NationalWatch

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday outlined a list of its accomplishments during President Donald Trump’s first year back in office, arguing that the agency has ended the political weaponization it says existed under the Biden administration.

The DOJ claimed in a statement posted on X that it has “turned around” the agency, restoring fairness and law enforcement priorities.

“Instead of keeping Americans safe, the Biden DOJ weaponized its power against political opponents: conservatives, parents, pro-lifers, Christians, and most of all, President Trump,” the DOJ stated.

The DOJ said that after President Trump inherited a justice system it described as “in chaos,” he charged the department with restoring “integrity, accountability and equal justice under the law.”

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“In 2025, the DOJ returned to its core mission: upholding the rule of law, vigorously prosecuting criminals, and keeping the American people safe,” the department wrote.

The announcement comes as the Trump administration continues to face legal challenges and the Justice Department faces potential legal action after missing a statutory deadline deadline to release documents related to Jeffrey Epstein under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

The DOJ outlined 10 “wins” since President Trump took office on Jan. 20, including efforts to pursue major fraud cases, particularly in Minnesota, which it described as “rife with fraud.”

MIKE DAVIS: JUSTICE IS COMING FOR PERPETRATORS OF ARCTIC FROST

According to the DOJ, 98 people have been charged — including 85 individuals identified as being of Somali descent — in Medicaid fraud and related case programs, leading to 64 convictions to date.

The statement outlines actions taken to roll back policies it said were targeting conservatives and parents, reduce crime nationwide, increase law enforcement activity in major cities, seize record amounts of illegal drugs and secure favorable rulings at the Supreme Court.

On Wednesday, FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X that the bureau is working to restore trust in federal law enforcement.

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“Dismantling public corruption is a top priority of our leadership team here — we’ve worked day and night on that mission and will continue to do so until justice is done,” he wrote.

The Justice Department said more enforcement actions are planned in 2026, signaling an escalation of arrests, court victories and action “against those who threaten the safety and well-being of the American people.”

New York City socialist mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani was officially sworn in as mayor in a midnight ceremony by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The early Thursday morning event was a private ceremony where Mamdani was accompanied by family members at the Old City Hall Station, a decommissioned subway station with deep historical roots.

In a press release, the Mamdani transition team said the midnight swearing was chosen to be at a location symbolizing how the subway system is the “lifeblood of New York” and a “reminder of the city Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is fighting for: a city built by and for New Yorkers.”

“When Old City Hall Station first opened in 1904 — one of New York’s 28 original subway stations — it was a physical monument to a city that dared to be both beautiful and build great things that would transform working peoples’ lives. That ambition need not be a memory confined only to our past, nor must it be isolated only to the tunnels beneath City Hall: it will be the purpose of the administration fortunate enough to serve New Yorkers from the building above,” Mamdani said in the press release.

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“When I take my oath from the station at the dawn of the New Year, I will do so humbled by the opportunity to lead millions of New Yorkers into a new era of opportunity, and honored to carry forward our city’s legacy of greatness.”

Mamdani used a Quran during his swearing-in ceremony, according to his campaign, making him the first Muslim mayor of NYC and the first to be sworn in using a Quran.

On Thursday afternoon, Mamdani will be sworn in publicly by Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders after opening remarks are delivered at his 1 p.m. inauguration by another progressive ally, Dem. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

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Typically, inauguration tickets are given out to roughly 4,000 people but the Mamdani transition team says all New Yorkers will be invited to the inauguration and a block party immediately following.

The 1 p.m. inauguration will take place on the steps of City Hall.

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Mamdani soundly defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in early November, capping off a rapid political ascent that started with single-digit support when he announced his mayoral campaign in October 2024.

President Donald Trump railed against alleged social services fraud in Minnesota during remarks at his New Year’s Eve celebration at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday.

“Can you imagine they stole $18 billion,” Trump said. “That’s just what we’re learning about. That’s peanuts. And California is worse, Illinois is worse and sadly New York is worse.”

Trump continued, “We’re going to get to the bottom of all those. It was a giant scam.”

Trump added that he saw Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., on television earlier Wednesday talking about the alleged fraud involving the Somali community.

VP DEBATE FOOTAGE OF WALZ TOUTING STATE SUPPORT FOR DAYCARES GOES VIRAL AMID MINNESOTA FRAUD ALLEGATIONS

“He was talking about the Somalia population and not very nicely,” Trump said.

Trump’s comments came as Minnesota has been hit with widespread fraud allegations, with losses estimated at up to $1 billion, and federal prosecutors have indicted and charged dozens of people in connection with the alleged fraudulent activity.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a stark warning Wednesday that “people will be in handcuffs” as fallout expands from widespread fraud allegations under Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

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“President Trump is not going to let Governor Walz off the hook,” Leavitt said on “Fox & Friends.”

Walz has come under scrutiny since the fraud issue came to light, and has publicly acknowledged the problem while pledging to address it, saying the situation “is on my watch” and that he is “accountable” for fixing it.

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Leavitt added that the Trump administration has increased federal resources to Minnesota, with multiple agencies conducting investigations relating to the alleged fraud.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it would freeze all child care payments to Minnesota, amid mounting scrutiny over accusations of fraud involving child daycare centers across Minnesota.

President Donald Trump’s early second-term blitz against “woke” ideology, including diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, have rippled far beyond Washington, D.C., as companies roll back such policies. 

But the left-wing credos could come roaring back to public view under a rebranding, the president of American Principles Project (APP) told Fox News Digital. 

“DEI is still alive. It’s not dead yet. It’s bleeding, right? We’ve got blood here, but we know it’s vulnerable,” Terry Schilling, the president of conservative nonprofit and advocacy group the American Principles Project, told Fox News Digital in a December Zoom interview. “But they’re still in charge of the admissions offices and colleges. They’re still in charge of HR departments, and they’re still largely a part of Silicon Valley.”

American Principles Project has documented the cultural shifts in recent years to embrace DEI initiatives, which conservatives argue replace merit with race and identity preferences that effectively penalize some Americans at work and at school through the expansion of bureaucracy and ideological pressure. Schilling said that while the “woke” push seen under the Biden era is retreating under the Trump administration, it is still alive and could make a return. 

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“DEI is retreating,” Schilling said in the interview. “But I think that it’s important that we recognize that DEA is not disbanding, it’s rebranding.”

Trump swiftly moved to drop the hammer on DEI and woke initiatives upon his return to office in January, including signing an executive order on day one, titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” which directed federal agencies to stamp out DEI-style programs across the federal government. The following day, Trump signed a second order aimed at “restoring merit-based opportunity,” including changes for federal contracting and related compliance.

“We’ve ended the tyranny of so-called Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies all across the entire federal government and indeed the private sector and our military. And our country will be woke no longer,” Trump said from the dais in Congress in March, celebrating his administration’s achievement just a few months into the job. 

Schilling said Trump turned DEI on its head upon his return to the Oval Office, pointing to his executive orders as death knells heard at the highest echelons of corporate America down to public school classrooms.

“Trump winning the election had a lot to do with this,” Schilling said. “You’re seeing all these CEOs of major tech companies and companies abroad coming to the White House, kissing the ring. They know who’s in power and they’re willing to make deals to get their projects over the finish line. And that’s all great. We should use that. We should us that momentum to further cement opposition to DEI.”

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Silicon Valley has long been viewed and criticized as a powerful weapon used to silence conservatives — such as when social media platforms suppressed news reports on former first son Hunter Biden’s laptop ahead of the 2020 election — with top tech CEOs signaling a Trump-era pivot this year as they work to ink deals to expand their businesses amid the artificial intelligence boom. 

“President Trump’s executive orders did so much to cut back against DEI, banning DEI throughout the entire federal workforce, banning schools from using and tying federal funds to whether or not schools are implementing racist policies like DEI has done a lot to curb it,” Schilling said. 

“However, these guys are lying in wait,” he added. 

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Massive American staple company Target announced the conclusion of DEI goals after a three-year initiative, while Disney also made changes such as removing DEI-related terms from its annual business reports. Cracker Barrel, after a bruising backlash to its branding overhaul earlier in 2025, scrapped remodel plans and reverted to its old logo, with Fox Digital previously reporting the chain eliminated DEI programs as part of its latest changes.

