NationalWatch

President Donald Trump said Sunday the United States is “locked and loaded” to destroy Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub, but has chosen not to do so.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump referenced previous U.S. strikes on the island, which he described as the country’s “crown jewel,” leaving only the section that handles oil pipelines intact.

“We can do that on five minutes’ notice. We have it all locked and loaded and ready to go if we want to do it,” he said. “We chose not to do it. I chose not to do it again. We’ll see what happens.”

Trump suggested the threat is intended to pressure Iran into talks, saying Tehran wants to “negotiate badly” but is not yet ready to make the concessions the United States expects.

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“I don’t think they’re ready to do what they have to do. But I think they will be at some point,” he told reporters.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with CBS News on Sunday that his country has not asked for a ceasefire or negotiations in the now three-week conflict.

“We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes,” Araghchi explained. “And this is what we have done so far, and we continue to do that until President Trump comes to the point that this is an illegal war with no victory.”

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U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) struck Kharg Island on Friday in a large-scale precision attack as part of Operation Epic Fury.

The strikes hit more than 90 military targets, including naval mine storage facilities and missile bunkers, while leaving the island’s oil infrastructure intact, according to CENTCOM.

Axios reported that Trump has discussed the possibility of seizing Kharg outright, which one U.S. official reportedly said would amount to “an economic knockout of the regime” by effectively cutting off a key source of Iran’s oil revenue.

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Seizing the island could require deploying U.S. troops and risk Iranian retaliatory strikes on oil infrastructure across the Gulf, especially in Saudi Arabia.

“There are big risks. There are big rewards. The president isn’t there yet and we’re not saying he will be,” the official told Axios.

Bobby Pulido, a Latin Grammy winner and music star, once said he would pursue Mexican citizenship and described himself as a “winter Texan” for spending much of the year south of the U.S. border, drawing scrutiny for his time spent internationally as he pursues a seat in Congress.

“It gets hot here, bro. Like real hot — like real hot. I’m a summer Mexican,” Pulido told interviewers in 2023.

“It sounds better: winter Texan. It sounds better to say, ‘I’m a winter Texan.’”

His comments, which Pulido says he made in jest, run counter to statements he made to NBC News earlier this month.

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“I live in Texas. We’ve always lived in Texas. Since COVID, really — that’s just not true,” Pulido said, responding to accusations that he only sometimes lived in the district he is running to represent.

Pulido is best known for his Tejano and Mexican–Spanish folk-style songs, such as “Desvelado” and “Se Murió de Amor,” and has received five nominations for a Latin Grammy Award.

He won Best Tejano Album in 2022 and 2025.

Pulido’s career still takes him south of the border on a regular basis, leading him to tell local newspapers in Mexico that he was considering dual citizenship in 2015.

“I’m going to be Mexican because I want the same Mexican passport you have,” Pulido told El Norte, a Mexican outlet.

His last five concerts have been in Mexico, according to his tour website.

Pulido made headlines last fall when he announced a congressional bid in one of the country’s most competitive districts. Shortly afterward, he also drew scrutiny for a resurfaced history of posting links to explicit websites on his personal X account — as well as for a social media post of what appeared to be him urinating on President Donald Trump’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star.

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He has also received backlash over his past vulgar attacks against Trump, including posting the Spanish translation of “f— your mother.”

“I’d like to give you the biggest ‘f— you” you piece of s—, a–hole, d— head, son of a bit–,” Pulido said to Trump in another post. 

Despite those controversies, Pulido recently captured the Democratic nomination to run in Texas’ 15th Congressional District — a seat currently held by Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas.

De La Cruz, a two-term incumbent, needled Pulido over his time spent in Mexico through a post to X. She quipped that Pulido “only belongs at quinceañeras,” referring to the lavish, coming-of-age parties traditionally thrown for girls turning 15 in Latin cultures.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” Pulido shot back.

His campaign said Pulido asked local quinceañeras if he could attend them, drawing nearly 1,000 invites to parties in the district.

Pulido’s ties to Mexico extend beyond his music career.

A person familiar with Pulido’s background said his wife still lives in Mexico along with children from previous marriages. He also owns a house there and told interviewers in 2025 that he goes to Mexico for healthcare.

“We live on the border. My wife and I have a house in Mexico. So, we travel there, and we spend time over there. And I’ve had a pretty unique perspective of experiencing healthcare over there and healthcare here,” Pulido said.

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His campaign confirmed that Pulido does not have dual citizenship.

“Bobby has one citizenship — American, and he’s proud of it. And, frankly, there’s nothing wrong with people having ties to family and heritage across borders,” Pulido’s spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, said she had no hesitations about remaining in her seat at the 2026 State of the Union when President Donald Trump challenged lawmakers to stand if they agreed the U.S. government should prioritize its citizens’ safety over that of illegal aliens.

Like every single one of her Democratic colleagues, Tokuda, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, stayed put as Republicans stood for over a minute and a half, applauding in a show of support for the president’s statement.

A voter approached Tokuda about the moment two weeks later, pressing her on why she didn’t stand.

“The statement was: ‘The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.’ I noticed you did not stand,” a voter who identified herself as Arline said.

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“I’d like to know your reasoning why you did not stand.”

After a brief smattering of applause from the audience, Tokuda thanked Arline for the question, noting that lawmakers don’t always get easy questions at town hall events.

“But that decision was easy for me,” Tokuda said.

She said her reaction was based on her interpretation of Trump’s challenge, stating that she believed the president had no intention of fielding the support for the statement.

“If it had been a genuine question, a true question — not a ploy to be able to put on some commercial later on to say ‘look at all those Democrats who don’t believe in protecting Americans’ — I absolutely would have stood,” Tokuda said.

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Tokuda did not reference the moment in her immediate reactions to the State of the Union.

Instead, on her website, she focused on Trump’s tariffs.

“If you consider tariffs and the hundreds of billions of dollars that tariffs have taxed on everyday Americans … the hundreds of billions of dollars he’s collecting in tariffs have been a tax on everyday people,” Tokuda said, highlighting comments made to a local outlet.

In the past, Tokuda has criticized Trump’s immigration crackdown efforts for hitting close to home.

“We’re all one degree of separation from knowing somebody who is right now living in fear, worried that they could be picked up off the streets or they could be deported, even if they have no grounds to,” Tokuda told the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) last year.

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“There [are] too many looking over their shoulder and fearing for their lives right now.”

Tokuda’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The United States is left vulnerable even by its own naturalized U.S. citizens from hostile foreign lands, proving a free country can be exposed to security risks by the very freedoms the Constitution endows, an expert warned on Fox News.

“That’s partially because of legal reasons: They can’t just monitor constitutionally protected free speech and opinions after they become a naturalized citizen, indefinitely, just to keep tabs on them,” Mauro Institute president Ryan Mauro told Fox News on Saturday.

“They legally can’t do it, and they also don’t have the resources to do it.”

Just this month alone, the U.S. has experienced four attacks with ties to naturalized citizenship.

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• March 1 – Austin, Texas, bar shooting
• March 7 – New York City attempted bombing (parents of suspects were naturalized citizens)
• March 12 – Old Dominion University shooting
• March 12 – West Bloomfield, Michigan, synagogue attack

“There’s a bit of a jihad olympics going on, which is where you have the Sunni radicals like ISIS competing with the Shiite radicals of the Iranian regime because they need attention in order to survive and in order settle the argument of who has Allah’s blessing so that they can trigger the apocalypse,” Mauro said.

“That’s what they both want to do,” Mauro said.

