NationalWatch

Mexico transferred 37 cartel members to the United States on Tuesday as the Trump administration intensifies pressure on foreign governments to dismantle drug trafficking networks.

Mexican Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said the detainees were “high-impact criminals” who posed “a real threat to the country’s security.” With this latest transfer, Mexico has now sent 92 cartel figures to the U.S., he said.

Video released by Mexican authorities showed handcuffed prisoners surrounded by heavily armed, masked officers as they were loaded onto a military jet near Mexico City.

The group includes members of several major criminal organizations, including the Sinaloa cartel, Jalisco New Generation cartel, Beltrán-Leyva cartel, the Northeast cartel and remnants of the Zetas based in Tamaulipas along the Texas border. Mexican officials said all had pending cases in U.S. courts.

VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT NICOLAS MADURO’S NARCO CASE ECHOES US HISTORY OF TARGETING ALLEGED FOREIGN DRUG KINGPINS

Among those transferred was María del Rosario Navarro Sánchez, the first Mexican national charged in the U.S. with providing material support to a terrorist organization after allegedly conspiring with a cartel.

“This is Mexico resorting to extraordinary measures as pressure from the White House increases,” David Mora, a Mexico analyst with the International Crisis Group, told The Associated Press.

The move comes as President Donald Trump has sharpened his rhetoric against drug cartels, even floating the possibility of U.S. military action, following a recent U.S. operation in Venezuela that removed former President Nicolás Maduro.

“We’ve knocked out 97% of the drugs coming in by water, and we are going to start now hitting land with regard to the cartels,” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity this month. “The cartels are running Mexico—it’s very, very sad to watch, and see what’s happened to that country.”

MADURO-BACKED TdA GANG’S EXPANSION INTO US CITIES EMERGES AS KEY FOCUS OF SWEEPING DOJ INDICTMENT

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke with Trump last week, saying U.S. intervention in Mexico was “not necessary,” while emphasizing continued cooperation between the two countries.

Mexico first sent 29 cartel figures to the U.S. last February, including notorious drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, wanted for the 1985 killing of a U.S. DEA agent. A second transfer in August included 26 cartel members from multiple organizations.

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García Harfuch said the transfers were driven by public safety concerns, arguing that cartel leaders were continuing to run criminal operations from inside Mexican prisons.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE – MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. – Saying that she wants to bring “sanity” and “normalcy” back to her home state of Minnesota, former longtime TV sports reporter turned political activist and conservative commentator Michele Tafoya on Wednesday formally launched a campaign for the Senate in a bid to flip a Democrat-held open seat.

“We are suffering a crisis here in Minnesota, and really, it’s a crisis of leadership. We have career politicians who have brought us to this place, and they’re not coming to save us. So, some of us are going to have to step up and clean up the mess ourselves,” Tafoya said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, as she explained why she is running in the blue-leaning state.

Tafoya is bidding to win the seat currently held by retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, which national Republicans are eyeing as they aim to not only defend but expand their current 53-47 majority in the chamber in this year’s midterm elections.

The announcement by Tafoya came as Minnesota is ground zero in the national battle over President Donald Trump‘s illegal immigration crackdown, with a massive deployment of agents by the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

DEMOCRATS DILEMMA: PROGRESSIVE PUSH TO ‘ABOLISH ICE’ SPARKS FRESH DIVIDE IN PARTY

The arrest of thousands of migrants and the fatal shooting by an ICE agent of Renee Good, a Minnesota woman demonstrating against the immigration crackdown, has fueled anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis and across the country.

And Minnesota is also reeling from a sweeping fraud scandal that at the beginning of the month forced Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic Party’s 2024 vice presidential nominee, to drop his bid for re-election.

WHAT TRUMP SAID ABOUT MINNESOTA AS HE LEADS WHITE HOUSE BRIEFING

“We’ve got to decide not between right versus left, but right versus wrong, and we’ve got to decide, are we going to build up with the common sense that made this country great, or are we going to tear us apart with the corruption and the crazy that we’re seeing?” Tafoya emphasized. “I think people know the answer to that, and that’s why I’m running.”

Tafoya called the shooting of Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, “absolutely tragic.”

“My heart sincerely goes out to her family and all of those who loved her. It should not have happened,” Tafoya said.

But Tafoya added, “How did we get to this place? How did this environment get created where people feel it’s their duty to go put their cars or their bodies in front of federal law enforcement? And I would contend that Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis have ginned this up.”

And she charged that Walz and Frey “are fanning the flames. We’ve got to have a change in leadership. We’ve got to have people who are willing to assuage the situation, to calm it down, not to stir it up, and get rid of the hate for law enforcement.”

SCATHING AUDIT REVEALS MORE MINNESOTA FRAUD

Tafoya spoke as the Justice Department sent subpoenas to Walz, Frey and other state leaders, in what sources told Fox News was an escalation of the federal investigation into whether state officials conspired to impede law enforcement amid the immigration operations.

Walz, in a statement, called the Justice Department investigation “a partisan distraction,” and that his “focus has always been protecting the people of this state.”

“Minnesota will not be intimidated into silence and neither will I,” the governor added.

Frey has also sharply criticized the Trump administration and accused the Justice Department of misusing its power.

The Justice Department said they are also investigating an anti-ICE protest that disrupted a service on Sunday at a Minnesota church where one of the pastors is an ICE acting field director in the St. Paul office.

“I think that incident in the church was horrific, awful, disgusting,” Tafoya argued. “To see that picture of that small child scared being hugged by a parent because in a place of worship, these people thought they were safe, and then they learned otherwise.”

And she argued that the ongoing demonstrations are “making the whole environment not only dangerous for law enforcement, but for citizens.”

GOP SENATE CAMPAIGN CHIEF AIMS TO EXPAND 2026 MAP IN THIS BLUE-LEANING STATE

Turning to Minnesota’s other crisis, Tafoya said, “this fraud scandal is epic, and it’s huge, and I don’t think we’ve seen the end of it.”

More than 90 people — most from Minnesota’s large Somali community — have been charged since 2022 in what has been described as the nation’s largest COVID-era scheme. How much money has been stolen through alleged money laundering operations involving fraudulent meal and housing programs, daycare centers and Medicaid services is still being tabulated. But prosecutors say it could total as much as $9 billion.

Some of the dozens who have already pleaded guilty in the case used the money to buy luxury cars, real estate, jewelry and international vacations, according to prosecutors, with some of the funds also sent overseas and potentially into the hands of Islamic terrorists.

“I think if Minnesotans aren’t angry already, they need to look at their pay stubs, look at how much gets taken out in taxes, and ask themselves, what did that get me? Did that get me anything? Did that fill a pothole, or did I buy someone a Rolex?” Tafoya said. “I mean, that’s what, really what we’re talking about here.”

“This fraud is massive. We need to get to the bottom of it. We need to ask hard questions, get to the facts, make it stop, hold people accountable, and that’s why I’m running,” she added.

Tafoya grabbed national attention when she met last month with members of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, which had been recruiting her to launch a campaign.

Republicans are hoping to break their nearly quarter-century-long losing streak in Senate elections in Minnesota.

Asked how she could break the losing streak, Tafoya told Fox News Digital, “I think people are really hungry for that change, and I think that’s what I represent. We’re going to go out, and we’re going to fight for every vote, every Republican vote. We’re going to fight for Democrat votes, and we’re going to certainly fight for the independents.”

