and a voice in the conversation about what goes into their community,” Kremer said.

Kremer, who is known by the political right for her time as a Tea Party advocate and ferocious fighter for President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement, mentioned the 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University, which claimed the lives of two people and injured six others, as an instance of AI gone wrong.

Court documents in that case claim that the alleged shooter, Phoenix Ikner, used ChatGPT to plan aspects of the shooting. The company was sued by the wife of one of the deceased victims, and the state of Florida took the rare step of opening a criminal investigation into the company.

“If a chatbot is used in planning a school shooting like what happened at Florida State University in April of 2025, they’re not required to report that to the federal government,” said Kremer. “The only reason we know about a number of these things that have happened is because of lawsuits that have been filed by the victims and/or their families.”

She argued that as a former flight attendant, she had to report every issue on an airliner to the government. And just as hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and hordes of other industries are regulated under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Kremer believes that AI companies should face similar scrutiny.

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AI is a hotly-contested issue ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, with some Democrats looking to reign in the technology while the Trump administration hoping to keep competition and innovation flowing in the effort to win the AI race with China.

But Kremer is far from a Democrat, and she wants also wants the United States to crush China in the race for technological dominance.

“I want America to win this AI race, I absolutely I do. I’m America first, always have been, and we’ve led the world on innovation and ingenuity,” she said. “But again … I go back to, you don’t have to forego safety to have innovation and ingenuity.”

“I’m not siding with the Democrats,” Kremer said. “I am not a tech person. I’m not anti-AI. I’m not anti-technology. I’m not anti-data center.”

“I am a mom with common sense and I’m a conservative, and it only makes sense that guardrails are put in place,” she added.

After all, Kremer said, AI companies aren’t partisan actors.

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“They don’t care about Republicans, they don’t care about Democrats, they don’t care about Americans. At the end of the day, I think they care about their own companies and their technology, and that’s what, what drives them,” she said. “And so, everything with these guys I think is contractual, you know, it’s not, ‘these are my friends, these are the people, I have the same ideology.’ It’s contractual, it’s what benefits them and I think that’s why they’ve cozied up to President Trump and Republicans in this administration and Congress.”

In a high-stakes summit in Washington, D.C., last week, AI was a hot topic of discussing between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump, though what exactly was discussed remains under wraps.

“The Trump administration’s priority is to ensure there is a booming economy so that workers have many opportunities and experience limited volatility from any short-term disruptions,” a White House official told Fox News Digital. “The goal is for workers to continue to have access to high paying jobs and that workers can easily adapt to new technologies and processes.”

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As for children’s safety, the official pointed Fox News Digital to its National Policy Framework on Artificial Intelligence.

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That framework calls on Congress to implement a number of AI child safety measures, including empowering parents with tools to control their children’s content exposure, privacy settings, content exposure and account controls.

It also asks the lawmaking body to “establish commercially reasonable, privacy protective, age assurance requirements (such as parental attestation) for AI platforms and services likely to be accessed by minors,” and ensure that AI platforms implement safeguards against child sexual exploitation and self-harm.

A Biden-appointed judge is being labeled an “activist judge” by conservative critics after ruling that the federal government’s application of a law barring noncitizens from voting in elections violates the Constitution in a federal criminal case.

In a 31-page ruling, U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz of the Southern District of Florida dismissed federal charges against Chelsea Cox, a woman originally from Jamaica who voted in the 2020 presidential election, despite not being a U.S. citizen. The ruling comes as the Trump administration has intensified efforts to prevent noncitizens from voting, including through federal prosecutions and attempts to verify citizenship on state voter rolls, sparking legal battles with Democratic-led states and voting-rights groups. President Donald Trump’s election integrity efforts have been driven in large part by his and his allies’ belief that the 2020 election was “stolen” — an unproven claim he continues to maintain.

Leibowitz ruled that the Constitution gives states — not Congress — the authority to determine who qualifies to vote in elections, effectively ruling that a provision of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) criminalizing noncitizen voting in federal elections is unconstitutional as applied to Cox.

“The Constitution commits to the States, and the States alone, the general power to set voter qualifications in federal elections,” Leibowitz wrote in his ruling. “This is clear from both the text of the document and the debates at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.”

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The ruling garnered sharp blowback from Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who is co-author of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which is currently being stalled in the Senate and unlikely to be passed before the midterm elections.

“This insane ruling will certainly be overturned,” Lee wrote on X. “But it gives the game away: Democrats pretend we don’t need the SAVE Act because non-citizen voting is already illegal… while activist judges try to destroy laws banning non-citizens from voting!”

Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow with Advancing American Freedom, agreed that Leibowitz’s ruling will most likely be “squashed” by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

“Judge David Leibowitz’s opinion that the federal law barring aliens from voting is unconstitutional is patently wrong,” Spakovsky told Fox News Digital. “It is true that states have the constitutional authority to set the qualifications of citizens who are eligible as voters in federal elections. But he ignores the fact that in Article I, Section 8, Congress is given 100% authority over naturalization.”

Spakovsky said the Constitution gives Congress authority to decide how noncitizens enter the country and what activities they may engage in once here.

“That gives the federal government the authority to ban aliens from voting or otherwise in any way participating in the democratic process,” Spakovsky said.

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Spakovsky pointed to Bluman v. FEC , a 2011 decision written by then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh and later summarily affirmed by the Supreme Court, which upheld restrictions on foreign nationals’ campaign spending. The opinion said the government may exclude noncitizens from activities tied to democratic self-government.

“The Supreme Court has long held that the government (federal, state, local) may exclude foreign citizens from activities that are part of the democratic self-regulation in the United States,” Kavanaugh wrote. “For example, the Supreme Court has ruled that the government may bar aliens from voting, serving as jurors, working as police or probation officers, or teaching at public schools.”

However, Bluman v. FEC involved campaign contributions and expenditures, not a federal criminal prosecution for voting.

Anhishek Kambil, a partner at Holtzman Vogel Law Firm, said he’d be “surprised” if the federal government did not prevail in its appeal.

Kambil pointed to Oregon v. Mitchell, in which the Supreme Court ruled the the government had the authority to set voting age in federal elections, which would be a voter qualifier.

“So the Supreme Court has held, in an instance, that there is federal government authority to regulate in certain instances some types of qualifications of voters, but the way that this judge read it kind of made everything a mess,” Kambil told Fox News Digital.

Leibowitz rejected the federal government’s argument that the Constitution grants Congress total authority over regulating immigration and noncitizens.

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While he acknowledged that Congress has “broad, undoubted power” over immigration and noncitizens; he said those powers are not “a series of blank checks” and cannot override the Constitution’s “foundational constitutional constraints” assigning voter-qualification authority to the states.

The judge also rejected the federal government’s reliance on the Elections Clause, which allows Congress to regulate how states conduct federal elections, including by passing laws to combat voter fraud. Leibowitz said the statute at issue was not designed to regulate election procedures or prevent fraud but instead created a federal voter qualification by determining who could vote.

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While Leibowitz ruled that the federal government cannot continue prosecuting Chelsea Cox, Florida would still have the authority to bring state charges.

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President Joe Biden nominated Leibowitz to the federal bench in 2024. The Senate confirmed him, 64-33, in a bipartisan vote, with then-Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., voting in favor. Thursday’s ruling is his most politically consequential decision from the bench to date.

Politicians from both parties had a rough week as slip-ups and unpopular messaging sent floods of unwanted attention their way.

Chief among this week’s gaffes was Republican Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt’s botched attempt to accuse former special counsel Jack Smith of perjury during Tuesday’s Senate testimony — a basketball mix-up that unraveled as cameras captured the stunned reaction of Republican Alabama Sen. Katie Britt seated beside him.

