NationalWatch

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.

Negotiations between the United States and Iran advanced Tuesday toward what Tehran described as the beginning of a potential framework, but sharp public divisions between the two sides underscored how far apart they remain.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the two sides reached a “general agreement on a number of guiding principles” and agreed to begin drafting text for a possible agreement, with plans to exchange drafts and schedule a third round of talks. 

“Good progress was made compared to the previous meeting,” he said, adding that while drafting would slow the process, “at least the path has started.”

Yet Washington publicly has insisted that any agreement must result in the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program — including its enrichment capacity — along with limits on Tehran’s ballistic missile program and an end to its support for allied militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Those demands go well beyond temporary enrichment pauses or technical adjustments.

ISRAELI OFFICIALS REPORTEDLY WARN IRAN’S BALLISTIC MISSILES COULD TRIGGER SOLO MILITARY ACTION AGAINST TEHRAN

Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appeared to push back directly against that premise, signaling a firm ceiling on Iran’s concessions. 

“The Americans say, ‘Let’s negotiate over your nuclear energy, and the result of the negotiation is supposed to be that you do not have this energy!’” he wrote on social media as talks were underway. “If that’s the case, there is no room for negotiation.”

Khamenei’s remarks suggest that while Iranian negotiators may be discussing limits or interim measures, Iran is unlikely to accept an agreement that eliminates its nuclear program outright — setting up a direct collision with the Trump administration’s insistence on dismantlement.

“Progress was made, but there are still a lot of details to discuss,” according to a U.S. official. “The Iranians said they would come back in the next two weeks with detailed proposals to address some of the open gaps in our positions.”

President Donald Trump said Monday he would be watching the talks closely.

The mistrust runs deep. 

Iranian officials have pointed to U.S. military strikes on their nuclear facilities in June 2025 as part of the broader backdrop complicating diplomacy, arguing such actions demonstrate Washington’s willingness to use force even as negotiations unfold.

VANCE WARNS IRAN THAT ‘ANOTHER OPTION ON THE TABLE’ IF NUCLEAR DEAL NOT REACHED

Behind the diplomatic push, the United States has significantly expanded its military footprint in the region. The USS Abraham Lincoln is operating in the Arabian Sea, and F-35 fighter jets from the carrier shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone recently after it approached the strike group — a move U.S. officials described as demonstrating low tolerance for provocations.

The USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, is now transiting toward the Middle East. President Trump confirmed the deployment on Feb. 13, saying, “In case we don’t make a deal, we’ll need it.” Reports indicate a third carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush, is being prepared for possible expedited deployment, which would create a rare three-carrier U.S. presence near Iranian waters.

The buildup extends beyond naval forces. A squadron of F-35A Lightning II aircraft landed at RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom earlier in February as a staging point for potential deployment to the Middle East, while satellite imagery shows additional U.S. aircraft — including F-15E Strike Eagles and A-10 Thunderbolts — positioned at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.

Logistics flights into the region have also surged. 

More than 100 C-17 cargo aircraft have arrived since late January, transporting advanced air defense systems, including Patriot and THAAD batteries, to bases in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, according to defense tracking data.

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At the same time, Iran’s leadership has paired diplomatic engagement with forceful warnings. 

Khamenei said the United States could be “struck so hard that it cannot get up again,” and a senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy declared the country is prepared to close the Strait of Hormuz if ordered — a move that could disrupt roughly one-fifth of global oil flows through the strategic waterway.

Despite the heightened rhetoric and military signaling, Iranian officials said talks would continue, framing the Geneva discussions as a step toward a possible agreement — even as the fundamental dispute over dismantlement versus preservation of Iran’s nuclear capabilities remains unresolved.

Fox News’ Nick Kalman contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump says he’s not ready yet to take sides in the combustible Republican Senate primary in right-leaning Texas.

“I just haven’t made a decision on that race yet,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday night as he returned to the nation’s capital from Florida. “I like all three of them.”

Trump, whose comments came on the eve of the start of early voting in Texas ahead of the March 3 primary, was referring to longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who’s seeking re-election, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and two-term Rep. Wesley Hunt, a West Point graduate who flew Apache helicopters during his Army service and who represents a solidly Republican district in the Houston area. 

Paxton and Hunt are challenging Cornyn in the state’s high-profile and divisive nomination race.

“They’ve all supported me. They’re all good, and you’re supposed to pick one. So, we’ll see what happens, but I support all three,” Trump said.

CORNYN TORCHES DEMOCRATIC FIELD AS HE SEEKS RE-ELECTION IN TEXAS 

Cornyn, who is backed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), has been highlighting his Trump credentials, telling Fox News Digital late last year, “I get along well with the president. I’ve supported him during his first term, and now in his second term — I think the figure we came up with was 99.3% of the time. So I want the president to be successful and look forward to continuing to support him and his policies.”

But Paxton, a MAGA firebrand and longtime Trump supporter, and Hunt, a rising star in the MAGA world, question Cornyn’s loyalty to Trump and depict him as a RINO, the acronym for ‘Republican in Name Only.’

EARLY VOTING UNDERWAY IN TEXAS PRIMARY 

Meanwhile, the NRSC and establishment Republicans are raising concerns that if Paxton wins the primary, it could give Democrats a chance to flip the Senate seat in November’s general election, when the GOP will be defending its 53-47 majority in the chamber. They point to the slew of scandals and legal problems that have battered Paxton over the past decade, as well as the state attorney general’s ongoing messy divorce.

The primary race is competitive, with many public opinion polls suggesting Paxton and Cornyn battling it out with Hunt in third place.

Trump noted that the Senate GOP nomination battle in Texas has “got a ways to go.”

That’s because the Republican nomination is likely to head to a May 27 runoff, which would only be averted if one of the three contenders tops 50% of the vote in the March primary.

Trump’s latest thoughts on the Texas Republican Senate primary follow comments earlier this month when he told reporters he was “taking a serious look” at making an endorsement in the race, which he said would come soon.

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Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a progressive champion and vocal Trump critic, and state Rep. James Talarico, a former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian who, like Crockett, is also seen as a rising Democrat, are facing off for their party’s nomination.

Early voting ahead of Texas’ March 3 primary contests runs from Tuesday, Feb. 17 through Friday, Feb. 27, according to the Texas secretary of state.

The Lone Star State’s Republican and Democratic U.S. Senate primaries are being watched nationally, as the GOP seeks to cling to its majority in the chamber.

Incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn is facing primary challengers, including notable figures like Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt.

SHARIA LAW VICTIM WHO FLED SOMALIA ISSUES ENDORSEMENT IN CRITICAL SENATE RACE

Cornyn has served in the U.S. Senate for more than two decades — he took office in late 2002.

The top contenders in the Democratic primary are U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and Texas state Rep. James Talarico.

JASMINE CROCKETT’S VULGAR 6-WORD MESSAGE FOR TRUMP IN EPSTEIN PROBE

“While people don’t know if their loved ones will come home because they’ve been disappeared by ICE or if there will be accountability for the despicable things in the Epstein files or if they will be choosing between rent, healthcare, or food… some would suggest let’s just do politics as usual… THAT is the exact thinking that got us here,” Crockett wrote in a Monday post on X. 

“Tomorrow is the first day of early voting, It’s time for the people to be heard, loudly & clearly!” she declared in the post.

CROCKETT DISPUTES OPPONENT’S DENIAL OF ‘MEDIOCRE BLACK MAN’ COMMENT, CALLS OUT ‘WELL-INTENTIONED WHITE FOLK’

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If no candidate were to win a majority in a race, there would be primary runoff in May.

President Donald Trump issued a Truth Social post on Tuesday, reflecting on Rev. Jesse Jackson in the wake of the 84-year-old civil rights leader’s death.

