NationalWatch

In President Donald Trump’s first year back in office, over 2.5 million illegal aliens have left the country, due in large part to the administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration and extensive deportation program.

In its deportation push, the Department of Homeland Security has prioritized targeting violent criminal illegals. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin has accused the media of “whitewashing” facts about the arrests of illegal immigrants with violent criminal histories and portraying them as victims. 

“As the media whitewashes the facts, day in and day out, our brave men and women of ICE risk their lives for the American people,” McLaughlin said.

From a “habitual” child predator to a beheading incident to another who strangled a taxicab driver to death, here are ten of the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens arrested with violent charges this year.

1. Mohamed Sabry Soliman – Colorado Molotov cocktail terror attack

On June 1, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian national living in the U.S. on an expired visa, was arrested on federal charges of first-degree murder, first-degree assault and a hate crime after allegedly setting fire to people at a pro-Israel event in Boulder.

Authorities described the attack as terrorism-inspired violence.

According to the federal indictment, Soliman threw two Molotov cocktails at event attendees, shouting, “Free Palestine!” Per the indictment, he was armed with a backpack weed sprayer that contained a flammable liquid and a black plastic container that held at least 18 Molotov cocktails.

DHS TAKES VICTORY LAP AFTER ARRESTING OVER 10K ILLEGAL ALIENS IN DEEP BLUE CITY DESPITE VIOLENT RIOTS

Thirteen people were injured in the attack, and an 82-year-old woman, Karen Diamond, died of her injuries on June 25, 2025. A dog was also harmed.

2. Emiliano Garduno-Galvez – Fiery LA anti-law enforcement attack

Just days later, Emiliano Garduno-Galvez was arrested for attempted murder after he allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at law enforcement during anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles.

The incident was caught on video and posted to X by DHS.

According to the agency, Garduno-Galvez had been previously deported and has a criminal history, including grand theft and a DUI.

3. Gabriel Hurtado-Cariaco – Nebraska Tren de Aragua terrorist

On June 20, DHS announced that ICE arrested Gabriel Hurtado-Cariaco, a Venezuelan illegal immigrant and member of the infamous Tren de Aragua gang, which was designated a “foreign terrorist organization” by the Trump administration. 

According to DHS, during an immigration enforcement operation in Bellevue, Nebraska, Hurtado-Cariaco launched a “brutal and premeditated assault” on a female ICE Homeland Security Investigations special agent and an FBI agent. The agency said that Hurtado-Cariaco threw the ICE agent to the ground, slammed her head into the pavement, ripped off her body armor, and made repeated and physical violent contact. The agent survived but sustained serious injuries to her head and arm and was treated at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. 

Though Hurtado-Cariaco fled the scene, he was picked up hours later and charged with attempted murder of a federal officer and assault of a federal officer with infliction of bodily injury. He entered the country illegally in 2023. 

4. Harjinder Singh – Florida illegal commercial driver crash

Also facing deportation is Indian illegal alien Harjinder Singh, who was arrested on August 12 after a Florida Turnpike crash in which investigators allege he made an unlawful U-turn with a semitruck, causing a wreck that killed three people.

DHS LAUNCHES ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ WEBPAGE TARGETING ALLEGED CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS NATIONWIDE

Singh is facing three counts of vehicular homicide in Florida and ICE has lodged a detainer for his arrest.

According to DHS, Singh entered the country illegally in 2018 and was issued a commercial driver’s license by the state of California in 2024. Singh’s case sparked widespread concern about illegal immigrant drivers endangering lives on U.S. roads.

5. William Alexander Telles Amaya – Houston ‘habitual’ child predator

On Aug. 18, ICE arrested William Alexander Telles Amaya, a 35-year-old criminal alien from El Salvador, whom the agency described as a “habitual child predator.”

ICE said that Amaya has been convicted three times for child sex offenses, including aggravated sexual assault of a child in April 2006, failure to register as a sex offender in May 2015, and sexual indecency with a minor in July 2025.