Britt was seated beside Schmitt as he pressed Smith over whether he attended an Atlanta Hawks game on Feb. 3, 2024, pointing to text messages he said showed Smith had been there. When Smith denied attending the NBA game, Schmitt accused him of lying under oath. Schmitt had apparently mistaken references to the Iowa Hawkeyes for the Atlanta Hawks, overlooking that Smith had attended the Iowa-Maryland women’s college basketball game that night rather than the NBA game in Atlanta.

As the situation unfolded, and Schmitt’s mistake became apparent, a pool camera zoomed in on Britt’s face, revealing her shocked expression.

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“Sen. Katie Britt — a former congressional staffer herself — knew she was watching a mythical staff f*ck up,” one MSNOW reporter wrote. “The type of f*ck up that interns will hear about as a cautionary tale on their first day of work on June 1, 2047.”

“[Britt] opposes abortion and yet Schmitt just aborted his 2028 VP odds on live TV,” a liberal YouTuber quipped.

Schmitt’s exchange quickly became one of the most viral moments of the Smith hearing, drowning out much of the rest of the day’s events.

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The Missouri senator attempted to defuse tensions with a tongue-in-cheek response to the controversy.

“Who knew Jack Smith was a Caitlin Clark fan?” Schmitt posted to X shortly after the hearing wrapped, referencing the fact that Clark was playing for Iowa in the game Smith attended.

His post drew another wave of negative responses.

“Any person who had a modicum of decency would apologize, immediately, and then impose some basic accountability for some remarkably negligent staff work,” New York Times columnist David French wrote. “He was trying to set up a perjury trap with fake information. Pitiful.”

“When I talk about how the quality of congressional staff used to be so much higher I feel 70 years old…but this is a good example,” one former congressional staffer posted. “No one who worked for any number of Republican senators in 2015 would have ever in a million years allowed this.”

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Schmitt wasn’t the only politico to draw the ire of the internet this week.

Troy Jackson, the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, caught heat from figures on the left after posting a video of himself sipping boba tea and criticizing the wealthy interests backing his Republican opponent.

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“The same people that ran Mallory McMorrow’s campaign into the ground are telling you to do this goofy s—,” left-wing podcaster Kyle Kulinski posted on X. “Just get out there and tell the truth and speak from the heart for economic justice and against war and stop with all this bulls—. C’mon man. You’re smarter than this.”

“Troy Jackson needs to win but videos like this are unhelpful and cringey,” liberal influencer Harry Sisson posted on X. “Please change it up! No boba tea!”

In another gaffe earlier this week, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., accidentally referred to himself as a ‘lifelong Republican’ before immediately correcting himself.

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Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, meanwhile, upset some conservatives with an ad portraying a fictional young White male Medicaid recipient named “Brad” as a gamer who chooses not to work. Some critics accused Sanders of choosing a White male character to avoid depicting demographic groups they said receive government assistance at higher rates.”

Three University of South Alabama students were arrested Friday over alleged threats against President Donald Trump ahead of his evening rally on the Mobile campus, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News.

The students were each charged with threatening the president over social media posts allegedly made in the days leading up to Trump’s visit, according to the Lagniappe Daily.

The federal cases were unsealed Friday afternoon, just hours before Trump was scheduled to take the stage at the university’s Mitchell Center, the outlet reported.

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Federal investigators discovered the posts while conducting social media intelligence searches ahead of the president’s visit and used emergency disclosure requests and information from University of South Alabama police to identify the individuals, according to FBI affidavits cited by Lagniappe.

One student allegedly wrote a threatening remark toward Trump under a TikTok post about the president’s planned visit to the campus, according to an FBI affidavit cited by the outlet.

Another student allegedly posted on X that people would “remember the University of South Alabama the same way they remember Utah Valley University,” according to the outlet’s account of the FBI affidavit.

Investigators noted that Utah Valley University was where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot last year.

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A third student allegedly replied to a TikTok post about Trump’s appearance.

Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said earlier in the week that his office was assisting federal authorities as they monitored social media activity related to the president’s upcoming appearance.

The University of South Alabama said ahead of the event that the rally was not university-sponsored and that the Mitchell Center had been rented by the Republican National Committee (RNC).

“The University of South Alabama unequivocally condemns any form of threats directed at elected officials or any individual with whom we disagree,” the university said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “We encourage open dialogue and active civic participation, and having a difference of opinion is a natural part of any vibrant community.

“However, there is a clear line between exercising free expression and engaging in intimidation or unlawful conduct.”

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Trump took the stage for the midterm campaign rally Friday evening as scheduled, returning to Mobile roughly 11 years after his 2015 rally in the city during the opening months of his first presidential campaign.

“It sort of all began here,” Trump told the crowd Friday, recalling the 2015 event.

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He also recognized Burch and University of South Alabama President Jo Bonner from the stage.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Justice, FBI, Secret Service and the University of South Alabama for additional information.

A hidden scheme draining millions from the federal student aid system and infiltrating college campuses has emerged as a key target of the Trump administration’s fraud crackdown, with officials faulting Biden-era identity verification policies for opening the door to it.

One fraud expert is now highlighting the red flags students and parents must look out for as the fall semester begins, warning fraudsters are fabricating identities to enroll at colleges and collect aid that is meant for legitimate students.

“People, scammers specifically, look for vulnerable places like student loans and unemployment fraud to take advantage of those channels because historically they have been lax in their controls,” Mallory Wortman, senior fraud investigator at financial crime prevention firm Abrigo, told Fox News Digital.

In June, the Education Department also said it saved taxpayers nearly $200 million after requiring high-risk applicants to present government-issued identification when applying for federal student aid, Fox News Digital previously reported. The identity verification system was integrated into the online FAFSA application, with department officials estimating it will save taxpayers more than $1 billion this cycle.

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The department took aim at weak fraud safeguards under former President Joe Biden, accusing his administration of requiring less than 1% of students to verify their identity following their FAFSA submission during the COVID-19 pandemic era.

The administration has also paired those safeguards with new enforcement efforts. Vice President JD Vance recently announced that more than 870,000 borrowers tied to alleged COVID-era fraud would be suspended from future federal loan programs, saying they could ultimately face federal prosecution.

But the crackdown reflects a simple reality, according to Wortman, who said fraudsters are quick to take advantage of any opportunity where government money is flowing.

“Anytime there’s an opportunity where funds are flowing, like financial aid fraud, or another example would be when there’s unemployment fraud during COVID, they’re gonna use that as a method to get those funds,” Wortman said.

Wortman said fraudsters frequently use so-called “ghost students” to exploit the programs. A “ghost student” is a stolen or fake identity, sometimes created with artificial intelligence (AI), used to enroll in college and collect federal student aid funds, loans or grants.

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She compared the trick to her own time in community college, where she said she watched students enroll, walk away with a financial aid “refund,” then suddenly drop out of classes.

“That’s kind of what we’ve seen, straw student schemes turning into today,” she said, adding today’s fraudsters’ main objective is “attaining the aid rather than pursuing an education.”

As students return to campus, Wortman said there are many signs to look out for.

“They’re going to have multiple applications,” she said. “They’re going to have common information. There’s gonna be some unusual enrollment patterns and then suspicious changes to their account before those funds are disbursed.”

Similar “connections and patterns” can also be spotted in banking records, where Wortman described how fraudsters use elaborate data breaches and phishing messages to trick victims into providing personal information.

“You’re going to have shared information, that unusual movement of funds and then multiple apparently unrelated customers with common either connection activity, IP addresses, and then funds flowing through the account that just don’t make sense,” she said.

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According to Wortman, the best defense against these fraudsters starts with keeping a close eye on your personal financial information.

“Just be aware and keep tabs on your personal financial information,” she said.

Despite the heightened focus on the fraud, Wortman said the scam is nothing new and that she is “glad” it is finally being recognized and prevented.

