NationalWatch

The Trump administration has moved to block the Venezuelan government from covering the legal expenses of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as he fights federal drug trafficking and weapons charges in New York, according to a court filing from his attorney.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty in federal court in New York on Jan. 5 to drug trafficking and weapons charges, days after American forces captured them at the presidential palace in Venezuela.

In a letter to U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is overseeing the case in the Southern District of New York, Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, said the U.S. was preventing the Venezuelan government from covering his client’s legal fees.

“The government of Venezuela has an obligation to pay Mr. Maduro’s fees. Mr. Maduro has a legitimate expectation that the government of Venezuela would do so, and Mr. Maduro cannot otherwise afford counsel,” Pollack wrote.

In the letter, dated Feb. 20, Pollack argued that under “Venezuelan law and custom, the government of Venezuela pays the expenses of the President and First Lady.”

Pollack said that Maduro and the Venezuelan government were subjected to sanctions by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and his legal counsel would need to be granted a license to represent him and be paid.

While Pollack said OFAC granted licenses for both Maduro and Flores on Jan. 9, Maduro’s license was amended “without explanation” to not allow the Venezuelan government to pay for his defense costs.

MADURO ALLY ALEX SAAB ARRESTED IN JOINT US-VENEZUELAN OPERATION, OFFICIAL SAYS

Flores’ license was not impacted, according to Pollack.

Pollack said that OFAC is “interfering with Mr. Maduro’s ability to retain counsel” and violating his Sixth Amendment right to counsel of his choice.

Maduro’s attorney said OFAC has not responded to his request to reinstate the original license and threatened to take legal action if it continued to do so.

RUBIO DEFENDS US ASSAULT ON VENEZUELA, CALLS OUT REPORTER FOR TRYING TO START A FIGHT

“If OFAC fails to act on the request to reinstate the original license, or denies that request, Mr. Maduro will file a formal motion in the coming days seeking relief from the Court,” he wrote.

The U.S. military conducted an operation to capture Maduro in Caracas on Jan. 3. He was flown to New York, where he is being held in a federal jail.

Maduro was charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

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Flores faces three charges: cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

Fox News Digital reached out to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Treasury Department for comment.

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Prominent figures from across the media, business and political landscapes showed up as guests to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday evening.

Notable attendees included Erika Kirk, the widowed wife of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, David Ellison, the media mogul and CEO of Paramount, and Kevin O’Leary, the Shark Tank media personality and businessman.

Several of the more notable attendees were highlighted by Trump during his address.

Kirk received a mention from the president as he condemned political violence of all kinds in his address.

“We must all come together to reaffirm that America is one nation under God, and we must totally reject political violence of any kind,” Trump said.

Charlie Kirk, who was just 31-years-old at the time of his death, was killed by a gunman on Sept. 10, 2025, while conducting a political debate event at Utah Valley University.

The U.S. men’s hockey team also made an appearance on Tuesday, receiving praise from Trump fresh off their gold medal victory in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

TRUMP SHAMES DEMOCRATS IN VIRAL STATE OF THE UNION CHALLENGE ON MIGRANT CRIME: ‘FIRST DUTY’

“Congratulations to team U.S.A.,” Trump said as the players streamed into the chamber during the address.

Trump also highlighted guests brought by others, like First Lady Melania Trump. She invited 10-year-old Everest Nevraumont, a youth advocate for education through artificial intelligence.

“I challenge keeping America’s next generation positioned to succeed and strongly succeed in the future,” Trump said.

Trump also used guests like Enrique Márquez, a former political prisoner of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, to remind audiences of his international achievements under his second administration.

In early 2026, the U.S. stormed Venezuela’s capitol city and captured Maduro, giving Trump newfound leverage in negotiations over the country’s future.

“We’re working closely with the new president of Venezuela to unleash extraordinary economic gains for both of our countries,” Trump said.

The White House reunited Márquez with his family at the State of the Union. 

Trump also awarded the Purple Heart to Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe and deceased Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, two National Guard members who were critically injured and fatally shot by a gunman who ambushed them while on duty last year in Washington, D.C.

RO KHANNA’S STATE OF THE UNION GUEST RECRUITED OVER 20 UNDERAGE GIRLS FOR EPSTEIN: ‘LIKE HEIDI FLEISS’

“I’m going to ask a highly respected General James Seward to present Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe and the great family of Sarah Beckstrom, with the award created by our late, great president, George Washington himself,” Trump, who invited her parents as his State of the Union guests, said. “It’s called the Purple Heart. We love you all.”

As Trump spoke, Major General James “Jim” D. Seward, Adjutant General of the West Virginia National Guard, presented Specialist Beckstrom’s medal to her parents and pinned the Purple Heart on Staff Sergeant Wolfe in the viewing gallery above.

Guests like O’Leary and Ellison did not receive a shoutout from the president, but mingled with multiple lawmakers.

O’Leary, primarily known for his television presence on ABC’s Shark Tank, owns companies like O’Leary Ventures and O’Leary Fine Wines. 

In recent years, O’Leary has surfaced as a political commentator, giving his thoughts on the effectiveness of political party messaging, voter sentiments and more.

LIZ PEEK: AMERICA EXPECTED ONE THING FROM TRUMP’S STATE OF THE UNION. IT GOT ANOTHER

Ellison is the current chairman and CEO of Paramount Skydance Corporation keeps a relatively low political profile but, in the past, has made several high-dollar donations to many Democratic candidates despite now calling himself a friend of President Trump.

Trump has boasted publicly about a personal relationship with Ellison.

Most recently, Ellison has made headlines for his attempt to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery — a move that would solidify Ellison and Paramount as titans in the media world.

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He was seen walking into the House of Representatives on Tuesday alongside Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who invited him.

“Honored to have David Ellison as my guest to POTUS’ State of the Union address this evening,” Graham said in a post to X.

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The crackdown on fraud in Minnesota will serve as a blueprint for a new Department of Justice office focused on protecting taxpayer funds from scams, President Donald Trump‘s pick to serve as the nation’s “fraud czar” explained in his nomination hearing Wednesday. 

“The work in Minnesota has been pivotal. The work of the U.S. Attorney’s office there, and the personnel there, has been pivotal to highlighting the problems of fraud that permeate our taxpayer funded programs,” nominee to serve as assistant attorney general for a new Justice Department division tasked with rooting out fraud, Colin McDonald, said Wednesday. 

“That sort of effort … is what the National Fraud Enforcement Division will be looking to do and scale to an extent that we’ve not seen before within the Department of Justice,” he continued. 

Trump tapped McDonald as the nominee in January, just days after establishing the Department of Justice’s new division for national fraud enforcement that will “investigate, prosecute, and remedy fraud affecting the Federal government,” according to the White House. The new office follows a sweeping Minnesota fraud scandal, where hundreds of millions of dollars was allegedly swindled from taxpayers through welfare and social services programs.

“I will be working with the inspectors general community,” McDonald continued. “With our federal agencies and federal partners, with our state and local partners to ensure that we find the fraud where it’s occurring and that we have the resources to prosecute it, to investigate it and prosecute it, and ultimately ensure that the fraud that we’re seeing annually, perpetrated against these programs comes to an end.”