DHS PACKAGES LATEST ICE ARRESTS AS ‘CHRISTMAS GIFT TO AMERICANS’

6. Yordanis Cobos-Martinez – Dallas beheading suspect

In another major Texas city, Dallas, ICE arrested Cuban illegal Yordanis Cobos-Martinez on Sept. 10. According to the agency, Cobos-Martinez has a long criminal history, including child sex abuse, grand theft of a motor vehicle, false imprisonment and carjacking.

The agency said that Cobos-Martinez was arrested by Dallas police for allegedly using a machete to behead a merchant he had argued with. The agency said the murder took place in front of the merchant’s spouse and child and that Cobos-Martinez then kicked the head of the victim “around like a soccer ball.”

ICE said that Cobos-Martinez had previously been arrested by ICE and had a final order of removal, but was released by the Biden administration just a week before Trump took office on Jan. 13.

7. Eduardo Aguilar – $10,000 TikTok bounties for dead ICE agents

DHS announced the Oct. 14 arrest of Eduardo Aguilar, a 23-year-old Mexican illegal alien residing in Dallas, after he called for the murder of ICE agents in a Spanish video posted on TikTok.

Aguilar’s post, dated Oct. 9, 2025, called for “10 dudes in Dallas with determination who aren’t afraid to [two skull emoji].” He offered “10K for each ICE agent.”

According to court records, Aguilar was charged with transmitting a communication in interstate or foreign commerce containing a threat.

He entered the country illegally in 2018 and had an outstanding removal order from 2019. At the time of his arrest, Aguilar had a loaded 9mm handgun in his vehicle. 

DHS RIPS DEM-RUN COUNTY AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT MURDERER RELEASED: ‘BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS’

8. Sergio Noe de Nova Duarte – Hammer-wielding kidnapping attack

In Plano, Texas, ICE lodged a detainer on Nov. 17 against Sergio Noe de Nova Duarte, a Mexican illegal alien, who allegedly attacked an innocent woman jogging in a park with a hammer.

The Plano Police Department charged Duarte with aggravated kidnapping and bodily injury. He had previous arrests for burglary and larceny in 2024 and had been arrested by ICE, but was released under the Biden administration. He was set to appear before an immigration judge in 2026.

He entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2016 and overstayed his visa.

9. Esteban Silva-Garcia – Pennsylvania strangulation and child endangering

This month, ICE announced it had arrested Esteban Silva-Garcia, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, following a conviction of strangulation, applying pressure to the throat or neck, and endangering the welfare of a child in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

ICE ARRESTS 100+ ILLEGAL ALIEN TRUCKERS IN MAJOR SWEEP AFTER DEADLY CRASHES ACROSS MULTIPLE STATES

10. Santos Paulino Vasquez-Ramirez – New York taxicab driver strangled to death

Just days before Christmas, DHS announced it had arrested Santos Paulino Vasquez-Ramirez, a Guatemalan illegal charged with homicide and robbery. The agency said that Vasquez-Ramirez strangled a taxicab driver named Aurelio Zhunio-Orbez to death in Brewster, New York, over a dispute about fare.

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Zhunio-Orbez’s body was found a few days later, floating in the Croton Falls Reservoir.  

Vasquez-Ramirez entered the country illegally in 2013 and had an outstanding order of removal from 2016.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s office is pushing back against fraud allegations after a viral video showed visits to multiple childcare centers in the state, including one that allegedly received millions of dollars in state funding despite appearing largely inactive.

Responding to questions about the allegations and the video posted by independent journalist Nick Shirley, a spokesperson for the governor told Fox News that Walz has spent years working to “crack down on fraud” and has taken steps to strengthen oversight of state programs, including initiating investigations into several facilities.

“The governor has worked for years to crack down on fraud and ask the state legislature for more authority to take aggressive action,” the spokesperson said. “He has strengthened oversight — including launching investigations into these specific facilities, one of which was already closed.”

