NationalWatch

A Democratic Senate candidate endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is being slammed for allegedly flip-flopping on one of his primary campaign issues.

Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive candidate who previously ran an unsuccessful bid for Michigan governor, has made “Medicare-for-all” a hallmark of his Senate campaign.

However, as the Michigan Senate primary race heats up, El-Sayed’s Democratic opponent, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, is accusing him of backing down from a full “Medicare-for-all” stance and of “rewriting definitions to have it both ways.”

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Roxie Richner, an El-Sayed campaign spokesperson, responded by telling Fox News Digital, “Dr. El-Sayed is and has always been for ‘Medicare-for-all’ — guaranteed public health insurance for every American. Cradle to grave. No premiums, deductibles, or co-pays.” 

“Dr. El-Sayed would be the first Democratic doctor elected to the U.S. Senate since 1969, and he looks forward to passing ‘Medicare-for-all’ into law,” added Richner.

El-Sayed’s campaign website page on “A Healthier America” cites a book he co-authored in 2021 in which he wrote that limiting private alternatives to “Medicare-for-all” would be important to ensuring providers accepted the insurance. The book advocates for “Medicare-for-all” as a type of “monopsony” in healthcare, in which there is only a single buyer of medical services, the government. 

“By insuring all Americans, M4A becomes a monopsony in healthcare. This is different from a monopoly, where there’s only one seller of a good; in a monopsony there’s only one buyer of a good. That gives the single buyer considerable negotiating leverage, which Medicare could use to rein in the cost of drugs, hospital stays, and physician services,” the book reads. 

In a November post on X, El-Sayed explained that this monopsony “would instantaneously create a disciplining feature against rising prices,” because it “takes out the profit motive on the payer end of the transaction.” 

The book further states that “because alternatives to M4A [Medicare-for-all] would be limited, participation of providers would be virtually guaranteed.” 

“Instead of spending time and money dealing with the arcane requirements of hundreds of different health plans […] providers could use one streamlined system that would free up resources to focus on clinical care,” the books reads. 

The latest version of the federal “Medicare-for-all” Act, introduced in the Senate by Sanders, includes language that would effectively ban most comprehensive private insurance plans and relegate private insurers to providing limited supplemental care. 

The legislation would make it unlawful for “a private health insurer to sell health insurance coverage that duplicates the benefits provided under this Act; or (2) an employer to provide benefits for an employee, former employee, or the dependents of an employee or former employee that duplicate the benefits provided under this Act.”

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El-Sayed testified before the Senate in support of the “Medicare-for-all” Act in 2022, calling it “the clearest pathway to universal, durable healthcare insurance, bar none” and saying that “cradle to grave coverage would do away with the premiums, co pays, deductibles that leave even privately insured Americans rationing their healthcare today.” 

The year before, in an interview with NerdWallet, El-Sayed said that under a “Medicare-for-all” plan, the government would be “buying you out” of your private insurance plan but would allow “a few insurance companies that offered a sort of concierge-level service for folks who wanted to pay for that.”

In a 2024 episode of the “America Dissected” podcast, El-Sayed emphasized that “we don’t really need private health insurance in this country.”

He said that “private health insurance is a system by which you have a middleman in our healthcare system making a tremendous amount of money that is leading to a number of the biggest problems in American healthcare whether that’s the fact that our costs continue to spiral upward, whether that’s the fact that nearly ten million people in our country don’t get health insurance at all, or it’s the fact that we are consistently in this country, unable to guarantee, even people who are insurance access to the health care they need.”

In October, El-Sayed knocked McMorrow for advocating for allowing a public option under universal healthcare, writing on X, “a public option can’t deliver healthcare to every Michigander. Medicare for All can.” Politico, in December, reported El-Sayed slamming McMorrow’s call for universal healthcare with a public option as “incoherent.”

“Now a public option is exactly that; it’s just an option. There is no reason why it would actually address any of the foundational problems in our system. It wouldn’t bring down the rising costs. It wouldn’t guarantee people healthcare, and we don’t really know how much it would cost,” he said. 

Yet, while speaking on the Brian Tyler Cohen podcast in January, El-Sayed suggested that under “Medicare-for-all,” “if you like your insurance from your employer or from your union, that can still be there for you.”

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Days later, speaking on radio channel WDET, he again said, “‘Medicare-for-all’ is government health insurance guaranteed for everyone, regardless of what circumstances you’re in. If you like your insurance through your employer or through your union, I hope that’ll be there for you. But if you lose your job, if your factory shuts down, you shouldn’t be destitute without the healthcare that you need and deserve.” He also said, “If you have a public option, what happens is, the private health insurance system will try to dump all of the most expensive patients onto that public option, vastly increasing the cost of that public option and making it unsustainable.” 

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El-Sayed’s campaign website states that he “believes in expanding Medicare to cover every single American from cradle to grave while sustaining the option for workers to keep supplemental private insurance their unions or employers may provide.” Amid criticism from McMorrow, El-Sayed doubled down on his “Medicare-for-all” messaging in a January fundraising message, in which he wrote that “private insurance could supplement or duplicate Medicare.”

Meanwhile, McMorrow has accused him of not being honest on “Medicare-for-all.” 

“On an issue as important as healthcare, you have to be honest about what you’re fighting for,” McMorrow wrote in a public reply to El-Sayed, adding, “The ‘Medicare-for-all’ legislation that you’ve championed completely eliminates private health insurance as it exists today.”

Sanders’ office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump‘s administration from deporting Mohsen Mahdawi, a pro-Palestinian protest leader who led anti-Israel demonstrations at Columbia University.

Judge Nina Froes terminated the case after saying federal authorities made a procedural error and failed to certify a document they attempted to submit as evidence.

“I am grateful to the court for honoring the rule of law and holding the line against the government’s attempts to trample on due process,” Mahdawi said in a statement.. “This decision is an important step towards upholding what fear tried to destroy: the right to speak for peace and justice.”

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin condemned the ruling on Tuesday, saying the Trump administration remains committed to removing Mahdawi’s visa.

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“No activist judge, not this one or any other, is going to stop us from doing that,” she said.

Froes’ ruling relates to a document submitted as evidence by federal attorneys. The document referenced Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying noncitizens can be expelled from the country if their presence may undermine U.S. foreign policy interests.

Froes wrote in her ruling that government attorneys submitted a photocopy of the document to the court, but they failed to certify it as required under federal law.

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Mahdawi, 34, was detained in April 2025 during a citizenship appointment in Vermont and spent more than two weeks in custody. He was later released on bail after filing a habeas corpus petition.

A federal judge ordered that he not be deported or removed from the state and was released under an order issued by U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford in Burlington.

According to the 2025 court filing, Mahdawi co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack. He founded the group with Mahmoud Khalil.

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Mahdawi’s deportation case also stems in part from allegations dating back to 2015, when he was interviewed by the FBI after reportedly making antisemitic remarks at a Vermont gun store and a firearms museum.

According to court documents previously cited by Fox News Digital, the store owner said Mahdawi expressed interest in purchasing firearms, including a sniper rifle and an automatic weapon.

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The owner claimed he had experience building modified 9mm submachine guns “to kill Jews while he was in Palestine.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Vice President JD Vance, former Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama were among the prominent political figures who issued statements following the death of Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. The civil rights leader and two-time Democratic presidential candidate was 84.

Vance indicated that one of his family members voted for Jackson in the 1988 Democratic presidential primary and for Trump in the 2016 Republican presidential primary.

“I have a close family member who voted in two presidential primaries in her entire life. Donald Trump in 2016 and Jesse Jackson in 1988,” Vance wrote in a post on X. “RIP Jesse Jackson.”

TRUMP REMEMBERS JESSE JACKSON AS ‘GOOD MAN,’ ‘FORCE OF NATURE’

Former Vice President Kamala Harris recalled getting positive reactions from others when she had a “Jesse Jackson for President” bumper sticker on her car when she was a law student.

“As a young law student, I would drive back and forth from Oakland, where I lived, to San Francisco, where I went to school. I had a bumper sticker in the back window of my car that read: ‘Jesse Jackson for President.’ As I would drive across the Bay Bridge, you would not believe how people from every walk of life would give me a thumbs up or honk of support. They were small interactions, but they exemplified Reverend Jackson’s life work — lifting up the dignity of working people, building community and coalitions, and strengthening our democracy and nation,” she noted in a post on X.

REV JESSE JACKSON, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER AND RAINBOW PUSH FOUNDER, DIES AT 84

“I was proud to partner with and learn from him on this work throughout my career, and I am so grateful for the time we spent together this January. Reverend Jackson was a selfless leader, mentor, and friend to me and so many others,” she wrote.

Former President Barack Obama noted in a statement that he and former first lady Michelle Obama “were deeply saddened to hear about the passing of a true giant, the Reverend Jesse Jackson.”

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“Michelle got her first glimpse of political organizing at the Jacksons’ kitchen table when she was a teenager. And in his two historic runs for president, he laid the foundation for my own campaign to the highest office of the land,” Obama noted. “Michelle and I will always be grateful for Jesse’s lifetime of service, and the friendship our families share.”

