NationalWatch

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia announced Tuesday that she intends to vote against the proposed fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, saying the legislation spends too much taxpayer money on foreign priorities. 

Greene said in a post on X that the NDAA is “filled with American’s hard earned tax dollars used to fund foreign aid and foreign country’s wars.”

Greene pointed to the rising national debt, which, according to fiscaldata.treasury.gov, is more than $38.39 trillion.

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

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., talks with reporters after a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Capitol Hill Club on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“These American People are $38 Trillion in debt, suffering from an affordability crisis, on the verge of a healthcare crisis, and credit card debt is at an all time high. Funding foreign aid and foreign wars is America Last and is beyond excuse anymore. I would love to fund our military but refuse to support foreign aid and foreign militaries and foreign wars. I am here and will be voting NO,” Greene declared in her post.

But House Speaker Mike Johnson has praised the proposed NDAA.

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

“This year’s National Defense Authorization Act helps advance President Trump and Republicans’ Peace Through Strength Agenda by codifying 15 of President Trump’s executive orders, ending woke ideology at the Pentagon, securing the border, revitalizing the defense industrial base, and restoring the warrior ethos,” Johnson said in part of a lengthy statement.

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE SPARS WITH ‘60 MINUTES’ HOST OVER ‘ACCUSATORY’ QUESTIONS

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Greene plans to leave office early next month, in the middle of her two-year term.

A Senate Republican duo unveiled their vision for expiring Obamacare premium subsidies as the Senate hurtles toward a vote on the credits at the end of this week.

Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, announced their plan to tackle the subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of this year. Their proposal, made public on Monday, would extend the subsidies for two years.

The upper chamber is set to vote on legislation dealing with the expiring subsidies on Thursday, but so far only Senate Democrats have united behind a proposal from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., that would extend the credits for three years.

SENATE DEMOCRATS PUSH OBAMACARE SUBSIDY VOTE ‘DESIGNED TO FAIL’ AS REPUBLICANS CALL PLAN UNSERIOUS

Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, announced their plan to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies by two years, include income caps and end zero-cost premiums. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Schumer’s plan is likely dead on arrival, given that it lacks any of the reforms to the subsidies demanded by the GOP. And Republicans are mulling several options, but have so far not picked legislation to form up behind and put on the floor in a possible side-by-side vote.

Moreno and Collins hope that their legislation, which would also put an income cap onto the subsidies for households making up to $200,000 and eliminate zero-cost premiums as a fraud preventive measure by requiring a $25 minimum monthly payment, gets a shot.

Moreno argued that former President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party “created this disaster, lining the pockets of massive insurance companies while healthcare costs for everyday Americans skyrocketed.”

ABORTION RESTRICTIONS CREATE MAJOR ROADBLOCK FOR BIPARTISAN OBAMACARE SUBSIDY DEAL IN SENATE

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks at a press conference with other members of Senate Democratic leadership following a policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Oct. 15, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“But I refuse to let the American people pay the price for the Democrats’ incompetence,” he said in a statement. “I am willing to work with anyone to finally bring down costs for all Americans and hope my colleagues across the aisle will commit to doing the same.”

Collins said that lawmakers needed to “pursue practical solutions that increase affordability without creating sudden disruptions in coverage,” with the expiration deadline looming. Republicans are divided on whether they want to actually extend the subsidies or allow them to sunset and be dealt with early next year.

SCHUMER UNVEILS DEMOCRATS’ OBAMACARE FIX PLAN, LIKELY DEAD IN THE WATER

President Donald Trump holds a chart on household income in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Aug. 7, 2025.  (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“This bill would help prevent unaffordable increases in health insurance premium costs for many families by extending the [Obamacare] enhanced premium tax credits for two years and putting a reasonable income cap on these subsidies to ensure they are going to the individuals who need them,” Collins said in a statement.

Their proposal joins the ranks of public ideas and legislation floated by Republicans, but strays from the desire many in the GOP have to convert the money that flows into the subsidies directly to Americans through Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).

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President Donald Trump has publicly backed converting the premiums to HSAs, but even with his support, Republicans have not nailed down a legislative move that could make it to the floor. 

It’s also unclear if Republicans will line up behind their plan, given that it extends the subsidies without additional action on taxpayer funding flowing to abortion — a key sticking point in bipartisan negotiations on the credits — and lacks the inclusion of HSAs.

New findings from a congressional watchdog claim that Obamacare’s COVID-19-era subsidies are riddled with errors and its administrators struggle to shut out fake or incomplete applications.

Last week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a nonpartisan agency that examines congressional spending, found that Obamacare is picking up the tab for tens of thousands of accounts, using enhanced premium tax credits (APTCs) to pay for more than one coverage plan, deceased account holders and applicants lacking identifying information. 

SENATE DEMOCRATS PUSH OBAMACARE SUBSIDY VOTE ‘DESIGNED TO FAIL’ AS REPUBLICANS CALL PLAN UNSERIOUS

A user views the federal enrollment website for Obamacare at an enrollment event in Milford, Delaware. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“GAO’s preliminary analyses identified over 29,000 SSNs (Social Security numbers) in 2023 and nearly 68,000 SSNs in 2024 used to receive more than one year’s worth of insurance coverage with APTC in a single plan year,” the report read.

In addition to the evaluation of real-world fraud, the GAO also created several fake accounts to see if Obamacare would prevent them from receiving benefits.

“Of 20 fictitious applicants, 18 remain actively covered as of September 2025. APTC for these 18 enrollees totals over $10,000 per month. GAO continues to monitor the enrollments as part of its ongoing work,” the GAO said.

The GAO stressed that its findings “cannot be generalized to the enrollee population.” Notably, the fraud detected accounts for less than 1% of all of Obamacare’s users. 

GAO’s findings come as lawmakers wrestle with whether to extend the enhanced premium subsidies for Obamacare set to expire at the end of the year that were first passed to help policyholders pay for health insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Without them, Democrats fear that the vast majority of Obamacare policyholders — over 90% of the program’s 24 million enrollees — could find themselves suddenly stuck with significantly higher premiums overnight.

Republicans remain split on whether lawmakers should extend the subsidies in some way. The fiscally conservative wing of the GOP believes letting them expire would mark a critical step in bringing the country back toward pre-COVID spending levels.

The GAO’s findings play into a key Republican concern: that government health programs may carry unnecessary bloat, and that continuing them in their current state would simply extend those inefficiencies.

Continuing the subsidies would cost the country upwards of $30 billion a year, according to research from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

HOUSE GOP SEEKS OFF-RAMP TO SKY-HIGH HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS FOR MILLIONS OF AMERICANS

Healthcare costs are set to rise for Americans across the U.S. starting next year, both Republicans and Democrats warn. (Wodicka/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

While the GAO’s evaluation found issue with a relatively small slice of Obamacare’s overall population, the watchdog also struggled to tie a significant amount of the APTC’s expenses to SSNs.

“GAO’s preliminary analysis of data from tax year 2023 could not identify evidence of reconciliation for over $21 billion in APTC for enrollees who provided SSNs to the federal Marketplace for plan year 2023,” the report said.

As a part of that picture, the GAO reported that in 2023, over $94 million in APTC funding had gone to SSN numbers associated with deceased recipients. But not all applicants who receive APTCs may have SSNs in the system to begin with.

According to GAO’s research, the federal marketplace requested applicants to use an SSN, proof of citizenship and reported income. The GAO found that it could get access to benefits without them. 

“GAO did not provide documentation yet received coverage,” the report said of its research through fake accounts. 

CONGRESS FACES HOLIDAY CRUNCH AS HEALTH CARE FIX COLLIDES WITH SHRINKING CALENDAR

Discussions about rising costs for healthcare, primarily surrounding Obamacare, have divided Republicans, and they contemplate whether to reform or replace the system. (By Lea Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images; Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Some of Obamacare’s struggle to maintain a clear picture of which SSNs are tied to which policies stem from built-in flexibility for when things go wrong. 

Government officials explained that the federal marketplace does allow enrollees to use one SSN to obtain more than one policy. That allows applicants to secure access to health insurance in the event of identity fraud or data entry errors.

“Officials explained that the federal Marketplace does not prohibit multiple enrollments per SSN to help ensure that the actual SSN-holder can enroll in insurance coverage in cases of identity theft or data entry errors,” the report read.

The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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The Senate is set to vote on whether to extend the APTCs in their current form for three years by the end of this week. Amid fierce Republican opposition across both chambers of Congress, that vote is expected to fail.

There’s no easy solution in Congress to fix spiking healthcare premiums by the end of the year.

“Republicans are sleepwalking America straight into a healthcare crisis,” thundered Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

The sides lack consensus so far on bills to avoid a partial government shutdown in late January.

“We still have a lot of work to do on them,” said Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho.

CONGRESS RACES AGAINST 3-WEEK DEADLINE TO TACKLE MASSIVE YEAR-END LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries update reporters following their meeting with President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Washington, Sept. 29, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Newsroom)

So many pressing subjects facing Congress over the next few weeks, so little time.

“I’m literally thinking and watching the clock in front of me tick,” said Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del.

So it’s little surprise why House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., had questions about why the House planned debate on a bill last week about money in big-time college sports. Jeffries had specific questions for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Minority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., both graduates of Louisiana State University, and superfans of the Tigers.

“Who exactly directed Mike Johnson and Steve Scalise to bring this bill to the floor this week? Was it the big donors connected to LSU?” questioned Jeffries. “Why would Mike Johnson and Steve Scalise think it was a good idea to bring the ‘Lane Kiffin Protection Act’ to the floor of the House of Representatives?”

Whoa. “Lane Kiffin Protection Act”?