McDonald appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday morning, where lawmakers grilled the nominee about the new office, how it will operate and if it will operate independently of the White House. 

Trump delivered his State of the Union address Tuesday evening and announced Vice President JD Vance will lead the administration’s “war on fraud.” 

McDonald explained that his office will work to tackle all fraud bleeding taxpayers, citing Government Accountability Office data that estimates between $320 billion to $520 billion in taxpayer funds is lost to fraud on an annual basis. 

“My commitment is to work tirelessly to build a division, a national fraud enforcement division, where no fraud is too big for the Department of Justice, and no fraud is too small for the Department of Justice,” he continued. 

At the top of lawmakers’ minds were fraud concerns surrounding Obamacare and senior citizens. 

Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn cited that the Government Accountability Office could not reconcile over $21 billion in Obamacare marketplace subsidies in tax year 2023 during his questioning of McDonald. 

HEAVILY-REDACTED AUDIT FINDS MINNESOTA MEDICAID HAD WIDESPREAD VULNERABILITIES

“I commit to working tirelessly to root out the sort of fraud that you’ve identified there, and to make sure that every single dollar that’s supposed to go to these programs actually goes to the programs, to the beneficiaries, the intended beneficiaries of these programs, and not to fraudsters. That is my commitment,” McDonald told Cornyn during the hearing regarding potential fraud surrounding Affordable Care Act subsidies. 

Scams targeting the elderly also took the spotlight throughout the hearing. Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, pressed McDonald on his efforts to protect seniors from scams, noting that America’s seniors lose $28 billion annually to financial schemes. 

The fraud czar nominee pledged that the DOJ would work to protect seniors from the increasingly high-tech scams, which often include using artificial intelligence to confuse and swindle people, noting that the fraud affects entire families. 

“It’s not just the grandmothers and the grandfathers, it’s also their family members who bear the weight of these scams and the fraud that’s perpetrated against them,” he said. “My grandmother, one of them, turns 89 years old in two days. And she has seen these … sorts of efforts toward her. And it’s a major issue that the Department of Justice is focused on, and we will be using all available tools to ensure that we combat that problem.”

The massive Minnesota fraud case has reverberated across the nation, with federal Republican lawmakers reinvigorating calls to tighten and monitor the release of taxpayer funds to various programs, most notably social and welfare offices. 

DR OZ DETAILS ‘WEAPONIZATION OF FRAUD’ IN MINNESOTA, ESTIMATES TOTAL MEDICAID FRAUD TO BE $100 BILLION

Trump spotlighted the fraud in his State of the Union address Tuesday, claiming the scams are even worse in states such as California, Massachusetts, Maine.” 

“When it comes to the corruption that is plundering — it really, it’s plundering America — there’s been no more stunning example than Minnesota, where members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated $19 billion from the American taxpayer. Oh, we have all the information,” Trump said Tuesday. 

“And in actuality, the number is much higher than that, and California, Massachusetts, Maine and many other states are even worse. This is the kind of corruption that shreds the fabric of a nation, and we are working on it like you wouldn’t believe,” he continued, before naming Vance as the administration leader taking on fraud. 

The White House referred Fox Digital to Trump’s State of the Union comments and McDonald’s testimony when approached for additional comment on the federal fraud crackdown efforts. 

FEDERAL WELFARE SPENDING IS A FRAUD MAGNET — AND TAXPAYERS ARE PAYING THE PRICE

Vance joined Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” Wednesday, and said his efforts will include a “full, whole government approach” to investigating fraud concerns, and enlisting the Justice and Treasury Departments to lead probe on fiscal records. 

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“There’s a whole host of tools that we have that have never been used, and the president and I talked about this a couple of months ago and said, ‘What if we just did everything that we could to stop the fraud that’s being committed against the American taxpayer?’ The president said, ‘Great idea, let’s do it,’ and we’re going to work on that very aggressively over the next year,” Vance said. 

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As President Donald Trump vowed to wage a “war on fraud” during his State of the Union address Tuesday, a panel of voters across the political spectrum had mixed reactions.

The panel, assembled by polling group Maslansky & Partners and comprising 29 Democrats, 30 independents and 41 Republicans, gave real-time reactions as Trump spoke. The reactions were displayed on a line graph where high values represented positive reactions and low values indicated negative reactions.

Trump said corruption was “plundering America” and said the most “stunning example” was in Minnesota, where welfare fraud has been a focal point and a child nutrition program scheme, in particular, led to dozens of prosecutions under the Biden administration.

A line graph showed Republican voters were receptive as Trump spoke, while Democratic voters had a negative reaction and independents were neutral.

“Members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated $19 billion from the American taxpayer,” Trump said, an apparent reference to the potential cost of Medicaid fraud in the state since 2018, as revealed by a Minnesota federal prosecutor last year. While it is unclear what links the Somali community has to the Medicaid claim, the vast majority of defendants in the separate $250 million child nutrition program fraud findings were of Somali descent.

Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz has said Trump is “demonizing” the Somali community, that Trump’s claims about his state are overstated and a political distraction, and that the president is the “biggest fraudster.”

OMAR SHOUTS ‘YOU ARE A MURDERER’ AND ‘LIAR’ AT TRUMP DURING STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

Trump contended during his speech that California, Massachusetts, Maine and “many other states” were “even worse” than Minnesota.

The White House has taken a multi-agency approach to its fraud initiative, giving the Departments of Justice, Treasury, Health and Human Services and others roles in identifying abuse of welfare systems across the country.

“This is the kind of corruption that shreds the fabric of a nation, and we are working on it like you wouldn’t believe,” Trump said. “So tonight, although it started four months ago, I am officially announcing the war on fraud to be led by our great vice president, JD Vance.”

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Trump claimed that if the administration could find enough fraud, “we will actually have a balanced budget overnight.”

“It’ll go very quickly,” Trump said. “That’s the kind of money you’re talking about. We’ll balance our budget.”

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Vice President JD Vance announced Wednesday that the Trump administration is temporarily halting Medicaid funding to the state of Minnesota, giving Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz 60 days to clean up how the state doles out funding. 

“We have decided to temporarily halt certain amounts of Medicaid funding that are going to the state of Minnesota in order to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligations seriously to be good stewards of the American people’s tax money,” Vance said Wednesday in a press event attended by Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz. 

The announcement comes after President Donald Trump railed against fraud in the Gopher State Tuesday evening in his State of the Union address. 

The administration and Congress have zeroed in on rampant abuse of federal taxpayers’ funds since December 2025, when details of Minnesota’s fraud surrounding social programs and welfare programs stretching back to the COVID-19 pandemic first came under the national spotlight. Investigators have since estimated the Minnesota scheme could top $9 billion. 

Trump pointed to his vice president as leading the administration’s “war on fraud” amid his State of the Union remarks. 

Vance explained Wednesday that “we are stopping the federal payments that will go to the state government until the state government takes its obligations seriously to stop the fraud that’s being perpetrated against the American taxpayer.”

The vice president continued that officials have verified that a program in Minnesota intended to provide after-school care to autistic children actually benefited fraudsters. 

“A lot of people are getting rich off the generosity of American taxpayers,” Vance said. “But more fundamentally, and more importantly than that, it means that there are kids in Minnesota who deserve these services, who need these services, and they’re not going to those kids. They’re going to fraudsters in Minneapolis. That is unacceptable. And that’s the sort of thing that we’re cutting off with this action today.” 