President Donald Trump said the way Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez answered questions at the Munich Security Conference “was not a good look for the United States.” 

The Democratic lawmaker from New York and potential 2028 presidential candidate has been facing criticism for making foreign policy gaffes at the event. In one instance, Ocasio-Cortez appeared to stall for nearly 20 seconds when asked if the U.S. should send troops to defend Taiwan from a possible invasion by China, and in another, claimed Venezuela is below the equator. 

“By the way, I watched AOC answering questions in Munich. This was not a good look for the United States. I watched Gavin Newscum answering questions in Munich, and this was a bad look for our country,” Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One on Monday night. 

“This was a bad – these two people are incompetent, and at least Hillary is competent. She’s just Trump deranged. She was so deranged and she is an angry woman. But I watched the other two speaking and answering basic questions. Look, Gavin has destroyed California, and AOC I never really got her, I never heard her speak very much and they started answering questions. She had no idea what was happening,” Trump continued, referencing Newsom’s and Clinton’s attendance at the Munich Security Conference.

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“She had no idea how to answer, you know, very important questions concerning the world. But she can’t answer questions concerning New York City either, because New York City [has] got some problems,” Trump also said about Ocasio-Cortez. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office for reaction.

A Newsom spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Tuesday: “Donald Trump is on his knees for coal and Big Oil, selling out America’s future to China. Governor Newsom will continue to lead in his absence. Foreign leaders are rejecting Trump and choosing California’s vision for the future.” 

Ocasio-Cortez was asked on Friday, “Would and should the U.S. actually commit U.S. troops to defend Taiwan if China were to move?” 

The four-term lawmaker appeared to stall for nearly 20 seconds before offering that the U.S. should try to avoid reaching a clash with China over Taiwan.

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“This is, of course, a, a very long-standing, policy of the United States, and I think what we are hoping for is that we want to make sure that we never get to that point, and we want to make sure that we are moving in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid any such confrontation and for that question to even arise,” Ocasio-Cortez said. 

Ocasio-Cortez also claimed that Venezuela was “below the equator” while criticizing the Trump administration for arresting the nation’s dictator Nicolás Maduro. 

“It is not a remark on who Maduro was as a leader. He canceled elections. He was an anti-democratic leader. That doesn’t mean that we can kidnap a head of state and engage in acts of war just because the nation is below the equator,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

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In a post on Truth Social Monday night, Trump said, “AOC and Newscum were an embarrassment to our Nation.” 

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser, Lindsay Kornick and Peter Pinedo contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump is stepping in to fix the sewage leak rocking the Potomac River, with the White House vowing the president will not allow local lawmakers’ infrastructure “failures” to slide on his watch. 

“President Trump will not allow the failures of local and state Democrats to diminish the quality of life for millions of Americans,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital Tuesday. 

“In line with the President’s promise to make Washington, D.C. safe and beautiful, President Trump is fixing the disaster exacerbated by Maryland Governor Wes Moore, whose gross mismanagement has allowed millions of gallons of raw sewage to be dumped into the Potomac River,” Rogers said. “Just like Governor Moore has failed to address the crime crisis in his state, he has also failed to make long-overdue repairs to Maryland’s water and wastewater infrastructure.”

Trump is on a tear, calling on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other federal government agencies to protect the Washington, D.C., water supply after a sewage pipe interceptor rupture in January that released an estimated 240 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac. The president has directed his ire toward Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on the issue, claiming alleged incompetence led to the disaster. 

TRUMP SLAMS MARYLAND GOVERNOR, LAUNCHES FEDERAL EFFORT TO PROTECT POTOMAC AFTER HISTORIC SEWAGE SPILL

Trump reiterated Tuesday that Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., leaders are “responsible for the massive sewage spill in the Potomac River” and that if they can’t handle the clean-up and prevention, “they have to call me and ask, politely, to get it fixed.”

“The Federal Government is not at all involved with what has taken place, but we can fix it,” Trump posted to Truth Social Tuesday. “But remember, even in that case, with the Democrat Shutdown, we’ll have to bring in true Patriots to do the work because many are not working right now. These Democrat caused Disasters, both River and Shutdown, will only get worse.” 

“The two Governors and the Mayor of D.C. must act, IMMEDIATELY. This is a Radical Left caused Environmental Hazard,” the president continued. “With all of their talk about carbon footprints and everything else, they’re allowing hundreds of tons of sewage to pour into the Mighty Potomac, making it much less mighty. ACT FAST. I am awaiting your call. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” 

The administration argued to Fox News Digital that Maryland has state regulatory enforcement authority over Potomac River waters, including rules requiring sewage operators to report, monitor and mitigate unauthorized discharges that threaten public health.

Officials faulted the state for an alleged slow response and lack of prompt coordination with federal entities despite the ruptured D.C. Water line running adjacent to — and over — federal lands. They also said Maryland failed to ensure infrastructure installed in the 1970s remained serviceable as demand changed over the past 50 years, and accused the state of offering little substantive public communication since last month even as other jurisdictions issued updated advisories.

The administration pointed Fox News Digital to a series of infrastructure grades the state of Maryland received from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), which found the state had a C+ grade for its wastewater infrastructure, and the same grade for its stormwater infrastructure in 2025. The administration described the grades as “nearly failing.” 

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All in, the state earned a C grade for its infrastructure, with its transit and energy infrastructure receiving the lowest grades, at D+ marks for both, while its ports and solid waste infrastructure receiving the highest marks at B scores, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2025 report. 

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ASCE State report cards are released every four years. Maryland’s infrastructure grades from 2025 were largely unchanged from its marks in 2020, when the state also received an overall C grade. 

Moore spokesperson Ammar Moussa blasted Trump over pinning blame for the leak on Maryland in a previous statement, saying on Monday that Trump got his “facts wrong — again.”

“Since the last century, the federal government has been responsible for the Potomac Interceptor, which is the origin of the sewage leak. For the last four weeks, the Trump Administration has failed to act, shirking its responsibility and putting people’s health at risk,” Moussa said. “Notably, the president’s own EPA explicitly refused to participate in the major legislative hearing about the cleanup last Friday.”

“Apparently the Trump administration hadn’t gotten the memo that they’re actually supposed to be in charge here,” Moussa said. 

Moore’s office argued the White House’s latest statement and claim that Maryland is to blame for the leak is “factually incorrect,” while underscoring the origin of the leak falls under federal review. 

“Mr. President, this spill is basically contained,” Moore posted to X Tuesday. “So could you approve the @FEMA funding to help Western Maryland rebuild after the historic floods last year? @Sec_Noem, tagging you here too for good measure. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

The Potomac Interceptor was identified as the source of the leak, and is operated by DC Water, the District’s water and sewer utility. 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin said on X later Tuesday that Maryland and Washington, D.C., officials had yet to request assistance from the EPA over the matter. He said that DC Water was leading clean-up efforts, and that the state of Maryland was providing “regulatory oversight related to water quality standard exceedances in the Potomac related to unauthorized discharges of wastewater.”

“This mess must be completely addressed as fast as humanly possible, and the Trump EPA stands ready, motivated, and highly capable to assist in any way possible to fulfill President Trump’s strong desire to END this disaster,” Zeldin posted to X. 

“At no point in the lead up to today had DC Water or the state of Maryland requested EPA to take over their responsibilities, and EPA has continued to offer its full support to state and local leaders from the onset. We are ALWAYS ready to lead and assist with our exceptional agency team!!” he continued. 

The sewage issue has attracted demands cutting across the political spectrum to clean up the issue and prevent it from happening again, including environmentalists focused on ending pollution in the Potomac. 

“I want them to fix the problem, come up with a real, meaningful spill prevention plan or something like this could never happen again,” Dean Naujoks with Potomac Riverkeeper Network told DC News Now in February of the spill. 

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Trump took a direct shot at Moore for the sewage leak Monday, calling it a “gross mismanagement of local Democrat leaders,” while directing federal officials to “immediately provide all necessary Management, Direction, and Coordination to protect the Potomac, the Water Supply in the Capital Region, and our treasured National Resources in our Nation’s Capital City.”

“This is the same Governor who cannot rebuild a bridge. It is clear local authorities cannot adequately handle this calamity,” Trump said of Moore, referring to a dragged out timeline to rebuild the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge on the Baltimore Beltway.

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Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Wesley Hunt, who is running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Texas, filed a police report on Tuesday after a senior campaign staffer for one of his GOP opponents posted a 2016 provisional ballot that included personal information about Hunt and his family. 

The document included the last four digits of Hunt’s Social Security number, his driver’s license ID number and a home address.

Matt Mackowiak, who serves as the communications director for Sen. John Cornyn’s re-election campaign for U.S. Senate, posted the unredacted documents on his X account last Friday. Cornyn’s campaign account then reposted the now-deleted images.

Sources from the Hunt campaign told Fox News Digital that when asked by a law enforcement officer if he would like to press charges, Hunt said yes.