“DEI is an employment issue,” Schilling said. “It’s keeping a large amount of Americans who deserve to have good lives and good incomes out of the workforce simply because they have the wrong color of skin.”

Democrats generally support DEI policies as they see them as a way to expand opportunity and reduce discrimination in hiring, promotion and education, especially for groups they argue have faced historic barriers. Left-wing lawmakers stretching from members of the Congressional Black Caucus to Democrat 2025 political candidates, such as New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, have slammed or campaigned against Trump’s roll-back of DEI policies. 

Schilling warned that upcoming elections could undo the progress Trump has made in eliminating DEI policies at the federal level, pointing to the 2028 presidential election. 

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“They are lying in wait for the next Democrat president like Gavin Newsom, like JB Pritzker. There’s really no doubt that if another Democrat gets into office, they’re not just going to undo everything President Trump did to curb all the racism through DEI programs. They going to ramp it up. They gonna do it even more so than Barack Obama did and Joe Biden did. So we’ve got to continue to fight this,” Schilling said. 

The American Principles Project president continued that ending DEI and woke ideology for good requires conservative Republicans winning elections and conservative voters to talk with their feet with boycotts if a corporation leans into promoting left-wing policies, underscoring DEI is an economic issue, in addition to a cultural one. 

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“If we really want to save the future, DEI must be killed, because it’s not just about the culture, it’s just not about racism,” he said. “It’s so much more. It’s the economy, it’s the future of America, it’s our families, it is our children, and so we really need to remain eternally vigilant until it’s obvious that DEI is never coming back.” 

A whiskey sour for the distilled spirits industry. 

Consumers are souring on drinking alcohol.

And that’s one of a host of complex reasons why Jim Beam is placing its main distillery in Clermont, Kentucky, on ice for at least a year.

Claudia Coffey knows Kentucky bourbon country as well as anyone. She’s a podcaster and bourbon insider.

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“Bourbon is Kentucky, right? We love horse racing in Kentucky. We love bourbon in Kentucky. It’s the reason that 2.7 million people come to visit the Commonwealth every single year,” said Coffey. “It’s some of the biggest news to come out of Kentucky in quite some time, and this is one of the most iconic brands in bourbon.”

Not everyone has heard of Willett or Four Roses when it comes to bourbon. But Jim Beam is Americana. Ubiquitous. Kind of like McDonald’s or Coke. 

Americans are imbibing less — down 6% from just two years ago. And more than 16 million barrels of Kentucky spirits — including bourbon and rye — are aging in warehouses across the state. Distillers are paying taxes on those barrels while they age.

It’s an issue of supply and demand. But the problem is not exclusive to Jim Beam.

“It’s not a question of who’s shutting down production,” said Charlie Prince, who runs the Drammers Whiskey Club. “It’s a question of who is admitting it.” 

Overseas distillers like Midleton in Ireland, which makes Jameson, and Highland Park in Scotland all reduced production recently because of a glut of bourbon, whiskey and Scotch on the market.

However, observers say tariffs and the trade war with Canada hit Jim Beam especially hard.

“Ten percent of Kentucky bourbon sales were going to Canada, and that has dropped to almost zero,” said Prince. “In Canada, that has been taken on as a kind of a national mission for Canadians, saying, ‘Let’s buy Canadian’ and push back against the politics they don’t like coming from the U.S. And, so, you see stores just pulling all American products and banning them in some provinces. So, that’s definitely a political response.”

Democrats quickly latched onto the tariff argument.

“Thousands of Kentuckians power the bourbon industry. We will all feel the impact of this,” declared Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky. “It’s hard to overstate just how devastating Trump’s tariffs are for America’s signature spirit.”

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But one industry observer believes that tariffs are a single ingredient in a complex economic cocktail. Jessica Spector is a professor at Yale who studies the history and culture of liquor and spirits.

“Anybody that tells you that they have an explanation, ‘Oh, it’s tariffs,’ or ‘Oh, it’s post-pandemic retraction,’ is giving you a too simplistic explanation,” said Spector. “It’s unclear what impact the tariffs are having and will have in the future. People have argued over tariffs for a long time. As long as there has been trade, there have been arguments over tariffs. It’s unclear whether the tariffs are sort of the coup de gras to an industry that was already suffering.”

Spector says yes, Generation Z drinks less and uses cannabis more. There are also health concerns. But the spirits industry has witnessed shifts before. She says people moved from brown liquor to vodka in the 1970s because it was seen as healthier.

“They also jogged more and did a lot more cocaine because that was seen as more health conscious. So, it gets really complicated when you break things down generationally,” said Spector.

But the tariffs remain extraordinarily controversial. The Trump administration says tariffs are here to stay.

“Tariffs are going to be part of the policy landscape,” United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Fox. “We know they’re successful.”

But the tariffs may also evaporate.

The Constitution grants Congress the authority to tax and impose tariffs. President Trump used emergency powers to levy global tariffs earlier this year. That’s why this issue wound up at the Supreme Court. Attorneys argued the case in October.

“Canada is one of our closest allies. I think it would be hard to find Canada engaging in unfair trade practices because we have what used to be called the NAFTA agreement, between Canada, the United States and Mexico to bring down all the trade barriers between the countries,” said University of California law professor John Yoo.

Based on the oral arguments, Yoo believes the high court will halt the Trump-imposed tariffs under the premise that the U.S. faces a national emergency. 

“Canada will immediately benefit, and you’ll be able to find your choice of American bourbons on Canadian store shelves,” said Yoo.

FREEDOM AND FACTS, NOT FEAR, SHOULD FRAME AMERICA’S CHOICES ON ALCOHOL

In fact, Yoo believes the Supreme Court could issue its ruling sooner rather than later — especially if it nixes the tariffs. That’s because of all the duties and fees that might be levied on products for months — and then reversed.

It’s important to note that Jim Beam will continue operating two other distilleries for the time being. And Spector says Generation Z prefers cocktails. So, that could force the industry to shift what it produces.

Now here’s a little tidbit you probably won’t learn any place else.

Roam any distillery in Scotland, be it Dalwhinnie in the Highlands, Glen Scotia in Campbeltown, GlenGrant in Speyside or Bowmore on Islay, and you will find distillers aging Scotch in Jim Beam barrels. 

It’s not just Jim Beam barrels that you will find in Scotland. It’s also Buffalo Trace. Heaven Hill. Woodford Reserve. Wild Turkey. Congress only allows American distillers to use American oak barrels once for producing bourbon. So, Scotch distillers overseas love to get their hands on a good bourbon barrel to age their spirit.

The barrels may partially impart a vanilla flavor into the expression, stemming from “vanillans” in the wood.

The trend of using American bourbon barrels for Scotch began in the 1940s after the U.S. market came back online following the end of Prohibition. Distillers in Scotland began using sherry barrels to age their spirits prior to that (hence, the rich meaty flavors you get from Macallan). Sherry is still prevalent despite a decline in people consuming sherry these days. But fewer bourbon barrels from a big producer like Jim Beam now could alter the taste of Scotch in about 15 to 20 years.

That said, demand for Scotch is down like bourbon. So, some of these may even out.

It’s worth noting that Suntory Global Spirits owns Jim Beam. It was known as Beam Suntory until recently. Suntory also owns major Scotch labels like Bowmore, Admore, Laphroaig, Auchentoshan and Glen Garioch. The pipeline of barrels from Jim Beam was a good proposition for Suntory to age Scotch.

So, it’s possible that, down the road, Scotch distillers may age some of their expressions in barrels that once contained something else — other than Kentucky bourbon. And that’s where the flavor profile will evolve.

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It’s also impossible to know the market trends and what people will be interested in drinking in 15 to 20 years. And, so, whatever distillers put into a barrel now might not match market trends in the future. 

In fact, perhaps people will revert to drinking bourbon and Scotch. And the market glut now may switch into a spirits famine where products consumers want are hard to find.

Though touting himself as the peace president, President Donald Trump has not been afraid to unleash lethal rocket strikes on U.S. enemies when he feels the need arises.

In 2025, Trump ordered strikes on nine different countries and regions in the interest of furthering U.S. national security.

Here are the countries, groups and regions that felt the power of the U.S. military in action this year.

Somalia terrorists targeted

Throughout the year, the U.S. has continued to conduct airstrikes against ISIS factions and al-Shabab in Somalia.

