NationalWatch

Karrin Taylor Robson dropped out of the Arizona Republican gubernatorial primary despite being one of the two candidates in the race backed by President Donald Trump.

“After deep reflection, prayer, and many conversations with my family, I have decided to suspend my campaign for Governor,” Robson said in a statement posted to X on Thursday.

She explained that she does not want to contribute to a contentious GOP primary. 

HOCHUL PRIMARY CHALLENGER ANTONIO DELGADOO ENDS CAMPAIGN FOR NEW YORK GOVERNOR

“We cannot afford a divisive Republican primary that drains resources and turns into months of intraparty attacks. It only weakens our conservative cause and gives the left exactly what they want: a fractured Republican Party heading into November. With so much on the line in 2026, I am not willing to contribute to that outcome,” she noted in the statement.

Robson did not make an endorsement.

“I remain committed to helping Republicans win in 2026 and to ensuring Arizona remains strong, safe, and free for generations to come,” she noted in the statement.

Trump had pledged to support her for governor in 2024. 

“Are you running for governor? I think so, Karrin, cuz if you do, you’re gonna have my support,” Trump said at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in December 2024.

ADAM SCHIFF MAKES ENDORSEMENT IN CALFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL RACE

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., launched a gubernatorial bid in January 2025, and Robson launched her bid in February 2025 — but in April 2025, Trump made the unorthodox move of announcing that he endorsed both of them.

“I like Karrin Taylor Robson of Arizona a lot, and when she asked me to Endorse her, with nobody else running, I Endorsed her, and was happy to do so. When Andy Biggs decided to run for Governor, quite unexpectedly, I had a problem — Two fantastic candidates, two terrific people, two wonderful champions, and it is therefore my Great Honor TO GIVE MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT TO BOTH. Either one will never let you down. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump declared in an April 2025 Truth Social post.

In 2022, Robson lost the GOP gubernatorial primary in Arizona to Kari Lake, who went on to lose the general election to Democrat Katie Hobbs.

TRUMP BACKS REPUBLICAN RIVALS IN ARIZONA GOVERNOR’S RACE AFTER REP. BIGGS ENTERS CONTEST: ‘I HAD A PROBLEM’

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Hobbs is seeking re-election this year.

Rep. David Schweikert, R-Arizona, is another Republican seeking the Grand Canyon State governorship.

Some of the most hotly contested states in this year’s elections are also footing the nation’s steepest tariff bills, according to an analysis of U.S. Census trade data.

That convergence creates a new economic pressure point at a time when affordability dominates the national midterm debate and the cost of everyday goods remains a top voter concern. Candidates in both parties are campaigning on promises to rein in the cost of groceries, housing and other everyday goods.

All 435 House seats and 33 Senate seats are on the ballot this year, putting Republicans’ slim majorities at risk. Democrats need four seats to reclaim the Senate, while Republicans can afford to lose just two in the House.

US TARIFF REVENUE UP 300% UNDER TRUMP AS SUPREME COURT BATTLE LOOMS

Tariffs factor directly into those costs.

Tariffs are taxes the federal government places on imported goods. While American importers pay those duties at the border, economists say businesses often pass the added costs along, raising prices as the expense moves through supply chains.

California and Texas — the nation’s two largest state economies — top the list in tariff totals at $38 billion and $21 billion, driven by the volume of imports flowing through major ports and industrial supply chains. 

Among the states with the most consequential Senate races are Georgia and Michigan, both of which carry sizable tariff burdens, underscoring how deeply their economies are intertwined with international trade.

Other states bearing the brunt of hefty tariff bills include Illinois ($9.6 billion), Ohio ($6.5 billion), Pennsylvania ($6.3 billion), North Carolina ($5 billion), South Carolina ($5.2 billion) and Kentucky ($4 billion).

Even as states shoulder billions in tariff costs, collections nationwide have climbed 300% since President Donald Trump’s return to office, significantly boosting federal revenue.

January collections hit $30.4 billion, a 275% jump from a year earlier, pushing fiscal-year revenue to $124 billion, more than triple last year’s pace.

TRUMP CALLS TARIFF WINDFALL ‘SO BEAUTIFUL TO SEE’ AS CASH SAILS IN

The surge in revenue has become a cornerstone of Trump’s economic agenda, with the administration arguing tariffs can fund domestic priorities, chip away at the nation’s $38 trillion debt and finance a proposed $2,000 dividend check for Americans. Trump has promoted the policy as a strategy to revive domestic industry and extract concessions from foreign trading partners.

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But the policy faces a pivotal test at the Supreme Court, which has yet to rule on whether the tariffs fall within Trump’s authority. A decision against the government could jeopardize a key source of federal revenue and reshape the administration’s trade strategy.

With billions in revenue at stake and control of Congress hanging in the balance, the court’s ruling could reverberate far beyond Washington.

With little time and no deal in sight to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a partial government shutdown by midnight is all but guaranteed.

The battle to prevent the third government shutdown under President Donald Trump in less than six months was lost in the Senate on Thursday. Now, with Congress scattered across the U.S. and several senators headed abroad, there’s no chance that a shutdown will be averted.

Senate Republicans were unable to smash through Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats’ unified front to pass a full-year DHS funding bill, nor were they able to do yet another short-term, two-week extension.

DHS SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS WITHOUT PAY, WHAT HAPPENS TO AIRPORTS AND DISASTER RESPONSE

“The idea of not even allowing us to have an extended amount of time to negotiate this suggests to me, at least, that there isn’t a high level of interest in actually solving this issue,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said.

The final fight on the floor Thursday wasn’t with every lawmaker present, but between Sens. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., over giving lawmakers a little more time to keep the agency open while negotiations continue.

Senate Democrats argued that Republicans offered their legislative proposal in the dead of night, giving little time to actually move toward a compromise.

DEMS DIG IN, GUARANTEE SHUTDOWN WITH BLOCK OF DHS FUNDING

“We had plenty of time to get a deal in the last two weeks,” Murphy said. “And the lack of seriousness from the White House and from Republicans not getting language until last night has put us in the position we are in today.”

And with the expected shutdown, Democrats’ main targets — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — won’t see their cash flow dry up because of billions injected into the agency by Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

Instead, agencies like TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and several others will suffer the brunt of the shutdown.

“There is no way that you can’t say we’re working in good faith. We want to continue this conversation,” Britt said on the Senate floor. “But yet you’re penalizing a TSA agent. A TSA agent is going to go without a paycheck. Why? So that you can posture politically? I’m over it.”

DHS FUNDING BILL FAILS AFTER SCHUMER REJECTS TRUMP’S ICE REFORM OFFER

“Everybody on that side of the aisle knows that ICE and CBP will continue to be funded,” she continued. “They’re going to continue to enforce the law just as they should. Who’s going to pay the price?”

The final floor argument was a microcosm of what the week had devolved into. Senate Republicans argued that Democrats had burned too much time producing their list of demands, while Senate Democrats contended that they weren’t given enough time by the White House.

And as is typical during the string of shutdowns in the last several months, it has devolved into a public blame game. When asked about the effects a shutdown would have on the agencies not involved in immigration enforcement, Schumer pointed the finger at the GOP and the White House.

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“Talk to the Republicans, OK? We’re ready to fund everything,” Schumer said. “We’re ready to have good, serious proposals supported by the American people. They’re not; they’re sort of dug in the ground, and they’re not moving forward.”

But neither side is willing to divulge publicly what the exact sticking points are in their ongoing negotiations. And Senate Democrats now appear to be considering a counteroffer to the White House, a sign that negotiations aren’t totally dead in the water.

“Negotiations will continue, and we will see in the course of the next few days how serious they are,” Thune said.

Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz was slammed online by Republicans after proposing a $10 million emergency relief package for small businesses across the state impacted by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Walz unveiled the proposal Thursday after border czar Tom Homan announced that Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota would be ending. The proposal calls for forgivable loans ranging from $2,500 to $25,000 to be distributed to eligible businesses that are able to demonstrate “substantial revenue loss” during “specified dates” tied to the operation.