Trump described Jackson as “a good man.”

“The Reverend Jesse Jackson is Dead at 84. I knew him well, long before becoming President. He was a good man, with lots of personality, grit, and “street smarts.” He was very gregarious – Someone who truly loved people!” the president said in the post.

“Jesse was a force of nature like few others before him. He had much to do with the Election, without acknowledgment or credit, of Barack Hussein Obama, a man who Jesse could not stand. He loved his family greatly, and to them I send my deepest sympathies and condolences. Jesse will be missed!” Trump declared.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

FIRST ON FOX: College roommates of Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., who is now 37-years-old, said they were “horrified” after the now-Democrat member of Congress up for reelection this year allegedly “serrated” a chicken’s head off with “a dull kitchen knife” while they lived together. 

The incident allegedly stemmed from the vulnerable Democratic congresswoman and her roommates engaging in the practice of “urban farming,” a practice that is quite popular in Portland, where they went to a small private school called Reed College. 

Gluesenkamp Perez’s former roommate and others connected to her from their time at Reed College, recounted the incident when they were all trying to research ways to humanely kill the chicken, but Glusenkamp Perez allegedly thought everyone was being “f—ing pu–ies,” so she “grabbed” the chicken and began “grinding [the chicken] down with a dull knife” leading the animal to begin “gasping for air with no lungs to suck it in.”  

“Then she held up the body as it spazzed out and blood went everywhere like some crazy Santeria voodoo ritual,” recalled her former roommate, Isaac Eger, while attending Reed, who also wrote about his house’s “epic fail” at urban farming back in 2014. 

TOP DEM FUNDRAISER SLAMMED FOR HONORING NAZI OFFICER IN SOCIAL MEDIA POST: ‘DISTURBING TREND’

Eger, who hosts the podcast that brought together folks from Gluesenkamp Perez’s past for an episode a few weeks ago, refused to speak with Fox News Digital or provide any comments on, or to clarify events from, his time living with the Washington State congresswoman. He did imply to Fox News Digital that his podcast is a joke, and said that if he had to clarify any part of it, that would extinguish the comedic value.

“Marie bravely was like, ‘Ill dispatch of this chicken,'” Eger recounted on the podcast episode subscribers must pay to listen to titled “Absolutely Sweet Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.”

“Dude, I will never forget, like, frantically YouTubing how to humanely kill a chicken and Marie was just like, ‘You f—ing pussies, like, you’re on YouTube?’ It was, like, you and I on a computer, like, trying to figure this out and she just grabbed it and started swinging it around,” added Sam. 

“That’s not at all what happened,” Eger interjected. “She didn’t just ‘chop it.’ She took a dull kitchen knife and tried to serrate[ly] cut … she was grinding this thing down with a dull knife and I remember you were horrified. It was really bad. And we saw, like, the chicken’s, like, decapitated head just, like, gasping for air with no lungs to suck it in, and then she held up the body as it spazzed out and blood went everywhere like some crazy Santeria voodoo ritual.”

While Sam contested the serrating, he affirmed the knife was quite dull and said “for sure” after Eger began to describe the scene of the chicken’s blood spurting everywhere.

“For sure, for sure. Everyone knows that you can run around like a chicken with your head cut off, but what that saying leaves out is what happens to the head without the body and it’s, like, also still completely functioning for a second,” Sam continued as Eger laughed.

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

Eger went on to point out what he felt the incident symbolized, particularly as it related to his old college roommate’s time as an elected member of U.S. Congress.

He said that while part of him “respected” Gluesenkamp Perez “for her bravery” and her pro-activeness in killing the chicken, he also chided the inhumane nature in which she killed the chicken and said it represented the large amount of “hubris” the now-congresswoman had even as a college student at a small private liberal arts school.

“I think Marie is a very proud and she’s an incredibly stubborn person who I think has unbelievable confidence in herself,” Eger said during the podcast episode, which was entirely focused around the congresswoman and their history with her in college. 

“I think [that] is what it takes to become a f—ing congressperson,” Eger said. 

“I think we are finding a thread here, yeah,” added Sam. “I think also, like, being like, ‘F–k the consequences. I’m just going to go, like, being head– being headstrong.’ And just, like, ‘I’m going to take care of this. Like, and this might be a really bad idea, but here I am. It’s already done. It’s already happening.” 

During the Jan. 29 podcast episode, Eger, Boguslaw, who also declined to speak to Fox News Digital, and Sam also recounted their time living with Gluesenkamp Perez and her bunny she brought with her at the time named “Meatball.” According to the crews of former Reed College students, Gluesenkamp Perez would breed Meatball and then eat its kids.

‘AT SOME POINT, YOU AGE OUT’: OBAMA URGES DEMOCRATS TO PASS TORCH TO YOUNGER CANDIDATES

“A friend of mine said that when he came back to the house once, she started a rabbit-eating cult,” Eger said during the podcast. He and Boguslaw recalled how “absent-minded” Gluesenkamp Perez was when it came to their “urban farming venture,” describing how they would often have to take care of her animals for her less they would perish.

“Did you go with her to breed her rabbit and we watched them, like, smash the rabbit against the wall?” Eger asked Sam during the podcast episode.

“Meatball? Hell yeah,” Sam responded.

Eger also took shots at the congresswoman he used to room with, describing her as a carpetbagger and accusing her of “cosplaying as a poor person” during college and still today even though he believed she was likely having college paid for by her parents, arguing she could not have been eligible for financial aid.

“Her parents are wealthy. Because if you can afford – and she’s one of four kids – if you can afford to pay for a $40,000 a year college, so that doesn’t include like the other, like at least $10,000 dollars a year in living expenses, you’re wealthy,” Eger argued during his podcast. “That means she wouldn’t have qualified for financial aid. Now, what she says in order – this is part of her lore, she’s definitely cosplaying as a poor person.”

“Which never happened at Reed. As far as I’m concerned,” Boguslaw said back sarcastically with a laugh.

Eger also charged Gluesenkamp Perez with lying about being a fifth generation Washingtonian during his 2-hour-long podcast episode, alleging she is actually originally from Houston.

“She grew up in Houston, Texas. Her father was Mexican, born in Mexico, where her mother, who is from Washington, met him,” Eger said. “She brought him over the border, and then Marie’s kind of an anchor baby.”

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Gluesenkamp Perez is the member of Congress representing Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, which covers the southwest portion of the state, including the Vancouver and Portland-area suburbs around Clark County. 

She was first elected to Congress in 2022 and then was reelected in 2024. Gluesenkamp Perez has significantly out-raised all of her competitors, with almost $2.5 million cash-on-hand, according to Ballotpedia. 

Her nearest competitor is Republican John Braun, a member of the Washington State Senate, who has a little over $700,000 cash-on-hand, per Ballotpedia. 

Gluesenkamp Perez, nor any of her representatives, responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on this story.   

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, blasted California Gov. Gavin Newsom on social media, posting a clown emoji after the Golden State governor claimed that the lawmaker from the Lone Star State had called him “illiterate.”

Cruz had actually referred to Newsom as “historically illiterate.” 

But Newsom, who is dyslexic, fired back, writing, “Ted Cruz calling a dyslexic person illiterate is a new low, even for him.”

THE MOST UNUSUAL PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: NEWSOM IS DYSLEXIC, STRUGGLES WITH SPEECHES, REJECTS ‘LIBERAL’ LABEL

Cruz pointed out that he had not claimed that the governor is unable to read.

“I didn’t say you couldn’t read, you [clown emoji],” Cruz responded.

