NationalWatch

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the military’s actions in the Caribbean on Sept. 2 were “entirely appropriate” after getting a classified video about the two strikes on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat.

“The individuals on that vessel were not helpless castaways, they were drug runners on a capsized drug boat and by all indications attempting to recover it so they could continue pushing drugs to kill Americans,” Johnson told reporters.

“What the video shows is that these individuals were there, they were able-bodied, they were not injured, and they were attempting to recover the contents of the boat, which was full of narcotics.”

He said there was “another vessel” in close proximity that the two survivors were “waving their arms” toward so that they could continue onward with “their mission.”

HEGSETH ERUPTS OVER WAPO ‘FAKE STORIES’ SMEAR, VOWS TO STOP ‘POISONING OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE’

“This is a great threat to us. Every one of these boats that is capsized saves tens of thousands of American lives. This is what the president has prioritized. I think he’s done it with the expectation and the consent of the American people,” Johnson argued. 

“I’m satisfied with the intelligence, with the way that this was conducted. I think it was entirely appropriate. I think Admiral Bradley is one of the most honorable men serving in the U.S. military. His credentials are exceptional. He’s a man of great integrity, and they followed the law very carefully and closely here.”

He said of the second strike specifically, “It followed the law, it followed protocol, it followed our previous missions like this…I’m fully confident that it was done the right way.”

TOM COTTON CALLS ON WASHINGTON POST TO APOLOGIZE TO HEGSETH, BRADLEY FOR ‘SLANDER’

The White House confirmed earlier this month that two strikes were fired at a boat allegedly ferrying drugs from Venezuela. A second strike was conducted after the initial hit left two survivors.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told reporters earlier this month that he watched the first strike live but did not learn of the second strike until later, having left for a meeting in between.

The White House said the strike was ordered by Admiral Frank M. Bradley, commander of the United States Special Operations Command.

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Republicans and Democrats have had vastly different reactions to the strikes, with President Donald Trump’s critics on the left accusing his administration of possibly committing a war crime.

Republicans, meanwhile, have largely said the military acted within its rightful scope.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., has signaled he was satisfied with the information he’s received so far while the top Democrat on the panel, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., said Thursday that the probe was “far from over.”

The Senate Armed Services Committee is conducting its own probe into the matter.

FIRST ON FOX: Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent scrapped Biden-era coin designs intended to celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s founding after the Trump administration discovered they did not feature a single Founding Father but instead emphasized diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) themes. 

“The new Semiquincentennial Quarter designs will celebrate American history and the founding of our great nation,” U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach told Fox News Digital Thursday. “While the Biden administration and Secretary Yellen remained focused on DEI and Critical Race Theory policies, the Trump administration is dedicated to fostering prosperity and patriotism. We have no doubt these new designs will be wildly popular with the American people.”

The U.S. Mint did not publicly release designs of the Biden-era quarter coins ahead of Bessent axing their planned rollout, with Fox News Digital obtaining exclusive images of all the quarters. 

Trump signed a law at the end of his first term authorizing the creation of up to five new quarters and a dollar coin to honor the 250th anniversary of America’s founding in July 2026, wj was spearheaded by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

TRUMP REVEALS ARC DE TRIOMPHE-STYLE MONUMENT FOR AMERICA’S 250TH ANNIVERSARY

 The committee approved five themes for the coins, including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, abolition, suffrage and civil rights, the Journal reported, which included some photos of the Biden-era coins, but not all five. 

The Treasury secretary has final sign-off on the coin designs. Former Secretary Janet Yellen approved the coins’ designs for 2026 before leaving office, according to the outlet. 

AMERICAN HISTORY WON’T BE DISPLAYED ‘IN A WOKE MANNER’ AT SMITHSONIAN, TRUMP SAYS

Fox News Digital obtained images of the now-scrapped quarters, and found the one remembering the abolition of slavery showed arms locked in handcuffs while breaking the chains; while another quarter focused on women’s suffrage showed arms holding up a what appeared to be a concrete slab with the inscription “Liberty Equality Justice for Women” and “SUFFRAGE;” while the civil rights coin showed depictions of people linking arms with the inscription, “We shall overcome.” 

The quarter aimed to honor the Declaration of Independence showed the Liberty Bell, while the quarter honoring the Constitution depicted an allegorical Lady Liberty. 

LIBERTY AND UNITY: WHAT AMERICA’S 250TH ANNIVERSARY ASKS OF US TODAY

None of the coins from the Biden-era depicted a Founding Father, though one side of the abolition coin depicted 19th century civil rights leader Frederick Douglass. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office for comment on the coin change on Thursday evening. 

“We’re trying to be very sensitive to how people will interpret the themes and designs of the coins,” one of the members of the coin advisory panel told the Wall Street Journal of the previous designs. “They’re much more than just money. They’re things that kids are going to be looking at and grown-ups are going to be looking at.”

The 2021 law establishing the creation of the coins noted that the designs “must be emblematic of a woman’s or women’s contribution to the birth of the nation or the Declaration of Independence or any other monumental moments in American history.”

The Trump administration unveiled its version of the quarters Wednesday evening at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, which included a much more patriotic tone. 

One coin celebrated the Mayflower Compact showing a pilgrim couple embracing, one honoring the Revolutionary War with the depiction of a U.S. soldier, a coin celebrating the Declaration with a characterization of the Liberty Bell, and one honoring the U.S. Constitution with a depiction of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The Treasury also created a coin remembering the end of slavery, focusing on Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address with the inscription “A new nation, conceived in liberty” over a depiction of a person pulling another person from the arm. 

The new designs come after Trump systematically moved to remove DEI programs across the federal government, signing executive orders that directed federal agencies to identify and shut down DEI offices. Trump and conservatives have argued DEI practices promote group-based preferences and ideological conformity over individual merit, free speech and equal treatment. 

The coin change-up also comes as Democrat lawmakers work to thwart the Trump administration from rolling out $1 Trump coins depicting the president, which are also part of the administration widespread efforts to celebrate the nation’s semiquincentennial. 

DEMOCRATIC SENATORS MOVE TO BLOCK TRUMP $1 COINS FROM TREASURY DEPARTMENT MINT

Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., introduced legislation earlier in December that would prohibit the federal government from minting currency that bears “the likeness of a living or sitting president.”

“While monarchs put their faces on coins, America has never had and never will have a king,” Cortez Masto said in a press release of the legislation. “Our legislation would codify this country’s long-standing tradition of not putting living Presidents on American coins. Congress must pass it without delay.”

The Treasury Department pointed to a law, USC 31 § 5112(y), which grants authority to redesign circulating coins for the semiquincentennial during 2026. 

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“Senate Democrats are so triggered by the proposed coin celebrating our nation’s 250th anniversary that they are trying to recklessly change law to block it,” Beach said of the legislation. “The American people deserve a commemorative coin celebrating our great nation. While Senate Democrats continue to maintain self-serving motives, the Trump Administration is delivering prosperity and patriotism.”

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report. 

Twenty House Republicans joined Democrats to pass a bill reversing President Donald Trump’s executive order blocking most federal unions on Thursday.

The bill was led by Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, who got a vote on his measure by filing a discharge petition. It’s designed to force a vote on legislation over the wishes of leadership provided it gets support from a majority of House lawmakers.