DEMOCRATS EYE NARROW PATH TO SENATE MAJORITY, BUT ONE WRONG MOVE COULD SINK THEM

Tafoya joins a crowded GOP Senate primary field that already includes 2024 Senate nominee Royce White, a former NBA basketball player; retired U.S. Navy officer Tom Weiler, a 2022 GOP congressional nominee; former state Senator David Hann and former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze.

Minnesota’s primary isn’t until August, and Trump has remained neutral to date in the race.

Tafoya said she “would be honored to have the endorsement of the President, for sure, but this is going to take me winning over Minnesotans, first and foremost.”

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flannagan, a progressive, is facing off against more moderate Democratic Rep. Angie Craig, who appears to have the backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, in the race for their party’s nomination.

Tafoya, a longtime NFL sideline reporter and announcer, gave up her career at NBC Sports in 2022 as she became more politically active, saying at the time that she wanted to pursue other opportunities. She served as co-chair of 2022 Republican gubernatorial nominee Kendall Qualls’ unsuccessful campaign against Walz.

Pointing to her successful career in TV sports, Tafoya said, “I gave that all up because I love this country, and I’m concerned about it, and it’s a country that I’m leaving to my two kids, and I felt that it was more important for me to be involved somehow in making this place better.”

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“I certainly plan to let people know that my intentions are true, that I’m doing this for love of country and love of Minnesota,” Tafoya added. “I’m grateful for the career that I had, but this feels like a sense of duty to me. I just can’t turn my back on this state.”

And the first-time candidate said, “I’m jumping in with both feet, and I’m ready to go.”

The House Oversight Committee will consider whether to tee up House-wide votes on holding former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress on Wednesday morning for missing their scheduled depositions in the House’s Jeffrey Epstein probe.

If passed by the committee, the resolutions would put the contempt findings’ consideration to the whole House of Representatives.

“President Clinton refused to appear for his scheduled deposition on Jan. 13, 2026. President Clinton’s unwillingness to comply with the subpoena, even after the Oversight Committee agreed to postpone his deposition date, at his request, for nearly a month, has substantially interfered with the Oversight Committee’s investigation,” the committee wrote in its findings.

JON STEWART SAYS CLINTONS SHOULD ‘ABSOLUTELY’ COMPLY WITH CONGRESSIONAL SUBPOENAS ON EPSTEIN

The committee had originally requested Bill and Hillary Clinton to appear before lawmakers on Oct. 14 and Oct. 9, 2025, respectively.

Epstein killed himself while incarcerated on charges of sex trafficking minors in 2019, cutting short a prosecution of his crimes.

Epstein was known to have rubbed shoulders with some of the world’s most powerful and wealthy figures, including Prince Andrew of the British royal family, now-President Donald Trump, Bill Gates and the Clintons.

In recent disclosures from the Department of Justice (DOJ) in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, several previously undisclosed images surfaced, revealing new details of Clinton’s relationship with Epstein.

‘THE VIEW’ HOSTS CALL ON CLINTONS TO COMPLY WITH SUBPOENA, TESTIFY ON EPSTEIN

While none of them, on their own, bear any proof of wrongdoing, they have raised new questions among Republicans about what the former president may have known about Epstein’s crimes.

“In particular, President Clinton possesses firsthand information regarding the activities of Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell and their efforts to establish relationships and curry favor with influential individuals while operating a sex-trafficking ring,” the committee wrote in its findings.

“His testimony may inform the Oversight Committee’s consideration of legislative reforms designed to combat the operation of sex-trafficking rings, efforts to shield them from scrutiny and ethics reforms for current and former elected officials.”

The Clintons were two of 10 people subpoenaed by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., as part of the panel’s investigation, but are the only two facing contempt threats so far for not appearing.

JONATHAN TURLEY: CLINTONS DARE HOUSE TO HOLD THEM IN CRIMINAL CONTEMPT. WILL IT WORK?

The subpoenas were issued pursuant to a bipartisan vote during an unrelated committee hearing over the summer.

Since then, the probe has fallen prey to partisan infighting, with both sides accusing the other of politicizing the investigation at the expense of Epstein’s victims.

Republicans are expected to advance the contempt resolutions out of committee largely along party lines.

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Comer told Fox News Digital last week that the House would likely vote on both resolutions within three legislative days. That would put the vote sometime in February, given the House’s planned recess next week.

President Donald Trump said criminal illegal aliens being removed from the U.S. are so violent, they “make the Hells Angels look like the sweetest people on Earth,” arguing tougher border enforcement is now driving what he called “reverse migration.”

Trump made the remarks during a White House press briefing Tuesday, where he displayed images of individuals ICE agents are targeting in U.S. cities, including Minneapolis.

The president said that for the first time in 50 years, more illegal immigrants are now leaving the country than entering it, blaming prior border policies under former President Joe Biden’s administration for allowing dangerous criminals into the U.S.

“You remember when they used to say the people who come into our country as immigrants are very nice people — they’re wonderful people — they don’t commit crime?” Trump said. “No. They make our criminals look like babies. They make our Hells Angels look like the sweetest people on Earth.”

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

He added that the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club members are now considered “nice, high-quality person,” noting that he likes them because they voted for and protected him.

Trump continued, saying some of those being removed came from foreign prisons, including prisons in Congo.

“Some of the toughest, meanest people you’ll ever meet,” he said. “They allowed them to come into America. These are tough people.”

WHITE HOUSE BLAMES DEMOCRATS FOR ICE VIOLENCE AS MINNEAPOLIS ERUPTS, INSURRECTION ACT THREAT LOOMS

White House officials say the administration’s enforcement efforts are focused on removing illegal immigrants with violent felony records, gang affiliations, or outstanding warrants.

As part of the crackdown, ICE has expanded targeted operations in several major metropolitan areas, prioritizing individuals with serious criminal histories.

MINNESOTA DEM COMPARES ICE OPERATIONS TO 1930S GERMANY, ADDING ‘NOTHING SHOULD BE OFF THE TABLE’ TO STOP IT

That enforcement push has been particularly visible in Minnesota. 

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday that more than 10,000 criminal illegal immigrants have been arrested in and around Minneapolis, underscoring the administration’s focus on interior enforcement.

The federal immigration enforcement effort in Minnesota — part of a broader nationwide crackdown — has become one of the administration’s most visible operations, with authorities emphasizing that many of those targeted have serious criminal records.

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Tensions escalated after an ICE officer fatally shot Renee Good during a confrontation earlier this month, a case that has sparked protests and drawn national attention.

Demonstrations have continued for weeks, with faith groups, labor unions and community organizers planning coordinated actions — including an economic blackout protest — to voice their anger at the operation and to mourn the woman’s death.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said she will oppose funding ahead of a House vote to fund the government before the Jan. 30 deadline, saying she will not approve of giving more money to the Department of Homeland Security. 

Omar voiced her opposition on X, saying she would not vote to financially support federal immigration agencies amid the ongoing enforcement operations in her state.

“I will not vote to give ICE a single cent,” she wrote. “No more blank checks for a rogue agency that operates above the law, escalates violence, and erodes our most basic freedoms.”

CALIFORNIA DEMOCRAT APPEARS TO CALL TO DEFUND ICE, RESTART IT FROM SCRATCH

Omar and many Democratic officials have repeatedly voiced anger at the Trump administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) because of their crackdown on illegal immigrant criminals and the shooting of Renee Good, who federal authorities said was trying to ram into an ICE officer with her vehicle. 

