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President Donald Trump was caught on video appearing to mouth an expletive and make an obscene gesture toward a heckler during a visit to a Ford factory in Michigan Tuesday, a moment the White House later defended as an “appropriate and unambiguous response.”

The video, first published by TMZ, shows Trump briefly turning toward someone shouting from the crowd as he walked through the Ford River Rouge complex in Dearborn.

In the video, Trump appears to mouth the words “f— you” twice and gestures with his middle finger.

TRUMP TO CUT FEDERAL PAYMENTS TO SANCTUARY CITIES STARTING FEB 1 OVER IMMIGRATION POLICIES

TMZ reported that the exchange followed a heckler shouting an insult at the president off camera. The outlet described Trump’s reaction as “flipping the bird” while continuing to walk away.

White House communications director Steven Cheung defended the president’s reaction, telling Fox News Digital, “A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the President gave an appropriate and unambiguous response.”

TRUMP WEARS ‘HAPPY TRUMP’ PIN ALONGSIDE AMERICAN FLAG DURING WHITE HOUSE OIL EXECUTIVE MEETING

Trump visited the plant as part of a scheduled appearance focused on U.S. manufacturing and the auto industry when the exchange occurred during a tour of the factory.

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The White House did not specify whether the individual shouting at Trump was a Ford employee or an attendee, and Fox News Digital has not independently confirmed the identity of the person heard in the video.

Minneapolis-area leaders on Tuesday formally denounced federal immigration authorities and called for their removal from the region amid the Trump administration’s deportation campaign. 

The Hennepin County Administration, Operations and Budget Committee unanimously passed a resolution condemning ICE and calling for the removal of ICE personnel and assets from Minnesota.

In a statement, the seven-member committee said it did “not take this action lightly.”

MINNESOTA LAWSUIT OVER TRUMP’S ICE ‘INVASION’ WON’T SUCCEED: LEGAL EXPERT

“It comes forward in the context of an additional 1,000 ICE agents due to arrive in the metro area during the largest deployment of DHS resources in our nation’s history, anywhere,” committee Vice Chair Debbie Goettel said. 

The committee framed the vote as a stand to protect residents. The board will vote to formally adopt the resolution in its Jan. 27 meeting. 

“We stand with our immigrant communities, our protesters and observers, and our neighbors standing together to bring accountability to this unconscionable show of force,” Goettel said. 

The vote came hours after President Donald Trump said his administration will withhold federal payments from sanctuary jurisdictions beginning Feb. 1. 

HOUSE REPUBLICAN CALLS FOR HEARING AFTER DEADLY ICE SHOOTING IN MINNEAPOLIS

In a Truth Social post, Trump said sanctuary cities hamper federal immigration enforcement efforts at the expense of public safety. 

“And it breeds fraud and crime and all the other problems that come. So we’re not making any payment to anybody that supports sanctuary,” Trump wrote. 

Earlier in the week, the Department of Homeland Security said it would be sending additional federal agents to protect Minnesota immigration officers as they conduct enforcement operations while facing protesters. 

Minnesota has become a flashpoint in Trump’s deportation campaign following last week’s fatal shooting of Renee Good, who was shot by an ICE agent as she attempted to ram into him with her vehicle, officials said. 

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The city of Minneapolis is suing the federal government over the law enforcement operations, which local officials said have been marked by racial profiling and excessive force. 

South Carolina Republican lawmakers have introduced a new bill that would criminalize abortion as murder, applying existing homicide and wrongful death laws from the moment of conception.

The Prenatal Equal Protection Act, introduced in the South Carolina House of Representatives, would be the strongest anti-abortion law in state history if enacted. The legislation has been scheduled for a hearing in the South Carolina House Constitutional Laws Subcommittee on Wednesday.

Supporters argue current heartbeat laws merely regulate abortion and still allow the procedure in certain cases, prompting Republican state Sen. Lee Bright to introduce the legislation as a way to extend full legal protections to unborn children.

PRO-LIFE PREGNANCY CENTERS SEE CLIENT INCREASE AFTER SUPREME COURT DECISION: STUDY

“These children deserve equal protection. I will be filing a bill of equal protection today. I know we’ve got hearts and minds to change,” Bright said Tuesday at a press conference at the South Carolina State House.

South Carolina State Representative Rob Harris said that in 2023, the Legislature and the Governor revised the heartbeat law that regulates abortion and still allows the procedure under certain circumstances.

SUPREME COURT RULES AGAINST PLANNED PARENTHOOD IN MEDICAID FUNDING DISPUTE

“Incredibly, in one section of that bill, it asserts that life begins at conception, but in another section, it writes into law where, when, and how someone may legally murder a baby in South Carolina,” Harris said.

The legislation would apply to all parties involved, including the pregnant woman.

Republicans hold large majorities in both chambers of the South Carolina General Assembly, meaning the bill could pass if GOP lawmakers remain unified. But similar abortion legislation has previously stalled amid divisions within the GOP, raising questions about whether the bill can advance.

SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN OKS BAN ON PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERAL FUNDING IN TRUMP MEGABILL

A November bill sought to further restrict abortion under existing law but stalled after some Republicans objected. The Prenatal Equal Protection Act goes much further, treating abortion as homicide from the moment of conception and applying criminal penalties, including for pregnant women — a shift supporters say is necessary to fully eliminate abortion.

Supporters argue the earlier bill failed because it regulated abortion rather than abolishing it, and say incremental restrictions have repeatedly stalled or been struck down, leaving a full equal-protection approach as the only lasting solution.

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The new bill is backed by national anti-abortion activists who have warned Republican lawmakers they could face primary challenges if they do not support it.

Critics are expected to raise concerns about criminal penalties, enforcement and constitutional issues.

Hey, you up?

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Trump have been exchanging “friendly” missives at least twice a week — as the unlikely bromance between the socialist and conservative commander-in-chief continues to blossom, The Post has learned.

‘JUST SAY YES’: TRUMP CUTS IN AS NYC MAYOR-ELECT MAMDANI DODGES ON CALLING HIM A ‘FASCIST’ AT OVAL OFFICE

The former Astoria lawmaker and the Queens native have semi-regularly been chatting via text since their chummy White House meeting in November, discussing a wide range of topics, from the toppling of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and zoning red tape in Big Apple real estate, according to sources.

Insiders with knowledge of the conversation described the tone of the texts as “friendly.”

MAMDANI CALLS ICE DETENTION OF NYC EMPLOYEE ‘ASSAULT ON OUR DEMOCRACY’

“It wouldn’t make practical, political sense for them to scream at each other — in public or private,” one politico said, while also noting, “Of course, they can’t appear too cozy.”

The source added: “Mamdani would be smart to kiss Trump’s ass … Especially when the federal government can withhold billions from the city.”

The budding relationship and the regularity with which the two chat personally are a marked departure from previous interactions between presidents and New York City mayors in recent history.

MAMDANI STRONGLY CONDEMNS TRUMP’S CAPTURE OF VENEZUELAN LEADER MADURO AS ‘ACT OF WAR’

Even Mamdani’s predecessor Mayor Eric Adams, who cozied up to Trump and rushed down to DC in the middle of the night to attend his inauguration last year, had to connect with the president through intermediaries.

Andrew Kirtzman, CEO of the strategic communications firm KSX, said it was “remarkable that Trump feels so comfortable with [Mamdani].”

“He hated (Bill) de Blasio, the last left-wing mayor, and probably felt estranged from the city because of it,” he said. “He seems to feel an emotional connection with Mamdani. The mayor must be totally amazed by what’s happening.”

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Asked how this might play with Mamdani’s base of Democratic Socialists of America members who despise the Republican White House, Kirtzman said he believed they’d likely give the lefty mayor a pass.