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Harris County Constable Mark Herman’s office confirmed a report had been filed.

A source from the Hunt campaign told Fox News Digital that law enforcement officials intend to subpoena X to retrieve the deleted post which showed Hunt’s personal information. 

Hunt accused Mackowiak and the Cornyn campaign of “doxxing” his family in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“The tragic situation involving Savannah Guthrie is a painful reminder of how vulnerable our family truly is,” Hunt told Fox News Digital. “They should never be put in harm’s way. And yet, that’s exactly what happened to my family.”

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“Despite knowing how dangerous and irresponsible it is to doxx someone’s family, the Cornyn campaign did it to mine,” Hunt added. “What happened to my family members should never happen to anyone.”

Hunt also said Cornyn had not reached out since the post was published.

“Instead, his campaign’s actions put my family at risk, and they’ve chosen to look the other way,” Hunt continued. “I will continue to pursue every legal avenue available to make sure my parents are safe and that those responsible are held accountable.”

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Mackowiak, president of Potomac Strategy Group, pointed out to Fox News Digital that the documents are public, and that a record request made through the county clerk could provide the provisional ballot. He also pointed to a Daily Mail article, which published the unredacted documents on Saturday, one day after his post on X.

In the article, the publicly accessible photos are credited to the Cornyn campaign.

Prior to Mackowiak posting on X, the Hunt campaign shared the provisional ballot with the Houston Chronicle for an article that was published last Thursday, though the sensitive personal information was redacted.

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The controversy surrounding the ballot goes back to Hunt saying he had “supported President Trump since 2016,” though no ballot was actually cast on Nov. 4 of that year because Hunt wasn’t registered to vote at the time.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is also running against Hunt and Cornyn for the Senate seat, weighed in on the post, saying the Cornyn campaign is “cheering on his staff” for doxxing Hunt. 

“I still can’t believe that John Cornyn’s senior staffer last night doxxed Wesley Hunt’s family and posted his social security number on X and then Cornyn defended it,” Paxton said in an initial statement on X.

GOP LAWMAKER’S ABSENCE NEARLY HANDS DEMOCRATS WIN ON TRUMP WAR POWERS

“The man who’s made ‘character’ the centerpiece of his campaign is cheering on his staff doxxing his opponent’s family,” Paxton said in a separate post.

“Character does matter, but John’s never had any and tonight proves that,” Paxton added.

As for the police report, Republican Party of Texas General Counsel Rachel Hooper told Fox News Digital said publicizing the personal information “should be investigated.” 

“Over the past two years, we have witnessed multiple assassination attempts against President Trump and the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Hooper told Fox News Digital.

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“As a former prosecutor and former deputy chief of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, the public release of personal identifying information should be investigated and the safety of elected officials, candidates, and their families must be given the utmost priority,” Hooper added.

But legal experts are skeptical that federal law and Texas Penal Code 42.074 would justify charges against Mackowiak.

“Laws criminalizing the posting of Social Security numbers, addresses, or other personal information are generally focused on situations in which the specific intent in posting the personal information was to doxx, intimidate, harass, or otherwise cause harm,” former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky told Fox News Digital.

“Specific intent crimes are often very difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, particularly where there appears to be a legitimate (potentially First Amendment protected) intent to post for the purpose of exposing political affiliations,” Cherkasky explained.

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Early voting for the GOP primary in Texas began Tuesday.

“I hope the Cornyn campaign takes this seriously,” Hunt told Fox News Digital. “Because I do.”

Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston

With less than nine months before a politically bruising battle in the November midterm elections, the realities of a one-seat majority are bearing down on the House GOP.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. — and by extension, President Donald Trump — faced back-to-back losses on the House floor last week after a small group of GOP rebels joined Democrats in an effort to curb Trump’s unilateral tariff authority.

It’s part of a growing trend that comes with a razor-thin House majority, and moderates making a choice between appealing to their battleground district voters and following the president in a year when history dictates the opposing party will fare better in the coming elections.

“Getting things done in Washington can be tough enough as it is,” veteran GOP strategist Doug Heye told Fox News Digital. “Add to that a super slim majority and the shortened legislative calendar of an election year, and it’s tough to see much happening legislatively through the rest of the year.”

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: GOP REBELS DEFY TRUMP AS CONGRESSIONAL GRIP CONTINUES TO WEAKEN ACROSS MULTIPLE VOTES

Last Tuesday, House GOP leaders tried to insert language into an unrelated procedural vote aimed at blocking Democrats from forcing consideration of a bill aimed at limiting Trump’s ability to levy tariffs on Canada without consent from Congress.

That failed, however, after three Republicans joined Democrats in sinking that procedural vote — Reps. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., Don Bacon, R-Neb., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky.

“I think it was not unexpected, and certainly we’ve got to find a new course to chart now,” one House Republican granted anonymity to speak freely told Fox News Digital.

“This is going to change the dynamics of the type of legislation we’re going to see, and the type of political posturing the Democrats are going to do the next nine months. So we’ve got to come up with a better strategy.”

But Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital largely did not blame Johnson, arguing he was doing his best with the circumstances in front of him. Instead, much frustration was aimed at their fellow GOP lawmakers who dissented.

The move not only paved the way for a vote on Trump’s Canada tariffs, but opened the door to allowing Democrats to force a vote on tariffs targeting other countries as well.

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“A lot of people were disappointed with how that went, with the actors who voted no” rather than House leadership, a second House Republican said.

They pointed out that the following day would bring a vote on Trump’s tariffs themselves — a politically tricky situation for people in vulnerable seats.

“I get the overall idea about tariffs. That’s not the vehicle to vote no on and put a lot of our moderates in jeopardy, and that’s exactly what happened,” the second GOP lawmaker said.

A third House Republican said there was “frustration that they aren’t playing team ball like they used to, and we need them to.”

But not everyone agreed. Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, told Fox News Digital, “I actually like when they put bills on the floor, even if they don’t have the votes…it gives the American people a chance to see where their representatives stand. And far too often, the calculus is, well, we’re not gonna put it on the floor if we don’t think it has the votes.”

“A lot of the American people don’t even know where their reps stand, because this whole place is designed to shield members from taking votes,” Crane said.

He added of Johnson’s leadership, “I think it’s one of the hardest jobs you can have. I’ve been critical of the speaker in the past, but what he’s working with, I think he’s doing a good job.”

Democrats did successfully force a vote on ending Trump’s emergency at the northern border the following day, which if passed in the Senate and signed into law would effectively roll back his Canada tariffs. 

Three more Republicans — Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., and Dan Newhouse, R-Wash. — joined the original trio in voting to pass the measure, even despite Trump vowing political “consequences” for those who dissented.

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It’s almost certain that Trump would veto the resolution if it gets to his desk, but it’s an example of a situation that is increasingly likely to happen as the midterms draw closer.

Bacon and Newhouse, for example, are not running for re-election. Fitzpatrick and Hurd are running in battleground districts where their independence from the party line could be critical to their survival — and Republicans’ overall chances of keeping the House.

Trump is already targeting Massie with a primary challenge, and Kiley has not yet said what his plans are for November after California Democrats badly disadvantaged him with a new congressional map.

HOUSE GOP MAJORITY SHRINKS TO JUST ONE VOTE AS JOHNSON SWEARS IN NEW HOUSE DEMOCRAT

“I think you’re going to see some moderate Republicans try to distinguish themselves as being independent voters or independent thinkers … and this is a way to do it,” John Feehery of EFB Advocacy, who served as press secretary to former Republican House Speaker Dennis J. Hastert, told Fox News Digital.

“And the tariffs are not uniformly popular amongst the Republican conference. I mean, most Republicans would probably want to vote with those guys. But they don’t want to undermine the president as he’s negotiating.”

Republicans are currently dealing with a one-seat majority until mid-March, when a special election for the seat vacated by former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is likely to get another GOP lawmaker into the House.

But the April race for a blue-leaning seat to replace New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherill could bring the margin back down. Republicans would then not likely see relief until August, when a special election will be held to replace late Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif.

And Feehery said Democrats’ unwillingness to work with Trump will likely keep much of the president’s agenda from succeeding in Congress this year.

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“It doesn’t look to me like the Democrats have any interest in giving Trump any kind of legislative victory, so that makes it very difficult. I mean, [House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.], he doesn’t really want to work with Trump at all, and so it’s going to pretty much scale back the ability for Republicans to get much done for the rest of the year,” he said.

“And the other situation is that the Senate, they’re not going to get 60 votes for a lot of things, so it just makes the agenda itself pretty slim.”

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., has confirmed he will “seriously consider” a run for president in 2028, opening the door to a potential White House bid.

Kelly’s comments to the BBC Feb. 16 came as he remains locked in a legal and political battle with the Trump administration.

In an interview, the retired Navy captain and former astronaut made clear he has not yet decided whether to launch a campaign but confirmed the idea is under consideration.

“I have people talk to me about it all the time, but we have an election in 2026 that I’m really worried about. We’ve got to get through that first. I will make a decision.”