The bill, called the Protect America’s Workforce Act, is aimed at repealing a March 2025 executive order by Trump. 

The final vote passed 231 to 195, with all the “no” votes coming from Republicans.

6 HOUSE DEMOCRATS EXPLAIN BREAKING WITH PARTY TO END SHUTDOWN

Trump’s order blocked collective bargaining with unions at an array of federal agencies, including parts of the departments of Defense, State, Veterans Affairs, Justice and Energy.

It also affected workers at the departments of Homeland Security (DHS), Treasury, Health and Human Services (HHS), Interior and Agriculture.

During debate on the bill Thursday afternoon, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said undoing Trump’s executive order was akin to encouraging “more work-from-home policies for our federal employees,” which he said Americans voted against when they elected Trump and Republicans to lead in Washington.

“It is important to remember that public sector unions are fundamentally different from their private sector counterparts,” Comer also argued. “In fact, none other than Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a major champion of private sector unions, believed that public sector unions made no sense.”

“In the private sector, unions represent workers and sit across the bargaining table from representatives of business owners. However, federal unions are not negotiating with a profit-seeking corporation. They are negotiating with the public’s elected representatives.”

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, said, “Union bosses love this bill for one reason, and that’s because it protects their telework perks, it shields them from accountability, and gives them effective veto power over a duly elected president with a mandate to clean up a bloated federal bureaucracy.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., argued, “Collective bargaining is essentially the freedom to negotiate the best possible work environment.”

“I’m thankful for this bipartisan effort to restore collective bargaining rights for more than 1 million public servants that are part of our federal government,” Jeffries said.

Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., who said his district was home to thousands of federal workers, argued that restoring collective bargaining rights for those workers is “a lifeline that ensures fair wages, safe workplaces, and the basic dignity that every worker deserves,” including corrections officers and people who work with veterans and seniors.

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., also appeared on the House floor to debate in favor of the bill, arguing, “These are career public servants, many of them veterans who show up every single day to serve our country. Every American deserves a voice in the workplace, and that includes the people who keep our government running and open.”

Discharge petitions are rarely successful in the House but have been used more frequently this year as Republicans grapple with a razor-thin majority. 

58 HOUSE DEMS VOTE AGAINST RESOLUTION HONORING ‘LIFE AND LEGACY’ OF CHARLIE KIRK

In Golden’s case, five House Republicans had signed onto the petition along with 213 Democrats — Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Bresnahan, Don Bacon, R-Neb., Lawler and Nick LaLota, R-N.Y.

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A vote to advance the bill won support from 13 Republicans on Wednesday night, setting it up for the Thursday vote.

That number grew early on Thursday afternoon during another procedural vote to set up final passage, with 22 Republicans voting to push the bill to its final step.

To be successful, however, the measure would still have to be taken up successfully in the Senate and get signed into law by Trump.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas grilled prominent left-leaning lawyer Marc Elias this week about a campaign finance law, joining several other conservative justices in voicing skepticism about the law’s restrictions on certain types of political donations.

Thomas’ questions centered on a Federal Election Campaign Act provision that limits how much money state and national political parties can spend when coordinating with specific candidates.

Republicans who brought the lawsuit argued that the coordinated political spending is protected speech and should not be limited by Congress, while Elias, a prolific election lawyer, argued to the high court that Congress has a right to cap those expenses.

SCOTUS TAKES UP TRUMP’S BID TO FIRE FTC COMMISSIONER AT WILL — A SHOWDOWN THAT COULD TOPPLE 90-YEAR PRECEDENT

Thomas and Elias appeared at odds during oral arguments, as Thomas questioned why coordinated political spending between parties and candidates should face limits — particularly when it covers routine campaign expenses like hotels or food.

“Just so I’m clear, is there any First Amendment interest in coordinated expenditures?” Thomas asked.

Elias replied “yes,” but said a party paying an individual campaign’s bills was “symbolic speech” that is not fully protected and should be subject to standard contribution limits.

“I still don’t understand what you’re saying,” Thomas told Elias. “If the party coordinates with the candidate and pays the bill, does that have a First Amendment protection or is it simply, as you say, a bill-paying exercise?”

“It is speech,” Elias said, but he said court precedent says the bill payment “is treated as a contribution, and, therefore, though it is speech, it is subject to limit by Congress in how much can be spent on engaging in that speech.”

Congress currently limits individual donations that can be made to a political candidate, and the Supreme Court has in past cases balanced allowing First Amendment-protected political donations while also allowing caps as a safeguard against outsize influence and corruption in elections.

DEMS MOVE TO SET LIMITS ON TRUMP’S DONOR-FUNDED WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM, CLAIMING ‘BRIBERY IN PLAIN SIGHT’

But the high court is now being asked to potentially allow millionaires and billionaires to make unlimited individual contributions to a state or national political party, with the expectation that the money would be redirected and spent in coordination with a particular candidate. The decision could upend the current political spending landscape ahead of the 2026 midterm elections by allowing rich donors to flood state or national political parties with more money.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, another skeptic of Elias’ argument, pointed out that outside groups can accept limitless funds and influence elections and that state and national parties appear disadvantaged because of it.

“I am concerned that a combination of campaign finance laws and this court’s decisions over the years have together reduced the power of political parties, as compared with outside groups, with negative effects on our constitutional democracy,” Kavanaugh said.

“That’s the real source of the disadvantage. You can give huge money to the outside group, but you can’t give huge money to the party, so the parties are very much weakened,” he said.

The case was brought to the high court by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and two former Ohio Republican candidates: now–Vice President JD Vance and former Rep. Steve Chabot.

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The liberal justices leaned toward wanting to avoid further undoing campaign spending limits, which have eroded over time under Chief Justice John Roberts.

“Every time we interfere with the congressional design, we make matters worse… our tinkering causes more harm than good,” said Justice Sonia Sotomayor. “Once we take off these coordinated expenditure limits, then what’s left? What’s left is nothing. No control whatsoever.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt clashed with reporters over inflation during Thursday’s briefing, accusing CNN’s Kaitlan Collins of trying to “push narratives.”

Collins pressed Leavitt to explain President Donald Trump‘s apparent mixed messaging regarding the economy, saying at one time that it was booming while at other times recommending parents pare back on Christmas gifts.

“Inflation is down from where it was. As measured by the overall CPI, it has slowed to an average 2.5% pace,” Leavitt said as Collins began to try to interject.

“This is down from what the president inherited. The president inherited 2.9% in January. Today, it’s at about 2.5%, so we’re trending in the right direction,” Leavitt continued. “And I would remind you, when President Trump left office in his first term, inflation was 1.7%, and the previous administration jacked it up to a record-high 9%.”

TRUMP APPROVAL CLIMBS AS REPUBLICANS RALLY BEHIND PRESIDENT’S AFFORDABILITY AGENDA: POLL

“In 10 months, the president has clawed us out of this hole, he’s kept it low at 2.5%, and we believe that number is going to continue to decline,” Leavitt added.

“Nobody is saying it wasn’t high under Biden,” Collins argued. “They’re just saying virtually [unchanged].”

“Nobody reported it on being high under Biden. My predecessor was standing up here at this podium, but now you want to ask me a lot of questions about it, which I’m happy to answer, but I will just add, there’s a lot more scrutiny on this issue from this press corps than there was,” Leavitt said.