“I think the left understands this is purely transactional from Mamdani’s perspective,” he said.

President Donald Trump’s Senate allies could try to kill the war powers resolution before the Senate wades into the debate, Fox News has learned.

Fox News is told there is an effort to kill off the bipartisan effort to debate the resolution blocking military action in Venezuela.

A bipartisan coalition of senators voted to launch this debate next week.

GOP SENATORS JOIN DEMOCRATS TO STOP TRUMP FROM POLICING VENEZUELA

However, Fox is told that some Republicans are looking for an exit ramp — even though they voted yes last week to begin the debate.

It’s possible that some Republicans may try to force a vote to table or kill the war powers resolution — because it’s not applicable. The argument is that the US has no troops in Venezuela. Therefore, this resolution is out of bounds.

GOP EYES VENEZUELA’S UNTAPPED OIL WEALTH AS DEMOCRATS SOUND ALARM OVER TAXPAYER RISK

It is also possible that Vice President Vance could be brought in to break a tie, Fox News was told. Keep in mind that a tie means the resolution fails. But if the Trump administration wants the prospective motion to table to pass — and kill the bill – Vance could be brought in to break a tie and pass the motion to kill it.

Fox is told that the Senate has successfully “discharged” the war powers resolution onto the floor. But there is still a vote to actually get into the resolution.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS RIP SENATE WAR POWERS PUSH AS “POLITICAL THEATER” AFTER TRUMP’S VENEZUELA RAID

It is only at that point that the Senate could vote to table the resolution.

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Otherwise, the Senate must burn all 10 hours on the resolution and then vote to table. Or, vote to table after all the time is yielded back.

President Donald Trump unloaded on a cohort of Senate Republicans who voted to rein in his policing powers in Venezuela, arguing that they couldn’t give a good reason to vote against him.

During remarks at the Detroit Economic Club following a tour of a Ford plant in Dearborn, Mich., Trump harangued Republicans for not staying unified, while declaring that though congressional Democrats have bad policy, they “stick together like glue.”

“We got some real losers, mostly great,” Trump said of Republicans before tearing into Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Todd Young, R-Ind.

TRUMP BLASTS GOP WAR POWERS DEFECTORS, SAYS THEY ‘SHOULD NEVER BE ELECTED TO OFFICE AGAIN’

That foursome joined all Senate Democrats to vote in favor of Sen. Tim Kaine’s, D-Va., war powers resolution, which, if passed, would require Trump to receive congressional approval before further military force is used in Venezuela.

Lawmakers are expected to take a final vote on the resolution on Wednesday.

When Kaine’s effort initially advanced, Trump blasted the defectors and declared that they should “never be elected to office again.” With the vote fast-approaching, Trump didn’t hesitate to make clear that their votes were still fresh on his mind.

He panned Paul for routinely voting against GOP policies, and then turned his sights to Murkowski, Collins and Young.

GOP EYES VENEZUELA’S UNTAPPED OIL WEALTH AS DEMOCRATS SOUND ALARM OVER TAXPAYER RISK

“Then you have Lisa Murkowski and you have Susan Collins, disasters,” Trump said. “And you had a gentleman from Indiana that, I don’t believe it, Todd Young, he voted against.”

“And you say, ‘Why are you voting against?’ They can’t give you an answer. They’re unable to give you an answer. It’s like, why are they against the attack on Venezuela? They’re against the attack,” he continued. “After they found out who was the most successful attack. Probably, probably the most talented, most brilliant tactical attack that we’ve had maybe in 100 years. And they’re against it. Why?”

Paul has routinely voiced opposition to military action with congressional oversight; he’s a co-sponsor of Kaine’s resolution. Murkowski, Collins and Young had no issue with the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, but they argued that their vote for the resolution last week was to ensure Congress’ authority to weigh in before future action.

5 GOP SENATORS JOIN DEMOCRATS TO STOP TRUMP FROM POLICING VENEZUELA

The White House and Senate Republican leadership have been working to flip the lawmakers in order to prevent the resolution from passing, but it may not be the successful pressure campaign that they had hoped for.

Collins, when asked if she would still vote in favor of the resolution after leaving the Senate GOP’s weekly closed-door policy lunch, said, “Wes.”

There was also a fifth Republican, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, who voted to advance the resolution. Trump notably did not mention him during his speech.

That comes after Hawley spoke with several administration officials on what the next steps in Venezuela would be. Hawley said that he was told by officials that the administration would “abide by the statutory notification requirements, and also, if they took action that resulted in major ground operations would come back to Congress.”

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Hawley didn’t say if that would flip his vote and noted that he was in “listening and receive mode at this time.” Still, it did go a long way to address his biggest issue of boots on the ground in Venezuela.

“The administration’s view is that the resolution is way broader than ground troops, and I said, ‘Well, you know, and I didn’t draft the resolution, but my concern is about ground troops in Venezuela without congressional authorization,’” Hawley said.

The Senate quietly passed legislation on Tuesday that would create stiffer penalties for explicit AI-manipulated images, known as deepfakes. 

The bill from Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is designed to beef up federal penalties against the creation, distribution, or solicitation of “non-consensual digital forgeries,” or deepfakes. It’s geared to act as a companion to a previously passed bill targeting revenge porn.

Durbin’s Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits, or DEFIANCE Act, passed unanimously through the Senate on a fast-track vote. But it will still require the House to weigh in before it heads to President Donald Trump’s desk. 

REVENGE PORN BILL BACKED BY MELANIA TRUMP HEADS TO PRESIDENT’S DESK AFTER OVERWHELMING HOUSE VOTE

His bill, which was co-sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and introduced in the House by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, would allow victims of deepfake images to sue people who create, possess with intent to share, solicit, or share non-consensual them and levy a fine of up to $250,000 per violation. 

“Give to the victims their day in court to hold those responsible who continue to publish these images at their expense,” Durbin said on the Senate floor. “Today, we are one step closer to making this a reality.”

HAWLEY BREAKS WITH TRUMP ON VENEZUELA AS POLICY RIFT CONTINUES

It also allows courts to order takedowns, deletions and injunctions to stop further spread of the images, provide privacy protections for victims during litigation and sets up a statute of limitations of up to 10 years. 

Durbin said that the backlash of deepfake images can be long-lasting, and people may go through depression, anxiety and fear, “and in the worst cases, victims have been driven to suicide.” 

TRUMP OPENS DOOR TO LIZ WARREN ON CREDIT CARD RATES AS GOP WEIGHS AFFORDABILITY FIGHT

“Imagine losing control over your own likeness and identity. Imagine how powerless victims feel when they cannot remove illicit content, cannot prevent it from being reproduced repeatedly, and cannot prevent new images from being created,” Durbin said. 

The DEFIANCE Act comes as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have pushed for stiffer regulations and penalties for AI, particularly chatbots and potentially harmful interactions they have with children online. Notably, Durbin and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., teamed up last year for legislation that defines AI as a product, allowing people to sue for liabilities that stem from using AI systems. 

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Durbin’s successful effort in the upper chamber comes after lawmakers passed a separate bill, the Take It Down Act, last year geared to creating penalties for revenge porn. First Lady Melania Trump heavily lobbied for that bill, which was ultimately signed into law by Trump and is set to take effect in May. 

Rep. Neal Dunn, R-Fla., announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election, saying in a statement that he plans to step away from Congress after five terms.

Dunn, a physician and Army surgeon, said he wanted to “pass the torch to new conservative leaders, return home to Panama City, and spend more precious time with my family and our beloved grandchildren.”

“It has been my greatest honor to fight for lower taxes, our military and veterans, the unborn, healthcare innovation, and policies that empower Americans over bureaucracy and addressing threats from Communist China, Russia and others,” Dunn said.