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The process of citizenship revocation has been a hotly debated topic during the second Trump administration, and the spate of four terror attacks amid the latest Israel-U.S. war on Iran may increase scrutiny on the vetting process.

“A person is subject to revocation of naturalization if the person becomes a member of, or affiliated with, the Communist party, other totalitarian party, or terrorist organization within five years of his or her naturalization,” the U.S. Grounds for Revocation of Naturalization reads.

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Mauro’s institute is not constrained by federal law in vetting potential terrorist ideology of naturalized citizens like the Justice Department is, he noted.

“That’s why I personally have set up a civilian intelligence team that does do that type of thing,” Mauro said. “And why we’ve been so successful is because whereas the government has to be very careful not to launch investigations based off of just a mere suspicion or an unpopular opinion, civilians are free to comb through social media and just find people and report them.”

U.S. freedoms even protect suspected terrorists, he added.

“If they do come across someone who is expressing support for a terrorist organization, it still gets tricky,” he lamented. “You would think, oh, at that point you can revoke it and just get rid of the people because that would make sense, but the question is membership and affiliation.

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“I mean, there’ll be a lot of headaches just over those words. At what point does it go from, oh, I agree with them, versus actually being affiliated with them as like a unit?”

Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department, the FBI and multiple agencies within the Department of Homeland Security for comment on this story. The State Department redirected us to the latter two federal departments.

California State Librarian Greg Lucas is facing scrutiny from lawmakers after roughly $650,000 tied to a statewide literacy program connected to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library could not be accounted for.

The issue surfaced during a Thursday Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education hearing, which examined how funds were distributed for California’s participation in the book-gifting program.

Documents shared by the subcommittee as part of its hearing agenda claim that a nonprofit created to help administer the program reported spending roughly $1.2 million, while bank statements provided to Senate budget staff showed $555,000 in expenditures, leaving about $649,000 without supporting documentation.

“I find this to be incredibly concerning,” said state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, D-Pasadena, chair of the subcommittee. “There’s $650,000 that’s been unaccounted for in a program, a bipartisan effort that was intended to increase literacy amongst children. This is incredibly serious.”

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State Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, also criticized the lack of documentation, saying the situation raised serious concerns about transparency and oversight.

“That makes no sense,” Grove said during the hearing. “And that reeks of horrific no transparency and potential fraud.”

The California state library did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Lawmakers said Senate budget staff had requested financial records from the Strong Reader Partnership, the nonprofit created to help administer the program, multiple times, including receipts, invoices and bank statements to corroborate expenses.

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According to the subcommittee, those requests were made on several occasions between November 2025 and February 2026 but the documentation had not been provided.

During the hearing, Lucas acknowledged that lawmakers had received bank statements accounting for roughly $555,000 in spending but disputed the claim that the funds were unaccounted for.

“I don’t believe that’s correct,” he said. “I mean, we received a final report on the disposition of the money by the Strong Reader Partnership, which has expressed, and we’ve passed this on to you as well, the difficulty in obtaining some of this information because they no longer have any money or members of the partnership since the money was transferred to the Imagination Library.”

He added that his agency has repeatedly asked the nonprofit for additional records and pledged to continue requesting the information.

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A spokesperson for the state library told ABC10 in a statement: “The California State Library takes seriously its responsibility to ensure transparency and accountability in the taxpayer dollars entrusted to it. The State Library has provided the Legislature with all documentation in its possession and has repeatedly requested additional records from the Strong Reader partnership. The California State Library remains committed to cooperating fully with all legislative oversight and maintaining accountability in the administration of public funds.”

Pérez gave Lucas seven days to produce the financial records, saying the subcommittee expected invoices and receipts detailing how the money was spent.

Ahead of the 2026 midterms, Televisa Univision President Ignacio Meyer is calling for a revamping of political priorities with the key Latino voting bloc, “a sleeping giant that is no longer sleeping.”

“Hispanic voters are largely sophisticated, are largely independent, and they want to be swayed by issues,” Meyer told Axios publisher Nicholas Johnston on Saturday at a SXSW event in Texas, urging both major political parties to “look at how they’re speaking to Hispanic voters.”

“They do not want to be spoken to about partisan politics.”

With the 2026 midterms prepped to set the table for the U.S., Congress and the White House, Meyer added the Latino vote is “largely up for grabs” and there is a “big disconnect” with it.

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“The Hispanic population has been called the great sleeping giant,” he added. “It’s no secret that it’s no longer sleeping. They’re awake. They’re influential, the largest growing demographic in the United States across culture, sports, news, any one of the segments.”

President Donald Trump‘s border security and legal immigration policies are a lot more popular with Latino voters than Democrats might have imagined. Trump won more than 48% of the vote in his sweeping 2024 presidential election, winning all of the key battleground states.

Meyer pointed to the recent Texas primaries, saying addressing Hispanic voters in their language is key, urging spending early and often – a boon for his network.

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“Those that did their homework won,” he said, adding those that didn’t “lost, and they lost big.”

“I’m not a huge expert on politics,” he admitted, trying to play both sides to keep the campaign funds flowing in the political battlegrounds, but “balance of power in both the House and the Senate is going to be swung by very few races this year.”

“Out of all of those races, every single one has a high-density Hispanic population. Every single one of those voting blocs is up for grabs, and they want to be spoken to about the issues that are important to them.”

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Univision is the largest American Spanish-language television network, targeting Latino audiences, and is the way to speak to Hispanic voters “in their language,” which politicians do not do enough, according to Meyer.

“Why would our civil servants not speak to us in the language and the culture that we deserve to be spoken to, and talk to us about the issues that we deserve to be spoken to?” he asked.

“I think people would like to oversimplify what it’s like to be a U.S. Hispanic in the United States. When you come from another country, you have to fight for your place with different circumstances, different language.”

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Latinos should not be a “check-the-box” voting bloc to reach.

“Big growing population, check the box, spend X amount of money, spend it late – only in that window – and let it go: It’ll work,” he said of miscalculating political campaigns. “Well, there’s no magic.”

“It takes commitment.”

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Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, who also spoke on the panel, said Democrats’ losses among Latino voters reflect a broader disconnect with working-class concerns. He argued the party must focus on economic issues such as lowering prices and improving household finances to regain support.

Republicans sharply criticized former President Joe Biden over rising prices at the gas pump, but a spike in energy prices amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict in Iran threatens to scramble the party’s affordability messaging.

The Iran conflict has led to a surge in gas prices for Americans, leading to an average 50 cents a gallon increase since Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28.

The average price of gas reached $3.63 per gallon on Friday, according to AAA. Diesel prices have also risen to $4.89 per gallon. The increases have been mostly fueled by volatility in oil prices, which closed above $100 per barrel Thursday for the first time since 2022 as the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively shuttered from the conflict.

The president characterized the gas price hike amid the Iran conflict as “a very small price to pay” in a Truth Social post Sunday.

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That statement represented a sharp break with Trump’s typical messaging touting low gas prices prior to Operation Epic Fury.

“Gasoline, which reached a peak of over $6 a gallon in some states under my predecessor — it was quite honestly a disaster — is now below $2.30 a gallon in most states. And in some places, $1.99 a gallon,” President Donald Trump said during his Feb. 27 State of the Union address. “And when I visited the great state of Iowa just a few weeks ago, I even saw $1.85 a gallon for gasoline.”

The surge in gas and diesel prices threatens to undermine the economic message of President Trump and congressional Republicans, who have touted low gas prices as a major win in the lead-up to November’s midterm elections. Cost of living issues are expected to be a key concern among voters as both parties claim to be laser-focused on making everyday life more affordable.