ICE has targeted illegal immigrants with criminal records but has been met with opposition from local officials and anti-ICE agitators who have confronted officers, sometimes violently. 

MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR FREY REFUSES TO WALK BACK ‘GET THE F— OUT’ MESSAGE TO ICE

Many Democrats have framed the operations as unlawful attacks on immigrants. However, the Trump administration has released the names and criminal offenses, including violent and child sex abuse convictions, of some of those arrested. 

On Tuesday, Congress unveiled a $1.2 trillion spending package that includes funding for multiple aspects of the federal government, but a partisan divide remains over funds for ICE. 

But progressives have threatened a rebellion over funding for ICE, which is included in the DHS portion of the bill.

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If passed by the House and Senate, the legislation, which combines four separate spending bills into a package called a “minibus,” would be the final way for Congress to avert another government shutdown.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller, Elizabeth Elkind and Leo Briceno contributed to this report. 

Federal immigration officials said Tuesday that Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have faced escalating violence in Minneapolis, including vehicle ramming incidents as recently as “today” and “yesterday,” during a major enforcement operation targeting criminal illegal aliens in the Twin Cities.

“I believe we had a vehicle ramming today. We had one yesterday,” said Greg Bovino, who was identified to the assembled media during a scheduled Department of Homeland Security (DHS) news conference as the commander at large for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) assets in the Twin Cities.

Bovino said two suspects “decided that it would be a good idea to ram Border Patrol agents and then take off,” adding that a civilian vehicle was also struck during one of the incidents. He said both suspects were apprehended. No additional details were released.

The briefing came amid fiery protests, political pushback and scrutiny of federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis after the death of Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7.

OMAR, MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR ACCUSE TRUMP ADMIN OF UNLEASHING ‘POLITICAL RETRIBUTION,’ ‘INVASION’ WITH ICE ACTIVITY

Bovino appeared alongside Marcos Charles, acting executive associate director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, as DHS officials outlined what they described as a sharp increase in arrests, mounting confrontations and resistance from local leaders during Operation Metro Surge.

Bovino said the operation is focused on public safety and violent offenders, rejecting claims that enforcement actions are random or politically motivated.

“Our operations are lawful, they’re targeted and they’re focused on individuals who pose a serious threat to this community,” Bovino said. “They are not random, and they are not political.”

WHITE HOUSE SAYS WALZ, FREY INCITED CHAOS AFTER ANTI-ICE MOB STORMS MINNEAPOLIS CHURCH

He accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey of using “heated rhetoric” that he said has contributed to a hostile environment for federal agents.

“Leaders like Tim Walz or Mayor Frey have relied on heated rhetoric and accusations that distract from the facts,” Bovino said. “The facts are that federal agents are arresting murderers, rapists, child predators, cartel-connected criminals.”

Bovino said federal officers have been “violently and aggressively assaulted,” with objects thrown and vehicles damaged since the operation began, though enforcement efforts have continued.

DOJ SERVES GRAND JURY SUBPOENAS TO MINNESOTA DEMS IN INVESTIGATION OF ICE OBSTRUCTION: SOURCES

Bovino listed several cases he said occurred as recently as the previous day, including what he described as a registered sex offender convicted of crimes against a child and other individuals charged with rape, domestic assault and other violent offenses.

Bovino also referenced the recent disruption of a church service during an anti-ICE protest.

“Do we like what happened with the church there a couple of days ago when individuals came in and disrupted almost violently a church service? Absolutely not,” Bovino said.

The Justice Department has launched a civil rights investigation into the disruption at a Minneapolis-area church after protesters stormed a service over a perceived ICE connection Sunday.

Bovino rejected a reporter’s claims during a Q&A, saying agents act in a manner he described as a “legal, ethical and moral” manner and arguing that confrontations often involve agitators rather than random civilians.

“Oftentimes, it’s agitators, rioters, anarchists that place mom-and-pop America near very tense situations when they shouldn’t even be,” Bovino said.

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Asked about the status of the officer involved in the Jan. 7 shooting of Good, Charles said the officer is “recovering at home,” but he did not answer whether the officer remains on administrative leave or involved in the operation.

Walz and Frey’s offices, as well as the Minneapolis Police Department, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

Attorney General Pam Bondi warned Tuesday that “no one is above the law” as the Department of Justice (DOJ) increases its presence in Minnesota following weeks of unrest, escalating tensions tied to immigration enforcement and the disruption of a church service Sunday.

Bondi made the comments in an exclusive interview with Fox News in Minneapolis, where she met with federal prosecutors and law enforcement officials amid what she described as ongoing chaos in the state.

“No one is above the law in this state or in this country, and people will be held accountable,” Bondi told Fox News.

Bondi said conditions in Minnesota have deteriorated in past weeks, citing constant unrest and concerns for officer safety.

WHITE HOUSE SAYS WALZ, FREY INCITED CHAOS AFTER ANTI-ICE MOB STORMS MINNEAPOLIS CHURCH

“This state is a mess right now,” she said. “We’ve seen the chaos, and it’s constant. And our men and women in law enforcement deserve to be safe.”

Bondi said she met with federal agents from the FBI, DEA and ATF, as well as U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen, emphasizing coordination among federal agencies as tensions continue.

“We have a great U.S. attorney, and we are all going to fight together,” she said. “That’s why it was so important to be here.”

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

Bondi arrived after Minnesota officials, including the governor, mayor and state attorney general, confirmed they had received federal subpoenas. Asked whether those subpoenas signal an investigation into their offices, Bondi declined to provide details.

“I can’t confirm nor deny whether we have any investigation or what it is,” Bondi said. “I can’t discuss.”

When pressed on whether rhetoric from state and local leaders has contributed to unrest, Bondi said inflammatory language can have consequences but iterated that accountability applies universally.

“Rhetoric causes people to get hurt and injured, and that shouldn’t be happening,” she said. “Whether it’s a public official, whether it’s a law enforcement officer, no one is above the law in this state or in this country, and people will be held accountable.”

Bondi also addressed Sunday’s disruption of a church service in St. Paul, calling the incident “horrific” and saying such conduct should never occur at any place of worship.

MINNEAPOLIS PASTOR CALLS ON FAITHFUL TO BE ‘LIGHT IN THE DARK’ AFTER ANTI-ICE AGITATORS STORM CHURCH

“What happened in that church was horrific,” Bondi said. “That should not happen to any Christian, to any religion, to a synagogue, to a mosque, to any place of worship in our country.”

Bondi said she has spoken directly with Pastor Jonathan Parnell and plans to meet with him.

“That should not happen,” she said. “And it was horrific.”

In a statement after the Jan. 18 incident, Parnell said a group of agitators disrupted the worship service, accosted members of the congregation and frightened children, describing the conduct as “shameful” and “unlawful.”

“Invading a church service to disrupt the worship of Jesus — or any other act of worship — is protected by neither the Christian Scriptures nor the laws of this nation,” Parnell wrote, adding that church buildings are meant to be places of peace and refuge.

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Parnell said the church is evaluating next steps with legal counsel and called on local, state and national leaders to protect the fundamental right to worship freely.

Asked whether Minnesotans should expect continued federal involvement following her visit, Bondi answered unequivocally.

“President Trump is committed to making Minnesota safe,” she said. “So, the answer is yes.”

Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she believes America is ready for a woman president, pushing back on recent comments by former first lady Michelle Obama, who said U.S. voters were not ready to elect a woman to the White House.

In an interview with NPR released on Tuesday, Whitmer said she has “love” for the former first lady and “the last thing I want to do is disagree with her,” but that she has a different perspective.

“I think America is ready for a woman president,” Whitmer said. “The question comes down to a choice between two people, and what we saw in this last election, while Kamala Harris didn’t beat President Trump, we saw women get elected across the country.”

“We saw women win up and down the ballot in hard, important states to win, so I do think there’s an appetite,” she added. “I just, for whatever reason, we have not had a woman president yet. I think we will at some point in the near future.”

MICHELLE OBAMA SAYS AMERICA ‘NOT READY’ FOR WOMAN PRESIDENT: ‘WE SAW IN THIS PAST ELECTION’

The governor cited the election victories last year for Democratic Govs. Abigail Spanberger in Virginia and Mikie Sherill in New Jersey, as well as Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., in 2024.

In November, Obama said Americans are “not ready” to elect a woman to the White House, pointing to former Vice President Kamala Harris’ election loss to President Donald Trump in the last presidential election.

“As we saw in this past election, sadly, we ain’t ready,” the former first lady said at the Brooklyn Academy of Music at the time while promoting her book, “The Look.”

NANCY PELOSI THINKS A WOMAN WILL BE ELECTED PRESIDENT, BUT ‘MAYBE NOT’ IN HER LIFETIME

“That’s why I’m like, don’t even look at me about running, because you all are lying. You’re not ready for a woman. You are not … We’ve got a lot of growing up to do, and there’s still, sadly, a lot of men who do not feel like they can be led by a woman, and we saw it,” she added.

Pressed on whether Harris lost to Trump in the presidential election because she is a woman, Whitmer responded: “I don’t think it was just gender, no.”

Whitmer, who is term limited and cannot seek a third term as governor, said she does not currently have plans to run for another office.

She has been floated as a potential presidential candidate in 2028, but the governor said her focus remains on serving Michigan and helping her party’s candidates win the upcoming midterm elections.

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Asked about how Democrats could win in the midterms this year, Whitmer pointed to her gubernatorial campaign’s decision to remain “focused on the fundamentals.”

“I don’t think Michigan is unique in that,” Whitmer said. “I think every person in this country wants and expects government to make their lives better, and so that’s been our formula here in Michigan and I think that can be replicated everywhere successfully.”

Air Force One was forced to return to Joint Base Andrews shortly after takeoff Tuesday evening with President Donald Trump aboard, the White House said.

The crew experienced a “minor electrical issue” after takeoff and returned “out of an abundance of caution,” according to the White House.

Trump was en route to Davos, Switzerland, to attend the World Economic Forum.

The president is expected to board a different aircraft and continue on to Switzerland.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Thousands of people across the country flooded the streets on Tuesday in a mass walkout protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement, marking exactly one year since Donald Trump was sworn in for his second presidential term.

The walkout, dubbed the “Free America Walkout” is spearheaded by the Women’s March, the same group that mobilized millions of protesters against Trump’s first administration in 2017.

According to its website, organizers urged people to walk out of schools, workplaces and businesses around 2 p.m. local time as part of the “Free America” movement, with the aim to “withhold our labor, our participation, and our consent.”

Videos of the scene captured dozens of protesters converging in major metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, New York City, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C, as part of the coordinated demonstrations. 

ANTI-ICE AGITATOR WHO STORMED MINNESOTA CHURCH SERVICE ALSO HARASSED CONGREGANTS AT PETE HEGSETH’S CHURCH

In some areas, high school students walked out of school during snowy conditions, exercising their political voice despite being too young to vote. Ahead of the planned walkouts, principals at several schools reportedly notified parents and arranged supervision for the protests, according to the Virginia news outlet LoudounNow.

In other cities, crowds of demonstrators filled streets and public spaces in protests that were largely orderly and peaceful. In New York City, for example, demonstrators marched to the area outside Trump Tower, chanting slogans and holding signs calling for changes to federal policies.

Organizers accused the Trump administration of being “fascist” after the president deployed thousands of ICE agents and other federal troops to major cities in an escalated crackdown on illegal immigration. 

“One year into Trump’s second regime, we face an escalating fascist threat: ICE raids on our communities, troops occupying our cities, families torn apart, attacks on our trans siblings, mass surveillance, and terror used to keep us silent,” the group said on its website. “It is time for our communities to escalate as well.” 

PROMINENT CATHOLIC BISHOP SLAMS ANTI-ICE AGITATORS WHO DISRUPTED MN CHURCH SERVICE: ‘UNACCEPTABLE’

The organizers of the protest said that holding the walkout on a weekday allows the demonstration to have a greater impact by disrupting the normal routine of schools, workplaces and public life.

“A walkout interrupts business as usual,” the website for the march said. “It makes visible how much our labor, participation, and cooperation are taken for granted — and what happens when we withdraw them together.”

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Trump’s immigration agenda has sparked widespread outrage, particularly after an ICE agent fatally shot 37‑year‑old Renee Nicole Good while her vehicle blocked a Minneapolis immigration enforcement operation. The killing has since intensified scrutiny over the use of force in the administration’s crackdown. 

The interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia left her post after completing a 120-day appointment amid a legal standoff in which a federal judge questioned her authority, declined to appoint a successor and triggered an appeal over separation of powers.

Former Trump lawyer Lindsey Halligan announced her departure Tuesday, saying a federal judge ruled in November that her appointment was invalid and that only the district court had the authority to name an interim successor following Erik Siebert’s exit.

She said the ruling led the court to treat her appointment as disqualifying, including striking her name from court filings.

FEDERAL JUDGE CALLS COMEY INDICTMENT INTO QUESTION, ASKS IF HALLIGAN IS A ‘PUPPET’ FOR TRUMP

“I was subjected to baseless accusations of lying to a tribunal and making false or misleading statements,” Halligan wrote. “I was ordered to respond to sua sponte orders and to personally sign filings explaining why my name appeared on pleadings, diverting time and resources from public safety responsibilities. Assistant U.S. Attorneys were told in open court that I should resign.”

She said that even after declaring her appointment invalid, the district court did not take the step its own reading of the law required by appointing a new U.S. attorney to fill the role.

BONDI TARGETS JAMES COMEY, LETITIA JAMES IN LEGAL BATTLE: ‘HOLD…ACCOUNTABLE FOR UNLAWFUL CONDUCT’

Instead, she said the court treated her as though she had been removed by striking her name from filings and declaring her appointment unlawful, while taking no action to fill what it said was an existing vacancy.

“In short, the court took no action to fill the vacancy it said already existed,” Halligan wrote. “The result was a vacuum: the Executive Branch was told it lacked appointment authority, and the Judiciary declined to exercise the authority it claimed was exclusively its own. That contradiction is now on appealnow on appeal.”

COMEY AND JAMES CHALLENGE TRUMP APPOINTEE’S LEGITIMACY IN FEDERAL COURT HEARING

Attorney General Pam Bondi praised Halligan’s tenure as interim U.S. attorney, saying she served with distinction and focused on prosecuting violent offenders to protect Eastern Virginia’s more than six million residents.

“Democratic Senators weaponized the blue slip process, making it impossible for Lindsey’s term as United States Attorney to continue following the expiration of her 120-day appointment,” Bondi wrote on X. “Despite multiple, unnecessary legal obstacles placed in her path, Lindsey stepped forward at a critical juncture for our Nation and fulfilled her responsibilities with courage and resolve.”