TRUMP INSISTS PRICES ARE ‘COMING DOWN,’ BLAMES BIDEN – BUT VOTERS SAY THEY’RE STILL GETTING SQUEEZED

“My predecessor stood up at this podium and she said inflation doesn’t exist. She said the border was secure,” Leavitt continued incredulously. “And people like you just took her at her word, and those were two utter lies. Everything I’m telling you is the truth backed by real factual data, and you just don’t want to report on it because you want to push untrue narratives about the president.”

Affordability has become a flashpoint heading into next year’s midterms, with Republicans now fine-tuning their messaging on the economy after a slew of Democrats won elections in 2025 running on a platform focused on lowering costs.

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Trump told Politico in an interview earlier this week that he would give his economy an “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus” grade, but a November Fox News national survey found that some 76% of voters reported they view the economy negatively, up from the 67% who reported the same in July, and up from the 70% who said the same at the end of former President Joe Biden‘s term.

Fox News’ Alex Schemmel contributed to this report.

A Republican senator warned lawmakers Thursday of a “powder keg” in the U.S. as people “villainize” Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and condone the behavior of anti-ICE protesters. 

Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri made the remark as the Senate Committee on Armed Services gathered on Capitol Hill for a hearing about the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops across the U.S. 

“You’ve seen a 1,000% increase in assaults on ICE officers. So to my Democrat colleagues who want to have this hearing, we got to be honest about what’s actually happening out there. This rhetoric is making it open season on law enforcement. And it is incredibly dangerous,” Schmitt said. 

“So when we villainize ICE agents who have family members, who are husbands, who are mothers, who are simply enforcing the laws that… Congress has passed over the years. This is insane. And the condoning of people blocking off vehicles from, you know, enforcing the law, these ICE agents, this is a powder keg. It’s a powder keg,” he added.

JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT IN LOS ANGELES

Schmitt said he is “very thankful for the men and women who are serving this country, who are protecting those agents, who are protecting federal assets. And the president’s well within his authority to do it.” 

Earlier in his remarks, Schmitt told lawmakers, “You have the L.A., sort of Portland scenario, where Antifa, in particular, which is now thankfully been designated not only as a domestic terrorist organization, but a foreign terrorist organization because of their tactics.” 

“The fact is, this is a network decentralized that has safe houses and financing across the world, including the United States, who wants to do harm to ICE agents. And so what I don’t hear a lot from my Democrat colleagues — they might condemn the violence, but what’s telling is you don’t hear any of them say, stand back and let ICE do their jobs, because the fact is, they just don’t actually believe in immigration enforcement,” he continued. 

WAR ON BADGES: HOUSE GOP TARGETS ANTI-POLICE RHETORIC AMID ICE ATTACKS 

“They think that everybody has a right to be here and no one should ever have to go home. Borders don’t really matter. And so the villainizing of our law enforcement agents, especially ICE, is really destructive and leading this. Which then brings us to today, which is why the National Guard has been deployed in places like Los Angeles and in Oregon,” Schmitt added.

Schmitt also asked witness Gen. Gregory Guillot, the commander of the U.S. Northern Command, to describe “some of the tactics that are being used right now by these thugs on the streets, these criminals who are seeking to entice federal agents out with firecrackers or whatever it is, so that they can actually take shots at them so they can assault them.” 

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“Senator, you just described, many of the tactics that were being used when Title 10 forces were directed into Los Angeles to protect federal activities, to include ICE, conduct of their duties,” Guillot said. 

President Donald Trump on Thursday pressed Senate Majority Leader John Thune to dismantle the Senate’s “blue slip” tradition, arguing that the practice has allowed Democrats to block Republican judicial and U.S. attorney nominees.

“If they say no, then it is OVER for that very well qualified Republican candidate. Only a really far left Democrat can be approved. It is shocking that Republicans, under Senator Chuck G, allow this scam to continue. So unfair to Republicans, and not Constitutional,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“I am hereby asking Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a fantastic guy, to get something done, ideally the termination of Blue Slips. Too many GREAT REPUBLICANS are being, SENT PACKIN’. None are getting approved!!!”

Trump’s remarks come as courts continue to scrutinize the legality of his U.S. attorney appointments.

GRASSLEY REBUKES TRUMP’S PRESSURE TO ‘HAVE THE COURAGE’ TO SPEED UP NOMINATIONS

Alina Habba announced on Monday that she would be stepping down as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey after an appeals court ruled she was unlawfully serving in the role.

Trump appointed Lindsey Halligan to serve as interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, after Erik Siebert resigned. A federal judge in November dismissed the indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, finding that Halligan had been unlawfully appointed and therefore lacked the authority to bring the charges.

GRASSLEY REBUKES TRUMP’S PRESSURE TO ‘HAVE THE COURAGE’ TO SPEED UP NOMINATIONS

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Trump is effectively urging the Senate to end the long-standing custom for all judicial nominees. Senators from both parties are reluctant to change the practice, fearing they would lose the ability to stall or block nominees they have concerns about.

Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., called on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign Thursday during opening remarks at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on “Worldwide Threats to the Homeland.”

“You have systematically dismantled the Department of Homeland Security, put your own interests above the department, and violated the law. You are making America less safe,” said Thompson. “So rather than sitting here and wasting your time and ours with more corruption, lies and lawlessness, I call on you to resign. Do a real service to the country and just resign. That is, if President Trump doesn’t fire you first.”

As Noem was giving her opening statement, several protesters against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) interrupted, yelling, “Get ICE off our streets,” and, “Stop terrorizing our community.”

The protesters were escorted out by Capitol police and detained outside the hearing room.

NOEM SAYS ZOHRAN MAMDANI COULD BE ‘VIOLATING THE CONSTITUTION’ WITH ADVICE ON EVADING ICE AGENTS

Noem, who was joined at the hearing by National Counterterrorism Center director Joe Kent and Michael Glasheen, the operations director of the National Security Branch of the FBI, said one of her grandchildren who was in the audience was crying a little during Thompson’s remarks.

“I don’t think she agreed with him,” Noem said jokingly.

She touted the work DHS has done to secure the southern border and protect the U.S.

“DHS is eradicating transnational organized crime and the stopping of deadly drugs from continuing to be funneled into our communities,” she told lawmakers. “We’re ending illegal immigration, returning sanity back to our immigration system, and we’re defending against cyberattacks against our critical infrastructure.”

NOEM CALLS FOR ‘FULL TRAVEL BAN’ ON COUNTRIES ‘FLOODING’ US WITH IMMIGRANTS AFTER DC ATTACK

The former South Dakota governor, speaking about the global threats facing the country — including those posed by domestic extremists and radical Islamic terrorism — said the U.S. should brace for heightened risks as it prepares to host major events in 2026 such as the World Cup and the nation’s 250th birthday.

“These large-scale events will be potential targets for a range of bad actors, and they come with an increased level of risk. DHS is using every tool and authority we have to ensure the safety of U.S. citizens, and our visitors can enjoy next year’s events,” Noem added.

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Rumors had swirled in recent days that President Donald Trump was considering replacing her as head of DHS. Trump pushed back on those rumors on Wednesday, telling reporters that Noem has been “fantastic.”

Noem also addressed the rumors, speaking to Fox News prior to Thursday’s hearing.

“Oh, that’s absolutely not true,” she said. “President Trump and I are doing wonderfully. I’m so proud to work for him, and I’m going to continue to serve at his pleasure.”

Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Education thwarted more than $1 billion in student aid fraud under President Donald Trump’s first year in office, including stopping suspected bots and “ghost students” from obtaining taxpayer-funded loans, Fox News Digital learned. 

Officials say the savings come from new “enhanced fraud controls” the department implemented in June to combat fraudsters from working to obtain financial assistance loans from colleges. 

College officials and cybersecurity experts in recent years have pointed to a new scam trend of “ghost students,” which are fabricated or stolen identities created solely to enroll, trigger financial aid disbursements and then disappear. Ghost students are believed to be powered by AI bots or run by criminal networks using real Americans’ personal information. 

Other scams have included the use of deceased individuals’ identities in order to fraudulently obtain loans. 

FAKE YALE STUDENT SCANDAL RAISES ALARMS OVER ACADEMIC FRAUD, FOREIGN INFLUENCE RISKS

To crackdown on fraud, the Department of Education heightened its identification verification process for first-time applicants attempting to receive Federal Student Aid. The department said in June that the Biden administration “removed verification safeguards and diverted resources from fraud prevention toward its illegal loan forgiveness efforts” amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which compounded fraud schemes. 

“American citizens have to present an ID to purchase a ticket to travel or to rent a car — it’s only right that they should present an ID to access tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to fund their education,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon told Fox Digital Thursday. 

“From day one, the Trump Administration has been committed to rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal government,” she added. “As a result, $1 billion in taxpayer funds will now support students pursuing the American dream, rather than falling into the hands of criminals. Merry Christmas, taxpayers!” 

The new verification process requires first-time applicants to “present, either in person or on a live video conference, an unexpired, valid, government-issued photo identification to an institutionally authorized individual and the institution must preserve a copy of this documentation.”

The verification measure has thwarted more than $1 billion from flowing to suspected fraudsters, which the Department of Education said includes “coordinated international fraud rings and AI bots pretending to be students.”

The increased verification process followed the Trump administration uncovering nearly $90 million that was disbursed to suspected scammers in 2024, including $30 million in loans to dead people and more than $40 million disbursed to companies using bots disguised as fake students.

SCHOOLS TURN TO HANDWRITTEN EXAMS AS AI CHEATING SURGES

Recent data from the California Community College System, for example, indicated that 34% of community college applications in 2024, resulting in millions of dollars in federal and state aid being misdirected. 

Local media reported in the spring of this year that Democrats and Republicans alike were working to address loan fraud in the state and heighten security measures, including a Democratic assembly member calling for a state audit to identify fraud patterns. 

The Foothill–De Anza Community College District received roughly 26,000 applications, according to media reports in 2024, with 10,000 placed on hold for possible fraud before the beginning of the term. In Nevada, the College of Southern Nevada wrote off $7.4 million in the fall 2024 semester due to a “ghost student” scheme, media reports show. 

Another “ghost students” scheme in Minnesota has left Riverland Community College averaging more than 100 potentially fraudulent applications per year. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO ROLL OUT EARLIEST AND MOST STREAMLINED FAFSA FORM IN HISTORY

Within the first week of the new verification process in June, officials say they flagged almost 150,000 suspect identities in current Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) filings and “immediately alerted” colleges and universities to the suspicious activity.

“Colleges and universities across the country reported being under siege by highly sophisticated fraud rings and requested the Trump Administration for help,” the Department of Education said in a press release on Thursday. 

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In addition to rolling out its heightened security measures, the department has also published materials online warning families against “fake college websites to trick students with AI-generated content and false promises designed to seem real” and is in the midst of hiring a “new fraud detection team within FSA that will be responsible for combatting fraud and abuse.”

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has brought a surge in media access following the Biden administration, with hundreds of direct exchanges between a press corps he frequently blasts as “fake news” and a president who rarely ducks a question, according to exclusive data on his first year back in office.

Trump has participated in at least 433 open press events that stretched from official remarks to impromptu gaggles outside of Air Force One to press conferences where the president interacted with the media, as of Monday. The data, compiled by the White House Stenographer’s Office and provided to Fox News Digital, does not include quick exchanges, such as Trump answering a shouted question while greeting a foreign leader at the White House. 

“President Trump is the most transparent and accessible President in American history,” White House spokeswoman Elizabeth Huston told Fox News Digital. “President Trump takes unrestricted questions from the legacy media and posts directly from his Truth Social account on the most important issues facing our nation every single day. The American people have never had a more direct and authentic relationship with a president of the United States than they have with President Trump.”

DEMS, MEDIA CREDIBILITY IN SHAMBLES AS PRESS FIXATES ON TRUMP MRI AFTER YEARS DOWNPLAYING BIDEN HEALTH ISSUES

By contrast, former President Joe Biden’s first year in office was mired in frustration that the media was shut out, including when he delayed holding his first press conference as president for more than two months into his term. In fact, Biden’s two-month stretch of avoiding a news conference was the longest in a century, since President Calvin Coolidge, known as “Silent Cal,” according to The Washington Post.

The White House Stenographer’s Office found that it transcribed 2.4 million words from open press events with Trump as of Monday, which is the equivalent to 4.1 “War and Peace” books, 31.1 “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” books, or 22.2 “The Art of the Deal” books, the White House said. 

Specifically, Trump participated in 156 press sprays, 13 general gaggles, 13 press conferences, 32 Marine One gaggles, 30 gaggles outside Air Force One, 41 gaggles while on the presidential plane and three formal press briefings, according to the data.

Those press sprays — informal media availabilities where the president fields a handful of questions during bilateral meetings, executive order signings and roundtables — accounted for 128 questions of the 292 questions Trump answered in open press settings.

A handful of Trump’s open press events have been marathons that lasted well over an hour, including an October roundtable on Antifa that ran 95 minutes and a series of lengthy Cabinet meetings.

BIDEN’S ‘BIG BOY’ NATO NEWS CONFERENCE CARRIES HIGH STAKES AS FIRST PRESSER SINCE DISASTROUS DEBATE

Those meetings with Trump’s Cabinet chiefs included a 105-minute session in April, a 124-minute meeting in July, a 138-minute meeting in December and, in August, the longest televised Cabinet meeting in U.S. history at 197 minutes.

Trump is known for not holding back when interacting with the media, frequently calling out reporters he believes print “fake news” and biased content before rolling to the next question during his numerous events. His fiery exchanges with reporters have frequently gone viral, including when he told one reporter “quiet, piggy” or another exchange in November where he called a reporter a “stupid person” when asked about the suspected murderer of U.S. National Guard member Spc. Sarah Beckstrom.

KAROLINE LEAVITT SCOLDS NEW YORK TIMES REPORTER FOR ‘UNEQUIVOCALLY FALSE’ STORY ON TRUMP’S ENERGY LEVELS

Trump’s love of public speaking and back-and-forth with reporters set White House stenographers on edge shortly after his inauguration in January, as they floated hiring additional staff to keep up with a pace far faster than under the quieter Biden administration.

Four years ago, as 2021 came to a close, The Associated Press reported that Biden held fewer news conferences than any of his five immediate predecessors, as well as fewer media interviews than any recent president. Fox News found that Biden participated in 53 press gaggles, 10 press conferences — including with foreign leaders — and 345 public events featuring his official remarks, such as executive order signings and speeches to federal agencies, though those frequently did not include interactions with the media. 