LAWMAKERS PROBE SBA LOANS LINKED TO MINNESOTA’S $9B FRAUD SCANDAL: ‘RECKLESS DECISION MAKING’

The spokesperson added that Walz has “hired an outside firm to audit payments to high-risk programs, shut down the Housing Stabilization Services program entirely, announced a new statewide program integrity director, and supported criminal prosecutions.”

The response follows the release of a 42-minute video by Shirley, posted Friday on X and YouTube, documenting visits to several daycare centers in the blue state, including a location on Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis.

In the video, Shirley and another man are seen at what appears to be a largely inactive childcare facility. The building also displays a misspelled sign reading “Quality Learing Center,” even though the center is reportedly supposed to account for 99 children and received roughly $4 million in state funds.

During a Sunday appearance on Fox News’ “The Big Weekend Show,” Shirley said the alleged fraud in Minnesota was “so obvious” that a “kindergartner could figure out that there is fraud going on.”

FBI SURGES RESOURCES TO MINNESOTA AS DIRECTOR PATEL CALLS $250M FRAUD SCHEME ‘TIP OF A VERY LARGE ICEBERG’

Shirley also suggested other journalists may be reluctant to pursue similar reporting out of fear of being labeled “Islamophobic” or “racist.”

“Fraud is fraud, and we work too hard simply just to be paying taxes and enabling fraud to be happening,” he said. 

The video has sparked widespread backlash, drawing criticism of Walz throughout the weekend from several high-profile figures, including Vice President JD Vance, Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., Donald Trump Jr. and Elon Musk.

The White House on Sunday reposted an X post from Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who called the alleged fraud a “breathtaking failure that has happened under the watch” of Walz.

Meanwhile, FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency has surged additional personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota as part of an ongoing effort to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”

MISSPELLED LEARNING CENTER, NO CHILDREN INSIDE: EMMER PRESSES WALZ OVER MINNESOTA DAYCARE TIED TO $4M

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The video went viral this week amid the burgeoning scandal enveloping the Walz administration that notably included at least $1 billion lost to alleged social services fraud largely tied to the Somali community in the Twin Cities.

Fox News’ Connor Hansen and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.

Rep. Ilhan Omar’s defense of Somalia’s territorial claims and her opposition to the recognition of an independent Somaliland has been criticized as authorities ramp up investigations into alleged mass fraud in her home state.

One analyst argued the corruption scandal allegedly involving Somali communities in Minnesota is relevant when contrasting failures in Somalia and the stability of Somaliland, an autonomous region that Omar has opposed recognizing.

Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, claimed highlighting the difference between the two regions “mattered.”

“The corruption exposed in Minnesota mirrors the governance failures that have plagued Somalia for decades,” Rubin told Fox News Digital.

INSIDE MINNESOTA’S $1B FRAUD: FAKE OFFICES, PHONY FIRMS AND A SCANDAL HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT

“Somaliland has charted a different course entirely, relying on internal accountability rather than international assistance and that distinction matters right now,” he said.

Minnesota was engulfed in controversy after revelations that fraud losses across multiple government programs since 2018 could total billions of dollars, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Federal authorities have also already dismantled a $250 million scheme tied to the “Feeding Our Future” case, for example, which resulted in 78 indictments and dozens of convictions.

The case was described by FBI Director Kash Patel as “the tip of a very large iceberg.”

‘INCOMPETENCE OR DERELICTION’: MINNESOTA LAWMAKER RIPS TIM WALZ AS STATE FRAUD LOSSES MOUNT

The scandal gained renewed attention over the weekend after independent commentator Nick Shirley posted a viral video showing shuttered daycare centers that had billed the government millions of dollars while appearing to serve few, if any, children.

Omar has since defended her support for the MEALS Act, legislation critics say weakened oversight safeguards later exploited by fraudulent operators.

Rubin, however, argues Omar’s broader worldview on Somalia also raises questions about her goals.

“Ilhan Omar left Somalia, but Somalia never left her,” Rubin said. “In her Somali-language speeches, she refers to Somalia as her home, not America and so it is clear she appears to seek to advance Somalia’s interests on the global stage.”