“The campaign of retribution by the federal administration has been more than a short-term disruption; it has inflicted long-term damage on Minnesota communities,” Walz said in a statement. “Recovery will not happen overnight. Families, workers, and business owners are feeling the effects, and our responsibility is clear: we will help rebuild, stabilize these businesses, protect jobs, and ensure Minnesota’s economy can recover and thrive.”

Republicans quickly criticized the proposal as Minnesota continues to face extensive fraud allegations.

CONVICTED MINNESOTA FRAUDSTER ALLEGES WALZ, ELLISON WERE AWARE OF WIDESPREAD FRAUD

President Donald Trump previously claimed that fraud in Minnesota exceeded $19 billion.

Dozens of people have been prosecuted in Minnesota in recent years for alleged large-scale welfare fraud schemes involving food assistance and autism services. Federal prosecutors have alleged the schemes stole hundreds of millions of dollars from taxpayer-funded programs, with separate investigations also examining alleged fraud in the state’s daycare system.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn. reacted to the governor’s proposal on X, saying, “BREAKING: Tim Walz opens up a new avenue for fraud in Minnesota.”

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

Minnesota Republican state Sen. Michael Holmstrom said on X that the proposal would be an “immediate NO from me,” adding that Minnesota taxpayers “do not deserve to have more money stolen from them.”

Others referenced fraud related to Minnesota’s daycare system, including Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., who responded to the proposal on X, “Does that include learing centers?”

His post referenced a typo that read “Quality Learing Center,” which was eventually corrected. The Quality Learning Center was infamously featured in a video by YouTuber Nick Shirley, who visited multiple daycare centers across Minnesota that allegedly received public funds but were not providing any services.

SCOOP: THOUSANDS OF VIOLENT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRESTED IN MINNESOTA AS ADMIN VOWS ‘WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN’

The governor’s office included a statement from Henry Garnica, the owner of CentroMex in East St. Paul, who said the past few months during the immigration operation have been “some of the hardest I’ve experienced as a business owner.”

“Sales are down, we have limited hours, and we have had to change how we operate,” he stated. “That’s not who we are as a neighborhood store. This proposed forgivable loan package would give businesses like mine breathing room — to keep employees on payroll and keep our doors open. For some of us, it could mean the difference between surviving and closing for good.”

On Thursday, Walz demanded that the federal government “pay for what they broke” after the Trump administration said it would draw down its presence in the Twin Cities.

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Walz said during a news conference that federal law enforcement’s presence in the state was leaving “deep damage” and “generational trauma.”

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: Industry experts warn the United States is “one crisis away” from losing access to the rare earth elements that power everything from fighter jets to electric vehicles — a vulnerability President Donald Trump’s new $12 billion “Project Vault” aims to address.

The initiative, backed by $1.67 billion in private seed money and a $10 billion loan from the Export-Import Bank, would create a federally supported stockpile of rare earth elements and other critical minerals. The U.S. currently imports much of those materials from China.

Executives from Graphite One, one of the country’s largest critical mineral developers, told Fox News Digital the effort could mark a turning point in the battle over China’s dominance of global supply chains.

“The Chinese are willing to weaponize access to … semiconductor materials like gallium and uranium,” Graphite One advisor Dan McGroarty said. “Then they turn off the tap and sort things out, give us a one-year reprieve, you know, it’s a leash, and they can yank that leash anytime they want.”

TRUMP SAYS ‘YOU’LL SEE’ WHEN ASKED HOW FAR HE’LL GO ON GREENLAND TAKEOVER

CEO Anthony Huston compared the concept to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, established after the 1970s oil crisis to safeguard U.S. energy security, arguing that critical minerals now play a similarly vital role in powering modern defense systems, advanced electronics and electric vehicles.

“For years, American businesses have risked running out of critical minerals during market disruptions… Project Vault [will] ensure that American businesses and workers are never harmed by any shortage,” Trump said in his announcement last month.

Graphite One recently made news with its “truly generational” Graphite Creek site in Alaska, which is the U.S.’ largest asset of that particular critical mineral, in Huston’s words.

As of 2024, the U.S. was at least 93% import-dependent on rare earth elements and graphite, according to the International Energy Agency, and remains heavily reliant on foreign suppliers for dozens of other critical minerals.

TRUMP KNOWS GOOD REAL ESTATE — AND HE KNOWS GREENLAND’S VALUE TO NATIONAL SECURITY

“The United States really relies on China and Africa for graphite. China, as we understand, is our adversary,” Huston said.

A buried lede in the Project Vault news, he added, is a little-reported counter-terror aspect.

Huston said some African mineral deposits, including in parts of Mozambique, are located in areas where ISIS-linked groups have operated. By onshoring development of critical minerals, the U.S. will not only work to unseat Chinese dominance but also deal a blow to operations in areas run by people who want to kill us, he argued.

McGroarty added that Project Vault reminds him of the idea of “dual-use technologies” during the Cold War, where computers of the time had technology that could not be exported – but could be used for both manufacturing and nuclear weapons design, for instance.

“On another level, we’re going to have to balance it across 20, 30, 40 different metals, minerals, compounds, and composites, not just oil,” he said.

TRUMP CHALLENGES CARNEY AT DAVOS, ASSERTS CANADA SHOULD BE ‘GRATEFUL’ FOR GOLDEN DOME MISSILE DEFENSE

McGroarty said the U.S. is “one crisis away” from having REEs “cut-off” by adversaries like China.

Huston also spoke of why Project Vault fits the 2020s more than any other time.

In the prior century, there were no cell phones, no EVs and graphite and the like were being used in analog tools like pencils and primitive computers.

The Graphite Creek site supplied materials for World War II-era steel production, a far cry from its potential role in today’s high-tech economy. Huston reiterated that the U.S. needs its own “strategic petroleum reserve” of critical minerals rather than relying on adversarial nations.

“As they say when you’re flying, put the oxygen mask on yourself first before turning to help those around,” he said.

TRUMP SAYS GREENLAND’S DEFENSE IS ‘TWO DOG SLEDS’ AS HE PUSHES FOR US ACQUISITION OF TERRITORY

Asked about any nexus between Project Vault, the Senate’s renewed focus on Arctic national security amid foreign incursions and Trump’s overtures toward Greenland, McGroarty suggested there may be one — but it’s not yet clear.

He quipped that sometimes it’s better to look at the globe from the top rather than the side, which places North America in the center of everything.

“See what nations have a presence in the Arctic, you’ll see the importance of Greenland; you’ll also see that the U.S. is an Arctic nation only because of Alaska,” he said.

Of the 60 critical minerals on the U.S. government’s official list, Alaska has known resources of at least 58, he added.

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“It’s the same sort of thing with Greenland. In the case of Greenland, I think there’s a phrase that I use from time to time: resource denial — That is to say, you might try not to be interested in Greenland’s resource potential in critical minerals. If you wake up one day, and the Chinese and the Russians are engaging in economic relationships in Greenland and directing those metals and minerals into their supply chains, you will have to be concerned about what goes on.”

China-based experts, on the other hand, were dismissive of Project Vault, with rare-earths analyst Wu Chenhui telling the state-owned Global Times that while Trump’s move is novel, it “functions more as a short-term buffer than a fundamental solution,” and other officials in the Communist nation were similarly bearish on the news.

A partial government shutdown is all but certain after Senate Democrats rejected attempts to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offered by Republicans on Thursday afternoon.

But it will not look like the record-long 43-day full shutdown that paralyzed Congress last year, nor will it look like the shorter four-day partial shutdown that hit Capitol Hill earlier this month. That’s because Congress has already funded roughly 97% of the government through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2026 on Sept. 30.

When the clock strikes 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14, just DHS will be affected by a lapse in its federal funding. While it’s a vastly smaller scale than other recent fiscal fights, it will still have an impact on a broad range of issues given DHS’s wide jurisdiction.

SCHUMER, DEMS CHOOSE PARTIAL SHUTDOWN AS NEGOTIATIONS HIT IMPASSE

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

Disruptions to the TSA, whose agents are responsible for security checks at nearly 440 airports across the country, could perhaps be the most impactful part of the partial shutdown to Americans’ everyday lives.

Acting Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill told lawmakers at a hearing on Wednesday that around 95% of TSA employees — roughly 61,000 people — are deemed essential and will be forced to work without pay in the event of a shutdown.