According to a U.S. Africa Command statement, a Feb. 1 airstrike targeting a series of cave complexes in northern Somalia killed 14 ISIS-Somalia operatives, including Ahmed Maeleninine, a key ISIS recruiter, financier and external operations leader responsible for deploying militants into the U.S. and across Europe.  

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Houthis in Yemen

Thousands of miles from U.S., sovereign territory, the Trump Department of War unleashed lethal strikes on Iran-backed Houthi terror fighters in Yemen as part of a mission dubbed “Operation Rough Rider.” The strikes were in response to attacks against U.S. military and commercial vessels traveling through the Red Sea.

Sean Parnell, a spokesperson for the Department of War, said in May that U.S. Central Command strikes had been carried out since March and had “hit over 1,000 targets, killing Houthi fighters and leaders and degrading their capabilities.”

Parnell called the strikes “hugely successful.” On May 6, the Houthis agreed to a ceasefire with the U.S., and the fighters have not carried out any attacks on U.S. vessels since, though they have targeted ships from other nations.

Top ISIS leader killed in Iraq

On March 13, U.S. Central Command carried out an airstrike in Iraq’s Al Anbar province that killed the No. 2 ISIS leader, Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, and another ISIS operative.

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Midnight Hammer targets Iran’s nuclear capabilities

At Trump’s direction, the U.S. military launched a strike on three Iranian nuclear sites in a mission that went from June 21-22.

During the operation, “Midnight Hammer,” B-2 stealth bombers departed from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and dropped over a dozen bunker buster bombs and launched more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles on key Iranian nuclear sites.

According to the Pentagon, the strikes decimated Iran’s nuclear capabilities and led to a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. The operation, however, was highly controversial, with some Democratic lawmakers accusing Trump of escalating tensions and downplaying the effectiveness of the strikes.

Iran launched a counterattack on the U.S. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, but there were no reported casualties.

Cartel drug boat strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific

As part of what the Department of War dubbed “Operation Southern Spear,” the U.S. unleashed 33 strikes on allefed drug boats traveling in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, killing over 100 traffickers.

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The strikes garnered significant criticism, with some Democrats accusing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth of war crimes. The Pentagon described the operation as a counter-narco-terrorism campaign against designated terror organizations “taken in defense of vital U.S. national interests and to protect the homeland.”

Operation Hawkeye in Syria

In response to two U.S. service members being killed in Syria, the U.S. unleashed Operation Hawkeye Dec.19. U.S. and allied forces employed more than 100 precision munitions targeting over 70 known ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites across central Syria, resulting in the deaths or detention of 23 terrorist operatives.

Hegseth called the airstrikes “a declaration of vengeance” in direct response to the ISIS attack that took place on Dec. 13 in Palmyra, Syria.

According to Central Command, U.S. and partner forces in Syria have conducted operations during the last 12 months that resulted in more than 300 terrorists being detained.

Christmas night strikes in Nigeria

On Christmas night, the U.S. launched strikes on ISIS-linked military forces in coordination with the Nigerian government in Sokoto State in northwestern Nigeria.

Trump said he ordered U.S. airstrikes in northwest Nigeria against ISIS militants who, he says, “have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years.”

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Trump takes drug war to Venezuela proper

Following months of escalation with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, this week Trump appeared to suggest the U.S. carried out a strike on drug operations inside Venezuela.

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Speaking with reporters Monday, he said, “There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs. They load the boats up with drugs, so we hit all the boats, and now we hit the area. It’s the implementation area. That’s where they implement. And that is no longer around.”

The Washington Monument will transform on New Year’s Eve into the “world’s tallest birthday candle in honor of our Nation’s 250th birthday,” according to the national Freedom 250 organization. 

The monument will be illuminated with projections depicting America’s history, focusing on the American founding and its future, starting at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time Wednesday. Likewise, the monument will turn into a 250-foot birthday candle as part of a countdown to 2026. 

“The illumination of the Washington Monument marks the beginning of a momentous year for our nation — 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence,” Keith Krach, CEO of Freedom 250, said in a press release. “We invite every American — and every friend of America — to join this historic celebration of the triumph of the American spirit.”

Freedom 250 is a national, nonpartisan organization President Donald Trump created dedicated to spearheading events to celebrate America’s 250th birthday in 2026, coordinating with the White House and other federal agencies to plan events to commemorate the anniversary.

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The viewing is free and open to the public and will continue through Monday with different projections displayed on the monument each night. Projections will start Wednesday for New Year’s Eve and will continue until just after midnight and will run from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on subsequent evenings. 

Narrated videos that will appear on the monument will focus on discovery, the American Revolution and independence, Western expansion, the Industrial Revolution and the modern times and future for the U.S. 

The event is designed to serve as the “first signature moment” in a series of events to celebrate the anniversary and will feature a drone and fireworks show on New Year’s Eve, according to Freedom 250. Testing for the event began earlier in December, with previews of the projections visible on the monument. 

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Other events Freedom 250 will hold to remember America’s birthday include a Great American State Fair in June and a parade of ships from more than 30 countries in New York Harbor for the Fourth of July. 

America250, a nonpartisan commission that Congress created in 2016 to prepare for America’s 250th birthday, also announced that it is commemorating the special year in New York on New Year’s Eve. 

The group said that, after midnight Eastern Standard Time, the New York City Times Square Ball will be lit up in red, white and blue, and 2,000 pounds of red, white and blue confetti will be released. 

The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Wednesday sanctioned four companies operating in Venezuela’s oil sector and identified four oil tankers as blocked property, saying the move targets oil traders involved in alleged sanctions-evasion that helps finance Nicolás Maduro’s regime.

Treasury said the vessels, some described as part of a “shadow fleet” serving Venezuela, “continue to provide financial resources that fuel Maduro’s illegitimate narco-terrorist regime” in Tuesday’s press release.

“President Trump has been clear: We will not allow the illegitimate Maduro regime to profit from exporting oil while it floods the United States with deadly drugs,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. “The Treasury Department will continue to implement President Trump’s campaign of pressure on Maduro’s regime,” he added.

Treasury said the sanctions block property and interests in property of the designated entities within U.S. jurisdiction and generally prohibits Americans from transactions involving them.

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The action follows U.S. measures against Venezuela’s state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA).

OFAC designated PDVSA in January 2019 under Executive Order 13850, and President Trump later took additional steps to block PDVSA in August 2019 under Executive Order 13884, Treasury said.

Treasury said Wednesday’s move also complements actions announced Dec. 11 and Dec. 19 targeting PDVSA-linked officials, associates and vessels.

SECOND TANKER SEIZED NEAR VENEZUELA AS US ENFORCES OIL BLOCKADE

OFAC designated Corniola Limited and Krape Myrtle Co LTD and identified the tanker NORD STAR as blocked property. OFAC also designated Winky International Limited and identified ROSALIND, also known as LUNAR TIDE, as blocked property. OFAC designated Aries Global Investment LTD and identified the tankers DELLA and VALIANT as blocked property, Treasury said.

Treasury said blocked property within U.S. jurisdiction must be reported to OFAC, and warned that violations of U.S. sanctions may result in civil or criminal penalties.

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Treasury said the goal of sanctions is to bring about a positive change in behavior, noting there is a formal process for seeking removal from an OFAC list consistent with U.S. law.

The National Guard will be removed from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, for now, following efforts to reduce crime in those Democratic-run cities, but it was “only a question of time” when troops will return, President Donald Trump said Wednesday after a series of legal setbacks. 

“We are removing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, despite the fact that CRIME has been greatly reduced by having these great Patriots in those cities, and ONLY by that fact,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Portland, Los Angeles, and Chicago were GONE if it weren’t for the Federal Government stepping in.”

The National Guard was deployed to the cities in an effort to curb crime, which Trump said had gotten out of control in those cities. 

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California, Illinois and Oregon responded with lawsuits seeking to block the move, arguing that federalizing the troops was an unlawful overreach. Federal judges eventually blocked the deployments.

Fox News Digital has reached out to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, as well as the mayors of Los Angeles, Portland and Chicago. 

In a tweet, Newsom said Trump’s federalization of the National Guard was illegal. 

“About time @realDonaldTrump admitted defeat,” he said. “We’ve said it from day one: the federal takeover of California’s National Guard is illegal.”

In his post, Trump said the federal government would be back, “in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again.”