Trump directed the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to release 172 million gallons of crude oil Wednesday in an effort to lower oil prices.

“I filled it up once, and I’ll fill it up again, but right now, we’ll reduce it a little bit, and that brings the prices down,” Trump told Cincinnati news station WKRC.

During the 2024 presidential contest, Trump frequently campaigned on ending Biden’s “war on American energy” and pledged to reverse a surge in gas prices that occurred under his predecessor’s tenure.

Gas prices averaged $3.45 per gallon across all fuel grades during Biden’s four-year term, surging to a record high of more than $5 per gallon in June 2022 after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“Starting on Day 1, we will drive down prices and make America affordable again,” Trump said during a speech at the Republican National Committee convention in July 2024. “People can’t live like this.”

Democrats have seized on rising prices at the pump amid the conflict in Iran.

“I wish the administration thought about this before they started this unnecessary war,” Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who caucuses with Democrats, said Monday when asked about the gas price hike.

“Donald Trump’s war has sent gas prices skyrocketing through the roof,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote on social media Monday. “What contempt. What cluelessness.”

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Republicans have voiced confidence that the rise in gas prices would be temporary. GOP lawmakers have frequently cited their efforts to roll back Biden-era energy regulations and boost domestic production as evidence that their policies are working to lower energy prices.

“It’s going to be probably volatile for a period of time. I think what’s going to be key is ensuring we can get safe access to the Strait of Hormuz,” Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., said Monday, adding that he was confident the disruption would be short-lived.

Daines, who abruptly suspended his re-election campaign last week, highlighted that average gas prices were under $3 per gallon prior to Trump’s State of the Union speech. 

“That’s an important win for the American people,” the retiring Montana lawmaker said. “Something you’re reminded of usually weekly when you’re gassing up your vehicle.”

Some Republicans and Trump administration officials are also arguing that a defeated Iran will ultimately spur lower gas prices, even if there is pain in the short run.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt characterized the recent increase in oil and gas prices as “temporary” during a briefing Tuesday.

“Once the national security objectives of Operation Epic Fury are fully achieved, Americans will see oil and gas prices drop rapidly, potentially even lower than they were prior to the start of the operation,” Leavitt said.

“At the end of the day, we’re going to destroy this regime, and their ability to disrupt oil is going to be less, and we’re going to have more production, not less,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters Monday. “Once you take the largest state sponsor of terrorism off the planet, who depends on oil for their revenue, that’s a more stable world.”

However, some Republicans are warning that high oil and gas prices could be catastrophic for the party’s midterm prospects.

“I think if you add in high gas prices, high oil prices, and if we are still bombing Iran with kinetic action … I think you’re going to see a disastrous election,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Tuesday.

Nearly seven in 10 Americans — including 44% of Republicans — expect gas prices to keep increasing in the coming months, according to a Reuters-Ipsos poll released Monday.

Trump has threatened Iran with unprecedented force if the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz is further restricted.

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“Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!” Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social.

The Pentagon has identified six U.S. service members who were killed when a KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq during a combat mission in support of Operation Epic Fury.

The incident, which occurred on Thursday, took place in “friendly” airspace during an unspecified incident involving another aircraft. While the other plane landed safely, the KC-135 crashed. Military officials said the incident was not due to hostile or friendly fire and remains under investigation.

The airmen were assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida and the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio, according to U.S. government and state officials.

Those killed were Maj. John “Alex” Klinner, 33; Capt. Ariana Savino, 31; Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt, 34; Capt. Seth Koval, 38; Capt. Curtis Angst, 30; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28. 

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Maj. John ‘Alex’ Klinner

Maj. John “Alex” Klinner, 33, leaves behind three small children — 7-month-old twins and a 2-year-old son, his brother-in-law, James Harrill, confirmed.

A graduate of Auburn University and an eight-year U.S. Air Force veteran from Birmingham, Alabama, Klinner had recently moved with his family into a new home, according to his wife, Libby Klinner.

“It’s kind of heartbreaking to say: He was just a really good dad and really loved his family a lot — like a lot,” Harrill said.

An outdoorsman who enjoyed hiking, Klinner was also known for helping others. Harrill recalled that when he last saw him in January during a family wedding, Klinner helped shovel Harrill’s vehicle out of the snow.

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“Alex was one of those guys that had this steady command about him,” Harrill said. “He was literally one of the most kind, giving people.”

Libby Klinner said her heart is broken for their children, who will grow up not knowing their father.

“They won’t get to see firsthand the way he would jump up to help in any way he could,” she wrote in a post. “They won’t see how goofy and funny he was. They won’t witness his selflessness, the way he thought about everyone else before himself. They won’t get to feel the deep love he had for them.”

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Klinner was assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, though Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said he was stationed in Birmingham.

Capt. Ariana Savino

Capt. Ariana Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington, was also assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base.

Savino was among the crew members aboard the KC-135 refueling aircraft when it crashed in western Iraq.

Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt

Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Kentucky, was the third member of the MacDill-based crew killed in the crash.

Pruitt served with the 6th Air Refueling Wing and was deployed as part of the mission when the aircraft went down.

Capt. Seth Koval

Capt. Seth Koval, 38, served as a KC-135R Stratotanker Instructor Pilot with the 166th Air Refueling Squadron at the 121st Air Refueling Wing in Columbus, Ohio.

The Ohio National Guard said Koval was an aircraft commander with 19 years of service. While the Ohio National Guard listed his home in Stoutsville, Ohio, the U.S. government listed his hometown as Mooresville, Indiana.

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A graduate of Purdue University, Koval first enlisted in 2006 as a machinist with the Indiana National Guard’s 122nd Fighter Wing before transferring to the Ohio Air National Guard in 2017. He earned his commission in 2018 and completed instructor pilot upgrade in 2024. Over the course of his career, Koval logged 2,076 total flight hours, including 443 combat hours.

Capt. Curtis Angst

Capt. Curtis Angst, 30, served as a KC-135R pilot with the 166th Air Refueling Squadron at the 121st Air Refueling Wing in Columbus, Ohio.

While the Ohio National Guard listed his home as Columbus, the U.S. government listed his hometown as Wilmington, Ohio. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a degree in aerospace engineering, Angst initially enlisted in the Ohio Air National Guard in 2015 as a vehicle maintenance technician with the 123rd Air Control Squadron.

He earned his commission in 2021, completed undergraduate pilot training in 2023, and qualified as a KC-135R pilot in April 2024. During his career, Angst logged 880 total flight hours, including 67 combat hours.

Tech. Sgt. Tyler Simmons

Tech. Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio, served as a KC-135R Boom Operator with the 166th Air Refueling Squadron. He was responsible for transferring fuel from the tanker to receiver aircraft during missions.

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Simmons entered the Air Force in 2017 and initially served in security forces before transitioning to aviation in 2022. He became a mobility force aviator in 2023 and reached the rank of Technical Sergeant on May 1, 2023. During his career, Simmons logged 779 total flight hours, including 230.4 combat hours.

Simmons’ family told WCMH-TV in Columbus they were devastated by the loss.

“Tyler’s smile could light up any room, his strong presence would fill it. His parents, grandparents, family and friends are grief stricken for the loss of life,” they said.

Ohio Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Matthew S. Woodruff said the state is mourning the loss of the three “remarkable” Ohio airmen.

“Today we mourn the loss of three remarkable Airmen whose service and commitment embodied the very best of our Ohio National Guard,” Woodruff said.

U.S. Central Command said the aircraft crashed during a combat mission over western Iraq in “friendly” territory. Military officials stated that the incident involved an unspecified interaction with another aircraft that landed safely and that the crash was not caused by hostile or friendly fire.