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“Her departure is a significant loss for the Department of Justice and the communities she served,” Bondi continued. “While we will feel her absence keenly, we are confident that she will continue to serve her country in other ways.”

Bondi said the circumstances surrounding Halligan’s departure were “deeply misguided,” adding that the Justice Department would continue seeking review of decisions she said, “hinder our ability to keep the American people safe.”

The House of Representatives passed a bill that would require the government to create more access to artificial intelligence (AI) education for small businesses Tuesday evening.

The AI for Main Street Act passed with broad bipartisan support in a 395-14 vote. Eleven Republicans and three Democrats voted against the measure.

“Main Street stands at the doorstep of a major transformation because the AI revolution isn’t just coming, it’s already here,” Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement after its passage.

“We’re ensuring entrepreneurs and job creators aren’t left behind. Our AI for Main Street Act will provide small businesses with the resources, education and training needed to responsibly utilize artificial intelligence.”

CHINA RACES AHEAD ON AI —TRUMP WARNS AMERICA CAN’T REGULATE ITSELF INTO DEFEAT

The AI for Main Street Act would direct the Small Business Administration (SBA) and its Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) to help start-ups learn to adopt AI technologies by providing training and outreach.

The bill fits into the pre-existing framework of the SBDCs.

According to the SBA, SBDCs exist to help small businesses access capital, exchange information on new technologies, improve business planning, manage their finances, personnel administration and more.

AI COULD DRIVE US UNEMPLOYMENT TO 20%, SENATORS WARN AS NEW BILL TARGETS JOB TRACKING

The SBA states that it has at least 900 service locations that coordinate across 62 SBDC centers nationwide.

The bill does not allocate any additional funding for its new directives on AI.

Alford said he feared that much larger companies would quickly integrate AI technologies while smaller enterprises would struggle to adopt new tools and get left behind.

“We want small business owners to understand not only what AI can do, but how to use it securely, safely, ethically and effectively,” Alford said in a floor speech on his bill.

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“This bill is about empowering people, not replacing them. I’m proud to see the House pass our bipartisan bill to champion small businesses,” Alford added.

The bill, having cleared the House, heads to the Senate for consideration.

A top spokesperson for former President Bill Clinton sharply accused House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., of misrepresenting negotiations in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, insisting the Clintons never rejected sworn testimony or transcripts as the committee prepares to vote on contempt.

Angel Ureña, deputy chief of staff to the former president, said Comer was using a dispute over testimony format as a pretext to move toward contempt proceedings.

Ureña’s remarks came after Comer accused the Clintons of defying bipartisan subpoenas and demanding limits on testimony that would bar other lawmakers and prevent the creation of an official transcript.

“We never said no to a transcript. Interviews are on the record and under oath,” he wrote on X. “Whether it was written or typed isn’t why this is happening. If that were the last or only issue, we’d be in a different position. You keep misdirecting to protect you-know-who and God knows what.”

TOP GOP CHAIR ISSUES STARK WARNING TO CLINTONS IF THEY DEFY DEPOSITIONS IN EPSTEIN INVESTIGATION

Comer said the Clintons’ attorneys made what he described as an untenable offer while the committee was moving toward contempt proceedings.

“Facing contempt of Congress, the Clintons’ lawyers made an untenable offer: that I travel to New York for a conversation with President Clinton only,” Comer wrote on X. “No official transcript would be recorded and other members of Congress would be barred from participating. I have rejected the Clintons’ ridiculous offer.”

Comer also accused the Clintons of seeking preferential treatment and failing to comply with lawful subpoenas.

BILL, HILLARY CLINTON RISK CRIMINAL CONTEMPT CHARGES AFTER DEFYING HOUSE SUBPOENAS IN EPSTEIN PROBE

“The Clintons’ latest demands make clear they believe their last name entitles them to special treatment,” he wrote. “The House Oversight Committee’s bipartisan subpoenas require the Clintons to appear for depositions that are under oath and transcribed.”

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is examining what the Clintons may have known about Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, including scrutiny of Hillary’s role overseeing U.S. efforts to combat international sex trafficking while serving as secretary of state.

Comer said the lack of a formal record would undermine public accountability as the investigation moves forward.

JON STEWART SAYS CLINTONS SHOULD ‘ABSOLUTELY’ COMPLY WITH CONGRESSIONAL SUBPOENAS ON EPSTEIN

“The absence of an official transcript is an indefensible demand that is insulting to the American people who demand answers about Epstein’s crimes,” Comer wrote.

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, who serves on the House Oversight Committee, told Fox News the panel bent over backward to accommodate the Clintons and said their refusal to comply with subpoenas left the committee no choice but to pursue contempt.

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“We’ve seen multiple pictures of Bill Clinton with Epstein victims on Epstein’s plane engaged in all kinds of things that look quite unsavory, and I think the American people want answers, and they want to know what a former U.S. president was doing with this disgusting pedophile,” Gill said.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Clinton Foundation for comment on the matter.

President Donald Trump slammed Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., a member of the far-left “Squad” in the House, over her multimillion-dollar net worth during a news conference from the White House Tuesday afternoon.

Trump called the Somali-born lawmaker from Minnesota “crooked” Tuesday amid a probe by congressional Republicans on the House Oversight Committee looking into how Omar’s wealth exploded after she became a lawmaker. 

In just one year, Omar’s net worth reportedly jumped $30 million, according to financial disclosures first reported last week.

“I was told that Ilhan Omar is worth $30 million,” Trump then quipped. “She never had a job. She’s a crooked congressman. So here you – it’s another one.

ILHAN OMAR ACCUSES NOEM OF ‘LIES AND PROPAGANDA’ ON MINNESOTA ARRESTS

“Nobody talks about the fact that $19 billion, at a minimum, is missing in Minnesota, given to a large degree, but, by Somalians — they’ve taken it. Somalians. Can you imagine? And they don’t do it. A lot of very low-IQ people, they don’t do it. Other people work it out, and they get them money, and they go out and buy Mercedes-Benzes.

“They have no money. They never had money. They never had a life. They never had a government. They never had a country because there’s basically no country. Somalia is not even a country. They don’t have anything that resembles a country. And if it is a country, it’s considered just about the worst in the world. They come here, and they become rich, and they don’t have a job,” Trump complained from the podium in the White House briefing room before turning his focus to Omar. 

Omar denied being a millionaire earlier this year, posting on X that she “barely” has thousands, let alone “millions” and has argued she is being targeted by House Republicans’ investigation.

The concern, according to Republican Oversight Chairman James Comer, is tied to both Omar and her politically connected husband Tim Mynett.

Omar disclosed 2024 evaluations of Rose Lake Capital LLC, a business firm co-founded by her husband, at somewhere between $5 million and $25 million in 2024. 

Just one year before, in 2023, she reported that the same company’s value was between $1 and $1,000.

TRUMP SAYS MEDIA FOCUSES TOO MUCH ON MINNESOTA ICE COVERAGE, NOT ENOUGH ON CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS

Meanwhile, a winery registered in Santa Rosa, California, that first appeared on Omar’s disclosure reports in 2020, reported a value between $1 million and $5 million in 2024. The company, ESTCRU LLC, was evaluated at just $15,000 to $50,000 the previous year. 