“I am deeply grateful for your trust, support, and prayers over these years. America remains the greatest nation on Earth, and with God’s blessing, our best days are ahead,” he added.

DEM REP. STENY HOYER, 86, TO ANNOUNCE RETIREMENT AFTER CAREER SPANNING FOUR DECADES

As of mid-January, 49 House members, including 22 Democrats and 27 Republicans, have announced they will not seek re-election in the 2026 election cycle, according to the U.S. House of Representatives Press Gallery “Casualty List.”

Some members of Congress are retiring, while others are seeking higher office, including bids for the Senate or governor.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is running for governor of South Carolina, while Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., is seeking the governorship in California.

HOUSE DEM SERVING SINCE 1993 ANNOUNCES SHE WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, is running for Texas attorney general, and Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, is mounting a Senate bid in Texas, challenging incumbent Sen. John Cornyn.

Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the House after former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., resigned in January and Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., died the same week.

The special election to fill Green’s seat is scheduled for March 10.

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President Donald Trump told lawmakers during a House GOP retreat at the Kennedy Center that he hopes Republicans pull off an “epic midterm victory.”

“They say that when you win the presidency, you lose the midterms. You gotta win the midterms,” Trump said. “Because if we don’t win the midterms … they’ll find a reason to impeach me. I’ll get impeached.”

President Donald Trump has been making inroads with progressive Democrats to discuss affordability, courting an unlikely ally along the way in his pursuit of capping credit card interest rates. 

Trump and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., appeared to have briefly warmed their chilly relationship to discuss affordability issues in the country and have found a middle ground in the president’s desire to cap credit card interest rates at 10% for one year. 

Warren told Fox News Digital that Trump picked up the phone and called her on Monday shortly after she gave a fiery speech centered on affordability, where she slammed the president’s efforts on the matter. During the call, the two agreed on the credit card issue, one that she’s backed for years, she said.

“I supported it for years,” Warren said, “and when he first floated the idea over a year ago, I said, ‘I’m all in,’ and so far, Trump hasn’t done anything.”

WHITE HOUSE ‘LASER FOCUSED’ ON AFFORDABILITY AS TRUMP SOFTENS TARIFF STRATEGY

When asked about Trump’s call with Warren and other recent moves to work with left-wing politicians on the economy, the White House told Fox Digital that Trump is smashing the district’s “obsession with consensus orthodoxy.” 

“President Trump was given a resounding mandate by the American people to smash Washington, D.C.’s obsession with consensus orthodoxy that has let Americans down,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said. “The Trump administration is turning the page on Joe Biden’s economic disaster by implementing traditional free market policies that do work — like deregulation and tax cuts — while rectifying the America Last policies that have Americans behind.”

A White House official described the president’s call with Warren as “productive” and focusing on credit card interest rates and affordability. 

THE ECONOMIC POLICIES SHAPING TRUMP’S RETURN TO THE WHITE HOUSE

But getting Senate Republicans on board is another matter, given their disdain for any legislation remotely related to price controls. When asked if she believed Republicans might support that push, Warren wasn’t as optimistic. 

“Well, if they do, they’ve kept it well hidden,” she said. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., quickly threw cold water on the idea, but noted that Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., already had legislation in the works to cap credit card interest rates.

“I think… that would probably deprive an awful lot of people of access to credit around the country. Credit cards will probably become debit cards,” Thune said. “So, yeah, I mean, that’s not something I’m out there advocating for.” 

There’s also a long-simmering push from Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., to boost competition among credit card payment networks that Trump endorsed late Monday night. 

AFFORDABILITY: THE ISSUE THAT BOOSTED TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS IN 2024 DEFLATED THEM IN 2025

A source familiar told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that the duo planned to reintroduce that bill, which first saw the light of day in 2023. 

The call with Warren is just the latest of Trump welcoming left-wing Democrats to the affordability table or embracing policy ideas that overlap with Democratic critiques of the economy.

Newly-minted New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whom Trump had described as a “communist,” visited the White House in a warm meeting in November, when the pair discussed lowering costs and improving affordability for citizens, telling the media they share a vision on lowering the cost of living.

“When we spoke to those voters who voted for President Trump, we heard them speak about cost of living. We focused on that same cost of living. And that’s where I am really looking forward to delivering for New Yorkers, in partnership with the president, on the affordability agenda,” Mamdani said from the Oval Office. 

‘PERCEPTION VS. REALITY’: TRUMP’S ECONOMY PICKS UP SPEED — BUT VOTERS AREN’T BUYING IT YET

Trump leaned into publicly promoting “affordability” in the late half of 2025, as Democrats in a handful of high-profile elections last off-year cycle centered their campaigns on lowering high prices they tied to the Trump administration. The three races, which included the New York City mayoral election and gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia, all handed Democrats wins over their GOP challengers. 

The president railed that Democrats promoting affordability was a “con job,” noting that he inherited sky-high inflation caused by Democratic policies under the Biden administration. 

“You just say it. Affordability. I inherited the worst inflation in history. There was no affordability. Nobody could afford anything. The prices were massively high,” Trump said in December during his administration’s final Cabinet meeting for 2025. 

Instead, he has argued that affordability “should be our word, not theirs.”

HARVARD ECONOMIST SAYS TRUMP INFLATION REPORT LEAVES ‘NO OTHER WAY TO SPIN IT’ BUT GOOD NEWS

Trump’s first term in the Oval Office was seen as an economic success as the unemployment rate hit 50-year lows and inflation remained tame until the pandemic hit in 2020. The president traveled to Pennsylvania in December to champion his track record on the economy and preview his vision for the future. 

In recent months, the White House has touted a bevy of actions Trump has taken to ease the financial burden on Americans, including rolling out a housing-cost push that directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities to try to push mortgage rates down and make homeownership more affordable.

Separately, Trump has floated policy proposals he’s pitching as affordability fixes — including saying he’s taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying additional single-family homes, an approach that overlaps with ideas Democrats have pursued through legislation aimed at curbing hedge fund and private equity ownership in the housing market.

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Trump is set to visit Michigan on Tuesday to promote manufacturing in the Rust Belt state. 

FIRST ON FOX: The California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is facing heightened scrutiny as House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith referred the group to the IRS for a probe into whether the nonprofit should lose its tax-exempt status, citing alleged misuse of taxpayer funds, potential violations of federal law and support for unlawful activity.

“Tax-exempt status is a privilege, not a right,” Smith, a Republican from Missouri, told Fox News Digital Tuesday. “Organizations that receive special treatment under the tax code must follow the law and operate in the public interest, not bankroll illegal activity, mislead federal agencies, or misuse hard-earned taxpayer dollars.” 

Smith sent a letter to Treasury Secretary and acting IRS chief Scott Bessent and IRS CEO Frank Bisignano Tuesday referring CAIR-California for IRS review, arguing that the nonprofit may no longer meet the legal standards required to operate as a 501(c)(3) organization. The letter claims that evidence alleges CAIR-California improperly used millions of dollars in federal funds, provided misleading information to the IRS, and materially supported activity that resulted in arrests and violations of the law, particularly during campus protests across California.

BESSENT BLAMES WALZ AS TREASURY PROBES WHETHER MINNESOTA FRAUD FUNDS REACHED TERROR GROUP AL-SHABAB

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is a leading American Muslim civil rights organization, with chapters across the country and its home base located in Washington, D.C. Republicans have scrutinized CAIR in recent years, including calls for Treasury reviews over alleged Hamas ties — allegations the group denies.

CAIR pushed back on the letter to Fox News Digital Tuesday, calling it “embarrassing” and based on “a false claim made by a pro-Israel group without fact-checking.” 

The New York Post published an article published in March 2025 based on an advocacy group, Intelligent Advocacy Network, investigation into CAIR-California that found alleged financial irregularities. 

