NationalWatch

The U.S. is not preparing to utilize additional military force in Venezuela, but won’t hesitate to employ such force in the event of an “imminent threat,” according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 

“The president never rules out his options as commander-in-chief to protect the national interest of the United States,” Rubio told lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday. “I can tell you right now with full certainty, we are not postured to, nor do we intend or expect to have to take any military action in Venezuela at any time. The only military presence you will see in Venezuela is our Marine guards at an embassy.” 

That said, Rubio said that certain events could warrant military actions — pointing to a hypothetical scenario where an Iranian drone factory emerged in the region and threatened U.S. presence or allies there. 

“The president does reserve the option in self-defense to eliminate that threat,” Rubio said. “We don’t see that, we don’t anticipate that, but it could happen. We hope not … But I think it would require the emergence of an imminent threat of the kind that we do not anticipate at this time.” 

Rubio’s remarks came in response to questions about his prepared statement, which said that the U.S. is prepared to exert military force to ensure cooperation from Venezuela’s interim government if it defies Washington following the ouster of dictator Nicolás Maduro. 

“We are prepared to use force to ensure maximum cooperation if other methods fail,” Rubio’s prepared testimony had said, which he ultimately did not end up using. “It is our hope that this will not prove necessary, but we will never shy away from our duty to the American people and our mission in this hemisphere.”

Rubio’s prepared testimony also maintained that there are no U.S. troops in Venezuela, and that the operation did not amount to waging a war in Caracas.

POST TRUMP MEETING, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER SAYS COUNTRY WILL HOLD ‘FREE AND FAIR’ ELECTIONS ‘EVENTUALLY’

“There is no war against Venezuela, and we did not occupy a country,” Rubio said in his prepared remarks. “There are no U.S. troops on the ground. This was an operation to aid law enforcement.”

The move to ouster Maduro has attracted scrutiny, mostly from Democrats, who have called into question the legality of the operation in Venezuela, which was conducted without Congress’ approval. 

But efforts in Congress to pass a war powers resolution that would have limited the Trump administration from conducting additional military action in Venezuela failed to pass earlier in January. Rubio previously has claimed Congressional approval wasn’t required because the operation was not an “invasion.”

On Wednesday, Rubio said that should U.S. military forces be involved in Venezuela in a “sustained” way, Congress would receive notification 48-hours after the fact, and would be required to receive Congressional approval if the engagement lasted longer than 60 days. 

Rubio also told lawmakers that Congress wasn’t consulted about the potential raid due to concerns from the Department of War about leaks, and because it wasn’t even a possibility to execute such a mission until late December 2025 after all negotiation efforts with Maduro had failed. 

“It was also a trigger-based operation. It may never have happened,” Rubio said. “It required a number of factors to all align at the right place, at the right time, in a very limited window, and it wasn’t even clear if it was ever going to be possible.” 

SEN TIM KAINE: TRUMP’S VENEZUELA STRIKE TRAMPLED CONGRESS’ WAR POWERS. CONGRESS MUST STOP IT

On Jan. 3, President Donald Trump announced that U.S. special forces had executed a “large-scale strike” against Caracas, Venezuela, and seized Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The two were transported to New York and appeared in a Manhattan federal court Jan. 5 on drug charges, where they each pleaded not guilty.

The raid followed months of pressure on Venezuela to squeeze out Maduro amid more than two dozen strikes in Latin American waters against alleged drug traffickers — which the Trump administration claimed aligned with Trump’s effort to curb the influx of drugs into the U.S.

Since Maduro’s capture, the U.S. has conducted at least one additional strike against alleged drug trafficking vessels in the region. 

The Trump administration had previously asserted that it did not recognize Maduro as a legitimate head of state and instead, claimed he was the leader of a drug cartel. Additionally, Trump said in December 2025, shortly before the operation, that he believed it would be “smart” for Maduro to step down.

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The Trump administration has so far backed Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, to lead Venezuela’s interim government. 

FIRST ON FOX: The White House unveiled a new website page and map of the U.S. showing which states have not opted into a federal school choice tax credit set to begin in 2027 — singling out a handful of Democrat governors labeled “failures” for resisting the new program. 

“President Trump is lowering the cost of education for American families, but children in your state will not benefit unless your governor takes action,” the new website states. “Thanks to the Working Families Tax Cut Act, parents choosing the private, charter, or public school that best meets the needs of their child will soon have financial help.” 

The Trump administration is pushing states to “opt in” to a new federal K-12 scholarship tax credit created under the “big, beautiful bill,” warning families could miss out if their governors don’t take action. The Department of Education celebrated Monday that 23 states have so far opted in to a program the department called the “largest national expansion of education freedom in history and provides families with more affordable education options.”

HOUSTON SCHOOL DISTRICT TRYING TO WOO PARENTS WHILE LOSING STUDENTS AMID SCHOOL CHOICE COMPETITION

Under the Education Freedom Tax Credit, taxpayers can get up to $1,700 back as a federal tax credit by donating that money to approved Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs) instead of sending it to Washington in income taxes. Those SGOs then turn the donations into K-12 scholarships and other education help families can use for a broad range of costs tied to public, private or charter schools.

“Beginning January 1, 2027, Americans can reduce their tax burden by contributing to an approved Scholarship Granting Organization,” the new website explains. “While anyone in America can take advantage of this tax credit next year, families cannot receive a scholarship if their governor blocks their state’s participation. Your voice is critical to ensure governors know about their responsibility to ensure that every family has affordable access to the best education for their child’s individual needs.”

Among the governors highlighted on the page as resisting include: Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers.

“Urge Your Governor to Opt-In to Your Child’s Future,” the new website continues, before listing a handful of Democratic state leaders branded with the label “failure.”

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis became the first Democrat to opt into the program in December 2025, telling local media he “would be crazy not to” while citing that “it’ll empower more parents to be able to afford that after-school program or the summer program that they want for their kid.”

Democrats have often resisted school-choice expansions, arguing they can siphon money from public schools and weaken accountability — concerns amplified by teachers unions and some education advocates. 

MAJOR CITY SCHOOL DISTRICTS LOSING STUDENTS AS PARENTS SEEK BETTER OPTIONS

The new website page also includes a map of the U.S. showing which 23 states have opted-in and which 27 have not. It was released amid National School Choice Week, which runs from Jan. 25 through Jan. 31. 

The Education Department said, as part of its celebrations for the week, that it’s making an aggressive school-choice push in Trump’s second term — including touting a record $500 million charter school investment, backing the Education Freedom Tax Credit, and nudging states to use federal funds and waivers to expand parent options and turn around low-performing schools.

TRUMP ADMIN CUTS RED TAPE AS IOWA JOINS EFFORT TO RETURN EDUCATION TO STATES

Trump has framed school choice and parental rights as a central priority of his second-term education agenda, which has worked to decentralize the federal government’s control of public education and shift power back to the states and parents. 

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“I want every parent in America to be empowered to send their child to public, private, charter, or faith-based school of their choice,” Trump said in 2025. “The time for universal school choice has come. As we return education to the states, I will use every power I have to give parents this right.” 

A Democratic candidate for attorney general in Ohio sparked immediate backlash over a Facebook post explaining his plan to “kill Donald Trump.”

“I want to tell you what I mean when I say that I am going to kill Donald Trump,” Elliot Forhan, Democratic candidate for Ohio attorney general and a former state representative, posted on Facebook Monday. 

Forhan continued, “I mean I’m going to obtain a conviction rendered by a jury of his peers at a standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt based on evidence presented at a trial conducted in accordance with the requirements of due process resulting in a sentence duly executed of capital punishment.”