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The KC-135 Stratotanker refuels other aircraft in midair, allowing them to fly longer distances and sustain operations without landing. The aircraft can also be used to transport wounded personnel and conduct surveillance missions.

The Congressional Research Service says the Air Force had 376 KC-135 aircraft last year, including 151 on active duty, 163 in the Air National Guard and 62 in the Air Force Reserve. The aircraft has been in service for more than 60 years.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A new wave of Republican women running in competitive congressional races is aiming to chip away at Democrats’ long-held advantage with female voters — and flip key seats that could determine control of the House this November.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, one of these candidates, Laurie Buckhout, a former cattle rancher, U.S. Army veteran and mother, knocked the Democratic Party for trying to “pigeonhole” female voters into a single category.

“The Democrats try way too hard to pigeonhole us women in a certain role while they still can’t define what a woman is,” she quipped.

She believes that despite the rhetoric, Democrats are “really out of touch when it comes to women voters.”

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“They try to own that gender and try to stuff them in a box,” she went on. “’This is how you’re going to vote. Don’t tell your husband. This is how you are going to think.’ Republicans don’t do that.”

This midterm election, Buckhout is running to unseat Democratic Rep. Don Davis in North Carolina’s Congressional District 1. The district stretches across the northeastern corner of the state from the border with Virginia to the Atlantic coast. After narrowly losing to Davis in the 2024 election, Buckhout’s campaign has already garnered significant momentum this time around. She defeated a field of four other Republican candidates in the March 3 primary and, just this week, was further bolstered by an endorsement from President Donald Trump.

As the dominant party in an off-year midterm cycle, many expect that Republicans will take a beating at the ballot box this November. Buckhout, however, thinks it will be a very different story in North Carolina. With the GOP barely grasping onto a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives, every seat matters.

“I can tell you the people of North Carolina, especially eastern North Carolina, they want to live their lives with a minimum of government interference, they don’t want big government leaning in, telling them how to live their life, what to do, taking their money out of their pockets for more and more taxes for programs that they don’t need and they didn’t vote for,” she said. “So, I can tell you that we feel very good about this being a Republican election, taking this, adding another seat to the House.”

Buckhout is not the only female Republican candidate who stands a good shot at flipping a blue district red this year.

In one of the GOP’s top targeted districts, Carrie Buck, a former school principal and self-described minivan mom, is angling to unseat Rep. Dina Titus in Nevada Congressional District 1 in Las Vegas. As of the latest Federal Election Commission filings, Buck has significantly outraised Titus, further signaling the incumbent’s vulnerability.

MINIVAN MOM PUTS DEM INCUMBENT ON NOTICE IN TOP GOP TARGET DISTRICT: ‘SHE HAS DONE NOTHING FOR US’

Buck told Fox News Digital that after serving in Congress since 2013, Titus has “had her chance, and Nevada families are still waiting for results.”  

“I spent 30 years in classrooms — teaching, running schools, and working to fix problems. During that same time, Dina Titus was in public office, unable and unwilling to address the challenges Nevadans face: rising inflation, soaring crime rates, an open border, and failing schools,” she said.

On the East Coast, Tiffany Burress, a New Jersey attorney who is a newcomer to the political scene, is running to unseat Democratic Rep. Nellie Pou, who is considered vulnerable.

If the GOP could pick up the seat, it would be a huge boon in retaining the majority.

“Voters are ready for something different, and that’s how I know we’re going to win,” Burress told Fox News.

She knocked Pou, saying she has “spent decades living on the taxpayers’ dime,” and “puts extreme progressive agendas ahead of the priorities of our district” by voting with the likes of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez nearly 94 percent of the time.

LEGALIZE PROSTITUTION EFFORT LEFT CANDIDATE ‘SHOCKED’ IN BLUE STATE WITH RAMPANT HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Similarly, Barb Regnitz in Indiana’s first congressional district is running to flip a long-held Democratic seat currently filled by Rep. Frank Mrvan.

Regnitz, who is a former software engineer and current Porter County commissioner, told Fox News Digital that “for almost 100 years, Republicans have been powerless to stop the failed policies of the far-left that have resulted in falling incomes, struggling industry, and increasingly unsafe communities right here in Northwest Indiana.”

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“I’m running for Congress because I believe our district deserves serious, principled leadership focused on results, not rhetoric,” she said.

Down in Texas, another Republican woman, Jessica Steinmann, is fighting to retain a Republican seat north of Houston, being left vacant by Rep. Morgan Luttrell, who opted not to seek re-election.

Steinmann formerly served in President Donald Trump’s Justice Department during his first term as director of the Office for Victims of Crime.

She told Fox News Digital she is running for Congress “because the next two years of President Trump’s administration are critical for our country.”

“I was proud to serve in the first Trump Administration, where I saw firsthand what strong, America First leadership can accomplish,” she said, adding, “I’m confident that message will carry us to victory in November.”

Repairs have been completed following the historic Potomac River sewage spill in Washington, D.C., less than a month after President Donald Trump approved a disaster declaration that allowed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help.

“Emergency repairs to the Potomac Interceptor are complete,” DC Water said Saturday. “Full flow has been restored and the C&O Canal has been fully drained as part of site restoration. Since Jan 19, crews worked around the clock to stabilize the site and protect the Potomac River.”

The declaration came after a sewage pipe interceptor ruptured on Jan. 19, releasing more than 240 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a disaster emergency over the Potomac sewage spill and requested federal assistance with the cleanup.

Trump said he was worried the Potomac River would still stink when America250 celebrations kick off this summer, according to the White House.

SEWAGE SPILL SENDS E COLI SURGING IN THE POTOMAC RIVER NEAR DC

The president had directed his ire toward Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and other local leaders in Virginia and Washington, D.C., on the issue, claiming incompetence led to the disaster.

Moore and his office, however, pushed back on Trump’s assertions, claiming the federal government has oversight over the sewer utility.

“This is a Washington, D.C., pipe on federal land,” Moore told Fox News Digital last month. “Maryland has nothing to do with this. In fact, the only thing Maryland did was when we saw a neighbor who was in need. That’s why I ordered people, our people to go support them, and that’s what we’ve been doing the past month.”

“We’ve been doing essentially the federal government’s job because it’s the federal government’s job to be able to protect the Potomac interconnector because that’s federal land,” Moore said. “For the president now to come and attack me on this, I find that to be … absurd.”

The sewage pipes are managed by DC Water, an independent utility based in the District of Columbia.

A class action lawsuit was filed by a Virginia resident on March 6 that accused DC Water of negligence.

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The plaintiff, Nicholas Lailas, who is a recreational boater, is seeking compensation for people “whose property interests in and use and enjoyment of the Potomac River … have been impaired by Defendant’s conduct,” the lawsuit said.

He is seeking unspecified damages.

Fox News’ Stephen Sorace and Jasmine Baehr and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The Obama Foundation is looking for 100 unpaid volunteers to work alongside the former president’s highly paid cronies at the $850 million Obama Presidential Center in Chicago when it opens in June.

Officials are pitching the no-paycheck gigs as rooted in former President Barack Obama’s legacy of civic engagement. The recruitment campaign comes after Fox News Digital reported that the organization’s CEO, former top Obama aide Valerie Jarrett, earned $740,000 in 2024.

Foundation officials told Fox News Digital the volunteers will complement about 300 full- and part-time employees at the long-delayed center, which the organization is promoting as a $3.1 billion economic catalyst for the Windy City’s South Side.