McNeill said many TSA agents were still recovering from the effects of the recent 43-day shutdown. “We heard reports of officers sleeping in their cars at airports to save money on gas, selling their blood and plasma, and taking on second jobs to make ends meet,” she said.

TSA paychecks due to be issued on March 3 could see agents getting reduced pay depending on the length of the shutdown. Agents would not be at risk of missing a full paycheck until March 17.

If that happens, however, Americans could see delays or even cancellations at the country’s busiest airports as TSA agents are forced to call out of work and get second jobs to make ends meet.

SHUTDOWN CLOCK TICKS AS SCHUMER, DEMOCRATS DIG IN ON DHS FUNDING DEMANDS

Coast Guard

The U.S. Coast Guard is the only branch of the Armed Forces under DHS rather than the Department of War, and as such would likely see reduced operations during a shutdown.

That includes a pause in training for pilots, air crews, and boat crews until funding is restarted.

Admiral Thomas Allan, Coast Guard Vice Commandant, warned lawmakers that it would have to “suspend all missions, except those for national security or the protection of life and property.”

A lapse in its funding would also result in suspended pay for 56,000 active duty, reserve, and civilian personnel, which Allan warned would negatively affect morale and recruitment efforts.

Secret Service

The U.S. Secret Service (USSS), which is critical to protecting the president and key members of the administration, is also under DHS’s purview. 

While its core functions would be largely unaffected by a shutdown, some 94% of the roughly 8,000 people the service employs would be forced to work without pay until the standoff is resolved.

Deputy USSS Director Matthew Quinn also warned that a shutdown could also hurt the progress being made to improve the service in the wake of the July 2024 assassination attempt against President Donald Trump.

“The assassination attempt on President Trump’s life brought forward hard truths for our agency and critical areas for improvement — air, space, security, communications and IT infrastructure, hiring and retention training, overarching technological improvements,” Quinn said. “We are today on the cusp of implementing generational change for our organization. A shutdown halts our reforms and undermines the momentum that we, including all of you, have worked so hard to build together.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

ICE operations would largely go on unimpeded during a shutdown, despite Democrats’ outrage at the agency being the main driver of the current standoff.

Nearly 20,000 of ICE’s roughly 21,000 employees are deemed “essential” and therefore must work without pay, according to DHS shutdown guidance issued in September 2025.

But even though it’s the center of Democrats’ funding protest, ICE already received an injection of some $75 billion over the course of four years from Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). It means many of its core functions retain some level of funding even during a shutdown.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

CISA is responsible for defending critical U.S. sectors like transportation, healthcare, and energy from foreign and domestic threats.

The agency would be forced to reduce operations to an active threat mitigation status and activities “essential to protecting and protecting life and property,” according to Acting CISA Director Madhu Gottumukkala.

That means a shutdown would significantly reduce CISA’s capacity to proactively monitor for potential threats from foreign adversaries.

“We will be on the defensive, reactive as opposed to being proactive, and strategic in terms of how we will be able to combat those adversaries,” Gottumukkala said.

Operations like “cyber response, security assessments, stakeholder engagements, training, exercises, and special event planning” would all be impacted, he said.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

FEMA, one of the largest recipients of congressional funding under DHS, would also likely see reduced operations if a shutdown went on for long enough.

The bright spot for the agency is that past congressional appropriations have left its Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), the main coffer used to respond to natural disasters throughout the U.S., with roughly $7 billion.

The DRF could become a serious problem if the DHS shutdown goes on for more than a month, however, or in the event of an unforeseen “catastrophic disaster,” an official warned.

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FEMA is also currently working through a backlog of responses to past natural disasters, progress that Associate Administrator of the Office of Response and Recovery Gregg Phillips said could be interrupted during a shutdown.

“In the 45 days I’ve been here…we have spent $3 billion in 45 days on 5,000 projects,” Phillips said. “We’re going as fast as we can. We’re committed to reducing the backlog. I can’t go any faster than we actually are. And if this lapses, that’s going to stop.”

Democratic state lawmakers in control of the Virginia legislature are fast-tracking a proposed new congressional map that would give the competitive state up to four more left-leaning U.S. House districts in time for this year’s midterm elections.

The map, which Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger is expected to sign early next week, comes as Virginia voters are getting ready to vote this spring on a ballot measure which would give the legislature, rather than the current non-partisan commission, redistricting power through the 2030 election.

Republicans are calling the Democrats’ redistricting effort an “unconstitutional power grab.” Democrats are countering that it’s a necessary step to balance out partisan gerrymandering already implemented in other states by the GOP.

Virginia is the latest battleground, with Florida on deck, in the ongoing high-stakes battle between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats to alter congressional maps ahead of November’s elections.

VIRGINIA JUDGE STRIKES BLOW TO DEMOCRATS REDISTRICTING PUSH

Republicans are defending their razor-thin House majority in the midterms, and Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to win back control of the chamber. That means the redistricting efforts in Virginia and other states may very well decide which party controls the House next year.

“It’s happening all over the country,” the narrator in a new ad by Virginians for Fair Elections says. “Politicians redrawing maps to rig the midterm elections. And Virginia can’t sit back and do nothing.”

The Democrat-aligned public advocacy group tells Fox News Digital it’s spending an initial seven figures to run the ad statewide in the Commonwealth.

The new map, if implemented before the midterms, could give the Democrats a shot at flipping four GOP-held congressional seats, turning a 6-5 edge in the state’s U.S. House delegation into a 10-1 advantage.

STUNNING SETBACK FOR TRUMP IN REDISTRICTING WARS

But the rival Virginians for Fair Maps, a Republican-aligned group that opposes the redistricting push, highlights that “Virginians came together to pass bipartisan redistricting reform — a process that took the power to draw maps out of politicians’ hands. Now, politicians in Richmond want to undo that progress.”

And the Republican National Committee has called the Democrats’ push in Virginia a “power grab.”

Democrats were dealt a big blow after a local court blocked their efforts to amend the state Constitution in order to redraw the lines, with a circuit court judge in conservative Tazewell County saying Democrats didn’t follow proper procedures.

The ruling was appealed, and both sides are waiting to see if the Virginia Supreme Court weighs in.

The clock is ticking, with early voting for the April 21 referendum scheduled to start on March 6.

Aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterms, Trump last spring first floated the idea of rare, but not unheard of, mid-decade congressional redistricting.

The mission was simple: redraw congressional district maps in red states to pad the GOP’s razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.

Trump’s first target was Texas.

BIG WIN FOR TRUMP AS SUPREME COURT GREENLIGHTS TEXAS’ NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP

When asked by reporters last summer about his plan to add Republican-leaning House seats across the country, the president said, “Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five.”

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called a special session of the GOP-dominated state legislature to pass the new map.

But Democratic state lawmakers, who broke quorum for two weeks as they fled Texas in a bid to delay the passage of the redistricting bill, energized Democrats across the country.

Among those leading the fight against Trump’s redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.

California voters in November overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative that temporarily sidetracked the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and returned the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democratic-dominated legislature.

That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which aimed to counter the move by Texas to redraw their maps.

The fight quickly spread beyond Texas and California.

Republican-controlled Missouri and Ohio, and swing state North Carolina, where the GOP dominates the legislature, have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push.

In blows to Republicans, a Utah district judge late last year rejected a congressional district map drawn up by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the midterms.

But Utah Republicans have appealed to the state Supreme Court to block a new court-ordered map for this year’s elections.

Meanwhile, Republicans in Indiana’s Senate in December defied Trump, shooting down a redistricting bill that had passed the state House. The showdown in the Indiana statehouse grabbed plenty of national attention.

Florida’s next up.

Two-term Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers in the GOP-dominated legislature are hoping to pick up an additional three to five right-leaning seats through a redistricting push during a special legislative session in April.

But the bid by DeSantis and Republicans in Tallahassee last week drew its first lawsuit, from a group aligned with Florida Democrats. The lawsuit contends that the governor and Secretary of State Cordy Byrd don’t have the legal authority to reshape election laws, after Byrd pushed back congressional qualifying dates from April to June.