The size of the scam became clear last year when the Education Department revealed it blocked more than $1 billion in fraudulent student aid and identified nearly $90 million that had already been fraudulently disbursed. More than $30 million went to deceased individuals, while more than $40 million went to companies using bots disguised as fake students.

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“This has been going on, and I’m glad that they’re finally doing something about it,” she said.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley J. DiMella and Joshua Q. Nelson contributed to this report.

The State Department is accusing Democrats of performative “grandstanding” by demanding a sweeping Venezuela oil deal briefing then postponing so the Senate could leave town early.

Four senior Senate Democrats demanded documents they already knew were coming, according to material reviewed by Fox News Digital — and then the Senate rescheduled a congressional briefing on the agreement planned for Oct. 1, 2026, so they could break for fall recess.

The group of lawmakers were seeking more information on the Pentagon’s involvement in an agreement with North American Blue Energy Partner (NABEP) that gives the Department of War a 35% stake in one of Venezuela’s largest oil producers. State says the lawmakers had known for weeks that administration officials planned to brief the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and provide documents on the deal on Thursday.

The department went forward with delivering copies of the U.S. government’s strategic partnership agreement with NABEP to the committee, claiming it did so despite the briefing being pulled down “as a courtesy.”

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“Copies of the USG Strategic Partnership Agreement with NABEP for your Members are in the SFRC front office,” a senior State Department official wrote. “Each Member has a folder with their copy.”

State Department Assistant Secretary for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson claimed Senate Democrats canceled the briefing so they could “skip town and go on vacation.”

“This is pure grandstanding,” Johnson wrote on X. “When they sent this letter, they had known for weeks that we planned to brief them and provide the documents today, on October 1.”

A congressional source familiar with the planned briefing disputed State’s characterization, telling Fox News Digital that lawmakers had not been told the written NABEP agreement would be provided before writing the letter and that the briefing was intended as a broader update on U.S. policy toward Venezuela, not specifically the oil deal.

And emails reviewed by Fox News Digital show the briefing postponement request itself came from a Republican majority staffer on the Foreign Relations Committee, who told State early Oct. 1 that “the Senate has left town” and asked to move the briefing until November.

A State Department official told Fox News Digital the staffer was acting on behalf of the full committee.

The congressional source said Republican leadership had ended legislative business for the week, with senators on both sides of the aisle preparing to leave Washington ahead of next month’s midterm elections.

The group of Democrat lawmakers demanding the briefing are challenging the legality and prudence of the Trump administration’s agreement with NABEP, which would give the Pentagon rights to a 35% stake in one of Venezuela’s largest oil producers.

Under the arrangement, the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital would receive rights to the stake through so-called penny warrants, while the State Department would receive preferential rights to purchase 20% of the company’s production at cost.

The unusual structure is part of the administration’s broader effort to revive Venezuelan oil production and expand U.S. economic influence after Nicolás Maduro’s ouster. Democrats argue the Pentagon may lack legal authority to take the stake and have raised questions about the administration’s vetting of NABEP and its leadership.

The administration argues the structure could generate substantial returns for the U.S. without requiring taxpayers to buy the stake up front. The White House has said the government’s 35% position could ultimately be worth hundreds of billions of dollars in equity and dividends if NABEP succeeds in developing the fields.

The deal could also give Washington a new source of relatively low-cost crude at a time when the administration is trying to increase global supply and bring down fuel prices. State would have the right to buy 20% of NABEP’s production at cost and the right of first refusal on the remaining output, which the administration says could help replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and supply U.S. military and other sensitive needs.

The White House also says millions of barrels of additional Venezuelan production could eventually flow through U.S. refineries and be developed using American drilling equipment and infrastructure, generating investment and jobs in the United States.

NABEP currently produces roughly 220,000 barrels a day and has said it plans to more than double production to 500,000 barrels a day by late 2028. The administration is betting that private investment can revive fields that have suffered years of underinvestment and mismanagement.

The agreement is part of a much broader U.S. effort to remake Venezuela’s economy following the dramatic removal of Nicolás Maduro earlier this year.

On Jan. 3, U.S. forces carried out a military operation in Venezuela to capture Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and transport them to the United States to face federal charges. The administration has characterized the operation as a law-enforcement mission supported by the military and has since made rebuilding Venezuela’s oil sector a central part of its stabilization strategy.

Interim leader Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president, has remained in power while cooperating with Washington, even as Venezuela’s political transition remains unsettled and opposition figures continue pressing for elections.

The White House has described the NABEP agreement as part of a three-part strategy of stabilization, reconstruction and eventual democratic transition, arguing that restoring oil production is necessary to rebuild Venezuela’s economy and reduce the influence of China, Russia and other U.S. adversaries in its energy sector.

TRUMP ‘SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING’ PLAN TO MAKE VENEZUELA AND ITS $40 TRILLION IN OIL PERMANENT PART OF USA

Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; Jack Reed, D-R.I.; Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.; and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., challenged both the legality and prudence of the deal in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

Among their central questions is whether the Pentagon office being used to structure the investment has the legal authority to acquire an equity position in a foreign oil company. The senators also demanded the agreement itself, details about how State would pay for oil and information about the administration’s vetting of NABEP and its leadership.

“The proposed agreement is unlikely to reduce high energy costs for Americans, and it risks undermining the Venezuelan people’s transition away from a dictatorship,” the senators wrote.

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of all four senators who signed the letter for comment.

The unusual Pentagon role has drawn scrutiny since the deal was announced. Rather than immediately purchasing shares with taxpayer money, the Office of Strategic Capital’s position is structured through penny warrants that give the government the right to acquire equity for a nominal price.

The Democratic senators argue that structure does not resolve the underlying legal question.

They contend the statute establishing the Office of Strategic Capital authorizes loans and loan guarantees but does not explicitly empower the Pentagon to acquire equity stakes in private foreign companies.

“It is unclear,” the lawmakers wrote, “why the American public should support this attempt to entangle the United States with a relatively unknown foreign oil company that lacks the capacity or credibility to develop oil fields of the magnitude described.”

The senators also raised concerns about NABEP chairman Alejandro Betancourt, noting past money-laundering investigations involving the Venezuelan businessman. Betancourt has not been charged with a crime, and Rubio has previously said he is not under active U.S. investigation.

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The dispute could form the basis for broader congressional scrutiny of one of the Trump administration’s most unconventional efforts to expand U.S. economic influence in Venezuela.

An Obama-appointed judge blocked President Donald Trump from firing court-appointed U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington Roger Rogoff, ordering the Justice Department to recognize Rogoff as the rightful officeholder and restore his ability to serve.

“This is yet another ruling from an activist judge trying to thwart President Trump’s agenda and undermine his constitutional authority. U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President,” White House spokesperson Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital.

Judge Stanley Bastian, who was first nominated by Obama in 2013, issued a preliminary injunction reinstating Rogoff and barring the administration from treating him as having been lawfully removed. The ruling sets up a legal fight over whether a president can fire a U.S. attorney appointed by federal judges. A 1979 Justice Department opinion and a 2000 federal appeals court ruling both concluded that the president has that authority.

“We disagree with the decision and intend to seek an immediate stay and will appeal,” the DOJ Rapid Response account wrote.

TRUMP ADMIN FIRES US ATTORNEY IN SEATTLE MINUTES AFTER HE WAS APPOINTED

Some legal experts and conservative attorneys took to social media to sharply criticize the ruling, arguing it infringes on the president’s constitutional authority over the executive branch.

“Another lawless and dangerous ruling. Violating the separation of powers. By another Democrat activist judge. This time? Seattle Obama Judge Stanley Bastian,” wrote Article III founder and president Mike Davis.

“Democrat judges handpicked their own U.S. attorney. The President, through his attorney general, fired him. Under Article II of the Constitution, the President clearly has the executive power to fire Justice Department officials,” Davis added.

Davis also noted Bastian’s first name was misspelled in the order, missing the “e” in Stanley.