“That is what I mean when I say I am going to kill Donald Trump.”

WEST VIRGINIA LIBRARIAN ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY RECRUITING PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO ASSASSINATE TRUMP

Forhan’s comment quickly sparked strong pushback on social media.

“Absolutely psychopath, aka moderate Democrat,” conservative commentator Dave Rubin posted on X.

“Democrat candidate for Ohio AG who said he’s going to kiII President Trump also posted this when Charlie was ass*ssinated,” conservative influencer account LibsofTikTok posted on X. “He’s an evil deranged psycho.”

“People with TDS are a lot like drug addicts,” conservative commentator Robby Starbuck posted on X. “The high of impeachment declarations and jail just don’t give them the same high anymore. Now we have Democrats running on killing the President. This guy belongs in an insane asylum.”

Some called for Ohio Democrats to disavow Forhan and others highlighted Democratic attorney general Jay Jones being recently elected in Virginia despite calling for the murder of his political opponent.

‘ASSASSINATION CULTURE’ IS ON THE RISE, ESPECIALLY AMONG WOMEN, STUDY WARNS

“Democrats, your silence is telling,” Ohio Republican treasurer candidate Jay Edwards posted on X, calling the comment “unhinged.”

“Dr. Amy Acton and Sherrod Brown—disavow this extremist now, or admit you’re okay with this violent hate in your party.”

“That is normalizing political murder,” Ohio Republican attorney Mehek Cooke posted on X. “We will never vote for death.”

Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber, running for attorney general as well, called the post “vile.”

Faber posted on X, “I’m calling on @amyactonoh to renounce Democrat candidate AG Elliot Forhan’s VILE comment that he’s going to ‘kill Donald Trump.’ (months after celebrating Charlie Kirk’s assassination). Turn down the rhetoric.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Acton’s campaign for Ohio governor and Brown’s campaign for Senate but did not immediately receive a response.

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Forhan previously faced criticism last year over a social media post where he said “F— Charlie Kirk” shortly after the conservative activist was murdered on a college campus.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Forhan did not withdraw the comment and said he is running for attorney general to “apply the law equally to everyone” including the president. 

“If Donald Trump tries again to end American democracy, then as Ohio attorney general I will hold him accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Forhan said.

Forhan continued, “On the other hand, the views expressed by my Republican opponent in a recent op-ed are no more than those of a simple Trump thug. He does not believe in the truth or the rule of law. He asks Ohioans to disbelieve what they saw with their own eyes, that an ICE officer killed Renee Good without justification, shooting her twice in the face after he was clear of her vehicle. Keith Faber wrote, ‘In Minneapolis, ICE agents were doing their jobs.’ Was the ICE officer who shot Alex Pretti 10 times doing his job? No. ICE is not enforcing the law. They are breaking the law. Mr. Faber is telling Ohioans that, if elected, he will let Trump get away with murder. Ohio voters should take Mr. Faber at his word.”

A prominent medical watchdog group is pushing back against a widely cited study claiming racially diverse medical facilities improve outcomes for Black patients, arguing the research is being used to justify race-based Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies despite failing to prove its central claim.

Do No Harm, a nonprofit organization focused on opposing ideological influence in medicine, released a report Tuesday disputing a recent study by economists Michael Frakes and Jonathan Gruber that suggests increasing the share of Black physicians in military medical facilities leads to better outcomes for Black patients.

The Do No Harm study takes issue with the findings by alleging several flaws, including that Frakes and Gruber’s “The Effect of Provider Diversity on Racial Health Disparities: Evidence from the Military” measures changes in health outcomes when patients are transferred to bases with different proportions of Black doctors, but argues it never directly measures whether Black patients treated by Black doctors fare better than those treated by non-Black doctors.

The report stresses that the authors’ design looks at facility-level shares of Black physicians rather than one-to-one patient-doctor racial matching. 

WATCHDOG FINDS DEI, CRT BAKED INTO ACCREDITATION RULES FOR HUNDREDS OF UNIVERSITY SOCIAL WORK PROGRAMS

In a press release, Do No Harm summarizes their critique into three core problems with the study: it never actually tests whether Black patients fare better when treated by Black doctors, it downplays findings showing Black patients achieve their best outcomes when treated by non-Black doctors at facilities with more Black physicians, and it relies on speculative explanations for those results while failing to rule out non-racial factors that could account for the outcomes.

“We cannot allow politically motivated activists to push debunked racial theories that have no positive impact on patient care,” Jay Greene, Director of Research for Do No Harm, said in the press release.

 “Studies like this are designed to codify DEI doctrine to pave the way for re-establishing affirmative action and enshrining race-based hiring. The report ignores the very question it purports to answer: whether black patients actually fare better with black doctors. Our report systematically exposes the study’s shoddy methodology and baseless conclusions. Americans of all races and backgrounds deserve high-quality medical research, not political ideology disguised as science.”

BLUE-STATE UNIVERSITY SPARKS OUTRAGE WITH ‘DECOLONIZING MEDICINE’ COURSE CHALLENGING THE ‘WHITE BODY’ STANDARD

Do No Harm argues that the new study appears designed to influence judicial and policy debates, noting that Frakes and Gruber themselves say their findings could shape discussions about affirmative action in medical school admissions amid pending court decisions.

The Do No Harm critique concludes that, on the basis of the evidence presented by Frakes and Gruber, there is not a scientifically supported case for using racial concordance as a rationale for maintaining racial preferences in medical education and hiring. 

“Advocacy groups wishing to maintain racial preferences in medical hiring will almost certainly cite the Frakes and Gruber study in future court cases and legislative debates about the issue,” the report’s conclusion reads.  

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“Frakes and Gruber consciously produced their study with this use in mind. But as is often the case with advocacy-oriented research, this study is not a reliable basis for making policy decisions. The Frakes and Gruber study appears scientifically rigorous and is authored by economists from high-status universities, but a closer examination of its methods, results, and motivation reveal it to be scientifically unsound and an abuse of academic authority.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Frakes and Gruber but did not receive a response.

Amid the headlines about transgender athletes participating in women’s sports and whether athletics should be separated by biological gender, there is a hidden battle brewing behind the scenes that could interrupt efforts to maintain biological differences in sports.

School districts and athletic institutions have already faced hurdles regarding how to verify biological sex. While much of the focus has been on overturning the Biden administration’s Title IX definition of sex interpretation, once that happens, liberal school districts or leaders hoping to keep athletic eligibility by gender identity can dig their heels in with legal arguments about privacy, questions about verification mechanics, claims of discrimination, and, in some cases, doctors have refused to verify gender for the sake of athletic eligibility arguing the scope of the duties went beyond their purview. 

“I anticipate we are going to see this more in the future,” Title IX attorney and expert Sarah Perry told Fox News Digital. 

Meanwhile, John Bursch, from the Christian legal foundation Alliance Defending Freedom, told Fox News Digital that the looming concern over sex-verification for sports is “overblown.”

TRUMP CALLS OUT SUPREME COURT JUSTICES AFTER TRANS ATHLETE HEARING: ‘SHOULD LOSE A LOT OF CREDIBILITY’

“Trans activists continually bring up made-up concerns like this so that they can continue justifying allowing males in girls’ and women’s sports,” Bursch said.

As Bursch noted, the conundrum has reared its head recently in a handful of the 27 states that have imposed sex-separated athletics mandates.

In Idaho, one of the earliest states to adopt a sex-separation sports mandate, the courts struck down a law requiring athletes to verify their gender if questioned by someone else, arguing it targets women for invasive and intrusive medical procedures that males would not be subject to.