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“Only a question of time! It is hard to believe that these Democrat Mayors and Governors, all of whom are greatly incompetent, would want us to leave, especially considering the great progress that has been made???” he added. 

The National Guard typically operates under the control of governors, but can be called into federal service by the president only under certain circumstances.

On Dec. 10, a federal judge blocked the deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles and ordered them returned to the control of Newsom.

As of Dec. 28, Chicago recorded 412 murders, down from 585 in the same time frame in 2024, according to police data. 

“Chicago recorded the fewest homicides in 2025 than in any year this century, with totals far below previous spikes. The city hasn’t recorded figures this low since the mid 1960’s,” Johnson wrote Wednesday on X. 

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Portland saw reoccurring anti-ICE protests in late 2025, with demonstrators clashing with authorities. 

In Los Angeles, federal authorities were sometimes met with violent resistance during anti-ICE protests earlier in the year as the Trump administration tamped up its mass deportation program targeting criminal illegal immigrants. 

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani‘s campaign confirmed on Wednesday he will make a historical move on New Year’s Day, using the Quran during his swearing-in ceremony.

Mamdani, a 34-year-old Ugandan-born socialist, will be the first Muslim mayor of New York City and the first mayor to be sworn in using the Quran, the central religious text of Islam.

New York Attorney General Letitia James will host a private midnight ceremony at Old City Hall Station, a historical decommissioned subway station, before he is sworn in during a public inauguration on the steps of City Hall by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Thursday afternoon.

He will use two family Qurans, as well as one that belonged to writer and Puerto Rican activist Arturo Schomburg, who built the foundation for Harlem’s Schomburg Center for research in Black culture.

MAMDANI PICKS EDUCATOR WHO WORKED TO DISMANTLE GIFTED & TALENTED PROGRAM AS NYC SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR 

Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is expected to deliver opening remarks at the latter event, which will be free and open to the public.

Mamdani defeated former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican gubernatorial candidate Curtis Sliwa in November, after campaigning on affordability and socialist policies including rent freezes, city-run grocery stores, and free buses and childcare.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., refused to endorse Mamdani during his campaign, though it is unclear if the choice was tied to Mamdani’s 2023 arrest while protesting the war in Gaza outside Schumer’s Brooklyn home.

NYC MAYOR-ELECT TELLS RESIDENTS HOW TO RESIST ICE AGENTS KNOCKING AT THEIR DOOR IN NEW VIDEO

Mamdani has openly voiced his belief that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza is “genocide,” denying Israel is a Jewish state and failing to condemn the violent slogan “globalize the intifada.”

During his time at Bowdoin College, he founded the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter.

Though he promised to protect Jewish New Yorkers, he announced on Tuesday the city’s next top attorney would be Ramzi Kassem, who defended convicted al Qaeda terrorist Ahmed al-Darbi and Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil, who is accused of leading antisemitic demonstrations on campus.

Al-Darbi was convicted of conspiracy in connection with the fatal 2017 al Qaeda terrorist bombing of a French oil tanker off the coast of Yemen, and was transferred in 2018 by the Trump administration into Saudi Arabian custody. Khalil was released, but his case remains ongoing.

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During a news conference announcing Kassem’s appointment, Mamdani said, “I will turn to Ramzi for his remarkable experience and his commitment to defending those too often abandoned by our legal system.”

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller, Deirdre Heavey and Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.

At least two major West Coast cities are rethinking their so-called harm reduction policies that have sought to address addiction, signaling that these areas are overhauling their strategy to combat the drug crisis as addiction challenges persist. 

While cities including San Francisco and Seattle have previously adopted policies to distribute “safer” drug supplies like clean foil and pipes that could be used to smoke fentanyl or other substances, these cities are now implementing a new approach that imposes new limitations on the distribution of these supplies. 

Seattle’s City Council passed its 2026 budget in November and included a provision that will “preclude any City support for the purchase or distribution of supplies for the consumption of illegal drugs, with the exception of needles.”

The provision was championed by City Council Member Sara Nelson, who said that while she supports needle exchange programs because they reduce the spread of diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C, she said she doesn’t see the benefit in using public resources to “help people get high” by distributing certain drug supplies.

BLUE CITY DA SAYS REPEAT DRUG OFFENDERS ‘WILL NOT RESPECT THE LAW’ UNDER CURRENT SYSTEM 

“I fail to see, however, the harm that’s being reduced by distributing supplies such as pipes and foil that are used to consume deadly drugs like meth and fentanyl,” Nelson said during a Nov. 16 budget committee meeting. “To me, it feels like it’s giving a loaded gun to somebody who is suicidal.” 

Seattle isn’t the only city taking such steps to scale back how it distributes “safe” drug supplies to its community. 

Earlier in 2025, San Francisco unveiled a new policy that would require individuals to receive treatment counseling — or be connected with such services to receive treatment options — before receiving any drug use supplies from the city or city-funded programs. Additionally, the new policy barred providing these supplies in public spaces.

TRUMP UNLEASHES ‘TOUGHEST FENTANYL CRACKDOWN IN HISTORY’ AS GOP VOWS ‘CONSEQUENCES’ FOR CHINESE PRODUCERS 

The policy went into effect April 30, and applied to any city-funded public health program that provided drug use supplies like sterile syringes and smoking kits.

“We can no longer accept the reality of two people dying a day from overdose. The status quo has failed to ensure the health and safety of our entire community, as well as those in the throes of addiction. Fentanyl has changed the game, and we’ve been relying on strategies that preceded this new drug epidemic, which ends today,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a statement in April. “Our new policy will connect individuals to treatment quickly, and that is a big step toward reclaiming our public spaces.”

Seattle’s City Council elections and San Francisco’s mayoral races are officially nonpartisan. However, both cities have strongly backed Democrats in state and local elections. 

TRUMP POSTPONES FEDERAL TROOP DEPLOYMENT TO SAN FRANCISCO 

Meanwhile, these drug policy changes aren’t popular with proponents of “harm reduction” policies. For example, Laura Guzman, executive director of the National Harm Reduction Coalition, said there may not be enough resources to comply with San Francisco’s new rule. 

“It’s mandating or putting as a condition for people to receive life-saving supplies, to actually have long conversations about treatment that may not be available,” Guzman said in April, according to CBS News. “People who know in the field — researchers, doctors — are saying this is not good policy. We’re actually going against the grain because what we’re trying to do is have the perception that there is no drug use on the streets. But it’s not public health, it’s not science-based.  It’s exactly the opposite of what we know works.”

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Although both Washington’s King County, which includes Seattle, and San Francisco had fewer drug overdose deaths in 2024 than in 2023, the numbers for both cities are higher in comparison to 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. 

For example, 635 people died due to accidental drug overdoses in 2024 in San Francisco — down from the 810 that died in 2023, but up from the 441 that died in 2019, according to the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. 

Drug overdose deaths are also down nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in February a nearly 24% decline in drug overdose deaths in fiscal year 2024, in comparison to the previous fiscal year.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has taken an aggressive approach to combat the influx of drugs into the U.S. For example, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in December designating illicit fentanyl a “weapon of mass destruction.” 

Officials with the Attorney General’s Office said Wednesday they are working relentlessly over the holidays to review and redact troves of documents in the Epstein files, prior to their mandated public release.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche released a statement on X noting Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers from Main Justice, FBI, SDFL and SDNY are “working around the clock” through Christmas and New Years to review documents, ensuring sensitive victim information is redacted from the impending release.

“It truly is an all-hands-on-deck approach and we’re asking as many lawyers as possible to commit their time to review the documents that remain,” Blanche wrote in the post. “Required redactions to protect victims take time but they will not stop these materials from being released.”

Blanche’s update comes amid recent threats of legal action after the department missed the Epstein Files Transparency Act’s Dec. 19 deadline to publish all of its documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

CLINTON TEAM DEMANDS TRUMP DOJ RELEASE ‘ANY REMAINING’ DOCS RELATED TO FORMER PRESIDENT, EPSTEIN

He previously argued there was “well-settled law” supporting the missed deadline, as other legal requirements in the bill must be met prior to release, including redacting victim-identifying information.

“The Attorney General’s and this Administration’s goal is simple: transparency and protecting victims,” Blanche wrote Wednesday.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed Nov. 19 by President Donald Trump, required the DOJ to withhold information that could identify potential victims or compromise ongoing investigations or litigation.