Oz added that it is that the pause marks “the largest action against fraud that we’ve ever taken” at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, before launching into how the administration is deferring funds to the state.

HEAVILY-REDACTED AUDIT FINDS MINNESOTA MEDICAID HAD WIDESPREAD VULNERABILITIES

“It’s going to be $259 million of deferred payments for Medicaid to Minnesota, which we’re announcing as I speak, to Governor Walz and his team,” Oz said. “That’s based on an audit of the last three months of 2025. Restated: a quarter billion dollars is not going to be paid this month to Minnesota for its Medicaid claims.” 

“We have notified the state and said that we will give them the money, but we’re going to hold it and only release it after they propose and act on a comprehensive corrective action plan to solve the problem,” Oz said. “If Minnesota fails to clean up the systems, the state will rack up $1 billion of deferred payments this year.”

Walz has 60 days to respond to a letter Oz and the administration sent to Walz on the matter, Oz said. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office Wednesday afternoon for comment and has yet to receive a reply. 

Oz continued that he believes Walz will take the matter seriously, and noted fraud is not exclusive to Minnesota, but also other states. 

“These schemes disproportionately involve immigrant communities,” Oz continued. “They’re insulated, they’re able to … organize efforts, and sometimes they don’t understand what’s going on.” 

Vance added that the administration does not want to make this move, but it is needed due to Minnesota being “careless with federal tax dollars.”

“All we need the governor and the administration of Minnesota to do is something quite simple, which is to show that before you give Medicaid funds to somebody, you’re taking seriously whether they provided the services that they say that they’re providing,” the vice president said, calling the fraud a “disgrace.”

MINNESOTA DEMOCRATS DEMAND REPARATIONS FROM ICE AFTER LOSING $18 BILLION TO SOMALI FRAUD

Trump spotlighted the fraud in his State of the Union address Tuesday, underscoring that while Minnesota has taken the spotlight, schemes run deep in other states as well. 

“When it comes to the corruption that is plundering — it really, it’s plundering America — there’s been no more stunning example than Minnesota, where members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated $19 billion from the American taxpayer,” Trump said. “Oh, we have all the information.” 

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“And in actuality, the number is much higher than that, and California, Massachusetts, Maine and many other states are even worse. This is the kind of corruption that shreds the fabric of a nation, and we are working on it like you wouldn’t believe,” he continued, before naming Vance as the administration leader taking on fraud. 

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Republicans were pleased when President Donald Trump spoke during the State of the Union address Tuesday about his plan to continue imposing global tariffs after the Supreme Court dealt him a setback, according to live reactions from a panel of voters.

The panel, assembled by polling group Maslansky & Partners and made up of 29 Democrats, 30 independents and 41 Republicans, gave real-time reactions as Trump spoke. The responses were displayed on a line graph, with higher values indicating positive reactions and lower values indicating negative reactions.

Trump called the Supreme Court’s decision striking down the tariffs “unfortunate” as four justices sat stone-faced in the front row of the House chamber.

It is customary for justices to be invited to the address, though not all typically attend. Chief Justice John Roberts and justices Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh attended Tuesday.

Trump touted the tariffs, which he unilaterally imposed last year under an emergency law, as a key negotiating tool, saying they helped him broker peace deals between other countries and generated billions of dollars in revenue. The Supreme Court found that Trump illegally bypassed Congress by invoking the law, known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

But “just four days ago, an unfortunate ruling from the United States Supreme Court, it just came down, a very unfortunate ruling,” Trump said, as the dials on the line graph showed Republicans reacting approvingly and Democrats and independents responding negatively.

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“The good news is that almost all countries and corporations want to keep the deal that they already made … knowing that the legal power that I as president have to make a new deal could be far worse for them. And, therefore, they will continue to work along the same successful path that we had negotiated before the Supreme Court’s unfortunate involvement,” Trump said.

Trump said he had “time-tested” alternatives to the IEEPA that he planned to use so he could again sidestep Congress’ role in authorizing tariffs, which the Supreme Court said functioned like a tax and therefore required congressional approval under the Constitution.

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Fact-checkers delivered a mixed verdict on President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, backing some immigration and crime claims while disputing others on voter fraud, Medicaid and foreign conflicts.

Reviews from PolitiFact, FactCheck.org, The New York Times and others found that Trump’s assertion that “zero illegal aliens” were admitted into the country was an accurate characterization even though illegal crossings have continued at low levels. 

The fact-checkers also confirmed his claim that the national murder rate is at a historic low but labeled his statements about “rampant” voter fraud, Medicaid and the number of wars he ended as misleading.

The fact-checks underscored how Trump’s address was a blend of verifiable points and broader claims that grabbed headlines but could be misleading to voters, who Trump is hoping will keep Republicans in power in Congress as he stares down a tough 2026 midterm election cycle.

Immigration

When Trump said Tuesday that “zero illegal aliens have been admitted to the United States,” he was referencing U.S. Border Patrol detaining or deporting migrants attempting to enter the country illegally or by using asylum claims, rather than following the Biden administration’s protocol and releasing them into the country.

Fact-checkers acknowledged the reversal in illegal immigration policies under Trump. They pointed out that illegal border crossings are still happening, but at a far lower pace.

“Encounters with people trying to illegally cross the U.S. southern border have dropped significantly during Trump’s second term,” PolitiFact noted, adding that authorities encountered about 10,000 migrants in January compared to more than 60,000 in January 2025. 

Trump’s comments about illegal immigrants committing crimes were more disputed, fact-checkers found, noting that the Department of Homeland Security’s figures did not reflect that the Biden administration allowed nearly 12,000 murderers to enter the country illegally, as Trump claimed during his speech.

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NPR noted that Trump called Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska’s killer an immigrant, despite lacking evidence of that. The outlet noted that local media have reported that the suspect, Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

Brown was seen in grisly surveillance footage repeatedly stabbing Zarutska, 23, while she was riding the light rail home from work in August 2025. Her murder has become a national example of local prosecutors’ lax policies toward repeat offenders.

When Trump said more broadly that the nation’s murder rate is the lowest it has been in 125 years, fact-checkers found that was true.

‘Eight wars’

Several fact-checkers took issue with Trump touting that he ended “eight wars.”

Trump gained widespread praise for brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that led to a return of Israeli hostages, and the president has been credited with establishing a truce between Israel and Iran after carrying out damaging airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The New York Times said that eight wars, though, was “exaggerated,” and FactCheck.org called the figure “inflated.”

The fact-checkers pointed to Trump’s disputed involvement in India’s ceasefire with Pakistan. Trump also “counts some international disagreements that weren’t wars,” FactCheck.org said.

Trump was involved in mediating a border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand, and brokered peace agreements between Armenia and Azerbaijan and also Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

Trump also has referenced wars between Serbia and Kosovo, and Egypt and Ethiopia, but some have said those involve tense disagreements and do not amount to war.

Voter fraud

A top flashpoint for fact-checkers was Trump’s assertion that “cheating is rampant” in federal elections.

“Trump made a rapid-fire series of false claims about US elections,” wrote CNN reporter Daniel Dale.