A similar issue in Florida played out in 2024 after a parent was investigated by county officials for allegedly sneaking their transgender child onto a female sports team. Even though the state’s law does not have a sex dispute provision for individuals, school district enforcement investigations still can.

In that case, the courts argued that Florida’s law requiring verification was not discriminatory, however. The case was eventually dismissed. 

Meanwhile, pressure on the Sunshine State’s high school athletic association has also led to it removing questions from its physical evaluation forms that had been there for decades, according to local reporting.

TRUMP DECLARES ‘WE GOT MEN OUT OF WOMEN’S SPORTS’ AS SUPREME COURT DELIBERATES LANDMARK CASES      

In Arizona, a dispute over the legitimacy of a birth certificate has led a school to suggest expensive chromosome testing to verify their gender. The mother told a local Arizona news outlet that it was a misprint they didn’t notice until registering their son for school, noting that for a busy mom, it was not her top priority. Her son was physically removed from the middle of his high school basketball tryouts.

The family ultimately got an amended birth certificate and a doctor’s sign-off clarifying the legal change and the boy’s eligibility to play on the boy’s basketball team. But school officials stood firm and ruled he was still ineligible to play. The family was told they could undergo chromosomal testing that would cost thousands of dollars.      

Doctors were less willing to be helpful in Nevada, where the state’s interscholastic athletics association began requiring physicians to identify and sign-off on an athlete’s gender. A group of doctors subsequently argued that the information they were being asked to provide went beyond “the purpose of a sports medical clearance” and should come from “the students or families directly.”

“Additionally, it is imperative that patients are able to consult with their physicians confidentially to address all aspects of their physical, emotional, sexual, and mental health,” a letter the group of 18 doctors sent to the Nevada state high school athletic association added. “This confidentiality is crucial to ensure that students feel safe and supported in discussing sensitive health issues without concern that this information will be s hared with non-medical institutions or individuals. Breaching this confidentiality could undermine the trust between patients and their healthcare providers ultimately impacting the quality of care they receive.”

But, despite the potential tripwires, both Perry and Bursch pointed to the Constitution’s supremacy clause barring any change in the Biden-era Title IX interpretation which still remains amid various ongoing legal battles. Perry also noted that there is no requirement forcing school districts or education institutions to take federal dollars, but said that once they do “it is very clear that representations of contrary legal obligation are not sufficient to violate federal civil rights law.” 

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments earlier this month that analysts have suggested show that the court is open to upholding state-level mandates requiring athletic eligibility be determined by biological sex.

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“We are going to see these questions ultimately, I believe, in the end, reach the Supreme Court before the Trump administration’s last day,” Perry said. “These are questions about preemption, about the Supremacy Clause, about the operation of states’ rights versus federal civil rights obligations, and they’re going to take a while to litigate.” 

Perry pointed to deadlocks in Maine and California where trans-rights advocates are standing behind state law in order to defend allowing sports to remain separated by gender identity and not biological sex.           

A group that organized two nationwide “No Kings” protests last year is planning its next large-scale national demonstration on March 28, with a particular focus on Minnesota, which has emerged as ground zero for anti-immigration enforcement demonstrations over the last few months.

The anti-Trump protest is being organized by Indivisible, a liberal grassroots group, that said demonstrations are expected across the country that day.

The group said the upcoming event — referred to as “No Kings 3” — will include coordinated protests nationwide, with a flagship march planned in the Twin Cities.

ANTI-ICE AGITATORS ARRESTED OUTSIDE MINNESOTA HOTEL AS POLICE DECLARE UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY: ‘NO LONGER PEACEFUL’

“We expect this to be the largest protest in American history,” Ezra Levin, co-executive director of the nonprofit Indivisible, told The Associated Press ahead of Wednesday’s announcement. He predicted that as many as 9 million people could turn out.

“This is in large part a response to a combination of the heinous attacks on our democracy and communities coming from the regime, and a sense that nobody’s coming to save us,” Levin said.

Minnesota has emerged as a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown following the deployment of roughly 3,000 federal agents to the state, which organizers described as the largest single immigration enforcement operation of the president’s second term.

Organizers said plans for the spring demonstrations were already underway before recent immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, but the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good during encounters with federal agents in recent weeks reshaped the event’s focus.

MINNESOTA SHAKEUP SHIFTS LEADERSHIP NOT STRATEGY, WHITE HOUSE SAYS, PUSHING BACK ON ‘RETREAT’ CLAIM

The protests have been a focal point for outrage over what organizers describe as President Donald Trump’s attempts to consolidate and expand his power.

Last year’s protests unfolded in two nationwide rounds. Organizers said more than 7 million people demonstrated during a second round on Oct. 18, with protests held in about 2,700 cities and towns across all 50 states.

The first major “No Kings” protests took place on June 14, 2025, with demonstrations organized in nearly 2,000 locations nationwide, following unrest tied to federal immigration raids and the deployment of National Guard and Marine units to Los Angeles.

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Levin said Indivisible and allied groups plan to continue organizing beyond major protest days, including nationwide training sessions aimed at monitoring immigration enforcement activity.

“This isn’t about Democrats versus Republicans,” Levin said. “This is about whether we have a democracy at all.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump has endorsed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s son-in-law, Michael Alfonso, for Congress.

“Michael is the son-in-law of our GREAT Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, and the wonderful Rachel Campos-Duffy, of FoxNews, one of the most popular (and talented!) anchors in all of Television,” the president declared in a Tuesday night Truth Social post.

“Michael Alfonso has been a WINNER all of his life, comes from a truly spectacular family, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Representative from Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Trump asserted.

SCOOP: PRO-TRUMP CONSERVATIVE GRANDSON OF CUBAN REFUGEES LAUNCHES BID FOR CONGRESS IN WISCONSIN

Alfonoso noted in a post on X, “It is my greatest honor to accept this endorsement from President Donald J. Trump. He is truly the greatest president of all time, and I pledge to be a steadfast MAGA warrior for the people of Wisconsin’s 7th District.”

Trump also endorsed GOP Rep. Tom Tiffany, who currently represents Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, but is running for governor.

HOUSE REPUBLICAN JUMPS INTO SWING STATE’S OPEN GOVERNOR’S RACE: ‘I KNOW HOW TO CLEAN UP THE BULL’

“Tom Tiffany has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Governor of Wisconsin — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Trump declared in a Monday night Truth Social post issued minutes after the post backing Alfonso for Congress.

WISCONSIN ‘REFUSING TO LEARN THE LESSON’ OF MINNESOTA AFTER FRAUD SCANDAL, GOP GUBERNATORIAL HOPEFUL WARNS

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“I’m honored to earn President Trump’s endorsement,” Tiffany noted in a post on X. “Just one year into his second term, wages are rising, gas prices are down, our economy is growing, and our border is secure. It’s time to restore common-sense leadership to Madison.”

A top Democratic fundraiser in Michigan is taking heat for a Veteran’s Day social media post in which she honored her grandfather, who served as an officer in the Nazi military forces during World War II.

Kelly Neumann, a fundraising host for Michigan Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson and senatorial candidate Mallory McMorrow, honored her grandfather, Albert Neumann, a WWII German military officer whom she called “one of my best friends.”

In a 2024 Veterans Day post on Facebook that features pictures of a man wearing a Nazi uniform, Neumann praised her grandfather, writing, “His story is a true testament that people can change and love can indeed win.”

The post appears to have been removed from Neumann’s account following Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

EXPERT WARNS DEMOCRATS RISK BACKLASH OVER FAILURE TO CONDEMN VIOLENT RHETORIC IN THEIR RANKS

Neumann wrote in the post, “Happy Veterans Day to all my friends and family who serve/served! Without you, America would not be here today.”