Biden’s lack of access came to a head in March 2021 as reporters pressed the White House on why the president did not hold a press conference for weeks since his inauguration. 

“The president takes questions several times a week,” then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki told the media when pressed about the lack of press access to the president in March 2021. “He took questions actually twice yesterday, which is an opportunity for the people covering the White House to ask him about whatever news is happening on any given day.”

Many of Biden’s appearances in 2021, as the pandemic continued, were video messages or public events that did not include taking questions from the press.

“Come on, press, you gotta go,” Biden staffers were heard telling the media when the 46th president would wrap up public remarks. 

BIDEN STILL HASN’T HELD A NEWS CONFERENCE, 64 DAYS AND COUNTING

Looking at his full term, Biden held 37 press conferences, 679 informal question-and-answer sessions and 151 interviews, according to the White House Transition Project, which tracks presidential transitions and media access.

The White House Transition Project also tallies how often presidents engage with the press on a daily basis.

By that measure, Trump averaged 1.9 media exchanges per workday in his first 100 days of his second administration, compared to Biden’s 1.3, former President Barack Obama’s 1.1 and former President George W. Bush’s 1.1 interactions per workday. During Trump’s first term, his first 100 days in office averaged 1.3 media interactions per workday.

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“With an Average of 1.9 Press Sessions a Day, President Trump in 2025 Leads the Recent Presidential Pack Answering Reporters’ Queries. Not only did President Trump have more press interchanges than his predecessors during his first hundred days, but his regularly televised question-and-answer sessions with reporters caught the public’s attention,” the White House Transition Project. 

The founder of the left-wing Code Pink organization, Medea Benjamin, hailed outgoing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on Wednesday, saying she will “miss” her support for peace.

Many on social media expressed shock and criticism at the odd pairing, while some observers mentioned “horseshoe theory” – the idea that the extremes on the right and left have more in common with each other than with moderates.

“We visited Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene today to thank her for becoming such a strong anti war voice in congress and tell her we will miss her,” Benjamin wrote in a statement on X.

Greene faced heavy backlash for the meeting from conservative commentators who argued it was a betrayal of values.

REPUBLICANS ‘TERRIFIED’ TO STEP OUT OF LINE WITH TRUMP, GREENE SAYS IN CANDID INTERVIEW

“And here is [MTG] pictured hanging out with an org that mocks our troops at military parades with fake caskets. Unbelievable,” wrote commentator Dana Loesch.

“Weirder and weirder by the day,” quipped Fox News contributor Byron York.

Greene herself explained the meeting in a statement on social media, saying he was committed to her anti-war stance.

MTG DEFENDS HERSELF AS ‘AMERICA FIRST’ AFTER TRUMP SLAMS HER ON TRUTH SOCIAL

“I’m America First and fully against funding foreign wars and support peace because that’s good for everyone especially the most innocent people, children. I have enjoyed a friendship with Medea for a few years now even though politics says that’s not allowed,” she wrote on X.

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“I’ve learned to find bridges with others and that’s how we all win and ultimately leads to peace,” she added.

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, filed articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Wednesday and will force the House of Representatives to vote on the measures this week.

Green made his resolution to impeach Trump privileged on Wednesday, meaning the House must vote on the issue within two legislative days. Green has introduced articles of impeachment against Trump at least five times this year, but he has not before tried to force a vote on the issue.

Green’s impeachment filing accuses Trump of “calling for the execution of six Democratic lawmakers” and of making threats of violence against judges. The former refers to Trump’s reaction after Democratic lawmakers urged members of the military to “refuse illegal orders.”

“President Trump is an abuser of presidential power who, if left in office, will continue to promote violence, engender invidious hate, undermine our democracy, and dissolve our Republic,” Green said in a statement.

SIX DEMOCRATS URGE MILITARY MEMBERS TO ‘REFUSE ILLEGAL ORDERS’ IN VIRAL VIDEO; HEGSETH RESPONDS

Green has failed several times to gather support among Democrats for impeaching Trump. House Democrats voted to kill a Green impeachment effort in June, that one based on Trump ordering airstrikes on Iran.

Trump is not the only member of his administration to face impeachment efforts, however. House Democrats also filed articles against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and War Secretary Pete Hegseth this week.

Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., announced the move against Kennedy on Wednesday, arguing he has failed in his role. Stevens had previously vowed to file the articles in September.

ANTI-TRUMP NETWORK BEHIND MASS PROTESTS CRACKS OPEN WAR CHEST AGAINST DEMS WHO BACKED REOPENING GOVERNMENT

“Today, I formally introduced articles of impeachment against Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. RFK Jr. has turned his back on science and the safety of the American people. Michiganders cannot take another day of his chaos,” she wrote in a statement posted on social media.

Meanwhile, Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., targeted Hegseth, pointing to reports that he issued orders to “kill everybody” onboard a small vessel that was allegedly involved in drug trafficking.

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“Pete Hegseth has been using the United States military to extrajudicially assassinate people without evidence of any crime,” said Thanedar. “Former military attorneys have come out and asserted that his conduct constitutes war crimes. We cannot allow his reprehensible conduct to continue, which is why I have filed these articles to impeach him.”

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the U.S. had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, elevating the likelihood of a disruption that could raise costs within the oil and energy sector for Americans — under certain conditions. 

The seizure of the oil tanker signifies a major escalation with Venezuela and exerts even more pressure on Caracas, which already is subjected to U.S. oil sanctions. Meanwhile, the president has discussed for weeks that he’s considering conducting land strikes in Venezuela — on top of his strikes against alleged drug boats in Latin American waters — as the next step in his campaign against the flow of drugs into the U.S.

Whether U.S. gas and energy prices increase will depend on the type of steps taken as part of a military intervention against Venezuela, including if energy facilities are targeted and if oil from Venezuela becomes more scarce, according to Kevin Book, managing director of the research firm ClearView Energy Partners. 

US DEPLOYS FIGHTER JETS TO GULF OF VENEZUELA IN CLOSEST KNOWN APPROACH YET, AMID RISING TENSION 

“In the event of regime change of substantial turmoil within Venezuela, you could see disruption to the related and supporting industries, everything from power to ports, that is an essential part of getting oil onto the market and from Venezuela,” Book said. 

Venezuela currently produces roughly 1 million barrels of oil per day, accounting for roughly 1% of global production — and if that oil is taken off of the market, the price of oil for the U.S. will increase, Book said.

In addition to a decrease in oil production, U.S. prices could also go up because of the type of oil that comes from Venezuela, according to Book. That’s because oil refineries in the U.S. Gulf Coast are dependent on heavy sour oil, which comes from countries like Venezuela, Mexico and Canada. 

“Venezuela currently produces more than a million barrels per day, approximately one percent of global supply,” Book said. “But more importantly, second point, Venezuela’s oil is of a specific grade that is particularly useful for refineries in America’s Gulf Coast. And so the gasoline we produce and export to the world, manufactured from that grade of oil, could become slightly more expensive, not just because oil is off the market, but because a specific grade is also not available.” 

“Losing that crude stream in short could raise the price of production at those refineries,” Book said.