Congress had a lot to do. And the major bill on the House floor last week was on — wait for it — regulating money in college sports. It came just as Lane Kiffin defected from Ole Miss to LSU for a $91 million contract. And it came while Ole Miss was in the middle of an 11-1 season, is ranked number six in the country and has a chance to compete for the national title.

CONGRESS FACES HOLIDAY CRUNCH AS HEALTH CARE FIX COLLIDES WITH SHRINKING CALENDAR

Mississippi head coach Lane Kiffin watches his team play against Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, Oct. 25, 2025. (Alonzo Adams/AP Newsroom)

The House was set to debate a bill last week which would establish a national standard for NIL or name, image and likeness, in college sports. Major conferences like the Big 10 and SEC love the bill. Smaller schools, not so much. But multiple lawmakers told Fox News that they thought it was bad optics for the House to consider a bill about college sports — just as Kiffin headed to LSU.

“LSU is the best job in football,” declared Kiffin at a press conference.

I pressed Jeffries about his Kiffin charge regarding Johnson and Scalise after his press conference.

“We know that Johnson and Scalise are both partisans of LSU, but do you know something here? You’re suggesting that there’s something going on between LSU and them to put a piece of legislation on the floor?” I queried.

“No. It’s just a reasonable question that a lot of people are actually asking on the floor of the House of Representatives. Like, ‘Why now?’” answered Jeffries. “And what kind of judgment does it take to put that bill on the floor this week in the aftermath of the whole Lane Kiffin saga?”

SENATE DEMOCRATS PUSH OBAMACARE SUBSIDY VOTE ‘DESIGNED TO FAIL’ AS REPUBLICANS CALL PLAN UNSERIOUS

Florida wide receiver Dallas Wilson (6) is hit by LSU linebacker Whit Weeks (40), who was penalized for targeting on the play, and safety Tamarcus Cooley (0), Sept. 13, 2025, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Gerald Herbert/AP Photo)

House Republicans struggled to hurdle a procedural barrier in order to put the bill on the floor. Then Republican leaders yanked the bill. Scalise said the bipartisan coalition which supported the bill “was fragile.” But Scalise denied the coincidence about Kiffin and abruptly dumping the legislation from the House schedule.

“To be 100% clear, Lane Kiffin, the situation at LSU, had nothing to do with this bill getting pulled?” yours truly asked Scalise.

“This had nothing to do with Lane Kiffin or, you know, any particular school,” replied Scalise.

Some lawmakers said Kiffin’s brazen departure from Ole Miss underscores what vexes college sports.

“I think the Kiffin issue is emblematic,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who had issues with the NIL bill. “It certainly demonstrates how broken this whole system is. It’s just ridiculous.”

Roy asked why Congress wasn’t throwing a handbrake on the dizzying coaching carousel which spins this time of year in college football.

“Why in the hell are we allowing coaches to walk out and be paid not to coach for years?” asked Roy. “What we just saw unfold with Lane Kiffin is just an absolute abomination.”

Roy argued that there are “massive issues” in college sports and broadcasting rights, making it an “interstate commerce” subject. Thus, Congress has the right to get involved.

“We’re going to have to respond,” said Roy. “What I don’t want to do is to continue to perpetuate the madness of the University of California, Berkeley, being in the Atlantic Coast Conference and forcing athletes of all sports to have to travel across the frigging continent so that rich people can have sports in different time zones, on contracts, on TV. It’s asinine.”

SCORE ACT RECEIVES SUPPORT FROM OVER 20 CONSERVATIVE GROUPS AS NIL REFORM FIGHT REVS UP

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, left, and House Speaker Mike Johnson during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Nov. 5, 2025. (Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The bill regulates how much student-athletes can earn from NILs. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., conceded that the measure was far from perfect. But Griffith says it “affirms the student-athletes’ right to profit from their name, image, and likeness, or NIL.”

Griffith said the bill would set one standard for NILs and prevent universities and athletes navigating “30 state laws and athletes jumping from team to team.”

But critics say it tilts the playing field toward athletic powerhouses. They pinned the responsibility on the House GOP majority.

“Of course, they have a bill to help the NCAA take advantage of student-athletes. Because, you know, what this Congress desperately needed was another billionaire organization empowered to squeeze young people,” lamented Rep. Jim McGovern, of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee.

Griffith countered by saying the legislation “was a first step. But not the last step in trying to solve problems that we have in our college athletics.”

Even though the bill is off the calendar now, Scalise believes the legislation will come back later this month.

“If Congress takes no action, then ultimately, college athletics and especially student-athletes will suffer the price for it,” said Scalise.

The legislation mandates that schools share revenue and bars institutions from using student fees to fork out NIL money.

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So we’ll see if the bill comes back before the end of the year. But for now, there’s no agreement to do so. And lawmakers haven’t worked out an agreement yet on healthcare or spending bills, either.

And they can’t blame Lane Kiffin for that.

Florida is designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist organizations, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday. 

The move mirrors a similar action taken by Texas in which Gov. Greg Abbott designated the CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations.

“Florida agencies are hereby directed to undertake all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities by these organizations, including denying privileges or resources to anyone providing material support,” DeSantis wrote on X. 

TRUMP MOVES AGAINST MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AS ISLAMIST GROUP SPREADS IN WEST

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantissaid CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood will be designated as foreign terrorist organizations.  (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

The governor’s order said the Muslim Brotherhood has long engaged in and supported violence, political assassinations and terror attacks on civilians with the intent of establishing a worldwide Islamic caliphate. 

It also said the group, as well as Hamas have active fundraising arms in the United States. 

SCATHING REPORT CALLS ON US TO LABEL ISLAMIST GROUP INFILTRATING ALL ASPECTS OF AMERICAN LIFE AS TERRORIST ORG

The order said CAIR, which was created to challenge stereotypes against Islam and Muslims, has had individuals associated with it that have been convicted of providing and aspiring to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations. 

In a post on X, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said: “Great news! Thanks for this important Executive Order, Governor. We are ready to support!”

A joint statement by CAIR and its Florida chapter said the DeSantis administration has prioritized serving their interest of the Israeli government over the people of the state. 

“He diverted millions in Florida taxpayer dollars to the Israeli government’s bonds. He threatened to shut down every Florida college’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, only to back off when CAIR sued him in federal court,” the statement said. “Like Greg Abbott in Texas, Ron DeSantis is an Israel First politician who wants to smear and silence Americans, especially American Muslims, critical of U.S. support for Israel’s war crimes. Governor DeSantis knows full well that CAIR-Florida is an American civil rights organization that has spent decades advancing free speech, religious freedom, and justice for all, including for the Palestinian people. That’s precisely why Governor DeSantis is targeting our civil rights group with this unconstitutional and defamatory proclamation.

“We look forward to defeating Governor DeSantis’ latest Israel First stunt in a court of law, where facts matter and conspiracy theories have no weight,” the groups added. “In the meantime, we encourage all Floridians and all Americans to speak up against this latest attempt to shred the Constitution for the benefit of a foreign government.”

Florida’s designation is at the state level. It doesn’t carry the legal force of a federal Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) listing, which only the U.S. State Department can issue. 

In Texas, Muslim and interfaith leaders have demanded that Abott reverse his proclamation regarding CAIR. In a lawsuit against Texas over the governor’s declaration, CAIR argued that it violates both the U.S. Constitution and state law.

Texas Gov. Greg Abott designated CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, as a foreign terrorist organization.  (Getty Images)

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The order violates its First Amendment rights and due-process protections, CAIR said, arguing that the state overstepped its authority because terrorism designations fall under federal, not state, jurisdiction.

Department of Justice (DOJ) official Harmeet Dhillon announced that her agency is unveiling a gun rights-focused section on Monday, promising Americans that “a lot more action” on gun rights enforcement will be taken.

Dhillon, who works as an assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said that her division had started a Second Amendment section this month.

“I’m really excited about this,” said Dhillon. “For the first time, the DOJ Civil Rights Division and the DOJ at large will be protecting and advancing our citizens’ right to bear arms as part of our civil rights work.”

“As Attorney General Pam Bondi has said, the Second Amendment is not a second-class right, and I couldn’t agree more with my boss,” she added.

DC GUN PERMIT WAIT SLASHED FROM MONTHS TO DAYS AS TRUMP’S CRIME CRACKDOWN CONTINUES

Harmeet Dhillon announced a new Second Amendment section in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, designed to protect gun rights and challenge state restrictions. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

According to Dhillon, the department will fight a variety of state and local courts on gun issues, particularly difficulties around concealed carry permits.

“Some of the things we’re seeing, and that is going to be the focus of our work around the country, includes multi-thousand-dollar costs for citizens to apply for concealed carry permits,” she said.

“Other jurisdictions are having unreasonably long delays. Other jurisdictions are outlawing guns that should be protected by the Second Amendment under the recent Supreme Court precedent.”

She also emphasized that gun rights “equalizes the ability of those of us, women, people with disabilities, and others who might otherwise be more vulnerable to be able to protect ourselves.”

FEDERAL APPEALS COURT RULES CALIFORNIA AMMUNITION BACKGROUND CHECKS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

“We will be protecting that right here in this Department of Justice,” she added. “The president issued an executive order making this clear just two weeks into his tenure, and I’ve been working on the Second Amendment section ever since I got here to the DOJ.”

“So stay tuned. You’re going to see a lot more action from this Department of Justice to protect your Second Amendment rights.”

Oliver Krawczyk, an attorney who specializes in Second Amendment litigation at Ambler Law, told Fox News Digital that the section creation is a “welcome change,” though the DOJ has had a flawed record on the issue.

“For years, individuals and grassroots organizations have had to fight unconstitutional firearm regulations alone, and so federal help will always be appreciated,” Krawczyk said. “However, this DOJ should not ignore its own complicity in violating the Second Amendment.”