“I do not talk much about [him] much but my Grandfather, Albert Neumann was on the German side in WWI and WWII,” she went on. “He escaped to Brazil with my Father after Germany lost in WWII and then made their way to Detroit where they spoke no English and worked their way to provide a stable life for their family.”  

“My grandfather was one of my best friends,” she wrote. “He was one of the first people in my life that accepted me as gay when I was nervous and scared.”

“I’ll never forget him embracing me and loving me for who I am,” Neumann continued, concluding, “His story is a true testament that people can change and love can indeed win.”

The post sparked outrage online after resurfacing.

Los Angeles rabbi and author David Wolpe commented, “This is so outrageous I had to double check it wasn’t a hoax.”

Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Aric Nesbitt wrote, “I guess escaping justice for war crimes, death camps, genocide, and Nazi salutes is okay as long as you’re a far left extremist in the end.”

“Michigan wants off this ride,” Nesbitt added.

Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., reacted, “When Democrats tell you who they are, believe them.”

“Unsurprisingly, the party that falsely smears Republicans as ‘Nazis’ HONORS ACTUAL NAZIS,” wrote McClain. “That tells you everything about the state of the Democrat party today.”

ARIZONA DEM TEARS INTO HER OWN PARTY OVER TREND THAT SHE DEEMS ANTISEMITIC: ‘SICK AND TIRED’

Neumann, Benson and McMorrow did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Benson currently serves as Michigan secretary of state, and McMorrow is a state senator running for the U.S. Senate.

In addition to being a fundraiser, Neumann has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Michigan Democrats, including Sens. Elissa Slotkin and Debbie Stabenow.

Though she did not address Neumann’s Nazi Facebook post, McMorrow posted on X on Tuesday that “on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 81 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau on January 27, 1945, we remember the six million Jews and countless others killed by the Nazis.”

“The Holocaust attempted to exterminate an entire people – their lives, culture, families – by perpetuating a cycle of hatred, antisemitism, dehumanization and lies,” wrote McMorrow. “Today we recommit to fighting against antisemitism and hate in all its forms so these horrors may never happen again.”

Last October, both Benson and McMorrow were criticized for headlining a “unity dinner” event that featured equating supporters of President Donald Trump with Nazis.

The sign, displayed by local Democrats, said “MAGA=NAZI” and “86 47.” The number “86” originated in restaurants to mean “cancel” or “throw out,” but in underworld slang, it is frequently used as a call sign for murdering someone. The number “47” is commonly interpreted as denoting the 47th president of the United States, Trump.

TRUMP ADMIN MARKS INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY HONORING MILLIONS MURDERED BY NAZI REGIME

McMorrow, who is running in the crowded Democratic Senate primary, also ignited social media backlash last year when she shared a violent fantasy about conservative Supreme Court justices.

McMorrow was asked by an attendee at a Huron Valley Indivisible event on Nov. 12 whether there “was any sense in dealing with the Supreme Court.”

The state senator answered, “So, I’m a Notre Dame grad, and Amy Coney Barrett coming out of my university makes me furious. Just on a personal level.”

She went on, “I talked to somebody yesterday who said they saw her and Brett Kavanaugh at a tailgate last weekend,” saying, “I would not have been able to control myself. That would be bad. There would be beers thrown in peoples’ faces.”

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In a statement to Fox News Digital, Senate Leadership Fund spokesperson Chris Gustafson drew a line between the Facebook post and Maine Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner. Platner, a progressive Democrat, stirred up his own controversy last year when it was discovered that he had a tattoo resembling the Nazi SS “Totenkopf” symbol. Platner has since had the tattoo covered over.

“From Mallory McMorrow in Michigan to Graham Platner in Maine, the Democrat Party’s fondness for Nazi regalia is a sad and disturbing trend,” said Gustafson, adding, “The fact McMorrow is still silent is telling.” 

Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday halted new H-1B visa petitions by state agencies and public universities as the state investigates potential program abuse.

In the letter, the governor cited reports of cases in which U.S. workers were allegedly displaced by lower-paid foreign labor.

“In the most egregious schemes, employers have even fired American workers and replaced them with H-1B employees, often at lower wages,” Abbott wrote. 

STATE DEPARTMENT REPORTEDLY ORDERS VISA DENIALS TIED TO SPEECH CENSORSHIP AS TRUMP TEAM SLAMS EUROPE

“Rather than serving its intended purpose of attracting the best and brightest individuals from around the world to our nation to fill truly specialized and unmet labor needs, the program has too often been used to fill jobs that otherwise could—and should— have been filled by Texans,” he added.

Abbott said the pause will give state and federal officials time to enact reforms while Texas continues investing heavily in education and workforce training to meet labor demands without relying on the visa program.

LABOR UNIONS SUE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING OF VISA HOLDERS

The move comes after President Donald Trump in September alleged that while the visa program was intended to supplement the U.S. workforce, it has since been used to replace American workers.

“The large-scale replacement of American workers through systemic abuse of the program has undermined both our economic and national security,” Trump wrote in a Sept. 19 proclamation.

Abbott’s order requires state agencies and public universities to submit a report to the Texas Workforce Commission by March 27, detailing their H-1B filings, current visa holders, countries of origin, job classifications, visa expiration dates, and efforts to recruit qualified Texas residents.

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The freeze will remain in effect until May 31, 2027, unless approved in writing by the Texas Workforce Commission.

The Trump administration sent a notification to Congress Tuesday, providing a “preliminary review” of the fatal Border Patrol shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, including the timeline of events leading up to the incident and new details about the officers who opened fire.

Pretti, a U.S. Veterans Affairs ICU nurse, was shot and killed Saturday by Border Patrol agents while recording federal immigration operations in Minneapolis. 

Video appeared to show him attempting to help a woman knocked down by agents, when he was sprayed with an irritant, pushed to the ground and beaten. 

Footage showed an agent pulling Pretti’s suspected gun, a 9 mm pistol, from his waistband before other agents fired nearly a dozen shots in his direction.

BIDEN SPEAKS OUT AGAINST IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN IN MINNESOTA, SAYS IT GOES AGAINST AMERICAN VALUES

The report, compiled by the Border Patrol’s Office of Professional Responsibility Investigative Operations Directorate, noted two federal agents fired at Pretti.

One Border Patrol agent fired his CBP-issued Glock 19, and a second officer fired his CBP-issued Glock 47.

The report also confirmed there was body-worn camera footage of the shooting, though it is unclear if it will be released to the public.

Trump administration reports a timeline of events to Congress

Border Patrol agents (BPA) and Customs and Border Protection officers (CBPO) were conducting enforcement actions near the intersection of Nicollet Avenue and 26th Street in Minneapolis Saturday morning as part of Operation Metro Surge.

The report noted several civilians in the area were “yelling and blowing whistles.”

BPAs and CBPOs allegedly made several verbal requests for the civilians to stay on the sidewalks and out of the roadway, but tensions rose at about 9 a.m., when a CBPO was confronted by two women blowing whistles. 

The officer allegedly ordered the women to move out of the roadway, but they did not move.

NATALIE PORTMAN BLASTS TRUMP IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN AS ‘WORST OF THE WORST OF HUMANITY’

As seen on witness video, the CBPO pushed the women, and one of them ran to Pretti.

After attempting to move the woman and Pretti out of the road, the CBPO deployed his pepper spray toward the pair.

Officials said Border Patrol agents tried to take Pretti into custody, but he “resisted,” and a struggle ensued.