CAIR-California includes offices in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento and San Diego. 

The call for an investigation comes as the IRS and other investigators dig into what officials say is a sprawling COVID-era scheme in Minnesota involving money laundering that has dominated headlines since before the holiday season. Federal prosecutors have estimated the fraud could exceed $1 billion and rise to as high as $9 billion. 

Officials have made dozens of arrests, the majority of which are from the state’s Somali community. 

“The widespread fraud uncovered in Minnesota has only made our efforts to root out fraud in the nonprofit sector more urgent, and we owe it to the American taxpayer to hold these bad actors accountable,” Smith told Fox Digital. “If these allegations are true, CAIR-California does not meet the standards required to maintain tax-exempt status, and the IRS must act accordingly.”

FEDERAL PROSECUTOR CALLS NEWSOM ‘KING OF FRAUD’ AS TRUMP LAUNCHES CALIFORNIA CORRUPTION PROBE

The chairman’s letter detailed concerns surrounding CAIR-CA’s handling of more than $7 million in federal refugee legal-aid funding intended to help resettle Afghan refugees. 

The referral, citing the New York Post article detailing a watchdog group’s previous investigation, indicated CAIR-CA assisted fewer than 10% of the refugees it pledged to help, while allegedly routing millions of dollars through an unregistered affiliate operating under CAIR-CA’s tax identification number — potentially exposing the group to False Claims Act violations, according to the referral. 

“Not only does this misdirection of funds back to itself potentially violate the law, but the failure of CAIR-CA to properly document the use of grant funding would also place the organization at risk of violating the False Claims Act for misrepresenting grant use,” Smith wrote. 

CAIR told Fox News Digital that Smith’s letter was “provably inaccurate letter,” and based on “retracted story about CAIR-California that The New York Post had to correct after it repeated a false claim made by a pro-Israel group” is “a sign of how desperate he and other Israel First members of Congress have become to smear and silence Americans who speak up for Palestinian human rights and against the waste of American taxpayer dollars on Israel’s genocide in Gaza.”

CAIR shot continued that, “Contrary to the false claims made by Mr. Smith, CAIR-California is a respected civil rights organization with a long record of lawful advocacy and cooperation with government agencies.”

“Every dollar CAIR-California receives is used strictly for its intended purpose and subject to rigorous internal and external oversight, auditing, and reporting. Funds designated to support Afghan refugees are used exclusively to serve that population, consistent with grant terms. CAIR-California also receives a diverse set of funds that allows the organization to serve clients beyond the Afghan and Muslim community,” CAIR continued in an emailed comment. 

If the IRS revokes a group’s 501(c)(3) status, it can trigger a cascading hit on the organization — donations may no longer be tax-deductible, federal taxes and penalties can apply, and the nonprofit’s funding pipeline can dry up as donors and grantmakers pull back.

The letter adds that evidence suggests CAIR-California “institutionally endorsed and materially supported” college encampments during the anti-Israel protests that swept the nation from 2021 until the Trump administration, including protests that “resulted in violations of the law and/or arrests.” 

The letter argued that CAIR national also promoted and endorsed a “Protest Donald Trump” rally at the Minnesota Republican Party Lincoln-Reagan Dinner during the 2024 election cycle, which the letter claims may have violated the prohibition on 501(c)(3)s to directly or indirectly participate, or intervene in, any political campaign.  

TRUMP DEMANDS CALIFORNIA HAND OVER RECIPIENT LISTS AS $10B PAUSED AMID FRAUD CONCERNS

Smith argued that while protests are generally permitted, the IRS has previously found groups can lose exempt status if demonstrations cross into civil disobedience or other illegal activity.

“The only allegation in Mr. Smith’s letter that is even remotely close to accurate is the claim that CAIR expressed support for college students who hosted sit-ins to peacefully protest their university’s financial entanglements with the Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza,” CAIR said. “We were proud to express solidarity with students peacefully protesting the Gaza genocide, who were on the right side of history, just like the college kids who protested segregation, the Vietnam War, and apartheid South Africa.”

CAIR sent its own letter to Bessent and the IRS Tuesday morning following Smith’s letter, Fox News Digital learned. 

Conservatives have previously argued CAIR’s national network crosses from civil-rights advocacy into partisan politics and activism — pointing to past allegations cited by GOP lawmakers of improper political involvement and longstanding concerns about ties to Hamas-linked entities, which CAIR has repeatedly denied. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, for example, designated CAIR, as well as the Muslim Brotherhood, as foreign terrorist organizations under state law in 2025, claiming the groups “support terrorism across the globe and subvert our laws through violence, intimidation, and harassment are unacceptable.”

CAIR pushed back on Abbott’s designation, telling the Houston Chronicle in January that it has worked to stop terrorism in the U.S., including claiming it flagged the FBI to a potential threat against President Donald Trump under his first term, the outlet reported. 

“We only reveal it now in response to these ludicrous claims that CAIR — which has quite literally helped to stop acts of terrorism — is a terrorist organization,” Edward Ahmed Mitchell, CAIR’s national deputy director, told the Chronicle. “CAIR has not only condemned terrorism verbally, but we have taken action to stop terrorism.”

Smith’s referral cited longstanding concerns about CAIR’s alleged connections to terrorism, including reported links to the now-defunct Holy Land Foundation, which was convicted in 2009 for providing material support to Hamas. 

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“Given CAIR-CA’s alarming activity, along with the fact that CAIR’s network holds suspicious ties to terrorist organizations like Hamas, I ask that you use your authority to investigate CAIR-CA and consider the revocation of tax-exempt status of CAIR-CA upon adequate review,” Smith concluded in his letter.

Police groups, MAGA supporters and the Department of Homeland Security galvanized around mocking left-wing Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner on social media for his warning to the National Guard and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement amid President Donald Trump’s immigration and fraud crackdowns. 

“To ICE and the National Guard: if you commit crimes in Philadelphia, we will charge you and hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Krasner posted to X Saturday, accompanied by a black and white photo of himself wearing sunglasses and the caption “FAFO.”

“FAFO” is internet slang meaning “f— around and find out,” that has increasingly entered the MAGA political lexicon, embraced by Trump, administration-linked messaging, and prominent Republican allies as a blunt warning to political opponents and foreign adversaries. 

Krasner has served as Philadelphia’s district attorney since 2018, frequently coming under fire from conservatives for reduced reliance on cash bail, shifts in charging for some low-level crimes, and an aggressive posture on police accountability. Republicans have repeatedly pointed to his office’s bail and prosecution policies as drivers of public-safety concerns, staging high-profile hearings and pushing an impeachment effort that ultimately collapsed in court.

ICE CHIEF TODD LYONS FIRES BACK AFTER AOC ALLEGES RENEE NICOLE GOOD WAS ‘ASSASSINATED IN THE STREET’

Conservatives, police groups and leaders and administration social media accounts lambasted Krasner over the message. Krasner’s post came amid a heightened federal law enforcement presence in Minnesota, as a sweeping Minneapolis fraud investigation unfolded and a woman was fatally shot during the increased deployment.

“This embarrassment of a DA regularly gives the velvet glove treatment to murders, robbers, and rapists…what a joke,” Fraternal Order of Police National Vice President Joe Gamaldi posted to X, slamming Krasner. 

“Unlike criminals in Philadelphia who get their charges dropped by the DA,” the National Police Association responded. 

The Department of Homeland Security responded with at least two memes brushing off Krasner’s comment, including a gif of a person dressed up as a founding father with the caption, “Oh no! Anyways.” 

“True Clownsmanship,” a lawyer on X quipped.

“Note that Larry Krasner has never said FAFO to the actual criminals he’s supposed to put behind bars, and thus his city is garbage. But good posturing you pathetic waste of space,” Republican communicator Matt Whitlock wrote. 