A man holds a Glock 17 pistol for sale at a gun store.  (Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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“Rather than resisting ongoing legal challenges to 20th-century federal gun control laws, this DOJ should be working with pro-gun organizations to make the most of President Trump’s limited time in office,” he added.

EXCLUSIVE: The chair of the Senate Republican campaign arm says that Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s entry into the high-profile Senate race in Texas is a key sign of the Democrats’ shift to the left.

“I think it says something about who the Democrats are nationally, not just in Texas. What it says is that they’ve been overrun by this radical left agenda that focuses on rhetoric, not reality,” National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) chair Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., claimed in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on Monday.

Scott spoke soon after Crockett, the progressive firebrand and vocal critic of President Donald Trump and Republicans, filed paperwork and formally announced her 2026 campaign for the Senate.

Crockett’s campaign announcement, which was expected, will likely further rock a high-profile and heavily contested Senate race in Texas, which, on the Republican side, includes incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and GOP primary rivals state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt.

FIERCE TRUMP CRITIC CROCKETT SHAKES UP HIGH STAKES SENATE RACE

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a two-term Democratic House member from Texas, on Monday launched a 2026 campaign for the U.S. Senate.  (Getty Images)

The race is one of a handful across the country that may determine if the GOP holds its Senate majority in next year’s midterm elections.

Scott — pointing to comments by Crockett comparing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Democratic-led cities to “slave patrols” in southern states prior to the Civil War — said they were “disgusting, repugnant, but consistent with the philosophy of this new Democrat Party that’s filled with socialism.”

CROCKETT SPENDS EYE-POPPING AMOUNT OF CAMPAIGN CASH ON THIS

The senator from South Carolina also highlighted Crockett’s comments last month to CNN praising New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and saying that the democratic socialist politician “could do a Masterclass for all Democrats on communication.”

“I can’t think of a more clear depiction of what she believes is a path forward for Democrats,” Scott insisted.

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, seen standing for an interview with Fox News Digital, is chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

Republicans have repeatedly aimed to make Mamdani the new face of the Democratic Party as they attempt to portray Democrats as far-left radicals.

The announcement by Crockett, a rising-star Democrat who has a large social media footprint thanks to her viral jabs at Republicans and her verbal sparing on social media with Trump, came hours after one of the two Democrats already running for the Senate in 2026 abandoned his bid.

Former Rep. Colin Allred, who was making his second straight bid for the Senate in right-leaning Texas, on Monday morning ended his campaign and instead launched a congressional campaign as he seeks to return to the House. 

EX-NFL STAR ABANDONS SENATE BID AS JASMINE CROCKETT NEARS MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT

But Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, a former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian who is also seen as a rising Democratic Party star, remains in the Senate primary, setting up a face-off between two surging contenders with formidable fundraising. 

Crockett’s entry into the Senate race, and her showdown with Talarico, may shift the spotlight off of the GOP primary, where Cornyn, the longtime incumbent who hails from the party’s establishment wing, has cut into the one-time large lead by Paxton, a MAGA firebrand, with Hunt in third, according to public opinion polling.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas is facing GOP primary challenges from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt as the longtime senator seeks re-election in 2026. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty)

The concern among Republicans is that Paxton, who has been battered over the past decade by a slew of scandals and legal problems and who is now dealing with a messy divorce, would put the seat in play if he won the GOP nomination. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Scott, and the NRSC are backing Cornyn.

But Crockett’s Senate candidacy may change the political equation. While her aggressive push-back against Trump and the GOP should play well with the left, it could deflate her chances of winning next November among Texas’ general election electorate.

Asked if Crockett’s entry into the race improves the GOP’s odds of holding the seat next year, Scott said: “The truth of the matter is a simple formula. John Cornyn, our nominee, Texas remains red. Period. Full stop. End of discussion.”

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Scott said the NRSC is “focused on one thing and one thing only, and that’s keeping Texas red, and that means John Cornyn must be our nominee, and he wins, period. So it’s not who the Democrat is, it’s who we are. And John Cornyn is the best representative for Texas this cycle that we’ll ever see.”

By dropping out of the race, Allred will likely allow Democrats to avoid a costly and messy primary runoff in the spring, giving the party more time to consolidate around their nominee and raise much-needed campaign cash.

Meanwhile, with Cornyn, Paxton, and Hunt all taking aim at each other in a combustible primary, the GOP nomination appears headed towards a runoff, which would be triggered if no candidate tops 50% in the early March primary.

Asked if he’s concerned about the GOP nomination battle extending to a primary runoff, Scott predicted that “Cornyn will win the primary and Cornyn will win the general election.”

Members of the Trump administration knocked out pull-ups at Reagan National Airport on Monday as they rolled out a $1 billion initiative aimed at making the holiday rush healthier and more kid-friendly.

Video showed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. doing 20 pull-ups with his shirt untucked as people counted each time he lifted his chin above the bar.

After Kennedy dropped back to the ground, Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stepped up to the bar and completed 10 pull-ups.

The display kicked off the administration’s “Make Travel Family Friendly Again” campaign, a program aimed at easing some of the most common frustrations families face when flying.

NEW TSA PROGRAM LAUNCHED TO ELIMINATE DOUBLE SCREENINGS FOR INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy does pull-ups at Reagan National Airport to promote a new program to make travel family friendly again. (CSPAN)

Duffy said the initiative is intended to make every part of the travel day more seamless, from navigating security with young children to finding places to exercise or nurse.

The $1 billion announced Monday is designed to help airports build more play areas and exercise spaces for kids, add mothers’ rooms or nursing pods, create family screening lanes at security checkpoints, and install sensory rooms for children with special needs.

Airports can also pitch their own projects if they focus on improving the family travel experience.

NOEM TEASES ‘NEXT BIG ANNOUNCEMENT’ THAT MAY CHANGE AIRPORT SECURITY RULE

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., completed 20 pull-ups at a press conference on Dec. 8, 2025, at Reagan National Airport. (Getty Images)

Duffy said bringing about a “Golden Age” of travel required focusing on families.

“Bringing about a Golden Age in travel has to involve making the family travel experience happier and healthier,” he said. “Today’s announcement demonstrates the Trump Administration’s commitment to enacting a Family First agenda and improving the lives of the American people.”

Kennedy emphasized the health side of the effort, saying everyone who passes through a U.S. airport should have “access to fresh, whole foods.”

DUFFY URGES SENATE TO PASS BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’S $12.5B AIR TRAFFIC SYSTEM FIX

Transportation Security Secretary Sean Duffy said bringing about a “Golden Age” of travel required focusing on families. (Chalabala )

He pointed to Farmer’s Fridge and similar grab-and-go vendors as examples of how airports could make healthier meals as convenient as fast food.

Alongside federal funding for terminal upgrades, the administration is encouraging airports and private partners to expand nutritional options in terminals nationwide.

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The goal, Kennedy said, is to set a standard where healthy eating is part of daily life even when people are rushing to catch a flight.

“Everyone who passes through an airport in this country should have access to fresh, whole foods,” Kennedy said. “Secretary Duffy and I are working to ensure our airports set the standard for a future where healthy eating is part of daily life – travel days included.”

Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas launched her Senate campaign Monday with an ironic ad using President Donald Trump’s past insults against her, prompting a flurry of reactions on social media.

Her campaign was announced in a video posted on X on Monday afternoon. In the ad, Crockett was shown standing as Trump’s verbal jabs played in the background.

“How about this new one they have? Their new star, Crockett. How about her? She’s the new star of the Democrat Party, Jasmine Crockett. They’re in big trouble,” Trump is heard saying in the video.

“Somebody said the other day, she’s one of the leaders of the party. I said you gotta be kidding,” the audio of Trump continued.

RISING DEMOCRAT STAR JAMES TALARICO JUMPS INTO KEY SENATE RACE IN TEXAS

Rep. Jasmine Crockett was mocked as “low IQ” by President Trump in the past. (Getty Images)

“Oh man, oh man. She’s a very low IQ person…now they’re gonna rely on Crockett. Crockett’s gonna bring them back.”

The ad was well-received by liberal commentators on X, who described it as a strong debut.

“Jasmine Crockett’s launch ad is brilliant,” Ed Krassenstein wrote.

Jasmine Crockett is running for the United States Senate and Republicans should be terrified,” Democratic strategist Adam Parkhomenko said. “She’s smart, fearless, relentless, and she doesn’t back down from anybody. This is the matchup Texas deserves. Let’s go.”

On the other side of the political aisle, conservatives and critics reacted to the ad with mockery.

“I never thought I’d say this but I agree with every word of this Jasmine Crockett ad,” commentator Matt Walsh wrote.

‘DIVA’ CROCKETT SLAMMED IN SCATHING REPORT ALLEGING ‘TOXIC STAFF ENVIRONMENT’ WHERE STAFF IS BERATED TO TEARS

Rep. Jasmine Crockett launched her Texas Senate campaign with an ad featuring President Trump’s own insults against her, sparking social media reactions. (LM Otero/AP Photo)

“A few months ago it was reported that Jasmine Crockett’s phone lock screen is a photo of herself,” Republican operative Matt Wolking claimed. “Today, her launch ad continues the theme.”

Speaking at a campaign event in Texas on Monday, Crockett said that “gloves have been off” and that she was “jumping into the ring.”

“I’m asking for your support to be the next United States Senator from the greatest state of Texas,” she said.

“They tell us that Texas is red. They are lying, we’re not. The reality is that most Texans don’t get out to vote.”

Crockett also said that she made the decision to run after learning that “the numbers were strongest for my candidacy for United States Senate.”

“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 didn’t choose to do that because Texas, this moment we’re in now, is life or death, and it’s all or nothing,” she said. “It’s now or never. We find ourselves at a crossroads.”