‘ROGUE’ OBAMA JUDGE’S SMACKDOWN OF TRUMP ELECTION RULES PROVOKES OMINOUS WARNING FROM WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY

“The Federal Judge misspelled his own name in his order. That’s how you know it’s quality legal work,” wrote one user.

“Now Judge Bastian created an unnecessary constitutional crisis by essentially ordering a coup at the Justice Department, by ordering the removal of the President’s pick and putting in Bastian’s judicial puppet. The Ninth Circuit must fix this. Or the Supreme Court will have to step in. Again,” Davis concluded.

“The President’s power to remove U.S. Attorneys must be unfettered consistent with Article II of the Constitution. Judge Stanley Bastian is wrong here to order Rogoff reinstated. I predict Judge Bastian will eventually be reversed, whether at the Ninth Circuit or by the Supreme Court,” said Oversight Project litigation vice president Jeff Clark.

WHITE HOUSE RIPS ‘ACTIVIST’ BIDEN JUDGE WHO UPENDED TRUMP BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ORDER

“Judicial overreach, plain and simple. The judiciary does not get to run the Executive Branch. Period,” said Holtzman Vogel partner Brian Nieves.

In Myers v. United States (1926), which centered on President Woodrow Wilson’s firing of a postmaster without Senate consent, the Supreme Court ruled that the president generally has constitutional authority to remove executive branch officers.

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More recently, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel concluded in a 1979 opinion that the president’s statutory authority to remove “each United States attorney” also extends to prosecutors appointed by federal judges.

The case is the latest in a string of legal fights over President Trump’s U.S. attorney appointments, following similar disputes in New Jersey, Virginia and New York.

A similar dispute unfolded in New Jersey after the administration sought to keep Alina Habba leading the U.S. attorney’s office after her interim term ended. Federal courts ultimately rejected the administration’s effort to maintain her authority, although the judges’ original appointee, Desiree Grace, did not simply take over the office.

Rogoff’s case goes a step further, directly testing whether a president can remove a U.S. attorney appointed by federal judges under the statutory process for filling a vacancy.

President Donald Trump’s escalating trade fight with Canada could deliver an economic blow to one of the country’s most closely watched battleground states, potentially raising costs for automakers and prices for consumers.

Michigan, home to a fiercely contested U.S. Senate race this November, is particularly vulnerable because its auto industry depends heavily on a cross-border supply chain with Canada.

America’s northern neighbor received roughly $21.2 billion worth of Michigan exports in 2025, about 36% of the state’s total, mainly vehicles and parts, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation. David Clement, policy director of the free market nonprofit Consumer Choice Center, warned the costs of tariffs could ultimately reach Michigan drivers.

“How you see this as a Michigan consumer is higher prices on the dealership lot,” Clement told Fox News Digital, describing tariffs alongside already-elevated living costs as a “double whammy.”

5 STATES COULD BE THE BIGGEST LOSERS IN TRUMP’S TRADE WAR WITH CANADA, EXPERT WARNS

Those concerns come as Trump has intensified his trade dispute with Canada.

He imposed an additional 50% tariff on certain Canadian products earlier this year, and the administration has since barred certain Canadian products from entering the U.S. beginning Sept. 29.

Clement said Michigan ranks among the states most exposed to the dispute.

“Michigan, in terms of ranking all of the states in their export vulnerability in the trade war, sits at around seventh,” he said, pointing to equipment, machinery and the auto industry as areas of concern.

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That vulnerability is compounded by how frequently auto parts cross the border before a vehicle is completed.

“Most Americans don’t know that a single component on a U.S.-assembled vehicle can cross the border upwards of eight times before it’s actually completed,” Clement said.

“When you are tariffing automotive parts going across the border each way, that is where the exposure numbers start to tick up,” he added, warning that tariffs and retaliation can “really gum up the very intertwined supply chain for cars between Michigan and Ontario.”

The economic stakes come as Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers compete for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.

Even as the trade fight creates potential political risks in Michigan, the Trump administration has defended its actions as necessary to protect American businesses and workers and level the playing field with Canada.

THE FED JUST THREW A WRENCH IN TRUMP’S MIDTERM ECONOMIC MESSAGE

Clement, however, argued the dispute could put pressure on American businesses at a politically sensitive time.

“It would appear that Donald Trump’s original escalation against Canada has somewhat backfired in terms of the midterms,” Clement said.

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He warned that businesses dependent on Canadian goods could feel the effects just as voters head to the polls.

“American manufacturers or American businesses who rely on Canadian inputs are going to start to feel the pain right in the lead-up to going to the ballot box,” Clement said. “Cost of living, cost of goods, cost of doing business is such an important factor for Americans who are going to be casting a ballot.”

A veteran campaign strategist who worked for Donald Trump’s 2024 reelection bid told Fox News Digital that pundits are misreading the strategy behind the president’s 32-state pre-midterms rally tour, which includes stops in deep red states.

Thursday, the president spoke in Denton, Texas, a suburb of Dallas before traveling to Oklahoma, a longtime bastion of conservatism that hasn’t been carried by a Democrat in a presidential election since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Trump on Friday will rally in Mobile, Alabama, another traditionally Republican-dominated state.

While political analysts speculate Trump’s blitz signals doom for the GOP in November, Luke Ball, who knows intimately the inner-workings of how the 47th president operates on the campaign trail, has a different view.

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“So for people who are maybe commenting and doing it from a perspective of ‘the president’s in trouble,’ I think that’s kind of a lazy analysis for you to just take it at surface value that he’s in red states,” Ball said. 

He added that Texas and Oklahoma go “hand in hand,” and that the appearing in both places can boost Republican midterm turnout in November across swing district or more competitive districts found in some deep red states.

Though he admits the strategy is a “risk” for Trump, he says the month-long tour isn’t a fly-by-night operation.

GOP FACES BRUTAL MIDTERM HEADWINDS AS REPUBLICANS PAINT ELECTION AS ‘COMPETITION WITH COMMUNISM’

“They keep saying — and it’s a risk politically for the president — but they keep saying that he is on the ballot and on the top of the ballot, but the reason they’re doing it is because the RNC the MAGA Incs, and the James Blair‘s of the world have the data that show who’s going to turn out for the president and nobody else,” said Ball.

MAGA Inc. is a Super PAC that poured more than $375 million into electing Trump in 2024, and is now backing Republican congressional candidates nationwide. James Blair was Trump’s 2024 campaign political director, and is now the White House Deputy Chief of Staff.

BLACK CONSERVATIVE REVEALS HOW GOP CAN LOCK DOWN MINORITY VOTERS WITHOUT TRUMP ON BALLOT

“The next stop is in Mobile, Alabama, another media market that I worked in, which is going to encompass Pensacola, Florida — which always brings out the vote for the rest of the state,” Ball said. “So if you want to solidify your standing in Florida and show that you still are the kingmaker in that state that used to be purple a few years ago, and now Democrats don’t even bother spending in it, you’ve got to make sure that you lock that down.”

“So, great optics in Alabama, great optics in Oklahoma, but in addition to that, you’re getting a red area of Texas motivated to turn out and a very, very red area of Florida to turn out for those elections.”

Nationwide media coverage of the rallies is in itself part of the strategy, too.

“Other traditional candidates would strategically target and fine-tune the principal’s time in various states, but people were saying Trump wasn’t going to go out on the campaign trail at all, and now it’s the total opposite,” Ball explained. “It’s, ‘why is he doing so much? Why is he hitting all of these deep red states?’ It’s also from a perspective too, when you have these major rallies in Mobile, Alabama, or Oklahoma or deep red states across the nation, that still gets major national coverage.”

