NationalWatch

Republican Rep. Randy Fine of Florida has joined the ranks of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

“HUGE NEWS: I’m proud to announce that I have officially joined the strongest group of conservative patriots in Congress,” he declared in a Thursday post on X.

“The House @freedomcaucus exists to save our country and preserve freedom, not manage our decline. That’s what I love about this group. I look forward to continuing the fight alongside my HFC colleagues to advance the MAGA agenda and fight for conservative principles,” he added.

GOP REP RANDY FINE DECLARES THAT DEPORTING ALL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IS THE TOP WAY TO MAKE THE US AFFORDABLE

Fine, who represents Florida’s 6th Congressional District, took office last year after winning a special election to fill the seat previously held by Republican Mike Waltz.

President Donald Trump backed Fine shortly before he launched his congressional bid. In a November 2024 Truth Social post, the president declared, “Should he decide to enter this Race, Randy Fine has my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, RANDY, RUN!”

REPUBLICAN LABELS MAMDANI AS ‘LITTLE MORE THAN A MUSLIM TERRORIST,’ ADVOCATES YANKING CITIZENSHIP, DEPORTATION

Trump declared in a Truth Social post last year that the lawmaker “is doing a fantastic job representing Florida’s 6th Congressional District!” The president said the congressman “has my Complete and Total Endorsement.”

“I found in my first year in Congress that there are two types of Republicans: those who want to save America and those who want to manage our decline politely,” Fine noted, according to The Daily Signal. “They were unquestionably the group whose values were most in line with mine.”

LAWMAKER SAYS IRAN TARGETED HIM IN PHISHING ATTACK DISGUISED AS TV INTERVIEW

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“Trying to manage the budget, trying to get the government under control, trying to stand up to the Left — they seemed to be the group whose values were most in line with mine,” he said, according to the outlet.

Oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively halted despite a U.S.-backed ceasefire that hinged on reopening the critical waterway, raising fresh questions about whether Iran is following through on a central condition of the truce.

A backlog of roughly 3,200 vessels — among them 800 tankers and cargo ships — has built up west of the strait, with ships idling as operators wait for clarity on whether it is safe to pass.

No oil tankers have risked the journey in recent days, according to Matt Smith, an analyst at Kpler, a data and intelligence company. 

“We’re not seeing any, any, any oil products passing through there,” Smith said. “So for all intents and purposes, the strait remains closed. And this is the leverage that Iran has.”

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

Three vessels passed through the Strait on Thursday, according to Smith, two of them Iranian-flagged and one a dry bulk carrier.

“Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz. That is not the agreement we have!” President Donald Trump warned on Wenesday. 

Nearly 20,000 mariners essentially are stranded in the Persian Gulf throughout the crisis, according to the International Maritime Organization.

On Wednesday, one Sri Lanka-flagged vessel passed inbound through the strait, while four dry bulk carriers — flagged in Botswana, Liberia, Panama and St. Kitts and Nevis — and one Iranian vessel sailed outbound, according to Windward AI, a maritime data platform.

The few vessels that are transiting are doing so through a corridor near Iran’s Larak Island rather than standard commercial lanes, according to Windward, with some ships switching off tracking systems as they pass.

At the same time, cargo is increasingly being rerouted through ports in Oman and along the United Arab Emirates’ east coast, adding roughly two weeks to some voyages and increasing costs by about 25%.

The continued standstill comes despite President Donald Trump saying the ceasefire hinged on “Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz.”

TRUMP’S APOCALYPTIC IRAN WARNING RAISES STAKES FOR SWEEPING US STRIKE THREAT

While the truce has paused U.S. military action, shipping through the critical waterway has yet to resume — underscoring the gap between the agreement on paper and conditions on the ground.

Some 20% of the world’s oil supply typically passes through the strait, and analysts say shipping companies have a far lower risk tolerance than governments, meaning a fragile ceasefire alone is not enough to bring vessels back onto the waterway.

“We don’t know whether the Strait of Hormuz is mined. Even if it isn’t, the risk of being hit by a missile or a drone is a big enough deterrent,” Smith said. “No one’s willing to take the chance.”

He added that insurance constraints are making it difficult for ships to transit even if operators are willing to move.

War-risk insurance remains available in some cases, but at sharply elevated premiums and with added restrictions, further discouraging operators from entering the strait.

Sultan Al Jaber, head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, posted on LinkedIn Thursday: “This moment requires clarity. So let’s be clear: the Strait of Hormuz is not open.”

“Access is being restricted, conditioned and controlled,” he said. “Iran has made clear — through both its statements and actions — that passage is subject to permission, conditions and political leverage.”

Meanwhile, Iran is demanding the right to charge a toll of $1 per barrel of oil on board, paid in cryptocurrency, according to the Financial Times.

Iranian state media reported Wednesday that Iran was keeping the strait closed in response to continued Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon, which the U.S. claims was not part of the ceasefire.

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Still, Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump have said Israel will scale down its attacks in Lebanon to allow breathing room for the ceasefire to succeed.

Despite the standoff, talks between top U.S. and Iranian leaders aimed at securing a permanent ceasefire are scheduled for Saturday in Pakistan.

Senate Republicans are meeting with President Donald Trump Friday to crystallize a plan to fund immigration operations that would cut out Democrats altogether.

Congressional Republicans are turning to the party-line budget reconciliation process to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for years to come in a move that can’t be blocked by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Republicans have a short timetable to get the job done given that Trump has set a deadline for the bill to be on his desk by June 1.

‘WE DIDN’T CAVE’: THUNE HIGHLIGHTS SCHUMER, DEMS’ LOSSES IN DHS FUNDING DEAL

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said he and Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., are meeting with Trump on Friday to prepare the framework of the package.

“We’re going to have to go it alone because Democrats aren’t interested in funding national security at a time of increased concerns around the world,” Barrasso said.

Republicans will first have to produce a budget resolution to provide guardrails for the forthcoming package. Barrasso said Senate Republicans plan to do it in a “targeted way, focused and get it done fast.”

A key hurdle in the process, however, is getting both House and Senate Republicans aligned on a plan. Senate Republicans want to keep a reconciliation package as narrow as possible, while some in the House are eyeing funding the entire Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in one massive bill.

GOP RAILS AGAINST ‘S— SANDWICH’ DEAL AS ALL EYES TURN TO HOUSE TO END DHS SHUTDOWN

Graham said recently that he envisions two reconciliation bills in 2026, one targeting ICE and CBP and another serving as a vehicle for several GOP priorities, including portions of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act and provisions to tackle fraud.

“Reconciliation has limits, but we’re going to make a down payment on the SAVE Act in reconciliation in the fall,” Graham said Monday on a South Carolina radio show, “Straight Talk with Bill Frady.”

But a key House GOP voice won’t be there.

A source told Fox News Digital House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, Graham’s counterpart in the process, will not attend the White House meeting Friday, and noted that it was a Senate-only confab.

Barrasso said there would likely be discussions on a “number of topics” for reconciliation, but the end goal for Senate Republicans remains funding ICE and CBP.

GOP RACES TO PASS ICE, BORDER PATROL FUNDING BILL AS PRIORITIES PILE UP, DIVISIONS EMERGE

“What I’m telling you today is we’re moving ahead in spite of incredible obstruction by the Democrats,” Barrasso said. “We’re focusing immigration and funding, immigration custom enforcement and border patrol, with Republican votes alone using reconciliation.”

Senate Democrats aren’t backing down from their shutdown position. Their demand for reforms to immigration operations, like requiring judicial warrants to search people’s homes and unmasking DHS agents in exchange for funding ICE and CBP has led the ongoing shutdown to stretch beyond 50 days.

Despite being cut out of the funding process altogether under Republicans’ reconciliation plan, Democrats still view their position as a winning strategy.

Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., argued that, as with the creation of the 2025 “big, beautiful bill,” Republicans will likely look for areas to cut spending to fund ICE and CBP, a move that could come back to bite them in the midterm elections.

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Kim told Fox News Digital Republicans bypassing Democrats to fund immigration operations does not make their shutdown posture “moot.”  

“We’re trying to make sure we’re standing up for the voice of the American people. If Republicans want to go around the American people, then they will answer to voters in November,” Kim said.

“And the Democrats, we will find our way back into gavels and power, and we will do what we can at that point to do what the American people wanted from the start, which is to focus on their concerns and not have this, you know, army of masked ICE agents without identification, without judicial warrants, terrorizing our neighborhoods.”

NATO’s chief signaled Thursday that European allies may move to help secure the Strait of Hormuz following talks with President Donald Trump — even as the White House declared the alliance had already “failed” and was not being asked to assist.

Secretary-General Mark Rutte, speaking at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in Washington a day after meeting Trump at the White House, pointed to a potential coalition effort among allied nations to keep the critical waterway open.

“If NATO can help, obviously, then there is no reason not to be helpful,” Rutte said.

But a White House official pushed back sharply on the notion that the alliance would play any role.

TRUMP SEEKS WARSHIPS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES TO HELP SECURE STRAIT OF HORMUZ

“As President Trump said yesterday, NATO was tested, and they failed,” the official told Fox News Digital Thursday. “He has zero expectations for NATO at this point and did not ask them for anything, even though it’s a fact that they benefit from the Strait of Hormuz far more than the United States.”

The split messaging underscores a growing rift between Washington and its European allies over how — or whether — NATO should be involved in the escalating Iran conflict.

Rutte framed the tension as part of a deeper structural imbalance, warning Europe’s reliance on U.S. military power had created what he called an “unhealthy codependence.”

MORE KEY US ALLIES BLOCK MILITARY FLIGHTS AS IRAN WAR RIFT WIDENS WITH TRUMP

A European diplomat confirmed to Fox News Digital that Rutte conveyed Trump expects a plan from allies within days, underscoring the urgency behind U.S. demands — even as the White House publicly denies seeking NATO’s involvement.

NATO also signaled the U.S. is pressing for concrete commitments.

“The secretary-general is in contact with allies about his discussions in Washington,” NATO spokesperson Allison Hart told Fox News Digital. “It’s clear that the United States expects concrete commitments and action to ensure the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”

Rutte suggested the disagreement reflects a broader divide among allies rather than a failure of NATO as an institution.

“It’s not so much NATO, it is the allies,” he said, pointing to what he described as obligations by individual countries to support U.S. operations when prior agreements are in place.

The dispute highlights a deeper clash over NATO’s role, with the Trump administration pressing allies to back U.S.-led military action against Iran while several European governments have resisted, arguing the conflict falls outside the alliance’s core collective defense mission.

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

That friction had already surfaced during the early stages of the conflict. 

Spain denied Washington access to key military bases at Rota and Morón and blocked U.S. aircraft involved in strikes against Iran from using its airspace, complicating American operations. France also restricted some airspace access tied to military logistics during the conflict, including denying Israeli aircraft permission to transport U.S. weapons, drawing pushback from U.S. and Israeli officials. 

French officials said overflight requests are handled case by case.

Several European countries also have said the Iran conflict is “not our war,” declining to deploy naval forces to reopen the Strait of Hormuz during active fighting and instead signaling support for maritime security efforts only after hostilities ease.

Trump repeatedly has criticized NATO allies for what he sees as insufficient support, warning the alliance risks becoming a “one-way street.”

“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore,” Trump said in a Truth Social post in March. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has similarly warned that Washington may “reexamine the value of NATO” following the conflict, citing frustration over European restrictions on U.S. basing and operational access.

Despite the tensions, Rutte emphasized that many European allies have provided support — including access to bases, logistics and overflights.

“He is clearly disappointed with many NATO allies, and I can see his point,” Rutte said. “But… the large majority of European nations has been helpful with basing, with logistics, with overflights, with making sure that they lived up to the commitments.”

Rutte also pointed to an emerging coalition model outside NATO’s formal structure, with countries coordinating directly to maintain security in the Strait of Hormuz.

“When it comes to the Strait of Hormuz, what you see now is countries coming together to make sure that the strait stays open,” he said. “If countries work together with the United States, that is a shared commitment that we cannot accept the strait being closed.”

He said the United Kingdom has taken a leading role in organizing that effort.

“This is about practical support,” Rutte added. “Each country is now looking at what they can do to contribute — whether that is minehunters, frigates, or surveillance and technology.”

Rutte returned to that broader critique of Europe’s defense posture, arguing the alliance had grown too dependent on Washington.

“Western European forces shrank, and defense budgets shriveled… in favor of what I would call an unhealthy codependence,” he said.

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Still, he argued that the alliance is beginning to shift.

“This is a move from codependence to a transatlantic alliance grounded in true partnership,” Rutte said. “There will be no going back.”

Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is taking aim at Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger as he helps steer Republican efforts to defeat a Democrat-backed congressional redistricting referendum that would create up to four additional left-leaning U.S. House seats ahead of the midterm elections.

“She told voters in August of 2025 that she had no plans, no intention to do redistricting. And then the very first bill that she signed into law was the enabling legislation for this monstrosity of gerrymandering to go forward,” Miyares told Fox News Digital on Thursday, as he pointed to Spanberger.

Miyares’ comments come as early voting is underway in Virginia ahead of an April 21 election on the ballot initiative, which, if passed, would give the Democrat-controlled legislature — rather than the current nonpartisan commission — redistricting power through the 2030 election. It could result in a 10-1 advantage for Democrats in the state’s congressional delegation, up from their current 6-5 edge.

Republicans call the Democrats’ redistricting effort an “unconstitutional power grab.” Democrats counter that it’s a necessary step to balance out partisan gerrymandering already implemented by Republicans in other states under the urging of President Donald Trump.

SPANBERGER ONCE BLASTED GERRYMANDERING AND NOW BACKS AMENDMENT CRITICS SAY COULD ERASE VIRGINIA GOP

Spanberger, a former CIA officer who served three terms in Congress, won election last year by a larger-than-expected 15-point margin in a state that is usually competitive between Democrats and Republicans.

But a poll last week from The Washington Post indicated that the new governor’s approval rating was barely above water, with the highest unfavorable rating for a new Virginia governor in two decades.

Miyares, speaking with Fox News Digital, argued that Spanberger “is the most unpopular governor in modern Virginia political history.”

OBAMA ENDORSES VIRGINIA REDISTRICTING CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THAT COULD HELP DEMS GAIN 4 SEATS

“She’s an unpopular governor with an unpopular agenda and she lied to the voters,” he charged as he pointed to her comments on the gubernatorial campaign trail last year regarding redistricting.

And in a social media post on Wednesday, Miyares took aim at Spanberger, writing, “Governor ‘Bait and Switch’ is what people hate about self serving politicians.”

Miyares is co-chair for Virginians for Fair Maps, a GOP-aligned group that is working to defeat the redistricting referendum.

The group is currently running an ad statewide on TV and online that uses a 2019 quote from Spanberger, in which she wrote, “gerrymandering is detrimental to our democracy.”

“Trust me, we will be putting your face on a bunch of mailers reminding voters how you lied & previously stated you wouldn’t gerrymander Virginia into oblivion and then promptly did the opposite,” Miyares wrote in his social media post.

SOROS-BACKED GROUP AMONG LIBERAL ORGS PUMPING EYE-POPPING CASH INTO VIRGINIA GERRYMANDERING EFFORT

Along with former President Barack Obama, Spanberger has become one of the most visible faces in support of the amendment.

