NationalWatch

Former Rep. Mary Peltola on Monday announced her intent to run for a U.S. Senate seat to represent Alaska, in a race to unseat two-term GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan.

In a two-minute video, Peltola cited “scarcity” and inflation as problems Alaskans currently face. 

“Growing up, Alaska was a place of abundance. Now, we have scarcity,” Peltola said. “The salmon, large game, and migratory birds that used to fill our freezers are harder to find. So we buy more groceries, with crushing prices.”

ALASKA NATIVES DEFY DEMOCRATS, CHAMPION PUSH TO REVIVE ARCTIC DRILLING THAT BIDEN SHUT DOWN

Peltola previously served in the House as Alaska’s lone representative. She won a special 2022 election and full term later that same year in which she defeated four other candidates, including former Gov. Sarah Palin.

She lost her House seat in 2024 to Republican challenger Nick Begich III. 

Peltola pointed to the state’s two late Republicans as examples of what happened to lawmakers with agendas in Washington who put politics over the needs of the state. 

“Our delegation used to stand up to their party and put Alaska first,” Peltola said. “Ted Stevens and Don Young ignored Lower 48 partisanship to fight for things like public media and disaster relief because Alaska depends on them.”

TRUMP ADMIN ANNOUNCES BIG STEP TOWARD ‘ENERGY DOMINANCE’ WITH MASSIVE ALASKA LNG PROJECT ALLIANCE

“Ted Stevens often said, ‘to hell with politics, put Alaska first’,” she added. “It’s about time Alaskans teach the rest of the country what Alaska First and, really, America First looks like.”

Peltola’s announcement comes as Democrats are getting ready to try and take back both chambers of Congress in November’s midterm elections. 

In a video last month posted online by the Democratic-aligned super PAC Senate Majority PAC, the group chided Sullivan for voting for higher costs for health care and other essentials. 

In response, Sullivan, while standing on skis, boasted about tax cuts and railed about Democrats and the Biden administration for policies he said didn’t benefit Alaska. 

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“They want what Democrats always want when they’re in charge in D.C.,” Sullivan said, referring to at least 70 executive orders signed by Biden that he said negatively impacted Alaska.

FIRST ON FOX: Former special counsel Jack Smith will testify in a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee next week, giving Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the panel a chance to grill him in a public setting on his prosecutions of President Donald Trump.

Smith will appear before the committee on Jan. 22, one month after he sat for a closed-door deposition with the committee and testified for eight hours about his special counsel work, a source familiar told Fox News Digital.

Smith had long said he wanted to speak to the committee publicly, and although Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, first demanded the deposition, the chairman also said an open hearing was on the table.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM JACK SMITH’S TESTIMONY TO HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

Smith investigated Trump and brought two indictments against him over the 2020 election and alleged retention of classified documents. Trump pleaded not guilty and aggressively fought the charges, and Smith dropped both cases when Trump won the 2024 election, citing a Department of Justice policy that discourages prosecuting sitting presidents.

In a public hearing, House lawmakers will be able to question Smith in five-minute increments, whereas in the deposition, each party questioned Smith in one-hour sessions. Politico first reported that Smith would appear for a hearing sometime this month.

Smith gave little new information during his initial meeting with the committee and defended his work.

“I made my decisions in the investigation without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election,” Smith said, according to a transcript of the deposition. “We took actions based on what the facts, and the law required, the very lesson I learned early in my career as a prosecutor.”

JACK SMITH DEFENDS SUBPOENAING REPUBLICANS’ PHONE RECORDS: ‘ENTIRELY PROPER’

Smith said he followed DOJ policy when his team made the controversial decision to subpoena numerous Republican senators’ and House members’ phone records as part of his 2020 election probe. Smith noted the subpoenas sought a narrow set of data.

“If Donald Trump had chosen to call a number of Democratic senators [to delay the election certification proceedings], we would have gotten toll records for Democratic senators. So responsibility for why these records, why we collected them, that’s — that lies with Donald Trump,” Smith said.

The Republicans have said the subpoenas were unconstitutional violations of the speech or debate clause, and they have broadly said the Biden DOJ abused its authority by bringing, in their view, politicized criminal charges against a former president and presidential candidate.

Trump, who has long decried Smith as a “thug” and said he belongs in jail, has said he welcomes Smith at a public hearing.

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Asked about Smith’s appearance next week, a representative for Smith provided a statement from one of his lawyers, Lanny Breuer.

“Jack has been clear for months he is ready and willing to answer questions in a public hearing about his investigations into President Trump’s alleged unlawful efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his mishandling of classified documents,” Breuer said.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., called for the arrest and prosecution of the ICE agent who fatally shot Renee Good in a residential neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota on Jan. 7.

Khanna also urged Congress to back his legislation with Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, to require ICE agents to wear body cameras, display visible identification, stop wearing masks during operations and be subject to independent oversight.

In a post shared on X, the former Obama administration official said: “I am calling for the arrest and prosecution of the ICE agent that shot and killed Renee Good.”

“I am also calling on Congress to support my bill with @JasmineForUS to force ICE agents to wear body cameras, not wear masks, have visible identification, and ensure ICE has independent oversight,” Khanna added.

MINNESOTA BUREAU OF CRIMINAL APPREHENSION DROPS OUT OF ICE-INVOLVED SHOOTING INVESTIGATION

An ICE agent shot and killed the 37-year-old Minneapolis woman during a federal enforcement operation in south Minneapolis. Federal officials have said agents were attempting to make arrests when the woman tried to use her vehicle as a weapon against officers, prompting an ICE agent to fire in self-defense.

Good’s death sparked widespread protests in Minneapolis and across the U.S. as demonstrators called for changes to federal immigration enforcement.

Local officials, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, criticized the federal account of the incident and rejected the claim that the officer acted in self-defense. Minnesota has since sued the Trump administration, claiming the immigration enforcement surge in the state is “unlawful” and “unprecedented.”

“What we are seeing right now is not normal immigration enforcement,” Frey said. “The scale is wildly disproportionate, and it has nothing to do with keeping people safe.”

The Trump administration pushed back sharply against the lawsuit, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accusing Minnesota leaders of undermining public safety and obstructing federal law enforcement.

MINNESOTA SUES TRUMP ADMIN OVER SWEEPING IMMIGRATION RAIDS IN TWIN CITIES

Federal officials, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, maintained that the agent fired in self-defense.

Noem critisized Democrats on Sunday amid an Illinois lawmaker’s push to impeach her following the deadly shooting.

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“These law enforcement officers are trained to be in situations that are dangerous, and they rely on that training each and every day to make the right decisions,” Noem said during “Sunday Morning Futures.” 

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., directed some heated remarks at a Trump administration Cabinet official whose department has been dominating headlines in recent weeks.

“What is clear is that Kristi Noem is completely and totally unqualified. She should have never been confirmed by Senate Republicans,” Jeffries said of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary during a Monday press conference. “It’s disgraceful that she’s there. She should be run out of town as soon as possible.”

Criticism against Noem, DHS, and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has intensified on the left in the wake of a deadly ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis last week.

An ICE agent shot and killed a U.S. citizen, 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, who allegedly presented a threat to ICE agents as they attempted to conduct enforcement operations. Partisan fissures have since erupted over which side was acting improperly when the deadly incident occurred.

ANTI-ICE AGITATORS THREATEN AGENTS IN CHAOTIC MINNESOTA PROTESTS: ‘YOU’RE GOING TO F—ING DIE’

“Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, they’re totally out of control. And the American people want these extremists to be reined in,” Jeffries said on Monday.