SEN MARK KELLY DIGS IN ON ‘ILLEGAL ORDERS’ STANCE, TELLS JIMMY KIMMEL HE’S ‘NOT BACKING DOWN’

Kelly emphasized that any choice would involve discussions with his wife, Gabrielle Giffords, their daughters and his identical twin brother, also a former astronaut.

“You know, with my wife, Gabby, with my two daughters, and my brother, I have a twin brother who was also an astronaut. Think about for a second how this would affect him. We’re identical twins,” he said.

“So you know, I’ll seriously consider this, because we are in some seriously challenging times right now,” Kelly added.

KELLY SHRUGS OFF TRUMP COURT-MARTIAL THREAT, SAYS GROWING UP IN TONY SOPRANO’S HOMETOWN MADE HIM ‘RESILIENT’

Kelly’s comments came within days of two major developments in his standoff with the administration.

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, a federal judge blocked the Pentagon from demoting him Feb. 12 over a controversial video about “illegal orders.”

A grand jury declined to indict him and five other Democratic lawmakers on seditious conspiracy charges.

The dispute is over a 90-second video Kelly recorded with fellow Democratic lawmakers reminding U.S. service members that they are not obligated to follow “illegal” commands.

“Our laws are clear,” Kelly said in the clip. “You can refuse illegal orders.”

SEN MARK KELLY LINKS TRUMP’S ‘DEATH’ POST TO CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION, WARNS OF VIOLENCE

President Donald Trump had labeled the video “seditious behavior” and suggested the lawmakers be arrested.

The Justice Department sought indictments, but a grand jury refused to bring charges.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth had also moved to initiate retirement-grade determination proceedings against Kelly, potentially reducing his rank as a retired Navy captain and cutting his retirement pay.

Kelly sued, arguing the action was unconstitutional retaliation for protected speech.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon agreed to temporarily block the demotion, writing that the administration had likely violated Kelly’s First Amendment rights and warning against “shrinking the First Amendment liberties of retired service members.” Hegseth has vowed to appeal.

“This will be immediately appealed,” Hesgeth wrote in the post. “Sedition is sedition, ‘Captain.’”

PENTAGON LAUNCHES FULL COMMAND INVESTIGATION INTO SEN. MARK KELLY OVER ‘SERIOUS MISCONDUCT’ ALLEGATIONS

In the Feb. 17 interview with the BBC, Kelly also reflected on his career.

“I don’t know if I would be the best person in this job. I am a lot different than most of these other 100 senators there are,” he said.

“I’m one of the very few engineers. I’m the only person with a graduate degree in engineering in the United States Senate. I’ve got combat experience that’s kind of rare,” Kelly explained.

“I spent 25 years in the military. I didn’t start out in some state legislature somewhere. I don’t think of myself as a politician. I’m a Navy pilot who was so fortunate and so lucky, in fact, that I had the opportunity to fly this incredible spaceship, you know, four times and back.”

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Kelly also struck a note of humility about a possible White House run.

“I never thought I’d find myself here. So I will obviously think about this. It’s a serious decision. I just haven’t made it yet,“ he added.

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

Several firebrand conservatives are set to duke it out in what promises to be a particularly explosive debate ahead of the GOP primary election for Texas attorney general.

The debate will be held at the famed Granada Theater in Dallas on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Central Time. It will be hosted by the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) and moderated by conservative podcaster and Texas native Allie Beth Stuckey. Fox News Digital will stream the debate.

With early voting having already started, the Lone Star State is in the midst of a highly contentious primary election season.

Four Republicans are gunning for the role of Texas’ top attorney, a slot that is being vacated by Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for U.S. Senate. In the running are Congressman Chip Roy, R-Texas, who is running on a limited government platform, Aaron Reitz, a former Trump Department of Justice official and assistant attorney general under Paxton, state Sen. Mayes Middleton, an oil executive running on an America first platform, and state Sen. Joan Huffman, who has emphasized respect for the rule of law in her campaign.

TRUMP WITHHOLDS ENDORSEMENT IN FIERY GOP SENATE PRIMARY AS EARLY VOTING BEGINS IN TEXAS

As a fourth-term congressman, Roy has the most time in the national spotlight. A member of the House Freedom Caucus, he has at times found himself at odds with President Donald Trump and the GOP establishment.

On Dec. 19, 2024, amid a high-stakes standoff over government funding and the federal debt ceiling, Trump railed against Roy in a Truth Social post in which he called him one of several “Republican obstructionists” who he said, “Have to be done away with.”

Both Reitz and Middleton, who have positioned themselves as the Trump loyalists in the race, have used this line of attack against him. Reitz has accused Roy of being “belligerently anti-Trump” and a party antagonizer, while Middleton has echoed the obstructionist theme.

TEXAS GOVERNOR EXPOSES ‘HYPOCRISY’ OF DEM PUSH FOR STATES’ RIGHTS IN MINNESOTA AFTER BIDEN YEARS

Stuckey has said the debate questions will focus on the national legal battles the Texas attorney general must lead regarding the border and constitutional rights. In an X post, she said that her team and RAGA have been working to make sure that “every single question is not only relevant to Texas voters but also to Americans as a whole.”

She promised a “fiery, fun and informative night.”

DEMS SEE OPENING IN KEY SENATE RACE AS BITTER GOP INFIGHTING CONTINUES: ‘LAST REMAINING STRATEGY’

Addressing the debate, RAGA Executive Director Adam Piper said in a statement that the Texas attorney general “plays a critical role locally and nationally from protecting Texans to promoting the rule of law and preserving freedom for future generations.”

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Piper said that “RAGA looks forward to providing Texans the opportunity to hear all four Attorneys General candidates answer questions on the important issues facing the state.”

An 88-year-old billionaire businessman and former Victoria’s Secret chief is the latest person to fall within the House Oversight Committee’s investigative crosshairs in the Jeffrey Epstein case, as he is scheduled to appear before the panel in Ohio on Wednesday morning.

The crimes of the late accused sex trafficker Epstein are well-known, having gained new media attention in recent months after Congress forced the Department of Justice (DOJ) to disclose millions of pages of documents.

But less is known about the figures who operated within Epstein’s orbit and how they helped him get the vast international sphere of influence he enjoyed before finding himself in a Manhattan jail awaiting trial, where he killed himself in 2019.

Les Wexner, founder of L Brands, the former chief of Victoria’s Secret, is one of those figures, having been named a co-conspirator of Epstein in a recently uncovered FBI document from 2019.

REVEALED: TRUMP CALLED POLICE CHIEF TO SUPPORT EPSTEIN PROBE, AND LAWMAKERS NAMED 6 MEN SHIELDED FROM EXPOSURE

Wexner is the founder of L Brands, formerly known as The Limited, which included Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, and Pink. He also helped found Abercrombie & Fitch, a clothing brand that was once popular among teens in the U.S.

Wexner has never been charged with crimes related to the late financier, and a spokesperson for the mogul told Fox News Digital that the “Assistant U.S. Attorney told Mr. Wexner’s legal counsel in 2019 that Mr. Wexner was neither a co-conspirator nor target in any respect.” 

But documents released by the DOJ allege that Wexner was one of the key players in how Epstein built his wealth and later ran his illicit empire.

One file from 2013 that appears to have been in the possession of the Southern District of New York (SDNY) titled “Jeffrey Epstein Source of Wealth,” said Wexner “became a well-known client” of Epstein’s financial management firm in 1987.

At the time, Wexner was identified as the founder and chairman of the Ohio-based women’s clothing brand The Limited.

“Since all but one of his financial clients are anonymous, it has been speculated that much of Epstein’s lavish lifestyle was once financed by Wexner,” reads the document, which appears to be an email. Wexner’s spokesperson declined to comment on the allegations.

That paper also noted that Wexner sold his massive Manhattan townhouse — reported to be the largest private residence in the New York City borough — to Epstein.

CHAPPELL ROAN DUMPS TALENT AGENCY OVER BOSS’ ‘TIGHT LEATHER OUTFIT’ EMAILS TO GHISLAINE MAXWELL

A 2019 FBI witness statement from a man who purported to be Wexner’s bodyguard from 1991 to 1992 said Wexner “sold his mansion in New York to Epstein for $20.”

The same witness statement alleged that “Epstein got all of his money from Wexner.”

A 1998 document obtained by Fox News Digital, however, shows Wexner sold his home to Epstein for a $20 million price tag. Half was paid via cashier’s check, while the other half was covered by a promissory note, the record shows.

Epstein’s Manhattan mansion was raided by the FBI in July 2019 as part of the federal sex trafficking investigation. There, law enforcement officials found vast troves of evidence, including photos of partially or fully nude women and girls, including ones who appeared to be minors.

TRUMP THANKED FLORIDA POLICE FOR EPSTEIN PROBE IN 2000S, FLAGGED ‘EVIL’ GHISLAINE MAXWELL: FBI DOC

The DOJ’s unsealed indictment against Epstein also said it was one of the places where he “enticed and recruited, and caused to be enticed and recruited, dozens of minor girls… to engage in sex acts with him, after which he would give the victims hundreds of dollars in cash.”