LARGEST-EVER US STEEL PLANT IS COMING TO A KEY RED STATE AS TRUMP UNVEILS $15B INVESTMENT

In Denton, Trump toured a Peterbilt truck manufacturing plant, where he met with employees of the company and made brief remarks. Stops like that are part of a broader campaign strategy, according to Ball.

“When we were on the campaign trail, I remember [former co-campaign manager] Susie Wiles saying that at every stop he goes to, she wants him at an off the record event, whether that’s going into the Bluebird Diner in Iowa or eating a hoagie in Buc-ee’s or whatever it might be, and I almost see a little bit of parallel here with the macro strategy behind the tour,” he said.

Wiles is now Trump’s closely trusted White House Chief of Staff.

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“Instead of popping into a mom and pop show or store, he’s touring manufacturing, or he’s going to a specific industry in one state and then holding a rally that captures the media market in another. So you’re not just showing up and leaving,” Ball continued. “You always think about what’s the additional thing you can do to draw out voters in that state.”

The Justice Department wants several Minnesota federal judges removed from immigration cases after accusing them of crossing an ethical line by publicly criticizing President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The complaint argued the judges improperly commented on the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement while related cases were still pending, undermining public confidence in their impartiality.

Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Wednesday that the Justice Department filed a judicial misconduct complaint with the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals against seven Minnesota federal judges over their participation in a New York Times interview published last September.

“These judges talked to the media, or at least The New York Times, about cases, some of which are ongoing, in a manner which the Department views as a clear violation of their ethical duties,” Blanche said.

‘UNPRECEDENTED’: JUDGES REVEAL BEHIND-THE-SCENES COORDINATION ON TRUMP IMMIGRATION CASES

The complaint specifically names Judge Patrick Schiltz, appointed by President George W. Bush, and Judge John Tunheim, a Clinton appointee, along with unnamed district judges who also participated in the interviews. The Justice Department asked the Eighth Circuit’s Judicial Council to investigate the judges’ conduct and order Schiltz and Tunheim to recuse themselves from Department of Homeland Security immigration cases, arguing that their impartiality could reasonably be questioned.

But, whether that happens, however, is not up to the Justice Department.

Under the federal judiciary’s judicial misconduct process, complaints are reviewed within the judicial branch.

The chief judge of the circuit — which for the Eighth Circuit is Steven Colloton, a Bush-appointee — would first determine whether a complaint should be dismissed or referred to a special committee for further investigation, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. If a committee is appointed, it submits findings to the circuit’s Judicial Council, which decides whether any corrective action is appropriate. The judiciary also notes that the misconduct process “cannot be used to obtain automatic disqualification of a judge presiding over a case” or simply challenge a judge’s legal rulings.

OBAMA, BIDEN JUDGES DRAW FRESH FIRE AS TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION COURT CLASHES HEAT UP: ‘ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE’

The Justice Department’s complaint stemmed from a Sept. 17, 2026, New York Times article in which Judge Schiltz and Tunheim and six other Minnesota federal judges discussed the wave of immigration litigation that followed the Trump administration’s “Operation Metro Surge.” The judges described an unprecedented influx of habeas petitions and reflected on how the cases strained court resources, while also expressing concerns about aspects of the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.

Both Schiltz, who sat for a nearly 90-minute interview, and Tunheim made remarks that were specifically cited in the DOJ complaint.

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The Department argued those interviews crossed an ethical line because they addressed issues involved in active litigation. The complaint cited comments attributed to Schiltz describing the administration’s actions as threatening “the constitutional order” and “the rule of law,” as well as remarks from Tunheim criticizing the administration’s immigration arrests.

The Justice Department alleged that those statements violated the Code of Conduct for United States Judges by commenting publicly on ongoing matters and creating the appearance that the judges had prejudged issues that were likely to come before them.

“The Framers insulated judges so they would exercise judgment, not will,” Chad Mizelle, chair of Litigation for America First Policy Institute, wrote on X. “What we have now is the inverse: a bench enslaved to its own political ideology. When judges become politicians in a robe, the system starts to collapse.”

Mizelle pointed out that, in the past, judges have been removed from cases due to their conversations with the press, which “created an appearance of bias.”

“In 2001, Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson gave embargoed interviews, including to the Times, while handling United States v. Microsoft,” Mizelle wrote on X. “The D.C. Circuit called that conduct ‘deliberate, repeated, egregious and flagrant’ and removed him from the case. That standard still applies. What has changed is the willingness of sitting judges to ignore it.”

Meanwhile Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison chalked the complaint up to be the Trump administration’s attempt to intimidate judges.

“This complaint has nothing to do with judicial ethics and everything to do with political punishment,” Ellison said in a statement. “Blanche and Trump are trying to punish the judges who ruled against federal government actions during Operation Metro Surge — including the Administration’s undisputed non-compliance at the time with hundreds of court orders — even though sometimes the court ruled with the government.”

Iraq is preparing for the possibility that Islamic State fighters could spill across the border from Syria, the country’s foreign minister said Thursday. It comes just one day after the U.S. military formally ended its counter-ISIS mission in Iraq.

Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told reporters in Washington, D.C., on Thursday that Baghdad is closely watching recent ISIS activity in neighboring Syria, and warned that fighters crossing into Iraq could once again pose a threat to the country’s security.

“We are worried about ISIS activities inside Syria,” Hussein said, adding that Iraqi forces were preparing to confront any movement toward the border. Still, he stressed that Baghdad believes its military can now handle the terrorist group without the large U.S.-led coalition presence that helped defeat ISIS’s self-declared caliphate.

ISIS POISED TO EXPLOIT HISTORIC US IRAQ EXIT, TERROR GROUP ‘ACTIVELY WAITING IN THE GAPS,’ EXPERT WARNS

“If they would be capable to cross the border, that would be once again a threat to our security,” Hussein said. “We are preparing ourselves – if there will be any movement from inside Iraq — to fight them and to defeat them.”

The warning came just after the departure of the final U.S. forces under Operation Inherent Resolve on Wednesday.

US FACES ANOTHER MAJOR MIDDLE EAST TROOP WITHDRAWAL, BUT THREAT REMAINS

Trump hailed the withdrawal as a victory over ISIS, saying the terrorist group had been “completely decimated.”

“We came to fight a caliphate, and there is no longer a caliphate, so we are going home,” Trump said. “This day is a victory for the United States, a victory for Iraq, and a decisive victory over ISIS.”

But Hussein’s warning came four days after Syrian authorities said they dismantled an ISIS cell operating across four provinces, arresting four of its leaders and seizing explosives that had been prepared for attacks. The cell had carried out kidnappings and was involved in assassinations and planting explosive devices, according to Syrian security forces.

U.S. officials assess that ISIS has been severely degraded and no longer poses a systemic threat to Iraq, but the terrorist group maintains scattered cells across Iraq and Syria. The Pentagon has said Iraqi forces are capable of suppressing the remaining threat themselves, while U.S. forces continue counter-ISIS operations in Syria aimed at preventing the group from reconstituting.

The withdrawal marked the end of a U.S. military mission in Iraq that, in different forms, stretched across more than two decades and reshaped American foreign policy. The 2003 invasion toppled Saddam Hussein but gave way to years of insurgency and sectarian violence. Nearly 4,500 U.S. service members were killed before American forces withdrew in 2011.

Three years later, U.S. troops returned as ISIS swept across large parts of Iraq and Syria, seizing Mosul and declaring a self-styled caliphate. The U.S. launched Operation Inherent Resolve in 2014, leading an international coalition that helped Iraqi forces reclaim the territory ISIS had captured.

After the withdrawal, Iraq intends to pursue a bilateral security relationship with the U.S., though discussions on what that will look like have not yet begun.

He said Baghdad and Washington had discussed the principle of a future security relationship while negotiating the coalition’s departure, but still need to work out the details, including what kind of training, intelligence sharing or other military cooperation could continue.