He said Good “should be alive today” and accused both Noem and the ICE agent who shot Good of a “depraved indifference toward human life.”

A DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital in response, “How silly during a serious time. As ICE officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them, Rep. Jeffries is more focused on showmanship and sewing division than cleaning up his crime-ridden New York district.”

“Rep Jeffries has the power to make change as the Minority leader and we hope he would get serious about doing his job to protect American people, which is what this Department is doing under Secretary Noem. We won’t hold our breath,” they said.

HOUSE REPUBLICAN CALLS FOR HEARING AFTER DEADLY ICE SHOOTING IN MINNEAPOLIS

Video of last week’s incident appears to show Good’s car making contact with the ICE agent who shot her before he opened fire. Arguments have since raged over whether she was deliberately getting in the way or even weaponizing her car, or whether she was trying to drive away.

Federal officials like Noem have defended the agent as acting in self-defense while accusing Good of trying to actively impede ICE activity in the Democrat-controlled city.

Democrats, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have accused ICE and Republican officials of stoking fear and tension in the city while demanding the federal government cease current operations there immediately.

Now Democrats in Congress have been threatening to withhold support from funding DHS unless significant reforms are made — a threat Jeffries alluded to during his press conference.

“What’s in front of us right now is a spending bill that will go either one of two ways. Either Republicans will continue their my-way-or-the-highway approach as it relates to the Homeland Security bill — and if that happens, then it’s going to be on them to figure out a path forward,” Jeffries began.

“Alternatively, particularly in the face of the tragedy…there’s some commonsense measures that need to be put in place so that ICE can conduct itself in a manner that is at least consistent with every other law enforcement agency in the United States of America, at the state, local and federal level.”

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The deadline to finish federal funding and avert a partial government shutdown is at the end of day on Jan. 30.

Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for a response.

President Donald Trump called for New York City to end its congestion pricing model, calling it a disaster. 

“Congestion Pricing in Manhattan is a DISASTER for New York,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It’s got to be ended, IMMEDIATELY! It’s never worked before, and it will never work now. I love New York, and hate to see it being destroyed so rapidly with such obviously foolish “policy.” Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

New York began congestion pricing in January 2025. 

TRUMP’S WILD MAMDANI FLIP — THE INSULTS THAT CAME BEFORE THE LOVE FEST

The program uses electronic license plate readers and charges most drivers a $9 toll during peak periods to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street in an attempt to reduce congestion and raise funds to improve mass transit.

Months after it began, the city said it reduced traffic in the impacted areas by 8% to 13%. 

Trump has long voiced criticism of the congestion pricing program. 

NEW YORK CITY URGES JUDGE TO BLOCK TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FROM ELIMINATING ITS CONGESTION PRICING PROGRAM

He tried and failed to end it, and threatened to withhold federal funds from the city if officials didn’t kill it. 

On Jan. 5, the one-year anniversary of the program. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul touted it as successful. 

“The opposition’s kind of calmed down, right?” Hochul said at a press conference. “Anybody noticed that it’s calmed down because people like getting across the bridges faster. They like coming to the city with more time on their hands. They’re happy not to sit in traffic.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to the office of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.  

The Senate took its first step toward averting a government shutdown, but there’s still a long way to go on an increasingly shorter path to keep the lights on in Washington, D.C.

Lawmakers advanced a $174 billion, three-bill package through its first procedural hurdle on Monday evening with an 81-14 vote, teeing up a vote to send the tranche of funding bills, known as a minibus, to President Donald Trump’s desk later this week.

The package, which easily sailed through the House last week, similarly cruised through the key test vote on a wave of bipartisan support — a sign that neither party wants to thrust the government into another shutdown just months after the longest closure in history.

HOUSE PASSES NEARLY $180B FUNDING PACKAGE AFTER CONSERVATIVE REBELLION OVER MINNESOTA FRAUD FEARS

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., noted that Senate Democrats weren’t looking for another shutdown last week and said that “Democrats want to fund the appropriations, the spending bills, all the way through 2026.”

“We want to work in a bicameral, bipartisan way to do it and the good news is our Republican appropriators are working with us,” Schumer told ABC Sunday morning.

While the successful procedural vote acted as a good sign for final passage of the package, it doesn’t mean that lawmakers are completely out of the woods when it comes to preventing another shutdown.

They have until Jan. 30 to fund the rest of the government, and some in the Senate believe that they won’t have time to finish their work before the deadline. That means another continuing resolution (CR) will likely be in the cards.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said a short-term funding bill is inevitable.

DEMOCRATS’ LAST-MINUTE MOVE TO BLOCK GOP FUNDING PLAN SENDS LAWMAKERS HOME EARLY

He noted that, so far, the Senate has only passed three funding bills. If the latest package is successful, that would put lawmakers at the halfway mark of the dozen bills needed to avert a shutdown.

“Of course there’s gonna be a short-term CR,” Kennedy said. “There’s gonna be a CR, it’s just a question of how big is the CR going to be?”

There is another, smaller funding package that could soon make its way through the House. But the $77 billion two-bill bundle that includes funding legislation for Financial Services and National Security still won’t be enough to prevent a shutdown.

Notably, the package lacks the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations bill, which was supposed to be included. That bill is a perennial headache for lawmakers and often acts as a lightning rod for political enmity.

CONGRESS ROLLS OUT $174B SPENDING BILL AS JAN 30 SHUTDOWN FEARS GROW

“The DHS bill is always one of the most difficult ones,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said. “And creates more, seems like more of a kind of a political conflict of all the appropriations bills.”

Following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minnesota last week, that political division reached another level.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Committee, argued that what happened to Good “has crystallized for the American people the real danger that exists out there in the way that ICE and [Customs and Border Protection] are operating.”

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Murphy suggested that he would want to see constraints built into the DHS bill that deal with CBP, such as beefed up training for officers.

“I understand we have to get Republican votes,” Murphy said. “So I’m not proposing we fix this overnight, but I think it should be clear to Republicans that if they want Democratic votes for a DHS appropriations bill, they’re going to have to work with us on our concerns. That’s how the Senate works.”

President Donald Trump announced what he described as an immediate and “final” trade order targeting Iran and its global partners.

In a post shared on Truth Social, Trump said any country that continues doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran would be hit with a 25% tariff on all trade with the U.S.

The president wrote: “Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America. This Order is final and conclusive. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” 

The post came amid heightened tension with Iran as the country entered its fifteenth day of spiraling protests in which hundreds of people have been reported to have been killed since Dec. 28.

IRAN PROTESTS PROMPT NEW TRUMP WARNING OVER DEADLY GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWNS

According to the Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA), the deaths of 544 people have been confirmed so far and “dozens of additional cases remain under review.”

Trump’s trade tariff announcement, which could impact China, Brazil, Turkey and Russia, also came as U.S. officials urged citizens to consider leaving Iran, according to a Department of State statement.

“U.S. citizens should expect continued internet outages, plan alternative means of communication, and, if safe to do so, consider departing Iran by land to Armenia or Türkiye,” the statement said.

Officials also urged citizens to avoid demonstrations, keep a low profile, and remain aware of their surroundings.

The statement confirmed that protests across Iran were intensifying and may turn violent, resulting in arrests and injuries.