The new program will see 75 to 100 volunteers, known as “ambassadors,” greet and direct visitors around the campus and share information about exhibits at the 22-story museum tower, athletic center and Chicago Public Library branch, among other amenities. It is expected to expand in the future. 

The foundation describes the volunteer program as a key component of its mission, saying volunteers represent its values both onsite and in the community.

TAXPAYERS ON THE HOOK FOR LAWN CARE, FIXING HINGES AT PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES. TRUMP-LED REFORMS AIM TO STOP IT

It is unclear what the salary range for those paid workers will be. However, the foundation’s most recent tax filings provide insight into compensation at the organization’s senior levels.

Federal filings viewed by Fox News Digital show Jarrett earned $740,000 in 2024, 2023 and 2022, while several former Obama White House officials have collected six-figure salaries as foundation executives.

Total salaries and benefits at the foundation climbed from $18.5 million in 2018 to $43.7 million in 2024 as staffing expanded to 337 employees and annual revenue reached nearly $210 million, according to the filings. The foundation’s main office is located in Chicago’s Hyde Park, where it runs leadership and community programs in the U.S. and abroad.

OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER BREAKS SILENCE OVER CONTROVERSIAL BUILDING DESIGN

Still, the foundation is looking to have a cohort of unpaid volunteers help out at the new presidential center. It’s common for presidential libraries, museums and nonprofit cultural institutions to employ unpaid volunteers.

“Volunteerism has been central to President Obama’s vision of civic life since his earliest days as a community organizer on Chicago’s South Side,” the foundation said in a press release.

Jarrett, one of the Obamas’ closest advisors, said in a statement that the center will be “a place where the world meets the best of the city of Chicago, and our volunteers will help bring that vision to life every day.”

She became CEO in 2021 and is overseeing development of the 19.3-acre campus in Jackson Park.

OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER SLAMMED FOR PROMOTING ‘FAR-LEFT’ AGENDA ON PUBLIC LAND

The foundation has promoted the center as a catalyst for economic revitalization on Chicago’s South Side, citing $3.1 billion in projected economic activity over 10 years and 5,000 construction jobs tied to the $850 million campus. Those figures come from an economic assessment conducted by Deloitte Consulting LLP.

According to the foundation, more than 50% of construction contracts have been awarded to diverse firms, 33% of the construction workforce has come from South and West Side communities, and 798 residents have enrolled in construction pre-apprenticeship programs.

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The center is scheduled to open on Juneteenth, the federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

Other former Obama administration officials have also earned substantial compensation at the foundation in past years, including former White House political director David Simas, who earned more than $600,000 annually while leading the organization from 2017 to 2020, and Adewale Adeyemo, who later became Biden’s deputy Treasury secretary and earned roughly $540,000 during his tenure. 

Several other senior leaders with Obama administration ties have earned between roughly $300,000 and $400,000 annually, according to tax filings.

Former Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema admitted to having an affair with her former bodyguard while in office and while he was still married — an admission that came by way of an explosive new court filing in the state of North Carolina, seeking to dismiss a so-called “homewrecker” lawsuit filed by the bodyguard’s estranged wife.

Sinema, who served in the Senate from 2019 to 2025, acknowledged the relationship with her former bodyguard, Matthew Ammel, in a motion to dismiss the “alienation of affection” lawsuit filed in North Carolina by his estranged wife.

The complaint accused Sinema of engaging in “intentional and malicious interference” in Ammel’s marriage and sought $25,000 in damages from Sinema as a result of allegedly “willful and wanton” conduct. 

KYRSTEN SINEMA RIPS SENATE DEMOCRATS FOR APPARENT FLIP-FLOP ON FILIBUSTER NOW THAT THEY NEED IT

Neither the motion to dismiss, nor the sworn declaration Sinema submitted to the court, seeks to dispute the nature of her affair with Ammel — described as both “romantic and intimate.”  

Rather, the filings argue that the case should be dropped because the communications in question occurred “exclusively outside” the boundaries of the Tar Heel state.

Combined, the new filings leave little to the imagination regarding the nature of the affair between Sinema and Ammel, which began in May 2024 in Sonoma, Calif., and involved months of phone calls, emails, and Signal messages, in addition to various romantic relations in cities across the U.S. cities.

KYRSTEN SINEMA’S SWITCH TO INDEPENDENT DESCRIBED AS ‘GUT PUNCH’ TO DEMOCRATS: ‘NO WIGGLE ROOM’

“I keep waking up during my sleep and reaching over for your arms to hold me,” Sinema told Ammel in one Signal message, which she recalled was sent in June 2024 from Scottsdale, and received by Ammel while in Kansas.

That fall, another Signal exchange between the two was apparently interrupted by Ammel’s estranged wife. She allegedly responded to Sinema directly, stating: “Are you having an affair with my husband? You took a married man away from his family.”

Just six states, including North Carolina, still recognize “alienation of affection” lawsuits, though the ones that do still require the spouses to meet a difficult legal burden.

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In order to succeed in the lawsuit, plaintiffs in an “alienation of affection” lawsuit must prove to the court three things: First, that the marriage had real affection and a viable relationship before any third-party involvement; second, that the “love and affection” was destroyed, or significantly diminished; and finally, that the defendant directly “caused the destruction of that marital love and affection.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Sinema for comment.

Virginia’s Democratic senators aren’t budging from their position against funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without reforms, despite a deadly shooting involving a suspect with links to ISIS.

Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., have both consistently voted with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and their colleagues against the GOP’s attempts to reopen the agency in their push for stringent reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Senate Republicans have warned of the necessity to reopen DHS out of concern about an increase in terrorist activity in the U.S. following Operation Epic Fury in Iran.

OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY SHOOTER IDENTIFIED AS MOHAMED JALLOH, FORMER NATIONAL GUARD MEMBER, ISIS SUPPORTER

That became a reality on Thursday when the FBI announced it was investigating the shooting at Old Dominion University, which left one person dead and two others wounded, as an act of terrorism after identifying the alleged shooter as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former member of the Army National Guard who was convicted of supporting ISIS.

Kaine argued that Senate Democrats have repeatedly tried to reopen chunks of the agency, either through a bill that carved out funding for ICE and CBP or through standalone funding bills that Republicans have blocked.

“Senate Democrats have repeatedly moved to fund — and Senate Republicans have repeatedly blocked — TSA, CISA, the Coast Guard and other entities within DHS that help keep us safe,” Kaine said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

‘YOU CAN CRY ABOUT IT’: TEMPERS FLARE IN SENATE AS DHS SHUTDOWN DEBATE ERUPTS, STALEMATE DIGS DEEPER

Warner said in a statement to Fox News Digital that he was “heartbroken by the loss of Lt. Col. Brandon A. Shah” and lauded the Old Dominion University students who subdued Jalloh.

But he pointed the finger at FBI Director Kash Patel for playing a role in the incident and demanded that Patel “answer for how the FBI lost track of a known, convicted terrorist sympathizer who was then able to get his hands on a gun and murder an American citizen.”

“Following Director Patel’s mass firings of experienced FBI agents and counterterrorism experts, this tragedy emphasizes serious concerns about whether his leadership has left Americans more vulnerable to threats,” Warner said.

DEMS VOTE TO KEEP DHS CLOSED DESPITE AIRPORT CHAOS, IRANIAN SLEEPER CELL THREAT

Separately, the lawmakers panned ICE’s handling of Abdul Jalloh, who was charged with the murder of Virginia resident Stephanie Minter earlier this year.