During the struggle, an unidentified Border Patrol agent yelled, “He’s got a gun!” multiple times, according to the report.

BORDER PATROL INVOLVED IN ARIZONA SHOOTING, ONE PERSON INJURED, LOCAL AUTHORITIES SAY

About five seconds later, the two federal agents opened fire. 

After the shooting, a Border Patrol agent confirmed he had Pretti’s gun and subsequently “cleared and secured” the gun in his vehicle, according to the report.

At about 9:02 a.m., CBP personnel cut Pretti’s clothing and provided medical aid by placing chest seals on his wounds. 

Roughly three minutes later, Minneapolis Fire Department Emergency Medical Services personnel arrived and assumed primary medical care for Pretti.

Officials said he was transferred to an ambulance at about 9:14 a.m., and he was taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center.

FRENCH NBA STAR VICTOR WEMBANYAMA SPEAKS OUT AFTER BORDER PATROL-INVOLVED SHOOTING: ‘HORRIFIED’

Pretti was pronounced dead at the medical center at about 9:32 a.m.

An autopsy will be conducted by medical personnel from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office, according to the report.

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Border Patrol’s investigative unit will request the official findings upon completion.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and CBP did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

A Virginia circuit court judge has struck down a General Assembly-approved redistricting amendment, ruling lawmakers overstepped their authority during a 2024 special legislative session and violated constitutional requirements tied to elections and voter notice.

In a sweeping ruling issued Tuesday, Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack S. Hurley Jr. invalidated actions taken to advance the proposed constitutional amendment, blocking it from moving forward and barring it from being submitted to voters.

The lawsuit focused on whether lawmakers could take up a redistricting-related constitutional amendment during a special session initially convened to address budget matters and whether the General Assembly followed its own rules when expanding the scope of that session.

“Certainly, both houses of the Commonwealth’s legislature are required to follow their own rules and resolutions,” Hurley wrote.

TRUMP TURNS UP THE HEAT ON RED STATE REPUBLICANS BLOCKING NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAPS

Hurley found lawmakers improperly added redistricting to the list of issues allowed during the special session without the required unanimous consent or supermajority vote.

As a result, the court ruled the joint resolution proposing changes to how congressional and legislative districts are drawn fell outside the limits lawmakers themselves set when the special session was called.

“The Court FINDS that adding… [a] joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia related to the reapportionment or redistricting violated… the General Assembly’s own call to the Governor for the 2024 Special Session, and the Court ORDERS that any such action is void, ab initio,” Hurley wrote.

REPUBLICANS APPEAL JUDGE’S DECISION REJECTING NEW YORK CITY GOP DISTRICT LINES

The decision also addressed when a constitutional amendment may be validly advanced under Virginia law, rejecting arguments that an election occurs only on Election Day rather than during early voting.

Hurley noted that more than 1 million Virginians had already cast ballots in the 2025 House of Delegates elections before lawmakers voted on the amendment.

“For this Court to find the election was only on November 4, 2025, those one million Virginia voters would be completely disenfranchised,” Hurley wrote.

REDISTRICTING BATTLES BREWING ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS PARTIES COMPETE FOR POWER AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS

The ruling further found lawmakers failed to comply with a state law requiring proposed constitutional amendments to be publicly posted and published ahead of the next election.

Because those steps were not taken, the court ruled votes cast during the 2026 regular session could not count as the constitutionally required second approval.

“Therefore, the Court FINDS that the provisions of… the Code of Virginia have not been complied with, and therefore all votes on the proposed Constitutional Amendment… are ineffective as being a ‘SECOND’ VOTE OF THE General Assembly,” Hurley wrote.

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Hurley issued both temporary and permanent injunctions blocking further action on the amendment.

The ruling delivers a major setback to lawmakers seeking to alter Virginia’s redistricting process and underscores limits on legislative power during special sessions.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Tuesday defended Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller after Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., criticized the pair for labeling the U.S. citizen killed by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis as a “domestic terrorist.”

Tillis was the first Senate Republican to call for Noem to be fired after the killing of Alex Pretti, 37, who was shot by federal agents as he was recording immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis over the weekend.

“What she’s done in Minnesota should be disqualifying. She should be out of a job,” Tillis told reporters earlier on Tuesday. “It’s just amateur-ish. It’s terrible. It’s making the president look bad on policy that he won on. [President Donald Trump] won on a strong message on immigration. Now, nobody’s talking about that. … They’re talking about the incompetence of the leader of Homeland Security.”

Noem and Miller “told the president before they even had an incident report whatsoever that the person who died was a terrorist. That is amateur hour at its worst,” Tillis added.

SENATE GOP CRITICS SAY NOEM ‘NEEDS TO GO’ AMID FALLOUT FROM MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTINGS

Responding to Tillis, Graham said someone “must have a very high opinion of themselves” if they believe they can get President Donald Trump to distance himself from Miller.

“I’ve known Stephen Miller for a very long time. We have our differences, but we have more in common. When the clock strikes midnight for President Trump, there will be very few by his side. One will be Stephen Miller. If you don’t get that, you’ve missed a lot. No one has helped Trump more than Stephen Miller,” Graham told Fox News’ Chad Pergram.

“To convince yourself that you can get Trump to distance himself from Stephen Miller, you must have a very high opinion of themselves,” he continued.

The South Carolina lawmaker added: “To my Republican colleagues, you need to understand that the President’s confidence in Stephen Miller has been rock solid and unshakable. And Miller is part of that group.”

Alex Pretti, 37, was shot and killed on Saturday by Border Patrol agents while recording federal immigration operations in Minneapolis. An ICU nurse, Pretti appeared to be attempting to attend to a woman agents knocked down when he was sprayed with an irritant, pushed to the ground and beaten. An agent was seen pulling Pretti’s lawfully owned gun from his waistband before other agents fired several shots and killed him.

Noem was quick to label Pretti a “domestic terrorist,” and Miller characterized him as things such as a “would-be assassin,” both of which are unsubstantiated claims that sparked bipartisan pushback.

The White House has sought to distance itself from the comments by Noem and Miller, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying she has “not heard the president characterize” Pretti that way.

But despite calls from Democrat and Republican lawmakers to oust Noem over her response to Pretti’s killing, Trump expressed confidence in the secretary to continue leading DHS.

NY POST, WSJ, NY TIMES AND WASHINGTON POST ALIGN AGAINST TRUMP ADMIN OVER ICE OPERATION IN MINNEAPOLIS

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“I think she’s doing a very good job. The border is totally secure. You know, you forget we had a border that I inherited where millions of people were coming through. Now we have a border where no one is coming through. They come into our country only legally,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday.

Asked if he agreed with Noem and Miller labeling Pretti as a “domestic terrorist” and an “assassin,” the president said he had not heard those remarks.

“Well, I haven’t heard that. He shouldn’t have been carrying a gun,” Trump said.

Trump also said the shooting was a “very sad situation” and he wants a “very honorable and honest investigation” that he wants to see for himself.

President Donald Trump kicked off an aggressive midterm push Tuesday night in Iowa, warning supporters that losing control of Congress would jeopardize his tax cuts, border policies and broader second-term agenda as he urged Republicans to turn out and “win the midterms.”

“If we lose the midterms, you’ll lose so many of the things that we’re talking about, so many of the assets that we’re talking about, so many of the tax cuts that we’re talking about, and it would lead to very bad things,” Trump said during remarks that framed the 2026 midterm elections as a test of his presidency.

Speaking after Reps. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, and Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, Trump said holding both chambers of Congress was critical to advancing his agenda.