Democrats in solidly blue Maryland are also pushing redistricting, which could result in one extra left-leaning congressional seat. But the effort, pushed by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore and green-lighted by state House Democrats, is facing opposition from Senate President Bill Ferguson, a fellow Democrat.

Lastly, Republicans in South Carolina, Nebraska, Kansas and New Hampshire, and Democrats in Illinois and Washington State are also exploring possible bids to redraw the maps.

Hovering over the redistricting wars is the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule in Louisiana v. Callais, a crucial case that may lead to the overturning of a key provision in the Voting Rights Act.

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If the ruling goes the way of the conservatives on the high court, it could lead to the redrawing of a slew of majority-minority districts across the county, which would greatly favor Republicans.

But it is very much up in the air — when the court will rule, and what it will actually do.

A House Democratic lawmaker told Attorney General Pam Bondi that the “worst of the worst” targeted by the Trump administration are actually native-born Americans, not illegal immigrant criminals. 

Rep. Steve Cohen, of Tennessee, was speaking to Bondi during a combative congressional hearing over the Justice Department’s handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein when he made his remarks. 

“We need people working on the front lines and local law enforcement to protect our citizens from the worst of the worst,” Cohen said. “The worst of the worst are not the immigrants. The worst are the worst, records show, are native-born Americans, and they are committing crimes that hurt our citizens and our cities.”

DHS SAYS ANTI-ICE AGITATORS HELPED CHILD RAPISTS, GANG MEMBERS EVADE DEPORTATION

“And you’re working against it,” he added. “And thank you for that, but by trying to get our local law enforcement, where we have an undercount of officers in Memphis, to leave Memphis and go to work for ICE to deport people is a wrong priority.”

The Trump administration has said that around 70% of the illegal immigrants targeted by federal immigration authorities have criminal records, including for violent offenses. 

DHS CALLS RAPE OF AUTISTIC TEEN ‘MOST HEINOUS WE’VE SEEN’ AS ICE DETAINER TESTS CALIFORNIA SANCTUARY LAWS

Many Democrats maintain that most illegal immigrants have not broken any laws aside from entering the United States illegally. 

Bondi argued that local and federal law enforcement both need “strong people.”

“I’ve seen some of the worst of the worst, violent criminals, violent criminals who were in this country illegally,” she said. “We both know that.”

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Cohen also told Bondi that ICE was “running rampant” and that Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti were “executed” by federal authorities in Minneapolis as they allegedly impeded law enforcement operations. 

“They were executed like (Homeland Security Secretary) Krisit Noem executed her dog, and that was wrong,” Cohen said. “And you should investigate those people. And you should investigate anybody that uses a weapon as a federal official or not, for civil rights violations.”

President Donald Trump‘s pick to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.) office focused on aviation is facing heightened scrutiny for hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes that were not disclosed in official ethics documents obtained by Fox News Digital. 

Jeffrey Anderson, a retired Delta Air Lines captain and U.S. Navy veteran, was nominated to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization in July 2025. The International Civil Aviation Organization is a U.N. office based in Canada that is charged with overseeing international aviation standards, including issues related to safety, navigation and environmental protection. 

The administration has backed him as “highly qualified” for the role and a “great choice to represent the President’s America First foreign policy agenda in the international aviation community,” in a statement to Fox News Digital in 2025 as his tax issues and past support of Democrats came to light. 

The role is a Senate-confirmed post, with Anderson’s nomination sitting before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

TRUMP PICK FOR UN AVIATION OFFICE HAS LONG HISTORY DONATING TO DEMS, NIKKI HALEY

Now, Anderson has signed his ethics agreement and disclosure forms, but mentions of the now-paid off liens are not included, Fox News Digital found.  

Fox News Digital obtained Anderson’s IRS Certificates of Release of Federal Tax Lien that show he and his wife had multiple federal tax liens stemming from tax years 2013–2019, with unpaid assessed balances totaling approximately $426,000. The liens were related to “small business/self employed” taxes, according to the documents. 

A federal tax lien is “the government’s legal claim against your property when you neglect or fail to pay a tax debt,” according to the IRS. 

The liens, filed in two Georgia counties, were not released until October 2025 after payment was fulfilled. One IRS Certificate of Release of Federal Tax Lien shows liens tied to the 2012–2018 tax years totaling $354,791.63 and later released on Oct. 15, 2025, according to the documents obtained by Fox Digital. A second release shows a lien tied to tax year 2019 totaling $71,313.11 and released Oct. 29, 2025. 

Anderson’s Public Financial Disclosure Report, called OGE Form 278e, however, only lists a single mortgage in the liabilities section — not any disclosures of federal tax liens or IRS liability, according to the documents obtained by Fox News Digital. The OGE Form 278e does detail boilerplate and detailed information on Anderson’s assets, past employment and income. 

The Office of Government Ethics’ guidance for OGE Form 278e instructs filers to report liabilities over $10,000 owed at any time during the reporting period.

Anderson signed the OGE Form on Aug. 14, 2025, according to the document obtained by Fox News Digital. 

Anderson’s OGE Form 278e and a separate ethics document sent by Anderson to the State Department’s Office of the Legal Adviser were added to the Office of Government Ethics’ system tracking financial and ethics disclosures Sept. 21, 2025, Fox News Digital found. 

Fox News Digital repeatedly reached out to the State Department, specifically inquiring why Anderson did not disclose the liens on the liabilities section of the OGE 278e, if he filed an amended financial disclosure to add any IRS liability or lien after the initial filing, and when the administration was first notified of the liens.  

The ICAO ambassador operates under the authority of the secretary of state when confirmed.

“We support the president’s nominee and look forward to having him confirmed,” a State Department spokesperson told Fox Digital of Anderson Wednesday. 

A review of other nominees listed on the OGE disclosure database shows individuals have amended their ethics disclosures amid the vetting process. Anderson’s file does not reflect any public amendments to his initial disclosures. 

Public financial disclosure is a core piece of the nomination vetting process. Federal ethics rules and guidance generally require nominees to disclose major outstanding liabilities during the reporting period. 

Nominees for Senate-confirmed ambassador posts typically are cleared through a multistep White House process that can include FBI background checks and federal ethics review of financial disclosures, with the State Department helping compile and process the nomination package before it is formally sent to the Senate.

“Everyone has setbacks. That’s not the problem,” a former Trump official told Fox Digital about the matter. “The problem is lying to Congress and misleading President Trump. Jeffrey Anderson stiffed the IRS for more than $426,000, carried federal tax liens for years, then tried to slip through Senate confirmation by hiding them on a sworn disclosure. Federal tax liens aren’t optional, and they don’t magically disappear.”

The former official added that most “Americans don’t just come up with half a million dollars to make a scandal vanish,” while arguing “Anderson’s record of donating to anti-Trump politicians” tees up a nomination that will collapse on itself. 

TRUMP NOMINATES SEASONED MILITARY LEADERS TO HEAD VITAL GLOBAL COMMANDS

ICAO ROLE HAS GONE UNFILLED FOR YEARS 

Anderson’s nomination to serve in the office follows years of it sitting dormant of U.S. leadership. The role was last filled by former ambassador, famed pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who stepped down in 2022. 

Sullenberger gained widespread applause in 2009, when the US Airways pilot landed Flight 1549 on the Hudson River after a bird strike disabled both engines and saved 155 people — an event known as the “Miracle on the Hudson.”

Anderson’s nomination has been dragging since July 2025, with it returned to the president on Jan. 3, 2026 under Senate Rule XXXI, a technical rule, and Trump resending Anderson’s nomination to the Senate days later. 

Anderson’s nomination has received pushback from the Air Line Pilots Association, a union that represents nearly 80,000 pilots across the U.S. and Canada, arguing his “only” qualification was supporting an effort to raise the mandatory pilot retirement age. 

The union opposes increasing the mandatory retirement from 65 years of age to age 67, arguing it “would leave the United States as an outlier in the global aviation space and create chaos on pilot labor, and international and domestic flight operations,” the group’s statement in July 2025 read.

International aviation rules prohibit airline pilots older than 65 from flying. Some global airline groups have called on the International Civil Aviation Organization to consider raising the international pilot retirement age to 67, citing staffing pressure and that retaining veteran pilots would only bolster airline safety. 