“this is so cringe, even for a Soros DA,” another commented. Left-wing billionaire George Soros was one of Krasner’s donors amid his election effort, Fox Digital previously reported. 

“It would be news if Krassner prosecuted an actual criminal, let alone ICE,” RealClearInvestigations senior writer Mark Hemingway posted. 

“LMAO, they try so hard to use social media the way this administration does, and it fails every time,” another posted, referring to Democrats attempting to lean into MAGA’s often searing use of social media. 

“This idiot has never read the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution. Federal law trumps local law when in direct conflict of one another. This post is pure provocative trash,” former New Jersey Senate candidate Mike Crispi posted. 

Krasner’s social media message joins a chorus of Democrats nationwide criticizing ICE and federal immigration law enforcement officials following the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minnesota earlier in January. Good was shot on a residential street while operating her car. DHS said Good used her car as weapon against the agents before the shooting, calling her actions an “act of domestic terrorism.”

Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal also slammed ICE earlier in January as “madeup, fake, wannabe law enforcement,” claiming ICE violated both “legal law” and “moral law” following the shooting. 

Democrats have rallied against the federal law enforcement officer’s actions, with some left-wing lawmakers such as New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calling the incident “murder,” while other Democrats have underscored a push for more accountability of federal officers. 

Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz authorized the National Guard be “staged and ready to support local and state law enforcement in protecting critical infrastructure and maintaining public safety following a shooting involving federal immigration enforcement agents in south Minneapolis.” Trump has mobilized, or attempted to mobilize, the National Guard to other cities in 2025 as part of his mission to crack down on crime, including when he federalized the Washington, D.C., police force in August. 

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Krasner’s office did not immediately respond to Fox Digital’s request for comment on the mockery and criticisms revolving around his Saturday message. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., warned that the allegations against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell must be legitimate, and not politically influenced, as bipartisan unease over the criminal probe continues to ripple through the Senate. 

“I haven’t seen the case or whatever the allegations or charges are,” Thune said. “But I would say they better be — they better be real and they better be serious.”

Thune’s comments followed a wave of bipartisan anger over the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) criminal probe into Powell, with Senate Republicans threatening to block any of President Donald Trump’s future Fed nominees until the issue was resolved. 

SENATE ADVANCES $174B PACKAGE AS MINNESOTA ICE SHOOTING FUELS DHS FUNDING FIGHT

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., vowed to “oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed — including the upcoming Fed Chair vacancy,” shortly after the news of the probe into Powell broke.

He was later backed up by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who said after speaking with the central bank chief that “it’s clear the administration’s investigation is nothing more than an attempt at coercion,” and she threatened a congressional investigation into the DOJ. 

When asked about Tillis’ position, Thune said that people would “react to this differently,” but reiterated that without knowing the full breadth of the investigation, it was hard to jump to conclusions. 

“But as I’ve said earlier, I think it’s really important that it can resolve quickly and that there not be any appearance of political interference with the Fed or its activities,” he said.

POWELL REVEALS WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO STEP DOWN FROM THE FED AS PRESSURE MOUNTS

Powell contended that the investigation was not related to testimony he gave before the Senate Banking Committee last year regarding the $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., but rather a consequence of the Federal Reserve “setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president.” 

Thune also acknowledged that Tillis’ hold on Fed nominees would make things difficult moving forward as the investigation plays out, given that Powell’s term atop the central bank expires in May. 

REPUBLICAN SENATOR VOWS TO BLOCK TRUMP FED NOMINEE OVER POWELL INVESTIGATION

He said that it would be good to ensure continuity at the Fed, and “that the central bank maintains its independence.” 

“I mean, they’ve got a couple of key missions when it comes to the economy, particularly dealing with inflation, which obviously is impacted by interest rate policy,” Thune said. “And so I want to see them operate in an independent way, free of politics.”

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Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., railed against the investigation and called the allegations fueling it “clearly bogus.” 

“Anyone with two eyes and half a brain knows exactly what this criminal probe represents: a brazen attempt by Donald Trump to cannibalize the Fed’s independence,” he said.

Jillian Balow, a former Wyoming state superintendent of public instruction, is jumping into the congressional race to succeed Rep. Harriet Hageman in the Cowboy State’s at-large U.S. House district.

“Wyoming deserves a representative who understands our way of life and fights for it every day in Washington,” Balow said, according to a press release obtained by Fox News Digital “I am running to defend Wyoming’s energy economy, protect our constitutional freedoms, support parents and students, and make sure the voices of rural communities are never ignored.”

The race is an open contest as Hageman announced a U.S. Senate bid last month after GOP Sen. Cynthia Lummis announced that she would not seek re-election.

SCOOP: TRUMP ALLY WHO OUSTED CHENEY LAUNCHES SENATE BID TO KEEP GOP SEAT IN REPUBLICAN HANDS

“I am proud of the legacy Senator Cynthia Lummis and Congresswoman Harriet Hageman have built by standing up for Wyoming values and refusing to back down in Washington,” Balow noted, according to the press release. “They are trailblazers for our state, and I am running to carry that same strong, independent Wyoming voice forward, to follow in their footsteps, and to fight for our state with the same conviction and resolve.”

Balow will face competition in the GOP primary for the U.S. House seat from Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray and Reid Rasner, who lost a 2024 Republican U.S. Senate primary in the state to incumbent Sen. John Barasso.

‘AMERICA FIRST’: WYOMING SECRETARY OF STATE CHUCK GRAY LAUNCHES HOUSE BID

In 2022, Balow resigned from her role as Wyoming state superintendent of public instruction to become the Virginia superintendent of public instruction.

She resigned from Virginia role in 2023.

WYOMING SUPREME COURT RULES LAWS RESTRICTING ABORTION VIOLATE STATE CONSTITUTION

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“I believe Wyoming leads best when we stand firm on conservative principles and deliver real results,” Balow noted, according to the press release. “This campaign is about protecting what makes Wyoming strong and ensuring our state has a confident, independent voice in Congress.”

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday in two cases that could determine whether states can ban transgender athletes who identify as women from competing on girls’ and women’s sports teams, a legal fight that could have far-reaching implications on transgender policies across the country.

The arguments in the two cases, Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J., will examine state bans on transgender athletes participating in school sports under Title IX and the Constitution’s equal protection clause.

At issue is whether laws in Idaho and West Virginia that prohibit transgender athletes who identify as women from playing on teams that match their gender identity discriminate based on sex.

JUSTICE URGES ‘STAND UP FOR OUR GIRLS’ AS SUPREME COURT WEIGHS FATE OF HIS ‘SAVE WOMEN’S SPORTS ACT’

Lower courts struck down the bans as unconstitutional violations of Title IX and equal protection, and the two Republican-led states appealed to the Supreme Court.

“It’s about Title IX. It‘s about equal protection, and it’s also about common sense, but mostly it’s about protecting women in both academia and on the athletic field,” West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey told Fox News Digital in a phone interview.

The justices will hear each of the cases Tuesday morning beginning at 10 a.m.

The high court has set aside an hour for each case, but arguments are expected to run longer as the states, the plaintiffs represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Trump administration each present their positions and answer the justices’ questions.

THE ATHLETES, COACHES, LAWMAKERS AND OFFICIALS WHO HAVE PICKED A SIDE IN THE SCOTUS WOMEN’S SPORTS BATTLE

In Little v. Hecox, Lindsay Hecox, a biological man who sought to compete on the women’s track and cross-country teams at Boise State University, contended that Idaho’s law, the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, violated the equal protection clause by excluding transgender women.

West Virginia v. B.P.J. centers on a 15-year-old transgender athlete who identifies as a girl, and who argued the state’s ban violated both the Constitution and Title IX’s ban on sex discrimination in federally funded education programs.