Her campaign launch event had a lively atmosphere, including an impromptu performance by a musical artist named Cameron McCloud.

McCloud performed a rap song with the verses, “They only trying to scare her out running because they think she’ll win / Listen, thought I told y’all we ain’t never scared / Now look who name on the docket / Got two words for every racist bigot, Jasmine Crockett.”

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, has been a critic of President Trump during her time in Congress. (Julia Beverly/Getty Images)

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“Amen, Amen… make some noise for Jasmine Crockett one time,” McCloud said to a cheering audience.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump warned Monday that Mexico’s failure to deliver water owed under a decades-old treaty is harming Texas farmers and could trigger a new tariff if the country does not immediately release a critical share of its required supply.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Mexico must release 200,000 acre-feet of water through the 1944 Water Treaty before Dec. 31 or face a 5% tariff.

“Mexico continues to violate our comprehensive Water Treaty, and this violation is seriously hurting our BEAUTIFUL TEXAS CROPS AND LIVESTOCK,” the president wrote. “Mexico still owes the U.S over 800,000 acre-feet of water for failing to comply with our Treaty over the past five years.”

“The U.S [sic] needs Mexico to release 200,000 acre-feet of water before December 31st, and the rest must come soon after,” Trump continued. “As of now, Mexico is not responding, and it is very unfair to our U.S. Farmers who deserve this much needed water. That is why I have authorized documentation to impose a 5% Tariff on Mexico if this water isn’t released, IMMEDIATELY.”

AMERICA’S QUIETEST CROP IS SET TO TAKE CENTER STAGE IN TRUMP–XI TALKS

President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Mexico if it did not release water to Texas farmers, as agreed under the 1944 Water Treaty. (Reuters)

“The longer Mexico takes to release the water, the more our Farmers are hurt. Mexico has an obligation to FIX THIS NOW,” he added.

Texas farm groups warned last year of a disastrous season for citrus and sugar as Mexican and U.S. officials worked to resolve a dispute over the 1944 treaty that supplies U.S. farmers with critical irrigation. The two countries have clashed over the treaty before, but drought-driven shortages were the most severe in nearly 30 years.

TRUMP TO UNLEASH $12B FARM RESCUE AS CHINA TRADE RESET HITS US GROWERS

Fishermen Martin Delgado, 57, and Jesus Yanez, 57, sail in a boat at the Luis L. Leon “El Granero” dam affected by the drought in the municipality of Aldama, in Chihuahua state, Mexico August 3, 2022. (Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo/Reuters)

In April, the Trump administration and Mexican officials reached a deal to ensure Texas farmers get much-needed water from the Rio Grande, less than a month after Trump accused Mexico of withholding water promised under the treaty.

Under that agreement, Mexico committed to send water from international reservoirs and increase U.S. flow from six of Mexico’s Rio Grande tributaries through the end of the current five-year water cycle.

DEAL STRUCK BETWEEN US AND MEXICO TO ENSURE TEXAS FARMERS GET MUCH-NEEDED WATER

Community resident and farmer Byer Junfin, 37, surveys land and water flow near a Flow Meter Station on February 22, 2023, in Quemado, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins called the measure a significant step forward and said the Trump administration welcomes Mexico’s continued cooperation in support of American agriculture.

Under the 1944 Water Treaty, Mexico agreed to deliver 1.75 million acre-feet of water over five years from the Rio Grande.

In exchange, the U.S. agreed to deliver 1.5 million acre-feet to Mexico from the Colorado River.

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But Mexico has fallen short at times, leading to severe water shortages in the Rio Grande Valley for farmers and ranchers. Those shortages have killed crops and jobs and threatened the region’s economy.

FIRST ON FOX: Four-term chairperson of the Republican National Committee (RNC), Ronna McDaniel, is calling out mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani for hypocritically running a campaign focused on making New York City more affordable, arguing that his selection of a former Biden administration official, Lina Khan, as a top advisor will serve to undermine that.

McDaniel, tapped last week to lead the Competitiveness Coalition, a right-leaning nonprofit focused on advancing free market principles, penned a letter to Mamdani in one of her first major national moves since leaving the RNC. McDaniel called on the mayor-elect to fire Khan, President Joe Biden’s former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chair, who Mamdani appointed as co-chair of his transition team. 

McDaniel said that if the NYC mayor-elect is really going to be true to his word about lowering costs for New Yorkers, he cannot have someone like Khan in his administration who “is not only a flashback to the dreaded Biden days that 77 million Americans rejected by re-electing President Trump,” but also holds a history of “policy prescriptions [that] have failed before and will again.”

MAMDANI ECONOMIC ADVISOR IS REPARATIONS ACTIVIST WHO SAYS ‘DEVALUATION OF BLACK LIVES’ INGRAINED IN US SYSTEM

Zohran Mamdani’s transition co-chair Lina Khan speaks at a press conference Wednesday afternoon in Queens.  (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

“He’s saying one thing and doing another by putting her as the co-chair of his transition team,” McDaniel told Fox News Digital. “Lina Khan, for us, represents the embodiment of inflation in this country, and Bidenomics. I think she’s the best example of somebody who raised prices across this country by fighting entrepreneurship, and innovation, and big business, and capitalism.”

During Khan’s tenure as Biden’s FTC chair, she garnered a reputation as a fierce crusader against big business. McDaniel’s letter said that “early reports” from the business community in New York have indicated they are prepared for a “rehash” of the playbook Khan ran at the FTC under Biden.

One example cited in the letter was Khan’s alleged opposition to a proposed merger between Amazon and the Massachusetts-based company iRobot, designer of the popular self-cleaning vacuum called Roomba. According to McDaniel’s letter, Khan’s opposition contributed to the company’s subsequent bankruptcy, and resulted in 350 iRobot employees losing their jobs amid a 31% cut to the company’s workforce. McDaniel also said in her letter that Khan sent taxpayer resources to regulators overseas in Europe “in their quest to apply more red tape” to American companies operating in the European Union.

TOP MAMDANI TRANSITION LEADER WAS HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY SOROS NETWORK DURING BIDEN ADMIN

“Later in her term, reports even surfaced that Khan was communicating with Temu, a Chinese-owned company linked to the Chinese Communist Party, in an attempt to gather damaging information on American retailers,” McDaniel wrote to Mamdani.  “Surely we can agree that handicapping American innovators to benefit their CCP-linked rivals harms our geopolitical standing.”

Mamdani’s appointment of Khan serves to illustrate that the mayor-elect doesn’t care about inflation or “what Bidenomics did to the people of New York and across the country,” McDaniel added in an interview with Fox News Digital, noting that over-regulation by Mamdani is a real concern for her. 

Businesses will flee New York City for places with better tax rates and less regulation that allow them to grow, do better and thrive, McDaniel argued.

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“When you look at what Mamdani ran on, these things that sound good but in practice won’t be good – rent control, government-run grocery stores, free bussing, raising the corporate tax rate … it sounds good, but it’s not tenable and what it means is that businesses will say, ‘Guess where I’m not going to do business in? New York City. I’m going to go to states that have better tax rates, that have less regulation, that will allow me to pay my employees and grow,” McDaniel contended. 

“That’s why socialism is sometimes confusing, especially for young voters,” the former RNC chair added. “All it means is an inefficient, loaded government that will cost more taxpayer money and will cost you more and leave less jobs in the long run.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Khan and Mamdani’s staff for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.

EXCLUSIVE: Hollywood action star Lorenzo Lamas recoiled at the thought of California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom leading the United States in the country’s highest elected office.

“A President Newsom? God forbid,” Lamas remarked during an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.

“You have to look at the state of California. Do voters out there in our wonderful, beautiful nation want to elect a person who’s failed the state of California so pitifully? I hope not.”

Lamas, who is best known for his action roles in the 80s and 90s, said he is breaking his political silence to endorse Sheriff Chad Bianco, a pro-law enforcement Republican, for California governor. He said that the Newsom administration has had a “devastating” impact on California. So much so that he believes the state may be ready to send the first Republican to the California governor’s mansion since Arnold Schwarzenegger left in 2011.

HOLLYWOOD STAR ENDORSES REPUBLICAN FOR CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR AFTER ‘DEVASTATING’ NEWSOM ADMIN

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at the 2025 New York Times DealBook Summit in New York City on Dec. 3, 2025. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

“I love the state of California. It’s my home. I’ve lived in other parts of the nation. And as beautiful as this country is, California is my home,” Lamas explained, adding, “A lot of my friends have moved out of the state of California because of the burdensome tax situation, politics have forced people out of the state. But I’m sticking it out. I’m here in California because I believe in fighting here in California for what Californians deserve. And that’s why I’m supporting Chad Bianco.”

But with Newsom’s tenure as governor coming to a close due to California term limit laws, there is growing speculation that he is eyeing a Democratic presidential run in 2028. This has been further confirmed by statements by Newsom, such as a segment on CBS News in which he said “I’d be lying” if he said he was not considering a run.

Already one of the Democratic Party’s most recognizable leaders, Newsom has further emerged as one of the leading critics of President Donald Trump and his administration. This has further solidified his position among the top contenders to challenge the Republican who will succeed Trump.

GAVIN NEWSOM WINNING EARLY ENTHUSIASM FROM LIBERAL HOLLYWOOD DONORS AHEAD OF 2028: REPORT

Riverside Republican Sheriff Chad Bianco (left) received an endorsement from Hollywood star Lorenzo Lamas (right) for California governor. (Gilbert Flores via Getty; Chad Bianco campaign)

Lamas, however, shared a warning to the nation about a Newsom presidency, saying, “The impact on the state of California with the [Newsom] administration is nothing short of devastating.”