Anderson also has had close financial ties to Democrats and other politicians frequently hostile toward Trump and his policies, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

FIRST ON FOX: RETIRED AIR FORCE COLONEL WHO PILOTED LAST FLIGHT OUT OF AFGHANISTAN REVEALS NEW MISSION

“Jeffrey Anderson isn’t a Trump Republican at all; he’s a liberal sleeper who slipped through the cracks of PPO (Presidential Personnel Office),” a former Trump official told Fox Digital of Anderson’s political donations and tax history in August 2025. 

Anderson made a handful of small-dollar donations to Republican Nikki Haley during the 2024 campaign cycle, when the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. ran against Trump, whom she slammed as “unhinged” while on the campaign trail before dropping out of the race and endorsing Trump as the GOP nominee for president. 

The former pilot also donated to the former Democratic opponent who tried to unseat then-Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in the 2024 cycle, according to donation filings previously reported by Fox News Digital. Anderson’s political donations to Democrats stretch back years, including in 2017 when he donated to Democrats, such as former House candidate Dan Ward in Virginia and former Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon.

Texas Republican Rep. Troy Nehls, who serves as chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation, told Fox Digital in August 2025 that Anderson will help usher in “the Golden Age of aviation” if confirmed. 

“Mr. Anderson served as a naval aviator and has more than three decades of experience as a pilot for Delta,” Nehls said in August. “He is, without a doubt, qualified to represent the United States of America at ICAO, where his first-hand experience with the aviation industry will play a crucial role in advancing President Trump’s mission of ushering in the Golden Age of aviation.”

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“I am fully supportive of President Trump and his America First agenda. I have been fully vetted by the White House and appreciate the approval of the President, House Aviation Chair Troy Nehls and House T&I Chair Sam Graves, among others. I look forward to advancing American interests as the next Permanent Representative to ICAO,” Anderson wrote in a direct message on LinkedIn to Fox Digital in August 2025, while adding that Trump is seeking to “move effectively forward in a space negligently left vacant by Biden.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on the timeline of disclosure but did not receive a reply.

Fox New Digital reached out to Anderson for comment on the timeline of the tax liens and ethics filings but did not receive a reply.

FIRST ON FOX: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on Thursday will eliminate the “2009 Obama EPA Endangerment Finding,” which set in motion most federal greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles, saving Americans billions.

The 2009 development was an EPA finding that carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and three other greenhouse gases “endanger the public health and welfare of current and future generations” under the Clean Air Act — leading to a slew of new restrictions and regulations.

An ensuing Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA found greenhouse gases qualify as air pollutants and that if the EPA determines they endanger public health or welfare it can regulate them.

“As I traveled across all 50 states this past year, I heard from countless Americans who not only dislike the (motor-vehicle) start-stop feature but passionately advocated for this mechanism to be a thing of the past,” Zeldin said of the major recission made Thursday.

TRUMP TAKES AXE TO FEDERAL RED TAPE, CUTS 600+ RULES IN ONE YEAR, TOUTS BILLIONS IN SAVINGS

“Not only do many people find start-stop annoying, but it kills the battery of your car without any significant benefit to the environment. The Trump EPA is proudly fixing this stupid feature at Trump Speed.”

Zeldin said automakers shouldn’t be forced to adopt or be rewarded for using technologies that represent a “climate participation trophy” with no meaningful reduction in actual pollution.

The former New York lawmaker said consumer choice is a priority for his agency, and that his office will continue to advocate for “commonsense rules.”

ZELDIN OVERHAULS BIDEN-ERA WATER RULE TO END ‘WEAPONIZATION’ THAT LED ‘PUDDLES’ TO TRIGGER PRICY PERMITS

US Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy added in a statement that resetting of mileage standards and removal of auto-starts and other greenhouse-gas-regulation-precipitated regulations are part of President Donald Trump’s vision to lower costs and revitalize manufacturing.

All federal greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles and engines subsequent to the 2009 declaration will be rescinded, a source familiar with the situation said.

When it comes to the start-stop off-cycle technology, a credit for it was created by the EPA in 2012 and quickly infuriated motorists who hear their engine click off then on again at a stoplight or in the teller line at the bank.

TEXAS CHALLENGES NEWSOM’S GAS CAR CRACKDOWN, WARNING CALIFORNIA CAN’T DICTATE US AUTO MARKET

The start-stop became a regulatory loophole allowing automakers to claim greenhouse gas credits without actually delivering empirical emission-reduction or human health benefits.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move to rescind the 2009 finding will “be the largest deregulatory action in American history, and it will save the American people $1.3 trillion in crushing regulations,” according to multiple reports.

However, the climate change field appears eager to litigate the new rule, as the nonprofit green-focused law firm Earthjustice signaled as much to PBS.

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“The Trump administration is abandoning its core responsibility to keep us safe from extreme weather and accelerating climate change,” Earthjustic president Abigail Dillen told the outlet.

“There is no way to reconcile EPA’s decision with the law, the science and the reality of disasters that are hitting us harder every year. Earthjustice and our partners will see the Trump administration in court.”

Some states, however, were not supportive of the news including Colorado, where Gov. Jared Polis said he “stands by (the) science” of the former EPA guidance.

“Protecting people’s health and making our air cleaner should never be a partisan issue,” Polis said in a statement.

“The science is clear that pollution from cars and trucks harms our air quality and puts families — especially kids, seniors, and those with health conditions — at greater risk. Rolling back long-standing protections creates uncertainty for consumers and businesses at a time when we should be investing in cleaner air, innovation, and energy diversity.”

“These investments aren’t just the right thing for our climate, it’s good business,” the Democrat concluded. “Clear, science-based standards give companies the certainty they need to invest and create jobs. Colorado will continue to stand behind science and protect the health and well-being of Coloradans.” 

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., on Thursday called for Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to resign and suggested he should face criminal charges, accusing him of assisting people later charged in a sprawling welfare fraud scheme.

The confrontation came during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing in which Hawley questioned Ellison, an elected Democrat, about his actions surrounding the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, which was at the center of a $250 million scheme to defraud a child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hawley pointed to a meeting in December 2021 between Ellison and people who were later indicted, arguing that the Minnesota attorney general surreptitiously attempted to help them during what public records say was a 54-minute encounter.

GOP SENATOR, MINNESOTA AG CLASH AT CAPITOL HILL HEARING: ‘SIT THERE AND SMIRK, IT’S SICK’

Hawley said Ellison accepted $10,000 in campaign donations days after the meeting from individuals later charged.

“You helped fraudsters defraud your state and this government … and you got a fat campaign contribution out of it,” Hawley said, yelling, “You ought to be indicted.”

HOMAN ANNOUNCES OPERATION METRO SURGE TO CONCLUDE IN MINNESOTA

Hawley later added that Ellison “ought to be in jail.”

“Well, see what you can do about it,” Ellison shot back.

The Minnesota attorney general forcefully denied the accusations, saying Hawley was “cherry-picking quotes” and mischaracterizing the meeting. Ellison said he did not help the defendants. His office assisted with information that led to prosecutions and convictions in the broader investigation, Ellison said.

The entire exchange was loud and contentious as both men interrupted one another, prompting committee chairman Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to interject at one point and call for lowering the temperature.

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Former Attorney General Merrick Garland called the Feeding our Future case the largest pandemic-related fraud in the country, and dozens of individuals, mostly of Somali descent, have been charged.

Attorney General Pam Bondi recently intensified the department’s investigations into fraud in Minnesota, sending additional manpower to the embattled U.S. attorney’s office there to help with ongoing inquiries into possible fraud across several welfare programs. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s book tour will take him early next month to New Hampshire, the state that’s traditionally held the nation’s first presidential primary for a century.

The Portsmouth Music Hall announced on Thursday that California’s two-term Democratic governor will present his new book, “Young Man in a Hurry,” on Thursday, at their theater on March 5.

It’s a sure bet that the stop along New Hampshire’s Seacoast will generate more buzz about Newsom’s national ambitions and the likelihood that he’ll launch a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, in the race to succeed term-limited President Donald Trump.