DOJ RESTORES TRUMP PHOTO TO EPSTEIN FILES AFTER DETERMINING NO VICTIMS DEPICTED 

It also allowed officials to exclude material deemed sensitive to national defense or foreign policy.

While it remains unclear how many files still need to be reviewed, the DOJ last week confirmed the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York recently submitted more than 1 million additional pages of potentially responsive documents related to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking cases.

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Officials said the “mass volume” of material could take weeks to examine, further delaying their release, which was promised by Blanche on a “rolling basis,” Fox News Digital previously reported.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump claimed that California and Minnesota are both rife with fraud, slamming the two states and their respective governors as “Crooked.”

“There is more FRAUD in California than there is in Minnesota, if that is even possible. When you add in Election Fraud, then they are tied for first. Two Crooked Governors, two Crooked States!” the president asserted in the post on Wednesday, referring to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Trump also slammed Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., in a Truth Social post on Wednesday.

FORMER WALZ RIVAL SAYS FRAUD HAS MINNESOTANS ‘FED UP’ AND DEMANDING ACCOUNTABILITY

“Much of the Minnesota Fraud, up to 90%, is caused by people that came into our Country, illegally, from Somalia. ‘Congresswoman’ Omar, an ungrateful loser who only complains and never contributes, is one of the many scammers. Did she really marry her brother? Lowlifes like this can only be a liability to our Country’s greatness. Send them back from where they came, Somalia, perhaps the worst, and most corrupt, country on earth. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” he declared.

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Omar, Newsom and Walz to request comment but did not immediately hear back.

The president’s comments come in the wake of reporting alleging massive fraud in Minnesota.

ICE PROBES SUSPECTED MINNESOTA FRAUD SITES AS OFFICIALS FOLLOW POTENTIAL $9B MONEY TRAIL

“We have frozen all child care payments to the state of Minnesota,” Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services and acting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Jim O’Neill declared in a Tuesday post on X. 

“You have probably read the serious allegations that the state of Minnesota has funneled millions of taxpayer dollars to fraudulent daycares across Minnesota over the past decade,” he noted. “I have activated our defend the spend system for all ACF payments. Starting today, all ACF payments across America will require a justification and a receipt or photo evidence before we send money to a state.” 

Walz responded to the move by blasting Trump.

DHS REVIEWS CITIZENSHIP CASES FROM SOMALIA, OTHER HIGH RISK COUNTRIES FOR POSSIBLE FRAUD

“This is Trump’s long game. We’ve spent years cracking down on fraudsters. It’s a serious issue — but this has been his plan all along. He’s politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans,” Walz asserted in a post on Tuesday to his official governor’s X account.

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In a follow-up post Wednesday to his personal account, Walz declared, “While Minnesota has been combating fraud, the President has been letting fraudsters out of jail. Trump’s using an issue he doesn’t give a damn about as an excuse to hurt working Minnesotans.”

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., struck back at President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening after he vetoed a bill that would have lowered payments for a water project in her district — an act Boebert believes could be political retribution.

“President Trump decided to veto a completely non-controversial, bipartisan bill that passed both the House and Senate unanimously. Why? Because nothing says ‘America First’ like denying clean drinking water to 50,000 people in Southeast Colorado many of whom enthusiastically voted for him all three elections,” Boebert said in a statement posted by journalist Kyle Clarke.

Boebert raised the possibility that the veto was retaliation for her vote to release the Epstein files earlier this year. 

5 TAKEAWAYS AS MTG UNLOADS TO NYT MAGAZINE, DISHING SCATHING CRITICISM OF TRUMP

“I sincerely hope this veto has nothing to do with political retaliation for calling out corruption and demanding accountability Americans deserve leadership that puts people over politics,” Boebert said.

On that vote, Boebert joined Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Nancy Mace, R-N.C., Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and the chamber’s Democrats to force the Epstein Files Transparency Act to the floor for a vote — over the wishes of House leadership and the administration.

Despite initial opposition to the bill, Trump signed the bill into law after it cleared both chambers of Congress with little opposition once Boebert helped unlock its consideration.

Boebert’s break with the Trump veto marks another notable schism between Trump and some of his most loyal allies in the House of Representatives.

Her comments over the veto follow Marjorie Taylor Green’s criticisms of President Trump and what Greene sees as a departure from the campaign promises that were made on the road to the 2024 presidential election.

Greene, formerly one of Trump’s closest allies in Congress, has made plans to leave Congress early, citing disagreements with the trajectory of the party. She will resign on Jan. 5, 2026.

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE SUGGESTS HOUSE SPEAKER JOHNSON IS ‘UNDER DIRECT ORDERS’ FROM WHITE HOUSE

Boebert has also been a vocal Trump ally in her own right but did not mince words in her displeasure over the veto.

“I must have missed the rally where he stood in Colorado and promised to personally derail critical water infrastructure projects. My bad, I thought the campaign was about lowering costs and cutting red tape,” Boebert said.

“But hey, if this administration wants to make its legacy blocking water projects that deliver water to rural Americans; that’s on them,” she added.

The bill vetoed by Trump, the Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act, would have removed interest payments required by the Bureau of Reclamation for the construction of a Colorado pipeline delivering water from the Pueblo Reserve. It would have also extended the repayment period for the project to 100 years.

As noted by Boebert, the bill passed without objection in the House of Representatives in a unanimous voice vote back in July.

In its own statement on the matter, the White House said it had vetoed the bill because it would force the federal government to pick up more of the bill for a state and local project authorized by previous administrations.

According to the White House, the water project was originally made possible by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act passed by President Barack Obama in 2009.

“More than $249 million has already been spent on the [pipeline] and total costs are estimated to be $1.3 billion,” the White House wrote.

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE SAYS ‘THE DAM IS BREAKING’ ON TRUMP’S GRIP OVER REPUBLICAN PARTY

“H.R. 131 would continue the failed policies of the past by forcing Federal taxpayers to bear even more of the massive costs of a local water project — a local water project that, as initially conceived, was supposed to be paid for by the localities using it.”

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The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the decision had anything to do with Boebert’s vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

The new year will bring changes for taxpayers as a slate of new state laws takes effect across the country, impacting Americans’ wallets through higher minimum wages, a new tourism tax in Hawaii and other cost-of-living measures.

At the same time, a growing number of states are moving to restrict what food can be purchased with SNAP benefits or tighten eligibility requirements, signaling a broader push to rein in welfare spending.

Here’s what you need to know.

COASTAL CITY GREENLIGHTS NEW VISITOR TAX AMID WIDESPREAD OVERTOURISM TREND

1. Minimum wage increases

More than a dozen states will raise their minimum wages in 2026, with New York increasing its minimum to $17 an hour in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County, and $16 in the rest of the state.

Washington’s statewide minimum wage will rise to $17.13 an hour — the highest in the U.S. — with other states, including Hawaii, Michigan and Nebraska, also boosting wages.

2. Hawaii’s climate tourism fee starts

In Hawaii, lawmakers are raising the state’s Transient Accommodations Tax from 10.25% to 11% starting Jan. 1, as part of a so-called “green fee.” The tax applies to operators of hotels and short-term rentals, as well as travel brokers, agents and tour packagers.

State officials said the increase is expected to generate roughly $100 million annually to fund environmental stewardship, climate resilience and sustainable tourism projects.

3. SNAP bans on soda

Several states, including Indiana, Nebraska and Iowa, will restrict what SNAP recipients can buy with benefits — limiting candy and sugary drinks starting Jan. 1, 2026.

Separately, new federal SNAP rules will require more able-bodied adults to work or participate in job training for at least 80 hours a month to maintain eligibility.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS UNVEIL NEW FOOD STAMP WORK REQUIREMENTS FOR TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

4. AI, surveillance and government overreach

Illinois will begin enforcing new rules requiring employers to disclose when artificial intelligence is used in hiring or employment decisions and barring discriminatory AI practices.

Texas is also restricting how artificial intelligence can be used, making it illegal to create sexual content involving minors, collect facial or voice data without consent, or push vulnerable people toward self-harm.

5. Public safety and traffic enforcement

In Utah, courts will be able to prohibit individuals convicted of driving under the influence from purchasing alcohol. Restaurants and bars will also be required to check the identification of every customer, regardless of age, before serving or selling alcohol.