KEANE WARNS IRANIAN REGIME TO TAKE TRUMP ‘DEAD SERIOUS’ ON PROTEST KILLING THREAT AMID ONGOING DEMONSTRATIONS

“Protests across Iran are escalating and may turn violent, resulting in arrests and injuries,” the statement said.

“Increased security measures, road closures, public transportation disruptions, and internet blockages are ongoing. The Government of Iran has restricted access to mobile, landline, and national internet networks. Airlines continue to limit or cancel flights to and from Iran, with several suspending service until Friday, January 16,” the statement read.

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, Iran may also already have over eight American citizens and residents in its captivity based on information from sources outside the Trump administration who are well-versed with Tehran’s hostage-taking policy system.

Monday also saw Tehran say it was keeping communication channels with Washington open as Trump weighed how to respond to its deadly crackdown. Trump had said Sunday that Iran “wants to negotiate.”

TRUMP’S IRAN BRIEFING MAY BE ‘DECEPTION CAMPAIGN’ TO MASK MOVES ALREADY UNDERWAY, EXPERT SAYS

“We might meet with them. A meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what is happening before the meeting, but a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday.

While airstrikes were one of many alternatives open to Trump, “diplomacy is always the first option for the president,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

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“What you’re hearing publicly from the Iranian regime is quite different from the messages the administration is receiving privately, and I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages,” Leavitt said.

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening…

-Conservative group targets CFPB rule forcing race, sex disclosure in mortgages

-In 2026, energy ‘wars’ new frontier is AI, and US must win that battle, API chief says

-Dems who praised cop for killing J6 protester now condemn ICE for shooting MN agitator

Trump declares himself Venezuela’s ‘acting president’ in online post after Maduro ouster

President Donald Trump branded himself as the “president” of Venezuela in a social media post Sunday night, after signaling that the U.S. would oversee Caracas, Venezuela, for years. 

Trump shared a doctored image that looked like a Wikipedia page that identified him as “Acting President of Venezuela” since January 2026, after the U.S. conducted strikes in Venezuela and seized its dictator, Nicolás Maduro. 

Trump said Jan. 3 that the U.S. would run Venezuela until a safe transition could occur, and he told The New York Times in an interview published Wednesday that he anticipated that the U.S. would oversee Venezuela “much longer” than six months or a year. Even so, he did not share a more detailed estimated timeline…READ MORE.
 

White House

‘NO BASIS IN STATUTE’: Arizona Sen. Kelly sues War Secretary Hegseth over military pension cuts following video message

CHARGED: DOJ charges illegal immigrant with Tren de Aragua ties after Border Patrol shooting in Portland

FOLLOW THE MONEY: Trump pledges to uncover leftist groups countering ICE

FED UP: Powell reveals what it would take to step down from the Fed as pressure mounts

World Stage

GROWING THE UNION: Trump’s Greenland push escalates as GOP lawmaker moves to make it America’s 51st state

Capitol Hill

FACTS FIRST: WATCH: House Republican calls for hearing after deadly ICE shooting in Minneapolis

MIDTERM MESSAGE: Democrats ‘doomed to fail’ without populist economic message, Warren warns

Across America 

YOUTH SHAKEUP: Record number of Americans identify at political independents, rejecting 2 major parties, poll finds

‘ASTOUNDING’: Oregon election system faces scrutiny as state moves to address 800,000 inactive voters: ‘Astounding’

CHASING ‘INFLUENCE’: Delegate-heavy New York moves to shake up voting primary schedule, chasing ‘influence’

‘ONLY US CITIZENS’: Texas sends voter rolls to DOJ to look for ineligible registrations

LOOKING TO STEP UP: Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins jumps into Sunshine State gubernatorial race to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis

RED FLAGS: Minnesota fraud scandal sparks push to scrutinize billions in Biden-era energy grants

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

FIRST ON FOX: House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford, R-Ark., will submit a resolution on Monday praising the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro — relying entirely on past comments made by Democrats to do so.

Crawford observed that calls to end Maduro’s tenure in Venezuela used to carry ample bipartisan support and had been the focus of at least eight bills sponsored by Democrats in recent years.

“All this resolution does is reiterate the overall consensus of Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives, evidenced by the legislation introduced over the last [four] years, that Nicolás Maduro was a threat to the national security of the United States and the well-being of the people of Venezuela, and therefore President Trump’s decisive action should be applauded,” Crawford said in a statement. 

TRUMP DECLARES HIMSELF VENEZUELA’S ‘ACTING PRESIDENT’ IN ONLINE POST AFTER MADURO OUSTER

The text obtained by Fox News Digital listed out the many reasons Democrats had included in their bills.

One such piece of legislation, introduced by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., called for ‘‘ending Nicolás Maduro’s usurpation of presidential authorities,” citing Maduro’s undermining of his own country’s electoral process.

Another, authored by Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., slammed the Venezuelan government’s kidnapping practices, demanding Maduro’s regime be designated a “state sponsor of wrongful detention.”

Crawford’s resolution comes as Democrats in Congress have blasted the Trump administration’s operation in Venezuela, characterizing the capture of Maduro earlier this month as an act of war that should have required congressional approval. Republicans have pushed back, arguing Trump used narrowly tailored force to bring a well-known criminal to justice.

Crawford’s resolution highlights comments that illustrate how Democrats used to share a similar understanding.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., framed Maduro as a threat to the United States in a bill from 2024.

“Elissa Slotkin introduced legislation in the 118th Congress that defined ‘Venezuelan politician Nicolás Maduro’ as a person of concern who has engaged in a ‘long-term pattern or serious instances of activity adverse to the national security of the United States,’” the bill reads.

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

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., included almost identical language in a bill of her own.

“[DeLauro] introduced legislation that similarly redefined Maduro’s regime as one that had ‘a long-term pattern of serious instances of conduct significantly adverse to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons,’” Crawford’s bill pointed out.

Crawford believes those comments fly in the face of the way Democrats are framing the attack now. He pointed to a post on X made by the top Democrat in the House.

“In the aftermath of Nicolás Maduro’s arrest, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, ‘This wasn’t a law enforcement action. They’re lying to the American people when they say that,’” the bill states. 

MARCO RUBIO EMERGES AS KEY TRUMP POWER PLAYER AFTER VENEZUELA OPERATION

Crawford included more comments in Monday’s resolution.

“Representative Delia Ramirez posted to X, ‘under the guise of liberty, an administration of warmongers has lied to justify an invasion and is dragging us into an illegal, endless war,’” the text reads.

Crawford believes Trump has done exactly what Democrats had demanded.

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“Democrats have introduced numerous pieces of legislation condemning the Maduro regime, declaring Maduro an illegitimate president, and urging the U.S. to take decisive action,” Crawford said.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, the U.S. took control of the situation to secure our Western Hemisphere neighborhood, sending a powerful message to adversaries around the world, even contemplating nefarious moves in our neighborhood,” Crawford said.

Oregon election officials are set to begin removing hundreds of thousands of inactive voters from the state’s registration rolls, a move that comes after years of inaction, mounting public pressure, and lawsuits filed against the state in recent months.

Oregon’s Democratic Secretary of State Tobias Read, in a press release Friday, outlined two new directives he said will “restart” the “routine cleanup of outdated, inactive voter registration records” in accordance with state law to address the roughly 800,000 inactive voter records that are being maintained by election officials.

The first directive orders counties to immediately cancel long-inactive voter registrations that already met the legal requirements for removal before 2017. These are registrations where election mail was returned as undeliverable, voters failed to respond to official notices, and they did not participate in multiple federal elections. State officials estimate roughly 160,000 registrations fall into this category and should have been removed years ago.