Wexner reportedly bought the mansion in 1989 for $13.2 million before selling it to a corporation partially controlled by Epstein for an “undisclosed amount,” according to Business Insider. It was then reportedly transferred to a U.S. Virgin Islands-based company controlled by Epstein for $0 in 2011.

The home was reportedly valued at $77 million at the time of the raid, making it a massive portion of Epstein’s wealth.

CLINTONS CAVE: COMER SAYS BILL AND HILLARY TO TESTIFY IN EPSTEIN PROBE

A heavily redacted email chain from July 2025 that appears to show witness statement summaries, with the subject line, “RE: Epstein – Cellmate Interview,” also said, “Steve Scully stated Wexner was #1 on Epstein’s speed dial.”

Steve Scully appears to be a reference to a former IT contractor who lived and worked on Epstein’s private island of Little St. James from 1999 through 2005. Wexner’s spokesperson declined to comment on Scully’s claim.

Wexner even signed a document in 1991 giving Epstein vast control over his finances via power of attorney, according to the New York Times. That document gave Epstein the power to sign checks, borrow money, and buy or sell real estate on Wexner’s behalf, the report said.

A letter Wexner wrote to his nonprofit, the Wexner Foundation, in August 2019 said that while he did give power of attorney to Epstein, their relationship ended soon after the 2007 federal investigation first began into the late financier in Florida.

“[B]y early fall 2007, it was agreed that he should step back from the management of our personal finances. In that process, we discovered that he had misappropriated vast sums of money from me and my family. This was, frankly, a tremendous shock, even though it clearly pales in comparison to the unthinkable allegations against him now,” the letter said.

“With his credibility and our trust in him destroyed, we immediately severed ties with him. We were able to recover some of the funds. The widely reported payments Mr. Epstein made to the charitable fund represented a portion of the returned monies. All of that money — every dollar of it — was originally Wexner family money.”

But other documents released by the DOJ allege that Epstein and Wexner’s relationship went further than financial management.

An FBI witness statement by Robert Morosky, a former executive for Wexner’s fashion brand, said, “He had information regarding the use of ‘Limited’ brand aircraft used in the 1990s to transport young girls from Mexico to the U.S.”

“Morosky did not wish to give any additional information at that time; however if someone would like to pursue this information he could be reached on his personal cellular phone,’” the statement said.

It’s unclear if the lead was ever pursued, but a spokesperson for Wexner told Fox News Digital, “The allegation is false. Mr. Morosky was terminated from the company in 1987 and therefore in no position to know anything about the use of Limited planes in the 1990s.”

GHISLAINE MAXWELL PLEADS FIFTH AMENDMENT, DODGES QUESTIONS IN HOUSE OVERSIGHT EPSTEIN PROBE

A witness statement from 2020, with the identity of the female witness redacted, said she claimed to have “often” seen Epstein and Wexner together.

She “stated that often Wexner would have models who could not have been over 18 years old do private viewings for him and Epstein. She said the models would be wearing [swimsuits] and some were in lingerie,” the document read.

Wexner’s spokesperson declined to comment on those claims and called her account of seeing the pair together “vague.”

The female witness said she “would help with getting people to work at parties at Wexner’s compound in catering and other positions,” and that “anyone who went to work there had to have a full background check and there were certain areas of the house where they could not go without an approved escort.”

However, there was no indication of what years or period of time her claims are focused on.

A source with knowledge of company procedures argued the situation could not have happened, however. Model fittings always involved teams of 15 to 20 professionals and Epstein was never a part of that, the source maintained.

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Wexner is scheduled to appear before the House Oversight Committee in Ohio on Wednesday morning.

Fox News Digital reached out to Wexner’s attorney for comment on the deposition and on the aforementioned claims.

The U.S. Air Force is repainting Air Force One and other aircraft in the presidential and executive fleet in President Donald Trump’s preferred red, white and dark blue color palette — replacing the iconic light blue and white design that has defined the aircraft for more than six decades, an Air Force spokesperson confirmed to Fox News.

The updated design will also feature a gold stripe, adding a fourth color to the new look. The scheme will appear on aircraft across the executive airlift fleet, including a donated Qatari 747-8i and the two Boeing VC-25B jets currently being converted to serve as the next generation of Air Force One.

An Air Force spokesperson told Fox News the redesign is now an official requirement across the presidential and executive fleet.

“The Air Force is implementing a new paint scheme requirement (red, white and dark blue) for VC-25B as well as the additional executive airlift fleet, which will include the new 747-8i and four C-32 aircraft,” the spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News.

AIR FORCE ONE TURNS AROUND SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF FOR TRUMP’S TRIP TO SWITZERLAND

“The C-32s will be painted during regularly scheduled maintenance. The first C-32 has been painted and is expected to be delivered to the Air Force in the next few months.”

“We’re painting it red, white and blue like the American flag, which is incredible,” President Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity during an exclusive interview last summer.

CBS News first reported that aircraft in the presidential and VIP fleet were being repainted in dark navy blue, deep red and gold as they undergo scheduled repairs and maintenance. Sources told CBS the change applies not only to Air Force One jets but also to other aircraft used for executive transport.

AIR FORCE ONE GLITCH REVIVES REPLACEMENT PUSH AS WHITE HOUSE SAYS IT ‘PROVES TRUMP WAS RIGHT AGAIN’

For more than six decades, the familiar robin’s egg blue and white exterior has served as a global symbol of the American presidency. The color scheme dates back to the early 1960s, when it was introduced during President John F. Kennedy’s administration and became one of the most recognizable aviation designs in the world.

During his first term, Trump unveiled a model aircraft reflecting his preferred red, white and blue palette. That version of the design was later canceled for the VC-25B program during the Biden administration.

Trump’s own Boeing 757, commonly known as “Trump Force One,” carries a dark navy body with a prominent red stripe, a distinct look that closely resembles the palette now being implemented across the executive fleet.

The updated paint requirement applies to multiple aircraft types across the executive fleet, including the two Boeing VC-25B aircraft under development, the newly donated 747-8i from Qatar, and four C-32 aircraft used for executive transport.

INSIDE THE LAST BOEING 707 TO SERVE AS AIR FORCE ONE: SEE REAGAN’S JET THAT MARKED THE END OF AN ERA

The C-32 aircraft carry high-priority personnel such as the first lady and cabinet officials and serve as Air Force Two when the vice president is aboard. Contractor L3Harris has been upgrading those aircraft at its facility in Greenville, Texas, according to CBS.

The change represents the first major redesign of presidential aircraft since the Kennedy era. The shift to darker navy tones, bold red accents and a gold stripe marks a sharp departure from the long-standing design of planes that serve as airborne symbols of the presidency.

The first C-32 aircraft has already been repainted and is expected to be delivered to the Air Force in the coming months, the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, the 747-8i donated by Qatar which is currently undergoing refurbishment, is expected to be ready for presidential use no later than this summer, CBS reported.

Boeing signed its contract to build the next generation of Air Force One aircraft in 2018 and continues work on the program.

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The repainting effort implements the Trump administration’s preferred presidential aircraft design as the new fleet moves closer to operational readiness.

The White House referred Fox News Digital to the U.S. Air Force upon request for further comment.

Senate Democrats have panned the GOP’s push for voter ID legislation as akin to segregationist laws from the Deep South, but the architect of the bill in the Senate says their arguments are detached from reality.

“It’s paranoid fantasy,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, told Fox News Digital. “These are absurd arguments. They should be ashamed to make them.”

Lee was responding to comments from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who has doubled down on his claim that the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act is “Jim Crow 2.0.”

THUNE GUARANTEES VOTER ID BILL TO HIT THE SENATE DESPITE SCHUMER, DEM OPPOSITION: ‘WE WILL HAVE A VOTE’

The bill, which passed the House last week and has been introduced and championed by Lee in the Senate, would require photo ID to vote in federal elections, proof of citizenship to register and would mandate that states keep voter rolls clear of ineligible voters.

Schumer and his caucus plan to block the bill, arguing that it is a tool of voter suppression that would disproportionately harm poorer Americans and minority groups.

But Lee argued that providing identification or proof of citizenship is routine in everyday life — whether undergoing a background check to buy a firearm or filling out tax forms when starting a new job.

COLLINS BOOSTS REPUBLICAN VOTER ID EFFORT, BUT WON’T SCRAP FILIBUSTER

“By their logic, it’s Jim Crow to require somebody to establish citizenship before taking a job with a new employer, and that’s insane,” Lee said.

“And so then they argue here, well, voting is so fundamental, and we have constitutional protections protecting our right to vote,” he continued. “Well, we’ve got constitutional protections protecting our right to bear arms, and yet that doesn’t cause us to dispense with proving who you are and your eligibility to buy a gun. This has just been insane.”

Without Democratic support, however, the pathway to sending the legislation to President Donald Trump’s desk is complicated.