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Meanwhile, Washington is overhauling its DUI laws in 2026, allowing some repeat offenders a second chance to avoid conviction through treatment while letting courts consider older DUI cases when determining penalties.

California is also tightening traffic safety enforcement, expanding “move over” requirements to protect roadside workers and strengthening penalties tied to dangerous driving violations.

President Donald Trump spent much of 2025 attempting what had eluded his predecessors: personally engaging both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an effort to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. From high-profile summits to direct phone calls, the administration pushed for a negotiated settlement even as the fighting ground on and the map changed little.

By year’s end, the outlines of a potential deal were clearer than they had been at any point since Russia’s full-scale invasion, with U.S. and Ukrainian officials coalescing around a revised 20-point framework addressing ceasefire terms, security guarantees and disputed territory. But 2025 also made clear why the war has proven so resistant to resolution: neither battlefield pressure, economic sanctions nor intensified diplomacy were enough to force Moscow or Kyiv into concessions they were unwilling to make.

The Trump administration’s push for a deal

The year began with a high-profile fallout last February between President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, when the Ukrainian leader stormed out of the White House after Trump told him he did not have “any cards” to bring to negotiations with Russia.

Frustrated by the pace of talks after promising to end the war on “Day One” of his presidency, Trump initially directed his ire toward Zelenskyy before later conceding that Moscow, not Kyiv, was standing in the way of progress.

“I thought the Russia-Ukraine war was the easiest to stop but Putin has let me down,” Trump said in September 2025.

That frustration had already surfaced publicly months earlier as Russian strikes continued despite diplomatic engagement. “He talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening,” Trump said in July.

Trump’s outreach to Russian President Vladimir Putin culminated in a high-profile summit in Alaska in August, though additional meetings were later called off amid a lack of progress toward a deal.

ZELENSKYY ENCOURAGED BY ‘VERY GOOD’ CHRISTMAS TALKS WITH US

Still, Trump struck a more optimistic tone toward the end of the year. On Sunday, after meeting Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago, the president said the sides were “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to a peace agreement, while acknowledging that major obstacles remained — including the status of disputed territory such as the Donbas region, which he described as “very tough.”

Trump said the meeting followed what he described as a “very positive” phone call with Putin that lasted more than two hours, underscoring the administration’s continued effort to press both sides toward a negotiated end to the war.

Where negotiations stand now

By the end of 2025, the diplomatic track had narrowed around a more defined — but still contested — framework. U.S. officials and Ukrainian negotiators have been working from a revised 20-point proposal that outlines a potential ceasefire, security guarantees for Ukraine, and mechanisms to address disputed territory and demilitarized zones.

Zelenskyy has publicly signaled openness to elements of the framework while insisting that any agreement must include robust, long-term security guarantees to deter future Russian aggression. Ukrainian officials have also made clear that questions surrounding occupied territory, including parts of the Donbas, cannot be resolved solely through ceasefire lines without broader guarantees.

Russia, however, has not agreed to the proposal. Moscow has continued to insist on recognition of its territorial claims and has resisted terms that would constrain its military posture or require meaningful concessions. Russian officials have at times linked their negotiating stance to developments on the battlefield, reinforcing the Kremlin’s view that leverage — not urgency — should dictate the pace of talks.

The result is a negotiation process that is more structured than earlier efforts, but still far from resolution: positions have hardened even as channels remain open, and talks continue alongside ongoing fighting rather than replacing it.

Russia’s territorial pressure — and Ukraine’s limited gains

Even as diplomacy intensified in 2025, the war on the ground remained defined by slow, grinding territorial pressure rather than decisive breakthroughs. Russian forces continued pushing for incremental gains in eastern and southern Ukraine, particularly along axes tied to Moscow’s long-stated objective of consolidating control over territory it claims as Russian.

Russian advances were measured and costly, often unfolding village by village through artillery-heavy assaults and sustained drone use rather than sweeping offensives. While Moscow failed to capture major new cities or trigger a collapse in Ukrainian defenses, it expanded control in parts of eastern and southern Ukraine, maintaining pressure across multiple fronts and keeping territorial questions central to both the fighting and any future negotiations.

Ukraine, for its part, did not mount a large-scale counteroffensive in 2025 comparable to earlier phases of the war. Ukrainian forces achieved localized tactical successes, at times reclaiming small areas or reversing specific Russian advances, but these gains were limited in scope and often temporary. None translated into a sustained territorial breakthrough capable of altering the broader balance of the front.

Instead, Kyiv focused on preventing further losses, reinforcing defensive lines, and imposing costs on Russian forces through precision strikes and asymmetric tactics. With decisive territorial gains out of reach, Ukraine expanded attacks against Russian energy infrastructure, targeting refineries, fuel depots and other hubs critical to sustaining Moscow’s war effort — including sites deep inside Russian territory.

ZELENSKYY SAYS FRESH RUSSIAN ATTACK ON UKRAINE SHOWS PUTIN’S ‘TRUE ATTITUDE’ AHEAD OF TRUMP MEETING

Russia, meanwhile, continued its own campaign against Ukraine’s energy grid, striking power and heating infrastructure as part of a broader effort to strain Ukraine’s economy, civilian resilience and air defenses. The result was a widening pattern of horizontal escalation, as both sides sought leverage beyond the front lines without achieving a decisive military outcome.

The result was a battlefield stalemate with movement at the margins: Russia advanced just enough to sustain its territorial claims and domestic narrative, while Ukraine proved capable of blunting assaults and imposing costs but not of reclaiming large swaths of occupied land. The fighting underscored a central reality of 2025 — territory still mattered deeply to both sides, but neither possessed the military leverage needed to force a decisive shift.

That dynamic would increasingly shape the limits of diplomacy. Without a major change on the battlefield, talks could test red lines and clarify positions, but not compel compromise.

Why talks stalled: leverage without decision

For all the diplomatic activity in 2025, negotiations repeatedly ran into the same obstacle: neither Russia nor Ukraine faced the kind of pressure that would force a decisive compromise.

On the battlefield, Russia continued to absorb losses while pressing for incremental territorial gains, reinforcing Moscow’s belief that time remained on its side. Ukrainian forces, though increasingly strained, succeeded in preventing a collapse and in imposing costs through deep strikes and attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure — demonstrating an ability to shape the conflict even without major territorial advances.

Economic pressure also reshaped — but did not determine — Moscow’s calculus. Despite years of Western sanctions, Russia continued financing its war effort in 2025, ramping up defense production and adapting its economy to sustain prolonged conflict. While sanctions constrained growth and access to advanced technology, they raised the long-term costs of the war without producing the immediate pressure needed to force President Vladimir Putin toward concessions.

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Those realities defined the limits of U.S. mediation. While the Trump administration pushed both sides to clarify red lines and explore possible frameworks for ending the war, Washington could illuminate choices without dictating outcomes, absent a decisive shift on the ground or a sudden change in Moscow’s calculations.

The result was a year of talks that clarified positions without closing gaps. As long as pressure produced pain without decision, negotiations could narrow options and define boundaries, even if they could not yet bring the conflict to an end.
 

There’s no denying the Democratic Party had a very good year at the ballot box.

Fueled by their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation, Democrats scored decisive victories in last month’s 2025 elections and overperformed throughout the year in special elections and other contests.

A year after President Donald Trump and Republicans scored sweeping victories as they won back the White House and Senate and held their razor-thin House majority, Democrats were clearly the campaign trail winners in 2025.

While they are energized heading into next year’s midterms, when they’ll try to win back congressional majorities from the Republicans, the Democrats’ 2025 performance at the ballot box doesn’t paper over the party’s underlying problems.

SETTING THE STAGE: WHAT THE 2025 ELECTIONS MEAN FOR NEXT YEAR’S MIDTERM BATTLES

From a state Senate election victory in Iowa in January, just eight days after Trump kicked off his second term in the White House, to this month’s win in Miami’s mayoral election, the party’s first in a quarter-century, Democrats had plenty to celebrate this year on the campaign trail.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC), in a year-end memo, touted that “Democrats won or overperformed in 227 out of 255 key elections.”

“As Democrats enter the midterm year, our party should feel buoyed by the strong results we’ve seen up and down the ballot all year long. Across red, purple, and blue states, Democrats have gotten off the mat and proven that when you organize everywhere, you can win anywhere,” the DNC emphasized.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE 2025 ELECTIONS

But Democrats are still staring down a brand that remains in the gutter, with historically low approval and favorable numbers.