“I’m voting yes on Virginia’s redistricting amendment,” the governor says in an ad by Democratic-aligned Virginians for Fair Elections, the top political group backing the ballot initiative. The group is spending seven figures to run the ad statewide.

In the spot, Spanberger says she’s supporting the referendum because “it’s directly in response to what other states decide to do and a president who says he’s quote entitled to more Republican seats before this year’s midterms. Our approach is different. It’s temporary. It preserves Virginia’s fair redistricting process into the future.”

And Spanberger, in a statement last month, emphasized, “I supported the formation of Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting commission in 2020, and that support has not changed.”

Virginia is the latest battleground in the high-stakes fight between Trump and the GOP versus Democrats over congressional redistricting.

BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE RUNS THROUGH VIRGINIA AS COURT OKS HIGH-STAKES REDISTRICTING VOTE

Aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterms, Trump last spring first floated the idea of rare, but not unheard of, mid-decade congressional redistricting.

The mission was simple: redraw congressional district maps in red states to pad the GOP’s razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.

Trump’s first target was Texas.

When asked by reporters last summer about his plan to add Republican-leaning House seats across the country, the president said, “Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five.”

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called a special session of the GOP-dominated state legislature to pass the new map.

But Democratic state lawmakers, who broke quorum for two weeks as they fled Texas in a bid to delay the passage of the redistricting bill, energized Democrats across the country.

SPANBERGER DENIES ‘DEAL’ WITH SWING-DISTRICT DEMOCRAT AS GERRYMANDERING CLAIMS ABOUND STATEWIDE

Among those leading the fight against Trump’s redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.

California voters in November overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative that temporarily sidetracked the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and returned the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democratic-dominated legislature.

That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which aimed to counter the move by Texas to redraw their maps.

The fight quickly spread beyond Texas and California.

Republican-controlled Missouri and Ohio, and swing state North Carolina, where the GOP dominates the legislature, have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push.

In blows to Republicans, a Utah district judge late last year rejected a congressional district map drawn up by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the midterms.

Meanwhile, Republicans in Indiana’s Senate in December defied Trump, shooting down a redistricting bill that had passed the state House. The showdown in the Indiana statehouse grabbed plenty of national attention.

Florida’s next up.

Two-term Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers in the GOP-dominated legislature are hoping to pick up an additional three to five right-leaning seats through a redistricting push during a special legislative session that kicks off on April 20.

Hovering over the redistricting wars is the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule in Louisiana v. Callais, a crucial case that may lead to the overturning of a key provision in the Voting Rights Act.

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If the ruling goes the way of the conservatives on the high court, it could lead to the redrawing of a slew of majority-minority districts across the county, which would greatly favor Republicans.

But it is very much up in the air — when the court will rule, and what it will actually do.

A foreign fugitive who illegally entered the U.S. and is wanted for killing a woman in Mexico was caught near the southern border after evading notice for possibly years.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Mexican illegal immigrant Jose Gustavo Angulo Bernal outside a residence in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, last week. Though Angulo Bernal had no criminal record in the U.S., he is wanted in the Mexican state of Sinaloa on homicide charges connected to the 2018 murder of a woman. He was arrested during a targeted traffic stop while driving a vehicle registered in his name.

In a public statement, the Department of Homeland Security mockingly referred to Angulo Bernal as “one of the Media’s ‘Non-Criminals.’” The agency emphasized that while nearly 70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of crimes in the country, those with foreign charges are not part of that statistic.

DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis commented that while “nearly 70% of ICE arrests have been convicted or charged with a crime in the United States,” the “actual arrests of public safety threats and criminals is much higher.”

HOMELAND SECURITY VOWS DEPORTATION OPERATIONS ‘WILL CONTINUE’ AS ICE AGENTS HELP TSA, AGENCY DEFUNDED

“Jose Gustavo Angulo Bernal is a cold-blooded killer and an example of who the media often refer to as a ‘non-criminals,’ [sic] because they only have heinous convictions in their home country,” said Bis.

According to DHS, Angulo Bernal is charged with participating in the murder of a woman alongside two other accomplices in Nov. 2018. The agency said that after killing her, the trio allegedly dumped the woman’s body in the town of El Tamarindo, Sinaloa.

Then, Angulo Bernal entered the U.S. at an unknown date and time.

He evaded detection until recently. On March 31, ICE officers staking out a residence in Lake Havasu City observed Angulo Bernal entering his vehicle around 5:50 a.m. The federal officers conducted a targeted vehicle stop, during which Angulo Bernal was positively identified through his Mexican identification card. He was arrested and taken to ICE’s field office in Phoenix for processing.

VICTIM’S FAMILY THANKS TRUMP FOR DEPORTING MIGRANT CRIMINAL

DHS said he will remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of his immigration proceedings.

“Thanks to ICE law enforcement, this monster wanted for murdering a woman in Mexico is off our streets.

From foreign fugitives, gang members, and terrorists, ICE is getting the worst of the worst off our streets and out of our country.”

MEET THE FAIRFAX KILLERS: TOP VIOLENT ILLEGAL ALIEN CRIMINALS WREAKING HAVOC ON MAJOR AMERICAN SUBURB

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This comes as DHS continues to undergo a lapse in funding due to a partial government shutdown. The shutdown has been brought on by disagreements in Congress over ICE and Border Patrol enforcement tactics, with Democrats making renewed funding contingent on significant changes to the agency’s current posture.

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a self-described “progressive” candidate’s bid to enter Ohio’s Republican primary, leaving in place a decision by state election officials to disqualify him for misrepresenting his party affiliation.

Samuel Ronan, a former Democratic state and national candidate, attempted to run as a Republican in Ohio’s 15th Congressional District against GOP incumbent Rep. Mike Carey. To do so, he signed a declaration of candidacy — under penalty of election falsification — swearing he was a member of the Republican Party.

However, court documents filed in U.S. District Court note Ronan was caught publicly admitting that his candidacy was part of a calculated strategy to run Democrats as Republicans in “deep red districts” to “get a foot in the door.”

A Republican voter, Mark Schare, filed a protest with the Franklin County Board of Elections, presenting social media posts and interviews as evidence of Ronan’s scheme to “trick” GOP voters.

‘GOP’ HOUSE CANDIDATE ADMITS SHE’S ACTUALLY A PROGRESSIVE IN VIRAL VIDEO: ‘TELLING PEOPLE THE TRUTH’

Ronan claimed in his application he did not lie about his affiliation, citing similar party deviations by politicians, including former President Ronald Reagan, President Donald Trump and “hundreds of others,” according to a report from Courthouse News Service.

After the election board tied along party lines, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose stepped in to toss Ronan off the ballot.

LaRose said the case was a matter of “the integrity of the electoral process,” slamming Ronan’s alleged mission to infiltrate the party, according to court filings.

FLASHBACK: DEM SENATE CANDIDATE WAS CRITICAL VOTE IN CONFIRMING JUDGE WHO TIED VOTER ID TO ‘WHITE SUPREMACY’

In response, Ronan filed a federal lawsuit claiming his First Amendment rights were violated because the state used his core political speech against him to remove him from the ballot.

Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison swiftly rejected Ronan’s arguments, ruling the First Amendment does not protect a candidate who submits a fraudulent declaration of candidacy.

“It cannot be the case that a State must allow a candidate on a partisan ballot even if he lied about his party affiliation simply because the First Amendment is implicated,” Morrison wrote in her opinion.

GOP TEXAS CANDIDATE IN THE HOT SEAT AFTER RIVAL EXPOSES FAMILY’S DEM DONATIONS: ‘DOESN’T MAKE SENSE’

She noted that while Ohio allows candidates to legally change their political affiliation, election officials are not required to ignore a candidate’s public statements that directly contradict their sworn oath.

The court emphasized the state has a “substantial interest” in barring candidates from fraudulently attesting they belong to a political party when they do not.