GOP REACHES KEY 50-VOTE THRESHOLD FOR TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID BILL AS SENATE FIGHT LOOMS

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has vowed to bring the SAVE America Act to the floor, and Republicans have the votes to move it through its first key procedural hurdle. From there, Democrats can block it with the 60-vote filibuster, which Lee often refers to as the “zombie” filibuster.

Eliminating the filibuster is out of the question for several of Lee’s colleagues, but Republicans are warming to reinstating a talking, or standing, filibuster, which would require Senate Democrats to make their case against the bill on the floor over hours of debate.

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Trump has already suggested he would issue an executive order if the legislation fails, which Lee declined to speculate on without first knowing what exactly would be done.

But he noted that it was all the more reason to pass the SAVE America Act, given the ever-swinging political pendulum in Washington, D.C.

“It’s still really critically important that we pass this law, because let’s assume that he issued such an order, and that it does most or all of what we needed to do here, that gives us protection for the moment, to whatever degree he’s able to do that through an executive action,” Lee said. “But we need something that can last longer than he’s in office.”

FIRST ON FOX: One of the world’s largest and most influential scientific societies held its annual conference last weekend, which a Fox News Digital review found was littered with examples of progressive messaging, criticisms of the Trump administration, and “woke” workshops.

Attendees who showed up at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) event, held at the Phoenix Convention Center from Feb. 12-14, were immediately greeted at registration with identifier stickers that used gender pronouns such as “they/them,” “xi/xer,” “xe/xem,” and other descriptors that critics have alleged have little to do with science and biology.

During the meeting’s opening night, shortly after a 10-minute hoop dance routine from traditional Native American dancers, AAAS CEO Dr. Sudip Parikh told the audience that it’s been a “hard” and “tough year for science and scientists in this country.”

Parikh went on to blame DOGE for the “devastation” of “some of our science agencies” and the “president’s budget request” that “cut science by half” and, in his opinion, amounted to “forfeiting the future.”

DOCTORS ON KEY US HEALTH TASK FORCE ACCUSED OF PRIORITIZING DEI OVER EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE

“What happened over the course of the last year is a rupture. We’re not going back, it’s not possible, too much damage has been done, too much has changed. There’s an entire generation of scientists that have a scar, a scar that is not going to go away,” Parikh explained, adding that scars can “make us tougher” and “become almost shields” that “build resilience.”

Parikh told the crowd that he warned last year that Robert F. Kennedy Jr was the “wrong person” for Health and Human Services secretary and said, “I still feel that way,” which prompted laughter and applause from the crowd.

“It’s going to take protests, it’s going to take politics, it’s going to take the ability to not speak gibberish, all of that has got to come together if we’re going to fight for the inheritance of the enlightenment to continue to make this world a better place,” Parikh said.

Workshops at the event, which provided gender-neutral washrooms, included a session titled “Mao-Mei Liu: Nurturing Diversity in Science is Resistance,” and another called “Investigating the Role of Race in Clinical Decision-Making.”

“Who Gets to Belong? Disability, Power, and Participation in Higher Education,” another workshop was called. 

TOP MEDICAL SCHOOL MOVED DEI OFFICE TO SECRET LOCATION AS IT TRIES TO ‘EVADE ACCOUNTABILITY’: LEGAL GROUP

Dr. Theresa A. Maldonado, a world-renowned expert in electrical engineering, delivered the president’s address at the conference and also lamented what a difficult year 2025 was for science and suggested climate change was responsible for the devastating southern California wildfires last year.

AAAS, the publisher of the highly respected Science magazine, posted several more videos over the course of the next few days, many including speakers who criticized the Trump administration and injected politics into discussions. 

“Colonial Legacies, Climate Crises, and the Erosion of Mobility Choice” was another workshop that scientists at the conference were offered and in an interview with “climate justice scholar” Jola Ajibade, she explained how climate change has benefited a “few wealthy people” while “low-income communities are displaced.”

“At the center of my work is giving a voice but also bringing to the attention of everyone the impact of a slew of climate solutions, the impact of those solutions on low-income communities, on Black communities, on indigenous, on Latino communities as well,” Ajibade explained, adding that she is focused on finding a “decolonial” approach. 

Listed sponsors of the event included the Science Philanthropy Alliance, a group tied to the progressive consulting behemoth Arabella Advisors through the New Venture Fund, a nonprofit that pushes a variety of progressive causes. 

“The whole thing that is sad for me is that when I attended these conferences in the first Trump administration there was plenty of liberal nonsense, but it still was a celebration of science and the achievements of the year, and you left excited,” an event attendee told Fox News Digital.

“This year felt like a funeral, with nothing but griping and moaning. Why would people want to keep coming back year after year with something like that? I suspect that is why their attendance greatly suffered this year compared to the pre-COVID years. Their constant pleas to keep politics out of science are completely undercut by their perpetual whining and endorsing utter craziness. They’re happy for science to be political, as long as it’s leftist.”

Additionally, as lawmakers in the United States continue to warn about the growing threat posed by China and what they believe is the CCP’s infiltration of top institutions in the United States — particularly in the medical and science fields — the AAAS conference opted to allow the Beijing-based research institute Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) to operate a booth at the event. 

The state-run Chinese academy, which has faced controversy over its ties to China’s government and military, has collaborated with a Chinese medical technology firm linked to a 2013 U.S. bribery case involving NIH-funded research. The company has also installed equipment in leading American research labs.

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“The AAAS says that their organization wants to ‘inspire’ future scientists and engineers, but session topics and material from their meeting actually discourage participants from relying on their effort and merit and turns the focus to race and ethnicity,” Johnathan Butcher, acting director of the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. 

“These are the very same kind of racist ideas inspired by DEI that have been prohibited in universities, state governments, and the federal government, because the ideas violate state and federal civil rights laws,” Butcher added. “Policymakers should be aware of what this organization is doing and make sure the association is not promoting racial preferences in hiring, promotion or research awards in academia or anywhere else.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, an AAAS spokesperson said, “A broad spectrum of the scientific enterprise attends the meeting. The topics covered were wide-ranging across scientific disciplines and are proposed by scientists. AAAS respects their First Amendment right to free speech.”

Legal experts and conservatives are taking aim at newly published ethics guidelines that allow federal judges to speak out on certain issues, arguing the guidance issued by the court’s policy-making body is hypocritical and has been unfairly applied.

At issue is new ethics guidance published this month by the U.S. Judicial Conference, the national body led by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in his official capacity and tasked with setting policy for the federal courts.

It is unclear whether Roberts himself was directly involved in the guidance, but critics assailed it all the same. Article III Project founder Mike Davis told Fox News Digital that Roberts is “giving judicial saboteurs new tools” for the courts to overstep.

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

In a departure from earlier guidance, the new advisory opinion states that judges may engage in a “measured defense” of the judiciary, including defending against “illegitimate forms of criticism and attacks” that risk “undermining judicial independence or the rule of law,” and doing so “regardless of whether these comments rise to the level of persecution,” according to a copy of the opinion reviewed by Fox News Digital.

It goes on to list four areas of illegitimate activity identified by Chief Justice Roberts in his 2024 year-end report, including activities that “either threaten the judges themselves” or threaten the rule of law: “Violence, intimidation, disinformation and threats to defy court orders.”

“It does not follow, however, that every activity that involves the law or the legal system is considered permissible activity,” the report said.

The new guidance comes as Trump has assailed so-called “rogue” or “activist” judges who have paused or blocked some of his biggest policy priorities from taking effect during his second term as president.

It also comes as threats against federal judges saw a sharp uptick in 2025 compared to the previous 12-month period, according to federal data, including increases in online harassment, threats of physical violence and “doxxing” incidents targeting judges and their families.

The guidance in question seemingly attempts to give judges a forum to dispel some of the criticism against them. 

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

But it also invited fresh backlash from Trump allies, conservative commentators and court watchers, who argued the guidance is being unfairly applied to protect certain members of the judiciary.

“The first thing to note” about the new guidance is its timing, said Josh Blackman, a constitutional law professor at the South Texas College of Law, in an interview.

“It is clearly a response to conservative criticism of liberal judges,” Blackman said. “We didn’t see much of this in the last four years, [when] there were routine death threats against conservative judges.” 

The timing, he added, “is a bit unfortunate, because it gives a sense that only [certain] criticisms warrant a response.”

Davis went further. In a statement, he railed against the ethics guidance as “sabotaging the exercise of core Article II powers of the duly-elected president,” and another example in which he argued the federal judiciary has overstepped its powers.

“Friendly reminder: when federal judges take off their judicial robes, climb into the political arena, and throw political punches, they should expect powerful political counterpunches,” Davis said.

FEDERAL JUDGE LAUNCHES SCATHING BROADSIDE OF TRUMP’S EFFORTS TO DEPORT PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTERS

The opinion comes as dozens of former judges have voiced concern over the Trump administration’s rhetoric towards the federal court judges, describing them in a series of interviews with Fox News Digital as unnecessarily inflammatory and amounting to “pouring oil” on an already fast-burning fire.