The second directive changes how the state handles inactive voters going forward. It updates the language on voter confirmation cards to clearly warn voters that their registrations will be canceled if they do not respond or vote within the required time frame. State officials say this step restores a process that allows routine cleanup of inactive registrations under federal law.

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

Together, the directives are designed to address a backlog of inactive records and restart regular voter-roll maintenance after Oregon paused removals in 2017. 

“These directives are about cleaning up old data that’s no longer in use so Oregonians can be confident that our voter records are up-to-date,” Read said. “From day one, our goal was clear: run elections that are secure, fair, and accurate. This move will strengthen our voter rolls and reinforce public trust in our elections.”

State officials acknowledge there are about 800,000 inactive registrations total, roughly 20% of Oregon’s voter rolls, though they stress multiple times in the press release that inactive voters do not currently receive ballots, saying at one point, “again, none of the individuals associated with these records will receive ballots, and these inactive records have no impact on Oregon elections.”

Being marked “inactive” in Oregon means you’re still listed as a registered voter, but you aren’t receiving ballot mail from the state until you reactivate your registration.

MARYLAND DODGES SPECIFICS IN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT VOTER-ROLL CASE AS CONGRESS VOWS TO KEEP DIGGING

However, inactive voters are still counted in the official voter roll totals, included in public records, and many experts have made the case that accurate rolls should reflect real, current voters, not people who moved years ago or can’t be located. Leaving outdated records in place increases the risk of mistakes, an expert on the subject told Fox News Digital. 

“First of all, it’s astounding that they haven’t been removing anybody from the voter force in almost a decade because this is very basic 101 level election administration,” said Jason Snead, executive director of the Honest Elections Project. 

Snead explained that voter rolls naturally change every year as people move, die, lose eligibility due to felony convictions, or leave the state, creating constant churn that must be managed. When states fail to keep up, Snead says, voter rolls become bloated and outdated, making elections harder to administer and increasing the risk of errors and abuse.

Snead emphasized that the problem is especially serious in mail-in voting states like Oregon. He argues that automatically mailing ballots while failing to routinely clean voter rolls makes it more likely that ballots will be sent to people who are no longer eligible, including those who have moved or died. Even if state officials say inactive voters don’t receive ballots, Snead says Oregon’s recent administrative failures, including the suspension of its automatic voter registration program in 2024 after non-citizens were mistakenly registered, justify skepticism about whether safeguards are consistently working as claimed.

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“I think there’s clearly a degree of skepticism that’s warranted, and I think that it really speaks to the need to always be focused on the basics of election administration,” Snead said. “Cleaning of the vote rolls is really one of the most foundational, important things that a secretary of state should be doing.”

Oregon has been slapped with two lawsuits in recent months related to its handling of voter rolls, from Judicial Watch as well as Trump’s Department of Justice, and Snead suspects the timing of the secretary of state’s announcement is “probably to some degree” related to that. 

“There’s an almost pathological resistance on the left to cleaning up the voter rolls, they call it voter purge, and they say that this is going to disenfranchise voters,” Snead said. “We’ve heard of all of the various statements. You know, lots of different ways and lots of different examples. But then when you actually bring litigation over this, sometimes that forces their hand.”

Cleaning up voter rolls has become an increasingly politicized issue in recent years, with Republicans pushing for more oversight in the name of election integrity and Democrats accusing Republicans of attempting to “disenfranchise” voters. 

“Democrats support normal list maintenance and reasonable efforts to keep voter rolls up to date and in compliance with federal law,” DNC Spokesperson Albert Fujii told Fox News Digital. “The contrast could not be clearer: Donald Trump and the Republican Party are pushing aggressive voter purges to systematically disenfranchise eligible voters across the country, especially voters of color.” 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, RNC National Press Secretary Kiersten Pels said, “Oregon’s Democrat Secretary of State has presided over one of the most bloated voter rolls in the country, with more than 800,000 inactive registrations.”

“Democratic states have allowed their voter rolls to spiral out of control, especially in mail-in voting systems like Oregon’s. The RNC is taking action nationwide to ensure states are cleaning their voter rolls as required by law.”

FIRST ON FOX: A Trump-aligned legal group is urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to scrap its demographic reporting mandate, arguing that the rule allows lenders to consider the race and sex of mortgage applicants as part of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

America First Legal said in a petition, first reviewed by Fox News Digital, that the CFPB should encourage mortgage lenders to focus strictly on the creditworthiness of home buyers. The CFPB’s Regulation C, which requires the lenders to track and report race and sex, is unconstitutional, the group argued.

“The disclosure of this information leaves applicants vulnerable to race- and sex-based discrimination by government and private actors in violation of federal civil rights law and the Constitution,” an America First Legal representative wrote.

The petition comes as part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump to quash diversity, equity and inclusion, also known as DEI, in the public and private sectors. The petition aligns with an executive order Trump signed in April urging a “meritocracy and colorblind society.” The order was aimed at agencies responsible for evaluating people’s credit.

DEI is a framework that companies, schools, government agencies and other entities have adopted to promote equal treatment for minorities, but conservatives have long argued its practices can be discriminatory by improperly extending preferential treatment to them.

America First Legal said Regulation C flies in the face of the administration’s sweeping efforts to root out DEI across industries. The group’s petition functions as a request to the CFPB to formally begin the process of eliminating the regulation.

“The federal government has no business forcing Americans to disclose their race or sex as a condition of applying for a mortgage,” America First Legal President Gene Hamilton said in a statement. “Regulation C pressures lenders to sort borrowers by immutable characteristics and invites discrimination under the guise of ‘equity.’”

The CFPB was created by Congress in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis to investigate complaints about mortgages, various other loans and other banking activity that involves consumers.

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But since its inception, Republicans have targeted the agency as a rogue entity that imposes unnecessary and burdensome regulations on financial institutions.

The acting director of the agency, Russell Vought, has sought to shutter the CFPB entirely, but those efforts have thus far been stalled by the courts, which have found that only Congress can get rid of it. The CFPB has remained somewhat operational, as it has been filing reports through late last year, and Vought recently requested an additional $145 million to fund it to remain compliant with a recent court order.

Democrats have come out against federal law enforcement’s use of lethal force following shootings involving federal immigration officials in Minneapolis and Portland last week, with some going so far as to accuse them of murder. 

However, their attitudes about lethal force after a U.S. Capitol police officer killed Ashli Babbitt paint a very different picture of these Democrats’ views on police using lethal force. 

As recently as this year, Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who have rebuked Trump administration arguments that shootings involving federal immigration officials last week were justified, also rebuked a multimillion-dollar settlement awarded to the family of Ashli Babbitt earlier this year, calling it a “slap in the face” and a “sickening message to police.” Babbitt was shot and killed by a U.S. Capitol Police officer during the Jan. 6 riot as she was pushing and beating against a door that led into the Speaker’s Lobby just outside the House chamber along with a mob of others. 

Several other Democrats who supported law enforcement’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021, have gone off on federal border patrol officials following the Portland and Minneapolis shootings last week, with some going so far as calling them murderers.

VANCE DOUBLES DOWN ON ‘DISGUSTING’ PRESS AS NEW FOOTAGE FROM ICE SHOOTING SURFACES, ACCUSES OUTLETS OF ‘LYING’

In Minneapolis, a woman accused of interfering with federal deportation efforts was fatally shot by ICE in Minneapolis, while an illegal immigrant couple who DHS said were deeply involved in criminal activity were shot by CBP agents in Portland after the driver of the car tried to ram his vehicle into agents.

Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., referred to the actions of ICE in Minneapolis as “murder” in a post on X. However, just days before, on the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot, Goldman reintroduced legislation to “honor those who defended the capitol” when a mob took it over in 2021.

Rep. Primal Jayapal, D-Wash., who has claimed to have been very close to Babbitt when the Speaker’s Lobby was trying to be breached, has chastised Republicans who she believes have failed to adequately honor U.S. Capitol Police for their work on Jan. 6, 2021. “They were begging for protection from Capitol Police. Yet they refused to honor Capitol Police there[after], refused to accept that it was real,” Jayapal told Teen Vogue in 2022. 

Meanwhile, after the shootings last week, Jayapal too accused federal border patrol officials of committing murder, telling local news the incident “looked like outright murder” to her eyes. 

WHY THE FBI CAN EXCLUDE STATE AUTHORITIES FROM MINNESOTA SHOOTING PROBE

Reps. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Jason Crow, D-Colo., were also among those Democrats praising Capitol Police for their actions on Jan. 6, 2021 last week, while condemning the federal officer involved in the shooting that occurred as well. Crow complained that a plaque honoring U.S. Capitol Police officers who protected people on Jan. 6 was not hung up because of GOP obstruction, but was unafraid to condemn federal officials for “kill[ing]” someone. Raskin, who has also condemned the multimillion-dollar settlement to the Babbitt family, said he was “sickened” at ICE agents for “killing” a woman in Minneapolis. 

Raskin’s colleague from Oregon, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., demanded on X last week that federal immigration officers be held accountable for their involvement in the Portland shooting. She referred to the illegal immigrant gang members shot as “victims,” even though they tried to ram their car into officers. However, after the Capitol riot in 2021, Bonamici regularly praised the “heroism” of the U.S. Capitol Police and suggested they should be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. 

Rick Wilson, co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, sought to explain the discrepancy between Democrats’ reaction to Babbitt’s shooting versus the ICE shootings in a post on X, arguing “Babbitt was a domestic terrorist,” and the victim killed in Minneapolis, Renee Good, “was a mom, murdered by ICE.”

When reached for comment, Raskin echoed Wilson’s sentiment, arguing two different investigations found the Babbitt shooting was “entirely reasonable and appropriate.” He added that anyone taking the position that Good was treated properly would also have to agree that hundreds of protesters on Jan. 6, 2021 “could have been legitimately shot in the face three times.”

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“Without the benefit of any investigation, Trump and his Administration have labeled Ms. Good, a U.S. citizen and 37-year-old mother of three, a ‘domestic terrorist’ and immediately excused her killing after she was shot three times at point-blank range, not while charging at the police but while trying to get away from them,” Raskin said. “In both cases, the Trump Administration is telling the American people to ignore the law and the evidence of their own eyes.”

Raskin also demanded in his comments to Fox News Digital that, following the Minnesota ICE shooting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “must appear to answer questions” before lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

During the subsequent days following last week’s shooting, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks slammed rhetoric from left-wing politicians for emboldening folks to do things like ram their cars into federal immigration officials.

“The rhetoric they are putting out. The constant lies they are putting out to their constituents – saying things like kidnapping, disappearing, it’s encouraging these people to continue violating the law. They are actually putting their constituents in danger.”

As political pressure and legal scrutiny intensify, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has made clear what would force him to step down.

Powell, who holds one of the most influential posts in U.S. economic policymaking, has made clear he won’t step aside absent a legal violation.

That stance is detailed in an excerpt from “Trillion Dollar Triage,” in which Wall Street Journal economic correspondent Nick Timiraos chronicles Powell’s measured public responses and more candid private reactions to Trump’s ongoing threats to fire him.

A LOOK AT THE UNFOLDING BATTLE BETWEEN TRUMP AND POWELL OVER FED POLICY

Powell’s commitment to the Fed, amid Trump’s mounting criticism, became apparent in 2019 during a House Committee on Financial Services hearing. When asked by California Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters what he would do if Trump fired him, Powell said he would continue to serve his four-year term.

According to Timiraos, in private, Powell was more forthright about his determination to continue leading the world’s most influential central bank.

“I will never, ever, ever leave this job voluntarily until my term ends under any circumstances. None, whatsoever,” Powell said. “You will not see me getting in the lifeboat,” he said, invoking a metaphor to signal his resolve to stay the course.

“It doesn’t occur to me in the slightest that there would be any situation in which I would not complete my term other than dying,” Powell said, according to Timiraos.

TRUMP CALLS FED CHAIR POWELL A ‘CLOWN’ AND SLAMS FED RENOVATION

Powell’s long-standing insistence on finishing his term, which ends in May, now comes amid a Justice Department criminal investigation into his congressional testimony on the Federal Reserve’s headquarters renovation.

Powell confirmed the investigation and said he respected the rule of law and congressional oversight, but described the action as “unprecedented” and driven by political pressure.

“This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings,” Powell said in a video statement Sunday evening.

“The threat of criminal charges is 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,” he added.

The White House referred questions to the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR POWELL UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OVER HQ RENOVATION

The project to update the Federal Reserve’s two main Washington, D.C., office buildings in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood is expected to cost $2.5 billion and is being paid for by the central bank, not taxpayers. The Fed funds its operations without congressional appropriations, drawing revenue primarily from interest on government securities and fees charged to financial institutions.

In June 2025, Powell told members of the Senate Banking Committee that “There’s no new marble. There are no special elevators. They’re old elevators that have been there. There are no new water features. There are no beehives, and there’s no roof garden terraces.”

Powell also told lawmakers that no one “wants to do a major renovation of a historic building during their term in office.”

“We decided to take it on because, honestly, when I was the administrative governor, before I became chair, I came to understand how badly the Eccles Building really needed a serious renovation,” Powell said, adding that the building is “not really safe” and not waterproof.

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He also said that the cost overruns are due, in part, to unexpected construction challenges and the nation’s inflation rate.

The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2027, with Washington-based employees expected to begin working on the building in March 2028.

President Donald Trump said that he believes the woman fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis last week may have been a professional agitator, and indicated that the government will uncover the funding sources behind such anti-law enforcement agitation.

“The woman and her friend were highly disrespectful of law enforcement,” Trump said during a Sunday gaggle aboard Air Force One. “They were harassing,” he said, noting, “I think frankly, they’re professional agitators.”

The president added that he would “like to find out, and we are gonna find out, who’s paying for it, with their brand-new signs, and all the different things.”

“But these are professional agitators. And law enforcement should not be in a position where they have to put up with this stuff. What that woman, and what her friend, and what their other friends were doing to law enforcement — not just ICE — law enforcement, is outrageous,” he said.

TRUMP DEFENDS ICE AGENT, SHOWS NYT REPORTERS VIDEO OF DEADLY MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security retweeted a post in which Republican Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas asserted that anti-ICE protesters are being funded.

CELLPHONE VIDEO RELEASED IN DEADLY MINNEAPOLIS ICE AGENT SHOOTING

“The anti-ICE mobs are anything but organic. Dark money is bankrolling far-left groups like ICE Watch and lighting the fuse. Americans deserve to know who’s cutting the checks!” the lawmaker asserted in the post.

A person “weaponized her vehicle” against law enforcement in Minneapolis, DHS announced last week.