Morrison also dismissed Ronan’s claims that a Republican elections board member was unconstitutionally biased against him, finding that political association does not prove a risk of bias.

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After the legal loss, Ronan asked the Supreme Court Monday to intervene prior to early voting.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee, referred the application to the full court, which denied Ronan’s request without explanation, according to Courthouse News Service.

President Donald Trump on Thursday condemned a violent video allegedly showing a Haitian illegal alien fatally attacking a Florida mother with a hammer last week, blasting the Biden administration for releasing the suspect in 2022.

Rolbert Joachim, 40, is charged with second-degree murder and criminal damage to property after he was caught on camera bludgeoning the mother of two in broad daylight last Friday outside a Fort Myers gas station.

“An Illegal Alien Criminal from Haiti, who was released into our Country by the WORST President in History, Crooked Joe Biden, and the Radical Democrats in Congress, just beat an innocent woman to death with a hammer at a gas station in Florida,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “The video of her brutal slaying is one of the most vicious things you will ever see.

“This one killing should be enough for these Radical Judges to STOP impeding my Administration’s Immigration Policies, and allow us to END THIS SCAM ONCE AND FOR ALL,” he added. 

DAYLIGHT HAMMER ATTACK SUSPECT IS ILLEGAL ALIEN RELEASED UNDER BIDEN POLICIES: DHS

Joachim first entered the U.S. in August 2022, and was released into the country under former President Joe Biden, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

A federal judge later issued a final order of removal against Joachim, but he was granted Temporary Protected Status, which Trump has described as “a massively abused and fraudulent program.” He has also blamed what he called “radical liberal district court judges” for blocking efforts by his administration to end it.

While a federal judge issued a final order of removal against him, Joachim was reportedly granted Temporary Protected Status, a program Trump called “massively abused and fraudulent” and difficult to eliminate due to Democratic support.

The suspect then remained in the country after his status expired in 2024.

SUSPECT IN FATAL NEW JERSEY HIT-AND-RUN CRASH IS ILLEGAL ALIEN, FUGITIVE: DHS

Trump further said Democrats are turning the United States into what he called a “dumping ground,” flooded with tens of millions of unvetted and “mentally insane” individuals.

“To my fellow Republicans, and frankly all Common Sense Americans, NEVER FORGET that Joe Biden and the Democrat Party turned the United States of America into a dumping ground, allowing Tens of MILLIONS of Criminals, Lunatics, and the Mentally Insane from all over the World to pour into our Country, totally unvetted and unchecked through our wide Open Borders,” he said. 

“As I’ve said all along, if you import the Third World, you become the Third World, and that is what happened over the four years of Democrat Control.”

In the attack, the female victim was reportedly a store clerk at the gas station.

According to the footage, she was repeatedly struck in the head with a hammer after confronting the suspect for smashing her car window.

Trump urged prayers for the victim, who was the mother of two teenage daughters, according to a report from local outlet Gulf Coast News.

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“Please say a prayer for this innocent woman’s family. We will ensure quick and severe JUSTICE is served in this case!” Trump said. 

Fox News’ Alexandra Koch and Bill Melugin contributed to this report. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced on Thursday it had arrested more alleged illegal migrants who have been convicted of various crimes, which coincides with the one-year anniversary of the agency reopening its program to support victims of migrant crime. The arrests and convictions described by ICE have not been independently verified.

ICE’s Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office was relaunched on April 10, 2025, aiming to offer resources to victims of crimes committed by illegal migrants and the victims’ families.

The program was first launched in 2017 under President Donald Trump’s first administration but was replaced in 2021 by the Victims Engagement and Services Line, a different program under the Biden administration before it was relaunched last year after Trump returned to office.

ICE said the anniversary of the program’s reopening comes just after multiple arrests were made on Wednesday of suspected illegal migrants convicted of crimes such as injury to a child, assault and robbery. ICE did not specify whether the individuals were newly arrested or transferred from local custody following prior convictions, nor did it provide dates for the underlying convictions.

ICE DETAINER LODGED FOR ILLEGAL MIGRANT ACCUSED OF MURDERING 15-YEAR-OLD MISSOURI BOY WHO BEGGED FOR HIS LIFE

“The brave men and women of ICE law enforcement continue to target criminal illegal aliens in our communities to prevent another American from being raped, maimed, or murdered by an illegal alien who should have NEVER been in our country. The American victims are [why] we fight,” Department of Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Lauren Bis said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Yesterday, ICE arrested multiple violent assailants, including one depraved monster who injured a CHILD. With every arrest, ICE is making American communities safer. We will never stop fighting for justice for the victims of illegal alien crime,” Bis continued.

The agency offered a sample of some of the arrests. ICE did not say how many total individuals were arrested nationwide as part of this announcement.

DHS PREPS DEPORTATION OF ALLEGED MS-13 GANG MEMBER WANTED FOR PASTOR’S MURDER IN EL SALVADOR

Juan Lorenzo Hurtado-Flores, from Peru, was convicted of criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation and injury to a child in White Plains, New York, according to ICE.

Vu Nguyen, from Vietnam, was convicted of assault with a semiautomatic firearm in Pasadena, California, the agency said.

The agency said Omar Alexander Rodriguez-Grande, from El Salvador, was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Harris County, Texas.

Oscar Fransisco, from Guatemala, was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Palm Beach, Florida, according to the agency.

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ICE said Josue Coreas-Chavez, from El Salvador, was convicted of robbery in Riverhead, New York.

“Illegal aliens harming American citizens is unconscionable. But now, thanks to President Trump, we’re able to help people victimized by criminal aliens through the VOICE Office,” ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons said when the relaunch of the program was announced last year. “I’m extremely proud of ICE’s entire workforce — the officers and agents on the ground who are enforcing immigration law fairly, the support staff who pull these operations together and handle logistics, and those who help shine a light on those who have suffered harm at illegal aliens’ hands.”

VOICE was replaced in 2021 during the Biden administration with the Victims Engagement and Services Line to “serve as a more comprehensive and inclusive victim support system offered by ICE that will ensure services are offered to all victims regardless of immigration status of the victim or perpetrator.”

“Providing assistance to society’s most vulnerable is a core American value. All people, regardless of their immigration status, should be able to access victim services without fear,” then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said at the time.

A Biden-appointed federal judge twice rebuked by the Supreme Court temporarily blocked another Trump administration immigration priority, postponing the termination of temporary protected status for Ethiopians living in the U.S.

Judge Brian Murphy of Massachusetts, who has become a frequent legal hurdle for the Trump administration, found that the Department of Homeland Security did not follow proper protocols when it decided to cancel the temporary protected status (TPS) of more than 5,000 Ethiopians in the United States. 

DHS’ decision would have made the migrants eligible for deportation in 60 days and aligned with the Trump administration’s goal of dramatically narrowing the government’s use of TPS as part of its immigration crackdown.

Conservatives lashed out at Murphy on social media for dealing another loss to the president they perceived as unjust. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., said the ruling was not subject to judicial review under federal immigration law. Murphy had found that DHS did not meet the necessary conditions under the law to legally cancel TPS.

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

“This Rogue Judge lacks the subject matter jurisdiction to issue this order,” Schmitt said. “The assault on the rule of law continues.”

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley pointed to his writings on Murphy, saying “this system cannot function with such rogue operators at the trial level.”

Murphy emerged as a thorn to the government when he issued a series of rulings last year blocking DHS from deporting migrants to countries other than their nations of origin, leading the Supreme Court to twice reverse his rulings, including by issuing a rare 7-2 clarification saying that Murphy had flouted the high court’s order. 

His recent order doubling down on his prior rulings in the case was blocked by an appeals court last month.