Trump made the comments while demanding Congress pass the SAVE America Act, which would impose a physical proof of citizenship requirement on anyone registering to vote in federal elections.

It is illegal for noncitizens to vote, and voters must declare under penalty of perjury that they are U.S. citizens as part of the registration process. State officials are required by federal law to practice voter roll maintenance to make sure voters who are registered are valid. 

State and federal prosecutions of noncitizen voting have been exceedingly rare, but Trump and his base have contended that noncitizen voting is prevalent and simply going undetected.

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NPR pointed to observations by election expert David Becker, who runs the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation and Research.

“Even states that are looking everywhere to try to amplify the numbers of noncitizens … when they actually look, they find a surprisingly, shockingly small number,” Becker said.

The New York Times said the number of noncitizens casting ballots is “infinitesimally small,” noting a Trump DHS study that found up to 0.2% of registered voters could potentially be noncitizens.

Jobs

Fact-checkers labeled Trump’s assertion that more Americans were working than ever before as true, but they said the president’s claim about job growth was misleading.

Job growth remained steady under Trump while the population was the largest it has ever been, meaning labor force participation has not kept up with the population, the New York Times noted.

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Protecting Medicaid

Fact-checkers swatted down Trump’s claim that he would “always” protect Medicaid, noting that the “big, beautiful bill,” his signature tax and spending plan enacted in July 2025, cut nearly $1 trillion from the program by changing its eligibility requirements.

“With fewer people on Medicaid, the program costs less,” FactCheck.org noted.

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

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FIRST ON FOX: In exclusive comments to Fox News Digital, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem threw her support behind President Donald Trump’s proposed “Dalilah Law” after Tuesday’s State of the Union, arguing the legislation is needed to prevent more tragedies like the crash that left a young girl unable to walk or talk.

The Dalilah Law is named after Dalilah Coleman, a young girl who sustained life-changing injuries in a June 2024 California crash allegedly caused by Partap Singh, an illegal immigrant from India.

The legislation would bar all states from issuing commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) to illegal immigrants.

Singh is accused of causing a multi-car pileup while driving a commercial tractor-trailer in the sanctuary state of California. His CDL was issued by Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Department of Motor Vehicles.

According to Dalilah’s father, Marcus Coleman, the crash resulted in her inability to walk, talk, eat orally and attend kindergarten as planned.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, we have worked to deliver justice for the families impacted by illegal alien crime, and have ensured that the tragedies they endured will no longer continue,” Noem told Fox News Digital. “What happened to Dalilah Coleman is a tragedy that could have been PREVENTED if California did not grant commercial driver’s licenses to illegal aliens who should have never been here in the first place.”

“DHS is working every single day to remove dangerous criminal illegal aliens who are unlawfully in the U.S.,” she continued.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents obtained an arrest warrant and took Singh into custody in Fresno, California, on Aug. 29.

He will remain in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings.

Echoing the president’s message during Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, DHS said allowing illegal immigrants, many of whom do not speak English, to obtain commercial driver’s licenses — operating tractor-trailers and transporting hazardous materials on American roads — is “reckless and incredibly dangerous to public safety.”

Earlier this month, ICE arrested illegal immigrant and Kyrgyzstan national Bekzhan Beishekeev, 30, who allegedly swerved into oncoming traffic on Feb. 3 and struck a van head-on, killing four people.

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Beishekeev, who illegally entered the country under former President Joe Biden, was issued a CDL in Pennsylvania.

In December, DHS and the Department of Transportation announced that a 54-year-old Chinese national by the name of “Huang” caused a Tennessee crash that killed Kerry Smith and injured two other Americans.

He illegally entered the U.S. from Mexico in 2023, but was released into the country, given work authorization papers and a social security card, and issued a CDL.

Huang failed the English proficiency test after the crash, according to DHS.

SEMI-TRUCK DRIVER HELD ON ICE DETAINER AFTER 4 KILLED IN HEAD-ON CRASH

In August, ICE lodged an arrest detainer for illegal immigrant Harjinder Singh, who is charged with three counts of vehicular homicide after allegedly attempting to make an illegal U-turn through an “official use only” access point in St. Lucie County, Florida, blocking all lanes of highway traffic with his truck and causing a wreck that killed three people.

Video obtained by Breaking911 from inside the tractor-trailer showed the moment Singh turned his truck into traffic, with DHS claiming “his face shows no shock or remorse for his actions or the lives he destroyed.”

He was issued a CDL in California, despite having no legal right to be in the U.S.

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“DHS law enforcement is protecting American communities every day from another senseless tragedy like this taking place in another town, to another family,” DHS said. 

Victims of illegal immigrant crime can receive support from the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office by calling 1-855-488-6423.

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A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from deporting illegal immigrants to so-called “third countries” without first giving them notice and an opportunity to challenge their removal, in a high-stakes case that is likely headed to the Supreme Court.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, a Biden appointee, comes months after lawyers filed a class-action lawsuit in Boston challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s process of deporting illegal immigrants in the U.S. to so-called “third countries” — countries that are not their home country and were not previously designated in their removal orders.

Murphy ultimately sided with the migrants Wednesday, ruling that DHS’s third-country removal policy is unlawful and violates due process protections under the U.S. Constitution. 

“This case is about whether the government may, without notice, deport a person to the wrong country, or a country where he is likely to be persecuted, or tortured, thereby depriving that person of the opportunity to seek protections to which he would be undisputedly entitled,” Murphy said.

The Department of Homeland Security “has adopted a policy whereby it may take people and drop them off in parts unknown — in so-called ‘third countries,’ and, ‘as long as the Department doesn’t already know that there’s someone standing there waiting to shoot . . . that’s fine,’” Murphy continued.

“It is not fine, nor is it legal,” he said.

Neither DHS nor DOJ immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the case or whether it plans to appeal the ruling. 

Murphy also rejected the Trump administration’s claim that certain migrants living in the U.S. illegally lacked due process, noting that the clause applies to all “persons” within the U.S., regardless of immigration status.

“These are our laws, and it is with profound gratitude for the unbelievable luck of being born in the United States of America that this Court affirms these and our nation’s bedrock principle: that no ‘person’ in this country may be ‘deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,'” Murphy said.

Murphy stayed the ruling from taking force for 15 days to allow the Trump administration time to appeal the case to the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, given what the judge acknowledged was the “importance” and “unusual history” of the case in question. 

The ruling comes after Murphy presided for months over a class-action lawsuit filed by migrants challenging deportations to third countries, including South Sudan and El Salvador, as well as Costa Rica and Guatemala, which the administration has reportedly eyed in its ongoing wave of deportations.

‘WOEFULLY INSUFFICIENT’: US JUDGE REAMS TRUMP ADMIN FOR DAYS-LATE DEPORTATION INFO

He has sparred with the Trump administration while overseeing the case, including in May, when he accused the administration of failing to comply with a court order requiring it to keep in U.S. custody six migrants who were deported to South Sudan without due process or notice.

Murphy previously ordered that the migrants remain in U.S. custody at a military base in Djibouti until each of them could be given a “reasonable fear interview,” or a chance to explain to U.S. officials any fear of persecution or torture, should they be released into South Sudanese custody.  