He claimed Omar’s opposition to recognizing Somaliland is driven by internal Somali politics rather than U.S. strategic interests.

WHISTLEBLOWER WARNS MASSIVE FRAUD IS HAPPENING IN OHIO SOMALI COMMUNITY, MINNESOTA ‘JUST TIP OF THE SPEAR’

“Clan dynamics shape Somali politics, and that same lens appears to inform her position on Somaliland,” Rubin said, arguing that Omar has opposed policies that would legitimize the breakaway region.

“American interests don’t appear to factor prominently into that calculation,” he added.

Meanwhile, Somaliland continues to attract growing international attention.

After more than three decades of de facto independence, the self-governing territory has maintained internal security, built democratic institutions, and followed closer diplomatic engagement with Israel.

Somaliland has signaled interest in joining the Abraham Accords, positioning itself as a potential partner for U.S. and Israeli interests in the Horn of Africa.

MISSPELLED ‘LEARNING’ CENTER, NO CHILDREN INSIDE: EMMER PRESSES WALZ OVER MINNESOTA DAYCARE TIED TO $4M

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel had established full diplomatic relations with Somaliland, describing the move as being in the spirit of the United States-brokered Abraham Accords.

The announcement made Israel the first UN member state to recognize the self-declared state, which has wanted international acceptance for over three decades.

“The more people learn about Somaliland’s record, the more they will question why the U.S. continues to send billions to Somalia’s internationally recognized government while overlooking a more reliable partner,” Rubin added.

President Trump was also reportedly “looking into” the recognition of Somaliland in August.

BESSENT TURNS UP HEAT ON SPRAWLING MINNESOTA FRAUD SCHEMES AS TREASURY PERSONNEL DEPLOY ON THE GROUND

Trump told the New York Post he has to “study” Netanyahu’s pitch and asked from his golf course, “Does anyone know what Somaliland is, really?”

“We’ll study it. I study a lot of things and always make great decisions, and they turn out to be correct,” Trump said.

Rubin noted the issue could gain more momentum as Netanyahu is expected to discuss regional security matters with Trump this week.

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“The case for Somaliland does align with Trump’s broader foreign policy approach,” Rubin said.

“It is business-friendly, security-focused, and takes responsibility for its own territory. It wants partnerships, not perpetual aid. By any reasonable metric, recognizing Somaliland makes sense.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Rep. Omar for comment.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that peace talks to end the war in Ukraine are close to completion after a meeting in Florida with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with both leaders citing major progress on a 20-point plan while acknowledging unresolved disputes over territory, ceasefire terms and Ukrainian approval.

Trump and Zelenskyy spoke to reporters following their meeting at Mar-a-Lago, describing weeks of negotiations involving U.S., Ukrainian, European Union and NATO officials that have moved a potential peace framework close to the finish line, though several high-stakes issues remain unresolved.

Trump said negotiations have intensified over the past month and suggested discussions are far more advanced than at any previous point in the war, while cautioning that final agreements depend on resolving a small number of difficult questions.

“We could be very close,” Trump said. “There are one or two very thorny issues, very tough issues. But I think we’re doing very well. We made a lot of progress today, but really, we’ve made it over the last month. This is not a one-day process. It’s very complicated stuff.”

ZELENSKYY READY TO PRESENT NEW PEACE PROPOSALS TO US AND RUSSIA AFTER WORKING WITH EUROPEAN TALKS

Zelenskyy echoed that assessment, confirming that negotiators have largely agreed on the framework of a deal and crediting sustained diplomacy across multiple international meetings leading up to the Florida talks.

He said negotiations have taken place over several weeks in cities including Geneva, Miami, Berlin and at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, with American and Ukrainian teams working toward a shared peace framework.

“We discussed all the aspects of the peace framework, which includes – and we have great achievements – a 20-point peace plan, 90% agreed,” Zelenskyy said.