NEW MAGA COALITION LED BY SEAN SPICER TARGETS VOTING DEMOGRAPHIC THAT WILL BE CRUCIAL IN 2026 MIDTERMS

“We got to win the midterms. That means Senate. And it means House. We gotta win,” he told the crowd.

Trump explicitly cast the Iowa stop as the opening act of his midterm campaign, arguing that presidents who fail to campaign aggressively often lose ground in off-year elections.

“I’m here because we’re starting the campaign to win the midterms. We have got to win the midterms,” he said. “The midterms are very important. We’re going to really work hard on winning the midterms.”

The president warned that a Democrat-led Congress would reverse his economic and border policies, telling supporters that control of Capitol Hill would determine whether his priorities survive. 

“If they won, this country would be cratering right now,” Trump said as he contrasted Republican and Democrat candidates. “We have candidates that roll with common sense. Not this craziness.”

Trump repeatedly tied the midterm stakes to his economic record in his speech, touting what he described as a dramatic turnaround in inflation, investment and job growth since returning to office. 

“Today, just after one year of President Trump, our economy is booming. Incomes are rising. Investment is soaring. Inflation has been defeated,” he said. “Our border is closed, totally closed.”

REPUBLICAN SENATORS HIT BORDER, TOUTING TOUGHER SECURITY AND TAX CUTS, IN 2026 KICKOFF

Trump credited tariffs and trade policy for increased domestic investment, saying his administration had secured what he called “commitments for a record-breaking $18 trillion.” 

He also praised companies like John Deere for expanding U.S. manufacturing and touted tax provisions he said would benefit seniors, tipped workers and employees who work overtime, pointing to “no tax on tips,” “no tax on overtime” and “no tax on Social Security for our seniors.”

At several points, Trump returned to immigration as a defining midterm issue, arguing that border security and deportation policies would be undone if Republicans lost control of Congress. 

“The worst is open borders,” he said. “We can never forget what that group of morons did to this country. We can never forget. And we’ve got to win the midterms.”

DAVID MARCUS: WHY REPUBLICANS DESPERATELY NEED A TRUMP-CENTERED MIDTERM CONVENTION

Trump acknowledged the historical challenges facing the party in power during midterm elections but said aggressive campaigning could overcome them. 

“Even if you’re a good president … whoever wins the presidency has a hard time with the midterm,” Trump said. “But I campaigned hard. We got it. We got to win the midterms.”

Trump closed the political portion of his remarks with a direct call to action, urging supporters to mobilize to protect his agenda and elect Republican candidates up and down the ballot. 

“So, remember that you got to get out, and you got to vote,” he said.

The Iowa stop is part of a broader push by the White House to put the president on the road regularly ahead of the 2026 midterms. Administration officials have said Trump plans to make weekly appearances in states with key congressional races as Republicans work to defend narrow House and Senate majorities, with a particular focus on motivating core GOP voters who don’t always turn out in off-year elections or when the president’s name isn’t on the ballot.

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The president made clear that he views the elections not as a referendum on Congress but as a vote on the future of his presidency. 

“We got to win them,” he said of GOP candidates. “We have great candidates. Again, Senate and House. We got to win them.”

The White House referred Fox News Digital to President Trump’s remarks.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Emma Colton contributed to this reporting.

Border czar Tom Homan met with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey Tuesday as the Trump administration shakes up its federal immigration crackdown following two fatal shootings and subsequent protests in the Twin Cities.

The meetings came after President Donald Trump on Monday replaced Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino with Homan to lead operations in Minnesota, days after 37-year-old Alex Pretti was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis.

“Today I met with Governor Walz, Mayor Frey, and top law enforcement officials to discuss the issues on the ground in Minnesota,” Homan said in a post on X. “We all agree that we need to support our law enforcement officers and get criminals off the streets. While we don’t agree on everything, these meetings were a productive starting point and I look forward to more conversations with key stakeholders in the days ahead.”

Homan added that Trump emphasized that he wants American cities to be “safe and secure for law-abiding residents — and they will be.”

TRUMP HAS ‘VERY GOOD’ CALL WITH MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR FREY, ANNOUNCES BORDER CZAR HOMAN MEETING

Following his meeting Tuesday morning with Homan, Walz said he reiterated the need for “impartial investigations” into the recent shootings in Minneapolis involving federal agents, while calling for “a swift, significant reduction in the number of federal forces in Minnesota” and “an end to the campaign of retribution against Minnesota.”

“The Governor and Homan agreed on the need for an ongoing dialogue and will continue working toward those goals, which the President also agreed to yesterday,” Walz’s office said in a statement, adding that it tasked the Minnesota Department of Public Safety as the primary liaison to Homan to address his priorities.

Frey said he and Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara had a “productive conversation” with Homan.

JUDGE THREATENS CONTEMPT FOR ICE LEADER, ORDERS HIM TO APPEAR IN COURT

“I reiterated that my main ask is for Operation Metro Surge to end as quickly as possible,” Frey wrote on X. “Public safety works best when it’s built on community trust, not tactics that create fear or division. I shared with Mr. Homan the serious negative impacts this operation has had on Minneapolis and surrounding communities, as well as the strain it has placed on our local police officers.”

Frey said he also made it clear that “Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws, and that we will remain focused on keeping our neighbors and streets safe,” adding that city leaders “will continue to stay in conversation with Mr. Homan and his team.”

Following the departure of Bovino in Minnesota — the face of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown — a White House official told Fox News Digital earlier Tuesday that claims the administration is “backing down” in Minnesota are incorrect.

TRUMP SAYS WALZ WANTS TO ‘WORK TOGETHER’ AS MINNEAPOLIS TENSIONS FLARE AFTER FEDERAL SHOOTING

Trump said during an appearance on Fox News Tuesday that the shake-up is not a “pullback.”

“I don’t think it’s a pullback. It’s a little bit of a change,” he said. “You know, Bovino is very good, but he’s a pretty out there kind of a guy. And in some cases that’s good, maybe it wasn’t good here.” 

Trump said Monday he spoke with Walz after Pretti was shot and killed on Saturday, noting that the Minnesota governor was “very respectfully” open to deporting “any and all criminals that they have in their possession.”

The president also spoke with Frey on Monday, who said after their call that Minneapolis “will continue to cooperate with state and federal law enforcement on real criminal investigations — but we will not participate in unconstitutional arrests of our neighbors or enforce federal immigration law.”

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

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump paused during a restaurant stop in Iowa after a patron asked if he could pray for him ahead of the president’s remarks near Des Moines.

Video shared on X by White House aide Margo Martin shows the moment unfolding inside the Machine Shed restaurant, where a man from the crowd addressed Trump directly.

“Can I pray for you real quick?” the man asked.

“Absolutely! Come on. Let’s go,” Trump replied, bowing his head as the man began to pray.

TRUMP TELLS MARCH FOR LIFE PROTECTING THE UNBORN IS ‘BATTLE’ THAT ‘MUST BE WON’

The brief prayer thanked God for the president and asked for wisdom, discernment, peace and protection, as others in the restaurant joined in.

“Lord God, we give thanks for this president,” the man said during the prayer, “Lord, thank you for him and the potential. Thank you for continuing wisdom, we pray for discernment. Pray for hope, we pray for more peace, Lord.”

The prayer from the restaurant patron drew several “Amens” from the surrounding crowd.

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

The unscripted moment occurred as Trump made a stop at the Iowa restaurant before heading to deliver a speech in the Des Moines area to kick off his 2026 midterm campaign.

The video shows patrons standing nearby as the prayer concluded, followed by applause and words of praise: “Amen, praise God.”