The judge’s order is the latest attempt by federal court judges to rein in the Trump administration as it continues to deport migrants to third countries, including El Salvador and South Sudan.

Murphy previously acknowledged the criminal histories in question after Trump officials blasted the individuals removed as the “worst of the worst.” 

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“The court recognizes that the class members at issue here have criminal histories,” Murphy wrote in an order last year.

“But that does not change due process,” he wrote. “The court treats its obligation to these principles with the seriousness that anyone committed to the rule of law should understand.”

White House officials, meanwhile, have blasted so-called “activist” judges as attempting to enact a political agenda, and have repeatedly rejected the notion that illegal immigrants are not entitled to due process. 

Lower court judges have repeatedly ruled that the Trump administration has violated due process by failing to notify migrants of their imminent removals, or afford them the opportunity to challenge their deportations in court — a view reiterated, albeit narrowly, by the Supreme Court four separate times since Trump took office. 

The Trump administration, for its part, succeeded in a separate Supreme Court case last year that narrowed the ability of federal courts to issue so-called nationwide injunctions blocking executive orders from taking force.

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Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger was widely panned by conservatives on social media over her rebuttal to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union, with many calling out the governor for labeling herself as a “moderate” during the campaign but changing her tune.

Spanberger’s speech contained several examples of supporting far-left causes that drew criticism online, including school walkouts over ICE, touting “affordability” despite pushing to raise taxes, and slamming Trump.

Her overall speech quickly drew heat from conservatives online over her policies and her tone. 

“This Spanberger speech can basically be summed up as ‘I AM A DEMOCRAT WHO IS MODERATE AND NORMAL. PLEASE BELIEVE I AM MODERATE AND NORMAL,’”  Mark Hemingway, senior writer for Real Clear Investigations, posted on X.

“Abigail Spanberger comes off like the radical psychopath she is,” Matthew Boyle, Washington Bureau Chief for Breitbart News, posted on X. “Anyone who claims she is a ‘moderate’ is a liar. Plain and simple.”

“Abigail Spanberger campaigned as a moderate but governs as a left-wing activist,” GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn posted on X. “There is no room for moderates in today’s Democrat party.”

“It’s despicable to hear Abigail Spanberger speak so plainly like a supposed moderate when she’s governing with a legislature that’s more akin to Gavin Newsom in California or, say, Maura Healy in Massachusetts,” Newsbusters managing editor Curtis Houck posted on X.

TRUMP’S ‘HOME RUN’ SOTU SPEECH SPARKS PRAISE FROM CONSERVATIVES ONLINE WHILE LEAVING DEMOCRATS SEETHING

“Spanberger passed exactly one test,” Ruthless podcast co-host Josh Holmes posted on X. “A year from now you’ll have absolutely no idea who gave the Democrat response.”

“Abigail Spanberger tanks,” Trump-Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell posted on X. “She’s so nervous. It’s like she didn’t practice the actual speech.”

“The focus of Abigail Spanberger’s rebuttal is ‘affordability’ as her party proposes sweeping tax hikes on nearly every sector of the Virginia economy,” Daily Caller senior editor Amber Duke posted on X.

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

A top Republican told Fox News Digital earlier this week that Spanberger would never have been given airtime in the Democrats’ official response to Trump’s State of the Union if it weren’t for her support of the commonwealth’s controversial redistricting and adherence to the party line.

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“Our president has sent poorly trained federal agents into our cities, where they have arrested and detained American citizens and people who aspire to be Americans,” Spanberger said during her speech. “They have done it without a warrant. They have ripped nursing mothers away from their babies. They have sent children — a little boy in a blue bunny hat — to far-off detention centers, and they have killed American citizens in our streets.

“And they have done it all with their faces masked from accountability,” she continued. “Every minute spent sowing fear is a minute not spent investigating murders, crimes against children or the criminals defrauding seniors of their life savings.”

At one point in her speech, Spanberger appeared to briefly lose her place on the teleprompter:

“But as the President spoke of his perceived successes tonight, he continues to cede economic power and technological strength to Russia … bow down to … China …to bow down to a Russian dictator, and make plans for war with Iran,” she said, as her prepared remarks cited China as the technological rival.

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

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Democrats were not happy with President Donald Trump‘s State of the Union remarks implementing voter ID requirements and the SAVE America Act.

A dial test administered by Lee Carter, the president of maslansky+partners, showed Democrats taking a serious dive when the president spoke about the issue. During his speech, Trump asked lawmakers to pass the SAVE America Act in order “to stop illegal aliens and others who are unpermitted persons from voting in our sacred American elections.” He decried allegedly “rampant” cheating in American elections.

“It’s very simple. All voters must show voter ID. All voters must show proof of citizenship in order to vote. And no more crooked mail in ballots except for illness, disability, military or travel. None,” Trump said.

“Why would anybody not want voter ID? One reason, because they want to cheat,” Trump added, referring to Democrats. “They make up all excuses. They say it’s racist. They come up with things. You almost say what imagination they have! They want to cheat, they have cheated, and their policy is so bad that the only way they can get elected is to cheat.”

While Democrats reacted negatively, Republicans had a positive response to Trump’s call for the passage of the SAVE America Act. While Independents did not react as positively as Republicans, their line in the dial test remained above the Democrats.

The group monitored by Carter, which included 29 Democrats, 41 Republicans and 30 Independents, had mixed reactions to a number of moments in Trump’s speech. Carter found that the most polarizing issue of the night was gender policy. One of the president’s special guests was Sage Blair, a young woman whose family filed a 2023 lawsuit alleging that Appomattox County High School staff socially transitioned her and treated her as a boy without her parents’ knowledge.

“But surely we can all agree no state can be allowed to rip children from their parents’ arms and transition them to a new gender against the parents’ will,” Trump said. “We must ban it, and we must ban it immediately.”

INDEPENDENTS LOVED MOMENT TRUMP INTRODUCED TEAM USA MEN’S HOCKEY TEAM, VOTER DIAL SHOWS

When the president saw that Democratic lawmakers in the chamber did not stand at that remark, he ripped them as “crazy.”

Supporters in the focus group reacted mostly positively to the gender policy remarks, saying things like “Protect children. Crazy people there” and “If someone wants to change gender, they should do it as an adult. Period.” Meanwhile, critics in the group slammed the president, with one saying that it was “a bold-faced lie” and that Trump was taking “every opportunity to divide the country.”

Despite the disparate reactions on the issues of voting and gender, there were some moments in which people of opposing views overlapped, both in favor and against the president. 

Many supporters and opponents expressed concerns about Trump’s tone during the speech, the dial test showed. Carter noted that some supporters were unhappy with the president’s jokes, remarks about the Supreme Court and mentions of former President Joe Biden. Meanwhile, the president’s critics said the tone was “embarrassing,” “divisive” and “selfish.”

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While there were many moments that caused disagreement among American across the political spectrum, there were points of unity in the speech. Republicans and Democrats had positive responses when Trump awarded the Purple Heart to Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe and deceased Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom. Wolfe and Beckstrom were shot by a gunman who ambushed them last year in Washington, D.C. Wolfe was critically injured in the attack, while Beckstrom was fatally shot. Beckstrom’s parents accepted the award in their daughter’s honor.