Lawyers for the states defending the bans maintain that separating sports based on biological sex preserves fairness and safety for female athletes and is consistent with Title IX’s definition of sex.

The Trump administration is supporting the states in the cases, asserting that Title IX and equal protection permit sex-based distinctions in athletics and criticizing lower courts for undermining states’ authority. The solicitor general’s office will be able to present the administration’s case on behalf of the U.S. during Tuesday’s arguments.

The debate has garnered enormous attention, as evidenced by the dozens of amicus briefs submitted to the court by athletes, coaches, lawmakers and state attorneys general on both sides of the debate. The Washington Post editorial board came out against the trans athletes in an op-ed this past weekend, saying the Supreme Court has the chance to correct “one of the worst excesses of America’s cultural revolution.”

WASHINGTON POST URGES SUPREME COURT TO ‘SAVE WOMEN’S SPORTS’ AHEAD OF MAJOR TRANS ATHLETE CASE

Observers say a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs could limit state power to adopt similar bans and broaden interpretations of federal nondiscrimination protections, while a decision for the states could uphold the bans and influence other transgender policy disputes, such as bathroom policies and sex designation on documents, such as passports and driver’s licenses.

“Ideally, in my mind, what would happen is that all 50 states in the federal government pass a similar law to the Save Women’s Sports Act and women’s playing fields will be exclusive to biological women,” McCuskey said, predicting the court would rule in favor of the states 9-0.

The transgender athletes are represented by the ACLU, which argues that the challenged laws unlawfully discriminate against people who identify as women by excluding them from women’s and girls’ sports.

“Categorically excluding kids from school sports just because they are transgender will only make our schools less safe and more hurtful places for all youth,” ACLU attorneys said in a statement.

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Transgender rights advocates say the red-leaning states and the Trump administration have singled out transgender students and spent exorbitant resources to target what they say are a negligible number of transgender athletes. McCuskey said that argument did not account for women and girls.

“You make the argument that B.P.J. is being discriminated against, but that belies the argument that all 300 of the other girls that B.P.J. beat in an athletic competition aren’t victims,” he said.

The Supreme Court is expected to decide the case by early summer.

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said that President Donald Trump called her on Monday following a speech in which she sharply criticized his record on costs and governance. 

“This morning, I gave a speech noting how Donald Trump is driving up costs for families, sowing terror and chaos in our communities, and abusing his power to prosecute anyone who criticizes him. I also laid out an argument for how Democrats should fight back and win,” Warren said in her statement.

The left-wing lawmaker delivered a speech at a National Press Club event on Monday and then offered further remarks while responding to questions after the speech. 

DEMOCRATS ‘DOOMED TO FAIL’ WITHOUT POPULIST ECONOMIC MESSAGE, WARREN WARNS

“In my remarks, I made it clear that despite promising to lower costs On Day One, Trump has done nothing but raise costs for families,” she said in the statement. 

She said Trump called her after her remarks at the event on Monday.

“I told him that Congress can pass legislation to cap credit card rates if he will actually fight for it. I also urged him to get House Republicans to pass the bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act,” that “would build more housing and lower costs,” she said in the statement.

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

“President Trump and Sen. Warren had a productive call about credit card interest rates and housing affordability for the American people,” a White House official noted.

MAMDANI ADVISER, WARREN IN THE HOT SEAT AS COLLAPSE OF ROOMBA MAKER SHIFTS DATA TO CHINA

In a post on Truth Social last week, President Trump called for capping credit card interest rates at 10% for one year.

“Effective January 20, 2026, I, as President of the United States, am calling for a one year cap on Credit Card Interest Rates of 10%. Coincidentally, the January 20th date will coincide with the one year anniversary of the historic and very successful Trump Administration,” he declared in the post.

ELIZABETH WARREN CALLS ON DEMOCRATS TO REJECT BILLIONAIRE DONORS AHEAD OF 2026 AND 2028 ELECTIONS

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During comments at the National Press Club event, Warren said the president has a “credibility problem,” saying he has not done “one damn thing to actually lower the cost of housing for the American people.”

With the midterm elections fast approaching, progressive champion Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has a warning for Democrats to stop catering to the wealthy elites if they want to recapture majorities in the House and Senate this year.

“A Democratic Party that worries more about offending big donors than delivering for working people is a party doomed to fail in 2026, 2028, and beyond,” Warren, the three-term senator from Massachusetts who ran unsuccessfully for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, emphasized in a speech Monday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

The address by Warren, who to a degree stayed out of the national conversation during President Donald Trump‘s first year back in the White House, seemed to be her attempt to shape the Democratic Party’s approach to the 2026 midterms in her populist image.

The speech was part post-mortem of the 2024 elections, when Trump and Republicans enjoyed sweeping victories as they won back the White House and Senate and held onto their fragile House majority.

PROGRESSIVE POWERHOUSES LAUNCH PRIMARY WAR AGAINST DEMOCRATIC ESTABLISHMENT AHEAD OF 2026 ELECTIONS

Pointing to the wealthy elites and major Democratic Party donors, Warren argued that “these movers and shakers want the Democratic Party to respond to the 2024 losses by watering down our economic agenda and sucking up to the rich and powerful, claiming that less progressive Democratic Party will win more elections. They are wrong.”

Democrats scored decisive victories and overperformances in the 2025 elections and in a slew of special elections and other ballot box showdowns last year, which were fueled by their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation.

“Americans are stretched to the breaking point financially, and they will vote for candidates who name what is wrong and who credibly demonstrate that they will take on a rigged system to fix it,” Warren emphasized.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE 2025 ELECTIONS

And she charged that “revising our economic agenda to tiptoe around that conclusion might appeal to the wealthy, but it will not help Democrats build a bigger tent. And it definitely will not help Democrats win elections.”

“Democrats need to read the room. Any room not stuffed with billionaires is a room that will tell you it is critically important to lower those costs,” Warren reiterated, as she took questions from reporters following her speech.

REPUBLICAN SENATORS TOUT BORDER SECURITY, AFFORDABILITY, IN 2026 CAMPAIGN ROAD TRIP

Warren, a vocal critic of the president, also argued that “Donald Trump has not delivered” when it comes to lower costs. “People have made it clear that this is what matters to them and Donald Trump has not delivered. Our job is to both hold him accountable and to put out our own proposals in order to lower those costs. We do that, we will win.”

The senator’s speech comes amid a fierce policy debate among Democrats over whether to embrace an economic populist message promoted by Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and newly elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, or to support a more moderate, business friendly agenda, in order to court moderate voters souring on Trump and the GOP.

Liam Kerr, co-founder of the Welcome PAC, a group which advocates for moderate Democratic candidates, told Fox News Digital that “Warren’s speech was big on buzzwords and short on specific examples. Warren is a great lawyer playing a bad hand: with no leftwing candidates winning swing voters, she resorts to bluster.”

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Warren’s address is also her latest move to play an influential role in the 2026 elections.

The senator, who’s a member of the informal Senate “Fight Club,” a small group of left-leaning senators who are challenging Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s approach to the midterm elections, last week announced she had donated $400,000 to a slew of state Democratic parties.

New York might hold its 2028 presidential primary contests on Super Tuesday, a key point during each presidential election cycle when scads of states simultaneously hold primaries on the same day.

The Empire State’s Senate on Monday was poised to pass a bill on the matter, Politico Playbook reported. The measure would place New York’s presidential primary contests on the first Tuesday in March, according to the text of the proposal.

“By holding the presidential primary on Super Tuesday, New York can ensure voters have a meaningful voice while the nomination remains competitive, increasing the state’s influence in the process,” bill sponsor Sen. James Skoufis said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.

