NationalWatch

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.

CONSERVATIVE IMMIGRATION EXPERTS SPLIT ON WHETHER TRUMP IS ‘BACKING DOWN’ IN MN ICE FIGHT

“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.”

‘MOB MENTALITY’ ENDANGERS OFFICERS AMID ANTI-ICE UNREST AND CHAOS IN MINNEAPOLIS, RETIRED COPS WARN

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.”

House Democrats ramped up pressure on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday, calling for her firing and warning that impeachment proceedings would follow if she remains in office, citing deadly actions by federal agents in Minnesota.

The calls came from both House Democratic leadership and Judiciary Committee Democrats, marking a coordinated escalation from public condemnation to formal impeachment threats.

In a joint statement, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar accused the Trump administration of using federal law enforcement to carry out deadly violence.

“Taxpayer dollars are being weaponized by the Trump administration to kill American citizens, brutalize communities and violently target law-abiding immigrant families,” the leaders said. “The country is disgusted by what the Department of Homeland Security has done.”

NOEM SAYS SHE GRIEVES FOR FAMILY AFTER CBP-RELATED SHOOTING IN MINNEAPOLIS, VOWS THOROUGH INVESTIGATION

The leaders warned that unless Noem is removed, impeachment proceedings would follow.

“Kristi Noem should be fired immediately, or we will commence impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives,” the statement said.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

The demands come as Noem faces widespread criticism after federal agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minnesota this month.

Separately, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, called on Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to immediately begin impeachment proceedings if Noem is not fired or forced to resign.

“Unless Secretary Noem resigns or is fired, the Judiciary Committee’s Chairman, Jim Jordan, should immediately commence House Judiciary Committee impeachment proceedings to remove her from office,” Raskin said.

BORDER PATROL COMMANDER GREGORY BOVINO TO LEAVE MINNESOTA, AS TOM HOMAN TAKES OVER

Raskin accused Noem of overseeing what he described as unlawful killings and a subsequent cover-up.

“Far from condemning these unlawful and savage killings in cold blood, Secretary Noem immediately labeled Renée Good and Alex Pretti ‘domestic terrorists,’ blatantly lied about the circumstances of the shootings that took their lives, and attempted to cover up and blockade any legitimate investigation into their deaths,” he said.

Separately, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., called on Trump to fire Noem directly on Tuesday.

In a post on X, the senator accused Noem of “betraying” the department’s central mission.

However, President Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday that he has no plans to ask Noem to step down from her role.

Trump was asked about Noem’s status during a gaggle with reporters outside the White House. He told the press that he still thinks Noem is doing a “great job.”

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“Is Kristi Noem going to step down?” a reporter asked.

“No,” Trump responded bluntly.

He later said he believes she is doing a “very good job,” citing her role in closing down the border.

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump credits Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the one for training him to become a diplomat, comments that come as Rubio has increasingly secured more responsibility and influence over the president during the second Trump administration. 

Trump described Rubio’s guidance as he described his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping and shared an anecdote about how Xi requested that Trump stop referring to COVID-19 virus as the “China virus.” According to Trump, Xi requested that the president use a different name – an ask that Trump said he chose to respect.

“I decided to do that because why should we have a problem over that?” Trump said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday. 

“You were a true diplomat, huh?” said Børge Brende, the president and CEO of the World Economic Forum.

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“I became a diplomat for the first time. Well, you know, taught me that? Marco Rubio. He said, ‘Let me teach you about diplomacy,’” Trump said. 

Trump has entrusted Rubio with a portfolio of responsibilities, and in addition to leading the State Department, Rubio also is serving as the national security advisor and head of the National Archives for the Trump administration. Rubio is the only person to oversee the White House’s National Security Council and lead the State Department since Henry Kissinger since the Nixon administration. 

“He’s just really smart, really effective, and he’s succeeded at everything he’s done,” Matthew Kroenig, a former Pentagon official and current vice president at the Atlantic Council think tank, told Fox News Digital. “He doesn’t see his job as containing Trump. He understands who the boss is and channels those instincts into constructive directions.”

TRUMP BACKS MADURO LOYALIST OVER VENEZUELA OPPOSITION LEADER IN POST-CAPTURE TRANSITION

Rubio, who is the son of Cuban immigrants and previously served as a U.S. Senator representing Florida, has emerged as a key architect steering the Trump administration’s foreign policy agenda – gaining even more visibility after the U.S. launched strikes in Venezuela and captured dictator Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3. 

Rubio, who historically has espoused more hawkish foreign policy positions, had long supported overthrowing Maduro. The first Trump administration sought to oust the Venezuelan strongman by imposing sanctions on Venezuela and backing opposition leader Juan Guaidó. 

In 2019, Rubio predicted Maduro’s fall — even though he was uncertain about the timeline. 

“He’s picked a battle he can’t win,” Rubio said in an interview with The New York Times about Maduro. “It’s just a matter of time. The only thing we don’t know is how long it will take — and whether it will be peaceful or bloody.”

WHITE HOUSE SAYS US WILL SHAPE VENEZUELA’S FUTURE AS TRUMP EMBRACES ‘AMERICAN DOMINANCE’

Following Maduro’s capture, Trump announced that the U.S. would “run” Venezuela until a peaceful transition could occur. 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. 

Even so, Rubio has said that Congressional approval was not required since the operation was not an “invasion.” 

Trump speculated in Switzerland that Rubio would be remembered as “the best” Secretary of State, and noted that every single member of the Senate voted to confirm Rubio for his post in January 2025.

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 “Hey, any guy that gets approved by 100% of the votes – you think of it, he got liberal Democrats and radical right Republicans to approve him,” Trump said Wednesday. “He’s the only one…At first I wasn’t happy about it. I said, ‘Wait a minute, I don’t like that.’ And now it turns out that the Democrats probably wish they didn’t do that. And Marco has been fantastic.” 

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

Recently sworn-in New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill has called on President Donald Trump to immediately restore funding for the $16 billion Gateway Tunnel project, a major rail infrastructure effort under the Hudson River that will link New Jersey to New York City.

Sherrill, a Democrat, said that the president’s refusal to fund the Gateway Tunnel project is an “illegal attack on New Jersey” that also shows a “reckless disregard” for the state’s economy and the livelihoods of working families.

“If the president does not restore funding to this project, which I helped secure while serving in Congress, he will single-handedly kill nearly 100,000 jobs and $20 billion in economic activity,” Sherrill said in a statement.

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“New Jersey will fight tooth and nail for our hard-earned tax dollars and this essential project that will make commutes easier and improve quality of life for residents in the Garden State,” she added.

Sherrill said that New Jersey and New York make up the most powerful economic region in the world and called the Gateway Project the most urgent and consequential infrastructure project in the country.

The Trump administration, hours into a federal government shutdown in the fall, announced the freezing of billions of dollars in federal funding for the tunnel, as well as for the extension of New York City’s Second Avenue Subway.

Trump then terminated the funding, blaming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for being responsible for the shutdown. Trump noted that Schumer had spent years trying to get the project built.

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The project has been under construction for more than a year after it received pledges of about $12 billion from the federal government.

The Department of Transportation said funding would remain suspended pending a review of contracts for compliance with new rules governing women and minority-owned businesses, according to The New York Times.

About 1,000 union workers are currently still on the job at four sites in New York City and New Jersey, and it’s being kept alive temporarily by a line of credit, which is expected to run out Feb. 6, per the outlet.

A White House spokesperson pushed back on Sherrill’s comments, blaming Democrats for the impasse.

“It’s Chuck Schumer and Democrats who are standing in the way of a deal for the Gateway Tunnel Project by refusing to negotiate with the Trump administration,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

“There is nothing stopping Democrats from prioritizing the interests of Americans over illegal aliens and getting this project back on track,” Desai added.

The project is considered necessary because the existing Hudson River rail tunnels are 115 years old and were badly damaged by saltwater flooding during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. They carry about 70,000 New Jersey commuters daily and Amtrak has warned that failure of one tunnel could cut rail traffic into New York City by up to 75%.