Newsom’s stature in his own party has soared over the past year, thanks to his very vocal and visual pushback against the president, including his viral social media trolling of Trump and his successful California push to counter the Republican congressional redistricting effort.

THE 2028 WHITE HOUSE RACE IS ALREADY UNDERWAY

“Newsom has shown an ability to stand up to Trump in a bold and highly effective manner without shying away from core democratic values,” veteran Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo told Fox News Digital.

Newsom was treated like a VIP as he held meetings and mingled with party delegates during the opening day of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) winter meeting, which was held in Los Angeles in December. And Newsom held meetings with the Democratic Party chairs from New Hampshire and Nevada, another crucial early voting state.

“We had a great discussion on a wide range of issues,” longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley told Fox News Digital.

DEMOCRATIC HEAVYWEIGHTS TURN HEADS, SPARK 2028 SPECULATION

Newsom has acknowledged that he’s mulling a presidential bid, telling CBS News last year he would “seriously consider” following the 2026 midterms and that he’d be “lying” if he said otherwise.

Newsom is one of more than a dozen Democrats viewed as potential 2028 White House contenders. And many of them have been paying visits to New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina, which held the first sanctioned Democratic presidential primary in the 2024 election cycle. Newsom stopped in South Carolina last summer.

A New Hampshire-based Democratic strategist who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely shared that he and other activists in the state for months have been receiving fundraising emails on a regular basis from some of the White House hopefuls.

“Every week I receive a dozen,” the strategist said.

VANCE AMPLIFIES HIS 2026 MESSAGE WHILE LANDING KEY 2028 BACKING

Kathy Sullivan, a former New Hampshire Democratic Party chair and former DNC committee member, told Fox News Digital that “successful candidates in New Hampshire start early here and get to know the activists. They find out what issues are important to people in New Hampshire.”

Sullivan said the early trips to New Hampshire by the potential contenders “show that they’re putting the work in to take the whole process seriously and know they need to do the hard work to win the primary.”

The California governor was last in New Hampshire in July 2024, to support then-President Joe Biden in the days after Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Trump. Newsom was a top surrogate for Biden, and later for then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden as the party’s standard-bearer after Biden dropped his re-election run amid questions about his physical and mental durability.

Harris, a fellow Californian who is also currently on a book tour, is also mulling a potential 2028 presidential run.

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Among the other Democrats seen as possible presidential candidates are Govs. JB Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Wes Moore of Maryland and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan; Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly of Arizona, and Chris Murphy of Connecticut; progressive superstar Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rep. Ro Khanna of California, another leading progressive; and two moderate Democrats, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and former White House chief of staff and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons revealed that there are about 1.6 million illegal aliens with final deportation orders in the U.S., half of whom have criminal convictions.

During testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday, Lyons said, “What we’re tracking right now is about 1.6 million final [deportation] orders in the United States, with approximately 800,000 of those having criminal convictions.”

Lyons clarified that these deportation orders have not been issued by ICE or the Department of Homeland Security. Rather, Lyons said the orders have come “through an immigration judge with the Department of Justice separate from Immigration Customs Enforcement.”

The director added that “there’s 16,840 final orders at large in the state of Minnesota.”

ACTING ICE DIRECTOR DEFENDS AGENCY’S FOCUS ON TARGETING CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS, DETAILS THREAT TO AGENTS

Lyons revealed this during questioning by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla. Lankford asked Lyons to communicate his gratitude to the men and women in immigration enforcement, commenting, “Two years ago, we had 10,000 people a day illegally crossing into the country, two years ago, 10,000 people a day not vetted, had no idea who they were.”

Lankford also pointed out that “70,000 people were estimated by the Biden administration to come in in 2024 that were special interest aliens that had a locational connection to terrorism.”

“But we had no idea who they were. They were allowed to be able to come into the country two years ago,” he lamented.

SCOOP: THOUSANDS OF VIOLENT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRESTED IN MINNESOTA AS ADMIN VOWS ‘WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN’

This comes as ICE faces intense criticism from Democrats over their operations, especially in Minnesota, where two activists, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed in altercations with federal officers. Democrats have threatened defund DHS unless the agency changes its approach to enforcement.

Lankford remarked, “We’re losing perspective of what’s really happened.”

“The work that the men and women that work around you have done have stopped that chaos,” Lankford said to Lyons.

TRUMP DHS HAMMERS DEM GOVERNOR’S PORTAL TO TRACK ICE AGENTS: ‘ENCOURAGES VIOLENCE’

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“There are thousands of arrests that are happening in a day that are happening by the book,” he continued. “And what’s happening is a group of protesters that are protesting and agitating, and some of them running into churches and disturbing church services and saying, ‘It’s my First Amendment right to shut down your church during a service.’ And saying they’re a peaceful protester while they throw rocks at agents, it just gets old.” 

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) arrested an illegal migrant who was charged with rape, purchasing sex with a minor, and sexual abuse in Oregon, after the migrant was released on bail by sanctuary policies.

Manuel Cruz-Ramirez, who still faces the slew of charges, was not referred to immigration officers upon his arrest and release due to Marion County’s sanctuary status. 

The illegal immigrant from Mexico was apprehended only because he was using a fraudulent Mexican passport at the Portland International Airport. TSA and CBP agents were flagged when his falsified name did not return full data, according to DHS.

“Manuel Cruz-Ramirez was arrested for rape, purchasing sex with a minor, and sexual abuse in Oregon,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. “The state’s sanctuary politicians allowed this pedophile to be released from jail back into American communities.”

TRUMP URGES DHS, ICE TO PUBLICIZE ARRESTS, SAYS CRACKDOWN IS ‘SAVING MANY INNOCENT LIVES’

In non-sanctuary cities, Cruz-Ramirez would have referred to immigration officers, who would have apprehended him before he was released from detention. 

“Americans can be proud of the swift actions of TSA and CBP for protecting them and our judicial system by preventing this monster from fleeing the country,” McLaughlin explained. “Criminal illegal aliens should not be released from jails back onto our streets to terrorize more innocent Americans.

“Oregon’s sanctuary politicians must stop this reckless insanity of releasing child predators from jail back into our neighborhoods to prey on more innocent children,” she added.

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

DHS also told Fox News Digital that Cruz-Ramirez had been deported from the U.S. in 2018, though he re-entered the country at an unknown location and time. He is now in ICE custody and his removal order has been re-instated.

Portland has been one of several cities where agitators have mobilized to confront and protest federal law enforcement.

On Thursday, Fox News Digital reported that DHS launched an investigation into an Oregon resident who was arrested during a traffic stop with knives and materials to make Molotov cocktails.

DHS URGES NEWSOM TO HONOR ICE DETAINERS AFTER FEDERAL AGENT ASSAULTED WHILE ARRESTING ILLEGAL ALIEN AT JAIL

The 18-year-old Oregon resident allegedly authored a manifesto with the intention of killing ICE at a Portland ICE office. The individual reportedly told authorities that he was planning on picking up an AR-15 rifle to carry out the attack.

Democrats, including those in Congress, have referred to ICE agents as Nazis and gestapo, and the Trump administration has said that such rhetoric is endangering the lives of law enforcement officers across the country.

During an interview with Fox News Digital earlier this month, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem noted the difference between some cities and those which are controlled by far-left leaders, saying that in cities where authorities cooperate with federal law enforcement there is far less conflict. 

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“Minneapolis and St. Paul, the Twin Cities, have an opportunity to do the same thing that Memphis did. There we had a Democrat mayor who worked with us,” Noem told Fox News Digital. “It was about the same size as a city, about the same amount of federal law enforcement officers were there, and we dramatically cut crime and murder rates and partnered well together.”

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

Alleged members of “foreign terrorist cartel” Tren de Aragua may be brought back to the U.S. after their deportations in 2025, and it could come at taxpayers’ expense.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who has repeatedly butted heads with the Trump administration, ordered the Trump administration Thursday to facilitate the return of 137 migrants deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador, CECOT, in 2025. 

Boasberg stipulated in his ruling that the government pay for the migrants’ airfare back to the U.S., meaning taxpayers are likely footing the bill. 