Murphy noted that he was not bucking the Supreme Court with his TPS opinion after the justices issued a string of emergency rulings green-lighting the cancellation of TPS for some countries, while holding off on addressing it for others.

“Note that the Supreme Court gave no explanation for its recent stays of related, but not identical, district court orders. … Nor did the Supreme Court explain its subsequent decision not to stay the district court orders in two consolidated,” Murphy wrote, saying, therefore, that there was “no reason to assume” the Supreme Court’s opinion on TPS.

Iowa Solicitor General Eric Wessan said the law did not permit judges to weigh in on TPS and noted the Supreme Court’s position.

“One big problem for Murphy is the statute: It explains TPS determinations aren’t reviewable. Another is the Supreme Court, which has stopped similar orders twice!” Wessan said. “He finds neither statute nor SCOTUS stops him. I’m unconvinced.”

Last month, Murphy also temporarily blocked Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine overhaul, finding Kennedy’s revised immunization plan reducing the number of vaccines required for children likely violated the law. The move prompted fierce criticism from conservatives, who accused Murphy of activism and selectively weighing “science” in the case.

BIDEN-APPOINTED JUDGE TWICE SHUT DOWN BY SCOTUS FACES ‘ACTIVIST’ FIRE AFTER LATEST TRUMP POLICY BLOCK

The TPS lawsuit, brought this year by an immigration advocacy group and three Ethiopians with protected status, alleged that DHS violated immigration laws and acted with animus by unconstitutionally discriminating against Ethiopian migrants. 

DHS canceled TPS for a string of countries, “the apparent goal of which is to significantly reduce the number of non-white and non-European immigrants in the United States,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers wrote in the complaint.

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“That animus and related rhetoric have been particularly stark for the nationals of majority Black countries,” the lawyers wrote.

The Department of Justice could appeal Murphy’s ruling, leading to another legal escalation of a prominent case before him. Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ and Murphy’s chambers for comment.

Reactions poured Thursday after First Lady Melania Trump issued a rare on-camera statement forcefully rebuking allegations linking her to disgraced financier and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Speaking earlier in the day, Melania Trump said she was never friends with Epstein or his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, and stressed that neither played any role in her introduction to her husband, President Donald Trump.

“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” she said. “The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility, and respect.  I do not object to their ignorance, but rather, I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.” 

As she emphasized that her name never appeared in court documents related to Epstein, several political figures quickly took to social media to publicly rally in support of the first lady.

MELANIA TRUMP DENOUNCES ‘LIES’ CONNECTING HER WITH DISGRACED FINANCIER JEFFREY EPSTEIN IN WHITE HOUSE EVENT

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., a leading congressional voice calling for the release of the Epstein files, praised Melania on X with a photo saying. “Melania Trump stands with Epstein victims.” 

She also applauded Melania for championing legislation that criminalizes the sharing of fake intimate images of women.

“Thank you to our First Lady for being a voice for victims across the country. From her work on the Take It Down Act to publicly standing for the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and calling for action and the truth,” she said. 

“The truth will prevail. America is strong when strong women stand up for what is right.”

VOGUE’S ANNA WINTOUR TAKES SWIPE AT MELANIA TRUMP’S STYLE WHILE PRAISING LIBERAL FAVORITES

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. — who has pushed for the release of documents through the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which he co-authored with Rep. Ro Khanna —- addressed Melania’s effort to bring survivors in for congressional testimony and said leadership should face consequences over their handling of the files, including recently ousted Attorney General Pam Bondi.  

“First Lady asks Congress to bring Epstein survivors in for testimony. With all due respect, that’s @DAGToddBlanche’s job!,” he said. 

“@RepRoKhanna & I already gave brave survivors a chance to tell their horrific stories on Capitol Hill. @PamBondi wouldn’t even acknowledge them. PROSECUTE!”

DAILY BEAST APOLOGIZES TO MELANIA TRUMP OVER RETRACTED EPSTEIN ALLEGATIONS ARTICLE

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who was once a fierce Trump supporter before a public fallout with the president, also posted on X aligning with Melania’s remarks.

“I am grateful to the First Lady for her brave statement today about Epstein and his victims,” she said. “I agree with her that the victims should be heard. I also agree with Thomas Massie. The DOJ needs to PROSECUTE!!! And the role of Congress is to legislate, not prosecute.”

DAILY BEAST PULLS STORY ALLEGING MELANIA-EPSTEIN CONNECTION AFTER LAWYERS DISPUTE FRAMING

Democrats also took to social media following her fiery remarks.

Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif, called on House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., to schedule a public hearing “immediately.”

“We agree with First Lady Melania Trump’s call for a public hearing with the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein. We encourage Chairman Comer to respond to the First Lady’s request and schedule a public hearing immediately,” he said in a post on X.

He also characterized the first lady’s speech as a significant moment, saying her remarks drew renewed attention to an investigation some critics argue has not progressed far enough.

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“The First Lady said two things,” he said. “1) She pushed back on Acting AG Todd Blanche & her husband’s efforts to kill this investigation. 2) She joined our efforts to call for a public hearing where survivors who choose to do so have an opportunity to testify.” 

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, is getting raked over the coals for comments she made several years ago, suggesting criminals housed in a notorious California prison, which was known for housing violent criminals and death row prisoners, got there by “accident.”

Siebel Newsom’s comments came as she was discussing a tragedy in her younger life at an event in 2016. A few days before her seventh birthday, Siebel Newsom was involved in a fatal golf cart accident that ultimately killed her sister.  

“I had to be very raw when we interviewed the young men who were juvenile offenders at San Quentin. I told them about my own loss, where I lost my older sister a few days before my seventh birthday and I blame myself for her death and I share that because they ultimately were accused of committing these violent crimes and sentenced for life, and I think it shocked them that this blonde lady, who was interviewing them, had a similar story – was perhaps in the wrong place at the wrong time – but wasn’t punished the way they were because clearly it was an accident, but theirs was probably an accident too,” Siebel Newsom said when discussing ways to connect with others. 

NEWSOM’S WIFE SLAMS TRUMP FIRINGS OF BONDI, NOEM, SPARKING PANEL DEBATE 

“Anyways, I share that – I guess – I quite enjoy spending time with people and being real and unmasking and showing them that it’s safe to unmask themselves.”

A spokesperson for Governor Newsom’s wife clarified that the remarks in the 2016 interview with the first partner, were referring to incarcerated individuals for her 2015 documentary “The Mask You Live In.” 

The spokesperson did not provide an on-the-record statement but did point Fox News Digital to a social media post from Gov. Newsom’s press office calling out the media for being “focused on running nonstop hit pieces on California’s First Partner,” while the president is “threatening to obliterate a civilization tonight.” 

On Tuesday, the same day the clip began going viral on social media, President Donald Trump issued an ominous message on his social media platform Truth Social, indicating “a whole civilization will die tonight,” amid his threat of a looming U.S. attack against Iranian bridges and power plants.

“This is the MAGA distraction machine — in full force,” concluded the social media post, which included news segments criticizing Siebel Newsom on Tuesday.

GAVIN NEWSOM’S WIFE SAYS SHE GAVE HER BOYS DOLLS TO PLAY WITH IN RESURFACED CLIP

However, Siebel Newsom’s resurfaced comments still garnered attention on Tuesday from conservative critics who called the California governor’s spouse out for virtue signaling.

In direct response to Siebel Newsom’s claims that San Quentin inmates got in their position by “accident,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., shot back sarcastically: “Yeah, like the time that guy accidentally stabbed that dude 27 times.”

“What the…” commented Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, Harmeet Dhillon, in a social media post responding to the 2016 remarks.

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“She represents everything that is wrong with California,” comedian Adam Carolla added. 

“Newsom’s wife’s latest virtue signal is telling San Quentin lifers that she faced zero consequences when her sister was killed because it was an accident, then telling them their life sentences are probably for ‘accidents’ too,” wrote conservative women’s sports activist Riley Gaines. “Peak elite tone-deafness.”