Meanwhile, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., echoed Sherrill’s demands, calling the continued withholding of federal funds “inexcusable” and urging the administration to immediately release the money.

“These actions put union workers and families across New York and New Jersey at risk and threaten the most critical infrastructure project in the nation,” Gillibrand said.

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“New Yorkers will not be treated as political pawns in this administration’s twisted game of chess,” she added.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also blasted the funding freeze, calling it “the latest collateral damage” of what she described as Trump’s vindictive effort to harm New Yorkers.

“Make no mistake, the Gateway Tunnel is vital to the economy of this state and the entire region, and I will fight like hell to ensure it gets built,” Hochul said.

Some of America’s safest cities are in jurisdictions that cooperate with ICE, a trend also shaped by wealth and zoning — with a handful of notable exceptions.

Most of the 10 safest cities on U.S. News & World Report’s list are located either in states or counties that have laws directing municipal authorities to cooperate or coordinate directly with federal immigration enforcement. That cooperation often occurs through 287(g) agreements, which allow local law enforcement agencies to work directly with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The cities also share other traits, such as high median incomes and a lack of mixed-use zoning or transient rental housing, underscoring the ongoing debate over whether immigration enforcement cooperation plays a meaningful role in public safety.

Johns Creek, Georgia — named the safest city in America by U.S. News & World Report — is governed under state laws requiring cooperation with federal immigration authorities, placing it among several highly ranked cities in similar jurisdictions while leaving open the role of income, development patterns and local demographics in shaping the results.

While situated in Fulton County and not far from its relatively dangerous county seat of Atlanta, Johns Creek falls under a stringent state law mandating local-federal cooperation, enacted in the wake of Laken Riley’s murder.

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The sweeping Georgia Criminal Alien Track and Report Act of 2024 requires local police to forge agreements with federal authorities to assist in immigration enforcement. Any jurisdiction that neglects to seek cooperation with DHS may lose state funding, according to the Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force.

“If you are in our country illegally and committing crimes, you have no place in Georgia,” Gov. Brian Kemp said after signing the law.

The second-safest city on the list, by contrast, limits cooperation with the feds at the local level, but until late January saw its state police fully engaged in cooperation with federal authorities.

Centreville, Virginia, an exurb of Washington, falls within Fairfax County — where the prosecutor’s office has made news for noncompliance with ICE detainers — but where its recently departed Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) repeatedly cited his 287(g) agreement with the feds, which current Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) reversed upon her inauguration.

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Centreville, near John Foster Dulles International Airport and just off regional artery I-66, also has a low 6% poverty rate and lacks the mixed-use development and transient rental properties that experts have said often beget crime.

The other two outliers on the list, Sammamish, Washington, and Newton, Massachusetts, at eighth and third respectively, have a similar residential, low-mixed-use makeup and relatively high median income. Newton’s “welcoming city” ordinance and Washington state’s Keep Washington Working Act preclude most cooperation with ICE.

The rest of the list of safest places to live in the U.S. falls squarely under state or local laws with some of the most pro-cooperation dynamics in the country.

KRISTI NOEM ANNOUNCES MORE THAN 150 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SEX OFFENDERS ARRESTED IN MASSIVE FLORIDA CRACKDOWN

Denton County, Texas, where No. 10 Flower Mound is situated, was the first North Texas county to shift its 287(g) agreement from the more passive “jail model” — where honoring of ICE detainers is standard — to the “task force model,” where select officers can detain people based on suspicion of federal immigration law violations, according to Dallas’ ABC affiliate.

“It’s what we do — we enforce the law and it’s the law of the land,” Denton Sheriff Tracy Murphree told the outlet.

Flower Mound also falls under Texas SB 8, which provides grants to fast-track officer training to move agencies from “jail” to “task force” 287(g) models.

ILLEGAL ALIEN WITH 24 CONVICTIONS AMONG ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ ARRESTED IN MINNESOTA ICE OPERATION: DHS

No. 5 Homosassa Springs and No. 9 Weston both fall in Florida, home to one of the more stringent state pro-cooperation policies.

The TRUMP Act of 2025 — Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy — also designated the state Agriculture Commissioner as chief immigration officer.

With Homosassa in red Citrus County on the Gulf Coast and Weston in blue Broward County on the Atlantic Coast, the state law effectively places both on a level field in terms of immigration enforcement requirements, despite historical differences.

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Carmel and Fishers, Indiana, located near each other in suburban Hamilton County, fall at Nos. 7 and 6 on the U.S. News list. Both also fall under Indiana’s Senate Enrolled Act 181, which authorizes the state attorney general to sue any local authorities that refuse to enforce immigration laws.

Hamilton County has also been viewed as one of the more cooperative counties in the state regarding federal immigration enforcement partnerships, according to reports.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun has also entered into a 287(g) task-force model for Indiana State Police on interstates crisscrossing Indianapolis-area suburbs.

BORDER PATROL CHIEF URGES ILLINOIS TO FOLLOW LOUISIANA BLUEPRINT AS THREATS AGAINST AGENTS SURGE

The fourth-safest place to live, Rochester Hills, Michigan, is patrolled by Oakland County.

Sheriff Michael Bouchard, in office since 1999, has a record of cooperating with ICE, according to reports and a 2010 DHS statement announcing a new “biometric information-sharing capability” that commenced across county municipalities to help identify illegal immigrants.

When Oakland County showed up on a Trump administration noncooperation list, Bouchard and County Executive David Coulter were quick to point out the error:

“We are not a sanctuary jurisdiction,” they said in a statement.

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Thirty-nine states, plus Guam, have at least one agency that has forged a 287(g) agreement with ICE, according to DHS data.

Washington, Oregon, California, Illinois, New Jersey and Connecticut have state laws restraining such cooperation, while the agency is “pursuing opportunities” in Delaware, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine and Hawaii.

Alexander Vindman, the one-time National Security Council (NSC) aide whose testimony before Congress fueled the first impeachment of President Donald Trump, on Tuesday announced he’s launching a Democratic Senate campaign in Trump’s adopted home state of Florida.

Vindman, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, is aiming to challenge GOP Sen. Ashley Moody, who was appointed last year by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to fill the Senate seat left vacant when then-Sen. Marco Rubio stepped down to serve as Secretary of State in Trump’s second administration.

Republicans are defending their 53-47 Senate majority in this year’s midterm elections, and the 2026 Senate race in GOP-dominated Florida, which Trump carried by 13 points in 2024, was not considered a top target for Democrats. But Vindman’s campaign launch could give Democrats a known candidate who would likely bring national attention to the race.

Vindman, who was born in then-Soviet-controlled Ukraine, was in the spotlight as he testified in front of Congress about Trump’s infamous 2019 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that ultimately led to the Democrat-controlled House impeaching the president. Trump was later acquitted by the Senate.

FIRED UNDER TRUMP, FORMER MILITARY OFFICERS LAUNCH DEMOCRATIC BIDS FOR CONGRESS

A combat veteran, Vindman was subsequently fired from his position with the NSC. He became a vocal Trump critic and later wrote two books and worked as a senior adviser for VoteVets, a Democrat-aligned group that helps to elect veterans.

“I stepped up when my country needed a soldier, I reported corruption at the highest levels of government, and now I’m stepping up again to fight for Floridians,” Vindman said in a social media post.

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And spotlighting his past clash with Trump, Vindman charged in his video that “this president unleashed a reign of terror and retribution, not just against me and my family, but against all of us.”

Vindman also became one of the first candidates to include a clip of this past weekend’s fatal shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, of Alex Pretti, a VA nurse who was protesting Trump’s immigration crackdown.

“Today our country is in chaos. Thug militias attacking citizens,” Vindman said in his video under clips of the Pretti shooting as well as the fatal shooting of Renee Good, another U.S. citizen in Minneapolis who was demonstrating against the tactics of immigration enforcement agents.

Vindman also highlighted the issue of affordability, arguing “skyrocketing costs are crushing ordinary people, while the billionaires and career politicians profit.”

And Vindman claimed that Republicans “put Moody in the Senate to be a ‘yes’ vote for Trump and the billionaires. She’s not Florida’s senator. She’s theirs.”