Boasberg argued that it’s “unclear why Plaintiffs should bear the financial cost of their return in such an instance,” noting that “this situation would never have arisen had the Government simply afforded Plaintiffs their constitutional rights before initially deporting them.”

FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS DEPORTED VENEZUELANS TO BE RETURNED TO US

The ruling comes as part of a nearly year-long saga during which the federal judge attempted to halt the Trump administration’s deportation of migrants to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act in March 2025. 

The Supreme Court ultimately allowed the Trump administration to continue using the Alien Enemies Act to carry out deportations in April but ordered that detainees receive notice and an opportunity to challenge allegations.

Boasberg has since been wading through legal avenues with the men in El Salvador, issuing a ruling in December that the Trump administration denied them due process. 

It is unclear how many of the men will actually take the offer and return to the U.S., with Boasberg noting that the noncitizens “would be detained upon arrival” back to the U.S. 

Similar to Boasberg’s ruling, another federal judge this month ordered the Trump administration to pay for the return of three migrant families the judge ruled ICE unlawfully deported by a 2023 humanitarian parole settlement. 

TRUMP ADMIN ASKS BOASBERG FOR MORE TIME TO DETAIL CECOT PLANS AFTER MADURO OUSTER

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital Thursday in response to the ruling that the illegal aliens in El Salvador were removed under proper legal authority, before taking a shot as Boasberg. 

“Nothing has changed; in addition to being in our country illegally, these aliens are foreign terrorists designated as alien enemies by the president,” McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. 

TRUMP ADMIN SAYS MADURO CAPTURE REINFORCES ALIEN ENEMIES ACT REMOVALS

“They were removed under the proper legal authorities. This case is no longer about the facts or law but about Judge Boasberg’s crusade to stop President Trump from doing the will of the American People. He has been shut down by appellate courts again and again on this case.”

Boasberg has become a prime target for Republicans over a string of rulings tied to Trump-era policies, including the Trump administration backing a potential judicial impeachment of the judge and other “rogue” judges in January. 

The migrants in El Salvador were removed under The Alien Enemies Act, which is a 1798 wartime immigration law the Trump administration invoked to deport violent gang members with alleged ties to criminal organizations, such as Tren de Aragua (TdA). 

TdA, as well as MS-13, were designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration’s State Department in February 2025. 

The administration has described those deported to the notoriously secure prison in El Salvador as “violent savages” and terrorists who pose a threat to U.S. security. 

A previous analysis of 238 migrants deported to El Salvador found six faced attempted murder, assault, armed robbery, gun possession or domestic battery charges in the U.S., the Texas Tribune reported in May 2025. 

Thirty-two other deportees had been convicted in the U.S. of crimes, many of which were nonviolent, according to the outlet.

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DHS has said deportees labeled “‘non-criminals” by the media are “terrorists, human rights abusers, gang members and more — they just don’t have a rap sheet in the U.S.” 

Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz is demanding that the federal government “pay for what they broke” after the Trump administration announced it would draw down its immigration enforcement presence in the Twin Cities.

During a press conference following Border Czar Tom Homan’s announcement that the administration would be ending its “Operation Metro Surge” in Minnesota, Walz said that federal law enforcement’s presence in the state was leaving “deep damage” and “generational trauma.”

“The federal government needs to pay for what they broke here,” said Walz. “There [is] going to be accountability on the things that happened, but one of the things is, the incredible and immense costs that were borne by the people of this state. The federal government needs to be responsible: You don’t get to break things, and then just leave without doing something about it.”

“So, we’re going to be asking the federal delegation to be investing and doing the things necessary,” he added.

TRUMP DHS HAMMERS DEM GOVERNOR’S PORTAL TO TRACK ICE AGENTS: ‘ENCOURAGES VIOLENCE’

Walz, who is best known for being former Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 election, has been at odds with the administration throughout much of the operation, which was meant to crack down on rampant fraud and abuse in the state.

Regarding the federal drawdown, Walz said, “We are cautiously optimistic … that this surge of untrained, aggressive federal agents are going to leave Minnesota, and I guess they’ll go wherever they’re going to go.”

“The fact of the matter is, they left us with deep damage, generational trauma, they left us with economic ruin in some cases, they left us with many unanswered questions: Where are our children? Where and what is the process of the investigations into those that were responsible for the deaths of Renee and Alex?” he continued.

“So, while the federal government may move on to whatever next thing that they want to do, the State of Minnesota and our administration is unwaveringly focused on the recovery of what they did.”

HOUSE DEM EXPLODES ON TOP TRUMP IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL, SAYS HE ‘BETTER HOPE’ FOR PARDON FROM PRESIDENT

Homan announced Thursday that the administration will conclude Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota. Homan told reporters during a news conference at the Bishop Whipple Federal in Minneapolis that the operation succeeded in reducing public safety threats with “unprecedented levels of coordination” from state officials and local law enforcement.

“As a result of our efforts here, Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals,” Homan said, adding, “I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude.”

Homan said “a significant drawdown” of immigration agents was already underway and will continue through next week.

The border czar announced last week that 700 federal officers would leave Minnesota, though 2,000 officers will remain. He cited improved cooperation with jails and said a complete drawdown was the goal, but it was “contingent upon the end of illegal and threatening activities against ICE.”

ICE ARRESTS MURDERERS, PEDOPHILES DURING SUPER BOWL WEEKEND AS AGENTS SAY HALFTIME SHOW ‘DEMONIZED’ THEM

He said only a “small footprint of personnel” will remain for a period of time, while he will also remain on the ground to oversee the operation’s drawdown and success.

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“Additionally, federal government personnel assigned to conduct criminal investigations into the agitators, as well as the personnel assigned here for the fraud investigations, will remain in place until the work is done,” Homan said.

Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is making an example of former President Barack Obama for encouraging voters and lawmakers to reject adopting national voter ID laws. 

“You know how badly the Democrats are panicking when they bring out Obama to spread lies about voter ID,” Leavitt posted to X Thursday. “The fact is that nearly 90% of voters support” voter ID laws, she continued before posting two screenshots showing two polls reflecting that Americans support such laws at around 83% support to 84% support. 

Leavitt’s comments follow the House passing a massive election integrity overhaul bill Wednesday, which includes requiring voters to show a photo ID when casting ballots in federal elections. The bill overall aims to prevent noncitizens from voting in U.S. federal elections, with all but one Democrat, Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, voting against it. 

Obama was among prominent Democrats encouraging House lawmakers to vote against the measure, claiming it will disenfranchise voters. 

ROGAN DEFENDS DEMOCRATIC SENATOR WHO FACED BACKLASH FROM PARTY FOR SUPPORTING VOTER ID

“Republicans are still trying to pass the SAVE Act—a bill that would make it harder to vote and disenfranchise millions of Americans,” he posted to X Wednesday evening. “Join @RedistrictAct and tell your member of Congress to vote no.” 

Democrats have argued that voter ID laws can disenfranchise eligible voters because they often require specific, current government-issued IDs that may be a struggle to obtain due to costs, paperwork hurdles or limited DMV access. Republicans have rejected that argument, calling the requirement a common-sense safeguards that would boost confidence in elections, while simultaneously noting that most Americans already need IDs for everyday tasks.

In another post, Leavitt shared that Obama presented his own driver’s license to vote in the 2012 election. Obama voted early that cycle and was seen on camera pulling his Illinois driver’s license from his wallet to flash to poll workers. 

‘I VOTED’ STICKER HELPS CONVICT NON-CITIZEN WHO CAST BALLOT IN 2024 AS ELECTION SECURITY DEBATE HEATS UP

“Here is Barack Obama showing his photo ID to vote in a past election,”  Leavitt posted. “Why are Democrats in Congress so opposed to making this a requirement across the country? Voter ID laws are common sense.” 

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers added that IDs are frequently used by Americans to buy alcohol or get on a plane, which she said shows the hypocrisy of Democrats pushing against the election security overhaul. 

MURKOWSKI BREAKS WITH GOP ON VOTER ID, SAYS PUSH ‘IS NOT HOW WE BUILD TRUST’

“Barack Obama and the rest of the Democrats think Americans are stupid, which is why they are blatantly lying about the commonsense election integrity provisions in the popular SAVE Act,” Rogers told Fox News Digital. 

