NationalWatch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The post sparked outrage online after resurfacing.

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

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

“Michigan wants off this ride,” Nesbitt added.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trump administration reports a timeline of events to Congress

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is a developing story; check back for updates.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fox News Digital reached out to DHS.

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

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

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

BOSTON WHISTLEBLOWER WARNS OF MIGRANT CRIME SPILLOVER AS TRUMP CRACKDOWN LOOMS

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

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

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

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

LOUISVILLE MAYOR SHIFTS IMMIGRATION POLICY AFTER LEGAL THREAT FROM DOJ

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“No,” Trump responded bluntly.

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

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

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

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

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

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

MARTIN GURRI: LET’S LOOK AT ALL THE GLOBAL BENEFITS TRUMP REAPED BY GRABBING MADURO

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Following Maduro’s capture, Trump announced that the U.S. would “run” Venezuela until a peaceful transition could occur. The move to ouster Maduro has attracted scrutiny, mostly from Democrats, who have called into question the legality of the operation in Venezuela, which was conducted without Congress’ approval. 

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

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

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

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TRUMP RIPS CONGESTION PRICING, CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE END: ‘A DISASTER FOR NEW YORK’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ARKANSAS COUNTY JAIL BECOMES MAJOR ICE PIPELINE AS ARRESTS SURGE UNDER TRUMP CRACKDOWN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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