This year’s Senate showdown in Florida is a special election, with the winner serving out the final two years of Rubio’s term before having to run again in 2028 for a full six-year term.

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Moody, who won two statewide Florida attorney general elections in 2018 and 2022, has been endorsed by Trump and doesn’t face any serious competition for the GOP nomination.

Vindman, who lives in left-leaning Broward County in southern Florida, joins a field of Democratic Senate candidates that includes state Rep. Hector Mujica and Brevard County school board member Jennifer Jenkins.

Whoever wins the Democratic primary will face a steep uphill climb against Moody.

The Cook Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball, three top nonpartisan political handicappers, rate the race as solid or safe Republican.

“Florida is a ruby red state and Democrats have no path to flipping its Senate seat in 2026,” National Republican Senatorial Committee regional press secretary Nick Puglia told Fox News Digital. “Anyone who thinks otherwise is not living in reality.”

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Vindman isn’t the first member of his family to run for federal office.

His twin brother, Eugene Vindman, was elected to Congress in 2024, succeeding now Gov. Abigail Spanberger in a district in northern and central Virginia.

A longtime House Republican who sits on Congress’ powerful tax-writing committee is retiring after 20 years on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., announced on Tuesday that he will not be seeking re-election, ending a two-decade-long career in Washington at the age of 74.

He’s the 28th Republican to join what appears to be a mass exodus from the House of Representatives after the current term. Twenty-one House Democrats will also not seek re-election to the chamber.

Buchanan said in a statement that it was the honor of a lifetime to serve his southwest Florida congressional district.

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“Every achievement worth doing began with listening to my constituents and fighting for their priorities. I came to Congress to solve problems, to fight for working families and to help ensure this country remains a place where opportunity is available to everyone willing to work for it,” Buchanan said.

“After 20 years of service, I believe it’s the right time to pass the torch and begin a new chapter in my life.”

Buchanan spent nearly all of his time in Congress as a member of the House Ways & Means Committee, a powerful panel that oversees a variety of issues including tax policy.

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He was in contention to chair the committee after Republicans retook the House of Representatives in November 2022 but ultimately lost the gavel to current Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo.

Since then, Buchanan has served as the committee’s vice chair and chairman of its subcommittee on health.

Before he leaves office, he’s still likely to play a key role as Republicans in Congress eye another “big, beautiful bill” via the budget reconciliation process.

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Budget reconciliation allows the party controlling both the House and Senate to pass massive policy overhauls by dropping the Senate’s requirement for passage to be in line with the House’s own simple majority threshold.

While the first bill was a vast compilation of President Donald Trump’s campaign promises, Republicans are hoping a second round would more narrowly focus on making Americans’ lives more affordable — including tackling soaring healthcare costs.

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The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates Buchanan’s district as solidly Republican, meaning it’s not likely to flip in the 2026 midterms.

But his retirement comes at a time when House Republicans are expected to face an uphill battle to keep their razor-thin majority for the latter half of Trump’s term.

The Senate is again on the verge of entering into another government shutdown as Democrats rage over the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti during an immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota.

But despite Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats’ demands to sideline the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill, the agency’s immigration enforcement apparatus is flush with cash thanks to Republicans’ efforts last year with President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill.” 

Still, there are other vital government functions under the DHS umbrella that, should a partial government shutdown happen come Friday, would suffer.

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Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News in a statement that while Schumer and Senate Democrats “play games with Americans’ safety, they are blocking vital DHS funding that keeps our country secure and its people safe.”

The department, created in 2003 after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, has jurisdiction over a broad range of agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Secret Service.

That means those offices would likely be impacted by a partial government shutdown come next month.

“This funding supports national security and critical national emergency operations, including FEMA responses to a historic snowstorm that is affecting 250 million Americans,” McLaughlin said. “Washington may stall, but the safety of the American people will not wait.”

The current DHS funding bill, which is snarled in a political duel between Schumer and Senate Republicans, would provide $64 billion for the agency. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would receive $10 billion of that. 

The largest allocation would go to FEMA at $32 billion, then TSA at $11.6 billion, and CISA at $2.6 billion. 

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Even if the government shuts down, immigration operations would likely be untouched.

DHS received billions as part of Trump’s marquee legislation, a move to meet his and Republicans’ desire last year to turbocharge border security and immigration operations on the heels of former President Joe Biden’s term. 

In total, the “big, beautiful bill,” added over $170 billion to DHS’ coffers. 

Notably, ICE received a total of $75 billion, split into two pots: $45 billion for detention expansion and roughly $29 billion for immigration enforcement operations.

The detention funding is set to last through FY 2029, effectively giving the agency about $10 billion per year — their average base budget — without the need for congressional approval during that period. 

Schumer and Senate Democrats contend that they want to continue negotiations on the DHS bill and strip it from a broader six-bill funding package, called a “minibus.” Doing so would almost certainly guarantee a government shutdown, given that any changes would have to go back to the House. 

“If Leader Thune puts those five bills on the floor this week, we can pass them right away,” Schumer said. “If not, Republicans will again be responsible for another government shutdown.”

WHITE HOUSE NOT BUDGING ON DEMOCRATS’ DEMANDS AS DHS FUNDING MUTINY THREATENS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Still, it would complicate matters for the remaining agencies under DHS’ purview, and create a déjà vu scenario akin to the last government shutdown, which barreled onward for 43 days. 

The shutdown saw TSA agents go unpaid for weeks — spurring massive travel delays across the country as both they and air traffic controllers were forced to call out of work and take on second jobs to make ends meet, or otherwise work without pay.

Notably, air traffic controllers would be similarly affected this time around as well. Funding for the Department of Transportation is included in the larger minibus the Senate is expected to consider this week.

The threat of missed paychecks for the U.S. Coast Guard — along with other members of the Armed Forces, because the defense funding bill is included in the minibus as well — would also rear its ugly head and become a political quagmire for lawmakers once again.

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Cuts to FEMA could also impact its ability to help everyday Americans during natural disasters, with the agency’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) in danger of running dry without more congressionally approved funding. A program that helps Americans in flood-prone areas secure home insurance would similarly be imperiled.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., played a vital role in ending the last shutdown, and as chair of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Committee, will again act as a key negotiator in averting another closure.

She noted that DHS goes beyond just immigration operations, and reminded Senate Democrats of the cost of the last shutdown. 

“We know from recent history that government shutdowns do not help anyone and are not in the best interest of the American people,” Britt said in a statement. “As we approach a government funding deadline, I remain committed to finding a pathway forward.”

The Trump administration’s quick about-face, pitching 401(k) retirement plans as a path to homeownership, was never likely to work because it ignores the deeper forces driving the housing crunch, some economists are now arguing.

Experts pointed to two key factors doing the most damage: restrictive zoning and regulatory policies that have choked supply, pushing home prices out of reach. Restrictive zoning controls what gets built; regulatory policies determine how hard it is to make it happen.

Ben Harris, vice president and director of economic studies at the Brookings Institution, said policies that don’t directly increase housing supply are unlikely to lower prices.

“Anything that doesn’t answer the question, ‘Are we going to have more homes at the end of this?’ is going to be an insufficient response,” Harris told Fox News Digital.

HASSETT REVEALS TRUMP HOUSING PLAN WOULD LET AMERICANS TAP 401(K)S FOR DOWN PAYMENTS

Harris noted that while cities in the South, for example, once saw rapid homebuilding — including places like Houston, metro areas in Florida and Phoenix — new construction has slowed sharply in recent years, contributing to rising prices.

That resistance to new construction, experts say, is why restrictive zoning and regulatory barriers sit at the top of the list of forces driving America’s housing crisis.

“There are just many, many ways to halt and stop development,” explained Joseph Gyourko, a professor of real estate and finance at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

“And we’ve gotten very, very good at it in the United States.”

Jim Tobin, president and CEO of the National Association of Home Builders, added that the cost of regulations alone plays a massive role in housing affordability.

Tobin explained that roughly $94,000 of the cost of a new, single-family home is inflated by regulations at “all three levels of local, state and federal government.”

He added that some local governments intentionally restrict growth, adding time, uncertainty and cost to the process. 