He pointed to the rising homeless population in Los Angeles and San Francisco and the lack of preparedness for natural disasters, such as the Palisades fires, as evidence of what he called severe mismanagement by state leadership.

“So much money has been budgeted for programs to help these people, and I see no difference other than it’s growing. So, where’s the money?” he said. “There’s nobody that’s accounting for the millions of dollars that are spent on welfare programs that’s not benefiting anybody that can use it. So, it’s a tremendous amount of mismanagement. And I think Governor Newsom has done a horrific job in accountability about where the money’s gone.”

He also pointed to Newsom’s outspoken opposition to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

UNEARTHED FEC RECORDS EXPOSE KATIE PORTER’S HYPOCRISY AFTER SHE FUMES AT ‘NEW BILLIONAIRE’ JOINING RACE

A drone image shows damage from the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 28, 2025. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

“The problem with the undocumented is that it’s systemic,” said Lamas. “When you have sanctuary cities, you have higher crime rates. And listen, I’m a Christian, I believe that we’re all God’s children. But I also believe that we have laws that need to be obeyed, laws that need to be followed. And without law, there’s complete chaos.”

He said that the way Newsom and local leaders “have treated the federal government in terms of coming in and removing criminals and people that are here in our country illegally is horrendous.”

A spokesperson for Newsom’s office dismissed Lamas’ criticisms, responding to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the criticisms with a one-word statement asking, “Who?”

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Newsom’s term as California governor ends in January 2027.

If Bianco wins the Republican nomination, he will be facing an uphill battle in traditionally deep blue California. Democrats running include Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif. and former Rep. Katie Porter.

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

–Obamacare paying out for tens of thousands of dead and bogus accounts: Watchdog

-Lawmaker urges release of Venezuela strike footage as parties split over whether targets were defenseless

-Trump to unleash $12B lifeline to farmers in new aid package amid China trade reset

Fierce Trump critic Jasmine Crockett shakes up high-stakes Senate race

Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, the progressive firebrand and vocal critic of President Donald Trump and Republicans, has filed paperwork to run for the U.S. Senate, according to a party spokesperson.

A spokesperson for the Texas Democratic Party confirmed to Fox News Digital on Monday that Crockett had filed paperwork to run for Senate. She is expected to officially launch her Senate campaign on Monday evening in a race that may determine if the GOP holds its majority in the chamber next year.

Crockett’s campaign announcement, which was expected, will likely further rock a high-profile and heavily contested race in Texas, which, on the Republican side, includes incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and GOP primary rivals state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt…READ MORE.
 

Rep. Jasmine Crockett was mocked as “low IQ” by President Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday. (Getty Images)

White House

EXEC POWER GRAB: SCOTUS takes up Trump’s bid to fire FTC commissioner at will — a showdown that could topple 90-year precedent

COURT BLOCKS TRUMP: Alina Habba becomes Bondi adviser, leaving role as top New Jersey prosecutor

Alina Habba speaks on stage on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wis.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

‘TOTAL FAKE NEWS’: White House calls report about Trump considering firing Noem ‘total fake news’

‘PETTY ACTION’: Trump HHS changes transgender Biden official’s nameplate back to birth name

Rachel L. Levine speaks on stage during the “Takling the Youth Mental-Health Crisis” Panel for The Atlantic Festival 2024 on Sept. 19, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for The Atlantic)

World Stage

TROOPS LOCKED DOWN: Congress moves to block Pentagon from cutting US troops in Europe and South Korea

MONEY TRAIL EXPOSED: Israel unmasks Iran-directed Hamas cash network in Turkey as Ankara pushes for Gaza role

People protest in support of Palestinians in Gaza during a protest rally in Istanbul, Turkey, on Feb. 17, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Capitol Hill

WASTE NOT: ‘DOGE is not dead,’ defiant House caucus leader declares in push to revive Musk-era cuts

Congressional DOGE Caucus co-chair Rep. Aaron Bean speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill on February 25, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

TRADING JABS: MTG defends herself as ‘America first’ after Trump slams her on Truth Social

MELTING THE FROST: FBI to be under harsh new microscope as Stefanik scores victory in annual defense bill

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., leaves a House Republican Conference meeting with President Donald Trump on the budget reconciliation bill in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.  (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Across America 

‘CONTINUE THE FIGHT’: Pressure mounts on Mamdani to ‘continue the fight’ on illicit Chinese vapes flooding NYC

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun speaks during a press conference at the Gary Chicago International Airport in Gary, Indiana, on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. He has called a special session to redraw the state’s House map. (Michael Gard/Post-Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

LINES DRAWN: Trump turns up the heat on red-state Republicans blocking new congressional maps

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

EXCLUSIVE: The state of Alaska sent warning letters Monday to four major insurance firms, saying their climate-related policies may violate state insurance and consumer-protection laws by creating an uneven playing field for energy projects.

The news comes as Alaska’s congressional delegation led a successful effort to disapprove – or overturn – Biden-era restrictions placed on energy exploration in Section 1002 of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) on Thursday, effectively lifting those restrictions. 

Alaska Attorney General Stephen Cox and Commerce Commissioner Julie Sande warned AIG, Zurich, Chubb and The Hartford that some of their policies may conflict with state rules designed to protect Alaska’s status as a leading investment destination, particularly for energy production.

“Alaska’s insurance code is built on a central premise: underwriting decisions must rest on risk, and that means no discrimination based on extra-legal political, environmental, or long-range policy commitments,” the beginning of each of the four letters read.

CLIMATE LAWFARE CAMPAIGN DEALT BLOW IN SOUTH CAROLINA

The Alaska pipeline parallels the famous ‘ice-road-trucker’ Dalton Hwy in Alaska. (Lance King/Getty Images)

“And where the insurance code doesn’t reach, our consumer-protection statute prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices, which could include misrepresentations of compliance with Alaska law in contractual dealings.”

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy told Fox News Digital his administration is taking a close look at “friction points” that may make it harder to build things in the Last Frontier.

“With respect to how our projects get insured, we’re concerned that some of the underwriting standards being applied today—particularly broad Arctic exclusions and long-range climate-driven policy restrictions—may be shutting out responsible Alaska projects for reasons that have nothing to do with actual risk,” he said.

TRUMP ADMIN IMPLODES LITERAL BIDEN ROADBLOCK WITH POTENTIAL TO UNLEASH MAJOR MINING WINDFALL

Dunleavy said the letters are foremost meant to start a dialogue with the four insurers so that he and officials in Juneau can better understand their policies and underwriting criteria – and clear up any “misconceptions about our state.”

In the state’s letter to AIG CEO Peter Zaffino, Alaskan officials wrote of “substantial concerns” about the insurer’s treatment of the state’s oil and gas sector, amid documentation it published committing to “phasing out” underwriting of existing operation insurance risks and halting new investments for clients deriving 30% or more revenue from coal or oil-sands by 2030.

The company also cited a 2050 net-zero greenhouse gas emissions standard for its policies in a separate document footnoted in the letter.

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

“AIG’s net-zero underwriting goal necessarily will result in emissions requirements that do not appear to be tied to short-term actuarial risk within the policy period,” Juneau’s letter read.

“AIG’s goal appears to be an effort to reshape a lawful sector according to AIG’s long-term environmental commitments.”

In a sentiment expressed to The Hartford, Juneau officials wrote that, “when an insurer adopts blanket exclusions based on geography or on long-range public policy objectives untethered to risk, those exclusions function as de-facto prohibitions on investment.”

TOP INSURANCE COMPANY IN HOT SEAT AS BLISTERING NEW AD CAMPAIGN EXPOSES ‘RADICAL WOKE IDEOLOGY’

In its letter to Zurich’s North America executive Kristof Terryn, Alaska also cited a reported “net-zero” goal of 2050, writing that “whatever the merits of those commitments, Alaska law requires insurers to treat insureds with like risk characteristics alike and to base underwriting decisions on risk—not on corporate climate-policy preferences or extra-legal standards developed to “[l]imit… average temperature increases” in line with the Paris Agreement,” citing a company document.

It warned that Zurich in the future may run afoul of the Alaska Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act, but stressed “we do not reach that conclusion here, but it is part of our broader review.”

Alaska took issue with Chubb’s March 2025 announcement that it would no longer underwrite oil and gas projects in International Union for the Conservation of Nature management categories one through four – which it noted included ANWR.

AG LEADING SUIT AGAINST NY EFFORT TO PUNISH ENERGY FIRMS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE WARNS OF MAJOR REPERCUSSIONS

Cox and Sande wrote that the underwriting prohibition on ANWR is one that “uniquely affects Alaska” and that “Alaska has invested years of planning and permitting work to open responsible opportunity in the ANWR… no other state faces this kind of prohibition.”

Consumers’ Research executive director Will Hild told Fox News Digital that the situation reveals “woke capitalism masquerading as risk management.”

“[I]t threatens jobs, consumers, and President Trump’s energy agenda. Consumers’ Research applauds the Alaska delegation for standing up to these woke insurers and defending Alaskan consumers from political ideology.”

As a response to potential criticisms from a macro level, Juneau officials said Alaska is home to modern transmission systems, well-trained operators and “robust” environmental protection rules.

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ANWR is shown. (Fox News/On The Record)

In prior statements, Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg assured observers that his company will continue supporting energy development through its underwriting.

“We’re continuing to insure oil and gas because the world needs energy,” Greenberg said. “We don’t yet have great alternatives to gas and oil. And it would be irresponsible of us not to continue to insure those in a responsible way.” 

ChubbFacts, a noted fact-check site supporting the insurance giant’s arguments in cases such as this, pushed back on claims of “wokeness” and other critiques, saying that it insured some of President Donald Trump’s legal cases, as well as oil companies, manufacturers, construction firms, and American farmers as a leading agricultural insurer—regardless of politics.”