Among the most recent figures to grab headlines: Only 18% of voters questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey in December said they approved of the way congressional Democrats were handling their job, while 73% disapproved.

That’s the lowest job approval rating for the Democrats in Congress since the Quinnipiac University Poll began asking this question 16 years ago.

“Voters have rendered a brutal verdict on the Democrat brand — just 18 percent approval after years of Biden-era failure. Democrats have made clear that a 2026 majority would mean sham impeachment attacks and pure chaos,” Republican National Committee (RNC) national press secretary Kiersten Pels argued in a statement last week.

DNC Chair Ken Martin acknowledged the “brand problem,” telling Fox News Digital this past summer that the party’s image had “hit rock bottom.”

But he emphasized that “there’s only one direction to go, and that’s up, and that’s what we’re doing.”

While clearly motivated following this year’s election victories, the DNC still faces a massive fundraising deficit in its campaign cash race with the rival RNC.

And the party divide between progressives and moderates remains on the front-burner heading into next year’s midterms.

SENATE GOP CAMPAIGN CHAIR REVEALS 2026 MIDTERM STRATEGY

The Democrats overperformed in early December’s special congressional election in a GOP-dominated seat in Tennessee — losing by nine points in a district that Trump carried by 22 points just a year ago,

But there were plenty of centrist Democrats who argued that state Rep. Aftyn Behn, the Democratic nominee in the race, was too far to the left for the district.

Republicans repeatedly attacked Behn over her paper trail of past comments on defunding the police.

And the Senate campaign launched this month in red-leaning Texas by Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a progressive champion and vocal Trump critic and foil, compounded the argument by centrists.

Her entry into the race gave the GOP instant ammunition to paint Democrats as far-left extremists. And along with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, it handed the Republicans another far-left politician to use as a political cudgel.

‘FULL-BLOWN BATTLE’ BREWING IN DEM PARTY AS MAMDANI-STYLE CANDIDATES RISE IN KEY RACES

“All across the country, what we’re seeing is Jasmine is being repeated, replicated all across the country,” National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Sen. Tim Scott claimed in a Fox News Digital interview. “Socialism is in vogue in the Democrat Party.”

But it’s not just Republicans ringing alarms.

“The Democratic Party’s aspirations to win statewide in a red state like Texas simply don’t exist without a centrist Democrat who can build a winning coalition of ideologically diverse voters,” Liam Kerr, co-founder of the Welcome PAC, a group which advocates for moderate Democratic candidates, argued in a statement to Fox News Digital.

And the center-left Third Way, in a memo following the Tennessee special election, argued, “If far-left groups want to help save American democracy, they should stop pushing their candidates in swing districts and costing us flippable seats.”

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But Martin sees a silver lining, as he pointed to “the great breadth of our party.”

“We have conservative Democrats, we have centrist Democrats, we have progressives and we have leftists. And I’ve always said that you win elections through addition, not subtraction. You win by bringing people into your coalition and growing your party,” Martin emphasized.

Lawmakers fought over Obamacare subsidies tooth and nail for the latter part of the year, and ultimately, neither side won.

Senate Democrats thrust the government into the longest shutdown in history in an effort to refocus the narrative in Congress on healthcare, and Republicans agreed to talk about it in the open. And both Republicans and Democrats got a shot to advance their own, partisan plans. Both failed.

Now, the subsidies are set to expire on Wednesday, sending price hikes across the desks of tens of millions of Americans that relied on the credits. 

REPUBLICANS CONSIDER USING RECONCILIATION AGAIN AFTER TRUMP’S BIGGEST LEGISLATIVE WIN

When lawmakers return on the first week of January, healthcare will be front of mind for many in the Senate. But any push to either revive, or completely replace, the subsidies may, for a time, take a backseat to the government funding fight brewing ahead of the Jan. 30 deadline.

When asked if he was disappointed that lawmakers were unable to, at least in the short term, solve the subsidies issue, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., was more concerned about people that would experience higher costs. 

“I think who it’s most disappointing for are the people whose premiums are going to go up by two, three times,” Hawley said. “So, it’s not good.”

Price hikes on premium costs will be variable for the roughly 20 million Americans that rely on them, depending on age, income and other factors. Broadly, a person’s out-of-pocket cost is expected to double with the credit’s lapse, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The nonpartisan healthcare think tank painted a broader picture of the disparate impact on premium cost increases in a report released late last month that, based on myriad factors, including where a person lives, their age range and where they sit above the poverty line, some could see price hikes as high as 361%.

SENATE QUIETLY WORKS ON BIPARTISAN OBAMACARE FIX AS HEALTHCARE CLIFF NEARS

While Senate Republicans’ and Democrats’ separate plans failed to advance — despite four Republicans crossing the aisle to support Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s, D-N.Y., plan — lawmakers are working together for a solution.

There are two plans with traction in the House. The GOP’s plan advanced on the floor earlier this month, but doesn’t address the issue of the expiring tax credits. Then there is a bipartisan plan that calls for a three-year extension of the subsidies, similar to Senate Democrats’ plan, that is teed up for a vote.

The latter option, and its bipartisan momentum, has some Democrats hopeful that a three-year extension could get a shot in the upper chamber.

“I’ll also say that the glimmer of hope is if we’re searching for a bipartisan deal that can pass the Congress, we don’t need to search any further than the three-year extension of the subsidies that’s going to pass the House of Representatives,” Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, told Fox News Digital. “We don’t need a negotiation any further. That bill can pass, if it can provide relief to the taxpayers, and it can pass, then that’s our vehicle.”

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., however, has maintained a deeply-rooted position against just a simple extension of the credits.

He argued that a straight-up extension for three years would be “a waste of $83 billion,” and lacks any of the reforms that Republicans desire, like reinstalling an income cap, adding anti-fraud measures, and reaffirming language that would prevent taxpayer dollars from funding abortions.

“I mean, I think if nothing else, depending on if the House sends something over here, there would be a new vehicle available,” Thune said. “And if there is some bipartisan agreement on a plan, then you know, it’s possible that we could — obviously it’d have to be something that we think the House could pass, and the President would sign.”

“But I’m not ruling anything out, I guess is what I’m saying,” he continued. “But you know, a three-year extension of a failed program that’s rife with fraud, waste and abuse is not happening.”

Senate Democrats are open to negotiating on a bipartisan plan, something that is already ongoing after Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, held a meeting with lawmakers before leaving Washington, D.C., earlier this month.

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But Democrats are also making clear that they don’t want to budge on some of the Republicans’ demands.

“Let’s put it this way, Republicans are asking to meet with me, and I’m telling them, I’ll listen, you know, I made it clear what I think is the only practical approach, and I’m certainly not going to go along with selling junk insurance,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said.

The U.S. State Department announced that it is directing American embassies located in the Western Hemisphere to report on human rights violations resulting from mass migration.

“Mass migration and the criminal networks that enable it wrought havoc on America before President Trump secured the border. The State Department has now instructed U.S. embassies in countries in the Western Hemisphere to report on human rights abuses caused by mass migration,” the department declared in a post on X.

“Millions of migrants and waves of deadly drugs have flowed to America’s borders on transnational routes operated by terror organizations. Mass migration has endangered American citizens, threatened the economic security of American workers, and strained America’s asylum system,” the State Department added in another post.

The department noted that “narco-terror” groups involved in facilitating mass migration also participate in egregious human rights violations.

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“The narco-terror organizations that facilitate mass migration routinely engage in child trafficking, forced labor, sexual assault, and other heinous human rights abuses that threaten the citizens of nations throughout the Western Hemisphere and undermine the rule of law,” a post asserted.

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“U.S. embassies will report on crimes resulting from mass migration and urge governments across the Western Hemisphere to combat these human rights abuses. Embassies will analyze government policies that facilitate mass migration or privilege migrants over citizens,” the department noted in another post.

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The U.S. is prepared to work with other countries in the hemisphere to stop mass migration, said the State Department, which referred to the situation as a “global crisis.”

Zohran Mamdani is poised to be sworn in as New York City’s next mayor on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026 — the culmination of a political campaign that propelled a socialist to power in the economic epicenter of the United States.