THE PRICE OF BUILDING A HOME KEEPS CLIMBING — AND UNCERTAINTY ISN’T HELPING

“Time is money in real estate,” he said. “You own the land, you’re paying taxes and, while you wait for local approvals, costs keep rising. Then many communities require developers to install sewer, water, roads and electrical infrastructure and all of that gets folded into the final price of the home.”

Those mounting costs on builders, economists say, ultimately get passed on to buyers, pricing many out of the market.

California offers one of the clearest examples of how those pressures play out, where strict zoning and environmental review laws have severely limited new construction.

TRUMP’S 50-YEAR MORTGAGE MAY BURDEN AMERICANS WITH MORE DEBT, EXPERTS SAY

Wayne Winegarden, a senior fellow in business and economics at the Pacific Research Institute, told Fox News Digital that the state’s regulatory framework has created an enormous housing shortfall.

In practical terms, economists say that when housing construction fails to keep pace with population growth and demand, buyers end up competing for a limited number of homes, driving prices higher.

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Winegarden said that California’s strict zoning laws make it more difficult to build homes, like the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a five-decade-old law that requires builders to “look before they leap,” according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation. 

The framework requires environmental reviews that can significantly delay development and raise costs.

“And we have what is a million-home shortage, something just astronomical like that,” Winegarden said. “That’s just basic economics. When supply is inadequate to demand, prices go up. And now the median home price in California is roughly twice the median in the United States.”

Conservative immigration experts were split on whether President Donald Trump was “backing down” after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the president told him he was considering reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota after they went into the state to enforce immigration law. 

In addition to reported plans to retreat from Minnesota, the top Border Patrol official leading deportation operations around the country, including in Minnesota, will be reassigned back to his former duties as chief of Border Patrol in the El Centro, California sector as of currently, Fox News’ Bill Melugin reported.

“If the Trump Administration accedes to Minnesota’s unreasonable, unlawful demands, it will have surrendered the rule of law to thugs and brigands. Lawlessness is a choice, and it’s not a choice that the Trump administration should make, or support in any way,” Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) Executive Director Dale Wilcox told Fox News Digital. 

“FAIR believes that Congress charged ICE with enforcing the immigration laws of the United States. And that is exactly what ICE should do. The Supreme Court has opined that the power to enforce immigration law belongs exclusively to the federal government. The mere fact that irresponsible state and local leaders in Minnesota have mistakenly led their citizens to believe that they are free to interfere with federal government operations, and have thereby incited civil unrest, is not a valid reason to keep ICE from doing its job.”

BORDER PATROL COMMANDER GREGORY BOVINO TO LEAVE MINNESOTA, AS TOM HOMAN TAKES OVER

But, Executive Director at the Center for Immigration Studies Mark Krikorian clapped back at the idea that Trump was “backing down.”  

“I didn’t think that’s what Trump is saying – rather, based on his Truth Social post, he was saying ICE won’t have to do at-large arrests if Minnesota changes its sanctuary policies and allows ICE into the jails and prisons to take custody of illegals once the locals have finished with them,” Krikorian told Fox News Digital. “That’s not ending enforcement – that’s returning enforcement to the ways it’s always been done and the way it’s being done even now in non-sanctuary jurisdictions.”

On Monday, President Trump said that “Tim Walz called [him] with the request to work together,” calling it a “very good call” in a post on his platform Truth social.

“I told Governor Walz that I would have Tom Homan call him, and that what we are looking for are any and all Criminals that they have in their possession. The Governor, very respectfully, understood that, and I will be speaking to him in the near future. He was happy that Tom Homan was going to Minnesota, and so am I!” Trump continued in his post, writing, “We have had such tremendous SUCCESS in Washington, D.C., Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana, and virtually every other place that we have ‘touched’ and, even in Minnesota, Crime is way down, but both Governor Walz and I want to make it better!”

Walz subsequently indicated that President Trump had agreed during the call to consider pulling out some federal agents from Minnesota, so long as Minnesota leaders follow federal immigration detainers and ensure criminal illegal aliens in state custody are transferred to federal officials. Trump’s reported consideration to pull ICE officials out of Minnesota comes after Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey used harsh language, and sometimes expletives, to tell ICE to “get the f— out” of their city and state.     

ANIT-ICE MOBS BANKROLLED BY ‘SHADOWY INTERESTS’ PUTTING LAW ENFORCEMENT IN DANGER, CEO WARNS

Minnesota’s leaders, in particular those at the state’s Department of Corrections, have been going back-and-forth with the Trump administration over whether it adheres to federal immigration detainers for illegal immigrants caught by police committing crimes. The Trump administration has claimed Minnesota officials’ do not adhere to federal immigration detainers, leading to illegal alien criminals being released back onto the streets, but the state’s Department of Corrections has challenged that assertion, arguing it does adhere to ICE detainers.

Fox News Digital reached out to Homeland Security for comment about concerns the Trump administration was “backing down” and was referred to the White House. 

“The Trump Administration remains committed to removing the worst of the worst from American streets – including in Minnesota – and President Trump wants to work with local leaders to get public safety threats out of their communities,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. “Democrat leaders must stop inflaming tensions and providing sanctuary to dangerous criminal illegal aliens. The Trump Administration will always enforce the law and do what’s best for the American people.” 

Numerous congressional lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were also contacted, asking whether they thought Trump’s potential decision to pull federal agents from Minnesota was “backing down” and whether it might embolden the left in other cities, but none returned comment in time for publication.

“If I were President Trump, I would almost think about, OK, if the mayor and governor are going put our ICE officials in harm’s way and there’s a chance of losing more innocent lives, or whatever, then maybe go to another city and let the people of Minneapolis decide: Do we want to continue to have all of these illegals?” Rep. James Comer, R- Ky., said on Sunday.

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Amid news of federal agents potentially pulling out of Minnesota, questions began swirling about the status of top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovion, who was tapped by the Trump administration to lead Border Patrol’s large-scale operations like the one occurring in Minnesota.

“Chief Gregory Bovino has NOT been relieved of his duties. As press secretary Leavitt stated from the White House podium, Gregory Bovino is a key part of the President’s team and a great American,” Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Monday.

But multiple federal sources confirmed to Fox News’ Bil Melugin that Bovino’s position called “Commander of at large operations” has now ended for him. He will now return to his prior duties leading border security efforts in California’s El Centro sector. 

Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, will be traveling to Minnesota soon to continue the border security efforts there in place of Bovino.

Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

A federal judge in Oregon ruled against a Trump administration request to view the state’s unredacted voter rolls on Monday.

Judge Mustafa Kasubhai said he plans to dismiss the Justice Department lawsuit and will file a final written opinion in the coming days. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield hailed Monday’s ruling, arguing the DOJ was seeking a “backdoor” to grab Oregon residents’ personal information.

“The court dismissed this case because the federal government never met the legal standard to get these records in the first place,” Rayfield told NBC News in a statement. “Oregonians deserve to know that voting laws can’t be used as a backdoor to grab their personal information.”

President Donald Trump‘s administration has filed lawsuits seeking voter registration data in at least 23 states. The lawsuits request access to names, dates of birth, residential addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.

OREGON ELECTION SYSTEM FACES SCRUTINY AS STATE MOVES TO ADDRESS 800,000 INACTIVE VOTERS: ‘ASTOUNDING’

Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz this weekend laying out steps to quell unrest in the state, with turning over voter data being listed among them.

“You and your office must restore the rule of law, support ICE officers, and bring an end to the chaos in Minnesota,” Bondi wrote. “Fortunately, there are common sense solutions to these problems that I hope we can accomplish together.”

One of Bondi’s requests was that Minnesota state officials give the DOJ Civil Rights Division access to voter registration lists. Basic voter registration lists, also known as voter rolls, are typically publicly accessible, but the DOJ has demanded from Minnesota and many other states a wealth of sensitive data associated with the voter rolls that Minnesota has resisted giving up.

FBI DIRECTOR PATEL WARNS ELECTED OFFICIALS ‘NO ONE’ IS EXEMPT FROM FEDERAL SCRUTINY AMID MINNESOTA PROBE

Democrats framed her letter as a nefarious bargain designed to affect the battleground state’s elections.