Trump on Tuesday took to the White House briefing room to tout his achievements roughly one year after he was sworn in for his second term, including the arrest of thousands of criminals in Minnesota amid his administration’s federal immigration enforcement efforts in the state. Trump also slammed Minnesota and its leaders for the rampant fraud the Trump administration has been investigating involving the state’s large Somalian population.

“Ilhan Omar, she comes from Somalia, a backward country,” Trump added from the podium Tuesday. “But she’ll come here, and then she wants to tell us how to run our country. ‘The Constitution says that I have a title to this.’ I can’t stand her.”

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In addition to House Republicans, officials within the Trump administration have also reportedly indicated they are aware of allegations against Omar and would be looking into them.

Fox News Digital’s Leo Briceno contributed to this report.

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom slammed foreign world leaders for allegedly “rolling over” when confronted by President Donald Trump, declaring that he should have brought “kneepads” for foreign dignitaries attending the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. 

“People are rolling over. I should have brought a bunch of kneepads for all the world leaders,” Newsom told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “It’s just pathetic.”

Newsom is attending the World Economic Forum and is expected to address the forum with a speech Thursday. Trump is set to depart for Switzerland Tuesday evening, which comes as the president levels threats of imposing steep tariffs on a handful of nations as he works to acquire Greenland for the United States. 

Greenland is a self-governing island within the Kingdom of Denmark that is located in the Arctic. European leaders have balked at Trump as he intensified rhetoric that it is crucial for the U.S. to take control of Greenland from a national security standpoint. 

TRUMP TOLD TO ‘F–K OFF’ BY DANISH LAWMAKER DURING EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT GREENLAND DEBATE

China recently has intensified its activities in the Arctic region, while Greenland has historically served as a strategic outpost for the military to conduct missile detection during the Cold War. 

Newsom unleashed that European leaders were “being complicit” with Trump, urging them to “have a backbone” while slamming gifts foreign leaders have given Trump, such as Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gifting her Nobel Peace Prize to the president in January. 

“This is pathetic,” Newsom continued in his comment to reporters. “Nobel Prizes, they are being given away. I mean, it’s just pathetic. And I hope people understand how pathetic they look on the world stage. I mean at least from an American perspective. It’s embarrassing.”

Newsom added that Trump is allegedly “playing folks for fools” and compared Trump to a T. rex who is on the prowl to mate or eat. 

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

“This is diplomacy with Donald Trump. He’s a T-Rex. You mate with him or he devours you, one or the other. The Europeans could be (devoured) if they continue down this path and process. They need to stand tall, stand firm, stand united. Look, a year ago we should have been having this conversation, and they didn’t. And now you’re paying the price — exactly what anyone, objective observer, would have anticipated we’d be where we are today,” Newsom said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office for additional comment on his remarks Tuesday afternoon but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Trump announced in January that he would level a 10% tariff on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands and Finland starting Feb. 1 if no deal to acquire Greenland is reached. The tariffs are bumped to 25% on June 1 if there is no deal at that stage, the president said, which has flared tensions with European leaders. 

TRUMP EXPLAINS WHY HE POSTED MACRON, RUTTE PRIVATE TEXT MESSAGES ON SOCIAL MEDIA

“The proposed additional tariffs are a mistake, especially between long-standing allies. The European Union and the United States have agreed to a trade deal last July. And in politics, as in business, a deal is a deal,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the forum. 

Trump was asked about Newsom’s presence in Davos Tuesday during a press briefing considering the pair’s ongoing political spats that commonly focus on Trump criticizing the left-wing governor’s policies in the deep blue state. 

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“I had a very good relationship with Gavin Newsom when we were, you know, in office together,” Trump told the media, referring to his first term in the Oval Office. “I was president. He was the governor of California. We had a really, he would talk about it often, and somewhere we just went astray. I just, I just hate the way California is being run. We actually have people leaving. It’s never happened before, but I hate the way it’s being run. He and I had a very good relationship. Really, close to the word exceptional, but now we seem not to.”

A course offered by the University of Maryland for the 2026 spring semester is sparking outrage from experts, including two who told Fox News Digital it represents “identity politics” getting in the way of proper education. 

“This course provides a comprehensive foundation of how colonial legacies continue to shape global health systems and medical practices,” the University of Maryland website says about the class called “Decolonizing Medicine: Steps to Actionable Change,” first reported by College Fix. 

The course description continues, “We will critically engage with the concept of ‘the White body’ as the standard in medical training, explore the consequences of the historical context underpinning colonial medicine, and interrogate neocolonial dynamics in contemporary global health efforts. Designed for students interested in careers in medicine, public health, or health policy, this course will challenge students to rethink the ethical and epistemological frameworks that underlie modern healthcare.”

Weekly topics, according to the syllabus, include “Medicine as a Colonial Project,” “Indigenous Medicine and Knowledge Systems,” “Structural Violence in Public Health,” and “Intersectionality as a Decolonial Tool in Modern Medicine,” with assigned readings drawn from works such as Medical Apartheid, The Killing of the Black Body, and critical race theory scholarship.

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“While this one-credit course at Maryland is predictable, it is nonetheless troubling,” Reagan Dugan, director of higher education initiatives at Defending Education, told Fox News Digital. 

“Coursework that frames medicine as problematic because of its ‘colonial legacy’ is both historically and scientifically unfounded. The coursework seems to go even further and push critical theory into the classrooms of our future health leaders. Instead of training future doctors to serve all patients well, this emphasis appears to encourage them to see patients as oppressor and oppressed. Our institutions should train medical students in medicine, not progressive orthodoxy.”

WATCHDOG URGES DOJ PROBE OF TOP RESEARCH UNIVERSITY OVER ALLEGED ILLEGAL DEI PRACTICES: ‘DEFIES COMMON SENSE’

The class is facilitated by students rather than a listed faculty instructor, according to the syllabus, and includes explicit guidance encouraging students to share their preferred pronouns and self-identified aspects of their identity in classroom discussions.

Dr. Kurt Miceli, medical director at Do No Harm, told Fox News Digital, “These courses focused on identity politics unfortunately shift attention from evidence-based reasoning to ideological framing, which risks confusing political analysis with clinical judgment.”

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“Over time, trust in the profession gets undermined, particularly if patients feel their care is being filtered through a political lens rather than grounded in biology, data, and individualized medical need,” Miceli said. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the University of Maryland for comment. 

Fox News Digital has extensively reported on universities across the country injecting social justice advocacy into curriculum, including in December when a Defending Education report revealed the accreditation process for bachelor’s and master’s social work programs at top U.S. universities is rife with DEI, critical race theory and other far-left agenda items.

FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration asked for redactions to a sweeping new Heritage Foundation report modeling a potential US–China war over Taiwan, even though the analysis relied entirely on publicly available, unclassified data, according to the report’s authors.

The redacted report, TIDALWAVE, warns that the United States could reach a breaking point within weeks of a high‑intensity conflict with China — conclusions that the authors say prompted senior national security officials to seek redactions over concerns adversaries could exploit the findings or use them to identify U.S. and allied military vulnerabilities.

Those conclusions include warnings that U.S. forces would culminate far sooner than China, suffer catastrophic losses to aircraft and sustainment infrastructure in the Pacific, and still fail to prevent a global economic shock estimated at roughly $10 trillion, nearly a tenth of global GDP.