DHS DEPLOYING HUNDREDS MORE FEDERAL AGENTS TO MINNEAPOLIS, NOEM ANNOUNCES

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“This individual was impeding law enforcement and weaponized her vehicle against @ICEgov. The officer dutifully acted in self-defense,” DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin noted in a post on X last week.

Lawmakers are keenly aware of the costs of running a country due to the nation’s skyrocketing debt, but now another expense may be added to Congress’ tab — Venezuela. 

President Donald Trump hasn’t backed down from his position that the U.S. will run Venezuela after the surprise strikes and capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. That’s left some on Capitol Hill wondering what the price tag will be, considering Venezuela’s bleak economy. 

Like most issues in Washington, D.C., there’s a strong partisan divide on how lawmakers expect running Venezuela will shake out. Senate Republicans believe that the vast petroleum, natural gas and mineral reserves will be enough to foot the bill and cause oil companies to come running to dump money into the region. 

TRUMP’S VENEZUELA PUSH RUNS INTO HARD REALITIES FOR US ENERGY GIANTS

And fiscal hawks in the Senate, who routinely sound the alarm over rampant government spending, believe that running the country will be a financial boon for the U.S.

“I would envision there’s so much money to be made that the oil companies will show up, and they’ll pay for everything,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. 

That’s a shared calculus among several other Republicans, who contend that any cost incurred from stewarding the country during the transition period would be leveraged by the colossal reserves of crude oil creeping underground. 

“That’s the whole point,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital.

There could already be a wrench in that plan following a meeting among Trump and several top oil executives at the White House last week. The roster of companies in attendance Friday touched nearly every choke point in Venezuela’s oil sector, including production, services, trading and refining. The sheer weight of that lineup underscored what is at stake for global energy policy, with the United States squarely at the center.

And ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods told the administration that Venezuela was “uninvestable,” which prompted Trump to suggest that he’d be “inclined to keep Exxon out.”

And despite lawmakers’ optimistic outlook, the economic reality on the ground in Venezuela is stark. 

5 GOP SENATORS JOIN DEMOCRATS TO STOP TRUMP FROM POLICING VENEZUELA

Venezuela once had the makings of an economic powerhouse, but years of mismanagement and international sanctions have hollowed out the economy, leaving behind a much smaller, debt-laden nation.

Precise figures are difficult to verify because Venezuela has not published comprehensive financial data in years. However, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates the economy will total about $82.8 billion in 2025, which is roughly the size of Maine’s economic output.

VENEZUELAN OIL’S RETURN COULD IMPACT TEXAS REFINERIES AND GAS PRICES NATIONWIDE

What’s more, Venezuela’s debt is roughly 200% of its economy. In simple terms, the country owes about two dollars for every dollar it produces.

Those pressures are compounded by runaway inflation. The IMF forecasts eye-watering inflation, with consumer prices expected to rise by more than 680% in 2026, underscoring the continued strain on Venezuela’s economy and households.

That collapse is inseparable from Venezuela’s oil industry, once the backbone of national wealth. Petroleum revenues long underwrote government spending and social programs, leaving the economy acutely vulnerable as production fell, infrastructure decayed and sanctions tightened.

Even in its diminished state, oil remains Venezuela’s most consequential asset. The country holds more than 300 billion barrels of proven crude — the largest in the world, eclipsing established energy titans like Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait — underlining its potential if production and investment return.

The potential cost of reinvigorating Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, coupled with the prior military operation and any other costs accumulated from running the country, is emblematic of the growing rift between the Hill and the White House, where Trump has routinely run roughshod over lawmakers in his decision-making. 

Senate Democrats want to claw back some of that authority through the appropriations process, where they could try to limit the flow of taxpayer dollars toward Venezuela.

“Congress should be involved,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told Fox News Digital. “And we must be involved because we have the power of the purse, we have appropriations authority, and we need better and more information to make these decisions about how the taxpayer funds are spent in support of these military or intelligence operations.” 

Some of that action is already taking place. 

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Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., whose war powers resolution to curtail future use of military force in Venezuela without congressional approval survived its first procedural test on Thursday, said that lawmakers were having discussions tweaking the defense spending bill to “block appropriated defense funds from being used in certain actions that haven’t been authorized by Congress.”

Senate Republicans, despite cries from the other side of the aisle to regain some modicum of congressional oversight over the Venezuela situation, are firm in their belief that Venezuela’s oil, not American taxpayers’ money, will foot the bill.

“We’re going to use Venezuelan resources to reimburse the U.S. Treasury for what we’ve already spent there, and we’re going to use Venezuelan resources to help rebuild their own country,” Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said. “The taxpayer is not going to be on the hook for one cent of this.”

FIRST ON FOX: The State Department revoked more than 100,000 foreign visas in 2025, more than twice that of 2024 in the final year of President Joe Biden’s administration. 

The figure is an all-time record, and follows on President Donald Trump’s day one executive order on foreign vetting. In 2024, the department revoked 40,000 visas. 

The majority of the revocations were for business and tourist travelers who overstayed their visas. 

But some 8,000 students and 2,500 specialized workers also lost their legal status. A department spokesperson said a majority of the students and workers who lost their visas had criminal encounters with law enforcement. 

TRUMP STATE DEPARTMENT ORDERS GLOBAL VISA CRACKDOWN UNDER REVIVED ‘PUBLIC CHARGE’ RULE

Among specialized workers, half of the revocations were based on drunk driving arrests, 30% for assault, battery or confinement charges and the remaining 20% were revoked for theft, child abuse, substance abuse and distribution, and fraud and embezzlement charges. 

Nearly 500 students lost visas for drug possession and distribution and hundreds of foreign workers lost visas because they were believed to be abusing children, according to a department spokesperson. 

In August 2025, the Trump administration announced it was reviewing all 55 million foreigners who have valid U.S. visas. 

State Department principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Piggott added that the administration would continue its aggressive enforcement posture through its new “continuous vetting center.” “The Trump administration will continue to put America first and protect our nation from foreign nationals who pose a risk to public safety or national security.”

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The department has also enforced stricter standards for obtaining a U.S. visa. 

In November 2025, Fox News Digital first reported the department would enforce a “public charge” rule, denying visas to applicants deemed likely to rely on public benefits. That included health reasons — putting older and overweight people under greater scrutiny — English competency, finances or other potential needs for long-term care. 

The U.S. military launched strikes against Venezuela and captured its dictator, Nicolás Maduro, on Jan. 3 — emerging from the operation largely unscathed as it handicapped Venezuela’s defense systems and potentially conducted cyber operations against Caracas. 

Altogether, more than 150 aircraft — including U.S. bombers and fighter jets — were involved in the operation, successfully completing a “large-scale strike” against Venezuela, according to President Donald Trump. Additionally, Caracas, Venezuela, suffered power outages early Jan. 3 — an indication of a potential cyber operation. 

Trump signaled that the U.S. may have been behind the blackout in Venezuela but did not provide details regarding the nature of a possible cyber operation targeting Venezuela’s civilian infrastructure. 

“The lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that we have,” Trump said. 

VENEZUELA TEETERS AS GUERRILLA GROUPS, CARTELS EXPLOIT MADURO POWER VACUUM

Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic & International Studies’ defense and security department, said that while it’s unclear what exactly U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) and Space Command (SPACECOM) contributed to the operation, they may have penetrated some of Venezuela’s infrastructure.