“‘ICE will leave Minnesota if you hand over your voter rolls’ tells you everything you need to know.… It was always about rigging elections,” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., wrote on X.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., misstated on X that Bondi’s letter said ICE would “leave if the state turns over its voter database to Trump.”

Murphy said the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota was a “pretext for Trump to take over elections in swing states.”

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In a federal court hearing Monday over ICE’s broader operations, Lindsey Middlecamp, a lawyer for Minnesota, argued to a judge that Bondi’s letter sounded like a coercive “ransom note.”

Fox News’ Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota accused President Donald Trump of “deflecting” after he took aim at her in a Truth Social post on Monday.

In part of his post, Trump said, “the DOJ and Congress are looking at ‘Congresswoman’ Illhan Omar, who left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars. Time will tell all.”

The left-wing lawmaker fired back in a post on X.

ONE YEAR, ONE CHART AND AN EYE-POPPING JUMP IN ILHAN OMAR’S PERSONAL WEALTH

“Sorry, Trump, your support is collapsing and you’re panicking. Right on cue, you’re deflecting from your failures with lies and conspiracy theories about me. Years of ‘investigations’ have found nothing. Get your goons out of Minnesota,” she wrote.

Before mentioning Omar in the Monday Truth Social post, Trump had also noted, “I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me. Separately, a major investigation is going on with respect to the massive 20 Billion Dollar, Plus, Welfare Fraud that has taken place in Minnesota, and is at least partially responsible for the violent organized protests going on in the streets.”

Omar advocates abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

MEET THE LONGTIME BIZ PARTNER OF ILHAN OMAR’S HUSBAND AS QUESTIONS SWIRL OVER HER SKYROCKETING NET WORTH

“ICE is beyond reform. Abolish it,” she declared in part of a Sunday post on X.

In a January 18 Truth Social post, Trump said that Omar should either be jailed or sent back to Somalia.

“There is 19 Billion Dollars in Minnesota Somalia Fraud. Fake ‘Congresswoman’ Illhan Omar, a constant complainer who hates the USA, knows everything there is to know. She should be in jail, or even a worse punishment, sent back to Somalia, considered one of the absolutely worst countries in the World. She could help to MAKE SOMALIA GREAT AGAIN!” the president declared in the post.

TRUMP CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO ILHAN OMAR’S WEALTH, SAYS IT SHOULD START ‘NOW’

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Omar, who has served in the House of Representatives since early 2019, was born in Somalia and became a U.S. citizen in 2000.

Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro’s regime was crucial to propping up America’s closest Communist neighbor, Cuba, for many years — but with the despot now in a New York prison, U.S. lawmakers and analysts are turning their attention to Mexico, a top U.S. ally and trading partner that has quietly taken Venezuela’s place.

As of January, Mexico reportedly accounted for 13,000 barrels per day or 44% of Cuba’s 2025 oil imports, the top factor keeping what some lawmakers describe as a teetering economy barely afloat. With renewed trade talks approaching in July, Republican lawmakers and conservative analysts are calling for increased pressure on Mexico to cut off Cuba’s oil lifeline. 

The Trump administration is also weighing instituting a maritime blockade on oil imports to Cuba, according to Politico. The outlet noted that the move would be an escalation of its previously-stated plan to cut off imports from Venezuela, where Maduro’s former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez is now acting president. Such a blockade could spur crisis in the country, and lead to the economic collapse of the Castro/Diaz-Canel regime for which much of the U.S. diaspora has long hoped.

“The Cuban government was, even before this action with Maduro, probably at the weakest point that the regime has been in the last 65 years,” said Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., the only Cuban-born member of Congress.

AS TRUMP URGES DEAL, CUBAN PRESIDENT WARNS THAT THE COUNTRY WILL DEFEND ITSELF ‘TO THE LAST DROP OF BLOOD’

“This just makes them weaker. My one concern is that it appears that Mexico is now trying to prop them up. And so, the oil that they were receiving from Venezuela is now being supplanted by oil being received by Mexico.”

The Florida Republican said Mexico is in such a position in part because it is “governed by a Marxist,” casting criticism of socialist-party-aligned President Claudia Sheinbaum.

“The oil that they were receiving from Venezuela is now being supplanted by oil being received by Mexico,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter that [the Miguel Diaz-Canel] regime [in Cuba] has been suppressing and oppressing its people for 65 years, as long as they have the right ideology.”

MARCO RUBIO EMERGES AS KEY TRUMP POWER PLAYER AFTER VENEZUELA OPERATION

Gimenez said that Congress could use upcoming intracontinental trade talks over the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to pressure Sheinbaum to stop supporting the dictatorship just 90 miles from Fort Zachary Taylor, at the southern tip of his district.

Cuba is already experiencing rolling blackouts, inability to feed its people, medical shortages and a nosedive in tourism due to those developments, he said.

“Would it be okay for us to kind of nudge them over the edge? I don’t know a problem with that,” he quipped.

SENATE REPUBLICAN PREDICTS THE FALL OF THE CUBAN REGIME

Andres Martinez-Fernandez, a Latin America and national security policy analyst who leads the Heritage Foundation’s research on the region, told Fox News Digital that U.S. tolerance for Mexico’s new position may not last.

“It’s a major issue,” he said, adding the Mexico-Cuba relationship got to “worrying levels” under Sheinbaum’s predecessor and now involves a Cuban medical program he called “forced slavery for revenue” involving Cuban doctors arriving in Mexico and sending remittances home – much of which can get funneled to the regime.

If Mexico City wants to continue aiding Havana, it had better prepare for “severe pushback,” he said, similarly citing the USMCA negotiations that Gimenez mentioned.

CUBA’S PRESIDENT DEFIANT, SAYS NO NEGOTIATIONS SCHEDULED AS TRUMP MOVES TO CHOKE OFF OIL LIFELINE

Those aspects, along with President Donald Trump’s discontent with Sheinbaum’s resistance to U.S. action against cartels could come to a head, he suggested, calling Mexico’s attitude “mendacious and duplicitous.”

“It says nothing good if they decide, to maintain this overt support for the Cuban regime as we continue to see this inadequate action on the cartel front.”

Trump declared earlier this month that there will be “no more oil or money going to Cuba – Zero” and the Department of War has been seizing sanctioned “shadow-fleet” oil tankers.

A White House official said Cuba is failing of its own volition and that its rulers suffered a major setback in losing support from the ousted Maduro regime. Trump believes Cuba should make a deal “before it is too late.”

Meanwhile, the aforementioned USMCA talks are scheduled to take place in July, when the trilateral trade deal undergoes a scheduled review.

The U.S. is likely to seek additional concessions from Mexico and Canada amid trade disputes, the Center for Strategic and International Studies predicted last year, with the interceding Mexico-Cuba development likely to further invigorate such demands.

VENEZUELA’S ACTING LEADER WAS ONCE A DEA ‘PRIORITY TARGET’: REPORT

The Sheinbaum administration, which did not respond to a request for comment, has reportedly painted its shipments as “humanitarian aid” for the Cuban people.

If Mexico continues oil shipments, it may lead to additionally tense relations between the U.S. and its southern neighbor, already frayed by Trump’s disdain for Sheinbaum’s steadfast refusal to allow American intercession against drug cartels.

If the shipments slacken, that may portend well for the aforementioned upcoming trade negotiations.

As for Cuba, many pro-democracy voices, particularly among the South Florida diaspora hope the 66-year Castro/Diaz-Canel regime is not long for this world.

Martinez-Fernandez added the regime is likely facing one of the most difficult moments in its history; Mexico’s role aside.

RUBIO LAYS OUT THREE-PHASE PLAN FOR VENEZUELA AFTER MADURO: ‘NOT JUST WINGING IT’

In the 1990s, Cuba lost its larger “patron,” the Soviet Union, he said, and hit a rough patch until Hugo Chavez took power in 1999.

He added that while there has been Western concern about a Chinese foothold there, Beijing appears to have largely have “cut ties” and “said there’s nothing new here.”