When asked if Virginia counties should have cooperated with ICE to detain Jalloh, an illegal immigrant with a rap sheet of 30 arrests dating back to 2014, Kaine countered, “How about ICE cooperating with counties?”

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“ICE had this guy repeatedly and let him go,” Kaine said. “And so should counties do more? Yeah, but what about ICE? Why would ICE, beginning in, like, 2017, 2018 — and that was during Trump’s presidency — not take cases like this seriously?”

Warner called her murder a tragedy and said, “No one can doubt the fact that somebody who has been arrested 30 times should not be in this country.”

A U.S. judge in Boston on Friday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from ordering colleges to collect and turn over detailed data on race and student admissions, delivering a near-term reprieve to 17 Democratic attorneys general who sued to block the policy from taking force. 

U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV, a George W. Bush appointee, issued a temporary restraining order Friday that blocked the administration from immediately ordering the detailed information from colleges and universities across the U.S.

Trump announced the new effort last August as part of a broader push from the administration to ensure universities were not using race as a factor for admissions, in accordance with a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that blocked so-called “race-conscious” admissions.

JUDGES V TRUMP: HERE ARE THE KEY COURT BATTLES HALTING THE WHITE HOUSE AGENDA

The ruling forced many colleges to fundamentally alter their admissions process for the first time in decades. But Trump and some Republicans have criticized what they argue is a lack of compliance with the ruling, arguing that many universities have failed to adjust their admissions processes quickly or fully enough to comply. 

Trump’s August memo directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to require colleges to report more data to the federal government “to provide adequate transparency into admissions.”

EX-JUDGES BLAST TOP TRUMP DOJ OFFICIAL FOR DECLARING ‘WAR’ ON COURTS

As part of that effort, all universities that receive federal funding were ordered to submit to the Education Department race and gender admissions data dating back years, as well as information regarding the total undergraduate applicant pool and enrollment size. 

But the Democratic attorneys general who sued to block the policy argued this week that they had not been given enough time to compile the large amount of data — roughly seven years’ worth— required by the administration.

They also argued that the effort by the Trump administration is an attempt to turn the Education Department’s primary statistical agency, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), into a “mechanism for law enforcement and the furthering of partisan policy aims.”

TOP US COURT HANDS TRUMP A WIN ON DEPORTATIONS AS SCOTUS CHALLENGE LOOMS

Judge Saylor’s temporary order effectively extends the deadline by another 12 days, through March 25, to allow the court to consider the case made by the states, and to provide for an “orderly resolution of the issues,” according to the brief order.

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It was not immediately clear whether the Trump administration would appeal the order. Neither the Justice Department nor the Department of Education immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Democrats on Capitol Hill are accusing Republicans of walking away from attempts to shrink the size of a partial government shutdown that began on February 14, arguing that the impasse over funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) doesn’t need to hold up funding for other agencies also tied to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

It’s a position that Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., believes his party has repeatedly made clear.

“We’re totally ready to fund FEMA, TSA, Coast Guard, other elements. But while ICE continues to misbehave, we need to make sure that there’s an agreement about their behavior. And the Republicans are holding the rest of DHS hostage,” Whitehouse said, listing the other agencies also tied to DHS.

“That’s on them,” he added.

SCHUMER, DEMS AGAIN BLOCK DHS FUNDING, FORCE STATE OF THE UNION SHOWDOWN

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, scoffed at what they view as Democratic calls to avoid the heart of the gridlock.

“That’s extremely hypocritical because we’ve already funded ICE,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said, noting that the agency had already received allocations through Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill last year.

“So, the only thing they’re doing is hurting the air-traveling public through TSA. They’re hurting them and not accomplishing what they’re saying they’re trying to accomplish. It’s shameful,” Cornyn said.

DHS SHUTDOWN TRIGGERS TSA ‘EMERGENCY MEASURES’ AS LAWMAKER WARNS AIRPORTS COULD FEEL ECONOMIC PAIN

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., echoed Cornyn’s thinking, arguing that lawmakers should address DHS funding.

“All of Homeland Security needs to be funded. We’re not going to pick part of it not being funded. It’s making our country less safe,” Scott said.

The lapse in funding for DHS hit the one-month mark Saturday with no resolution in sight over the 10 operational reform demands Democrats have made regarding any funding for ICE.

SWALWELL PRESSED ON DEMOCRATS’ RESISTANCE TO FULLY FUNDING DHS AMID IRAN THREAT

Among others, Democrats are demanding a ban on masks for ICE agents, an end to roaming patrols, stiffer warrant requirements and visible identification markings. Their demands came about in the wake of the deaths of two civilians in Minnesota who lost their lives in escalated confrontations with immigration enforcement.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said it was squarely on the Trump administration to make those incidents more unlikely in the future.

“Trump has a responsibility to put safeguards around a corrupt agency that is endangering the constitutional privileges of everybody,” Markey said.

HOUSE DEMOCRATS VOTE TO CONTINUE DHS SHUTDOWN DESPITE IRAN THREAT, NOEM’S OUSTER

Without those demands, Democrats say there’s no way to press on towards funding ICE.

“Frankly, we have a simple menu of fixes to ensure that ICE and CBP follow the same standards as state and local law enforcement. We get agreement on that we can move ahead,” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told Fox News Digital.

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Republicans maintain the demands would handcuff President Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown efforts.

Republicans can’t advance funding legislation in the Senate without the help of at least 7 Democrats. Republicans hold 53 seats in the chamber and need 60 votes to break the threat of a filibuster.

Four suspected terror attacks have taken place in the United States since the Department of Homeland Security was defunded in a partial government shutdown last month, including one in the state of Michigan where Fox News Digital reached out to all the major Senate candidates if they support funding DHS.

Republican Mike Rogers, former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, says he would be a “Yes” vote to re-open DHS and told Fox News Digital in an interview that “we needed all hands on deck” when the United States engaged in “defanging Iran” through military action and that a “life might depend on it.”

“This was an opportunity to have our law enforcement officers from immigration, from making sure that the Coast Guard’s up, the TSA is getting paid. This was an opportunity to stand up for America,” Rogers said. “It’s crazy to me that the Democrats just turned their back on safety and security of American citizens. They just turned their backs for some political purpose that they think is going to gain them votes in the fall. I’m disgusted by it. This is no time to play politics with people’s safety, and they’re doing it.”

Senate Democrats have voted four times over the past month to block Homeland Security funding because the bills include funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Democrats say reforms are needed at those two DHS agencies following the fatal shootings earlier this year by federal immigration agents of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota who were protesting the Trump administration’s unprecedented illegal immigration crackdown.

‘YOU CAN CRY ABOUT IT’: TEMPERS FLARE IN SENATE AS DHS SHUTDOWN DEBATE ERUPTS, STALEMATE DIGS DEEPER

Two Democrats, Sens. Elissa Slotkin and Gary Peters, are currently representing the state of Michigan in the U.S. Senate and both have so far voiced opposition to re-opening DHS. 

The three top Democrats running in the August 4 primary to replace the retiring Peters struck a different tone than Rogers when contacted by Fox News Digital about their support of funding DHS. 

Progressive Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed, endorsed by Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, did not specify how he would vote on DHS funding but told Fox News Digital that “if the Trump administration were serious about keeping Americans safe from terror, they would not be funding ICE at a level higher than the FBI, cutting counterterrorism funding, or keeping the FBI from informing local law enforcement about terror threats that emerge from their illegal and unjustified war.”

“Let’s not confuse issues.” 

The other two top Democrats in the race, Mallory McMorrow and Haley Stevens, did not respond to requests for comment. 