The new guidance also stressed that judges “should avoid sensationalism” and commentary that “may result in confusion or misunderstanding of the judicial function or detract from the dignity of the office.” 

The news comes as several judges have been criticized formally for overstepping their duties on the bench, and for otherwise making overtly political comments. 

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The Supreme Court last year condemned U.S. District Judge William Young, a Reagan appointee, for failing to respect the commander-in-chief in repeated opinions that assailed Trump as a bully, and as being laser-focused on “retribution.” 

He has also accused the administration of “racial discrimination” and “discrimination against the LGBTQ community,” and asked in one order, “Have we no shame?”

Rock legend Bruce Springsteen is heading back on the road, as he steps up his criticism of President Donald Trump.

Springsteen on Tuesday charged that Trump was a “wannabe king” as he announced the launch late next month of the “Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour.”

“We are living through dark, disturbing and dangerous times,” Springsteen said in a video posted on social media. “But do not despair, the cavalry is coming. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will be taking the stage this spring from Minneapolis to California to Texas to Washington, D.C., for the Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour.”

And the 76-year-old rocker added, “We will be rocking your town in celebration and in defense of America, American democracy, American freedom, our American Constitution and our sacred American dream — all of which are under attack by our wannabe king and his rogue government in Washington, D.C.” 

WHITE HOUSE BLASTS SPRINGSTEEN’S NEW SONG

Springsteen’s announcement of his 20-day tour, which will kick off on March 31 in Minneapolis, comes a few weeks after the release of his latest song, “Streets of Minneapolis,” a protest tune that criticizes Trump and his administration’s deployment of thousands of federal agents to crack down on illegal immigration in the blue-leaning state.

Trump’s focus on illegal immigration during the 2024 campaign, and his pledge to deport millions of undocumented migrants, helped fuel his re-election victory.

ROCK LEGEND PRAISES BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR ‘NOT BEING AFRAID’ TO SLAM TRUMP ON STAGE

But the president and his administration have faced political backlash after federal agents in January fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis — Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.

In response, the administration announced earlier this month that their operation in Minnesota was winding down.

Springsteen, who has long been a vocal Trump critic, in the 2024 presidential election backed then-Vice President Kamala Harris. He performed at a couple of rallies for the Democratic presidential nominee in the final stretch leading up to Election Day.

And last year, during a performance at a concert in Manchester, England, he called the president and his administration “corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous.”

ROCK STAR MELTS DOWN AFTER WHITE HOUSE CALLS HIM ‘WASHED-UP,’ RAGES THAT TRUMP IS A ‘LOW-LIFE FASCIST’

Trump, responding, declared that Springsteen was “obnoxious” and a “dried out prune of a rocker.”

“Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country,” Trump added in a social media post at the time.

Springsteen renewed his criticism of Trump in September, arguing that the president should “be consigned to the trash heap of history.”

And pointing to Trump’s jabs at the rocker, Springsteen said, “I absolutely couldn’t care less what he thinks about me.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for a reaction to Springsteen’s new tour, but had not received a response at the time this report posted.

Springsteen, for decades, has been known for his songs that pay tribute to and highlight the concerns of working-class Americans, many of whom over the past decade have become Trump supporters.

“A lot of people bought into his lies,” Springsteen charged last autumn, as he pointed to Trump. “He doesn’t care about the forgotten anybody but himself and the multibillionaires who stood behind him on Inauguration Day.”

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And on Tuesday, in announcing his upcoming tour, Springsteen appeared to reach out to his fans who now support Trump.

“Everyone, regardless of where you stand or what you believe in, is welcome. So come on out and join the united free republic of E Street nation for an American spring of rock and rebellion. I’ll see you there,” he said.

New York City’s lone Republican lawmaker in the House of Representatives is asking the highest court in the land to stop a Democrat-backed bid to gerrymander her seat in Congress.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., filed a petition with the Supreme Court late last week asking it to halt a state court-ordered redraw of New York’s congressional map ahead of the November midterm elections.

The New York State Supreme Court ruled last month that Malliotakis’ district unfairly dilutes the power of Black and Latino voters, following a lawsuit led by Democrat lawyer Marc Elias’ law firm on behalf of four New York residents.

New York’s 11th congressional district (NY-11), which Malliotakis won in 2020, encompasses all of Staten Island and a sliver of southern Brooklyn. It’s the only district in the Big Apple represented by a Republican after Malliotakis defeated one-term former Rep. Max Rose, D-N.Y.

BATTLEGROUND GOP LAWMAKER MOVES TO BLOCK WHAT HE CALLS DEMOCRATIC REDISTRICTING ‘POWER GRAB’

Malliotakis’ court petition argued that the Manhattan court “violated the Equal Protection Clause by prohibiting New York from running congressional elections until the state racially gerrymanders” her district.

The GOP congresswoman pointed out in a recent interview with Fox News Digital that she herself is Latino, with a mother who fled Cuba’s communist regime.

“The fact that they’re claiming somehow Hispanics and minorities are disenfranchised when I’m the first Hispanic elected to represent the district makes it even more ridiculous,” Malliotakis said at the time.

DEMOCRATS SAY TRUMP REDISTRICTING PUSH BACKFIRING AS VIRGINIA ADVANCES NEW HOUSE MAPS

The state court decision by Justice Jeffrey Pearlman found that “Black, Latino, and Asian Staten Islanders’ political representation and participation in politics still lags behind White Staten Islanders” in violation of the New York State Constitution.

“A demonstration of racially polarized voting shows that the minority groups at issue vote as a bloc, as do White voters, and that the minority preferred candidates ‘usually’ lose,” Pearlman’s decision said. “Petitioners have demonstrated that here.”

Malliotakis’ Supreme Court petition said, “The New York State Legislature adopted CD11’s current boundaries two years ago, with an overwhelming majority of the Legislature’s Black and Latino members voting in favor of it.”

It argued that the lawsuit was brought, however, “less than four months ago under the theory that the votes of CD11’s Black and Latino voters — who comprise about 23% of CD11 — have been unconstitutionally diluted because their candidate of choice wins only 25% of the time.”

The petition said the court’s decision to “racially gerrymander” the district is a “recipe for unconstitutional chaos, with no map in place and uncertainty as to whether nominating petitions can start circulating on February 24, with no end in sight.”

But Democrats have been salivating at the idea of drawing out the deep-blue city’s lone House Republican.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a statement last month, “This ruling is the first step toward ensuring communities of interest remain intact from Staten Island to Lower Manhattan.”

New York is one of several states plunged into the redistricting battle that has gripped the United States.

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It began last year in Texas, when the state’s GOP-led legislature redrew its congressional map to give Republicans an advantage of as many as five new House seats.

California soon followed suit, creating a new map giving Democrats the same advantage.

Senate Republicans say they’ve struggled to get out on the campaign trail ahead of the midterm elections — and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., argues Democrats are to blame.

“Their whole goal, and everything is to, you know, force us to stay around, force us to try and get members to take hard votes and just to tie people down so that they can’t be back campaigning,” Thune told Fox News Digital.

Thune had just left a local furniture store in Sioux Falls, S.D., where he touted the economic benefits of the bill, which largely extended Trump’s tax cuts from his original 2017 tax bill, along with making tweaks to the tax code that lawmakers believe would directly benefit small businesses.

DHS SHUTDOWN DRAGS INTO 4TH DAY AS SENATE DEMOCRATS BLOCK FUNDING OVER ICE REFORMS

There, he noted that the owners of Montgomery’s told him, “If people had discretionary income out here, they spend it.”

That was the crux of the colossal bill Republicans rammed through Congress last year. In effect, it was a direct response to the pocketbook issues that largely drove the 2024 election cycle and propelled the GOP to a trifecta of federal control in Washington, D.C.

But time and again, Schumer and his caucus made it difficult for the GOP to get that message out, let alone leave the Capitol, Thune contended. Each day counts during campaign season, and canceling a travel plan or nixing an event can add up for Republicans seeking to stay in power.

THUNE GUARANTEES VOTER ID BILL TO HIT THE SENATE DESPITE SCHUMER, DEM OPPOSITION: ‘WE WILL HAVE A VOTE’

The latest example is the now-four-day partial government shutdown, where an end doesn’t seem to be in sight as Senate Democrats and the White House engage in ongoing negotiations to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

While this closure hasn’t affected lawmakers’ travel plans — Thune has reminded the Senate to be ready at a moment’s notice should a deal be reached — the previous 43-day shutdown blew up any plans for lawmakers to get out and communicate with voters.

Then there was a carte blanche blockade against Trump’s nominees last year, too, that saw Thune cancel a portion of August recess. That time, particularly ahead of a midterm election cycle, is used by lawmakers to gin up early support for their reelection campaigns.

SCHUMER SAYS DEMS WILL FIGHT VOTER ID PUSH ‘TOOTH AND NAIL,’ BALKS AT DHS ROLE IN ELECTIONS

“Right now for [Democrats], it’s just all about — everything’s all about politics and making it, you know, really hard for our incumbents who are running for reelection,” Thune said.