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“I do think that there is a likely need for additional developments before we see… That kind of next step collapse of the regime itself,” he said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, Commerce Department and the Palacio Nacional for comment.

Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez said Sunday she’s had “enough” of U.S. interference in the country’s politics, delivering a sharp rebuke of Washington during a speech to oil workers broadcast on state television.

“Enough already of Washington’s orders over politicians in Venezuela,” she said during an address to oil workers in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, broadcast by state-run channel Venezolana de Televisión.

“Let Venezuelan politics resolve our differences and our internal conflicts,” she said. “This Republic has paid a very high price for having to confront the consequences of fascism and extremism in our country.”

Rodríguez’s defiant rhetoric raises questions about how far she is willing — or able — to push back against Washington. While the Venezuelan government has long used anti-U.S. language to rally domestic support, the comments come as Caracas remains heavily constrained by U.S. sanctions and dependent on U.S. decisions over oil licenses.

STATE DEPT CONFIRMS ‘LIMITED NUMBER’ OF PERSONNEL IN CARACAS WORKING TO RESUME VENEZUELA DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

After capturing former dictator Nicolás Maduro, the Trump administration made clear it had allowed Rodríguez to stay in power in an interim capacity because it believed Washington had significant influence over her decision-making. 

Trump had said the U.S. would “run” Venezuela before backing Rodríguez. Trump spoke with Rodríguez recently by phone and earlier in January met with opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. 

“We obviously have maximum leverage over the interim authorities in Venezuela right now,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Jan. 7.

TRUMP SIGNS ORDER TO PROTECT VENEZUELA OIL REVENUE HELD IN US ACCOUNTS

Any decisions by the new government will “continue to be dictated by the United States of America,” she said. 

It remains unclear whether Rodríguez has the political or economic leverage to translate her public defiance into policy, or whether the remarks are aimed primarily at a domestic audience wary of U.S. influence.

The White House could not be reached for comment in light of the Venezuelan leader’s most recent comments.

Earlier Saturday, Rodriguez made an overture to the Venezuelan opposition to reach “agreements” on the nation’s political future and said there should be “no political or partisan differences when it comes to peace in Venezuela.”

Rodríguez’s rebuke comes as the United States has moved to assert control over Venezuela’s oil resources, long a centerpiece of Caracas’ economy. In early January, the White House announced an energy arrangement under which Venezuela would provide 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to the United States at market price.

So far, the U.S. has completed at least one sale of Venezuelan crude valued at around $500 million, and more transactions are expected as part of the broader agreement.

Venezuela’s legislature recently approved an initial vote to loosen state control over Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, a move that would represent the first major overhaul of the industry since former leader Hugo Chavez nationalized large swaths of the industry in 2007. The legislation, which seems aimed at appeasing the U.S. government, would make room for private companies to invest in the oil industry.

Some supporters of the U.S. move to capture Maduro have been left scratching their heads by the decision to leave Rodriguez in power for an undisclosed amount of time. 

After meeting with Trump earlier in January, Machado said she believed the goal was to hold new elections after a transition period, but did not say how long that would take.

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 In words that seemed a cautionary warning, Machado called Rodríguez “a communist” and “the main ally and representation of the Russian regime, the Chinese and the Iranians,” while arguing that Rodríguez “does not represent the Venezuelan people” or the armed forces.

Trump told reporters in the past week Rodriguez had “shown very strong leadership so far,” and “had done a very good job.”

The White House appears to be rejecting Democrats’ demands in the burgeoning government funding fight, as the chances of a partial shutdown grow larger by the day.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is threatening that Democrats will vote against the massive federal spending bill set to get a vote this week unless funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is stripped out and renegotiated.

Republicans have already signaled they’re not inclined to do so, which White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reaffirmed during her Monday afternoon press conference.

Leavitt also pointed out that all the bills wrapped into the massive spending package are the product of bipartisan negotiations between the House and Senate — meaning Democrats already had a say in the legislation they are now rejecting.

DHS FUNDING FIGHT DRIVES SENATE SCRAMBLE TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

“At this point, the White House supports the bipartisan work that was done to advance the bipartisan appropriations package, and we want to see that passed,” President Donald Trump’s spokeswoman said. 

“Policy discussions on immigration in Minnesota are happening. Look, the president is leading those discussions, as evidenced by his correspondence with Governor Walz this morning. But that should not be at the expense of government funding for the American people.”

Democrats are coming out against the DHS funding bill en masse in the wake of another deadly federal law enforcement-involved shooting in Minneapolis. A Border Patrol agent shot Alex Pretti, a nurse who worked with veterans at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, during a wider protest against Trump’s immigration crackdown in the city.

Both Republicans and Democrats have called for investigations into the fatal encounter, but only Democrats are threatening to put federal funding at risk.

7 HOUSE DEMOCRATS BREAK WITH JEFFRIES TO PASS DHS FUNDING DESPITE ICE BACKLASH

Leavitt pointed out that the DHS funding portion would also allocate dollars to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), not just the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spending that Democrats object to.

“We are in the midst of the storm that took place over the weekend, and many Americans are still being impacted by that. So we absolutely do not want to see that funding lapse,” she said. “We want the Senate to move forward with passing the bipartisan appropriations package that was negotiated on a bipartisan basis.”

DHS AT CENTER OF PROGRESSIVE REVOLT AS HOUSE ADVANCES $80B SPENDING PACKAGE

The legislation negotiated between Republicans and Democrats already includes guardrails for ICE, including mandating body-worn cameras and more training on public engagement and de-escalation.

But Pretti’s killing and DHS’s handling of it infuriated Democrats — at least several of whom will be needed to meet the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to advance the legislation.

Senate Republicans had wanted to pass the package as early as Thursday and send it to Trump’s desk just before the Jan. 30 shutdown deadline.

Senate Democrats held a private, caucus-wide call on the matter on Sunday, after which a source familiar told Fox News Digital that Schumer’s plan was to reject any DHS bill without several reforms, but that the broader, five-bill funding package could move ahead. 

“Basically, DHS is the problem and should be split from the package,” they said.

But with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., taking the first procedural step to set up this week’s vote on the larger package on Monday, Democrats’ prospects of strong-arming the GOP are thin.

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Even if Senate Democrats did prevail, it’s virtually guaranteed that Congress would miss the Friday shutdown deadline at this point.

Any changes to the spending package would require it to return to the House to be considered again, despite it passing the lower chamber last week.

But a House GOP leadership source told Fox News Digital of that prospect on Saturday, “We passed all 12 bills over to the Senate, and they still have six in their possession that they need to pass to the president. We have no plan to come back next week.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer’s office for a response.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is facing pushback from a prominent holocaust remembrance museum after suggesting children in Minnesota today are fearful in the same way Anne Frank was before she was killed by Nazis.

“Anne Frank was targeted and murdered solely because she was Jewish,” the U.S. Holocaust Museum posted on X on Monday. 

“Leaders making false equivalencies to her experience for political purposes is never acceptable. Despite tensions in Minneapolis, exploiting the Holocaust is deeply offensive, especially as antisemitism surges.”

During a recent press briefing, Walz said some children in the state felt scared to go outside because of aggressive tactics being employed by federal agents cracking down on illegal immigration. 

MEET THE MINNESOTANS KILLED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS THAT WALZ, DEMS NEVER HELD NEWS CONFERENCES OR VIGILS FOR

“We have got children in Minnesota hiding in their houses, afraid to go outside. Many of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank,” Walz said on Sunday after the shooting day of Alex Pretti during an encounter with federal agents, referring to the German-Jewish teenager who documented her life in hiding during the Nazi persecution in World War II.

“Somebody is going to write that children’s story about Minnesota, and there’s one person who can end this now,” he said, referring to President Donald Trump. 

The comment sparked criticism from many on social media, President Donald Trump’s antisemitism envoy, and a Republican congressional candidate who spoke to Fox News Digital. 