SKIES AT STAKE: INSIDE THE US-CHINA RACE FOR AIR DOMINANCE

According to the authors, the AI‑enabled model drew exclusively on open‑source government, academic, industry and commercial information. An unredacted version of the report was provided to authorized U.S. government recipients for internal use.

Unlike traditional tabletop war games, TIDALWAVE employs an AI‑enabled model that runs thousands of iterations, tracking how losses in platforms, munitions, and fuel compound over time and drive cascading operational failure early in the conflict.

According to a Heritage spokesperson, the report had been shown to “high-level national security officials” who requested some of the specifics be crossed out in black ink before its release to the public. The report still details how quickly U.S. forces could reach a breaking point and why the conflict would carry global consequences.

“Redactions were made at the request of the U.S. government to prevent disclosure of information that could reasonably enable an adversary to (1) re mediate or ‘close’ critical vulnerabilities that the United States and its allies could otherwise exploit, or (2) identify or exploit U.S. and allied vulnerabilities in ways that could degrade operational endurance, resilience, or deterrence,” the report said. 

A Department of War spokesperson declined to comment on discussions surrounding TIDALWAVE’s publication, but added: “The Department of War does not endorse, validate, or adjudicate third-party analyses, nor do we engage publicly on hypothetical conflict modeling. As a general matter, we take seriously the protection of information that, if aggregated or contextualized, could have implications for operational security.”

The White House could not be reached for comment. 

The war is decided early

According to the report’s redacted findings, the U.S. would culminate in less than half the time required for the People’s Republic of China in a high-intensity conflict. Culmination is defined as the point at which a force becomes incapable of continuing operations due to the loss of platforms, ammunition and/or fuel.

The report is explicit that the first 30 days to 60 days of a U.S.-China war determine its long-term shape and outcome, as early losses in aircraft, ships, fuel throughput and munitions rapidly compound and cannot be recovered on operationally relevant timelines.

The report concludes that the U.S. is not equipped nor arrayed to protect and sustain the Joint Force in a conflict with China in the Indo-Pacific. Rapid platform attrition, brittle logistics, concentrated basing and insufficient industrial surge capacity combine to force an early operational breaking point for American forces.

Catastrophic losses in the Pacific

The report warns that U.S. reliance on a small number of large, concentrated forward bases — particularly in Japan and Guam — leaves American airpower dangerously exposed to Chinese missile forces. 

In multiple scenarios, up to 90% of U.S. and allied aircraft positioned at major forward bases are destroyed on the ground during the opening phase of the conflict, as runways, fuel depots, command facilities and parked aircraft are hit simultaneously.

Munitions collapse within days

The report finds that critical U.S. precision‑guided munitions — including long‑range anti‑ship missiles, air‑to‑air interceptors and missile‑defense systems — begin to be unavailable within five to seven days of major combat operations. Across most scenarios, those critical munitions are completely exhausted within 35 days to 40 days, leaving U.S. forces unable to sustain high‑tempo combat.

Fuel emerges as the most decisive vulnerability of all. The report makes a critical distinction: the U.S. does not run out of fuel in most scenarios — it loses the ability to move fuel under fire.

CHINA’S MISSILE SURGE PUTS EVERY US BASE IN THE PACIFIC AT RISK — AND THE WINDOW TO RESPOND IS CLOSING

Chinese doctrine explicitly prioritizes attacks on logistics vessels, ports, pipelines and replenishment tankers. Even limited tanker losses, port disruptions or pipeline severance are sufficient to drive fuel throughput below survivable levels, forcing commanders to sharply curtail air and naval operations despite fuel remaining in aggregate stockpiles.

China endures far longer

By contrast, China is assessed as capable of sustaining high‑intensity combat operations for months longer under the modeled assumptions.

Chinese ammunition stockpiles of critical munitions begin to be depleted after approximately 20 days to 30 days of major combat operations. However, substitution effects extend China’s ability to sustain combat operations out to months — well beyond the point at which U.S. forces culminate.

A $10 trillion global shock

The consequences extend far beyond the battlefield.

The redacted report concludes the U.S. is highly unlikely to prevent massive global economic fallout once a Taiwan conflict begins. Disruption of shipping lanes, destruction of critical infrastructure and the collapse of Taiwan’s semiconductor production would trigger a global economic shock estimated at roughly $10 trillion, with enduring ripple effects across financial markets, manufacturing, and global trade.

Wartime footing for rebuilding the industrial base 

The report comes amid years of concern over US military readiness and industrial capacity, as China rapidly expands its naval forces and shipbuilding base.

The U.S. Navy operates a smaller fleet than planned, while American shipyards face workforce shortages, aging infrastructure and chronic delays — even as China, the world’s largest shipbuilder, continues to outpace the U.S. in producing new naval hulls.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth and other military leaders have vowed to put the Pentagon on a wartime footing for industrial capacity.

Deterrence at risk

Perhaps most alarming, TIDALWAVE warns that the scale of losses in the Indo‑Pacific would leave the U.S. unable to deter or respond effectively to a second major conflict elsewhere in the world. 

A war over Taiwan could open the door to follow‑on aggression by adversaries such as Russia, Iran or North Korea, fundamentally destabilizing the global security order.

The report is blunt in its assessment: existing Pentagon programs and congressional funding are too slow, too fragmented and too modest to address the scale of the challenge. In many cases, the timeline required to fix critical vulnerabilities exceeds the likely timeline to conflict.

The call to action

To avoid what the authors describe as a strategic defeat, the report urges Congress to immediately expand munitions stockpiles, strengthen fuel reserves and distribution infrastructure, harden and disperse forward bases, and accelerate sustainment and logistics reforms. Without rapid action, the authors warn, the U.S. risks entering a conflict it is structurally unprepared to fight or sustain.

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With intelligence warnings mounting that China could move on Taiwan before the end of the decade, TIDALWAVE cautions that the window to correct these deficiencies may be closing faster than Washington is prepared to act.

President Donald Trump is calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to do more to highlight the arrests of illegal immigrants with criminal records.

“The Department of Homeland Security and ICE must start talking about the murderers and other criminals that they are capturing and taking out of the system. They are saving many innocent lives! There are thousands of vicious animals in Minnesota alone, which is why the crime stats are, nationwide, the BEST EVER RECORDED! Show the numbers, names, and faces of the violent criminals, and show them NOW. The people will start supporting the patriots of ICE, instead of the highly paid troublemakers, anarchists, and agitators! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

DHS regularly announces the arrest of illegal immigrants and will often publish the alleged offenders’ names, mugshots and criminal history. 

In response to a request for comment, DHS referred Fox News Digital to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s X post.

“We have arrested over 10,000 criminal illegal aliens who were killing Americans, hurting children and reigning terror in Minneapolis because Tim Walz and Jacob Frey refuse to protect their own people and instead protect criminals. In the last 6 weeks, our brave DHS law enforcement have arrested 3,000 criminal illegal aliens including vicious murderers, rapists, child pedophiles and incredibly dangerous individuals. A HUGE victory for public safety. There is MASSIVE Fraud in Minneapolis, at least $19 billion and that’s just the tip of iceberg. Our Homeland Security Investigators are on the ground in Minneapolis conducting wide-scale investigations to get justice for the American people who have been robbed blind,” Noem wrote.

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

On Tuesday, the department published a video of agents in Minnesota arresting Samuel Eduardo Arevalo-Hernandez, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala. DHS claimed that Cottonwood County, Minn., ignored the detainer for Arevalo-Hernandez, who was charged with two counts of Third-Degree Penetration of a Child involving victims ages 14 and 15.