JD VANCE SAYS ‘DUMBEST’ DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE WILL WIN NOMINATION IN 2028

Many other state senators are pushing the proposal with Skoufis.

“New York is highly representative of the country with its blend of urban, suburban, and rural communities and mirrors the nation’s racial demographics, all of which are important factors as the primary calendar takes shape,” he continued. 

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FROM ENFORCING MAIL-IN VOTING RULES IN EXECUTIVE ORDER

“This legislation promises New Yorkers a far greater role in choosing our national leaders in lieu of our current, limited participation as a fly-by-night ATM for candidates who visit donors in their Manhattan penthouses. New York is far too influential a state for its presidential primary to be simply ceremonial,” Skoufis added.

In 2024, Super Tuesday was on March 5, but New York’s Republican and Democratic presidential primaries weren’t held until April 2.

WHITE HOUSE RACE UNDERWAY: WITH 2026 LOOMING, BOTH PARTIES ARE ALREADY PLAYING FOR 2028

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The state, while already influential due to the number of delegates it offers candidates in party primaries, could have even more influence in 2028 primaries by participating in Super Tuesday.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is introducing a bill aimed at restricting any unauthorized military action by President Donald Trump, amid growing debate over his comments about acquiring Greenland “one way or the other.”

Rep. Bill Keating, D-Mass., is leading the legislation along with Reps. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., and Don Bacon, R-Neb., according to POLITICO.

“This is about our fundamental shared goals and our fundamental security, not just in Europe, but in the United States itself,” Keating said in a statement to the outlet.

The group involved in the effort is soliciting broader support for the legislation and say they hope additional Republicans will back the effort to restrict funding for any unauthorized military action against U.S. allies.

EUROPEAN ALLIES WORKING ON PLAN IF US ACTS ON ACQUIRING GREENLAND: REPORT

In a letter to colleagues, Keating said “this legislation takes a clear stand against such action and further supports NATO allies and partners,” according to POLITICO.

While the measure does not specifically name any specific countries, it is clearly in response to Trump’s repeated threats against Greenland.

Keating said the decision to omit Greenland’s name was meant to broaden the legislation’s focus. He said he met with the Danish Ambassador and the head of Greenland representation.

“This isn’t just about Greenland. This is about our security,” Keating said.

Keating also said he believes slashing funding is the most impactful way to disincentivize Trump administration officials from taking action.

“War powers are important, but we’ve seen with Democratic and Republican presidents that that’s not as effective,” he said. “It’s hard to get around having no funds or not allowing personnel to do it.”

SENATE DEM JOHN FETTERMAN SUPPORTS PROSPECT OF US GREENLAND PURCHASE, CITING ‘MASSIVE STRATEGIC BENEFITS’

This comes after the Senate advanced a bipartisan resolution last week that would limit Trump’s ability to conduct further attacks against Venezuela after the U.S. military’s recent move to strike the country and capture its president, Nicolás Maduro. The Upper Chamber could pass the measure later this week, although its future in the House remains uncertain despite some support from Republicans.

On Greenland, administration officials are openly weighing options such as military force to take the Danish territory, a move that would violate NATO’s Article V, which states that an attack on one member is an attack on all of them and could end the alliance of more than 75 years.

“We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not,” Trump said on Friday. “Because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor.”

Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and four party leaders reaffirmed last week that the self-governing island has no interest in becoming part of the U.S.

“We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” the leaders said, adding that Greenland’s “future must be decided by the Greenlandic people.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as well as the leaders of Italy, Spain and Poland, also signed a letter stating: “Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.”

The chance of expanding U.S. control over Greenland has drawn mixed reactions from Congress. While most Democrats have opposed the idea, some Republicans have voiced support for pursuing closer ties with the territory.

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Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., who introduced legislation to make it the 51st U.S. state, although he said the best way to acquire Greenland is voluntarily.

“I think it is in the world’s interest for the United States to exert sovereignty over Greenland,” Fine told Fox News Digital.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk is increasingly drifting back into President Donald Trump’s MAGA orbit after their public blowup in June 2025 led to months of icy distance between the pair.

That thaw surfaced publicly again over the weekend. Trump mentioned Musk by name Sunday when asked by the media whether he would lean on Starlink, Musk’s satellite internet constellation, to help deliver internet access to Iran as citizens take to the streets in mass protests against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime.

“We may get the internet going if that’s possible,” Trump told the media Sunday while aboard Air Force One. “We may speak to Elon. Because, as you know, he’s very good at that kind of thing. He’s got a very good company. So we may speak to Elon Musk.” 

The president added, “I’m gonna call him as soon as I’m finished with you.” 

TRUMP AND MUSK SHARE ‘LOVELY DINNER’ AT MAR-A-LAGO AFTER PUBLIC FEUDING

SpaceX did not immediately respond to Fox Digital’s request for comment on the president’s remarks. 

Trump’s comment is the latest signal that the Trump–Musk friendship is warming after months of the pair spatting or having cordial interactions — a stark contrast to their cozy relationship while on the 2024 campaign trail and the early days of the administration. 

When asked Monday for updates on the president’s friendship with Musk, and if Trump’s comments were more reflective of the urgency in Iran, the White House directed Fox Digital to Trump praising Musk Jan. 4. 

“Elon’s great. I say about Elon, he’s 80% super genius, and 20% he makes mistakes. But he’s a good guy. He’s a well-meaning person,” Trump said of Musk while aboard Air Force One Jan 4. 

Trump’s comments follow the pair sharing a “lovely dinner” together at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, Musk reported on X at the time. 

Just roughly a year ago, Musk was described as Trump’s “first buddy,” as the media took note of the pair’s close working relationship, which included Musk serving as a special employee of the federal government as Trump unleashed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Special government employees are commonly experts that the federal government hires on a temporary basis for no more than 130 days a year. 

TRUMP LAYS OUT WHERE HE STANDS WITH ELON MUSK AFTER BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL BLOWUP

Musk would sleep at the White House on late work nights, attend Cabinet meetings and become a common face on the White House campus when he served as the public leader of DOGE — the government office Trump established in January 2025 to seek out and end potential fraud, waste and mismanagement within the federal government. 

“He’s one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced,” Trump said in May, when Musk’s tenure as a special government employee ran dry of its 130 days. “He stepped forward to put his very great talents into the service of our nation, and we appreciate it.”

Days later, Musk began publicly criticizing the “big, beautiful bill” — a massive tax and spending package that advanced Trump’s agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt — as a “disgusting abomination.” 

Musk warned on X it would be the “BIGGEST DEBT ceiling increase in HISTORY” — then escalated the spat with a personal jab that “@RealDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files.”

TRUMP TEASES MUSK AT FORUM AS ONCE-FROSTY DYNAMIC SEEMS TO TAKE A TURN

Trump told the media that he was disappointed in Musk’s comments, while the tech billionaire reeled in some of his commentary, remarking he sometimes “went too far.” The president said in 2025 that his relationship with Musk changed when he began discussing plans to eliminate the electric vehicle mandate, which would affect Musk’s signature electric company, Tesla.

The pair abruptly parted ways in June. Musk has sporadically signaled support for the Trump administration, including just weeks later in July when he praised Trump’s actions in Israel to end the war with Gaza. 

Trump signed the “big, beautiful bill” into law on the Fourth of July. 

Their relationship has been on an apparent mend since at least September 2025, when the pair was seen sitting next to each other and chatting during Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s memorial service in Arizona following his shocking assassination.

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Musk attended a White House dinner for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia on Nov. 18, 2025, and Trump told the media in December 2025, “I like Elon a lot,” but said he was unsure if the tech leader was back in his friend circle following the June fallout. 

President Donald Trump’s grip on the Republican-controlled Congress is not quite what it was.

Republicans in Congress dealt the president two blows in recent days and came within shouting distance of two more.