MOMENTUM BUILDS IN UKRAINE PEACE PUSH, BUT EXPERTS FEAR PUTIN WON’T BUDGE

Both leaders said European and NATO officials were closely involved in the process, with a joint call held following the meeting that included senior leaders from across the continent and international institutions.

Zelenskyy said teams are expected to meet again in the coming weeks to finalize remaining issues and that Trump has agreed to potentially host further talks in Washington with European leaders and a Ukrainian delegation.

Despite the progress, territory – particularly the status of Donbas – remains one of the most difficult unresolved issues, with Trump and Zelenskyy acknowledging differing positions between Ukraine and Russia.

FINNISH PRESIDENT SAYS RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE DEAL CLOSER THAN ANY POINT DURING THE WAR

Trump suggested that time could be a critical factor in negotiations, warning that delays could result in further territorial losses as fighting continues.

“Some of that land has been taken,” Trump said. “Some of that land is maybe up for grabs, but it may be taken over the next period of a number of months. Are you better off making a deal now?”

Zelenskyy stressed that any final agreement would need to comply with Ukrainian law and reflect the will of the Ukrainian people, potentially requiring parliamentary approval or a national referendum.

“Our society, too, has to choose and decide who has to vote, because it’s their land – the land not of one person,” Zelenskyy said. “It’s the land of our nation for a lot of generations.”

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Trump said polling shows strong public support for ending the war and reiterated his desire to bring the conflict to a close, citing the scale of casualties on both sides.

“We want to see it ended,” Trump said. “I want it ended because I don’t want to see so many people dying. We’re losing massive numbers of people – the biggest by far since World War II.”

Erika Kirk, the widow of the late Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk, told Fox News’ Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday” that the organization intends to resume its nationwide presence on college campuses.

“We are not afraid,” she said, adding that the TPUSA team will continue to host “Prove Me Wrong”–style debates as part of its campus outreach.

ERIKA KIRK DOUBLES DOWN TO FIGHT FOR CHARLIE’S LEGACY: ‘I’M NOT AFRAID

Charlie Kirk was assassinated during an outdoor event on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University. The gathering marked the first stop on TPUSA’s planned “American Comeback Tour,” and at first, nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

The charismatic TPUSA founder rose to prominence through his signature political debates on college campuses. Moments before the fatal shot, he sat beneath a white tent emblazoned with the slogan “Prove Me Wrong,” fielding open-mic questions from thousands in attendance.

CHARLIE KIRK HONORED BY 90K IN ONE OF THE LARGEST MEMORIALS FOR A PRIVATE CITIZEN

His death left behind a movement that reshaped conservative youth politics — one that his widow, Erika Kirk, told Bream she intends to carry forward.

Charlie Kirk began building that movement as a teenager. At 18, Kirk dropped out of community college to co-found Turning Point USA (TPUSA). 

By his mid-20s, he became the youngest speaker at the Republican National Convention in 2016 and a household name in conservative circles. By 31, he commanded a $95 million political empire, galvanized millions of followers online and established a direct line to President Donald Trump.

TPUSA BEGAN AS A SCRAPPY CAMPUS GROUP AND GREW INTO A NATIONAL, MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR POLITICAL FORCE

With backing from Republican donors like Foster Friess, Kirk turned the scrappy campus operation into one of the fastest-growing conservative nonprofits in America. Today, it’s a political juggernaut — its revenue, according to tax filings, soared from just $2 million in 2015 to $85 million in 2024.

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That legacy, carried forward by his widow, comes as the organization sees a surge in campus chapter enrollments, signaling continued momentum among conservative students nationwide.

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was exhausted and in physical pain when Pastor David Engelhardt persuaded him to pause his work week for one day and honor the Sabbath by turning off his phone and disconnecting from politics. 

Years later, Kirk authored a book championing how honoring the Sabbath transformed his life and opened doors to build better foundations for his relationships — whether it be with his wife, Erika, and their children, family and friends, and his relationship with God. 