“Americans need to show ID to buy alcohol, get on a plane, and even get into the Democratic National Convention — but these hypocrite Democrats don’t want voters to show their ID to cast a ballot. Congressional Democrats’ opposition to the SAVE America Act is indefensible and wildly out of step with the views of the American people.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to Obama’s office Thursday for comment but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Called the SAVE Act, the legislation would additionally require information-sharing between state election officials and federal authorities in verifying citizenship on current voter rolls, as well as enable the Department of Homeland Security to pursue immigration cases if non-citizens were found to be listed as eligible to vote.

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If passed, the new requirement could be implemented for the November midterm elections. It must first pass the Senate before it could land on President Donald Trump‘s desk. 

A federal judge on Thursday ruled the Pentagon cannot punish Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a retired Navy pilot, for taking part in a video that called on U.S. military members to defy “illegal orders.”

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, appointed by former President George W. Bush, found the Pentagon violated Kelly’s First Amendment right to free speech and those of “millions of military retirees” by censuring him Jan. 5.

Leon’s ruling blocks the Pentagon from demoting Kelly’s retired military rank of captain or reducing his pay during an ongoing lawsuit he brought against War Secretary Pete Hegsesth, the Department of War, the U.S. Navy and Navy Secretary John Phelan.

STEPHEN A SMITH GETS INTO SLUGFEST ON ‘THE VIEW’ OVER SEN KELLY’S VIDEO URGING TROOPS TO IGNORE ILLEGAL ORDERS

After the judge’s decision, Hegseth took to X saying the administration will appeal.

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

His response echoed that of President Donald Trump, who previously accused the group of “sedition at the highest level,” further suggesting they should be executed.

The 90-second video, first posted by Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., also featured military veteran Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania.

MORE DEMOCRAT REPS INVOLVED IN ‘REFUSE ILLEGAL ORDERS’ VIDEO REPORT RECEIVING INQUIRY FROM US ATTORNEY

Hegseth said an investigation was launched into Kelly’s actions because he was the only lawmaker formally retired from the military and under the Pentagon’s jurisdiction.

In his ruling, Leon said Kelly is “likely to succeed” in his free speech argument and has shown irreparable harm.

“Rather than trying to shrink the First Amendment liberties of retired servicemembers, Secretary Hegseth and his fellow Defendants might reflect and be grateful for the wisdom and expertise that retired servicemembers have brought to public discussions and debate on military matters in our Nation over the past 250 years,” Leon wrote. 

“To say the least, our retired veterans deserve more respect from their Government, and our Constitution demands they receive it!”

MARK KELLY AVOIDS SAYING ARRESTING MADURO, VENEZUELA STRIKES WERE ‘ILLEGAL’

After the decision, Kelly said the case was sending a message to millions of retired veterans that “they too can be censured or demoted just for speaking out.”

“This might not be over yet because this president and this administration do not know how to admit when they’re wrong,” he added.

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A grand jury in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday refused the Department of Justice’s attempt to indict the group of lawmakers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A federal judge on Thursday upheld her order postponing the termination of temporary protected status for around 350,000 Haitians in the United States.

The Justice Department appealed U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes’ stay to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit but simultaneously requested that she rescind her order. Reyes heard arguments from both sides on Thursday. She said she was denying the government’s motion and would issue a written order before Feb. 19, which is the next deadline in the appellate court case. 

Reyes’ order pauses Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s termination of temporary protected status for Haitians.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BLOCKED FROM ENDING TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR HAITIANS

“During the stay, the Termination shall be null, void, and of no legal effect,” she wrote. “The Termination therefore does not affect the protections and benefits previously conferred by the TPS designation, including work authorization and protection from detention and deportation, and the valid period of work authorization extends during the stay.”

At the end of Thursday’s hearing, Reyes said she had something “important” to put on the record.

“People are entitled to their views,” said Reyes, who is both the first Latina and openly LGBTQ person to serve in Washington, D.C., as a district court judge.

LEFT-WING COURT HANDS KRISTI NOEM BIG WIN IN ‘UNVETTED IMMIGRATION’ CASE

“I am an immigrant. I did not hide that from the president of the United States… or from the U.S. Senate,” Reyes said, adding that she has heard questions about “how someone like me, an immigrant and a lesbian, could get this job.”

Reyes remarked that she doesn’t hear anyone talking about how she was magna cum laude at Harvard Law and practiced law at a top firm for 22 years.

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Reyes then went on to read threats that have been emailed to her chambers. “I don’t mind being called the C-word,” Reyes said, before quoting from various threats she said she has received.

“I hope you lose your life by lunchtime… God d— you. I hope you die today… The best way you could help America is to eat a bullet,” Reyes quoted. She also quoted from social media posts about her, including one which read, “Hang the b—.”

“Many of my colleagues have received threats,” she said, adding there have been threats to the families of judges as well. “To those who would threaten judges… we will act without fear or favor.… We will continue to do our jobs.… We will not be intimidated.”

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from transferring 20 former death row inmates to the federal “supermax” prison in Colorado, ruling the move likely violated their Fifth Amendment due process rights.

The 35-page ruling from U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly sets up a dispute between executive authority and prisoners’ procedural rights. Under Article II’s “Take Care” clause, the president is charged with executing federal law, and the Bureau of Prisons — overseen by the attorney general — has broad discretion to determine where inmates serve their sentences. But Kelly said the administration could not transfer the inmates without first giving them a meaningful opportunity to challenge the move.

Kelly, a Trump appointee, stressed that his ruling had no bearing on the nature of the crimes committed by the ex-death row inmates, many of whom he noted have been convicted of “some of the most horrific crimes imaginable.”

“The placement of an inmate with a life sentence at ADX Florence raises no constitutional concerns so long as the inmate is afforded adequate process,” he said. 

TONY HAWK, TAIWAN AND A FLASHLIGHT: TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT SUSPECT’S BIZARRE DEFENSE

Instead, the ruling focused narrowly on whether the inmates were given a real opportunity to contest the transfer, which Kelly said they were not. The order is a temporary blow to the Trump administration’s effort to counter sweeping clemency actions Biden took during his final month in office — moves critics described as a political “Hail Mary” that lacked proper vetting.

“The Constitution requires that whenever the government seeks to deprive a person of a liberty or property interest that the Due Process Clause protects — whether that person is a notorious prisoner or a law-abiding citizen — the process it provides cannot be a sham,” Kelly said.

Next steps in the case were not immediately clear, and the Justice Department declined to respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on whether it would seek to appeal the ruling.

The effort comes as Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Trump administration have sought to reverse Biden’s sweeping clemency actions, including the commutations of 37 death row inmates, many of whom have been convicted of particularly heinous and violent crimes. 

One individual was convicted of murdering a married couple who were camping in the Ouachita National Forest in July 2003.

Another was convicted of kidnapping, robbing, and murdering a 51-year-old local bank president by tying him to a concrete block and chain hoist, and tossing him off of a bridge and into a lake. 

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

Many had also killed prisoners while serving time — a factor that can be used in weighing whether to transfer a convicted felon to a higher-security prison.

“This Department of Justice will continue to seek accountability for the families blindsided by President Biden’s reckless commutations of 37 vicious predators,” Bondi previously told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

ADX — dubbed the “Alcatraz of the Rockies” — is the only true federal “supermax” prison in the U.S., and its inmates are among the most notorious in the federal system.

BIDEN STIRS OUTRAGE IN SCRANTON BY COMMUTING ‘KIDS FOR CASH’ JUDGE’S SENTENCE

Among them are Ramzi Yousef, convicted in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the Boston Marathon bombers; former Sinola Cartel leader Joaquín Guzmán, or “El Chapo”; and Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, the co-founder of al-Qaeda.

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Though a commutation cannot be fully reversed, Justice Department officials told Fox News Digital, Bondi has prioritized ways to penalize these individuals, in coordination with directives from Trump, and to ensure that the “conditions of confinement” are “consistent with the security risks those inmates present because of their egregious crimes, criminal histories, and all other relevant considerations,” according to an earlier DOJ memo.