The White House has recently shared a national invitation to prayer and spiritual re-dedication ahead of the United States’ 250th anniversary. 

In a statement released by the administration, Trump encouraged Americans to pray for the nation and its people, saying the country has long been “sustained and strengthened by prayer.”

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Trump added that as the nation prepares to mark 250 years since its founding, Americans should “rededicate ourselves to one nation under God.”

The White House was contacted for additional context on the stop and the timing of the visit.

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen called for ICE to be “defunded and disbanded” after the second fatal shooting this month of an American in Minneapolis involving federal immigration agents.

Cohen said he initially planned to create an ice cream honoring Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old woman shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7 in Minneapolis, but that he did not have it in him to make the treat after Border Patrol agents on Saturday fatally shot Alex Pretti, also 37, while he was recording immigration enforcement operations in the same city.

Pretti, an ICU nurse, appeared to be attempting to assist a woman agents had knocked down when he was sprayed with an irritant, pushed to the ground and beaten, according to video and witness accounts. An agent was later seen pulling Pretti’s lawfully owned firearm from his waistband before other agents fired several shots, killing him.

“I was prepared to make a special ice cream today to memorialize and celebrate the life of Renee Good, but now that Alex’s murder makes it clear that the murder of Renee and the government’s lies were not a mistake but standard operating procedure, I just don’t have it within me,” Cohen said in a video posted to X.

JUDGE THREATENS CONTEMPT FOR ICE LEADER, ORDERS HIM TO APPEAR IN COURT

“We all live in Minneapolis now, because Minneapolis is only the beginning of what they have in mind. They’re coming for anyone, anywhere who doesn’t submit,” he continued. “A brazen, arrogant, masked militarized force loyal only to Trump and immune from prosecution.”

Cohen asserted that people in the U.S. must “submit” to the Trump administration or risk being killed by federal agents for exercising their First Amendment rights.

“Submit or be murdered. Video them and be murdered. Protest and be murdered, or at least be placed on a list of domestic terrorists and investigated,” he said.

TIM WALZ COMPARES MINNESOTA ICE ACTIONS TO HOLOCAUST AND ANNE FRANK: ‘HIDING IN THEIR HOUSES’

“This is not freedom,” he added. “This is not the right to free speech or the right to protest. This is not America. This is sheer cruelty. This is the beginning of the end of the land of the free, unless we make it the home of the brave, unless we’re brave enough to stand up for justice, to stand up for our neighbors, to stand up for compassion.”

Cohen then called for ICE, which was formed in 2003 following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, to be dissolved and to restore the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which handled immigration issues before the attacks.

“ICE must be defunded and disbanded,” he said. “Before 2001, ICE did not even exist. Immigration issues used to be handled by the INS, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which was part of the Department of Justice. And it was just.”

“Let’s go back to that,” Cohen suggested.

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The ice cream creator also appeared to take issue with Republicans who publicly speak about their Christian values while they also defend efforts to target immigrants in the U.S.

“You know, I don’t get it. They say this is a Christian nation. What did he mean when he said, ‘I was a stranger, and you welcomed me?’ ‘Love thy neighbor.’ ‘What you do to the least of these you do to me,'” Cohen said, quoting the Bible.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was sprayed with an unknown substance by a man that charged her while she was speaking at a town hall in Minneapolis on Tuesday night.

Omar was immediately pulled away by her security and the unidentified man was tackled and restrained by security. Omar appeared to be shaken, but largely unharmed. 

“We will continue. These f–king a–holes are not going to get away with this,” Omar shouted as the room reacted.

“It smells terrible,” a member of her entourage said as she urged her to stop and get checked out.

TRUMP DEPLOYS BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN TO MINNESOTA AS ICE OPERATIONS FACE VIOLENT CHAOS

The incident happened as Omar was hosting her first in-person town hall meeting of the year in North Minneapolis.

This is a developing story; check back for updates.

A pair of Senate Republicans are demanding that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem lose her job in the wake of a pair of fatal shootings in the midst of the agency’s immigration operations in Minnesota. 

Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., are no strangers to being critical of the Trump administration, and have again broken from their party in calling for Noem to either step aside or be fired by President Donald Trump. 

They join several Senate Democrats who have demanded accountability for the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good in the midst of DHS’ immigration operations in Minneapolis, Minn. It also comes as Senate Democrats are threatening to shut the government down in their bid to sideline the DHS funding bill. 

SENATE REPUBLICANS TEE UP KEY SHUTDOWN TEST VOTE AS DEMOCRATS DIG IN ON DHS FUNDING

When pressed on whether Noem should resign, Murkowski noted that she voted for her confirmation last year.

“I think the President needs to look at who he has in place as the Secretary of Homeland Security. I would not support her again, and I think it probably is time for her to step down,” she said. 

Trump on Tuesday said that Noem was doing a “very good job.” When asked if she would be stepping down, he said “no.” 

THUNE STEAMROLLS DEMS’ DHS REVOLT AS FETTERMAN DEFECTS, SCHUMER UNDER PRESSURE

Tillis, who has made a habit of going after Trump officials in the last several months and accusing them of giving the president bad policy advice, was more biting in his assessment of Noem’s performance, and extended that breakdown to White House Deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who similarly accused Pretti of being a domestic terrorist. 

He charged that “people like Noem are squandering” Trump’s ability to codify policy and open the door to a discussion on immigration reform — something both sides of the aisle have desired for some time. 

“I don’t know if it’s lost yet, but if it is an opportunity lost, I put it squarely on the shoulders of people like Noem and Stephen Miller,” Tillis said. “Those two people told the president, before they even had any incident report whatsoever, that the person who died was a terrorist. I mean, that is amateur hour at its worst.”

DEMS’ DHS SHUTDOWN THREAT WOULD HIT FEMA, TSA WHILE IMMIGRATION FUNDING REMAINS INTACT

When asked about Noem’s choice to label Pretti as a domestic terrorist, Murkowski said that the DHS head has an “obligation to control these situations that are under her jurisdiction, and she has not done so.” 

Murkowski contended that accountability in the situation goes all the way to the top rung of leadership. 

“I think you have a secretary right now who needs to be accountable to to the chaos and some of the tragedy that we have seen,” Murkowski said. 

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And Tillis, when asked if Noem should be removed from her position, said “100%,” but stopped short of supporting impeachment. 

“I’m not going to get into impeachment,” Tillis said. “I think it should be a management decision. She needs to go.”

Fox News Digital reached out to DHS.

The Boston Police Department ignored all detainer requests made by federal immigration authorities last year in compliance with the city’s sanctuary law, according to police Commissioner Michael Cox. 

In a Jan. 12 letter from Cox to City Clerk Alex Geourntas, the commissioner noted that all 57 requests made by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were rejected. ICE routinely lodges detainers with local jurisdictions when the agency becomes aware of illegal immigrants being held in custody who are subject to removal from the United States. 

Cox said the department “remains committed to complying with the Boston Trust Act, as well as State Law, and to building and strengthening relationships and trust with all our communities across the City.”

BOSTON WHISTLEBLOWER WARNS OF MIGRANT CRIME SPILLOVER AS TRUMP CRACKDOWN LOOMS

“Boston’s immigrant communities should feel safe in reporting crime and quality of life issues to the Department,” he added. 

The request asks authorities to hold the person longer than their release date or notify ICE in time so they can transfer the subject into federal custody to begin deportation proceedings before they are released back onto the street. 

“DHS has determined that probable cause exists that the subject is a removable individual,” the reason listed on all the requests state, according to the letter. 