“We’ve taken heat from climate activists for continuing to insure energy companies, but our focus never shifts,” the company wrote on ChubbFacts.com.

Fox News Digital reached out to media contact addresses for The Hartford, AIG, Zurich and Chubb for additional comment.

Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, the progressive firebrand and vocal critic of President Donald Trump and Republicans, has filed paperwork to run for the U.S. Senate, according to a party spokesperson.

A spokesperson for the Texas Democratic Party confirmed to Fox News Digital on Monday that Crockett had filed paperwork to run for the Senate. She is expected to officially launch her Senate campaign on Monday evening in a race that may determine if the GOP holds its majority in the chamber next year.

Crockett’s campaign announcement, which was expected, will likely further rock a high-profile and heavily contested race in Texas, which, on the Republican side, includes incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and GOP primary rivals state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt. 

The official announcement by the rising-star Democrat, who has a large social media footprint and currently represents a Dallas area district, will come hours after one of the two Democrats already running for the Senate in 2026 abandoned his bid.

EX-NFL STAR ABANDONS SENATE BID AS JASMINE CROCKETT NEARS MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a two-term Democratic House member from Texas, on Monday launched a 2026 campaign for the U.S. Senate.  (Getty Images)

Former Rep. Colin Allred, who was making his second straight bid for the Senate in right-leaning Texas, on Monday morning ended his campaign and instead launched a congressional campaign as he seeks to return to the House. 

But Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, a former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian who is also seen as a rising Democratic Party star, remains in the Senate primary, setting up a face-off between two surging contenders with formidable fundraising. 

Talarico responded to Crockett entering the race by saying, “We’re building a movement in Texas — fueled by record-breaking grassroots fundraising and 10,000 volunteers who are putting in the work to defeat the billionaire mega-donors and puppet politicians who have taken over our state. Our movement is rooted in unity over division — so we welcome Congresswoman Crockett into this race.”

Crockett held an event announcing her decision roughly 90 minutes before the deadline on the final day for candidates to file for the state’s March 3 primary. 

Crockett had teased a possible bid for weeks, and she commissioned polling to make her case for a Senate run in Texas, where no Democrat has won a statewide election in over three decades.

Former Democratic Rep. Colin Allred of Texas announced on Monday that he would abandon his 2026 U.S. Senate campaign and instead run to return to the House. (Reuters/Marco Bello)

Allred, who was making a second straight Senate bid after losing to conservative firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz by roughly 9 points last year, said in a statement that he didn’t want to contribute to anything that would splinter Democrats’ hopes of flipping the GOP-held Senate seat in next year’s elections.

“In the past few days, I’ve come to believe that a bruising Senate Democratic primary and runoff would prevent the Democratic Party from going into this critical election unified against the danger posed to our communities and our Constitution by Donald Trump and one of his Republican bootlickers Paxton, Cornyn, or Hunt,” Allred wrote.

By dropping out of the race, Allred will likely allow Democrats to avoid a costly and messy primary runoff in the spring, giving the party more time to consolidate around their nominee and raise much-needed campaign cash.

Meanwhile, with Cornyn, Paxton, and Hunt all taking aim at each other in a combustible primary, the GOP nomination may be headed towards a runoff, which would be triggered if no candidate tops 50% in the primary.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas is facing GOP primary challenges from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt as the longtime senator seeks re-election in 2026. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty)

The 44-year-old Crockett, who is Black, is a former state representative and civil rights lawyer. She won her seat in 2022 after longtime Democratic Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, who was retiring, hand-picked her as his successor in Congress.

Crockett, who won re-election last year, has become one of the most well-known Democratic politicians in the country the past couple of years, thanks to her viral jabs at Republicans and her verbal sparing on social media with Trump, who has repeatedly questioned her intelligence. And she’s grabbed plenty of headlines during her time on the House Oversight Committee.

CROCKET SPENDS EYE-POPPING AMOUNT OF CAMPAIGN CASH ON THIS

While her Senate run will likely excite many Democrats, thanks to her energy and her proven fundraising ability, her frequent push-back against GOP politicians may energize Republicans.

Among her biggest blunders — calling Abbott, who is partially paralyzed and uses a wheelchair, “Gov. Hot Wheels.”

Crockett has also compared Trump to Adolf Hitler on multiple occasions while accusing aspects of the Republican Party of fascism.

She notably ran for ranking member of the House Oversight Committee earlier this year following the death of its previous top Democrat, the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., but dropped out of the race after failing to win the recommendation of leadership within her party.

But the Dallas-area Democrat has won favor with some party leaders, like ex-Vice President Kamala Harris, who revealed in her memoir “107 Days” that she mentored Crockett as part of her covert “Stars Project” while in office.

Crockett spoke at the Democratic National Convention last year when Harris was named the party’s presidential candidate, a notable slot for someone who was then a first-term House lawmaker.

BIG WIN FOR TRUMP, GOP, AS SUPREME COURT GREENLIGHTS NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP IN TEXAS

She had also been facing some tough decisions in her House race after the new GOP-led Texas congressional map appeared to draw her home out of her current district.

Monday’s filing deadline came just a few days after the Supreme Court upheld the state’s congressional redistricting, which was passed by the GOP-dominated Texas legislature and signed into law by longtime Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. The new map creates five more right-leaning House districts in the Lone Star State and is a key part of Trump’s aggressive national campaign to reshape congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterms, when GOP will defend its razor-thin House majority. 

Democratic State Rep. James Talarico of Texas in September launched a 2026 U.S. Senate campaign. (Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Crockett’s entry into the Senate race, and her showdown with Talarico, may shift the spotlight off of the GOP primary, where Cornyn, the longtime incumbent who hails from the party’s establishment wing, has cut into the one-time large lead by Paxton, a MAGA firebrand, with Hunt in third.

The concern among Republicans is that Paxton, who has been battered over the past decade by a slew of scandals and legal problems and who is now dealing with a messy divorce, would put the seat in play if he won the GOP nomination.

But Crockett’s Senate candidacy may change the political equation.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, seen during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, is running for the U.S. Senate in 2026. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

While her aggressive push-back against Trump and the GOP should play well with the left, it could deflate her chances of winning next November among Texas’ general election electorate.

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The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the campaign arm of the Senate GOP, this past summer paid for a Democratic primary poll in Texas which showed Crockett the frontrunner by double digits. The publicly released survey was apparently done to encourage Crockett to enter the race, with the GOP assuming she would be more beatable than Allred or Talarico.

NRSC communications director Joanna Gonzalez, in a statement to Fox News Digital after Crockett announced, charged that “Jasmine Crockett leading her primary is the latest sign that the Democrat Party is being run by radical leftists.”

Delanie Bomar, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, also chimed in, telling Fox News Digital that “Jasmine Crockett’s shenanigans are an embarrassment to Texas. Everything’s bigger in Texas — except her ability to win this race.”

The White House is turning up the heat on former President Joe Biden’s economic record as voters voice their discontent with current cost-of-living woes that President Donald Trump campaigned to bring down after his economic successes in his first term. 

“Putting an end to Joe Biden’s inflation and affordability crisis has been a Day One priority for President Trump,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital Monday morning when asked about the White House message on affordability. 

“Every Trump administration official has been playing their part over the past year to deliver on this priority, from slashing costly regulations to securing historic drug pricing deals — efforts that have cooled inflation and raised real wages,” he continued. “Much work remains, but President Trump is highlighting the meaningful progress that his Administration has made and will continue to make to turn Joe Biden’s economic disaster around.” 

The Trump administration is facing a crisis over its economic messaging as Democrats increasingly, and effectively, lean into their message of “affordability” that helped deliver a series of election wins during the off-season cycle in November. 

JEN PSAKI MOCKS TRUMP, GOP OVER ‘AFFORDABILITY’ MESSAGE DURING COLBERT APPEARANCE

The White House is turning up the heat on former President Joe Biden’s economic record.  (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Americans’ feelings of financial uncertainty come after Trump touted from the campaign trail that he would “rapidly” bring down prices upon his return to the Oval Office following Biden’s tenure, while administration officials have said that the Trump economy under his second term is “booming” while taking ownership of economic wins. 

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick even claimed months ago that the Trump economy had taken hold after the Biden administration’s spiraling inflation woes. 

“The Trump Economy has officially arrived,” Lutnick posted to X in July while pointing to the surge in the GDP and Trump’s tariff policies. 

“Biden’s first quarter is behind us, and growth is already accelerating,” Lutnick posted to X. “President Trump’s tariff policies have drawn historic investments and opened up global markets for U.S. businesses. Congratulations America: 3 percent today, and we’re just getting started.” 

When asked about the past comments amid the White House’s push to promote the president’s economic record, a White House official said Monday: “Lutnick is not the president.”

United States Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick claimed in July that the Trump economy officially had arrived.  (Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)

The administration repeatedly has taken victory laps for its economic wins this year — while also taking shots at the Biden administration — including celebrating in recent months that the “Economy Is Back on Track Under President Trump,” that there’s been “Explosive Growth in Trump’s Economy,” while the president has underscored that his tariff policies have been a “tremendous success.” 

VANCE ACKNOWLEDGES VOTERS ‘IMPATIENT’ ON AFFORDABILITY, REJECTS ‘TOTALLY BULLS— NARRATIVE’ 

“President Trump’s America First Economic Agenda has created a BOOMING economy — jobs are up, unemployment is down, wages are increasing, and inflation is dead. More than 139,000 good jobs were added to the private sector in May, all accounted for by American-born workers. Americans should continue to trust in President Trump, who continues to beat expectations,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in June. 

Voters, however, have reported that they aren’t feeling financial relief. 