“He would turn his phone off so he wouldn’t be distracted by his work. … He would spend his time with his wife and kids and they would rest, and they would go on walks and …spend some time in scripture. He practiced it from Friday to Saturday. That’s what worked best for his schedule,” Englhardt, a TPUSA board member who has been a friend and pastor to the Kirks stretching back years, told Fox News Digital. 

Engelhardt, who is the pastor of Kings’ Church in New York City, spoke to Fox News Digital following the release of Kirk’s best-selling posthumous book, “Stop, in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life,” which celebrates that honoring the Sabbath is the answer to an exhausted, anxious, always-online America. 

TURNING POINT USA HOLDS AMERICAFEST CONFERENCE FOLLOWING CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION

Engelhardt met Charlie Kirk through Erika Kirk when she lived in New York City, the pastor explained. He took Fox Digital through a conversation he shared with Charlie Kirk in 2021, when Englhardt took notice that the TPUSA chief was physically and mentally drained and on a trajectory to burnout. 

“He was physically in pain,” Engelhard told Fox News Digital. “He was having back issues, and knee issues and the burden of the organization was really heavy on his shoulders. And I said, ‘Charlie, I don’t think you can continue to do this unless you take the Sabbath. Unless you take this biblical command.'” 

The TPUSA chief initially resisted shutting off for one day to recalibrate for the next week. 

VANCE SAYS ‘AMERICA FIRST’ MOVEMENT REJECTS ‘PURITY TESTS,’ WELCOMES CRITICAL THINKERS

“I think one of the things Charlie said was, like, ‘What if the president calls me? Like, what am I supposed to do?’ We live in a day and age where anyone can call you at any time … and he’s dealing with massive important matters of state. And you know the pushback, the response is like you actually have to care for yourself more than you care about your appearance in the eyes of the world. And you actually have to know that if you obey this and you actually turn off for 24 hours, it will bring blessing into your life,” he said. 

Engelhardt recounted that the pair “kind of argued about it for a minute” before Kirk warmed to the idea and adopted it with great success. 

“I just said, ‘Trust me, if you rest, you’ll have more energy and more capacity and more ability.’ And because he’s insanely disciplined, or was insanely disciplined, he started, I think, the next week after I challenged him, and he told me it saved his life, he told it changed his life. And I think that’s there’s so many people that burn out and crash and burn their lives, because they just don’t care for themselves They don’t take care of the body. They don’t recognize that we’re not machines, that we need seasonal rest.”

DAVID MARCUS: ERIKA KIRK IS THE MOTHER SQUABBLING CONSERVATIVES NEED

Honoring the Sabbath is one of the 10 Commandments, with Engelhardt pointing to both the Old and New Testaments outlining that God, Himself, did not need to rest on the seventh day as described in the Book of Genesis, as He is all powerful, but showed people that they need a pattern of weekly cycles of ends and new beginnings. 

“The commandment is that you’re not supposed to work on the Sabbath,” Engelhardt said. “And the idea is, the scripture says, in six days you shall labor and on the seventh day you shall rest because it is holy. And so it follows a pattern, the same pattern that we see in Genesis, where God works. He creates the whole world and then He rests on that seventh day.”

“The scripture says, His mercies are new every morning. And so, it’s a really important scripture or principle in the scripture that allows us to start again, to start afresh, to incorporate things like repentance,” the pastor said. 

Kirk’s posthumous book was released Dec. 9 and quickly became a best seller on Amazon lists, walking readers through how “observing the Sabbath isn’t a rejection of modern life but a rebellion against busyness and a pathway to genuine connection, peace, and presence,” the book description outlines, specifically, “how to unplug, recharge, and reconnect with God, family, and yourself in a way that nurtures your soul.”

ERIKA KIRK WELCOMES ATTENDEES TO FIRST AMERICAFEST SINCE HUSBAND’S DEATH, ENDORSES JD VANCE FOR PRESIDENT

The book’s release was followed by TPUSA holding its AmericaFest event in Arizona from Dec. 18 to Dec. 21, where conservatives, supporters of President Donald Trump and others took the stage, frequently celebrating Trump’s accomplishments following his return to office, as well as remembering Kirk following his assassination in September. 