TRUMP BLASTS NEWSOM’S UK PACT, WARNS FOREIGN LEADERS AS 2028 BUZZ BUILDS

“I said you were ‘historically illiterate’,” he added, “because you apparently have no idea that Eisenhower federalized the national guard to stop Dem governors from defying federal law. Specifically, on September 23, 1957, President Eisenhower issued Executive Order 10730, federalizing the Arkansas National Guard & ordering U.S. Army troops (101st Airborne Div) to Little Rock, Arkansas. This action broke the blockade by Dem Gov Orval Faubus, allowing the Little Rock Nine to desegregate Central High School.”

Others, including conservative talk radio host and OutKick founder Clay Travis, also weighed in on Newsom’s claim that Cruz had called him illiterate.

‘DOUBLING DOWN ON STUPID’: NEWSOM, AOC, TRASH TRUMP AT EUROPEAN SUMMIT AS THEY RAISE 2028 PROFILES

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“He called you ‘historically illiterate,’ which means you don’t know basic history. You not having ever heard of this phrase or knowing what it means makes you a moron,” Travis wrote.

Former Reagan Education Secretary William Bennett is siding with Trump on much of the administration’s agenda, but drawing a firm line on marijuana policy — arguing the White House should not move to federally reschedule cannabis.

“I love Donald Trump,” Bennett said during a phone call to Fox News Digital. “I love almost everything he does, but I don’t love this.” 

Bennett spoke to Fox News Digital Friday in reaction to Trump signing an executive order in December 2025 directing the Justice Department to expedite moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule III essentially would treat marijuana more like a regulated medicine, but would not make cannabis legal nationwide. 

“This reclassification order will make it far easier to conduct marijuana-related medical research, allowing us to study benefits, potential dangers, and future treatments,” Trump said in the Oval Office of the executive order. “It’s going to have a tremendously positive impact.” 

NY TIMES WALKS BACK STANCE ON MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION, ADMITS LOOSENING OF POLICIES HAS MADE COUNTRY WORSE OFF

Bennett served as President Ronald Reagan’s Secretary of Education from 1985 to 1988, after leading the National Endowment for the Humanities earlier in the Reagan years.

He later became the first director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy — the role commonly known as the nation’s “drug czar” — under President George H.W. Bush’s administration, where he advocated for a “war on drugs,” including promoting the administration’s national drug control strategy that emphasized drug prevention and enforcement of laws against drug use. 

He told Fox News Digital that he is a supporter of the majority of Trump’s policies, but cannot back rescheduling marijuana, citing its effects on students and serving as a “gateway drug” to addiction and crime. 

The former Reagan official told Fox News Digital that marijuana use among young adults overwhelmingly has gone unchecked, as the current culture promotes and accepts the use of cannabis to the detriment of youth health. 

“Marijuana clouds focus and attention, which you obviously should have if you’re going to school,” he said. “So it clouds that, it interferes with that, it inhibits that. It is also the gateway drug. It leads to the use of other drugs. Almost anybody who uses a so-called ‘more dangerous’ drug than marijuana has entered through the portal called marijuana.” 

‘HIGH JANUARY’ FUELS CANNABIS BOOM AS EXPERTS FLAG SOME SERIOUS HEALTH DANGERS

He added that “you can concede the fact that marijuana can have some positive effects, and at the same time understand that it’s, on the whole, a negative,” arguing that cannabis can ease pain for some while being “massively destructive of attention and focus among young people.”

Bennett said the prevalence of marijuana use among young adults has compounded dropout rates and absenteeism in schools in recent years. 

In the post-pandemic education landscape, U.S. schools continue to battle absenteeism, with the nationwide rate of students missing 10% or more of schooling sitting at about 28% in the 2022–2023 school year, which is a decrease from the pandemic high of 31% in the 2021–2022, according to Department of Education data. 

CATHOLICVOTE LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN URGING TRUMP TO REJECT MARIJUANA RESCHEDULING PLANS 

“If you combine the dropout rate, the fact that attendance is down at schools and the use of marijuana among young people … it’s just another bad thing to happen to children,” Bennett told Fox News Digital. 

When asked about the pushback to the effort to reschedule, White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital that it’s part of the president’s “pledge to expand medical research into applications of marijuana and cannabidiols by rescheduling marijuana.”

“The President’s historic action paved the way for the development of promising new treatments for American patients, especially veterans — and the presence of several leaders from law enforcement and veterans groups at the Oval Office signing is indicative of how President Trump continues to push the envelope to support our nation’s heroes,” Desai said. 

The culture surrounding marijuana has changed in recent years, in part due to marijuana lobbyists and the fast-growing cannabis helping launch pot into the “mainstream,” according to Bennett, pushing public opinion from narrow support for medical use into a broader culture that treats the drug as “generally okay.”

Fox News Digital also spoke with Elayne Bennett, the former education secretary’s wife, who is the founder and president of a nonprofit focused on promoting “self-respect through self-control” for school students, called the Best Friends Foundation. 

MIKE TYSON PRAISES TRUMP FOR CANNABIS EXECUTIVE ORDER, PREDICTS IT WILL ALLOW 500,000 JOBS TO BE COUNTED

Elayne Bennett works directly within schools, including in Washington, D.C., and said that the culture has shifted to the point that students are unaware of the effects marijuana and other drugs have. 

She pointed to an interview that the Best Friends Foundation held with one of its students, a 14-year-old boy who relayed he was never told habitual marijuana use before the age of 18 can shave off eight IQ points from a person as an adult, as research has found. 

“That just hit me like a ton of bricks,” she said. “I mean, are you kidding me? That’s insane. Nobody is saying, ‘Hey, stop it, don’t.'” 

Elayne Bennett worked with former first lady Nancy Reagan to promote abstinence from drugs, and called on the Trump administration to “Reinvigorate the ‘just say no’” campaign famous in the 1980s and ’90s. 

“Nancy Reagan, just say no. Reinvigorate that drugs hurt you. Drugs kill,” she said. 

The former secretary of education noted that Trump himself is a teetotaler of drugs and alcohol, while advocating he apply that mentality more broadly.

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“America’s always been a self-correcting society. We do a lot of dumb things and bad things, but then we correct, and we can correct on this one,” he said. 

A House GOP lawmaker has become the first member of his party to support a Democrat-led effort to limit presidential pardon power.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., signed on in support of legislation led by Rep. Johnny Olszewski, D-Md., to establish a congressional review process for presidential pardons.

It comes after President Donald Trump pardoned five ex-NFL players guilty of various charges including perjury, drug trafficking and counterfeiting. 

“Across multiple administrations, we’ve seen legitimate questions raised about how this authority has been used at the same time, the ability of Congress to provide oversight has weakened,” Bacon said in a statement. “Frankly, it is clear to me the pardon authority has been abused.”

JOHNSON ARGUES BIDEN PARDONS ‘INVALID’ AFTER BOMBSHELL AUTOPEN REPORT

And while Bacon did not mention Trump directly, Olszewski made clear that the Republican commander in chief is the main impetus for his push for a new constitutional amendment.

“The announcement follows the Trump Administration’s decision earlier this week to pardon five former NFL players whose charges ranged from perjury to drug trafficking,” said Olszewski’s press release announcing Bacon’s support on Monday. 

“The pardons are part of what Olszewski describes as a disturbing pattern of abuses of the presidential pardon power benefiting the wealthy and well-connected.”

BIDEN’S AUTO-PEN PARDONS DISTURBED DOJ BRASS, DOCS SHOW, RAISING QUESTIONS WHETHER THEY ARE LEGALLY BINDING

The amendment, if adopted, would give Congress the right to initiate a review process for presidential pardons if called for by 20 House members and five senators.

The review process would end with a vote on whether to nullify the pardon, needing two-thirds’ support in both the House and the Senate to succeed. 

The president would then be barred from issuing that same pardon to the same recipient again.