At the same time, Baghdad is moving to bring Iran-backed militia groups operating outside the regular security forces under government control, another longstanding source of friction between Iraq and the U.S.

Iraq had originally set a Sept. 30 deadline — coinciding with the U.S.-led coalition’s withdrawal — for armed groups to lay down their weapons or come under state authority. That deadline has since slipped to June 2027 as some powerful factions resist disarmament.

Hussein said one group had issued a statement Thursday backing the government’s plan and another was expected to follow within a day, while negotiations continued with others.

“A single group will not be allowed to take the decision in their hands and attack other countries,” Hussein said.

That question has taken on new urgency as Iraq tries to contain the fallout from the war between the U.S. and neighboring Iran. Hussein confirmed that a recent attack on Saudi Arabia originated from Iraqi territory near the Iranian border, prompting an investigation by Baghdad and consultations with both Riyadh and Tehran.

Hussein said he had been in contact with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan over the attack and planned to visit Riyadh to discuss the matter further. The investigation remains ongoing, he said.

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More broadly, Hussein described Iraq as caught in the middle of the U.S.-Iran conflict, saying Iraqi territory had been struck by both sides.

“We became a victim of this war,” Hussein said.

Baghdad has pressed both Washington and Tehran to resolve the conflict through negotiations, Hussein said, while seeking to keep Iraq from being drawn further into the fighting.

Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken has been accused of repeatedly appearing intoxicated during city-related events, making racially derogatory remarks and asking intrusive questions about sexuality, according to a newly released 25-page government claim.

Berenice Ballinas, who has worked in Aitken’s office since December 2022 as her chief of staff, alleges harassment, discrimination and retaliation based on her perceived sexual orientation, Mexican heritage and Catholic faith.

The filing also accuses the city of failing to adequately respond after concerns were raised.

Ballinas outlines a number of alleged incidents involving Aitken, including accusations about the mayor’s conduct while drinking.

SMALL-TOWN VIRGINIA MAYOR REPORTEDLY ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY SHOWING UP DRUNK TO TRAIN DERAILMENT

She alleges that Aitken arrived at a City Council meeting in April 2025 appearing “visibly impaired by alcohol.”

After a closed session at the meeting, Ballinas says she ultimately drove Aitken home in then-City Manager Jim Vanderpool’s city vehicle. During the roughly 15-minute ride, the claim alleges Aitken began searching through Vanderpool’s vehicle and personal belongings and taking photographs with her cellphone.

Ballinas says she objected and told the mayor to delete the photos because Vanderpool’s information was private.

Aitken is also accused in the claim of making racially derogatory remarks.

Ballinas alleges that Aitken made multiple derogatory comments concerning her Mexican heritage and referred to her as a “dirty Mexican.”

During a separate incident at Disneyland in May 2025, Ballinas said she offered to drive Aitken after believing the mayor was too intoxicated to drive home safely. However, Aitken allegedly declined the offer because she refused to have “a Mexican” drive her, according to the claim.

Aitken has directly denied using the racial slur attributed to her and said the allegations deserve to be investigated.

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“These allegations are extremely serious, and they deserve to be investigated. I did not use the racial slur attributed to me, and I have always been a champion of the LGBTQ community,” she said in a statement posted last month on Facebook.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Aitken’s office for comment.

Ballinas also described alleged conduct during a team dinner, where she said she observed Aitken becoming “physically affectionate” with another person, including touching and grabbing him, resulting in the mayor’s husband removing her from the event.

While walking back toward the hotel, Ballinas alleges Aitken became angry and knocked or pushed over a bicycle, damaging its mirror, before later falling in the street.

Aitken then fell in the street, according to the claim.

When Ballinas told the mayor’s husband that Aitken was not OK and needed help, he allegedly responded, “Don’t we all?”

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The filing says Aitken’s husband later asked Ballinas to make a Venmo payment to compensate the bicycle’s owner.

Ballinas also makes several allegations concerning questions about her perceived sexual orientation.

She said Aitken took her to Disneyland’s Club 33 for a birthday lunch on June 10, 2026, where the mayor consumed alcohol and repeatedly questioned whether Ballinas was a lesbian.

Later at the 1901 Lounge, Aitken allegedly questioned a Disney cast member about whether he was gay or straight and about his dating life.

Disney later sent written correspondence to the Club 33 member whose membership was used for the visit, saying cast members had reported “rude, insensitive, and inappropriate remarks” during the outing.

The government claim says Ballinas was forced to take leave beginning around July 31 and alleges retaliation after she reported or opposed conduct she believed violated laws or workplace rules.

Anaheim has said a review of the allegations is underway. Aitken has pledged to participate in the process.

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She is currently seeking another term as Anaheim mayor in the Nov. 3 election.

The Trump administration has reduced the federal workforce to the lowest point in roughly 60 years, according to newly released data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

As of August, just 2.67 million people were employed by the federal government, down from just over 3 million when President Donald Trump took office, marking the lowest headcount since 1966, per the BLS.

The administration has estimated those cuts will produce significant savings, with OPM projecting that its Deferred Resignation Program alone will save more than $20 billion a year. But the reductions have also come with costs.

Revenue collected from IRS examinations fell 35%, from about $10 billion in fiscal 2024 to $6.5 billion in fiscal 2025, as the agency was undergoing steep workforce reductions that ultimately cut examination and collection staffing by nearly 10,000 employees, according to a Treasury watchdog.

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Former President Joe Biden secured nearly $80 billion in 2022 for the IRS over 10 years to upgrade its systems, improve taxpayer service and hire more staff, including enforcement personnel.

The Trump administration has proposed further IRS cuts for 2027.

Not all agencies have been hit the same by the Trump administration’s cuts.

The Departments of Education, Agriculture and Housing and Urban Development have been cut particularly hard, whereas headcount at the Department of Homeland Security, which has been responsible for carrying out much of the president’s immigration agenda, has remained largely unchanged.

TRUMP’S $5K CHECKS COULD JOIN STACK OF PAST UNFULFILLED PROMISES, FORMER CONGRESS BUDGET CHIEF WARNS

Not included in the BLS’ count of government employees are the roughly 1.35 million members of the armed services or the approximately 100,000 people employed by intelligence agencies.

Cutting the size of the federal workforce, a project that was eventually spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency and the Office of Personnel Management, was a major campaign promise during Trump’s 2024 run as he vowed to slim down what he said was a bloated government. 

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT UNCOVERS $500M IN FRAUD AND WASTE IN FEDERAL HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAMS

GAO found that agencies spent about $6.7 billion paying employees who took part in the Deferred Resignation Program, which allowed many of them to stop working while still collecting a paycheck until they officially left government. The Partnership for Public Service also estimated the government spent $12.1 million rehiring workers who had previously been fired during the administration’s workforce reductions.

Despite the cuts, most of which happened during the president’s first year in office, the Trump administration spent 3% more on federal salaries during its first year in power than the Biden administration did during its initial year.

If Republicans win the midterm elections, the president has promised to cut $5,000 checks to all adult American citizens, a long-shot promise that, if followed through on, would cost the nation between $1.2 trillion and $1.35 trillion.

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The White House did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital.

FIRST ON FOX: House GOP leaders are quietly laying their battle plans for the final month ahead of the November midterm elections.

A new memo being sent to Republicans across the country, first obtained by Fox News Digital, reveals four key topics that the House GOP is focusing on in the final four weeks before the election: the border, fraudulent use of taxpayer dollars, the economy, and public safety.

“I think these are the points that the voters actually care most about,” House GOP Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., who leads Republicans’ messaging strategy, told Fox News Digital. “[Democrats] want open borders. They want to defund the police, they want to take more money out of your pocket and give it to somebody else. They believe in bigger government. We believe in people… So those are the things that we’re really hammering home during this election.”

It comes as Republicans fight an uphill battle to keep control of Congress for the latter half of President Donald Trump’s final term.