Engelhardt told Fox Digital that Kirk’s book on the Sabbath was one of about four book projects he was thinking about and working on ahead of his death, remarking that “Charlie was really excited about it … he just kept saying, ‘I have to get this Sabbath book out.’”

During AmFest, old footage of Kirk celebrating his embrace of the Sabbath was projected out to the crowds. 

“I actually don’t work one day out of the week, so I take a Sabbath every Saturday, turn my phone off,” Kirk was heard saying in footage played on the first day of AmFest. “No work, just kids, just family. It’s an amazing blessing. If you are feeling overrun by society, you might be feeling depressed or anxious. Turn your phone off for one day.”

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“That is a day for worship. That is a day for the Lord,” Kirk continued. “That is a day to go be with God and be out of the busyness and the hurried ness and the noise of this world.”

2025 didn’t just expose Democratic divisions — it created a short list of political losers whose missteps are already shaping the battlefield for 2026. From establishment leaders squeezed by a restless progressive base to national figures who burned precious time, this past year has left behind a series of cautionary tales for a party out of power.

MODERATE DEMOCRATS PUSH BACK AS PROGRESSIVES MOVE TO OUST JEFFRIES, CLARK OVER TRUMP STRATEGY

Establishment and old-school Democrats

The loudest, most visible Democratic figures haven’t just voiced opposition to the Trump administration — they’ve also made it clear they expect a new version of the party to emerge going forward. From Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in New York City promising expansive government program increases to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s hint that she could beat Vice President J.D. Vance in a bid for the presidency, progressives can easily say they had some of the most visible momentum in 2025.

And that’s bad news for old-school Democrats. 

As recently as last month, both House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and House Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., faced primary challenges from their progressive base. These challengers cited dissatisfaction with their resistance against the administration. It’s unclear if those calls are disproportionately loud in a moment where Democrats find themselves out of power. But many moderate Democrats told Fox News Digital they don’t think it’s helping win over the electorate’s political middle.

Should progressives continue to crowd out the picture in 2026, more establishment Democrats may find it increasingly difficult to ignore pressure from their far-left flank as the nation heads into the midterms.

GOP SEIZES ON DEM CIVIL WAR AS PROGRESSIVES JUMP INTO KEY 2026 SENATE RACES: ‘THEY’RE IN SHAMBLES’

Gavin Newsom

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is running out of time to prove why he could be something more than a party messaging figure. In the past year, he’s pigeonholed himself into exactly that role. 

In 2025, Newsom cemented himself as one of the key Democratic foils to Trump’s agenda. And on that front, there’s little question he capitalized on the attention.

Most notably, Newsom pushed through a redistricting effort meant to squeeze five Republicans out of office after Texas advanced a similar plan earlier this year. While the plan received mixed reviews — even from Democrats in the state who were wary of fighting fire with fire — it has certainly advanced Newsom’s national status.

But like every would-be Trump foil, Newsom finds himself somewhat reliant on Trump for his next move. Should Newsom begin to position himself for a 2028 bid for the White House, he won’t have that luxury around forever, and he only has one more year as California’s governor. 

Newsom burned precious time in 2025 to show voters in California and across the country what kind of executive he could be. 

DEMOCRATIC HEAVYWEIGHTS HARRIS, NEWSOM TURN HEADS, FUEL 2028 SPECULATION

Joe Biden

On several key issues, former President Joe Biden’s legacy has already grown old in 2025. 

It took just weeks for the Trump administration to dismantle the claim that Biden was doing everything he could to stop illegal border crossings from pouring into the United States. With a few key executive orders, Trump brought the country to one of its lowest levels of border encounters ever.

And while that’s the most notable entry, the list of double-takes doesn’t end there.

An autopen investigation in the House of Representatives revealed Biden had delegated an unprecedented amount of authority to his aides. Moreover, a book put out by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson took a deep look at just how hard his inner circle had worked to maintain the president’s image amid concerns about his age and cognitive ability. 