DOJ TORCHES DEMOCRATS FOR ‘SHAMELESSLY LYING’ ABOUT MINNESOTA VOTER ROLL REQUEST

“Governor Tim Walz’s decision to compare federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota to Anne Frank and the Holocaust is dangerous, disgusting, and profoundly irresponsible,” retired Minnesota State Patrol Lt. John Nagel, running for Congress as a Republican against Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, told Fox News Digital. 

“No matter where people stand on immigration policy or recent enforcement actions, invoking the Holocaust — one of the darkest chapters in human history — has no place in responsible public leadership. These comparisons do not clarify the debate. They distort it.”

Nagel went on to call Walz’s comment a “troubling pattern” rather than an “isolated remark.”

“Governor Walz has repeatedly reached for extreme historical analogies — including references to Nazis and the Gestapo — when discussing law enforcement and political opponents,” Nagel added. “That kind of rhetoric matters. When elected officials portray police or federal agents as Nazis, they create an environment where protesters can convince themselves that violently confronting law enforcement is not only justified, but morally required. That is how words turn into real-world danger.”

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

Numerous activists across the country have used Nazi comparisons while blasting the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, including Mexican-American journalist Maria Hinojosa compared Latino children in the U.S. to Jewish children during the Holocaust, saying some fear abduction and death like Anne Frank, Fox News Digital previously reported.

On Monday, Walz appeared to be striking a less inflammatory tone, speaking with Trump on the phone in a call his office told Fox Digital on Monday was a “productive” call where he was making the “case that we need impartial investigations of the Minneapolis shootings involving federal agents, and that we need to reduce the number of federal agents in Minnesota.”

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Trump announced Monday that he was deploying White House border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota and that he will report directly to the president. 

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

Senate Republicans are moving ahead with a behemoth funding package in their bid to keep the government open and hope to blast through Democratic opposition in the process. 

Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, on Monday teed up the first procedural step for the six-bill funding package, which includes the politically divisive Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending bill, despite warnings from Senate Democrats that they would block the legislation. 

Monday’s action is just the first of several hurdles lawmakers will have to overcome, but important nonetheless given the extreme weather that rocked much of the country and threatened to delay the process altogether. 

SENATE DEMOCRATS THREATEN SHUTDOWN BY BLOCKING DHS FUNDING AFTER MINNESOTA ICE SHOOTING

Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s, R-S.D., gamble comes as a Friday deadline to fund the government is bearing down on the Senate. Passing the package and sending it to President Donald Trump’s desk would fully fund the government until September, when lawmakers will again need to have passed a dozen spending bills to keep the lights on.

But the immediate fight and one that threatens to derail the GOP’s plan to avert yet another shutdown is over DHS funding. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus have come out en masse against the broader package, including the Homeland funding bill, following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis on Saturday. 

Schumer and Senate Democrats rapidly mobilized their opposition to the funding bill, despite maintaining a fragile truce with the GOP in their bipartisan government funding negotiations over the last two days.

KEY SENATOR WON’T FUND DHS AS ICE, FEDERAL AGENTS ENTER HIS STATE

Despite shoring up a largely unified front, including several moderate Senate Democrats who crossed the aisle to help Republicans reopen the government last year, Schumer does have one perennial defector.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has consistently opposed any attempt to shut down the government. He notably joined Senate Republicans over a dozen times last year to reopen the government as his colleagues resisted. 

And like those times before, Fetterman is not keen on shutting the federal government down, despite agreeing with Senate Democrats that the DHS bill should be stripped from the broader package. 

He noted in a statement that even shutting down the government would affect Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) funding, given that the GOP’s colossal, “one big, beautiful” bill injected over $170 billion over the next several years into DHS.

SENATE DEMS REVOLT AGAINST DHS FUNDING BILL AMID MINNEAPOLIS CHAOS, HIKING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN RISK

“I reject the calls to defund or abolish ICE. I strongly disagree with many strategies and practices ICE deployed in Minneapolis, and believe that must change,” Fetterman said. “I want a conversation on the DHS appropriations bill and support stripping it from the minibus.”

“It is unlikely that will happen, and our country will suffer another shutdown,” he continued. “We must find a way forward, and I remain committed to being a voice of reason and common sense.”

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Fetterman and his colleagues want the DHS bill stripped from the broader package and say that they would support those remaining five bills. But doing that would open up a procedural nightmare in the process and likely lead to a partial government shutdown, given that the House would have to return from a week-long break to weigh in. 

And like the last foray into a possible shutdown, Schumer argued that the onus was on Thune and Senate Republicans, despite Senate Democrats having negotiated the current funding package on a bipartisan basis. 

“The responsibility to prevent a partial government shutdown is on Leader Thune and Senate Republicans,” Schumer said in a statement. “If Leader Thune puts those five bills on the floor this week, we can pass them right away. If not, Republicans will again be responsible for another government shutdown.”

FIRST ON FOX: Republican senators are hitting the road to sell the Working Families Tax Cuts Act in meetings with local business owners and families, Senate Majority Leader John Thune highlighted.

More than a dozen senators, including Thune, have held events in multiple states during separate trips, including to Texas, West Virginia, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Ohio, Florida and Louisiana.

“When Joe Biden and Democrats had unified control of government, they created open borders and high prices,” Thune told Fox News Digital. “Republicans, on the other hand, have delivered safe streets, more money in pockets, and new opportunities to get ahead through the historic Working Families Tax Cuts.”

“Now we need to make sure the American people know it. Republicans will be hitting the ground hard in 2026 to sell our accomplishments and continue building on our work with the Trump-Vance administration to create a safe, strong, and prosperous America,” Thune added.

BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL IMMEDIATELY HITS THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL IN BATTLE FOR CONGRESS

The GOP senators who have held events are John Cornyn of Texas, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Jim Justice of West Virginia, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, John Boozman of Arkansas, Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania, Dan Sullivan of Arkansas, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Katie Britt of Alabama, Ashley Moody of Florida, Jon Husted 9of Ohio and Rick Scott of Florida.

Senate candidates Mike Rogers and Michael Whatley also joined Thune, Cornyn, Barrasso and Husted during a trip to the southern border in early January to see progress made on improving national security. The Working Families Tax Cuts Act, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, included a roughly $165 billion investment for immigration and border security efforts, including $46.5 billion for funding for the border wall.

Other senators met with local businesses in their respective states to discuss how the bill could benefit local communities.

BESSENT BLASTS DEMOCRAT-LED STATES FOR BLOCKING TRUMP TAX RELIEF IN OBBBA

“This week, I visited Kamp A Demics Learning Center, one of Montgomery’s child care centers, where I toured the facility and read to some of the precious children,” Britt posted to X. “I also participated in a roundtable discussion on the updated child care tax credits I secured in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act and my continued work to address our child care crisis.”

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to speak with restaurant owners and community leaders about Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts Act—a law that will eliminate taxes on tips and overtime,” Husted posted to X with photos highlighting the event that took place in Ohio. 

The bill passed the Senate on July 1, 2025, and Trump signed it into law on July 4, 2025.

THE BATTLE OVER THE ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ MOVES FROM CAPITOL HILL TO THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

The Tax Foundation estimates that the legislation includes $3,752 in tax cuts for the average taxpayer in the U.S. in 2026, with the highest savings in Teton County, Wyoming seeing an estimated $37,373 per taxpayer in 2026. 

The basis for the tax cuts come from an extension of provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was signed into law by Trump during his first term. The TCJA doubled the standard deduction for single and married jointly filing households, and reduced income tax rates, with the top rate falling from 39.6% to 37%.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) also extended a Child Tax Credit that was part of the TCJA, which reduces how much income tax a family owes for each qualifying child, up to $2,000 per child, per year.

CONGRESS DELIVERS ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL WIN FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS

Thune joined Cassidy at a restaurant in Louisiana to talk with servers and employees about how the “no tax on tips” portion of the OBBBA would put more money in their pockets.

The main portion of the OBBBA that is new from the TCJA extensions excludes qualified tip income from federal income tax up to $25,000 per year, and excludes qualified overtime income from federal income tax up to $12,500 for single filers and $25,000 for marriages filing jointly. Payroll taxes still apply to tips and overtime, and benefits will eventually be phased out in 2028.