That’s not to say that the president’s influence among the GOP is completely waning on Capitol Hill. Congressional Republicans are still a pro-MAGA group. But something is different.

2026 is an election year. Some Republicans are trained on their own re-election chances. You don’t even have to squint to see some fractures among Republicans when it comes to supporting the president on individual issues.

SHOWDOWN FOR THE HOUSE: DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS BRACE FOR HIGH-STAKES MIDTERM CLASH

The striking examples came within hours of each other last Thursday.

In the fall, the Senate narrowly rejected a motion to begin a debate about U.S. military action in the Caribbean. All 47 senators who caucus with the Democrats voted in favor of starting the debate. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., joined the Democrats, bringing the yeas to 49. So two votes were needed to agree to the motion and begin a debate. Remember, a 50-50 tie loses in the Senate. It was a close call.

But last week, three more GOP senators voted with Democrats to initiate debate on another war powers resolution after Trump ordered the strike on Venezuela. Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., aligned this time with Paul and Murkowski.

It was a brushback pitch for the president. Hawley opposed the war powers resolution regarding strikes in the Caribbean last fall. But the move against Venezuela moved Hawley to a yes on the revamped measure.

“We don’t know what might happen in Venezuela. We may want to commit troops,” said Hawley. “I just think that in that eventuality, Congress would need to then be on the hook for it.”

“The previous votes have been more hypothetical. This vote’s about a real incursion. It’s about a real invasion of a foreign country,” said Paul.

Sen. John Husted, R-Ohio, supported the administration’s position that it had constitutional prerogative to hit Venezuela without congressional authorization and voted no. But even Husted understood why some of his colleagues switched their votes.

2026 DEADLINES LOOM AS CONGRESS LEAVES DC WITH SEVERAL UNFINISHED BATTLES

The reason? Saber-rattling.

“The rhetoric around Greenland has probably been the issue that’s driven this the most,” said Husted. “I think everybody’s really excited about how well things have gone in Venezuela, but they don’t like the idea that perhaps things could go differently as it relates to Greenland.”

Trump says the U.S. will do “something” on Greenland, “whether they like it or not.”

And that’s to say nothing about threats of possibly hitting Venezuela again. Moving against Cuba. Even Colombia. And after major protests, Iran could be in the mix, too.

“Bombing may rally people to the regime instead of weakening it. You can’t drop bombs in the middle of protests and protect civilians,” cautioned Paul on ABC.

Others are concerned about overextending the military. Especially without guidance from Capitol Hill.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., is the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. 

“The president has said we’re going to take Venezuelan oil. It will take two years to rebuild the Venezuelan oil infrastructure. Is our fleet going to stay there for two years?” asked Warner on Fox.

The Senate is now poised to debate the issue and vote in the coming days. But it’s unclear whether voting to begin debate on such an issue is the same as actually voting to undercut the president.

Trump shot out a message saying Republicans should be “ashamed” of the five who voted alongside the Democrats. He added that the five renegades “should never be elected to office again.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., backed the president, describing the votes by the five as “a gift” to Venezuela.

TRUMP BLASTS GOP WAR POWERS DEFECTORS, SAYS THEY ‘SHOULD NEVER BE ELECTED TO OFFICE AGAIN’

“They’re dead wrong,” said Graham. “They’re going to own screwing up the best chance we’ve ever had to liberate the people of Venezuela.”

Vice President JD Vance downplayed GOPers voting to harness the authority of the president.

“We talked to some of the senators who are going to vote the wrong way, in my view, on this resolution today. Much of their argument was based more on a legal technicality than any disagreement of policy,” said Vance. “Every president, Democrat or Republican, believes the War Powers Act is fundamentally a fake unconstitutional law.”

But Vance might not have seen it that way when he served as a Republican senator from Ohio. In October 2023, Vance was among 11 bipartisan senators who voted in favor of debating presidential war authority in Niger. Vance was among 13 bipartisan colleagues two months later who voted to begin debate on a resolution to block military action by President Joe Biden in Syria.

We’ll know by the end of the week if pressure by the administration prompts Republicans who sided with the Democrats to reverse themselves and stick with the president, or if they vote to hinder him on war powers and potential future intervention in Venezuela.

It was the House’s turn to throw some legislative chin music at the president a few hours later last Thursday. The House voted 230-196 on a Democratic bill to renew now-expired Obamacare subsidies for three years. In December, four House Republicans teamed with Democrats to engineer a parliamentary gambit to go around House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and force a vote on the floor.

While there were only four House Republicans who signed on to the Democratic parliamentary gambit in December, that number grew to 13 GOPers on a procedural vote to bring up the bill last week. It then blossomed to 17 Republicans on final passage. Everyone expected members like Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., to vote yes. But there were lots of surprises from Republicans who never hinted interest in this particular bill before. That includes Reps. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., Rob Wittman, R-Va., and Mike Carey, R-Ohio.

“There’s a lot of people in the 3rd Congressional District that depend on these programs. And as a Navy SEAL, I always acted lawfully. But I did a lot of things that made me very uncomfortable doing. But it had to get done because otherwise the mission would fail. This mission is America, and it’s the people in my district,” said Van Orden.

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Carey even referenced the “Unaffordable ACA Subsidy Extension Vote” in a news release. But Carey pointed out that “close to 45,000 Ohioans in our district currently have these plans, and I want to make sure that they do not lose access to a plan that they have relied on as Congress continues addressing the high cost of healthcare.”

All of this came just after the president asked Republicans to have “flexibility” on abortion as they work on healthcare — something which is anathema to many pro-life conservatives. And the president threatened to veto that bill if it ever made it through the Senate, which is doubtful.

Speaking of vetoes, Trump unexpectedly vetoed two bills that moved unanimously through Congress last year. One bill would finish a pipeline to bring drinking water to southwestern Colorado. Another bill would give the Miccosukee Tribe in Florida control over 30 acres of land in the Everglades and allow them to protect it against tropical storm flooding events.

Trump said he vetoed the Colorado bill because Democrat Gov. Jared Polis was “bad.” The Miccosukee Tribe sued over the construction of “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Everglades.

The House voted 248-177 with one member voting “present” on the Colorado bill. That’s a majority. But veto overrides require two-thirds. With 425 members casting ballots (the “present” vote doesn’t count against the total), the House needed 284 yeas to override.

The veto override on the Everglades bill was 236-188. Again, a majority. But with 425 members voting, a successful override needed 283 yeas.

Congress has only overridden a presidential veto 112 times in U.S. history, and it’s notable that a chunk of Republicans went against the president on both issues.

Now some Republicans are taking on the president over the administration’s criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

“It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., a member of the Banking Committee. “I will oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed — including the upcoming Fed Chair vacancy — until this legal matter is fully resolved.”

The composition of the Banking Committee is 13-11 in favor of Republicans. So a defection by Tillis would, at minimum, produce a tie. That could impede confirmation of Powell’s successor.

Frankly, these rebellions are no different from what many presidents endure from members of their own party from time to time, especially in an election year. Lawmakers sometimes need to put real estate between themselves and the president. Other lawmakers believe that the president’s political amperage is not what it once was.

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We are now moving into the second year of Trump’s term. But in many ways, this is “year six” of the Trump presidency — having served from 2017-2021. Some Republicans started to abandon President George H.W. Bush in the sixth year of his presidency over Iraq. President Ronald Reagan witnessed the same phenomenon during year six over Iran-Contra. And certainly President Richard Nixon experienced this during Watergate in 1974.

There’s no evidence of a mass exodus among congressional Republicans when it comes to Trump, but there are fissures. And that’s why the president may not have the same near-lockstep backing he enjoyed from congressional Republicans in 2026 that he enjoyed in 2025.