Cox listed the date of each detainer request, and how it was received by the Boston Police Department. It doesn’t list any specific information about the detainees or their alleged crimes. 

LOUISVILLE MAYOR SHIFTS IMMIGRATION POLICY AFTER LEGAL THREAT FROM DOJ

The 57 detainer requests are a sharp uptick from the 15 filed by ICE to the BPD in 2024, according to a letter Cox wrote Geourntas in early 2025.  

However, many jurisdictions, including Boston, have sanctuary laws that prohibit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal authorities. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to Cox, the office of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and the Democratic and Republican parties in Massachusetts. 

The Boston Police Department is prohibited from detaining people solely because ICE has a filed a request. In December 2025, the City Council reaffirmed its support for the Trust Act. 

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Meanwhile, the Trump administration is suing Boston over the sanctuary law. 

Critics of such laws argue it poses a public safety risk by releasing illegal immigrants already charged or convicted of additional crimes in the U.S. back into communities, where some have re-offended again, sometimes violently. 

The White House is rejecting claims the Trump administration “backed down” on Minnesota’s immigration crackdown, insisting the mission hasn’t changed even as leadership on the ground has.

“Tom Homan is a patriot with decades of experience effectively protecting American communities and deporting criminal illegal aliens,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital.

“Any left-wing agitator or criminal illegal alien who thinks Tom’s presence is a victory for their cause is sadly mistaken,” Jackson continued. “The Trump Administration will never waver in standing up for law and order and protecting the American people.” 

A White House official who spoke to Fox News Digital said that any claims the Trump administration is “backing down” in the Gopher State are incorrect. 

BIDEN SPEAKS OUT AGAINST IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN IN MINNESOTA, SAYS IT GOES AGAINST AMERICAN VALUES

The administration “has not wavered” from its mission to arrest and deport illegal immigrants, according to the official, who said that President Donald Trump wants to prevent more violence and is looking to work with state and local leaders to remove public safety threats.

The official said Homan has successfully partnered with Democrats before — and those collaborations ended with “criminal illegal aliens” arrested and deported — arguing Minnesota should show demonstrators that rioting and attacking law enforcement won’t stop enforcement, as agitators are being arrested and charged.

Trump shook up federal immigration personnel Monday, replacing Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino with Homan in the high-stakes Minneapolis fraud and immigration crackdown following two fatal shootings and subsequent chaotic protests in the Twin Cities. 

The leadership switch is fueling a new political fight: whether the move discourages unrest or teaches activists nationwide that escalating pressure is the fastest way to push ICE out of their communities.

Trump said Monday he spoke with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after Saturday’s fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent — an incident that drew sharp Democratic condemnation and growing Republican calls for a deeper investigation. 

Trump said Walz was “very respectfully” open to deporting “any and all Criminals that they have in their possession.” In the wake of the call, Bovino was set to leave the state as border czar Tom Homan took over on the ground in Minneapolis. 

Laura Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, said the political takeaway for left-wing organizers after the federal shake-up is likely straightforward: push hard enough and federal officials will back off.

“That’s certainly how the left will interpret it, to keep up morale on their side and to keep their riots and obstruction going,” Ries told Fox News Digital in a phone interview Tuesday when asked if the shake-up emboldens agitators. 

Ries said activists “are not going to stop,” predicting Minnesota’s events will be used as a rallying cry elsewhere — noting the high-stakes midterm season is heating up. 

“Their organizers will point to Minnesota and say, ‘Look, we got Bovino kicked out… we’re getting (the) administration to back down.’”

Homan, however, is a force to be reckoned with, Ries said, while adding that agitators are likely underestimating Trump’s no-nonsense border czar while celebrating some federal law enforcement exiting the state. 

“Socialists lie, so they will lie to their people on the ground,” she said in summary of the situation in Minneapolis as agitators celebrate some law enforcement leaving the state. 

“Tom Homan, while he started in Border Patrol and INS back in the early 80s, he is more about ICE and interior enforcement,” she said. “The left will cheer. They made Bovino their boogeyman for now, they’ll find another, and so they will declare victory on that battle, but their war will continue.” 

Former President Barack Obama worked with Homan and even awarded him the Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Service for his leadership in managing Immigration and Custom Enforcement operations back in 2015, when he served as ICE’s executive associate director of enforcement and removal operations. 

Trump added during an appearance on Fox News Tuesday that the shake-up is not a “pull back.”

“I don’t think it’s a pullback. It’s a little bit of a change,” he said. “You know, Bovino is very good, but he’s a pretty out there kind of a guy. And in some cases that’s good, maybe it wasn’t good here.” 

TRUMP ALLY TELLS GOVERNMENT TO ‘WAKE UP’ AFTER DEADLY FEDERAL AGENT SHOOTINGS IN MINNEAPOLIS

Republican Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr, who is running for the Senate, amplified the administration’s law-and-order policies in a comment to Fox Digital, while simultaneously underscoring that the Biden administration ushered in an immigration crisis with lax policies that landed the Trump administration on the frontlines of correcting the rampant issue. 

“Democrats would rather shutdown DHS than shutdown the border and deport millions of illegals they let in under Joe Biden,” Rep. Andy Barr said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “But our country is blessed because President Trump is Law and Order President. Democrats tried to Defund the Police in 2020 and this is just as dangerous and stupid. I’ll continue backing our law enforcement and the largest deportation operation in American history.”

Walz’s office pointed Fox News Digital to an op-ed he published in The Wall Street Journal Monday when asked what he agreed to in his call with Trump and whether he would comply with the White House’s demands to turn over illegal immigrants in Minnesota.

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“Everyone wants to see our immigration laws enforced. That isn’t what is happening in Minnesota. In recent weeks, masked agents have abducted children. They have separated children from their parents,” Walz wrote in the op-ed. “They have racially profiled off-duty police officers. They have aggressively pulled people over and demanded to see their papers. They have broken into the homes of elderly citizens without warrants to drag them outside in freezing temperatures.”

Trump also spoke with Minnesota Mayor Jacob Frey Monday, who relayed after the call that the city “will continue to cooperate with state and federal law enforcement on real criminal investigations — but we will not participate in unconstitutional arrests of our neighbors or enforce federal immigration law.”

Morgan Murphy, a national security expert and former Trump White House official who is running for U.S. Senate in Alabama, said Trump’s Minnesota shake-up reflects negotiation, not surrender.

“President Trump did what he does best and negotiated, bringing the mayor of Minneapolis and Governor Walz to the table,” Murphy said. “If they agree to comply with ICE detainers, removing criminal aliens from the streets of Minnesota it will be the art of the deal with the situation being de-escalated and still arresting and deporting criminal aliens.”

Murphy added that the episode could serve as a warning — but to Democrats, not activists.

“Though this may have seemed chaotic, it ultimately achieved the goal of getting blue states to bend the knee and follow federal laws on immigration,” Murphy said. “Other Democrat governors and mayors should take note and stop releasing criminals into their communities when they shouldn’t even be in our country.”

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Homan has publicly suggested that ICE could pull back from direct action in the community if local leaders allow federal agents access to jails to take custody of removable immigrants in a controlled setting, a proposal that effectively turns Minnesota into a test case for whether sanctuary-style resistance can be traded for cooperation on detainers.

Ries, however, questioned whether that kind of détente is sustainable with Minnesota’s Democratic leadership, saying she is “not optimistic” about long-term cooperation from Walz and Frey — who have been vocal critics of the administration since inauguration day. 

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“I think he’s trying to make a deal for now with Walz and with Frey,” Ries said, pointing to signs that local police have at times moved to enforce order during protests. “But that’s one night, so we’ll see how much that holds.”