REPUBLICANS FACE BRUTAL MIDTERM HEADWINDS. SIX FORCES COULD HELP THEM DEFY HISTORY.

A recent Fox News poll found Democrats have a wider path to victory than Republicans in the House. Democrats are projected to win 215 seats compared to 201 for the GOP, meaning the left only needs three more victories out of the 19 possible toss-up races to clinch a majority. Republicans would need to win at least 17 of those races.

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Republicans are also seeing political opportunity in the far-left insurgency that’s gripped the Democratic Party during its primary cycle, warning that socialists are pushing the party further left than the majority of Americans.

On the economy, which is a focus of week two in the GOP memo, Republican incumbents and candidates are encouraged to talk about “putting more money back in Americans’ pockets and creating more opportunities to get ahead through hard work, ownership, and economic freedom.”

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The economy, including high grocery and gas prices, has become a central issue in the 2026 election cycle.

Democrats have seized on Americans’ struggle with cost-of-living as a political cudgel against Republicans, particularly using Trump’s tariffs on allies like Canada and his war in Iran as arguments against the GOP.

McClain acknowledged Americans’ concerns, urging Republicans to be forthright with their voters but warning that Democrats’ high-tax policies would worsen the situation. She also pointed to the low poverty rate and Trump’s new trade deals as positives the GOP could highlight.

“What we’re not going to do is gaslight the American people, right? That’s what the Democrats did, and it didn’t work well for them,” she said, referencing former President Joe Biden’s handling of high inflation during his term. “But you have to take a look at the alternative. The alternative is absolutely terrifying.”

“We had a massive hole that we were digging out of under Biden. We have more work to do, of course we do, but do you want our trajectory, or do you want to go back to 9% inflation, open borders, and, and higher taxes? Because I tell everybody, every single Democrat voted to raise your taxes. They want more of your money.”

She echoed Trump’s assurances that gas prices would drop when the conflict with Iran ended, adding, “We also don’t want the number one state sponsor of terror to have a nuclear weapon, and we have to protect Americans from that.”

Meanwhile, Trump’s polling is underwater, with the most recent Fox News survey from mid-September finding his disapproval rating at 61%. Trump’s favorability remains a high 79% with Republican voters, however, meaning the GOP could still prevail by turning out the base on Nov. 3.

One of the most decisive issues of his 2024 victory proved to be illegal immigration and the border, a fervor Republicans are hoping they can harness again come November.

The memo encouraged Republicans to discuss “protecting America by stopping illegal immigration, enforcing our laws, and knowing who is entering the country.”

McClain pointed to policies promoted by far-left Democrats like abolishing police — and some mainstream Democrats’ backing of sanctuary jurisdictions — as a contrast point for the election, while arguing Republicans were still supportive of legal immigration.

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“They tell you they want to defund the police. They tell you they want sanctuary cities. These are their words, not mine. These are the policies…they want,” McClain said. “The Republicans, we want immigration, we believe in immigration, but we want people to come in the right way and we darn sure want to make sure we know who’s coming across.”

FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of 128 Republican lawmakers is pressing the federal government to scrutinize Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer funding and potentially launch an investigation into the organization and its affiliates.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., led the bicameral effort, asking Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General T. March Bell to review Planned Parenthood‘s federal funding and determine whether the organization and its affiliates have complied with federal laws and funding requirements.

“We write to request that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) review and, if appropriate, initiate an investigation into the activities of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. and the organization’s affiliates,” the lawmakers wrote.

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Their request casts a rather wide net.

The lawmakers want OIG to scrutinize funding flowing through HHS programs, grants, contracts and sub-awards and determine whether evidence exists of fraud, waste, abuse, misrepresentation or other violations affecting federal health programs.

If misconduct is uncovered, they want the watchdog to consider consequences ranging from administrative remedies and suspension to exclusion from federal healthcare programs or referrals to other authorities.

“Planned Parenthood and its affiliates have faced serious allegations involving the use of federal funds and compliance with federal law. Those allegations deserve a thorough review,” Lankford said.

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“The HHS Inspector General should follow the facts, determine whether federal laws and funding requirements have been violated, and hold accountable anyone who has misused taxpayer dollars,” he added.

The push comes as the Small Business Administration (SBA) separately reviews more than $88 million in COVID-era Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans received by 38 Planned Parenthood affiliates.

The lawmakers cited the SBA action in their letter, characterizing it as an investigation into whether Planned Parenthood affiliates “illegally received $88 million” in pandemic loans. SBA has described its action as a review of whether the affiliates were eligible for the loans. The review itself is not a finding that the affiliates violated the law.

But the lawmakers want federal scrutiny to go well beyond the pandemic loans.

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They are asking OIG to examine Planned Parenthood’s broader HHS funding and coordinate with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on what they described as a “comprehensive review” of the organization’s activities.

HHS-OIG told Fox News Digital Wednesday evening that it had not yet received the letter.

“We have not received the letter and will review it for appropriate action once received,” HHS-OIG said.

Smith, co-chairman of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, said the scrutiny was “long overdue,” citing allegations involving federal funding, reporting requirements, sexual exploitation and fetal tissue.

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“It is long overdue for a comprehensive investigation and review, and I urge the HHS OIG to look closely to determine whether it has violated federal standards for federal funding recipients,” Smith said.

The congressional letter also points to reports alleging failures to comply with mandatory reporting requirements involving suspected child abuse or neglect. The lawmakers are asking federal officials to examine those allegations. They have not been established as findings by HHS-OIG.

“Given the significant taxpayer resources that flow through federal health and human services programs, it is critical that recipient organizations operate with transparency, integrity, and full compliance with federal standards,” the lawmakers wrote.

The lawmakers closed by asking OIG to coordinate across the federal government to conduct a “comprehensive review” of Planned Parenthood’s activities.

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“Thank you for your continued commitment to protecting the integrity of federal health programs and safeguarding taxpayer dollars,” they wrote.

Planned Parenthood did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The Trump administration has proposed requiring U.S. taxpayers to disclose their citizenship and work authorization status to the IRS on the annual tax form that nearly all workers file each year.

The administration claims the proposed requirement would help federal officials stop illegal migrants from collecting federal benefits they are not eligible for, which officials argue could save taxpayers up to $2 billion.

The IRS posted its draft 1040 form for 2026 in late August, which includes the question, “At the time you file your return, are you, and your spouse if filing jointly, a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or an alien lawfully authorized to work in the U.S.?” The form has “Yes” and “No” checkboxes for both the filer and their spouse.

A draft of a second form, Schedule 3-A, which is used to claim refundable tax credits, features a similar question.

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Under the proposal, every tax filer must certify their immigration or citizenship status to the IRS under penalty of law to file their return.

The Treasury Department said the new question aims to keep illegal migrants from taking advantage of refundable tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit, that low- and middle-income workers and families may qualify for and that often result in a refund for eligible taxpayers.

The information collected will be “subject to a variety of privacy, disclosure and other legal protections,” a Treasury official said in a statement without disclosing whether the information would be shared with federal immigration enforcement to target a person for arrest and deportation.

While illegal migrants are not authorized to live and work in the U.S., they still do pay taxes. For example, illegal migrants typically pay into Social Security but generally cannot collect Social Security benefits unless they later become eligible under federal law.

In 2024, the National Taxpayer Advocate found 3.8 million tax returns where a taxpayer used an Individual Tax Identification Number, or ITIN. An ITIN can be issued for multiple purposes, but undocumented workers who cannot obtain a Social Security number are among the people who use them.

According to IRS data, taxpayers who filed those nearly 4 million returns paid $14.4 billion in income taxes and $6.5 billion in Social Security and Medicare taxes.