Another unifying moment came when Trump brought out the U.S. men’s hockey team, which just scored a historic overtime victory against Canada in the Olympics. Carter noted that the president’s critics were pleased with the recognition of the Olympians, with one calling it a “nice moment.”

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Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., announced that he left President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address before it ended on Tuesday night, claiming the speech was riddled with lies.

“Walked out of the State of the Union because I couldn’t sit through hours of Trump’s lies,” the senator wrote in a post on X. “Americans know the truth: he’s spiking prices and wrecking our economy. We’re a better country than this.”

Warner posted about 17 minutes before the end of the president’s remarks. Trump concluded his State of the Union speech at approximately 10:59 p.m., breaking the record for the longest State of the Union address in recent history. 

Warner had already suggested before the speech that the president would lie while delivering the address.

“Buckle up for hours of lies tonight from the President. Americans know the truth: he’s wrecking our economy, spending tens of billions on an out-of-control secret police, and lining his own pockets with grift after grift,” Warner declared in a post on X ahead of Trump’s speech on Tuesday.

Then, during the president’s speech, Warner asserted in a post, “We’re hearing more of the same from Trump tonight… endless lies.”

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

JASMINE CROCKETT TRASHES TRUMP, BOYCOTTS HIS SPEECH: ‘THE CURRENT STATE OF OUR UNION IS GRIM’

Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., also noted that he walked out of the president’s speech.

“Like last year, I gave myself 5 bald-faced lies before I walked out of Trump’s joint address. Less than one hour into his speech, I’m out,” he noted in a Tuesday night post.

Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., said in a video that she “had to leave” the address “early.”

“After hearing him make light of the healthcare crisis that he created, and then to not even be serious about prescription drugs, acting like TrumpRx is some real solution, give me a break. It’s outrageous. And I couldn’t stay in there a moment longer,” she declared.

‘SQUAD’ MEMBER WEARS ‘F— ICE’ PIN ON HOUSE FLOOR DURING TRUMP ADDRESS

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Other lawmakers also walked out, reports indicate, while many opted to skip the event entirely. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who held a sign that read, “BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T APES!,” was ejected from the chamber.

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A panel of U.S. voters from all parties showed strong reactions when President Donald Trump began listing his administration’s economic policy achievements during his State of the Union address on Tuesday.

The panel, assembled by polling group Maslansky & Partners, was composed of 29 Democrats, 30 Independents and 40 Republicans. Their live reactions to Trump’s comments were displayed as lines on a graph, with high values representing positive reactions and low values indicating negative reactions.

Democrats’ reactions were represented in blue, Republicans in red and Independents in yellow.

Trump started off strong with both Republicans and Independents as he touted a steep drop in inflation compared to when former President Joe Biden left office.

“In 12 months, my administration has driven core inflation to the lowest level in more than five years, and in the last three months of 2025 it was down to 1.7%,” Trump said as lawmakers applauded.

Even support among Democratic viewers hovered just below the 50% mark as Trump discussed falling inflation.

Support among Republicans reached its maximum as Trump listed off a drop in gasoline prices, saying some regions of the U.S. were paying just $1.85 a gallon.

TRUMP AWARDING PURPLE HEART TO NATIONAL GUARDSMAN DURING STATE OF THE UNION GETS POSITIVE MARKS FROM VOTERS

Independent support remain high as he talked about gas, but it reached its highest point as the president was discussing mortgage rates.

“Mortgage rates are the lowest in four years and falling fast,” Trump said. “And the annual cost of a typical new mortgage is down almost $5,000 just since I took office. In one year.”

The general finding from the Maslansky poll found the speech largely reinforced existing beliefs for all voters, rather than persuading.

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“There was almost no evidence of movement. Instead, voters expressed strong affirmation or strong rejection,” the group said in a statement.

“It did not soften opposition. It did not significantly broaden appeal. But in a turnout-driven environment, reinforcement may be the point,” the statement continued.

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President Donald Trump’s decision to rip Democrats as “crazy” during his State of the Union address on Tuesday — after they remained seated while he demanded a ban on socially transitioning minors without parental consent — drew sharply divided reactions from a live panel of voters.

The panel, assembled by polling group Maslansky & Partners, included 29 Democrats, 30 Independents and 40 Republicans. Their real-time reactions were displayed as colored lines on a graph, with higher values representing positive reactions and lower values indicating negative ones.

“But surely we can all agree no state can be allowed to rip children from their parents’ arms and transition them to a new gender against the parents’ will,” Trump said. “Who would believe that?… We must ban it, and we must ban it immediately.”

As Trump delivered the remarks, the Republican line, shown in red, climbed sharply into positive territory. Independents, represented in yellow, also ticked upward, while Democrats, shown in blue, trended downward into negative territory.

The comments drew applause from Republicans in the chamber, but the president became incensed when he realized that Democrats refused to stand.

“Look, nobody stands up,” Trump said.  

“These people are crazy. I’m telling you. They’re crazy,” Trump said, pointing his finger at Democratic senators and House members who remained seated. 

Republican reactions stayed elevated during the remarks, while Democratic responses remained negative and independent voters held relatively steady.

Trump made the remarks as he called on Sage Blair, a Virginia teenager whose family filed a 2023 lawsuit alleging that Appomattox County High School staff socially transitioned her without parental knowledge.

According to a lawsuit filed by her family, Blair began identifying as male at school, where staff used male names and pronouns and allowed her to use male facilities without informing her parents.

WATCH: Trump highlights teen whose family says school hid her gender transition during State of the Union

TRUMP TAKES DIRECT SOTU SWIPE AT DEMOCRATS OVER TAXES: ‘TO HURT THE PEOPLE’

The family alleges the situation escalated after Blair ran away from home and later became a victim of sex trafficking, with the lawsuit alleging she was kidnapped and raped in multiple states.

Highlighting the case during his address, Trump said Blair was 14 when school officials sought to socially transition her “to a new gender,” treating her as a boy and hiding it from her parents.

“But today, all of that is behind them because Sage is a proud and wonderful young woman with a full-ride scholarship to Liberty University. Sage and Michelle, please stand up,” Trump said as Republicans in the chamber cheered.

“Thank you for your great bravery,” he added.

The gender policy segment generated some of the strongest reactions of the night from the panel.

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Among supporters, several comments focused on protecting children and parental involvement, including: “Protect children,” and “Parents should be informed.”

Opponents pushed back on the scope of the proposal, writing comments such as: “Every case is unique,” and “A total ban is not good.”

The issue appeared to trigger deeply personal reactions on both sides.

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Immigration enforcement and border security were front and center in President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, with the commander in chief touting zero illegal border crossings over the past nine months.

Of the words Trump mentioned most, “border” was tied with “tax” for first place at 16 mentions. He also spoke extensively about national security and immigration. One of the most impactful moments of the night came when Trump challenged every lawmaker in the chamber to stand if they believed their first duty is to protect American citizens rather than illegal immigrants.

“One of the great things about the State of the Union is how it gives Americans the chance to see clearly what their representatives really believe,” Trump said. “So tonight, I’m inviting every legislator to join with my administration in reaffirming a fundamental principle: if you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support: The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”

As Trump said this, the Republican side of the chamber stood, while Democrats remained seated, prompting condemnation from the president.