Trump is set to travel to Pennsylvania Tuesday, a key battleground state that helped deliver him his 2024 victory, to promote his administration’s economic policies and growth amid voters reporting financial anxiety. 

The economy has been a cornerstone of Trump’s tenure in political office, including championing his wins in his first administration — such as record unemployment and gas prices that dipped under $2 a gallon. 

Some 76% of voters, however, reported that they view the economy negatively, up from the 67% who reported the same in July, as well as the 70% who said the same at the end of Biden’s term, a November Fox News national survey found. 

The survey found that voters overwhelmingly blamed Trump over Biden. About twice as many voters polled reported that Trump, rather than Biden, is responsible for the current economy, with three times as many voters reporting that Trump’s economic policies have hurt them, which is on par with their feelings during Biden’s final year in office. 

Trump’s messaging on affordability itself has evolved in recent years, with his 2024 campaign promoting it would “Make America Affordable Again,” and the president later lamenting in November that “affordability” should be a message owned by Republicans, before also calling Democrats’ messaging on affordability a “con job” earlier in December. 

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

“But the word affordability is a con job by the Democrats,” Trump continued. 

REPUBLICAN POPULISM CRATERS AS TRUMP STUMBLES, DEMOCRATS SURGE 

Now, the White House is doubling down that the Biden economy is still strangling American pocketbooks and the Trump administration is working to right the ship. 

President Donald Trump has turned up the heat on former President Joe Biden’s economic record while in office.  (AP/Evan Vucci)

The White House told Fox Digital that Trump has “consistently — and correctly — pointed out how Joe Biden unleashed a generational economic disaster” since the campaign trail into the presidency. 

“This undeniable fact hasn’t stopped Democrats from shamelessly trying to harp on the affordability crisis that they created in the first place,” Desai said. “With inflation having cooled and trillions in investments pouring in, President Trump’s agenda is indeed delivering the booming economy that Americans enjoyed during his first term – and both he and the Administration will continue to underscore the work we are doing to make this happen.”

A White House official added that tax cuts will be felt by Americans early in the new year. 

“We inherited a mess,” Trump said from a roundtable Monday. “Affordability. But you can call it affordability or anything you want, but the Democrats cause the affordability problem, and we’re the ones that are fixing it. So it’s a very simple statement. And they caused it and we’re fixing it.”

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025 to announce a deal with AstraZeneca Plc to slash consumer prices on some of the company’s drugs.  (Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

TRUMP TORCHES DEMS’ ‘FAKE AFFORDABILITY’ PITCH – BUT GOP PANIC IN DEEP RED STATE HINTS VOTERS AREN’T BUYING IT

The Biden administration oversaw the highest inflation to rock the nation in 40 years, 30-year mortgage rates that rocketed from roughly 3% in 2021 to around 7%–8% in 2023, and the sharpest rise in interest rates in decades.

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Voters during the 2024 federal election pointed to the economy as far and away their top issue. Americans flooded the polls a year ago with their wallets at the top of their minds, backing Trump on the ballot as the majority of voters reported they were concerned they could not afford food, healthcare, housing and gas for their car, previous Fox News Voter Analysis data showed. 

President Donald Trump and allied groups are turning up the heat on Indiana Republican state senators who are resisting the president’s push for the red state to pass congressional redistricting.

The Indiana Senate reconvened on Monday, three days after the state House approved a new map championed by Trump that would create two more right-leaning congressional districts in the solidly red Midwestern state, where the GOP currently controls seven of Indiana’s nine U.S. House seats.

The action in Indiana comes after the Supreme Court last week cleared the way for GOP-dominated Texas to use its newly redrawn map, which creates five more right-leaning House seats.

And it marks the latest front in Trump’s aggressive national campaign to reshape congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterms, when Republicans will likely face traditional political headwinds as they defend their razor-thin House majority.

BIG WIN FOR TRUMP AS SUPREME COURT GREENLIGHTS TEXAS’ NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP

The GOP-controlled Indiana House, meeting in the Statehouse — seen in a file photo from 2017 — on Friday passed along party lines a congressional redistricting plan pushed by President Donald Trump. (Michael Conroy/AP Photo)

While the super majority in the Indiana House passed redistricting 57-41, with a dozen GOP lawmakers voting against the measure, the stakes are much higher this week, as the Republican-dominated state Senate, which has resisted Trump’s efforts to draw new congressional maps, meets to vote later in the week on the redistricting bill passed by the state House.

Indiana Senate Republican leader Rodric Bray has repeatedly said there wasn’t enough support in the chamber to move forward with redistricting. The state Senate split 19-19 last month in a proxy vote.

RED STATE MOVES FORWARD ON TRUMP CHAMPIONED CONGRESSIONAL MAPS

“A RINO State Senator, Rodric Bray, who doesn’t care about keeping the Majority in the House in D.C., is the primary problem. Soon, he will have a Primary Problem, as will any other politician who supports him in this stupidity,” Trump warned in a recent social media post.

Bray, in announcing that the state Senate would reconvene to take action on redistricting, said “the issue of redrawing Indiana’s congressional maps mid-cycle has received a lot of attention and is causing strife here in our state.”

A final vote by the state Senate is likely on Thursday.

President Donald Trump, seen pointing at the White House on Oct. 10, 2025, is targeting Indiana Republican lawmakers who are not supportive of the president’s congressional redistricting push. (Kent Nishimura/Reuters)

Trump has been twisting elbows in his attempt to make Indiana the latest Republican-controlled state to change their congressional maps. The president has called state lawmakers and Vice President JD Vance visited the state twice earlier this autumn to discuss redistricting.

Trump this weekend took to social media twice to keep up the pressure.

TRUMP TARGETS RED STATE REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS IN PUSH FOR CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING

“Why would a REAL Republican vote against this when the Dems have been doing it for years??? If they stupidly say no, vote them out of office — They are not worthy — And I will be there to help! Thank you Indiana!” he warned.

And in a separate post, Trump highlighted nine state Senate Republicans who have yet to announce their position on the new map, saying they “need encouragement to make the right decision.” The president added, “The Indiana Senate must now pass this Map, AS IS, and get it to Governor Mike Braun’s desk, ASAP, to deliver a gigantic Victory for Republicans in the “Hoosier State,” and across the Country.”

Trump has also taken some jabs at Braun, arguing that the governor “perhaps, is not working the way he should to get the necessary Votes.”

HOUSE GOP CAMPAIGN CHAIR WANTS TRUMP ‘OUT THERE ON THE TRAIL’ IN MIDTERM BATTLE FOR MAJORITY

While Trump recently called Braun “a good man,” he has warned he “must produce on this, or he will be the only Governor, Republican or Democrat, who didn’t.”

But Braun, pointing to the president, has touted that he is “committed to standing with him on the critical issue of passing fair maps in Indiana to ensure the MAGA agenda is successful in Congress.”

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, seen speaking during a press conference on Oct. 30, 2025, supports President Donald Trump’s push for congressional redistricting. (Michael Gard/Post-Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, the Trump-aligned conservative outside political group the Club for Growth Action and other groups have dished out big bucks to run ads in Indiana supporting redistricting, and along with Turning Point Action, will target Republican state lawmakers opposed to the new map.

Club for Growth President David McIntosh sent out a “FINAL WARNING” to Bray, warning that “failure to get this done means you and any other opposition will be defeated and removed from office in your next election.”

And Turning Point Action on Friday held a rally at the state capitol, where Braun spoke, to put pressure on Indiana Senate Republicans to support redistricting.

The push by the president in Indiana is part of a broad effort by Trump’s political team and the GOP to pad the party’s razor-thin House majority ahead of the midterms, when the party in power traditionally loses seats.

TRUMP-BACKED NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE MAP APPROVED BY LAWMAKERS AS REPUBLICANS AIM TO PICK UP SEAT

“We must keep the Majority at all costs,” the president wrote recently.

Trump, by championing rare but not unheard of mid-decade redistricting, is aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections.

Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push. State lawmakers in GOP-dominated Florida this week took the first steps towards passing a redistricting measure, and right-leaning Kansas is also mulling redrawing its map.

Two federal judges in Texas last month delivered a blow to Trump and Republicans, by ruling that the state couldn’t use the newly drawn map in next year’s elections. But the Supreme Court on Thursday gave a big thumbs up to the Lone Star State’s new congressional map.

Democrats are fighting back.

California voters a month ago overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative which will temporarily sidetrack the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democrat-dominated legislature.

That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which would counter the passage earlier this year in Texas of a new map that aims to create up to five right-leaning House seats. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an election night press conference at a California Democratic Party office Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Sacramento, California. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is considered a likely 2028 Democratic presidential contender, steered his state’s push for redistricting.

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Illinois and Maryland, two blue states, and Virginia, where Democrats control the legislature, are also taking steps or seriously considering redistricting.

And in a blow to Republicans, a Utah district judge last month rejected a congressional district map drawn up by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

President Donald Trump is poised to roll out a $12 billion farm aid package to support farmers, according to the White House. 

The aid package will provide up to $11 billion toward the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) new Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, which is designed to provide single payments to row crop farmers, while the remaining $1 billion will go to farmers whose crops do not qualify for the program. 

Further details will be hashed out as the USDA continues to evaluate market conditions, according to the White House. 

The president is expected to unveil the new aid package at a Monday roundtable at the White House. Those expected to appear at the event include Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, as well as corn, soybean, rice and other types of farmers. 

Those expected to appear at the event include Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.  (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The announcement comes as the U.S. and China have gone head-to-head on trade negotiations in 2025, and after China reigned in its soybean purchases from the U.S. amid ongoing tariff negotiations between Beijing and Washington, D.C. 