TRUMP SAYS ‘WE’VE GOT OUR EYES ON’ IRANIAN SLEEPER CELLS IN US

On Thursday, as Democrats and Republicans clashed in Washington, D.C. over funding DHS, two separate attacks suspected of being related to terrorism or religious ideology occurred in the United States. 

In Virginia, 36-year-old Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former Army National Guard soldier convicted of supporting ISIS, reportedly shouted, “Allahu Akbar” as he opened fire inside Old Dominion University, killing devoted ROTC instructor Lt. Col. Brandon Shah and injuring two others.

In Michigan, Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, allegedly rammed his vehicle into Temple Israel, a large Reform synagogue in West Bloomfield, and opened fire at security guards with a rifle, authorities said. Armed security returned fire and shot him dead.

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Those attacks came shortly after 53-year-old Senegal-born Ndiaga Diagne killed three people after allegedly opening fire outside a bar in Austin, Texas while wearing a shirt that said “property of Allah.” 

Not long after that, in New York City, two suspects were arrested after allegedly throwing improvised explosive devices near Gracie Mansion during a protest, with one reportedly telling authorities he was inspired by ISIS. 

Republicans face high hurdles as they defend their razor-thin control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections, but the Senate GOP campaign chair says he remains “incredibly optimistic” his party can not only hold but expand its current 53–47 majority.

Republicans are battling stiff political headwinds as the party in power in the nation’s capital traditionally loses seats in the midterms, and a rough political climate fueled by economic concerns amid persistent inflation and President Donald Trump‘s underwater approval ratings.

“There’s no doubt the climate has gotten more and more difficult by the day, it seems like at times,” National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Sen. Tim Scott said in a recent Fox News Digital interview.

But he added, “The good news is we have a president who made promises, he’s been keeping those promises, and we have been able to recruit the highest quality candidates anyone could want in every single battleground state.”

WHAT THE SENATE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN CHIEF TOLD FOX NEWS

The NRSC chair told Fox News Digital in December 2025 that in the battle for the majority, “54 is clearly within our grasp right now, but with a little bit of luck, 55 is on our side.”

Asked again a week ago, Scott said, “I think we have a possibility of more than 53 seats.”

STRATEGY SESSION: TRUMP TEAM HUDDLES ON MIDTERM MESSAGING 

Scott’s rival, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand told Fox News Digital in January that “President Trump is creating a toxic agenda that’s harming people.”

And Gillibrand emphasized she’s “optimistic that we have a shot to take back the majority.”

Here’s a look at the top 10 Senate seats that could flip in the midterms.

MAINE

Longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins is the only Republican senator running for re-election this year in a state that then-Vice President Kamala Harris carried in her 2024 presidential election defeat to Trump.

And Collins has seen a deterioration of her poll numbers among Mainers from her last re-election six years ago.

But Collins, who has long been a top target of the rival Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) has proven impossible to beat, to date.

Complicating the Democrats’ push to flip the seat is a competitive primary between two-term Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who has the tacit backing of longtime Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and the DSCC, and veteran and oyster farmer Graham Platner, who is running to the left of the governor and who is backed by progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

NORTH CAROLINA

Republicans are defending an open seat in the southeastern battleground state, with GOP Sen. Thom Tillis retiring at the end of 2026. 

Democrats landed their top recruit when former two-term Gov. Roy Cooper launched a Senate campaign in summer 2025. Cooper enjoys tons of name ID in North Carolina and is 6–0 when running statewide races.

Republicans are rallying around former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Michael Whatley, who has the president’s backing.

The race is expected to be one of the most expensive and competitive Senate showdowns this year.

OHIO

Democrats scored another major recruiting victory when former longtime Sen. Sherrod Brown announced he would challenge Republican Sen. Jon Husted.

A former lieutenant governor, Husted was appointed to the Senate a year ago after then-Sen. JD Vance stepped down to serve as vice president.

Ohio, once a premiere general election battleground, has turned red over the past decade, and Democrats view Brown as their only competitive candidate in the race to serve the final two years of Vance’s term.

Brown lost re-election in 2024 by roughly four points while Trump carried Ohio by 11 points.

Similar to North Carolina, the showdown is expected to be very expensive and competitive.

ALASKA

Democrats were given a big boost in the red-leaning state when former Rep. Mary Peltola announced in February that she would challenge GOP incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan.

Peltola lost re-election 15 months ago in the at-large district that covers the entire state by three points, while Trump carried Alaska by 11 points.

IOWA

Republicans are defending an open seat in Iowa, a onetime swing state that’s shifted to the right over the past decade.

But the GOP has rallied around Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is backed by Trump, in the race to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Joni Ernst.

Hinson, a former local TV news anchor who flipped a Democratic-held seat in 2020, is seen as a rising star in the party.

Democrats have a contested primary that includes state Rep. Josh Turek, a Paralympian, state Sen. Zach Wahls and military veteran Nathan Sage.

TEXAS

Longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas is in the middle of a competitive and combustible GOP nomination runoff battle against state Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton.

Trump, to date, has stayed neutral in the runoff, which will be held in late May.

Cornyn enjoys the backing of Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the NRSC, which worries that the seat would be vulnerable if Paxton, who has plenty of political baggage, wins the primary.

The Democrats, who are eyeing the seat in the right-leaning state, nominated state Rep. James Talarico, a rising star in the party.

MICHIGAN

Republicans are optimistic they can flip a seat in the Great Lakes battleground, where Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is retiring.

The GOP, led by Trump, has coalesced around former Rep. Mike Rogers, who lost an extremely close Senate race in 2024 even as Trump won Michigan by one point.

The Democratic primary is a three-way race between center-left Rep. Haley Stevens, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, a self-described “pragmatist,” and progressive physician Abdul El-Sayed, who is backed by Sanders.

The primary already has exposed divisions on the future of the state’s manufacturing sector and support for Israel, and the nominee won’t be decided until August.

GEORGIA

Republicans view first-term Sen. Jon Ossoff as the most vulnerable Democratic senator seeking re-election in the midterms.

The aim was to paint Ossoff, the only Senate Democrat running for re-election in a state Trump won in 2024, as a far-left progressive.

But ousting Ossoff won’t be easy, in part because the senator’s robust fundraising has built a massive war chest.

And Republicans are in the middle of an ugly three-way between Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter, and former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, who has the backing of term-limited popular, conservative Gov. Brian Kemp.

Trump has remained neutral, to date, ahead of the May primary. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Republicans are hoping to flip the long-held Democratic Senate seat in New England’s only swing state, thanks to the retirement of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the first woman in the nation’s history to be elected governor and senator.

While most Democrats are rallying around four-term Rep. Chris Pappas, there’s a spirited primary on the Republican side between two former senators seeking a return to Capitol Hill. Former Sen. John E. Sununu, an older brother to former Gov. Chris Sununu, has the backing of the president. But Trump’s first-term ambassador to New Zealand, former Sen. Scott Brown, remains in the race.

Republicans are trying to break their 16-year losing streak in U.S. Senate elections in the Granite State.

MINNESOTA

The retirement of Democratic Sen. Tina Smith is giving the GOP hopes they can flip the seat in the blue-leaning state.

And the NRSC landed what they say is a top-tier recruit in former NBC sports reporter turned conservative pundit and activist Michele Tafoya.

Tafoya is part of a crowded GOP field that also includes 2024 Senate nominee Royce White, a former NBA basketball player; retired U.S. Navy officer Tom Weiler, a 2022 GOP congressional nominee; former state Senator David Hann and former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze.

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Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flannagan, a progressive, is facing off against more moderate Democratic Rep. Angie Craig, who appears to have the backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, in the race for their party’s nomination.