A valid Social Security Number is required to qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, while workers with only an ITIN do not qualify. The IRS checks Social Security Numbers against Social Security Administration records for each claim of the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Illegal migrants are generally not eligible for federal benefits. Eligibility for refundable tax credits depends on federal tax law and immigration status. Current law generally requires a valid Social Security number for the Earned Income Tax Credit, while eligibility for the Additional Child Tax Credit varies based on statutory requirements. The Trump administration’s proposal would further limit eligibility by applying standards under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act to certain refundable tax credits.

However, some migrants in the U.S. who are currently for some of these credits would not be eligible under the new policy, such as people covered under the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, those with temporary protected status and temporary workers in the country under H1-B visas.

The Trump administration claims that the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which governs who is eligible for benefit programs, should also be applied to refundable tax credits.

A research paper published this week estimates that 671,000 people, including 309,000 children, would lose the Earned Income Tax Credit under this proposal. Another 1.1 million people, including 574,000 children, would lose the Additional Child Tax Credit.

Most of the children who would lose eligibility to these credits are U.S. citizens due to at least one of their parents’ citizenship or immigration status, according to the researchers at Boston University, Columbia University and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Critics of the new policy view it as a new checkbox that gives the federal government even more information on taxpayers. Illegal migrants would face a complicated choice to either declare on a tax return that they are unlawfully in the U.S., which could potentially make them a target for immigration-related arrests, or lie on the return, which is a felony.

Some migrants may opt for a third option and stop filing their taxes altogether.

“It could be used as an immigration enforcement tool and that is probably the reason why they are doing this,” David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, told The Associated Press.

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“It’s dragging the IRS into this administration’s immigration policies,” said Nina Olson, executive director for the Center for Taxpayer Rights.

The Trump administration has previously attempted to use the IRS to carry out its immigration agenda.

Last year, the Treasury Department agreed to share confidential taxpayer information of migrants with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help the agency identify people for deportation.

The data-sharing agreement was blocked by a federal judge, ruling that it violated federal taxpayer privacy laws. But before it was stopped, the IRS had already given ICE the addresses of 47,000 people.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., caused an uproar on social media when she made a post defending her decision to get pregnant despite potentially facing nearly two decades in prison for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers at Delaney Hall detention center protests.

“People might find it crazy that even though I’m facing 17 years in prison, I made the decision to get pregnant,” McIver posted to X on Tuesday. “But, at the end of the day, this is something I couldn’t let be consumed by this administration. I refuse to let them take my joy or my future.”

The New Jersey congresswoman is being charged on three counts of allegedly assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement. The charges stem from McIver’s May 2025 visit to Delaney Hall with other Democratic lawmakers. Prosecutors allege McIver physically interfered with federal officers as they attempted to arrest Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. McIver has denied wrongdoing and argued that she was performing congressional oversight.

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McIver’s post prompted several conservative figures and social media users to accuse her of highlighting — or even timing — her pregnancy in hopes of receiving favorable treatment in her criminal case.

“When getting pregnant is a social media stunt to avoid prison time…,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., posted to X.

“You violently assaulted a law enforcement officer on camera, then somehow convinced a man to knock you up for political reasons so you could paint yourself as a victim,” New Jersey Trump delegate Mike Crispi wrote. “Disgraceful. The poor child.”

“Why is your pregnancy amid the criminal charges a social media stunt accompanied with a photoshoot?” conservative journalist Andy Ngo said. “Is anyone in your office normal?

“Getting pregnant to sway justice is a whole new level of sick,” one X user posted.

“Why would I find it crazy?” another user said. “You are a cheater & a fraud and, true to character, you became pregnant in an attempt to sway the outcome of the court in your favor.”

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“Facing 17 years, gets pregnant in hope of leniency,” another user wrote. “‘I refuse to let them take my joy or my future.’ as the excuse. Congratulations on giving your child the best possible start to life. You are just a genuinely disgusting person.”

The post comes about a month after a divided federal appeals court allowed two charges against McIver to proceed while sending a third back to the district court for further consideration of her legislative-immunity argument.

McIver argued that she should have immunity from prosecution because she was carrying out her duties as a congresswoman in her actions that led to her being charged, calling the charges “vindictive.”

“Oh stop with the desperate need for sympathy,” one posted to X. “YOU are not above the law.”

“You are on camera assaulting law enforcement,” another said. “You are not above the law, you swore to defend it and broke it.”

One user left a screenshot of a past tweet from McIver where she posted saying, “No one is above the law! Full stop.”

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McIver faces multiple felony charges and, if convicted, could face prison time.

McIver did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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Despite the charges, McIver is on the ballot for re-election to continue to represent New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District.

Federal authorities made arrests in a string of election-related indictments against noncitizens in recent weeks, colliding with Democratic claims ranging from such voting being “extremely rare” to assertions that it simply “doesn’t happen.”

The cases come amid a partisan fight over the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. Democrats argue the measure would make voting harder for eligible Americans.

“Let me be perfectly clear: This is a non-issue. Noncitizens do not vote in U.S. elections,” Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., declared in 2025 after voting ‘no’ on the bill at the time.

Three noncitizens were arrested this month in Philadelphia County, which Scanlon partially represents, and charged with election-related offenses.

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Trinidad and Tobago national Sade Guppy allegedly voted illegally in the 2022 midterms, while Haitian illegal immigrant Cliff Sanon was charged with submitting a fraudulent voter registration application prior to the 2026 Pennsylvania primary.

DHS also pointed Fox News Digital to Mauritanian illegal immigrant Mahady Sacko, who is accused of voting in seven federal elections since 2008.

Fox News Digital reached out to Scanlon for comment.

On Wednesday, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced indictments of 10 foreign nationals accused of committing voter fraud in Minnesota alone, including during August’s primary, saying the issue should not be a “partisan concept.”

The alleged illegal voters captured are from Brazil, Ghana, Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Liberia and Canada.

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., has similarly called noncitizen voting “extremely rare” while denouncing the SAVE Act as “anti-voter” and claiming Trump is trying to “scapegoat immigrants.”

When asked Wednesday by Fox News Digital about the spate of arrests, Padilla reaffirmed the crime is “already illegal and every legitimate study shows it is extremely rare, despite Donald Trump’s claim to the contrary.”

“The Department of Justice’s arrest of a dozen people after investigating millions of the 174 million registered voters in America confirms that,” he said, adding he wished the DOJ would instead focus on reported delays in voter-registration processing in states like Texas to ensure every eligible voter can vote.

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Padilla called the recent announcement of 12 arrests a “desperate attempt by Republicans to distract from their record of rising costs, chaos, and corruption that are hurting the American people.”

Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., has called the SAVE Act “extremely dangerous” and “voter suppression.” His office responded to Fox News Digital but did not offer comment before press time.

Last month, Democratic Rep. James Walkinshaw of Fairfax County, Virginia, spoke out similarly on MS NOW.

“It is so rare that it’s almost impossible to measure. It just doesn’t happen,” Walkinshaw said, surmising that Trump is trying to resurrect the “Big Lie” and “whining about the fact that he lost the 2020 election” by posturing to make similar claims after Republicans lose the midterms.

Fox News Digital also sought comment from Walkinshaw and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who said in March that “noncitizens do not vote in American elections.”

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill also disclosed over the summer that roughly 400 noncitizens had voted in the state while resisting calls for additional federal scrutiny.

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Three New Jersey residents were also charged this month with illegally voting and making false statements on citizenship applications. They hailed from Jamaica, Venezuela and Senegal.

Asked about the dynamic, a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital the agency could not comment on active investigations but remains committed to “rooting out and investigating election fraud wherever it can be found,” demonstrating proof.

“Despite the media and Democrats denying it for decades, noncitizens continue to register and vote in federal elections,” White House spokesperson Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital.

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“Only Americans should be electing America’s leaders,” she said, as clamoring from both sides of the issue grows louder ahead of key midterm elections.

Fox News’ William Mears Jr. contributed to this report.