LATIN AMERICA FRACTURES OVER TRUMP’S MADURO CAPTURE AS REGIONAL ALLIES SHIFT RIGHT

“We don’t really know what cyber did, some of the lights did go out, and Caine did talk about it,” Cancian told Fox News Digital Wednesday. “It’s possible that (they) got into some of their command and control systems.” 

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that as U.S. helicopters with the extraction force and other law enforcement assets started to approach Venezuela’s shores, the U.S. “began layering different effects provided by SPACECOM, CYBERCOM, and other members of the inter-agency to create a pathway.” 

According to Caine, U.S. aircraft involved in the operation included F-22, F-35, F/A-18 and EA-18 fighter jets, E-2 airborne early warning aircraft, B-1 bombers and “other support aircraft, as well as numerous remotely piloted drones.” 

“As the force began to approach Caracas, the joint air component began dismantling and disabling the air defense systems in Venezuela, employing weapons to ensure the safe passage of the helicopters into the target area,” Caine told reporters. 

​​These aircraft involved in the mission also likely employed weapons including the AGM-88 HARM, or high-speed anti-radiation missile, which neutralizes radar-equipped enemy air defense systems and other air-to-ground munitions to take out Venezuela’s air defense systems, according to Cancian. 

A spokesperson for SPACECOM said that the command could not comment on the specific details of support SPACECOM provided to Operation Absolute Resolve, due to operational security concerns. But the spokesperson added that space-based capabilities including positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) that the military uses to support electronic warfare, in addition to other things, as well as satellite communications are “foundational to all modern military activities.” 

“To protect the Joint Force from space-enabled attack and ensure their freedom of movement, U.S. Space Command possesses the means and willingness to employ combat-credible capabilities that deter and counter our opponents and project power in all warfighting domains,” the spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital Friday.

VENEZUELAN OIL SHIPMENTS SURGE TO US PORTS WITH HEAVY CRUDE AFTER MADURO CAPTURE

CYBERCOM did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Other factors that contributed to the U.S. military’s success undermining Venezuela’s defenses were that CIA assets had been on the ground leading up to the raid, according to Cancian. Trump confirmed in October 2025 that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela. 

“They gave detailed descriptions of Maduro’s headquarters, and I’m sure located all of the air defense batteries around Caracas,” Cancian said. “So we had an excellent sense about where everything was, combining that with overhead surveillance and also electromagnetic intelligence.”

TRUMP OUSTING OF MADURO DRAWS PARALLELS TO US RAID IN PANAMA – BUT THERE ARE SOME MAJOR CONTRASTS

Although Venezuela “on paper” has powerful air defense systems, Cancian said that success pulling off the operation stemmed from solid efforts from the U.S. military to destroy and disrupt Venezuela’s air defense system, in conjunction with poor training for Venezuela’s military. 

Venezuela is equipped with Russian S-300 long-range surface-to-air missile systems, as well as Buk-M2E and Pechora-2M medium-range surface-to-air missile systems, according to the Modern War Institute at West Point. 

Of the more than 150 U.S. aircraft involved in the operation, only one was hit, and zero were shot down. An administration official told Fox News Digital that seven U.S. service members were injured during the operation, but were “well on their way to recovery.”

TRUMP’S VENEZUELA STRIKE SPARKS CONSTITUTIONAL CLASH AS MADURO IS HAULED INTO US

“Seems those Russian air defenses didn’t quite work so well, did they?” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told reporters in Newport News, Virginia. 

Trump announced that U.S. special forces conducted a strike against Caracas, Venezuela, and seized Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The two were taken to New York and appeared in a Manhattan federal court Jan. 5 on drug charges. Both pleaded not guilty.

The raid came after months of pressure on Venezuela amid a series of strikes in Latin American waters targeting alleged drug traffickers in alignment with Trump’s effort to crack down on the influx of drugs into the U.S.

TRUMP EMBRACES US INTERVENTION IN VENEZUELA, OPENS DOOR TO BROADER LATIN AMERICA PUSH

The Trump administration repeatedly stated that it did not recognize Maduro as a legitimate head of state and insisted he was the leader of a drug cartel. Trump also said in December he thought it would be “smart” for Maduro to step down. 

The Trump administration has since claimed that its actions seizing Maduro were justified as a “law enforcement” operation, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said congressional approval wasn’t necessary since the operation didn’t amount to an “invasion.”

Even so, lawmakers primarily on the left have questioned the legality of the operation in Venezuela, which was conducted without Congress’ approval.

“This has been a profound constitutional failure,” the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said in a statement Jan. 3. “Congress — not the President — has the sole power to authorize war. Pursuing regime change without the consent of the American people is a reckless overreach and an abuse of power.” 

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“The question now is not whether Maduro deserved removal. It is what precedent the United States has just set and what comes next.”

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report. 

The U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has ignited sharp debate in Washington and abroad over whether the move undermines international norms — or delivers a deliberate deterrent message to rivals like China and Russia.

Critics argue that seizing the leader of a sovereign nation risks setting a dangerous precedent — one adversaries could cite to justify their own military actions beyond their borders.

“My main concern now is that Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan,” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said in a statement.

“What will we say now if Putin tries to capture Zelenskyy?” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., asked.

Others counter that such norms have never constrained Moscow or Beijing, and that deterrence is shaped less by legal arguments than by demonstrations of power, speed and capability.

TOPPLING MADURO WAS EASY — GOVERNING VENEZUELA COULD TRAP US FOR YEARS

“I don’t think Putin or Xi ever doubted that power overrides sovereignty,” said Pedro Garmendia, a Washington-based geopolitical risk analyst. “What we’ve seen consistently from China and Russia is that they use rhetoric around international law when it suits them and ignore it when it doesn’t.”

Lethality

For U.S. adversaries, the most jarring signal may not be diplomatic fallout but the stark demonstration of American lethality.

The operation resulted in the deaths of dozens of Venezuelan and Cuban security personnel, according to Venezuelan and Cuban authorities, as U.S. forces pushed through layers of armed resistance protecting Maduro. Cuban officials acknowledged the loss of multiple military and intelligence personnel deployed in Venezuela, while Venezuelan authorities confirmed heavy casualties among elite security units. Independent estimates place the total death toll — security forces and civilians combined — at several dozen.

President Donald Trump publicly acknowledged the nature of the mission, describing it afterward as a violent operation by necessity, given the threat environment and the presence of armed foreign forces embedded within Maduro’s security apparatus. Trump argued the level of force reflected the reality of penetrating a defended capital and preventing Maduro from escaping or rallying loyalist units.

Analysts say that willingness to use decisive force — and to own it publicly — carries its own deterrent value.

Garmendia noted that Venezuela was no marginal partner for U.S. adversaries. 

“Both countries have invested tens of billions of dollars in the Chávez and then Maduro regime,” he said. “Having the leader of that regime captured and taken into U.S. custody so suddenly — especially when a Chinese special envoy had just met with Maduro hours before — is frankly embarrassing to both countries.”

Execution

Beyond casualties, the operation sent a second signal through its execution: speed, precision and deep preparation.

U.S. special operations forces spent months rehearsing the raid, including training on a full-scale replica of Maduro’s compound. CIA officers built a detailed picture of Maduro’s daily routines — tracking when he slept, where he traveled, how his security rotated and which locations offered the narrowest escape routes.

That intelligence allowed planners to identify a precise window when Maduro was most vulnerable. Airspace suppression, rapid insertion and coordinated ground movement unfolded in minutes, denying Venezuelan and allied forces time to respond effectively.