Another Senate Democrat has called on President Donald Trump to be removed from office over the Iran war.

“I certainly think the president should be removed,” Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said. “I mean, he’s unfit for office. I think, the 25th Amendment, and if not, then impeachment.”

Congressional Democrats, particularly in the House, recently have escalated their position against Trump’s war in Iran, shifting from pushing for Congress to reassert its authority in declaring war to demanding that the president be ousted from office.

ROGUE DEM BUCKS PARTY ON TRUMP WAR POWERS, CALLS IRAN ‘47-YEAR-OLD WAR CRIME’

Trump’s comments in the past few days, particularly his threat against Iran that a “whole civilization will die” unless the Strait of Hormuz was reopened, sparked the latest growing push to see him removed from office.

While there is growing sentiment among House Democrats to jettison Trump from office, it’s not as widespread in the Senate. Still, Kim on Thursday joined a small group of Senate Democrats echoing the desires of their counterparts in the House.

So far, Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., all either have demanded that Trump be impeached or removed through the 25th Amendment.

SCHUMER BLASTS TRUMP’S IRAN WAR AS FAILURE, MOVES TO REIN IN HIS WAR POWERS AMID CEASEFIRE

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has stopped short of calling for impeachment, but instead is teeing up another war powers resolution — the fourth since the war began in February — to rein in Trump’s war authorities in the region as a fragile two-week ceasefire continues.

But their calls for removal likely aren’t going to go anywhere now, given the political reality in Washington, D.C. Republicans control both chambers of Congress, meaning impeachment is all but a moot point.

And invoking the 25th Amendment, which has never been used to remove a sitting president, is even more unlikely, given that it would require Vice President JD Vance, a majority of Trump’s Cabinet, and then a two-thirds majority vote in Congress to remove him.

TOP GOP HAWK GRAHAM WARNS IRAN DEAL HAS ‘TROUBLING ASPECTS’ AS CEASEFIRE BEGINS

It’s also a desire that Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., contended was “not realistic right now, given his oddball Cabinet of sycophants and eccentrics,” earlier this week.

“We’re going to have to buckle down and win this the old-fashioned way,” Whitehouse said.

Democrats’ position does provide foreshadowing for what could happen if they win big in the midterm elections this fall, however.

Meanwhile, congressional Republicans are still backing Trump’s actions in Iran, despite some straying from the party line over his recent apocalyptic comments.

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Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said that “Iran has been at war with the United States for 47 years, and it’s time for Iran to choose peace.”

“They haven’t done it yet,” Barrasso said. “What we have seen is American peace through strength, and with this operation that is going on now, incredible success by the United States. We have done what we have talked about doing. Eliminate their missiles and eliminate their missile production and eliminate their missile firing capacity, undermine their ability to ever get a nuclear weapon, and sink the navy.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment and has not yet received a reply. 

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger broke her relative silence on multiple controversial issues during her first three-plus months in office, claiming the Old Dominion is not a sanctuary state and poking holes in the context surrounding a damning favorability poll.

Spanberger has been under fire for undoing predecessor Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s 287(g) cooperation agreement with the Department of Homeland Security. Multiple heinous crimes have been committed in Virginia, allegedly by illegal immigrants and often under the auspices of sanctuary prosecutors.

Spanberger also faces criticism over an April 21 redistricting effort she backed that would draw out all but one Republican congressman.

HOMAN WARNS SPANBERGER BLOCKING ACCESS TO VIRGINIA JAILS COULD FORCE MORE ICE STREET OPERATIONS: ‘DO THE JOB’

“Virginia is not a sanctuary state — full stop,” Spanberger said shortly after exiting the executive mansion in Richmond.

“There’s a lot of misinformation out there. Certainly, everything that you might read on Twitter is not real, but it’s actually pretty outrageous some of the things that have been reported along the way,” she said, pointing to her executive order on immigration enforcement cooperation.

She said her directive was simply for state agencies, including VSP, not to place their troopers under DHS supervision.

“And I feel very strongly about that because [VSP] is a top-notch law enforcement agency. And I don’t think it is responsible for us or me as governor or the Commonwealth of Virginia to put Virginia State Police under the supervision or direction of ICE.”

According to a policy in neighboring West Virginia, only participating law enforcement personnel who are nominated, trained, certified and authorized have the authority to conduct delegated immigration officer functions under a 287(g) agreement. Only then will immigration enforcement functions be carried out under the supervision or direction of ICE.

Spanberger also pushed back on reports that she has banned Virginia law enforcement from any ICE cooperation or localities from entering into their own 287(g) agreements with ICE.

“That is not correct. My predecessor said they had to. I simply said I was not forcing them to,” the governor said. 

While Spanberger’s statement is accurate, a bill that would enact such a ban arrived on her desk March 31 from Sen. Saddam Salim, D-Dunn Loring.

GOP OVERPERFORMS IN VIRGINIA SPECIAL ELECTION, FUELING EARLY MOMENTUM TALK IN BLUE-TRENDING STATE

Salim’s bill bans any law enforcement agency in Virginia from engaging in 287(g) agreements unless an officer is presented with a judicial warrant, subpoena or detainer for a suspected illegal immigrant that has been signed by a judge.

Spanberger said her Department of Corrections still provides a monthly list to DHS of noncitizens in its custody and that the press has incorrectly reported that Virginia can no longer coordinate with federal agencies at this juncture.

“It was only the 287(g) agreements that I said state agencies cannot enter into. … Task forces work together. All of that continues to be the case, [including] JTTF.”

Spanberger said that if ICE asks Richmond for help and has a warrant related to a suspect’s actions, Virginia will be glad to assist.

She also pushed back on concerns over a Washington Post poll showing her with the lowest net favorability rating of any governor dating back to the 1990s.

“I would say if everybody hated me, why is everybody putting my face on their mailers for the referendum would be question No. 1,” she quipped.

Spanberger has been criticized for opposing gerrymandering in support of a 2019 referendum currently in effect, but she again on Wednesday endorsed Virginia Senate President L. Louise Lucas’ controversial redraw.

She added that her election, a “seventeen-point swing,” is “the only poll that matters. And now I’m doing the work for Virginia.”

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

“What matters to me in the end is what I am delivering for people. I knew when I first was elected that I would have a big target on me,” she said.

The governor added that the critiques of her work are at odds with the fact that “everybody thinks I’m a convincing character” in festooning her likeness on innumerable redistricting mailers.

“I voted yes, and encourage others to do so,” she said, dismissing claims she should be “barnstorming” Virginia in favor of the redraw as Gov. Gavin Newsom did in California and saying she is a first-term governor closing out her inaugural legislative session versus a last-term governor with national aspirations.

On Thursday, ICE Director Todd Lyons was asked about Spanberger and told Fox News Spanberger should “read the headlines” about what’s going on in Fairfax and elsewhere before breaking with ICE.

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“I never I thought, in my whole career, someone would campaign on going against law enforcement, right. … Elected officials like the governor want to give me a call and work with us, that’s what we want.”

Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., is facing increased scrutiny over allegations that he engaged in sexual misconduct with female staffers and other women, as several rivals take swipes at him ahead of the state’s June gubernatorial primary election.

“I’m very disappointed in Eric Swalwell,” former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said on social media Wednesday. “As more and more women come forward with sexual harassment allegations, Swalwell skipped town to avoid facing tough questions about these allegations.”

“If Swalwell wants voters to trust him, he needs to show up, stop hiding behind his campaign staff and social media accounts, and answer every question from reporters and the public. Voters deserve nothing less,” he added. 

The Swalwell campaign fired back in a statement to Fox News Digital, calling Villaraigosa’s claims that the Democratic lawmaker is inaccessible “false” and “absurd.”