Former President Joe Biden notably took heat from Republicans and even some Democrats when he issued preemptive pardons for his family members and other allies, including son Hunter Biden, shortly before leaving office.

Bacon, a moderate Republican and retired Air Force brigadier general, has already announced he is not seeking re-election in November. 

He’s one of several GOP lawmakers in Congress who have been willing to buck Trump on a variety of issues, including the separation of powers.

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For instance, Bacon was one of a handful of House Republicans who voted with Democrats to terminate Trump’s emergency declaration at the northern border, which the president had used to justify imposing tariffs on Canada without congressional approval.

Bacon told Fox News Digital at the time, “It is time for Congress to make its voice heard on tariffs.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Democrats are sticking to their skepticism about President Donald Trump’s performance on the economy, blasting the country’s “unaffordability” even as the reporting from January exceeded expectations on inflation and the job market.

January’s inflation report, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed just a 2.5% increase in prices over last year — a number that inches the economy closer to the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.

Similarly, the U.S. jobs report for last month showed that the economy added 130,000 jobs, beating out projections from forecasters like Reuters, Oxford University and Bloomberg.

Many predictions had estimated the U.S. would add just 50,000 to 75,000 in January.

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The reports are the latest in a series of reports during the second Trump administration that have defied Democratic predictions of persistent inflation and economic downturn amid the implementation of GOP policies that Democrats oppose, such as Trump’s tariffs and a more aggressive focus on domestic production.  

But to Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Development Committee, the numbers don’t make good on the promises Trump made on the campaign trail.

“Donald Trump promised to lower costs ‘on day one.’ But one year into his second term, food continues to get more expensive, utility costs are soaring, and housing prices are rising,” Warren said in a statement on the inflation report.

“Trump is making life less affordable for American families – and instead of fixing the economic pain he’s caused, he says this is the Trump economy, and he is ‘very proud’ of it,” she said.

Among the policies Democrats believe are contributing to high prices, Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., the ranking member on the House Budget Committee, singled out Trump’s position on tariffs in his own statement about the price index.

“Donald Trump promised he would end inflation on ‘day one.’ Today is Day 389, and prices are higher than ever,” Boyle said.

TRUMP HITS THE ROAD TO SELL ECONOMIC WINS, AS REPUBLICANS BRACE FOR HIGH-STAKES MIDTERM SHOWDOWN

“Instead of keeping his promise, Trump has increased the costs Americans pay through his massive tariff taxes — the highest tariffs since the Great Depression. Ordinary Americans simply can’t afford Trump’s reckless economic policies,” he said.

The criticisms from Boyle and Warren aren’t new. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., blasted the administration on affordability even ahead of the reporting on inflation. 

“Costs haven’t gone down in the United States of America. Costs have gone up under failed Republican policies. Housing costs are out of control. Grocery costs are out of control. Healthcare costs are out of control. Utility bills are out of control. And childcare costs are out of control,” Jeffries said in a press conference last week.

Other Democrats believe the numbers themselves may come with an asterisk.

Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said he thinks the jobs report, in particular, doesn’t signal a strong market on its own.

“Beating expectations once doesn’t absolve the pain of the meager monthly average of 15,000 jobs created last year,” Neal said in a statement about the labor report.

“The fine print of this report, which shows significant downward revisions of Trump’s first year in office, casts strong doubt that people can rely on this administration to deliver for them,” Neal said, referring to other disappointing jobs reports from 2025.

‘PRICES ARE COMING DOWN’: TRUMP HAILS HIS ECONOMY, BLAMES BIDEN AS VOTERS SAY COSTS STILL STING

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, believes Republicans are showing signs of nervousness about the economy.

She believes that Trump has already tacitly admitted that affordability remains an issue for Americans.

“Trump called this affordability crisis a ‘hoax,’ but he knows it’s real and now wants to cap credit card interest rates at 10%,” Waters said, referring to an idea floated by Trump earlier this year to limit the amount banks can charge borrowers.

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“Well, President Trump, I’m pleased to know if you’re listening, we don’t agree on much of anything, but we do on this,” Waters said.

Democrats contacted by Fox News Digital did not address whether the numbers from the January reporting indicated the country was on the right track, despite their other outstanding concerns.

The NAACP formally asked a federal judge to protect voter information seized by the FBI from an election warehouse in Atlanta on Sunday.

The NAACP and other organizations say the documents contain “sensitive personal information,” and asked the judge to impose limits on how the FBI can use the data. Their motion argues the seizure from the Fulton County elections building “infringed constitutional protections of privacy, and interfered with the right to vote.”

The motion asks the judge to “order reasonable limits on the government’s use of the seized data” and to prohibit the government from using the data for purposes other than the criminal investigation cited in the search warrant affidavit.

That request includes prohibiting any efforts to use it for voter roll maintenance, election administration or immigration enforcement.

TRUMP DOJ DEMANDS MINNESOTA VOTING RECORDS OVER SAME-DAY REGISTRATION ‘VOUCHING’ CONCERNS

They also requested that the judge order the government to disclose an inventory of all documents and records seized, the identity of anyone who has accessed the records outside of those involved in the criminal investigation, any copying of the records and all efforts to secure the information.

The FBI arrived to the elections warehouse on Jan. 28 with a search warrant for documents relating to the 2020 election, including all ballots, tabulator tapes from the scanners that tally the votes, electronic ballot images created when the ballots were counted and then recounted, and all voter rolls.

Sunday’s motion was filed by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law on behalf of the NAACP, Georgia and Atlanta NAACP organizations, and the Georgia Coalition for the Peoples Agenda. It notes that the seizure happened as the Justice Department has been seeking unredacted state voter registration rolls.

Fulton County officials told reporters this month that FBI agents were seen carrying some 700 boxes of ballots from a warehouse near the election hub and loading them into a truck.

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Fulton County has also separately sued the FBI in an effort to have the elections documents returned.

Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A dispute stemming from questions about the use of AI firm’s Anthropic’s model during the U.S. operation targeting Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has triggered a Pentagon review of the company’s partnership, with senior officials raising concerns that Anthropic could represent an alleged “supply chain risk.”

Axios first reported on the growing tensions between the Pentagon and Anthropic, a tech company known for emphasizing safeguards on AI. 

Anthropic won a $200 million contract with the Pentagon in July 2025. 

TRUMP’S VENEZUELA STRIKE SPARKS CONSTITUTIONAL CLASH AS MADURO IS HAULED INTO US

Its AI model, Claude, was the first model brought into classified networks.

Now, “the Department of War’s relationship with Anthropic is being reviewed,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told Fox News Digital.

“Our nation requires that our partners be willing to help our warfighters in any fight.”

According to a senior administration official, tensions escalated when Anthropic asked whether Claude was used for the raid to capture Maduro, “which caused real concerns across the Department of War indicating that they might not approve if it was.” 

“Given Anthropic’s behavior, many senior officials in the DoW are starting to view them as a supply chain risk,” a senior War Department official told Fox News Digital. “We may require that all our vendors and contractors certify that they don’t use any Anthropic models.”

The War Department official said an executive from Anthropic raised the question with an executive at Palantir, its partner in Pentagon contracting. “The Palantir executive informed the Pentagon of this exchange because he was alarmed that the question was raised in such a way to imply that Anthropic might disapprove of their software being used in that raid.”

Palantir could not immediately be reached for comment. 

Anthropic disputed that characterization. A spokesperson said the company “has not discussed the use of Claude for specific operations with the Department of War” and has not discussed such matters with industry partners “outside of routine discussions on strictly technical matters.”

The spokesperson added that Anthropic’s conversations with the Pentagon “have focused on a specific set of Usage Policy questions — namely, our hard limits around fully autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance — none of which relate to current operations.”