EXPERT REVEALS WHAT IT WOULD TAKE FOR TRUMP TO DEPLOY TROOPS TO VENEZUELA: ‘POSSIBILITY OF ESCALATION’ 

Book predicted a full disruption of Venezuelan oil production could mean Americans would see a price hike between $0.05 and $0.18 a gallon for gas. If the disruption caused Venezuela to retaliate and strike oil production facilities within Guyana, a U.S. ally, costs could rise even more steeply amid a regional disruption, he warned. 

“But there might not be a disruption of either producer, depending on the character of any escalation,” Book said. 

It’s unclear what the administration has planned in Venezuela amid its crusade against the influx of drugs into the U.S., and the White House has refused to provide comment to Fox News Digital on whether the Trump administration is seeking a regime change.

US RENEWS ‘DO NOT TRAVEL’ ALERT OVER TERRORISM, KIDNAPPING AMID TRUMP NARCO-TERROR FIGHT 

Even so, the Trump administration does not acknowledge Maduro as a legitimate head of state and claims he is the leader of a drug cartel. Additionally, the Trump administration increased the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest in August to $50 million.

Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also signaled a potential peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, as well as positive changes within Venezuela, could lead to lower gas and oil prices. 

“The peace deals — we are seeing a peace dividend from that. I think there’s a very good chance that if something happens with Russia–Ukraine, if something happens down in Venezuela, that we could really see oil prices go down even more,” Bessent said in a November interview with Fox News. “Oil and gasoline prices are down substantially under President Trump. And really the key to affordability is lower energy” prices. 

TRUMP GAVE MADURO ULTIMATUM TO FLEE VENEZUELA AS LAND OPERATIONS LOOM: REPORT

Bessent’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital regarding what action and change he was referring to within Venezuela. 

The U.S. seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker Wednesday marks a major escalation in relations with Caracas. 

“We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela. Large tanker, very large,” Trump said Wednesday. “Largest one ever seized action. And, other things are happening. So you’ll be seeing that later. And you’ll be talking about that later with some other people.” 

The Trump administration has conducted more than 20 strikes in Latin American waters since September targeting alleged drug smugglers in an effort to combat the flow of drugs into the U.S. Trump has signaled for months that strikes on land could be next. 

“We’re knocking out drug boats right now at a level that we haven’t seen,” Trump said Dec. 3. “Very soon we’re going to start doing it on land too.”

AS TRUMP’S STANDOFF WITH MADURO DEEPENS, EXPERTS WARN THE NEXT MOVE MAY FORCE A SHOWDOWN

The last confirmed strike occurred Dec. 4 — the most recent since Nov. 15. The strikes have attracted scrutiny from Democrats and some Republicans, amid questions about their legality. 

“We’ve only just begun striking narco-boats and putting narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean because they’ve been poisoning the American people,” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Dec. 2.

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Separately, gas prices have dropped to a new low. The national average for regular gas fell to $2.99 on Dec. 1, AAA reported. It marked the first time prices had gone below $3 a gallon in four years. 

Fox News’ Kristen Altus contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: Hours before the Senate holds high-stakes votes on dueling Democratic and Republican health care tax credit measures, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is launching a new ad campaign targeting four Republican senators it considers vulnerable as they seek re-election next year.

The campaign, shared first with Fox News Digital on Thursday, takes aim at Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, John Cornyn of Texas, Jon Husted of Ohio, and Dan Sullivan of Alaska for what the DNC charges are their repeated votes against extending enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits, which could cause health care premiums to skyrocket for millions of Americans.

The DNC is targeting the senators through digital takeovers of hometown newspapers in the four senators’ states, as well as through additional digital ads. The spots also call out GOP Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Bernie Moreno of Ohio.

Over 20 million Americans currently rely on the credits to lower the price of the health insurance they receive through the ACA, which is also known as Obamacare.

WHY CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS EXPANDED THEIR 2026 BATTLEFIELD MAP

Democrats have repeatedly spotlighted health care costs and the expiring tax credits as part of their full court press this year on affordability, using the issue as a cudgel to bash Republicans. The party’s messaging helped boost it to decisive victories last month in the 2025 elections as well as over performances in a slew of special elections this year.

SENATE REPUBLICANS LAND ON OBAMACARE FIX 

“Today’s Senate vote to extend the ACA tax credits could be the difference between life and death for many Americans. Over 20 million Americans will see their health care premiums skyrocket next year if Susan Collins, John Cornyn, Jon Husted, and Dan Sullivan do not stand with working families and vote to extend these lifesaving credits,” DNC chair Ken Martin charged in a statement.

Neither of the dueling Obamacare proposals are expected to pass.

Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., argue that their extension of the enhanced Obamacare premium credit subsidies is the best option lawmakers can take to prevent healthcare premiums on the exchange from skyrocketing.

Senate Republicans don’t want to extend the subsidies, which are set to expire by the end of this year, without reforms. They contend that the program funnels money directly to insurance companies rather than people using the marketplace, and that the enhanced credits are riddled with fraud and abuse.

SENATE REPUBLICANS UNVEIL PLAN TO REPLACE OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES WITH HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS

The conference finally landed on a proposal earlier this week from Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the chairs of the Senate health and finance panels, that would abandon the enhanced credits completely for health savings accounts (HSAs), and seed the accounts with between $1,000 and $1,500 depending on age, among several other tweaks that are priorities for the GOP.

But the Cassidy and Crapo plan is one of several options on the table for Republicans. Collins also has a proposal, in conjunction with Moreno that has caught the attention of some Senate Democrats because it would extend the subsidies for another two years while placing income caps at $200,000 per household and eliminates zero-cost premiums as a fraud preventative measure. 

And Husted also has an Obamacare proposal on deck, like Collins’, that would extend the subsidies for two years, adds income caps and eliminates zero-cost premiums. However, his plan also includes more stringent enforcement of the Hyde Amendment, which prevents taxpayer dollars from funding abortions, that is a non-starter for Senate Democrats. 

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Whether their proposals actually get action on the Senate floor before the deadline remains in the air, given that next week will be dominated by the annual, must-pass Senate defense bill and President Donald Trump’s nominees.

The newspaper digital takeovers by the DNC include the Bangor Daily News in Maine, the San Antonio Express News and San Antonio Current in Texas, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer and Medina Gazette in Ohio and the Anchorage Daily News in Alaska.

Elon Musk accused Rep. Ilhan Omar of committing treason over past comments in which she vowed to safeguard Somali interests in the U.S. while assuring her constituents the administration would “do what we ask it to do.”

“This sounds like treason,” Musk wrote on X, reposting a clip of Omar speaking to Somali constituents in Minnesota in 2024.

The video circulated widely online and was highlighted further by the Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s retweet Wednesday.

Omar originally made the remarks in January 2024, when she told supporters in the Twin Cities she would fight to prevent the breakaway Republic of Somaliland from allowing Ethiopia to create a naval base on its coastline.

ILHAN OMAR PRESSED TO EXPLAIN HOW FRAUD IN MINNESOTA GOT ‘SO OUT OF CONTROL’

Minnesota is home to the largest Somali refugee community in the U.S., with most members of that community living in Omar’s district.

“The U.S. government will do what we ask it to do,” a translation of Omar’s speech said.

“We should have this kind of confidence in ourselves as Somalis. We live in this country. We are taxpayers in this country. This country is one where one of your daughters sits in Congress. While I am in Congress, no one will take Somalia’s sea, and the U.S. government won’t support others to rob us. Don’t stress over it, Minnesotans.”