TRUMP TOUTS ‘12 OUT OF 10’ MEETING WITH XI, DOWNPLAYS REPORTS OF VENEZUELA STRIKES 

However, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in South Korea in October, where the two hashed out a series of agreements concerning trade. Specifically, Trump said he agreed to cut tariffs on Chinese imports by 10% — reducing the rate from 57% to 47% — because China said it would cooperate with the U.S. on addressing the U.S. fentanyl crisis.

Since those talks, China has started to boost its purchases of soybeans again. China purchased at least 840,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery in December and January, Reuters reported in November. That purchase marked the largest shipment since at least January, Reuters reported. 

U.S. President Donald Trump greets Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of a bilateral meeting at Gimhae Air Base on October 30, 2025 in Busan, South Korea. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Bessent said that China so far is upholding its end of the bargain on the trade deal, including provisions to buy 12 million tons of soybeans by the end of February 2026.

WHITE HOUSE RIPS ‘IMBECILIC BUFFOON’ TIM WALZ AFTER TRUMP TARIFF CRITICISM 

“China is on track to ‍keep every ⁠part of the deal,” Bessent said at The New ‍York Times Dealbook Summit Wednesday. 

Trump is helping the agriculture industry by “negotiating new trade deals to open new export markets for our farmers and boosting the farm safety net for the first time in a decade,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a Monday statement to Fox News Digital.

A combine harvester during a soybean harvest at a farm in Harvard, Illinois, Oct. 17, 2025.  (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

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This isn’t the first time Trump has issued an aid package to farmers. When Trump’s first administration rolled out tariffs, China issued their own retaliatory tariffs that cost the federal government billions of dollars in government aid to farmers.

Bloomberg News first reported the aid package Sunday. 

The Department of Health and Human Services has altered the official portrait of a transgender former Biden administration official to display the individual’s birth name, rather than adopted name.

The former official, who currently goes by Rachel Levine, achieved the rank of admiral and served in President Joe Biden‘s administration as an assistant secretary for health. Levine was born a male and was the first transgender person to secure a Senate confirmation.

Up until the government shutdown this year, Levine’s portrait plaque in the HHS offices featured the name “Rachel Levine,” but it now displays the official’s birth name, “Richard Levine.”

“Our priority is ensuring that the information presented internally and externally by HHS reflects gold standard science. We remain committed to reversing harmful policies enacted by Levine and ensuring that biological reality guides our approach to public health,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a statement.

TRUMP’S JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TARGETS DOCTORS, CLINICS WHO PROVIDE SEX CHANGE PROCEDURES TO MINORS

Former HHS official Rachel Levine speaks on stage during the “Takling the Youth Mental-Health Crisis” Panel for The Atlantic Festival 2024 on September 19, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for The Atlantic)

Levine responded to the move both personally and through a spokesman in statements to NPR.

“During the federal shutdown, the current leadership of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health changed Admiral Levine’s photo to remove her current legal name and use a prior name,” Adrian Shanker, a spokesman for Levine, told NPR, going on to describe the move as an act “of bigotry against her.”

Levine was the first transgender person to receive a Senate confirmation. ( TOM BRENNER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

“I’m not going to comment on this type of petty action,” Levine told the outlet.

TRANSGENDER BIDEN OFFICIAL RACHEL LEVINE SAYS HORMONES CAN HELP KIDS ‘GOING THROUGH THE WRONG PUBERTY’

Levine was a steady source of controversy during the Biden administration, claiming that there was “no argument” regarding effectiveness and safety of transgender medical procedures, and claiming that hormone blockers ought to be used to stop children from “going through the wrong puberty.”

President Donald Trump’s administration has rolled back many of the pro-transgender programs implemented under former President Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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“Gender-affirming care is medical care,” Levine said in 2023. “Gender-affirming care is mental health care. Gender-affirming care is literally suicide prevention care.”

Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, the progressive firebrand and frequent foil of President Donald Trump, is expected to launch a U.S. Senate campaign on Monday, which is the deadline for candidates to file for the state’s March 3 primary.

Hours before Crockett — a rising star Democrat with a large social media imprint who represents a Dallas area district — was to hold an event announcing her decision, one of the two Democrats already running for the Senate abandoned his bid.

Former Rep. Colin Allred, who was making his second straight bid for the Senate in right-leaning Texas, announced he was ending his campaign and instead would launch a congressional campaign as he seeks to return to the House. But Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, a former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian, remains in the Senate primary, setting up a likely face-off between two surging contenders with formidable fundraising. 

If Crockett launches a Senate campaign as expected, it would further rock a high-profile and heavily contested race, which, on the Republican side, includes Sen. John Cornyn and GOP primary rivals Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. House Rep. Wesley Hunt. The contest in Texas is one of the most closely watched Senate showdowns as Democrats try to win back the chamber’s majority in next year’s midterms.

EX-NFL STAR ABANDONS SENATE BID AS JASMINE CROCKETT NEARS MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a two-term Democratic House member from Texas, is likely on Monday to launch a 2026 campaign for the U.S. Senate.  (Getty Images)

Crockett told CNN this weekend that she’s made out two cashier checks, one if she jumps into the Senate campaign and one to submit if she files for re-election in the House.

And her down-to-the-wire announcement is scheduled for 90 minutes before the final deadline to submit one of the checks.

Crockett has teased a possible Senate run for weeks, telling MS NOW on Sunday that “I am closer to yes than I am to no.” And she has said she’s commissioned polling to make her case for a Senate run in Texas, where no Democrat has won a statewide election in over three decades.

In another sign that she’s expected to launch a Senate run, Crockett told the Dallas Morning News that she called both Allred and Talarico to discuss her polling.

BIG WIN FOR TRUMP, GOP, AS SUPREME COURT GREENLIGHTS NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP IN TEXAS

Monday’s filing deadline comes just a few days after the Supreme Court upheld a new congressional map passed by the GOP-dominated Texas legislature and signed into law by longtime Republican Gov. Greg Abbott that creates five more right-leaning House districts in the Lone Star State.

And one of the Texas Democrats whose district had been dramatically altered, Rep. Marc Veasey, had reportedly been discussing with Crockett a plan where he would file for her current House seat shortly after she files to run for the Senate.

Former Democratic Rep. Colin Allred of Texas announced on Monday that he would abandon his 2026 U.S. Senate campaign and instead run to return to the House. (Reuters/Marco Bello)

Allred, who was making a second straight Senate bid after losing to conservative firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz by roughly 9 points last year, said in a statement that he didn’t want to contribute to anything that would splinter Democrats’ hopes of flipping the GOP-held Senate seat in next year’s elections.

“In the past few days, I’ve come to believe that a bruising Senate Democratic primary and runoff would prevent the Democratic Party from going into this critical election unified against the danger posed to our communities and our Constitution by Donald Trump and one of his Republican bootlickers Paxton, Cornyn, or Hunt,” Allred wrote.

By dropping out of the race, Allred will likely allow Democrats to avoid a costly and messy primary runoff in the spring, giving the party more time to consolidate around their nominee and raise much-needed campaign cash.

Meanwhile, with Cornyn, Paxton, and Hunt all taking aim at each other in a combustible primary, the GOP nomination may be headed towards a runoff, which would be triggered if no candidate tops 50% in the primary.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas is facing GOP primary challenges from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt as the longtime senator seeks re-election in 2026. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty)

CROCKET SPENDS EYE-POPPING AMOUNT OF CAMPAIGN CASH ON THIS

The 44-year-old Crockett, who is Black, is a former state representative and civil rights lawyer. She won her seat in 2022 after longtime Democratic Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, who was retiring, hand-picked her as his successor in Congress.

Crockett, who won re-election last year, has become one of the most well-known Democratic politicians in the country the past couple of years, thanks to her viral jabs at Republicans and her verbal sparing on social media with Trump, who has repeatedly questioned her intelligence. And she’s grabbed plenty of headlines during her time on the House Oversight Committee.

While her expected Senate run will likely excite many Democrats, thanks to her energy and her proven fundraising ability, her frequent push-back against GOP politicians may energize Republicans.

Among her biggest blunders — calling Abbott, who is partially paralyzed and uses a wheelchair, “Gov. Hot Wheels.”

Crockett has also compared Trump to Adolf Hitler on multiple occasions while accusing aspects of the Republican Party of fascism.

She notably ran for ranking member of the House Oversight Committee earlier this year following the death of its previous top Democrat, the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., but dropped out of the race after failing to win the recommendation of leadership within her party.

But the Dallas-area Democrat has won favor with some party leaders, like ex-Vice President Kamala Harris, who revealed in her memoir “107 Days” that she mentored Crockett as part of her covert “Stars Project” while in office.

Crockett spoke at the Democratic National Convention last year when Harris was named the party’s presidential candidate, a notable slot for someone who was then a first-term House lawmaker.

She had also been facing some tough decisions in her House race after the new GOP-led Texas congressional map appeared to draw her home out of her current district.

Crockett’s expected entry into the Senate race will shift the spotlight off of the GOP primary, where Cornyn, the longtime incumbent who hails from the party’s establishment wing, has cut into the one-time large lead by Paxton, a MAGA firebrand, with Hunt in third.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, seen during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, is running for the U.S. Senate in 2026. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The concern among Republicans is that Paxton, who has been battered over the past decade by a slew of scandals and legal problems and who is now dealing with a messy divorce, would put the seat in play if he won the GOP nomination.

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But a Crockett candidacy would likely change the political equation.

While her aggressive push-back against Trump and the GOP would play well with the left, it could deflate her chances of winning next November among Texas’ general election electorate.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm of the Senate GOP, this past summer paid for a Democratic primary poll in Texas which showed Crockett the frontrunner by double digits. The publicly released survey was apparently done to encourage Crockett to enter the race, with the GOP assuming she would be more beatable than Allred or Talarico.