The president’s urgent call to DHS and ICE comes as the administration’s immigration crackdown faces intense backlash following the fatal ICE-involved shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis.

Good was shot on Jan. 7 during a confrontation with an ICE agent that turned deadly. The incident sparked protests across Minnesota and the country, with agitators demanding immigration enforcement leave their communities.

On Sunday, anti-ICE agitators stormed the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minn., claiming that the pastor was affiliated with immigration enforcement. Video of the incident shows agitators chanting “Justice for Renee Good” and “Who needs justice, we need justice,” as they stood inside the church during the service.

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

Trump said on Truth Social that he saw footage of the demonstration and accused the agitators of being paid “professionals.”

“They are troublemakers who should be thrown in jail, or thrown out of the country,” the president said.

ICE reposted a video of the demonstration and said, “Agitators aren’t just targeting our officers. Now they’re targeting churches, too.” The agency blamed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for “whipping these mobs into a frenzy and then allowing them to run rampant.”

“We won’t be deterred. ICE isn’t going anywhere,” the agency said.

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After Good was fatally shot, Walz and Frey spoke out against federal immigration enforcement, with the mayor demanding that ICE “get the f— out of Minneapolis.”

While DHS has said that the officer who allegedly shot Good was acting in self-defense, many Democrats have rejected that claim. Frey dismissed the self-defense claim as “garbage.”

Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment.

Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., warned that President Donald Trump’s growing threats against her home state, including possibly invoking a rarely used, centuries-old executive authority, were tantamount to a declaration of war.

Last week, Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents continue to clash with agitators in Minneapolis.

“The president’s statements today essentially amount to threats of declaring war on Minnesota,” Smith said. “And in a time when we should be trying to keep people safe and finding a path forward, he continues to throw gasoline on the fire in ways that are really dangerous.”

WHITE HOUSE SAYS WALZ, FREY INCITED CHAOS AFTER ANTI-ICE MOB STORMS MINNEAPOLIS CHURCH

The Insurrection Act is a seldom-used executive power first created in 1807. It’s designed to allow the president to deploy the military to quell rebellions and enforce federal laws.

When asked about Trump’s threats to invoke the power, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said, “I think he’s threatened in other places, other states, too.”

“We’ll see what happens,” Thune said. “Hopefully, local officials are working with federal law enforcement, ICE and other agencies, but also the local law enforcement officials being able to settle things down.”

CONGRESS UNVEILS $1.2T SPENDING BILL AS PROGRESSIVE REVOLT BREWS OVER ICE FUNDING

Over the last two centuries, it has only been triggered 30 times, most recently by former President George H.W. Bush in the early 1990s to suppress growing unrest during the L.A. riots following the acquittal of four police officers charged with using excessive force against Rodney King.

Trump floated invoking the Insurrection Act in a post on Truth Social, where he warned, “If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of ICE,” he would pull the trigger on the sparsely used power.

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

He later told reporters outside the White House that “if I needed it, I’d use it. I don’t think there’s any reason right now to use it, but if I needed it, I’d use it. It’s very powerful.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE have been major talking points in Congress, particularly after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent earlier this month.

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The latest DHS funding bill, which was tied into a four-bill $1.2 trillion spending package released Tuesday, includes several restrictions on funding for the agency, like detailed reports on operations, expenses, detention facilities and more, though it doesn’t slash its budget.

Congressional negotiators unveiled a massive $1.2 trillion spending package that includes funding for several key aspects of the federal government, but partisan tensions are still raging over money going toward Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The legislation is aimed at funding the Department of War, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Labor, and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), among others. But progressives have threatened a rebellion over funding for ICE, which is included in the DHS portion of the bill, if President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown is not reined in.

The division was spurred by a deadly confrontation between an ICE agent and 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis earlier this month. Responses to Good’s killing from Democrats and Republicans have been sharply divided along partisan lines.

If passed by the House and Senate, the legislation — which combines four separate spending bills into a package called a “minibus” — would be the final piece of the puzzle for Congress to avert another government shutdown come Jan. 30.

DEMOCRATS’ DILEMMA: PROGRESSIVE PUSH TO ‘ABOLISH ICE’ SPARKS FRESH DIVIDE IN PARTY

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, acknowledged frustrations raised by progressives, but fell short of outright condemning the bill.

“I understand that many of my Democratic colleagues may be dissatisfied with any bill that funds ICE. I share their frustration with the out-of-control agency. I encourage my colleagues to review the bill and determine what is best for their constituents and communities,” DeLauro said in a statement Tuesday morning.

“The Homeland Security funding bill is more than just ICE. If we allow a lapse in funding, TSA agents will be forced to work without pay, FEMA assistance could be delayed and the U.S. Coast Guard will be adversely affected,” she said.

A significant number of far-left Democrats threatened to vote against funding for DHS days before the package was released.

“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 last week at a press event.

Omar is the deputy chair for the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a group of more than 70 lawmakers.

$174B SPENDING PACKAGE TO AVERT SHUTDOWN CLEARS KEY HURDLE IN SENATE

The bill text keeps the $10 billion in funding for ICE appropriated in 2025, but it also comes with reductions in the agency’s budget for removal of illegal immigrants.

Among the guardrails on ICE, the bill includes $20 million for body cameras for Border Patrol officers and new training requirements on de-escalation and public engagement.

The move threatens to undo support among Republicans who may demand to see that funding restored or increased. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can afford to lose only two votes amid razor-thin margins in the House following the sudden death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., and the resignation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., both of which happened earlier this month.

On the whole, the bundle of four bills funds the government’s needs for Transportation, Housing and Urban Development to the tune of $102.8 billion, sets aside $221 billion for the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, allocates $64.4 billion for DHS and increases defense spending to $839.2 billion.

Congress has passed six of the needed 12 bills to fund the government in FY2026.

In a statement on the latest spending package, House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said he hoped lawmakers would press on to finalize the year’s funding.

“At a time when many believed completing the FY ’26 process was out of reach, we’ve shown that challenges are opportunities. It’s time to get it across the finish line,” Cole said.

The $1.2 trillion package will reach the floor for a vote in the House later this week.

For now, a shutdown is not on the menu for Senate Democrats, nor is there a desire to turn to a government funding extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR), to keep the lights on in Washington, D.C.

That’s because Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., argue either scenario would only benefit the Trump administration, particularly when it comes to DHS funding, because of the nearly $200 billion in funding already delivered to the agency through Trump’s signature “big, beautiful bill.”

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

Schumer, in particular, has been wary of flirting with another shutdown in the wake of the longest closure in U.S. history, instead arguing that Democrats want to focus on funding the government through spending bills, largely to include their own priorities and to try to reverse any spending cuts from the past year.

And Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, charged that the DHS under Secretary Kristi Noem was “frankly sick and un-American,” and that ICE was “out-of-control.”

But, she acknowledged that the best way Democrats could try to corral them would be through the government funding process.

“ICE must be reined in, and unfortunately, neither a CR nor a shutdown would do anything to restrain it, because, thanks to Republicans, ICE is now sitting on a massive slush fund it can tap whether or not we pass a funding bill,” Murray said.

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“The suggestion that a shutdown in this moment might curb the lawlessness of this administration is not rooted in reality: under a CR and in a shutdown, this administration can do everything they are already doing — but without any of the critical guardrails and constraints imposed by a full-year funding bill,” she continued.