DAVID MARCUS: SOMALI POWER SURGE RAISES THE QUESTION MINNESOTA AVOIDS — WHERE’S ASSIMILATION?

Omar’s resurfaced video gained traction shortly after President Trump spoke at a rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, where he said she prioritized Somalia over the U.S.

“I love this Ilhan Omar, whatever the hell her name is, with the little turban,” Trump said.

“She comes in, does nothing but b—-. She comes from her country, where, I mean, it’s considered about the worst country in the world, right?

“We ought to get her the hell out.”

And the crowd chanted, “Send her back!”

TIM WALZ FIRES BACK AT TRUMP ACCUSATION OF ‘INCOMPETENCE,’ DODGES ON RESPONSIBILITY FOR FRAUD IN MINNESOTA

Trump also criticized Omar and the Somali population more broadly, referencing the fact that dozens of Somali immigrants in Minnesota have been arrested or charged with fraud schemes.

He also targeted Gov. Tim Walz since the alleged fraud schemes, which cost the state around $1 billion, happened under his watch. 

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On Tuesday night, Omar responded to Trump’s comments, writing on X: “Trump’s obsession with me is beyond weird. He needs serious help… He continues to be a national embarrassment.” 

Fox News Digital has reached out to Elon Musk and Ilhan Omar for comment.

The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit Wednesday to prevent President Donald Trump‘s face from appearing on next year’s National Parks Pass.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., argues the Trump administration violated the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act by substituting the winning picture from the National Parks Foundation’s annual public lands photo contest with an image of President Trump.

“Blotting out the majesty of America’s national parks with a closeup of his own face is Trump’s crassest, most ego-driven action yet,” Kierán Suckling, the center’s executive director, said in a statement. “The national parks are treasured by Americans of every stripe. Their timeless power and magnificence rise above even the most bitter political differences to quietly bring all Americans together.”

Suckling continued, “It’s disgusting of Trump to politicize America’s most sacred refuge by pasting his face over the national parks in the same way he slaps his corporate name on buildings, restaurants, and golf courses.”

TOP TRUMP DEPARTMENT ROLLS OUT CHRISTMAS TREE SAVINGS PLAN: ‘MAKING THIS SEASON BRIGHTER’

The executive director added that national parks “are not a personal branding opportunity.”

“They’re the pride and joy of the American people,” he asserted.

According to the lawsuit, the 2026 America the Beautiful Pass was supposed to feature an image of Glacier National Park, the winner of the photo contest.

“Instead the Department of the Interior (DOI) replaced it with a closeup of President Trump’s face,” the center said, adding that the Glacier National Park photo was “illegally relegated” to the new “Nonresident” pass.

BURGUM CALLS CALIFORNIA A ‘NATIONAL SECURITY RISK’ AS ENERGY CHIEF WARNS BLUE STATES ARE SKEWING COST AVERAGES

The center argued that the Trump administration broke the law by using a photo that was “not taken on federal land and was not entered in the public contest, and by creating new Resident and Nonresident passes expressly prohibited by the law.”

“America the Beautiful means wild rivers and majestic mountains, not a headshot of a bloated, fragile, attention-seeking ego,” Suckling stated. “There’s nothing beautiful about that.”

On Nov. 25, the DOI announced the launch of “America the Beautiful passes” intended to put “American families first” by implementing a new resident-focused fee beginning Jan. 1, 2026. The passes include photos of animals, parks, Trump with George Washington, and Theodore Roosevelt, the president most associated with the creation of America’s national parks.

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The Trump administration also added President Donald Trump’s birthday as a fee-free day for Americans visiting national parks, while eliminating Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from the list.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and the Department of the Interior for comment.

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

A group of Chicago elementary school students had an unexpected visitor Tuesday when former President Barack Obama walked in wearing a Santa hat and sat down to read to them.

The Burke Elementary School students were at the Bessie Coleman branch of the Chicago Public Library, where they were learning about leadership qualities.

As the students were learning, Obama walked into the library and asked, “How you guys doing?”

After making introductions, Obama began to read “Flying Free: How Bessie Coleman’s Dreams Took Flight.”

TAXPAYERS ON THE HOOK FOR LAWN CARE, FIXING HINGES AT PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES. TRUMP-LED REFORMS AIM TO STOP IT

The book recounts how Coleman, for whom the library branch is named, broke barriers to become the first Black female pilot.

Obama shared a video of his visit on X, saying he had a good time.

“I had fun reading to some Burke Elementary students at the Chicago Public Library today,” he wrote. “When the Obama Presidential Center opens next year, we’ll have a new branch of the library for the community to enjoy.”

FOX 32 in Chicago reported that Obama’s appearance was a sneak peek into the story time programming that will be offered at the library branch coming to the Obama Presidential Center next June.

The center’s opening comes after years of delays and protests and more than a decade of planning.

“We’re going to open in June so that y’all don’t have to bring your coats up,” Obama said during a visit to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas last week, without revealing a firm opening date, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

CHICAGO RESIDENTS CALL OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER A ‘MONSTROSITY,’ FEAR THEY’LL BE DISPLACED: REPORT

The presidential center’s site on Chicago’s South Side was announced in May 2015.

The center, which will include the presidential library, was projected to open in 2021 but has been tied up in lawsuits and federal reviews that have pushed the timeline back years.

The center will be home to the presidential library, a museum, an auditorium, a Chicago Public Library branch, a garden, an athletic facility and other attractions on its 20-acre campus.

“We want to create a campus, a place where the public gathers for a range of things that puts them face to face with each other and get them to meet and be in dialogue and conversation and exposed to new ideas with each other,” Obama said last week, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

PROTESTERS RAGED, CRITICS MOCKED – NOW OBAMA SAYS HIS LIBRARY’S ACTUALLY OPENING

The $850 million project in Jackson Park was first hit with a yearslong lawsuit in 2018 when a group called Protect Our Parks alleged that Chicago illegally transferred parkland to the private Obama Foundation. That court battle persisted until 2022, when a federal judge terminated a revised version of the suit.

The planned construction also sparked federal reviews because the project required an overhaul of roads in the area and because Jackson Park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Those reviews did not wrap up until late 2020, local media reported at the time.

The Obama Foundation has celebrated the center as “a lively community hub, economic anchor and beacon of democracy right here on the South Side of Chicago.”

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A groundbreaking ceremony for the project was not held until 2021, with construction picking up in earnest in the last year.

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

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters that he is “absolutely delighted” that progressive firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, is running for U.S. Senate.

Johnson was asked during a House leadership press conference on Wednesday what he thought of Crockett entering the race and whether he was worried about her chances of flipping one of Texas’ Senate seats.

In response, Johnson rubbed his hands together and smiled.

“I’m absolutely delighted that Jasmine Crockett is running for Senate in Texas,” said Johnson.

“I think it’s one of the greatest things that’s happened to the Republican Party in a long, long time,” he went on, adding, “She is the face of the Democratic Party, she and [Zohran] Mamdani. Good luck with that.”

CROCKETT’S POTENTIAL SUCCESSOR HAS REPEATEDLY RAILED AGAINST US IN REPARATIONS PUSH: ‘IT’S BEEN EVIL’

Johnson said that he would like Crockett to “have the largest, loudest microphone that she can every single day.”