“Isn’t that a shame? You should be ashamed of yourself for not standing up. You should be ashamed of yourself,” Trump repeated.

He then called on Democrats to end sanctuary policies across the country, saying, “That is why I’m also asking you to end deadly sanctuary cities that protect the criminals and enact serious penalties for public officials who blocked the removal of criminal aliens, in many cases, drug lords, murderers all over our country.”

“They’re blocking the removal of these people from our country, and you should be ashamed of yourselves,” he said.

He also slammed Democrats for having “closed the agency responsible for protecting Americans from terrorists and murderers,” referring to the Department of Homeland Security. He said, “Tonight, I’m demanding the full and immediate restoration of all funding for border security and homeland security of the United States.”

Trump knocked former President Joe Biden, saying, “After four years in which millions and millions of illegal aliens poured across our borders, totally unfettered and unchecked, we now have the strongest and most secure border in American history, by far.”

“In the past nine months, zero illegal aliens have been admitted to the United States,” he said, adding, “The flow of deadly fentanyl across our border is down by a record 56% in one year.”

Despite these successes, Trump acknowledged the impact crimes committed by illegal immigrants have had on American citizens. He honored several “Angel Families” in the gallery whose children or loved ones were killed by illegal immigrants.

“These are the angel moms and families that for decades our government betrayed and our media totally ignored,” he said.

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He paid tribute to Jacqueline Medina, whose daughter, Lizbeth Medina, was murdered by an illegal immigrant in Texas.

“In 2023, a 16-year-old high school cheerleader named Lizbeth Medina was supposed to perform in her town’s Christmas parade, but she never arrived. Her mother, Jacqueline, went home to look for her, and she found her lying dead in a bathtub, bleeding profusely after being stabbed 25 times,” said Trump. “Her heartbroken mother is in the gallery to remind everyone in this chamber exactly why we are deporting illegal alien criminals from our country at record numbers, and we’re getting them the hell out of here fast; we don’t want them.”

He also honored Dalilah Coleman, a child in the gallery who, at age 5, was paralyzed in an auto pileup in California caused by an illegal immigrant.

“The driver was an illegal alien let in by Joe Biden and given a commercial driver’s license by open borders politicians in California,” he said.

“Most illegal aliens do not speak English and cannot read even the most basic road signs as to direction, speed, danger, or location,” he went on. “That’s why tonight I’m calling on Congress to pass what we will call the ‘Dalilah Law’ barring any state from granting commercial driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.”

DEMS TAP ICE DETAINEES, SUSPECTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AS GUESTS FOR TRUMP’S SPEECH: DHS

Trump also blamed “unrestricted immigration and open borders” for the massive fraud schemes uncovered late last year in Minnesota, which he said were tantamount to “plundering” by members of the state’s Somali community.

“When it comes to the corruption that is plundering it, really, it’s plundering America, there’s been no more stunning example than Minnesota, where members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated $19 billion from the American taxpayer,” he said. “This is the kind of corruption that shreds the fabric of a nation.”

Though he said the administration has already been “working on it like you wouldn’t believe,” he announced he is appointing Vice President JD Vance to lead “the war on fraud.”

“So tonight, although it started four months ago, I am officially announcing the war on fraud to be led by our great Vice President JD Vance. He’ll get it done, and if we’re able to find enough of that fraud, we will actually have a balanced budget overnight. It’ll go very quickly. That’s the kind of money you’re talking about. We’ll balance our budget,” he said.

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“The Somali pirates who ransacked Minnesota remind us that there are large parts of the world where bribery, corruption and lawlessness are the norm, not the exception,” he concluded. “Importing these cultures through unrestricted immigration and open borders brings those problems right here to the U.S., and it is the American people who pay the price in higher medical bills, car insurance rates, rent, taxes and, perhaps most importantly, crime.”

“We will take care of this problem,” he vowed, adding, “We are not playing games.”

Presidential speechwriters sharply split late Tuesday after President Donald Trump delivered a record-breaking State of the Union address, drawing praise from allies and prompting early exits from some Democrats.

During his address, Trump focused on immigration enforcement, economic concerns and global trade issues as he occasionally sparred with Democrats like Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, who along with fellow Squad member Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan left the chamber early, while Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was booted after waving a sign condemning a recent Trump social media post.

Gene Hamilton, a former deputy White House counsel who has written speeches, told Fox News Digital that Trump delivered a “resounding speech” and “could not have been more clear about the current state of our great nation.”

“A vision of hope, prosperity, and strength, driven by strong borders, a strong economy, and a love of country.”

Hamilton said the speech was “juxtaposed” against a swath of the Democratic caucus in the chamber that “wouldn’t even stand for the provision that the government’s first duty ‘is to protect American citizens, not illegal immigrants’.”

“Donald Trump saved this country with his election in 2024. His administration will keep working every day to deliver real wins for the American people,” said Hamilton, who worked in the first Trump administration and now works with America First Legal.

On the other side of the political spectrum, former Biden speechwriter Dan Cluchey told Fox News Digital that Trump did “less than zero to dispel the notion that he is living in his own reality.”

Asked if Trump succeeded in addressing the immigration crisis and affordability criticisms well enough, Cluchey said that while Americans endure “skyrocketing grocery, energy, and health costs, rising unemployment, and an economy that is growing more slowly today than in any year under President Biden, his only play is to tell families not to believe their own pocketbooks.”

TRUMP TAKES DIRECT SOTU SWIPE AT DEMOCRATS OVER TAXES: ‘TO HURT THE PEOPLE’

“[That] doesn’t work,” said Cluchey, who co-hosted a SOTU watch party and speechwriting workshop across town at Georgetown University during Trump’s speech. 

Asked about Trump’s ability to convey what he believed to be his administration’s successes, Cluchey said that dynamic “doesn’t really work when the claims you fabricate don’t square with people’s real lives.”

“A willingness to lie brazenly about anything and everything has some utility when you’re campaigning, but it doesn’t hold up when you’re governing — and people are actually living through the constant stream of chaos, cruelty, and ineptitude,” Cluchey said.

Cluchey added that Trump did not do enough to combat his critics, saying he instead came across as “self-obsessed and delusional as he always does.”

Unlike Hamilton, Cluchey believed Trump failed to change any minds in America with his remarks.

Hamilton separately countered that Trump did indeed reiterate that he has delivered on campaign promises.

“For all the haters and ‘black-pillers’ who run their mouths incessantly, just one year of President Trump’s successes has dwarfed the accomplishments of entire administrations that preceded him,” he said.

Michael Ceraso, a Democratic strategist with a background in speechwriting who worked with presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders, offered a slightly different perspective, saying that as a Democrat, he wants a president who works toward collaboration and not someone who “speaks in monologues.”

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“As a voter, I may not like him. I may find his long form exhausting. But when he speaks, he never wavers from American exceptionalism,” Ceraso said.

“I see someone protecting our cities against those he deems a threat to democracy, revving up the economy, managing global partners, and defeating terrorism.”

Ceraso said, however, he misses former President Barack Obama and his message of intellectualism, curiosity and togetherness.

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“As a voter, I believe both parties are bad for this country.”

“So I go with the guy who entertains me,” Ceraso said.

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Many conservatives quickly took to social media to praise President Trump’s State of the Union speech, which lasted just under two hours, energizing Republicans and riling Democrats.