WHAT THE ALLEGED ‘SONIC WEAPON’ USED IN VENEZUELA MAY ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN

“We are having productive conversations, in good faith, with DoW on how to continue that work and get these complex issues right,” the spokesperson said.

Pentagon officials, however, denied that restrictions related to mass surveillance or fully autonomous weapons are at the center of the current dispute.

The Pentagon has been pushing leading AI firms to authorize their tools for “all lawful purposes,” seeking to ensure commercial models can be deployed in sensitive operational environments without company-imposed restrictions.

A senior War Department official said other leading AI firms are “working collaboratively with the Pentagon in good faith” to ensure their models can be used for all lawful purposes.

“OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and xAI’s Grok have all agreed to this in the military’s unclassified systems with one agreeing across all systems already, and we are optimistic the rest of companies will get there on classified settings in the near future,” the official said. 

How this conflict resolves could shape future defense AI contracting. If the department insists on unrestricted access for lawful military uses, companies may face pressure to narrow or reconsider internal safeguards when working with national security customers.

Conversely, resistance from companies with safety-focused policies highlights growing friction at the intersection of national security and corporate AI governance — a tension increasingly visible as frontier AI systems are integrated into defense operations.

Neither Anthropic nor the Pentagon confirmed whether Claude was used in the Maduro operation. Advanced AI systems like Claude, however, are designed to do something human analysts struggle with under time pressure: digest enormous volumes of information in seconds.

In a high-risk overseas operation, that could mean rapidly sorting intercepted communications, summarizing intelligence reports, flagging inconsistencies in satellite imagery, or cross-referencing travel records and financial data to confirm a target’s location. Instead of combing through hundreds of pages of raw intelligence, planners could ask the system to surface the most relevant details and identify potential blind spots.

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AI models can also help war planners run through scenarios — what happens if a convoy reroutes, if weather shifts or if a target moves unexpectedly. By quickly synthesizing logistics data, terrain information and known adversary patterns, the system can present commanders with options and risks in near real time.

The debate over fully autonomous weapons — systems capable of selecting and engaging targets without a human decision-maker in the loop — has become one of the most contentious issues in military AI development. Supporters argue such systems could react faster than humans in high-speed combat. Critics warn that removing human judgment from lethal decisions raises profound legal and accountability concerns if a machine makes a fatal mistake.

President Donald Trump on Monday blamed Democrats for the partial government shutdown, as Republicans and Democrats have yet to reach a deal on Department of Homeland Security funding, while he also touted what he deemed as wins for his administration on issues such as the economy and crime.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump boasted of “great financial numbers” such as low inflation and falling fuel prices.

“Great financial numbers, you saw low inflation, very low inflation. Prices are down. Way down. Gasoline is less than $2 a gallon in many places, which nobody expected to see,” Trump said, although the national average for gas is closer to $3 and state averages in areas with the cheapest fuel still remain above $2.

DHS SHUTDOWN LOOMS AS JOHNSON NAVIGATES GOP DIVIDE OVER STOPGAP SOLUTIONS

“But I did this going by the initial expression of drill, baby, drill. Prices are coming down very strongly. And as goes gasoline and oil and gas, so goes the rest of other products that are high … We inherited a mess, and we’ve brought our country back,” he continued.

When asked about the partial shutdown over DHS funding, Trump said it is a “Democrat shutdown” that has “nothing to do with Republicans,” accusing Democrats of being upset with falling crime numbers, which he took credit for, even as data shows murder and other violent crime had been on the decline in major cities before his return to the White House.

“This is a Democrat shutdown. This has nothing to do with Republicans, and Democrats shut down. They’re upset that the crime numbers are so good. They’re very unhappy that there’s a movement,” he said.

Democrats have demanded stricter oversight and reforms of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the fatal shootings last month of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis.

“They don’t want voter ID because they want to cheat in elections,” the president added, referring to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act passed by the House that would impose stricter requirements in federal elections for voters to prove citizenship through photo ID and other documentation such as a passport or birth certificate, a measure Democrats have resisted including in long-term funding bills.

“They don’t want Mail-In ballots. They want to end mail-in ballots, and one other thing that [Republicans] are insisting on is proof of citizenship. And the Democrats don’t want to give proof of citizenship. They don’t want to give voter ID,” he added.

PARTIAL SHUTDOWN DRAGS ON AS DHS FUNDING TALKS STALL

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Still, Trump said he is willing to meet with Democrats to discuss a plan to end the shutdown, but stressed that “we have to protect our law enforcement” and that immigration officers have “done a great job” in removing “criminals that were brought in.”

The president also said he would still give his State of the Union speech scheduled for next week if there is still a shutdown.

Some of President Donald Trump‘s top Democratic critics who may run for the White House in 2028 used appearances at a high-profile European conference this past weekend to blast the Republican president’s agenda and try to beef up their foreign policy chops.

But for some of these Democrats with national ambitions, the international stop at the prestigious Munich Security Conference may have backfired.

Meanwhile, a highly anticipated address by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who may be on the GOP’s 2028 ticket, won positive reviews for his charm offensive with European allies bruised by Trump’s aggressive second-term moves towards some of America’s oldest and closest allies.

AOC ACCUSES ISRAEL OF GENOCIDE IN GERMANY WHERE HOLOCAUST WAS LAUNCHED, SPARKING OUTRAGE

Eight Democrats considered potential 2028 contenders — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly of Arizona, Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, and former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo — all descended on Munich.

“I think they hurt themselves badly,” Hugh Hewitt, the popular conservative radio talk show host and Fox News contributor, said of the Democrats during an appearance on “Fox and Friends.”

‘DOUBLING DOWN ON STUPID’ – NEWSOM TAKES AIM AT INTERNATIONAL GATHERING

But it was Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive champion who has long been laser focused on affordability and other domestic issues, who scored the worst reviews.

“We are seeing our presidential administration tear apart the transatlantic partnership, rip up every democratic norm,” Ocasio-Cortez said as she took aim at Trump. “I think many of us are here to say we are here, and we are ready for the next chapter, not to have the world turn to isolation, but to deepen our partnership … and increase our commitment to integrity to our values.”

But Ocasio-Cortez was heavily criticized for her gaffe when asked during a panel discussion whether the U.S. should send troops to defend Taiwan from a possible invasion by China.

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.

“AOC is like a parade of clichés. A model U.N. student that didn’t get enough sleep,” Hewitt argued.

Social media posts by others on the right weren’t as kind, slamming her for offering up a world salad.

But it wasn’t just Republicans who critiqued Ocasio-Cortez.

A veteran Democratic strategist who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely told Fox News Digital, “it is abundantly clear that AOC is not ready for prime time given her remarks in Europe.”

Whitmer, the term-limited governor of the key Great Lakes battleground state, was also criticized.

Asked what victory would look like for Ukraine, Whitmer said Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker, who were sitting with her on the panel, were “much more steeped in foreign policy than a governor is.”

“Ukraine’s independence, keeping their land mass and having the support of all of the allies, I think, is the goal,” Whitmer added.

NEWSOM STOP IN KEY PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY STATE SPARKS MORE 2028 SPECULATION

Newsom repeatedly took aim at the president during his appearances.

“Donald Trump is temporary,” he said Friday during a climate change discussion. “He’ll be gone in three years.” And he hammered Trump over climate policy, arguing the president is “doubling down on stupid.”

“Never in the history of the United States of America has there been a more destructive president than the current occupant of the White House in Washington, D.C.,” Newsom charged. “Donald Trump is trying to turn back the clock.”

Matt Mowers, a longtime Republican strategist and State Department veteran during Trump’s first administration who later was a 2020 GOP congressional nominee in swing state New Hampshire, gave the Democrats low scores.

“What we saw on the Democratic side were a bunch of folks who were not ready for prime time,” Mowers told Fox News Digital. “I think the American people are going to look at the circus group that showed up there and wonder if they can trust any of them to be in a position of power and lead America forward.”