ADAM SCHIFF MAKES ENDORSEMENT IN CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL RACE

“Congressman Swalwell spoke to more than 1,000 town hall attendees for nearly 90 minutes Tuesday in Sacramento,” Micah Beasley, a spokesperson for the Swalwell campaign, said. “Afterward, he met with members of the media to answer their questions.”

Beasley added that Swalwell was unable to attend Wednesday’s candidate forum due to prior commitments, but had met with the group previously.

Villaraigosa’s social media post referenced a series of accusations circulated by former Democratic congressional staffer and attorney Cheyenne Hunt and other left-leaning politicos who have alleged, without evidence, that Swalwell made sexual advances toward women employed in his office.

The allegations threaten to shake up California’s gubernatorial primary, where Swalwell is vying to be among the top two vote-getters who will advance to the November general election. The crowded field also includes Trump-backed former Fox News host Steve Hilton, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and progressive billionaire Tom Steyer.

Former Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., another candidate in the race, has described the allegations as “troubling” and said she is committed to supporting the accusers, who have yet to go public.

“It is those women’s stories to tell when they are ready, and I hope that they feel safe and supported if they choose to do so,” Porter told CNN on Tuesday. “I believe women. I think that has to be the starting place here. So when those women speak up, I will be there, helping to amplify their truths.”

SWALWELL’S ‘I SHOULD BE WORKING’ GYM, POOL VIDEOS RESURFACE AS DEM RIVAL HAMMERS HIS MISSED HOUSE VOTES

Swalwell has denied any wrongdoing, and his campaign has characterized the sexual misconduct allegations as “outrageous” and implied that the accusers are tied to MAGA.

Hunt, executive director of Gen-Z for Change, said she is working with multiple women to go public with their allegations against Swalwell. Hunt has not provided verifiable evidence to support the allegations, and no woman has yet come forward.

“The Democratic candidate currently leading in the California governor’s race has a known history of being predatory towards women,” Hunt claimed in a post to social media in March.

She posted an image of a direct message sent to her privately containing an allegation against Swalwell. 

“You know, Eric Swalwell has slept with many of his interns and makes them all sign [non-disclosure agreements] so they don’t speak up, right? And when I was 19, he tried hitting on me and sliding into my DMs,” the quote read.

Bhavik Lathia, a Democratic operative, has also called on his party to take the allegations against Swalwell “seriously.”

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“Hey, I just got off the phone with a trusted friend. This is real. Take it seriously. Eric Swallwell cannot be our nominee. There is going to be a lot more coming out soon. I can’t say more right now, but stay tuned,” Lathia wrote on social media Monday.

Swalwell, 45, has served in the House of Representatives since 2013, where he has emerged as a frequent Trump critic. He launched a campaign in late 2025 to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., as the Golden State’s next governor.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday rejected Anthropic’s request to block the Department of War from blacklisting use of the AI company’s technology, a move that conflicts with an order a different federal court issued last month in a separate lawsuit regarding the same issues.

“In our view, the equitable balance here cuts in favor of the government. On one side is a relatively contained risk of financial harm to a single private company. On the other side is judicial management of how, and through whom, the Department of War secures vital AI technology during an active military conflict. For that reason, we deny Anthropic’s motion for a stay pending review on the merits,” the April 8 order states. “Nonetheless, because Anthropic raises substantial challenges to the determination and will likely suffer some irreparable harm during the pendency of this litigation, we agree with Anthropic that substantial expedition is warranted.”

In a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Thursday, an Anthropic spokesperson noted, “We’re grateful the court recognized these issues need to be resolved quickly and remain confident the courts will ultimately agree that these supply chain designations were unlawful. While this case was necessary to protect Anthropic, our customers, and our partners, our focus remains on working productively with the government to ensure all Americans benefit from safe, reliable AI.”

ANTHROPIC’S DEMOCRATIC TIES UNDER FIRE AS TRUMP ADMIN SEVERS PENTAGON CONTRACTS

The War Department referred Fox News Digital to a Wednesday social media post from Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche.

“Today’s D.C. Circuit stay allowing the government to designate Anthropic as a supply chain risk is a resounding victory for military readiness. Our position has been clear from the start — our military needs full access to Anthropic’s models if its technology is integrated into our sensitive systems. Military authority and operational control belong to the Commander-in-Chief and Department of War, not a tech company,” Blanche noted in the post on X.

The War Department in January requested “unrestricted use” of Anthropic for “all lawful purposes,” but the AI company drew two red lines, saying it would not be used for domestic surveillance or lethal autonomous weapons.

The administration framed the refusal as corporate insubordination, and Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in February that the War Department “has no interest in using AI to conduct mass surveillance of Americans (which is illegal) nor do we want to use AI to develop autonomous weapons that operate without human involvement.”

President Donald Trump said in February that the U.S. would never allow “the radical left, woke company to dictate how our great military fights and wins wars.”

In a February 27 Truth Social post, Trump said he was “directing EVERY Federal Agency in the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology.”

“There will be a Six Month phase out period for Agencies like the Department of War who are using Anthropic’s products, at various levels,” Trump indicated in the post.

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

War Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed Anthropic in a post on X the same day, declaring that he was “directing the Department of War to designate Anthropic a Supply-Chain Risk to National Security.”

A letter in March notified Anthropic that the War Department had determined that use of the company’s products posed a “supply chain risk,” according to a copy of the letter attached to a court filing.

But then in a case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, a judge issued a preliminary injunction order last month blocking the government from implementing those moves against Anthropic.

TECH COMPANY REFUSES PENTAGON DEMANDS ON UNRESTRICTED USE OF ITS AI

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“This Order restores the status quo. It does not bar any Defendant from taking any lawful action that would have been available to it on February 27, 2026, prior to the issuances of the Presidential Directive and the Hegseth Directive and entry of the Supply Chain Designation. For example, this Order does not require the Department of War to use Anthropic’s products or services and does not prevent the Department of War from transitioning to other artificial intelligence providers, so long as those actions are consistent with applicable regulations, statutes, and constitutional provisions,” the March order from U.S. District Judge Rita Lin stated.

Talk of invoking the 25th Amendment is reemerging among House Democrats after more than a year of dismissing speculation they would seek to remove Trump from power for a third time.

Rather than quash the discussion, House Democratic leadership appears to be encouraging it.

On Wednesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., scheduled a Friday briefing on the 25th Amendment for his caucus to be hosted by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and House Judiciary Committee Democrats.

The announcement came after President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, with administration officials hailing the success of Operation Epic Fury. Jeffries torched Trump’s threats issued earlier this week to wipe out Iran’s “civilization” and unleash “hell” on Tehran.

DEMOCRATS THREATEN TO GRIND SENATE TO A HALT TO FORCE PUBLIC IRAN HEARINGS

“Shockingly, Donald Trump threatened to escalate his war of choice in a profane Easter Sunday rant and to eradicate an entire civilization,” Jeffries wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter Wednesday. “We will continue to unleash maximum pressure on Republicans to put patriotic duty over party loyalty and join Democrats in stopping the madness.”

Jeffries has notably stopped short of calling for Trump’s removal from power. Instead, he has pushed a resolution seeking to block the president’s war powers in Iran, which was blocked by House Republicans on Thursday.

However, his willingness to entertain the discussion comes after dozens of his members called for Trump’s impeachment or the invocation of the 25th Amendment following the president’s escalating warnings against Iran if its leadership did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his self-imposed deadline.

“It’s time to invoke the 25th Amendment,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., wrote on social media. “This maniac should be removed from office.”

“He’s out of control and his  Cabinet and those around him must be loyal to the Constitution and invoke the 25th Amendment,” Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said. “He must be removed.”