Republicans see their ability to sell the “big, beautiful bill” as crucial to their election survival in November.

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And once again, the cost of living and how the Trump administration has dealt with inflation will yet again be a prominent factor in the upcoming election, Thune said.

“I think most voters are, you know, especially the voters that are going to decide probably who controls the House and Senate after November, are going to be kitchen table-type, pocketbook … the bread and butter issues,” Thune said. “They’re economic voters, and so inflation is going to matter, and having more money in their pockets is going to matter.”

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from re-arresting Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia into federal immigration custody — an update that comes just days before he is slated to appear in Nashville for a key court date in a separate criminal case.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis agreed to convert her previous emergency order blocking ICE from immediately re-detaining Abrego Garcia into a longer-term form of injunctive relief sought by his lawyers.  

She said Tuesday that the Trump administration failed to provide the court with any “good reason to believe” that they plan to remove him to a third country in the “reasonably foreseeable future.” Instead, she said, they “made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success.”

The order clears the way for Abrego Garcia to participate in a key hearing in Nashville next week on whether a separate federal judge should dismiss his criminal case on the grounds of “vindictive” and selective prosecution.

ABREGO GARCIA REMAINS IN US FOR NOW AS JUDGE TAKES CASE UNDER ADVISEMENT

Xinis also said the government has “done nothing” to show the court that Abrego Garcia’s continued detention in ICE custody is “consistent with due process.”

“Respondents have done nothing to show that Abrego Garcia’s continued detention in ICE custody is consistent with due process,” Xinis said Tuesday. 

She ticked through a list of the Trump administration’s efforts to remove Abrego Garcia to a four third countries in Africa country in the months between August, when Abrego was re-detained by ICE, and December, when Xinis ultimately ordered his release.

The Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Xinis said Tuesday that the administration “refused to procure Abrego Garcia’s immediate removal to Costa Rica,” the location he had identified as his preferred third country of removal, in favor of what she said was attempted “phantom removals” by the government to send Abrego to “three (maybe four) African countries.”

“Indeed, since Abrego Garcia secured his release from criminal custody in August 2025, respondents have made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success,” Xinis said. 

ABREGO GARCIA LAWYERS ASK US JUDGE TO ORDER RETURN TO MARYLAND AMID ONGOING CRIMINAL CASE

The Trump administration previously tried and failed to remove Abrego Garcia to the African countries of Liberia, Eswatini, Uganda and briefly, Ghana.

Xinis noted in late November that the government could not take any of those steps without the final notice of removal order, which she reiterated Tuesday in the memo order that the government had not obtained. 

“Thus, he must remain on the stringent release conditions already imposed by ICE and in the Tennessee Criminal Matter,” Xinis said. 

US JUDGE VOWS TO RULE ‘SOON’ ON ABREGO GARCIA’S FATE AFTER MARATHON HEARING

Abrego Garcia’s status has been at the center of a legal and political maelstrom since March, when he was deported to his home country of El Salvador, in violation of a 2019 court order and in what Trump officials acknowledge was an “administrative error.” Xinis ordered then that Abrego Garcia be “immediately” returned to the U.S.

He was eventually returned to the U.S. in June, where he was taken into federal custody in Nashville and detained on human smuggling charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop. 

The Justice Department later told Xinis it had opened the criminal investigation and presented it to a grand jury at the same time that Abrego Garcia was detained in a Salvadoran prison, and at the same time as government lawyers were telling the court that the U.S. was powerless to order his return. 

Next week’s hearing in Nashville will be centered on a motion to dismiss Abrego Garcia’s criminal case for “vindictive” and selective prosecution. 

The judge overseeing that case, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw, had ruled in October that Abrego Garcia had established a “reasonable likelihood” that the criminal case against him was the result of vindictive prosecution by the Justice Department.

Crenshaw had ordered the Trump administration to produce for the court internal documents and government witnesses to testify about its decision to bring the case. 

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Senior DHS and Justice Department officials previously suggested they would appeal Xinis’s orders. Trump officials have been sharply critical of Xinis and other federal judges presiding over deportation cages, whom they have repeatedly accused of overstepping their authority as a district judge.

“This order lacks any valid legal basis, and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in response to the court’s earlier emergency order. 

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin is leaving the Trump administration, Fox News has confirmed.

McLaughlin, one of the administration’s most vocal defenders of President Trump’s immigration enforcement policies, is set to leave the administration next week. 

The DHS spokesperson planned to leave as early as December but delayed her departure amid high-profile DHS incidents, including the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last month, according to a person briefed on her exit. 

In the case of Renee Good, McLaughlin described the incident as “an act of domestic terrorism” and said an ICE officer fired “defensive shots” after a vehicle was allegedly used against law enforcement. Politico was first to report that McLaughlin plans to depart DHS next week.

McLaughlin frequently defended the administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement operations, including high-profile ICE actions in Minnesota and other states and often cited data showing an increase in assaults against federal immigration officers.

She often responded forcefully to critics on X, pushing back against criticisms of the administration’s immigration actions.

In one example, she rejected allegations from Senate Judiciary Democrats that 2025 had become the deadliest year in decades for immigrants in ICE custody, accusing Democrats of “trying to twist data to smear ICE law enforcement” and stating there had been “NO spike in deaths.” 

McLaughlin also argued that those held in ICE custody receive appropriate medical care and a “higher standard of care” than most U.S. prisons.

As news of her departure broke, McLaughlin posted a detailed defense on X responding to criticism over DHS’s use of Coast Guard aircraft in migrant transport operations, arguing the plane had been diverted for search-and-rescue efforts and accusing critics of seeking to “politicize this mission and tragic loss of life.” Critics had questioned the appropriateness of deploying Coast Guard resources for immigration enforcement.

An Ohio native, McLaughlin also served in the first Trump administration at the Treasury Department under then-Secretary Steven Mnuchin and at the State Department on arms control issues.

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McLaughlin previously served as political communications director for Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and as a senior adviser on Vivek Ramaswamy’s 2024 Republican presidential campaign, according to the DHS website.

Fox News Digital’s Preston Mizell and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.  

Top Minnesota Democrats are demanding the federal government “pay for what they broke” following weeks of DHS’ immigration enforcement surge — a demand that comes after fraudsters stole as much as $18 billion from taxpayers who funded the state’s social services programs under their watch.

Embattled Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey both made public overtures to the feds for reimbursement for usage of state and city resources and recouping of other alleged damages.

“The federal government needs to pay for what they broke here. There [is] going to be accountability on the things that happened, but one of the things is the incredible and immense costs that were borne by the people of this state,” Walz recently said.

NOEM HAMMERS WALZ, FREY FOR IGNORING 1,360 ICE DETAINERS FOR CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS

“The federal government needs to be responsible. You don’t get to break things and then just leave without doing something about it,” he said, adding that he will be asking Minnesota’s congressional delegation to be “doing the things necessary” — apparently for reimbursement claims.

Frey estimated economic and financial costs to his city to top $203 million, telling Minnesota Public Radio he would like to see the state and federal governments help pay.

“I’m not naive to think that we’re going to get the entire amount,” Frey said, adding that about 76,000 Minneapolis residents require relief in some form or another.

Minneapolis estimated $47 million in lost wages for people “afraid to leave home” for work, $81 million in small business revenue losses and $4.7 million from hotel cancellations, according to the outlet.

The likelihood of federal reimbursement appeared grim after White House Border Czar Tom Homan appeared on “Fox & Friends.”

“A lot of things were broken, but it wasn’t because of Trump administration,” Homan said Sunday.

CONGRESS OPENS ‘INDUSTRIAL-SCALE FRAUD’ PROBE IN MINNESOTA, WARNS WALZ DEMANDS ARE ‘JUST THE BEGINNING’

Homan questioned whether Walz spoke out similarly against the “broken” southern border during the tenure of his former running mate, Kamala Harris.

“Did Governor Walz speak out against that — with the overdose deaths and sex trafficking and terrorists? No.”

Further, Walz’s administration remains under national scrutiny for as much as $18 billion in social services fraud, with a large portion reportedly stemming from members of the Somali immigrant community.

DHS DEMANDS MN LEADERS HONOR ICE DETAINERS, ALLEGES HUNDREDS OF CRIMINAL ALIENS HAVE BEEN RELEASED UNDER WALZ

Millions of dollars flowed out of Minnesota to Mogadishu and other places, potentially into the hands of African terror group Al Shabaab, according to multiple reports.

David Hoch, a Minnesota journalist who traveled to various alleged fraudulent childcares, testified to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in a recent hearing that the cost to taxpayers could be “easily in excess of $30 billion when you take everything into account.”

Some of the state programs defrauded get part or all of their funds for disbursement from federal coffers, meaning taxpayers nationwide contributed to the pot defrauded in Minnesota.

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Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Lindell recently said on social media that Walz was “either grossly negligent, incompetent or complicit with the fraud.”

Walz has since stated he will not seek a third term in St. Paul.