THE ONE SENTENCE IN RUBIO’S ‘SPEECH THAT REVEALED TRUMP’S RED LINE FOR EUROPE

But longtime Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo, pointing to the Democrats at the conference, told Fox News Digital that “speaking in Munich serves to bolster their foreign affairs credentials, especially under the backdrop of the looming 2028 presidential campaign.”

“It’s unclear which strategy is going to work, but I think regardless of who is successful, they will need a clear and cogent foreign policy to return our position at the global table,” Caiazzo said.

Rubio’s speech came a year after Vice President JD Vance, the perceived 2028 Republican front-runner, delivered a scathing attack on Europe during his 2025 speech at the security forum.

America’s top diplomat, speaking a month after Trump took a sledgehammer to Europe during remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, was applauded for saying “in a time of headlines heralding the end of the trans-Atlantic era, let it be known and clear to all that this is neither our goal nor our wish, because for us Americans, our home may be in the Western Hemisphere, but we will always be a child of Europe.”

Striving to ease tensions fueled by Trump’s push to take control of Greenland and the president’s threats of further tariffs on European nations, Rubio emphasized that “the United States and Europe, we belong together.”

But while softer in tone, Rubio’s underlying message was as uncompromising as those of Trump and Vance, that Europe needed to join America’s new reshaped vision for the world, or get out of the way.

And Rubio strongly criticized European nations over their immigration and climate agenda, and slammed the United Nations, saying the world body “played virtually no role” in peace efforts in Ukraine and Gaza.

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Pointing to what he called “the dynamic duo of JD Vance’s speech last year and Marco Rubio’s speech this year,” Mowers said, “You needed more of a wrecking ball last year to wake everyone up.”

And he said this year, “You have someone who can try to bring together more unity based upon a shared framework. But I think the two of them together have done a great job at really explaining what a U.S.-European relationship can look like for the 21st century.”

EXCLUSIVE: Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a high-profile women’s rights activist who fled Sharia law, has endorsed Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, for re-election in a critical Senate race that could determine whether the GOP retains its majority.

In a video announcing her endorsement, Ali, a speaker and author who fled Somalia after suffering female genital mutilation, said that “only John Cornyn has a proven record of stopping radical Islamic extremism.”

“I’ve seen firsthand what radical Islam does to women, to families, and to nations who ignore the warning signs. America is not immune, and neither is Texas,” she went on, adding, “That’s why experience matters.”

This comes amid an already contentious Senate primary race in Texas between Cornyn, who has held the seat since 2002, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas. President Donald Trump has not weighed in on the race, though he recently hinted he may do so, saying, “My problem is I’m friendly with all of them.”

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

Texas leaders have recently sounded the alarm about the growth of Sharia law in the Lone Star State. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott recently issued a proclamation designating the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim Brotherhood as “foreign terrorist organizations” and “transnational criminal organizations” under Texas law.

Ali emphasized the importance of Cornyn’s experience in pushing back against Sharia law, taking subtle jabs at Paxton and Hunt, who would be first-term senators.  

She said that Cornyn “has taken the threat seriously when others choose denial or political games.”

“If you want a Texas that protects its people and defends its values, you need a leader who understands the danger and knows how to stop it,” she said.

“To keep Texas strong and safe from radical Islam, vote John Cornyn.”

GOP GOVERNOR LAYS OUT PLAN TO ‘PURGE’ TERRORISTS AND TERROR SUPPORTERS FROM STATE

In response, Cornyn told Fox News Digital, “I am honored to be endorsed by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who has spoken fearlessly about the dangers of radical Islam from her own experience.”

Cornyn’s office pointed to several actions he has taken as senator to push back on Sharia Law in the U.S., including recently Introducing the Defeat Sharia Law in America Act, which the office said aims to clarify that discriminating based on Sharia Law is a violation of the Civil Rights Act, co-sponsoring the No Sharia Act, which it said prohibits U.S. courts from enforcing foreign laws or judgments that violate the Constitution and calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate “EPIC Ranches City” in Texas, a master-planned development that allegedly marketed itself as a Muslims-only community.

In 2025, Cornyn also introduced legislation to strip the tax-exempt status from organizations that provide material support to designated terrorist groups, specifically targeting CAIR. He also co-sponsored the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act, which directs the Secretary of State to designate the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

“For many years now, I have worked to confront this radical ideology, from working to ban Sharia Law, to identifying, arresting and prosecuting terrorist organizations, and calling on the DOJ to investigate the EPIC City development,” Cornyn said. “I will continue to protect Texans from the threat of radical Islamic ideology anywhere in our country.”

TEXAS REPUBLICANS LAUNCH ‘SHARIA FREE AMERICA CAUCUS’ AIMED AT DEFENDING ‘WESTERN CIVILIZATION’

Ali’s endorsement comes just over two weeks until the GOP’s primary election day in Texas.

Cornyn, a high-ranking Senate Republican, has also been endorsed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee as well as the National Border Patrol Council.

Meanwhile, Paxton, who has served as the top attorney for Texas since 2015, was recently endorsed by Turning Point Action, the political arm of the late Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA. Hunt, a U.S. Army veteran, has been endorsed by Veterans for America First.

Both Paxton and Hunt have also spoken out against Sharia Law in Texas. Paxton sued CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood, seeking to shut them down and bar their operations in Texas. He also sued the developers behind EPIC as well, arguing they violated Texas securities law by selling investment interests without proper registration and by failing to verify accredited investor status as required. 

Hunt has said Sharia law is “completely incompatible with the founding principles of the United States of America” and argued it should have no place in U.S. legal or civic systems.

TEXAS DEMOCRAT FEUD GROWS AS COLIN ALLRED CLAIMS JAMES TALARICO MADE OFFENSIVE REMARK ABOUT FAMILY, CAMPAIGNS

All three Republican candidates have touted their support for Trump and their records of supporting his agenda in their respective offices.

Trump recently told reporters that he may weigh in on the primary race soon, saying, “I’m giving it a very serious look.”

“You know, my problem is I’m friendly with all of them. I like all of them, all three,” Trump said.

“But you’ll be seeing soon,” he went on. “They say whoever I endorse wins. That’s probably right.”

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Whichever Republican emerges victorious from the primary election will face off against either leading Democratic voice Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, or progressive rising star state Rep. James Talarico.

According to Paxton’s office, Ali will appear at a campaign roundtable with religious leaders in North Texas later this week.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is ready to put Senate Democrats to the test on voter ID legislation.

The Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act has earned the backing of 50 Senate Republicans, including Thune, which is enough to break through a key procedural hurdle.

Whether it can pass from the Senate to President Donald Trump’s desk is, for now, an unlikely scenario if lawmakers take the traditional path in the upper chamber. Still, Thune wants to put Democrats on the spot as midterm elections creep closer.

“We will have a vote,” Thune told Fox News Digital.

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

His comments came as he crisscrossed his home state of South Dakota, where he and Republicans in their respective states are out selling their legislative achievements as primary season fast approaches.

Thune viewed the opportunity of a floor vote as a way to have Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus explain to voters why they would block a legislative push to federally enshrine voter ID and proof of citizenship to register to vote.

“We will make sure that everybody’s on the record, and if they want to be against ensuring that only American citizens vote in our elections, they can defend that when they have to go out and campaign against Republicans this fall,” Thune said.

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

But the political makeup of the Senate will prove a tricky path to navigate if Republicans want to pass the bill.

Though the majority of the Senate GOP backs the bill, without at least a handful of Senate Democrats joining them, it is destined to fall victim to the 60-vote filibuster threshold.

And Schumer has time and again made clear that he and the majority of Senate Democrats view the legislation, which passed the House last week, as a tool of voter suppression that would unduly harm poorer Americans and minority groups.