“We look forward to having that election down there,” he said, adding, “We are going to elect another Republican senator in Texas. Texas is a red state… The people of Texas are commonsense Americans, and what Jasmine is trying to sell will not be purchased by the folks of Texas.”

Later that day, House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., shot back at Johnson’s statements about Crockett, saying, “I think Speaker Johnson is trying to do anything he can to distract from the majority… that we see dwindling, and it’s like sand falling through his hands.”

“He just can’t keep a hold of it – he sees that – he would much rather talk about a Senate race than he would the Georgia House races that Republicans lost or the mayor’s race that the vice-chair mentioned, the first time in 30 years that a Democrat has been mayor of Miami… he wants to distract and take away from this because he’s losing his grip on his majority. That much is very clear.”

“So, the more that Speaker Johnson wants to talk about the national landscape and the Senate environment, I absolutely support because he’s losing his majority next November, if not sooner,” said Aguilar.

MAMDANI DECLARES HE’S READY FOR ‘ANY CONSEQUENCE’ FOR STANDING AGAINST TRUMP’S FEDERAL IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

Crockett, who is an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, launched a last-minute Senate campaign on Monday. The race may determine if the GOP holds its majority in the chamber next year.

In her announcement speech to supporters in Dallas, Crockett framed her candidacy as an effort to stand up against Trump, something she said incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn will not do. 

“I’m done watching the American dream on life support while Trump tries to pull the plug. The gloves have been off, and now I’m jumping into the ring,” she said. 

“Many people wonder why I jumped in this race so late, and I just want to be clear that this was never my intention, this was never about me, I never put myself into any of the polls,” Crockett said. “But the more I saw the poll results, I couldn’t ignore the trends, which were clear, both as it relates to the primary as well as the general election, I could have played it safe and continued serving in the United States House of Representatives for as long as my constituents would have me, but I don’t choose to do that, because, Texas, this moment we’re in now is life or death.” 

“Many people asked, ‘Can we win this race in November?’ I’m here to say, ‘Yes, we can!’” Crockett fired back while echoing a slogan from former President Obama, whom she praised during her speech. 

FAR-LEFT FIREBRAND SPENDS EYE-POPPING AMOUNT OF CAMPAIGN CASH ON LUXURY HOTELS, ‘TOP-TIER’ LIMO SERVICES

“Texas is a big boy state made up of brawlers with a moral code. Our representation should reflect that, sadly enough, it doesn’t,” she went on. “After evaluating the data, analyzing the trends, researching historic numbers, and combing over the crosstabs, it was clear, the numbers were strongest for my candidacy for United States Senate, that’s why I decided to enter this race.”

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In the Democratic primary, Crockett will be facing off against state Rep. James Talarico, another rising Democratic star.

On the Republican side of the aisle, Cornyn is being challenged by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas.  

The Trump administration is weighing whether to pursue terrorism-related sanctions against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), as officials review allegations the agency has ties to Hamas and consider steps that could further pressure its leadership and operations, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. 

The United Nations agency provides aid, schooling, healthcare, shelter and social services to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. U.N. officials have described UNRWA as the backbone of Gaza’s aid effort during the two-year war between Israel and Hamas, but the Trump administration has accused the group of ties to Hamas – an allegation the agency vehemently disputes.

Washington, once UNRWA’s biggest donor, froze funding in January 2024 after Israel accused roughly a dozen staff members of involvement in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack that triggered the war.

In October, Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to UNRWA as a subsidiary of Hamas.

NEW FILM PROBES UN AGENCY’S ALLEGED TERROR TIES AND CLAIMS IT FUELED THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT

“UNRWA’s not going to play any role in it,” Rubio said at the time when asked whether the agency would assist in delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza. “The United Nations is here. They’re on the ground. We’re willing to work with them if they can make it work, but not UNRWA. UNRWA became a subsidiary of Hamas.”

Reuters reported it was unclear whether recent internal discussions focused on sanctioning the entire agency or specific officials or operations, and that U.S. officials have not yet settled on what type of sanctions they might pursue.

The sources said the State Department has discussed declaring UNRWA a “foreign terrorist organization,” or FTO – a step that would financially isolate the agency.

UN UNDER FIRE AS USAID INVESTIGATORS PROBE HAMAS DIVERSION OF AID TO GAZA

Any broad move against UNRWA could disrupt refugee aid across the region, as the agency is already facing a severe funding crisis. Such sanctions would be highly unusual, since the U.S. is both a U.N. member and the host nation of the body that created the agency in 1949.

William Deere, who heads UNRWA’s Washington office, said the group would be “disappointed” if officials were discussing an FTO designation, calling such a step “unprecedented and unwarranted.”

He pointed to multiple investigations – including one by the U.S. National Intelligence Council – that concluded UNRWA remains a neutral and essential humanitarian actor.

UNRWA SCHOOLS ‘HIJACKED BY HAMAS,’ WATCHDOG REPORT WARNS

The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. The U.S. and Israel have maintained tough positions towards the agency, particularly in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.

President Donald Trump in February reaffirmed that the U.S. would not fund UNRWA. In the executive order, Trump said that “UNRWA has reportedly been infiltrated by members of groups long designated by the Secretary of State as foreign terrorist organizations, and UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.”

When the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in April 2025 demanded Israel work with UNRWA, Washington backed Israel, saying it was under no obligation to work with the agency and had “ample grounds to question UNRWA’s impartiality.”

UNRWA announced in August 2024 the end of an investigation by the Office of Internal Oversight Services into whether its staff participated in the attacks, as Israel claimed.

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The probe examined 19 employees and resulted in nine dismissals over evidence that “could indicate” involvement. The investigation found one case with no evidence of involvement and nine others in which “the evidence obtained by OIOS was insufficient” to prove participation, the agency said.

Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf and Reuters contributed to this report.

The Trump administration announced Wednesday plans to establish a new militarized zone along the U.S.–Mexico border in California.

The Department of the Interior said roughly 760 acres in San Diego and Imperial Counties will be placed under Navy jurisdiction to “strengthen ongoing border security operations.”

Adding the installation will effectively allow federal personnel to detain suspected illegal immigrants for trespassing on U.S. territory.

The department described the National Defense Area as a high-traffic corridor for illegal crossings. The zone will reportedly stretch from the western boundary of the Otay Mountain Wilderness Area to about one mile west of the California–Arizona state line, with Navy control set for three years.

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Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the move directly advances what President Donald Trump has identified as his top national priorities.

“President Trump has made it clear that securing our border and restoring American sovereignty are top national priorities,” Burgum said. “This action delivers on that commitment. By working with the Navy to close long-standing security gaps, we are strengthening national defense, protecting our public lands from unlawful use, and advancing the President’s agenda to put the safety and security of the American people first.” 

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The Department added that the corridor’s heavy traffic of illegal crossings has contributed to both “significant national security challenges” and environmental degradation. Militarizing the area will reportedly “enhance border operations while minimizing ecological damage” associated with sustained illegal activity. 

The Interior Department said it coordinated the move with the Navy to ensure it is lawful and consistent with the land’s original purpose — having been reserved in 1907 by President Theodore Roosevelt for border protection.

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In recent months, the administration has established several national defense areas, including sites in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. The moves were made to aggressively expand military authority along the southern border, including deploying federal troops and expanding rules to crack down on illegal migration, border security and overall crime.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Interior and the Navy for more information.