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Critics of the legislation point to a reduction in federal income, thus increasing national debt in the short term, and the shifting of Medicaid costs to states rather than the federal government.

The Tax Foundation also estimates that the bill will create roughly 938,000 full-time equivalent jobs over the long run.

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

One of the seven House Democrats who voted with Republicans to advance a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending bill last week is now characterizing his vote as a mistake, highlighting growing unrest among moderate Democrats over the department’s funding even as lawmakers look to escape a looming government shutdown.

In the wake of a deadly clash between immigration enforcement and agitators in Minnesota over the weekend, Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., apologized publicly for his vote in a post to Facebook.

“I failed to view the DHS funding vote as a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis,” Suozzi said, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a key agency in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown efforts.

DEMS RELENT, SENATE SENDS $174B SPENDING PACKAGE TO TRUMP’S DESK AS SHUTDOWN LOOMS OVER DHS FUNDING

“I hear the anger from my constituents and I take responsibility for that. I have long been critical of ICE’s unlawful behavior, and I must do a better job demonstrating that,” he added.

The other six Democrats contacted by Fox News Digital did not respond to inquiries about their votes.

Suozzi’s comments come as Democrats in the Senate are signaling growing opposition to passing the DHS bill and funding the government ahead of a possible shutdown on Jan. 30. The DHS bill, which includes funding for ICE, is part of a four-bill package that the House of Representatives passed last week.

The political outlook of the DHS funding bill changed over the weekend with the death of Alex Pretti.

According to DHS, ICE officers shot and killed Pretti, 37, in a confrontation on Saturday when Pretti attempted to disrupt law enforcement activities while in possession of a firearm. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has said agents acted in self-defense.

Pretti is the second civilian shot by ICE in the past month.

The Friday before Pretti’s death, Suozzi and six other Democrats broke with the rest of their party to advance a DHS funding bill that the majority of the party had condemned as inadequate in its provisions on ICE.

GOP SEN. CASSIDY BREAKS WITH TRUMP OVER DEADLY SHOOTING BY BORDER PATROL AGENT IN MINNEAPOLIS

Even with new body camera requirements, additional training mandates and some reductions in funding, Democrats saw the package as unlikely to prevent future deadly clashes between ICE and agitators.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a group of over 70 lawmakers, said they wouldn’t support a spending bill that didn’t include greater guardrails for ICE.

“I am glad to announce that the Congressional Progressive Caucus has adopted an official position to hold ICE accountable. Our caucus members will oppose all funding for immigration enforcement in any appropriations bills until meaningful reforms are enacted to end militarized policing practices,” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said at a press event shortly before Republicans unveiled their DHS bill last week.

Their calls were soon adopted by party leadership in the chamber.

Now, with the death of Pretti, what little support the DHS funding had among Democrats is dwindling further. 

Suozzi, who had highlighted his role as one of seven Democrats to support the bill on his website, called on Trump to end his ICE deportation campaign.

“The senseless and tragic murder of Alex Pretti underscores what happens when untrained federal agents operate without accountability. President Trump must immediately end ‘Operation Metro Surge’ and ICE’s occupation of Minneapolis that has sown chaos, led to tragedy and undermined experienced local law enforcement,” Suozzi said.

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The Senate is expected to vote on the bundle of four bills in the coming days. Questions remain whether negotiators will modify the DHS package to avoid a shutdown if Democrats remain united in their opposition.

If modified, the package would have to be taken up again in the House. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said he has no intention of bringing the House back in the coming week.

Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman is calling for an immediate end to the Minnesota immigration crackdown after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti Saturday by federal law enforcement, he said in comment to Fox News Digital. 

“The operation in Minneapolis should stand down and immediately end,” Fetterman said Monday in a comment to Fox News Digital. “It has become an ungovernable and dangerous urban theatre for civilians and law enforcement that is incompatible with the American spirit.” 

“As a very pro-immigration Democrat and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Border Management, I believe our nation deserves a secured border and that we should deport all criminal migrants,” he continued. “I also believe there needs to be a path to citizenship for those hardworking families who are here.” 

Fetterman’s comments on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation follow his vocal support of federal law enforcement officers, breaking with many Democrat colleagues who have called for the end to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and for ICE overall to be defunded. 

FORMER ICE AGENT CALLS POLICE NON-COOPERATION ‘FORMULA FOR DISASTER’ AFTER SECOND MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING DEATH

“Secure the border. Deport all the criminals. Stop targeting the hardworking migrants in our nation,” Fetterman posted to X earlier in January. 

Fetterman added in his statement Monday that he continues to buck calls to defund ICE. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Fetterman’s office Monday morning inquiring about his wife’s X post blasting the Trump administration’s immigration policies, even as her husband has publicly backed federal immigration officers.

“For more than a decade, I lived undocumented in the US. Every day carried the same uncertainty and fear lived in my body – a tight chest, shallow breaths, racing heart,” the senator’s wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, wrote Sunday. “What I thought was my private, chronic dread has now become a shared national wound.”

“This now-daily violence is not ‘law and order.’ It is terror inflicted on people who contribute, love and build their lives here,” she continued. “It’s devastatingly cruel and unAmerican.”

Gisele Barreto Fetterman previously has discussed moving to the U.S. from Brazil as a child, including as an illegal immigrant for a decade.  

Alex Pretti, 37, was fatally shot Saturday by Border Patrol agents in Minnesota while filming federal officers on a Minneapolis street. Federal officials say Pretti approached agents with a 9 mm handgun and resisted disarmament, while witnesses have cast doubt on if Pretti, an ICU nurse, posed a threat to agents. 

President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal Sunday that his administration is “reviewing everything,” surrounding the case, but did not say whether the agent who shot Pretti acted appropriately.

The fatal shooting, which follows the Jan. 7 fatal ICE shooting of Renee Good, has sparked outrage among Democrats and critics of the president who say Trump administration immigration policies are causing chaos for communities, while describing the shooting deaths of the two Americans as “murder.”

ANTI-ICE AGITATORS CLASH WITH FEDERAL AGENTS AT MINNEAPOLIS HOTEL, AS AGENTS DEPLOY TEAR GAS, FLASHBANGS

Former President Bill Clinton, for example, issued a searing rebuke of the immigration crackdown following Pretti’s death, calling it an “unacceptable” tragedy that “should have been avoided.”

Fetterman said in comment to Fox News Digital that “Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti should still be alive” and that his “family grieves for theirs.” 

“I’ve also spent significant time hearing many different positions on the funding bills and maintain that I will never vote to shut our government down, especially our Defense Department.

“Additionally, a vote to shut our government down will not defund ICE. DHS has $178B in funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which I did not vote for,” he said. “I reject the calls to defund or abolish ICE. I strongly disagree with many strategies and practices ICE deployed in Minneapolis, and believe that must change.”

“I want a conversation on the DHS appropriations bill and support stripping it from the minibus,” he continued. “It is unlikely that will happen and our country will suffer another shutdown. We must find a way forward and I remain committed to being a voice of reason and common sense.” 

JD VANCE SHARES ‘CRAZY’ STORY OF ICE AND CBP OFFICERS BEING MOBBED IN MINNEAPOLIS

Trump announced Monday that he was deploying White House border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota, and that he will report directly to the president. 

“Tom Homan will be managing ICE operations on the ground in Minnesota and coordinating with others on the ongoing fraud investigations,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox Digital Monday. 

Leavitt said Monday during a White House press briefing that the administration is calling on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to agree in order to bring peace to the Twin Cities. 

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“Number one, Governor Walz, Mayor Frye and all Democrat leaders should turn over all criminal illegal aliens currently incarcerated in their prisons and jails to federal authorities, along with any illegal aliens with active warrants or known criminal histories for immediate deportation,” Leavitt said. “Number two, state and local law enforcement must agree to turn over all illegal aliens who are arrested by local police. And then thirdly, local police must assist federal law enforcement in apprehending and detaining illegal aliens who are wanted for crimes, especially violent crimes.”

Walz and Trump shared what was described as a productive phone call Monday morning, with the state calling on the president to work together to quell the chaos, Trump said on Truth Social.