“It’s not just an excellent speech, it’s mostly POTUS himself,” conservative radio host Mark Levin posted on X. ” He’s a truly historic leader. I know it drives DC nuts. Who cares.”

“Trump is a colossus; an amazingly patriotic speech,” FOX Business Senior Correspondent Charles Gasparino posted on X. 

“This is the best State of the Union Address I’ve ever seen,” conservative commentator Buck Sexton posted on X. “Not just by Trump. By any President.”

“President Trump’s State of the Union put America’s greatness on full display—celebrating our war heroes, everyday heroes, and Olympic champions,” former GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy posted on X. 

“The President delivered a home run State of the Union tonight,” GOP Rep. Chip Roy posted on X. 

Democrats on social media struck a different tone, with many prominent faces of the party bashing the president as the speech developed, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom who accused Trump of “destroying the country” and posted “that was boring.”

TRUMP TAKES DIRECT SOTU SWIPE AT DEMOCRATS OVER TAXES: ‘TO HURT THE PEOPLE’

“That State of the Union speech by Trump was humiliating for both him and the Republican Party,” liberal influencer Harry Sisson posted on X. “He rambled incoherently and Republicans clapped like seals the whole time no matter what was said. I’m glad military heroes were honored, but he lied the entire time.”

Trump’s speech, which was the longest State of the Union in history, focused on what he called a “turnaround for the ages” in the United States during his second term. 

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Trump invited a swath of various guests to the speech, including everyday Americans, Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, the U.S. men’s hockey team fresh off their gold medal win, military members who acted heroically in the time of crisis and families who have suffered tragedy at the hands of illegal immigrants.

Trump’s speech came as the GOP prepares to defend its majority in the House and Senate as the November midterms loom, and also as the nation prepares to celebrate its 250 years of independence.

“This July 4th, we will mark two and a half centuries of liberty and triumph, progress and freedom in the most incredible and exceptional nation ever to exist on the face of the earth. And you’ve seen nothing yet,” Trump said. “We’re going to do better and better and better. This is the golden age of America.”

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report
 

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President Donald Trump recounted the heroic rescue of an 11-year-old girl, Milly Cate McClymond, from the vicious floodwaters that tore through Texas in July 2025, reuniting the young girl with the Coast Guard hero who saved her during his primetime address to the nation. 

“You all remember that one as the waters threatened to sweep her away … 11-year-old Milly Cate McClymond closed her eyes and prayed to God – she thought she was going to die,” Trump said Tuesday during his State of the Union address. “Those prayers were answered when Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskan descended from a helicopter above. Nobody knew where he came from.”

Deadly flooding tore through Texas’ Hill Country over the Fourth of July in 2025, killing 135 people, including 27 girls and counselors at Camp Mystic for Girls in Hunt, Texas. 

United States Coast Guard rescue swimmer from New Jersey, Scott Ruskan, was lauded as a hero for saving 165 people as the only triage coordinator at the scene of the floods.

Trump reunited the young girl and Ruskan during the State of the Union.

“It was Scott’s first ever rescue mission,” the president said, describing him as young, but very brave. “He lifted not just Milly Cate, but 164 others to safety. People watched Scott from a distance and they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.” 

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“The winds were blowing, the rain was pouring, everything was going. And that rapid water, nobody’s ever seen anything like it,” Trump continued. “Tonight, Scott and Milly Cate are here together, reunited for the very first time.”

AUSTRALIAN TEEN SWIMS 2.5 MILES FOR HOURS TO SAVE FAMILY SWEPT OUT TO SEA

Trump continued that he was awarding Ruskan the Legion of Merit for extraordinary heroism in the rescue effort. The award is a military decoration for outstanding services and achievements. 

Ruskan, who was 26 years old at the time of the rescue operation, repeatedly has been praised for his heroism, including Department of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem calling him an “American hero.”

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“United States Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer and Petty Officer Scott Ruskin (Ruskan), directly saved an astonishing 165 victims in the devastating flooding in central Texas,” Noem’s posted to her social on X in July 2025. “This was the first rescue mission of his career and he was the only triage coordinator at the scene. Scott Ruskin (Ruskan) is an American hero. His selfless courage embodies the spirit and mission of the @USCG.” 

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday touted “historic progress” under President Donald Trump and Secretary Kristi Noem, highlighting nearly 3 million illegal immigrants who have left the United States and what officials call “the most secure border in American history.”

The statement, released as Trump delivered his first State of the Union address since returning to office, credited the administration’s policies with producing record-low border crossings, expanded immigration enforcement and billions in taxpayer savings, while criticizing congressional Democrats for shutting down DHS funding.

“Over the last 13 months, nearly 3 million illegal aliens have left the U.S. because of the Trump Administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, including an estimated 2.2 million self-deportations and more than 713,000 deportations,” Noem said in a statement.

Noem added that total border apprehensions under the Trump administration “were lower than a single month” under the Biden administration, and DHS has saved taxpayers more than $13.2 billion.

“Countless lives have been saved, communities have been strengthened, and the American people have been put first again,” Noem stated.

DHS said Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested and removed more than 1,500 known or suspected terrorists over the past year.

Nationwide immigration operations also led to nearly 8,000 gang-related arrests, including members associated with Tren de Aragua and MS-13, the department said. DHS added that it launched a new web page, “Worst of the Worst,” tracking criminal illegal immigrants arrested during federal enforcement operations under the administration.

NOEM TOUTS TSA SUCCESS AFTER THOUSANDS WITH TERROR LINKS BARRED FROM FLIGHTS AT MAJOR US AIRPORT

The department also reported an increase in drug seizures by Customs and Border Protection compared to the prior 12-month period, including 617,648 pounds of illicit drugs nationwide over the past year — an 8% increase over the previous year.

The Coast Guard separately seized roughly 550,000 pounds of illegal narcotics worth more than $3.9 billion through counter-drug operations and prevented more than 206 million lethal doses from reaching U.S. communities, DHS said.

DHS said it and the Department of Health and Human Services have located 145,000 unaccompanied children lost under the Biden administration.

“Too many of these children were exploited and abused before, during, and after being trafficked over our borders,” DHS said.

TRUMP’S OPERATION METRO SURGE LOCATED 3,000 MISSING MIGRANT CHILDREN IN MINNEAPOLIS, EMMER SAYS

The department echoed comments made by Trump during his address, blaming Democrats for the partial government shutdown after Senate Democrats again blocked Republicans’ attempt to fund the department before the prime-time speech.

“Despite our historic successes, Democrat Politicians on Capitol Hill have shut down DHS, depriving many of our brave men and women who protect our national security of their paychecks—putting the livelihood of them and their families in jeopardy,” DHS said.

During his remarks, Trump criticized Democrats for failing to reach a funding deal.

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“As we speak, Democrats in this chamber have cut off all funding for the Department of Homeland Security. It’s all cut off, all cut off. They have instituted another Democrat shutdown, the first one costing us two points on GDP, two points we lost on GDP, which probably made them quite happy actually,” Trump said during his speech. “They have closed the agency responsible for protecting Americans from terrorists and murderers.”

Trump said he was “demanding” a full and immediate restoration of funding for the department and efforts to protect the border.

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