Jurors delivered a mixed verdict Friday in the federal trial of nine people accused of carrying out a 2025 “ambush” attack on an ICE detention facility in North Texas.

Nine defendants accused of being part of a North Texas “Antifa cell” were convicted by a federal jury in Fort Worth for their roles in the July 4, 2025, attack on the Prairieland ICE Detention Center, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Jurors delivered the verdict around 2:30 p.m. Friday at the federal courthouse in Fort Worth following roughly a day and a half of deliberations, FOX 4 News reported.

“The guilty verdicts in today’s case go to show this FBI’s 24/7 commitment to identifying, locating, and dismantling ANTIFA members and their networks,” Kash Patel told Fox News Digital. “I want to thank our Dallas field office and great partners for delivering justice. If you attack federal law enforcement this FBI will use every resource at our disposal to hunt you down.”

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During the 12-day trial, which began Feb. 23, 2026, jurors heard testimony from more than 45 witnesses and reviewed over 210 exhibits tied to the charges against the nine defendants, the DOJ said.

Benjamin Song was convicted of the most serious charge — attempted murder — for shooting Alvarado Police Lt. Thomas Gross, according to FOX 4.

All but one of the nine defendants — Daniel Estrada — were found guilty of providing material support to terrorists, rioting, conspiring to use and carry explosives, and using explosives during a riot, FOX 4 reported.

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Daniel Estrada, who was not present the night of the incident, was convicted of concealing records and conspiracy to conceal documents, according to FOX 4.

Maricela Rueda was also convicted of conspiracy to conceal documents.

“Antifa is a domestic terrorist organization that has been allowed to flourish in Democrat-led cities — not under President Trump,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “Today’s verdict on terrorism charges will not be the last as the Trump administration systematically dismantles Antifa and finally halts their violence on America’s streets.”

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Authorities say the July 4, 2025, attack outside the Prairieland ICE Detention Facility in Alvarado involved fireworks, damage to buildings and vehicles, and gunfire directed at officers. 

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Prosecutors argued the attack was orchestrated by Song and carried out by members of a North Texas Antifa cell, FOX 4 reported.

Defense attorneys argued there was no ambush and said the defendants did not intend for any violence to occur.

“The calculated, violent attack at ICE’s Prairieland facility was an abhorrent way for antifa terrorists to ‘protest’ the way this agency enforces the law — but these verdicts make clear that those who choose violence over lawful expression will face the full force of the American justice system,” ICE Director Todd Lyons said in a statement.

President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. had carried out a bombing raid on Iran’s Kharg Island, a strategically vital island in the Persian Gulf that serves as the country’s largest oil terminal and a crucial hub for its crude exports.

“Moments ago, at my direction, the United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the history of the Middle East, and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The island, located roughly 35 miles off Iran’s Bushehr province in the country’s southwest, is about the size of New York City’s Central Park but carries huge importance for Iran’s economy.

It has a loading capacity of about 7 million barrels per day, and roughly 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports pass through it. Most of those exports are shipped to China and India, underscoring the island’s importance not only to Iran’s energy trade but also to broader global oil markets.

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That makes Kharg Island one of Iran’s most sensitive and strategically important pieces of infrastructure. Any military action there could have consequences well beyond Iran, raising the risk of disruptions to crude flows, shipping traffic and energy prices across the region.

Trump said the U.S. had deliberately avoided targeting the island’s oil infrastructure, while warning that could change if Iran moved to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

“Our Weapons are the most powerful and sophisticated that the World has ever known but, for reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island. However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision,” Trump added.

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The latest revelation comes as the widening conflict in the Middle East rattles global energy markets and raises fresh fears about the security of the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil choke point.

The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage between Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, carries roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day and about one-fifth of the global supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG). When conflict flares in the region, even the threat of disruption can rattle markets because so much of the world’s energy moves through that single corridor.

That threat is already rippling through energy markets.

This week, benchmark oil prices punched back above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022, underscoring how quickly geopolitical shocks can ripple through the energy complex.

That jump is showing up at the pump. As oil prices climb, gasoline and diesel prices are rising fast — especially diesel, which can move quickly because it’s tied closely to freight and industrial demand.

On Friday, the national average for regular gasoline rose to about $3.63 a gallon, according to AAA.  Diesel prices have also jumped, with the national average up $1.23 to $4.89 a gallon.

As energy costs accelerate, the White House is weighing steps to safeguard commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and leaning on emergency stockpiles to cushion the blow.

Before boarding Air Force One for Mar-a-Lago late Friday, Trump told reporters the U.S. Navy may start escorting tankers through the Strait “very soon.”

Asked about the risk of disruptions, Trump said Monday evening he would keep the route open and threatened retaliation if Iran tried to interfere.

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“I will not allow a terrorist regime to hold the world hostage and attempt to stop the globe’s oil supply. And if Iran does anything to do that, they’ll get hit at a much, much harder level,” Trump said during a news conference in Florida.

“In the long run, oil supplies will be dramatically more secure without the threat of Iranian ships, drones, missiles,” he added.

Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., announced plans Thursday to introduce legislation allowing the U.S. to denaturalize and deport naturalized citizens who commit or support terrorism after a recent string of attacks involving immigrants who obtained citizenship.

On Thursday, Moore called out the “horrific pattern” of naturalized citizens committing acts of terror against the American people, saying it “must end.”

Moore announced he will be introducing a bill in Congress to denaturalize and deport any naturalized citizen who commits an act of terror, plots to unleash terror, joins a terrorist group or otherwise aids and abets terrorism.

Almost immediately, Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, and Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., vowed to support the bill.

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This week, Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Lebanon, allegedly attempted to ram his vehicle into a Michigan synagogue filled with children and teachers. The same day at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a naturalized citizen from Sierra Leone, opened fire on a class of Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) students, killing Lt. Col. Brandon Shah.

Days before, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, the children of naturalized citizens from Turkey and Afghanistan, allegedly attempted to bomb an anti-Islam demonstration outside the mayor’s mansion in New York City. At the start of the month, Senegalese-born naturalized citizen Ndiaga Diagne killed three people and injured over a dozen in a shooting in Austin.

After this week’s attacks, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., renewed his call to pass another bill known as the Stop Citizenship Abuse and Misrepresentation (SCAM) Act. 

Schmitt is the Senate sponsor of the bill, which, if passed, would expand and clarify grounds for denaturalization if an individual participates in fraud against a government program, joins a terrorist organization or is convicted of an aggravated felony or espionage. 

The bill was introduced in the House in January by Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., amid widespread outrage over the rampant Medicaid and children’s services fraud scandal, which heavily involved the Somali immigrant community.

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On Thursday, Schmitt posted on X that “after the SAVE America Act, we must pass the SCAM Act so we can denaturalize & deport those who are here to hurt Americans. We must denaturalize those who shouldn’t be here.”

Under current laws, the U.S. government may strip citizenship from a naturalized individual only in very limited circumstances, such as when it was obtained through fraud. There is also a very high standard of proof on the government to show that fraud occurred during the process of obtaining citizenship.

The SCAM Act, however, would expand the government’s ability to denaturalize, allowing it to revoke citizenship from a person who engages in terrorism, commits fraud, commits espionage or commits felonies within 10 years of becoming a citizen.

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In another post, Schmitt emphasized “we need to give the Trump admin the SCAM Act. Under current law, it is practically impossible to denaturalize these terrorists.”

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He said the SCAM Act “will allow the Trump admin to denaturalize and deport those who should never have been granted citizenship in the first place.”