REP SETH MOULTON: AMERICA DESERVES BETTER THAN TRUMP’S VAGUE IRAN WAR PLANS

Taking that approach is a much higher bar than impeachment and has never been used to involuntarily remove a sitting president. To be successful, Democrats would have to obtain buy-in from Republicans and the advisors closest to the president.

Specifically, the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet would have to agree that Trump is unfit for office. In the event Trump were to contest their assessment, two-thirds of the House and Senate would have to vote in support of that judgment.

Some Democrats have publicly admitted the 25th Amendment is likely to be a futile option, even if they agree that Trump should step aside.

“I’m getting a lot of traffic about the 25th Amendment after Trump’s mad rants,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said on social media Tuesday. “The president is facing serious mental decline; I’m with you on that.”

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“But unfortunately, invoking the 25th is not realistic right now, given his oddball Cabinet of sycophants and eccentrics, and Republican ‘spines of foam,’” he continued. “We’re going to have to buckle down and win this the old-fashioned way.”

Democrats previously embraced the 25th Amendment to remove Trump in 2021 following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., steered a resolution calling for Congress to act through the lower chamber, but the Cabinet balked at the demand. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat who is seeking election to a third term, is again calling for the ouster of President Donald Trump via the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“President Trump threatened to wipe out an entire civilization. Let’s be honest: There is something genuinely wrong with this man, and the 25th Amendment must be invoked before it’s too late,” Pritzker declared in a video posted to X on Wednesday.

“For the sake of our national security, Donald Trump needs to go now,” he added.

PRITZKER CALLS ON TRUMP OFFICIALS TO TESTIFY OVER ICE CRACKDOWN, WHITE HOUSE BLASTS MOVE AS ‘POLITICAL STUNT’

Pritzker previously called for use of the 25th Amendment earlier this week after Trump issued a controversial Tuesday Truth Social post in which he threatened that an entire “civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”

“This is not foreign policy, it’s a deranged mad man threatening to wipe out an entire country. It’s past time. The 25th Amendment must be invoked,” the governor asserted in a post on X.

Later that day, Pritzker pointed out that he had also urged use of the 25th Amendment months ago.

TRUMP’S THREAT TO END IRANIAN ‘CIVILIZATION’ SPARKS UPROAR ON CAPITOL HILL

“I’ve been saying it for months: Donald Trump needs to go,” Pritzker wrote in a post on X that featured a video clip of him calling for the use of the 25th Amendment last year.

In part of that 2025 video clip, the governor said of Trump, “There is something genuinely wrong with this man, and the 25th Amendment ought to be invoked.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Thursday.

AOC DOUBLES DOWN ON CALL FOR TRUMP’S OUSTER EVEN AFTER CEASEFIRE ANNOUNCEMENT

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Trump ultimately announced a ceasefire on Tuesday evening, agreeing to stop any attacks for two weeks. But that has not stopped some Democrats, like Pritzker, from advocating for the president to be booted from office.

EXCLUSIVE: A top Republican moved Thursday to block asylum claims from foreigners who return to their home countries, introducing legislation after family members of deceased Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Gen. Qassem Soleimani were found to be living in Los Angeles.

Soleimani’s niece, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, and her daughter were arrested by ICE last weekend, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio highlighted Afshar’s “outspoken support [for] the Iranian regime” and DHS reporting that her 2019 asylum claim was fraudulent, due in part to several trips back to the country she purported to flee.

Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., who is also running for the GOP nomination for governor of the Badger State, echoed DHS’ characterization of Afshar’s asylum claim as fraudulent in introducing the SAFER Act, or the “Stopping Asylum Fraudsters Enforcement and Removal Act.”

Tiffany said the bill ensures the federal asylum system is reserved only for foreigners with legitimate claims of persecution.

GOP WHIP: ‘AMERICA-HATING TERRORISTS’ SHOULD LOSE CITIZENSHIP UNDER SCAM ACT

The secretary of Homeland Security and the attorney general would be prohibited from granting asylum to anyone who returns to their home country, while also being empowered to terminate asylum status and denaturalize asylees who voluntarily return while living in the U.S.

“If someone claims they are fleeing danger and seeking asylum in the U.S., they should not be turning around and vacationing in the very country they said they had to escape,” Tiffany told Fox News Digital.

“Those who are truly fleeing danger don’t book round-trip tickets back to it.”

Afshar was granted asylum in 2019 during the first Trump administration and was later given a Green Card by the Biden administration, despite returning to Iran at least four times in the interim.

Under the bill, an asylee could legally return to their home country without risk of federal consequences only if the State Department certifies that a legitimate transfer of power has occurred and the original threat prompting that person’s asylum claim has been resolved.

FAMILIES OF IRAN’S ELITE LIVE LAVISHLY ABROAD WHILE ORDINARY CITIZENS SUFFER AT HOME

In the case that a migrant or asylee has no nationality, their claim will be analyzed based on their most recent “habitual residence.”

“The SAFER Act stops asylum fraudsters from exploiting the system and ensures they are removed from the United States,” Tiffany said.

Earlier this month, the State Department terminated the legal status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, the daughter of a former senior Iranian official, and her husband.

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Both are no longer in the U.S. and are barred from reentry.

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

A Democratic rogue isn’t buying his party’s argument that President Donald Trump was on the cusp of committing war crimes in Iran and plans to again stop their attempts to handcuff his policing power in the region.

“If you want to talk about a war crime, you know, Iran is a 47-year-old war crime,” Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said on “Hannity” Wednesday night.

Fetterman, a staunch backer of Israel, has time and again broken with his party on the war, joining Republicans to block several attempts by Senate Democrats to reassert Congress’ authority in the ongoing conflict.

He is again fracturing from the party line, as several of his peers, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have declared that Trump’s Iran mission, Operation Epic Fury, was a failure.

SCHUMER BLASTS TRUMP’S IRAN WAR AS FAILURE, MOVES TO REIN IN HIS WAR POWERS AMID CEASEFIRE

Congressional Democrats have demanded that Trump be removed from office for his posts on Easter Sunday and in recent days, in which he laid out an apocalyptic ultimatum for Iran to either reopen the Strait of Hormuz or see their “civilization die tonight.”

“If you target civilian infrastructure for the purposes the president was talking about — in other words, what he’s saying is, if you don’t open the Strait of Hormuz, I’m going to blow up civilian infrastructure — that’s a war crime,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said ahead of the ceasefire deal struck Tuesday night.

TOP GOP HAWK GRAHAM WARNS IRAN DEAL HAS ‘TROUBLING ASPECTS’ AS CEASEFIRE BEGINS

Schumer, speaking at a press conference in New York City Wednesday, argued that Trump’s action in Iran was “one of the very worst military and foreign policy actions that the United States has ever taken.”

“This war has made us worse off today than before it started,” Schumer said.

Fetterman strayed from top Senate Democrats’ messaging against Trump’s campaign in the Middle East and countered that the president’s actions have been for the better, particularly as negotiations for a full end to the conflict are gearing up.

TRUMP’S IRAN THREAT RATTLES GOP AS SOME REPUBLICANS BREAK RANKS AMID 2-WEEK CEASEFIRE

“Everything that’s happened so far has made the world safer, and now we are in a position to finally finish it this way, with these kinds of important negotiation points,” Fetterman said on “Hannity.”

Senate Democrats plan to launch another attempt to handcuff Trump’s war powers when the upper chamber returns in the coming days. It would mark the fourth such attempt and will likely again be blocked by Republicans, despite some growing wary of the conflict.

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Like previous attempts, Fetterman plans to cross the aisle to block Democrats’ plan.

“We are the force of good in the world and … now, we’re not even 40 days into this,” Fetterman said on “Hannity.” “And now I’m reading that they’re going to force another war powers vote, and I will vote against that, because we have to stand by our military and allow them to accomplish the goals of Epic Fury.”