So Senate Republicans are looking at their options.

One, which Thune already threw cold water on, is nuking the Senate filibuster. The other is turning to the talking, or standing, filibuster. It’s the physical precursor to the current filibuster that requires hours upon hours of debate over a bill.

FETTERMAN SLAMS DEMOCRATS’ ‘JIM CROW 2.0’ VOTER ID RHETORIC AS PARTY UNITY FRACTURES

Some fear that taking that path could paralyze the Senate floor. Thune acknowledged that concern, having previously made it himself, but noted another wrinkle.

“A lot of people focus on unlimited debate, and yes, it is something that could drag on for weeks or literally, for that matter, months,” Thune said. “But it’s also unlimited amendments, meaning that every amendment — there’s no rules — so every amendment will be 51 votes.”

He argued that there are several politically challenging amendments that could hit the floor that would put members in tough reelections in a hard spot and possibly cause them to pass, which “could also be very detrimental to the bill in the end.”

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Thune didn’t shut down the idea of turning to the talking filibuster, especially if it ended in lawmakers being able to actually pass the SAVE America Act. But in the Senate, outcomes are rarely guaranteed on politically divisive legislation.

“I think that, you know, this obviously is a mechanism of trying to pursue an outcome, but I don’t know that, in the end, it’ll get you the outcome you want,” Thune said. “And there could be a lot of ancillary damage along the way.”

Senate Republicans now have enough support within their conference to pass Trump-backed voter ID legislation, but a major hurdle remains.

The Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act has secured the backing of 50 Senate Republicans, following a pressure campaign by the White House and a cohort of Senate conservatives over the past several weeks.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has led the charge in the upper chamber, ramping up his efforts last week as the bill moved through the House.

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

Lee told Fox News Digital that he was “ecstatic” about the progress made in shoring up support for the legislation and hoped the Senate would move as quickly as possible to consider it. 

“I would love to see us turn to it next week, perhaps the day after the State of the Union address,” Lee said. “I think that would be good timing. But I think this needs to get done sooner rather than later.”

That multifaceted campaign — both on social media and behind closed doors in the Senate — proved successful, drawing support from Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and several others.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, became the 50th senator to back the bill. That gives Republicans the internal support they need to advance the legislation procedurally, but only if they turn to the standing, or talking, filibuster.

Before leaving Washington, D.C., for a weeklong break last week, Lee and other supporters, including Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., pitched the voter ID proposal and potential pathways to pass it to colleagues.

“We had some good senators stand up and say, ‘No, we got to fight for this,’” Johnson told Fox News Digital. “I’m with them. We need to fight for this.”

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

Still, the effort faces heavy resistance from Senate Democrats, who are nearly unified in their opposition.

The only potential outlier is Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who has pushed back against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s, D-N.Y., characterization of the bill as “Jim Crow 2.0” but has not said whether he would ultimately support the SAVE America Act.

Despite that possibility, Schumer and most of his caucus plan to block the legislation.

“We will not let it pass in the Senate,” Schumer told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “We are fighting it tooth and nail.”

Not every Senate Republican is onboard, either. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has announced she will vote against the measure, while Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., have not signed on as co-sponsors.

One option to bypass Democratic opposition would be nuking the filibuster and its 60-vote threshold — a move some congressional Republicans argue has effectively become a “zombie filibuster,” since legislation can be blocked simply by withholding votes rather than holding the floor.

HARDLINE CONSERVATIVES DOUBLE DOWN TO SAVE THE SAVE ACT

Despite previous pressure from President Donald Trump to eliminate the filibuster, the move does not have the votes among Republicans to succeed — a point Thune underscored last week.

“There aren’t anywhere close to the votes — not even close — to nuking the filibuster,” Thune said.

That leaves a return to the standing, or talking, filibuster — the precursor to today’s procedural hurdle. Under that approach, Senate Democrats would be required to hold the floor and publicly debate their opposition, as senators did for decades before the modern filibuster became standard practice.

The idea appears to be gaining traction among some Republicans, though critics warn it could effectively paralyze the upper chamber for days, weeks or even months, depending on Democrats’ resolve.

Lee said that many senators he’s spoken with are open to the idea, and that those who were reluctant didn’t believe it wouldn’t work. 

“I understand why people might have questions about a procedure that we’re not familiar with,” Lee said. “It doesn’t mean we don’t have to do it, because we do.”

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Meanwhile, Trump has suggested he could take matters into his own hands if Congress cannot pass the SAVE America Act.

In a Truth Social post last week, Trump called the legislation a “CAN’T MISS FOR RE-ELECTION IN THE MIDTERMS, AND BEYOND.”

“This is an issue that must be fought, and must be fought, NOW! If we can’t get it through Congress, there are legal reasons why this SCAM is not permitted,” Trump wrote. “I will be presenting them shortly, in the form of an Executive Order.”

President Donald Trump derided California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s international outreach as “inappropriate” Monday. 

Trump’s warning was to British leaders against partnering with the Democratic governor after Newsom signed a clean energy agreement with the United Kingdom during a European diplomacy tour.

“The U.K.’s got enough trouble without getting involved with Gavin Newscum,” Trump said in an interview with Politico, adding that it was “inappropriate for them to be dealing with him.”

The president’s remarks came after Newsom stepped onto the global stage at the Munich Security Conference, signing cooperation agreements with Ukraine and the United Kingdom while sharply criticizing the president’s foreign policy approach — moves likely to intensify speculation about the governor’s future presidential ambitions.

NEWSOM’S DAVOS DETOUR: 5 CRINGE MOMENTS THAT OVERSHADOWED HIGH-PROFILE SUMMIT

Newsom has long been viewed by political strategists and analysts as a possible Democratic presidential contender in 2028. His appearances at global forums combined with high-profile criticism of Trump have only intensified that speculation.

The second-term Democrat used the high-profile security summit to position California as a “stable and reliable” alternative to the federal government, telling an international audience that the current administration is merely “temporary” and will be “gone in three years.”

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

But it was Newsom’s blunt assessment of world leaders’ attempts to work with the 47th president that drew the most attention. Addressing European heads of state and diplomats, Newsom claimed that foreign leaders “rolling over” for the White House make themselves “look pathetic on the world stage.”

The governor doubled down on a jab he first debuted at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, telling reporters he “should have brought a bunch of knee pads” for world leaders who he believes have bowed down to the president’s “transactional” diplomacy. Newsom specifically took aim at what he called the “complicity” of allies who have sought to appease the President following recent controversies over Arctic sovereignty and NATO funding.

“I can’t take this complicity of people rolling over,” Newsom said during a sideline appearance. “I mean, handing out crowns, the Nobel prizes that are being given away … it’s just pathetic.”

NEWSOM WARNS ‘PATHETIC’ FOREIGN LEADERS TO GROW A BACKBONE IN BIZARRE TAKEDOWN LIKENING TRUMP TO A T.REX

Newsom’s diplomacy tour included the signing of a clean energy memorandum with U.K. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, which the governor’s office said would facilitate nearly a billion dollars in new investment. That agreement followed a Saturday pact with the Lviv region of Ukraine, which Newsom said would involve California companies in the “rebuilding and resiliency” of the war-torn nation — specifically in defense, energy, and digital technologies.

The State Department historically has encouraged “subnational diplomacy,” particularly on trade, and governors from both parties routinely lead overseas economic missions. Such agreements are typically structured as nonbinding memoranda of understanding and do not carry the force of federal treaties.

However, Newsom’s appearance at the Munich Security Conference, a high-profile gathering of global defense and diplomatic leaders, paired with his direct criticism of Trump’s policies underscores how domestic political rivalries are increasingly spilling onto the global stage.