In a race that was widely considered a fight for the city’s future, Mamdani defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a contentious Election Day battle on Nov. 4, 2025. As Mamdani prepares to advance his socialist agenda from City Hall, here’s a look back at the campaign that brought him to this moment.

The 34-year-old Ugandan-born state assemblyman from Queens triggered a political earthquake when he declared victory in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary in June, pulling an upset over a former governor who was widely expected to win the party’s nomination.

His primary success catapulted Mamdani onto the national stage, as he teamed up with progressive power duo Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to rally New York City voters for his affordability agenda, which included ambitious campaign promises like rent freezes, fast and free buses, city-run grocery stores and free childcare.

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It’s a race that President Donald Trump himself watched closely, labeling Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” and “My little communist” — monikers Mamdani rejected.

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On the eve of Election Day, Trump endorsed Cuomo and floated cutting federal funds to New York City if Mamdani won. In the days leading up to the election, Mamdani vowed to use the “bully pulpit” and the judicial system to fight back against Trump’s “threats.”

“Donald Trump may speak as if it is his decision, but this is money that this city is owed. This is money that we will expect to collect,” Mamdani said Monday.

As the Democratic Socialists of America-backed Mamdani stepped on stage at the Brooklyn Paramount to declare victory on election night, he appealed to Trump — a native New Yorker — directly.

“New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and as of tonight, led by an immigrant,” Mamdani said. “So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: To get any of us, you will have to get through all of us.”

But for all the barbs Trump and Mamdani exchanged on the campaign trail, they shared a cordial meeting at the White House last month, finding unlikely common ground on their commitments to affordability in New York City.

Mamdani’s primary success in June exposed a divide within the Democratic Party, after suffering big losses up and down the ballot last year and struggling to present a united front against the Trump administration without clear party leadership.

“The conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate,” Mamdani said during his election night party. “I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this. And yet, if tonight teaches us anything, it is that convention has held us back.”

Cuomo resigned from office in 2021 in the face of multiple controversies, including several sexual harassment claims, which he has denied. After losing the primary he was expected to win, Cuomo challenged Mamdani as an Independent candidate in the general election, and began accusing Mamdani of being more a socialist than a Democrat.

“The truth is, there’s a quiet civil war going on in the Democratic Party right now,” Cuomo told Fox News ahead of Election Day. “You have an extreme left. Radical left. Bernie Sanders, AOC — Mamdani is just the banner carrier for that movement — versus the mainstream moderate Democrats. They now call me moderate. They used to call me liberal. Now, I’m a moderate because the whole party shifted.”

After the race was called for Mamdani, the former governor addressed his supporters as those watching the broadcast from Mamdani’s election night party booed a muted Cuomo delivering his concession speech. 

“This campaign was necessary to make that point — a caution flag that we are heading down a dangerous, dangerous road,” Cuomo said. “Well, we made that point, and they heard us, and we will hold them to it.”

New York Democrats were reluctant to endorse Mamdani’s mayoral campaign after he secured the Democratic nomination.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., refused to endorse Mamdani, despite telling reporters that he has a “good relationship with him” and that they are “continuing to talk.” Mamdani was arrested while protesting the war in Gaza and calling for a ceasefire outside Schumer’s home in Brooklyn in 2023.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., gave an 11th-hour endorsement for Mamdani after months of equivocating. The announcement came the day before early voting began.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., endorsed Mamdani’s campaign in September and later joined him on the campaign trail. When pressed about whether Mamdani would endorse Hochul, he refused to affirm his support for the sitting governor.

Hochul is essential to Mamdani’s plan to raise taxes on corporations and the top 1% of New Yorkers to pay for his radical campaign agenda, as a tax hike would require state approval.

The governor has maintained that she will not raise taxes, which earned her some heckling at an October Queens rally, when Mamdani’s supporters shouted, “Tax the rich!”

Mamdani’s rise was marked by palpable tension with New York City’s Jewish population. Jewish leaders and voters consistently voiced concerns about Mamdani in light of his long-standing criticism of Israel and his rhetoric surrounding the war in Gaza.

Mamdani has repeatedly described Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as a “genocide” and refused to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, saying he “would not recognize any state’s right to exist with a system of hierarchy on the basis of race, of religion.”

He refused during the Democratic primary to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” a slogan widely viewed by Jewish groups as a call to violence. While he later said he would discourage others from using the phrase, critics argued the response fell short as antisemitic incidents surged nationwide.

After a mass shooting in Sydney, Australia, during Hanukkah — which police described as a targeted attack on the Jewish community — Mamdani condemned the violence, but stopped short of changing his stance on the “globalize the intifada” phrase, drawing renewed criticism from Jewish leaders in New York. 

Weeks before Election Day, a group of prominent New York City rabbis joined more than 650 rabbis nationwide in signing a letter that criticized Mamdani, titled “A Rabbinic Call to Action: Defending the Jewish Future,” warning that Jewish Americans “cannot remain silent” amid what they described as growing hostility and exclusion. 

Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, the founder and CEO of the Guardian Angels, said Mamdani would not do enough to protect Jewish New Yorkers as mayor.

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When asked during the final mayoral debate if Mamdani had any regrets about his “long-standing” anti-Israel views, he affirmed his commitment to protecting Jewish New Yorkers, as he did throughout the campaign.

Mamdani has a long record of supporting the pro-Palestinian movement, including at Bowdoin College, where he founded the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter.

With weeks until Election Day, Mamdani accused his opponents and Mayor Eric Adams, who ultimately suspended his re-election campaign after staying out of the Democratic primary to run as an Independent, of Islamophobia.

Mamdani, who is of Indian descent, will be the first South Asian and first Muslim mayor of New York City.

Mamdani also faced criticism for his past comments about the New York City Police Department, including those comparing the NYPD to the Israel Defense Forces and calling the NYPD “racist, anti‑queer & a major threat to public safety” in 2020, among other insults.

“I’ll apologize to police officers right here, because this is the apology that I’ve been sharing with many rank-and-file officers, and I apologize because of the fact that I’m looking to work with these officers, and I know that these officers, these men and women who serve in the NYPD, they put their lives on the line every single day,” Mamdani said on Fox News.

As New York City voters began heading to the polls for early voting, billionaires, including Red Apple Media CEO John Catsimatidis and hedge fund CEO Bill Ackman, urged Sliwa to drop out of the race to consolidate support for Cuomo, but the Republican nominee refused.

Similar pressure mounted following the primary for either Cuomo or Adams to drop out to boost the anti-Mamdani vote. After Adams suspended his campaign, he ultimately endorsed Cuomo. Trump’s Justice Department dropped bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy charges against Adams earlier this year.

Mamdani will also be the first millennial mayor of the nation’s largest city.

Such was clear from the early days of Mamdani’s campaign, as he made strategic use of social media, including TikTok, to build a recognizable brand and motivate a swath of low-propensity voters.

His campaign played into the hands of an evolving — and chronically online — New York City electorate.

Scrolling through Mamdani’s social media, his TikTok and Instagram pages resemble that of a New York City influencer. From the film-like filters and consistent fonts on his vertical videos to the cameos from celebrities, including model Emily Ratajkowski and comedian Bowen Yang, Mamdani’s videos regularly amass millions of views.

During the general election, Mamdani’s campaign collaborated with content creators, inviting New York City’s micro-influencers to a “New Media” briefing, which is typically reserved for legacy media, and continuing to walk through the revolving door of podcast appearances, akin to such efforts by Trump in 2024.

Also similar to Trump in 2024, Mamdani centered his mayoral campaign on affordability, vowing to deliver a New York City that voters could actually afford to live in.

Mamdani told Fox News in the final days of his campaign that he learned of a woman wearing a “MAGA for Zohran” hat at his Queens rally, eliciting Trump’s renowned “Make America Great Again” slogan.

“It tells me that no matter what your politics are, you’re feeling the same crisis, and this is a movement that looks to address that crisis [of affordability],” Mamdani said. “No matter who you are, no matter where you live.”

After his victory, Mamdani quickly assembled a transition team and began selecting his City Hall leadership. With Adams’ tenure ending Thursday and Mamdani preparing to move into Gracie Mansion, New York City is on the verge of a political turning point.

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Whether Mamdani’s campaign promises take shape as policy remains to be seen. But with a socialist about to govern America’s economic capital, one thing is clear: Trump will be watching.