Trump later pointed to that preparation as evidence the operation was deliberate rather than impulsive, arguing that speed and overwhelming force were essential to prevent Maduro from slipping away or turning the operation into a prolonged firefight.

AFTER MADURO, VENEZUELA POWER VACUUM EXPOSES BRUTAL INSIDERS AND ENFORCERS

Former FBI counterintelligence operative Eric O’Neill said those details are likely to matter more to Beijing and Moscow than legal debates at the United Nations.

“At least while Trump is in office, it’s going to look a lot like deterrence to China and Russia,” O’Neill said. “They didn’t even get a chance to blink before Maduro was gone.”

O’Neill added that the execution underscored a broader message. 

“That sends a strong signal that the United States can find its adversaries anywhere in the world,” he said, arguing rivals already inclined to violate international norms are unlikely to be emboldened by an action they lack the capability to replicate.

Experience

The final deterrent signal lies in experience: the institutional ability to plan and execute complex, intelligence-driven operations built on decades of counterterrorism and special operations campaigns.

U.S. officials point to the seamless integration of intelligence collection, rehearsal, logistics and kinetic force as evidence of a mature operational system that can be activated with little warning — an advantage adversaries must assume exists even when they cannot see it.

Concern has nevertheless been echoed by international institutions. 

Ravina Shamdasani, chief spokesperson for the U.N. human rights office, warned the operation could weaken global norms. 

“It sends a signal that the powerful can do whatever they like,” Shamdasani said, arguing the intervention “damages the architecture of international security and makes every country less safe.”

China said it was “deeply shocked,” condemning what it called the U.S.’s “blatant use of force against a sovereign state and its action against its president,” and claiming it “seriously violates international law” and threatens stability in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The criticism comes as Beijing has intensified military pressure on Taiwan, including near-daily air incursions and large-scale exercises meant to signal its own willingness to use force.

Russia likewise denounced the U.S. operation at the United Nations as a violation of sovereignty and international law, even as it continues its war in Ukraine while rejecting international legal judgments and condemnation.

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For U.S. strategists, that contrast reinforces the intended message: adversaries may invoke international law rhetorically, but what shapes their calculations is demonstrated capability — especially when paired with the experience to plan, rehearse and execute without warning.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Sunday spoke out against President Donald Trump’s threats to bomb Iran, warning that such an attack may backfire as the U.S. government monitors the Middle Eastern country’s response to widespread protests.

During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” Paul said he is unsure that striking Iran “will have the effect that is intended.”

“I don’t think I have ever heard a president say they may take military action to protect protesters,” Paul said. “Certainly, with Soleimani, when the Trump administration hit him, there were massive protests against America. But they are shouting ‘death to the Ayatollah.'”

“We wish them the best,” he added. “We wish freedom and liberation the best across the world, but I don’t think it’s the job of the American government to be involved with every freedom movement around the world.”

TRUMP SAYS US WILL INTERVENE IF IRAN STARTS KILLING PROTESTERS: ‘LOCKED AND LOADED’

Paul also stressed concern about how the Trump administration would distinguish Iranian protesters from law enforcement if the president were to seek military action.

“How do you drop a bomb in the middle of a crowd or a protest and protect the people there?” Paul asked.

The Republican lawmaker also warned that attacking Iran may unintentionally rally protesters behind the Ayatollah.

“If you bomb the government, do you then rally people to their flag who are upset with the Ayatollah, but then say, ‘Well, gosh, we can’t have a foreign government invading or bombing our country?'” Paul said.

“It tends to have people rally to the cause,” he continued. “So, I think the protests are directed at the Ayatollah, justifiably so.”

Paul added: “The best way is to encourage them and say that, of course, we would recognize a government that is a freedom-loving government that allows free elections, but bombing is not the answer.”

The liberty-minded senator also affirmed that presidents cannot strike other countries without the approval of Congress.

“There is this sticking point of the Constitution that we won’t let presidents bomb countries just when they feel like it,” Paul emphasized. “They’re supposed to ask the people, through the Congress, for permission.”

Protests erupted in Iran in recent weeks over the country’s economic free fall, and many have begun to demand total regime change as the demonstrations continue.

Thousands have been arrested, according to reports. Agencies have been unable to confirm the total death toll because of an internet blackout as the country’s leaders seek to quell the dissent, but The Associated Press reported that more than 500 were killed.

Trump warned Iranian leaders on Friday that they “better not start shooting, because we’ll start shooting, too.”

“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.

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Paul has opposed Trump in various instances in recent months when it has come to military strikes, including against Iran and Venezuela.

He helped the Senate advance a 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, which the Kentucky Republican said amounts to war.

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“I think bombing a capital and removing the head of state is, by all definitions, war,” Paul told reporters before the vote last week. “Does this mean we have carte blanche that the president can make the decision any time, anywhere, to invade a foreign country and remove people that we’ve accused of a crime?”

Paul has also criticized the administration’s military strikes on boats near Venezuela it accuses, without evidence, of carrying narco-terrorists, raising concerns about killing people without due process and the possibility of killing innocent people. The senator previously cited Coast Guard statistics that show a significant percentage of boats boarded on suspicion of drug trafficking are innocent.

San Antonio has shut down its out-of-state abortion travel fund after a new Texas law that prohibits the use of public funds to cover abortions and a lawsuit from the state challenging the city’s fund.

City Council members last year approved $100,000 for its Reproductive Justice Fund to support abortion-related travel, prompting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to sue over allegations that the city was “transparently attempting to undermine and subvert Texas law and public policy.”

Paxton claimed victory in the lawsuit on Friday after the case was dismissed without a finding for either side.

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“Texas respects the sanctity of unborn life, and I will always do everything in my power to prevent radicals from manipulating the system to murder innocent babies,” Paxton said in a statement. “It is illegal for cities to fund abortion tourism with taxpayer funds. San Antonio’s unlawful attempt to cover the travel and other expenses for out-of-state abortions has now officially been defeated.”

But San Antonio’s city attorney argued that the city did nothing wrong and pushed back on Paxton’s claim that the state won the lawsuit.

“This litigation was both initiated and abandoned by the State of Texas,” the San Antonio city attorney’s office said in a statement to The Texas Tribune. “In other words, the City did not drop any claims; the State of Texas, through the Texas Office of the Attorney General, dropped its claims.”

Paxton’s lawsuit argued that the travel fund violates the gift clause of the Texas Constitution. The state’s 15th Court of Appeals sided with Paxton and granted a temporary injunction in June to block the city from disbursing the fund while the case moved forward.

Gov. Greg Abbott in August signed into law Senate Bill 33, which bans the use of public money to fund “logistical support” for abortion. The law also allows Texas residents to file a civil suit if they believe a city violated the law.

“The City believed the law, prior to the passage of SB 33, allowed the uses of the fund for out-of-state abortion travel that were discussed publicly,” the city attorney’s office said in its statement. “After SB 33 became law and no longer allowed those uses, the City did not proceed with the procurement of those specific uses—consistent with its intent all along that it would follow the law.”

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The broader Reproductive Justice Fund remains, but it is restricted to non-abortion services such as home pregnancy tests, emergency contraception and STI testing.

The city of Austin also shut down its abortion travel fund after the law was signed. Austin had allocated $400,000 to its Reproductive Healthcare Logistics Fund in 2024 to help women traveling to other states for an abortion with funding for travel, food and lodging.