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Foreign policy traditionally has operated under the principle that the U.S. should speak with one voice in its dealings abroad. Newsom’s remarks, delivered before foreign heads of state while signing agreements of his own, presented an alternative vision of American leadership at a time when Washington is navigating disputes over NATO funding, Arctic sovereignty and the war in Ukraine.

FIRST ON FOX: As federal immigration operations continue across the country, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), continues to nab child sex predators residing in the country as illegal immigrants. 

Child grooming, sex and lewd acts with minors, including some under 14, possession of child pornography, domestic assault, assault with a deadly weapon, stalking and drug trafficking were among some of DHS’s “worst of the worst” arrests from President’s Day weekend. 

“Over President’s Day weekend, the brave men and women of ICE arrested heinous criminal illegal aliens across the country convicted for sex crimes against children, rape, and drug trafficking,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “These violent criminals will never be allowed to harm children and innocent Americans again.”

Meanwhile, according to McLaughlin, “nearly 70%” of ICE arrests are of illegal immigrants either charged, or convicted, of a crime in the United States. “Nothing will stop ICE law enforcement from removing them from American communities,” the DHS assistant secretary concluded.

ICE ASSAULTS SPIKE 1,500% AS DEMS DRAW ‘HARD RED LINE’ TO UNMASK AGENTS IN DHS BATTLE 

Over the weekend, several of those illegal alien criminals arrested by ICE had previous charges related to child sex abuse. Efren Guzman-Lopez, who is originally from Guatemala, was picked up in Texas following a conviction for indecency with child-sexual contact and child grooming. Another criminal illegal alien convicted of sex offenses with a child, specifically lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, was picked up this weekend in California. The individual originally from Mexico, Javier Millan-Salgado, was also listed on the sex offender registry, according to DHS.

Multiple individuals in California were picked up this weekend for having “sex with a minor” as well, according to DHS, while a criminal illegal alien in Missouri, Pedro Jucub, was arrested for “sexual misconduct” with a child under the age of 15. These criminal illegal aliens were from Guatemala and Mexico. 

Others were arrested for acts of sexual abuse and sexual assault, including in New York and Salt Lake City.

ICE RAMPS UP DEPORTATION PUSH BY BOOSTING CAPACITY TO 92,600 BEDS WITH $38.3B EXPANSION 

Drug trafficking, assault and domestic violence were the remaining trends among DHS’s “worst of the worst” criminal illegal aliens picked up over the President’s Day weekend. 

Those on DHS’s list charged or convicted of drug trafficking included criminal illegal aliens from Honduras and Mexico. They were picked up in various states across the Midwest, Southwest and the East Coast.

Alfredo Vargas and Wilfrido Varelas-Rubio , both from Mexico, were each convicted of trafficking methamphetamine in Iowa and in Montana, respectively, before being picked up by ICE this weekend. A man from Honduras, Ever Rivera-Molina, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute crystal methamphetamine in Texas prior to his arrest by ICE.

On the East Coast, in Raleigh, North Carolina, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico arrested by ICE, Hermilio Salgado-Castro, was previously convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Saul Alonzo Portillo-Lopez, living in Texas when he was arrested over the weekend, had previously been convicted of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, according to DHS’s “worst of the worst” list from the weekend.

Felony assault, domestic violence, stalking and assault with a deadly weapon were also among the crimes committed by those on ICE’s list.

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Gerson Valverde, a criminal illegal alien from Nicaragua, was arrested following a conviction for felony assault, felony aggravated family offense, and misdemeanor stalking in Saratoga County, New York. Francisco Gamez-Martinez, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested by ICE this weekend after being convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Lakeland, Florida.

DHS has set up a website at WOW.DHS.Gov, where Americans can learn about the public safety threats being arrested in their communities.

“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is highlighting the worst of worst criminal aliens arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” the website’s homepage reads. “Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, the hardworking men and women of DHS and ICE are fulfilling President Trump’s promise and carrying out mass deportations – starting with the worst of the worst – including the illegal aliens you see here.”

President Donald Trump ordered an all-of-government effort to protect the District of Columbia’s water supply and slammed Maryland Gov. Wes Moore as a sewage pipe interceptor rupture in Cabin John has released an estimated 240 million gallons into the Potomac River. 

The break was first noticed on security cameras off the Clara Barton Parkway just north of the District line Jan. 19, and within several days, crews from DC Water were able to segregate much of the spill into the paralleling Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, according to local reports.

The pipe takes wastewater from several towns in the John F. Dulles International Airport area all the way to Washington, where it is processed farther downstream at the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant in Anacostia, D.C.

“There is a massive ecological disaster unfolding in the Potomac River as a result of the gross mismanagement of local Democrat leaders, particularly, Governor Wes Moore, of Maryland,” Trump said in a Truth Social post late Monday.

TRUMP SAYS HE COULD SEND THE NATIONAL GUARD TO MARYLAND TO ADDRESS CRIME

“This is the same Governor who cannot rebuild a bridge. It is clear local authorities cannot adequately handle this calamity,” Trump said, referring to the newly elongated timeline and reported projected multi-billion-dollar cost-projection overruns for the rebuilding of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge on the Baltimore Beltway.

The catastrophe affects the region’s other Francis Scott Key Bridge in Georgetown, D.C., as Trump alluded to the explosion in E.coli counts downriver from the spill.

“I am directing Federal Authorities 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,” Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social. “While State and Local Authorities have failed to request needed Emergency Help, I cannot allow incompetent Local ‘Leadership’ to turn the River in the Heart of Washington into a Disaster Zone.” 

Moore spokesperson Ammar Moussa blasted Trump in response, saying he has 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. 

BRIDGE COLLAPSE AID BECOMES ECONOMIC WEAPON IN ESCALATING TRUMP-MOORE FEUD

Trump also cited the Palisades fire in California, saying that Democratic officials have a “war on merit” with “real consequences.”

He also noted that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is currently subject to a partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security. 

“FEMA, which is currently being defunded by the Democrats, will play a key role in coordinating the response,” he said, as many of those workers may go unpaid.

Maryland state Del. Linda Foley, D-Potomac, whose district is just upstream from the spill, said at an Annapolis, Maryland, hearing that it has been characterized to her as “one of the worst ecological disasters in the eastern part of the United States.”

Moussa said that Maryland, by contrast, has taken action — pointing to the shellfish fishery closure downstream to the Nice Bridge — and told Fox News Digital that Annapolis sent personnel “within hours” to help coordinate the response and protect drinking water in Montgomery County.

“The Potomac isn’t a talking point, and the people of the region deserve serious leadership that meets the moment.”

Moore’s Department of the Environment did issue an emergency closure for shellfish harvesting downstream of the spill, as ecological effects are being felt all the way at the Harry Nice Bridge where U.S. 301 crosses between Bel Alton, Maryland, and Dahlgren, Virginia, nearly 60 miles south of Washington.

Rather than most cases where a state line runs down the center of a waterway, Maryland controls nearly all the Potomac — save for the part where the District of Columbia briefly covers the Old Line State’s historical boundaries.

MARYLAND BRIDGE REBUILD COSTS SOAR TO $5.2B, MORE THAN DOUBLE ORIGINAL ESTIMATE OFFICIALS PROVIDED

The unique boundary also is why eccentricities like Lady Bird Johnson Island, on the “Virginia side” of the Potomac near the Pentagon, are actually in the District of Columbia.

David Gadis, CEO of DC Water, wrote in an open letter that the Potomac River is a “shared treasure” and that “any event that threatens its health understandably causes concern, frustration, and a sense of loss.”

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“Our immediate priorities have been containment, environmental monitoring, and stabilization – working closely with federal, state, and local partners to assess water quality, ecological impacts, and necessary remediation,” he wrote.