Taken together, Biden’s administration just one year removed has plunged Democrats into questions of where to go next and provided Republicans with a wealth of evidence to make the case Democrats weren’t as transparent about the country’s problems as they could have been. 

‘ROCK STAR’ NEWSOM STEALS THE SHOW AT DNC SUMMIT AS DEMOCRATS HUNT FOR 2028 CONTENDER TO TAKE ON TRUMP

Chuck Schumer

Few political figures have had as politically damaging a year in 2025 as the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

He received most of the blame for a disastrous 43-day government shutdown that largely left Democrats empty-handed. While Schumer himself didn’t vote with the eight Democrats who eventually supported a Republican plan to end the shutdown, he received calls to step aside in the aftermath for failing to keep Senate Democrats on the same page.

According to many Republicans, the political calculus for Schumer during the shutdown was more about putting up a good enough fight to appease the progressive side of the Democratic base. 

But Schumer also failed to do that too.

During the shutdown, the New York City mayoral race had come to its final stretch with little word from the Senate Minority Leader. When it became clear the self-proclaimed socialist Zohran Mamdani would capture the party’s nomination, Schumer tried to dodge questions about whether he would support his bid. That reluctance never went away and questions about the relationship between the two Democrats only intensified. 

Just days removed from the election, Schumer continued to give non-answers about Mamdani. 

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Now at the close of 2025, Schumer has left questions unanswered about whether he can still effectively lead the party and whether he represents the party’s future. 

President Donald Trump will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday in the latest effort to close out four years of war.

Zelenskyy will meet Trump in Florida at the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate, where he has spent much of his time over the holiday period. Ukraine’s leader emphasized the need to negotiate from a position of strength in a public statement released prior to their meeting.

Russian and Ukrainian negotiations have repeatedly broken down over where the final territorial lines will fall in a peace agreement.

“Ukraine is willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “For us, priority number one – or the only priority – is ending the war. For us, the priority is peace. We need to be strong at the negotiating table. To be strong, we need the support of the world: Europe and the United States.”

TRUMP’S TEAM REPORTS CONCRETE PROGRESS IN UKRAINE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS WITH EUROPEAN PARTNERS

“In this war of Russia against Ukraine, we want peace, and Russia demonstrates a desire to continue the war. If the whole world – Europe and America – is on our side, together we will stop Putin. Because together we will all want the same thing: an end to the war, peace – a normal peace, a sustainable peace, safe for the whole world,” he continued.

“If anyone – whether the U.S. or Europe – is on Russia’s side, this means the war will continue. There are no other options here. And this is a risk for all countries in the world. Because Russia will not stop, regardless of any agreements, any eloquent messages from them. They will not stop at Ukraine,” Zelenskyy warned.

Zelenskyy’s statement came after Russia redoubled its attacks against Kyiv, sending an overnight assault involving hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles on Saturday. Zelenskyy said the attack put the “true attitude” of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle on display.

TRUMP TOUTS ‘TREMENDOUS PROGRESS’ BUT SAYS HE’LL MEET PUTIN AND ZELENSKYY ‘ONLY WHEN’ PEACE DEAL IS FINAL

The overnight blitz in Ukraine’s capital left at least one person dead and 27 injured, local authorities told The Associated Press.

Trump, ahead of the meeting with Zelenskyy, has said he will call the final shots on a peace deal to end the conflict.

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“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump told Politico Friday. “So we’ll see what he’s got.” 

Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.

FBI Director Kash Patel said Saturday that the Trump administration is ramping up its efforts to combat the growing threat posed by drones used by criminal networks, terrorist groups and foreign adversaries, launching a new national training program to help law enforcement detect and stop unlawful drone activity.

Patel said the bureau has invested significant time and resources this year into modernizing its capabilities to counter unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

“Unmanned aircrafts are increasingly exploited by criminals, terrorists, and hostile foreign actors — making the counter UAS program a critical area for the FBI to modernize and adapt to stay ahead of the threat,” Patel wrote on X.

Patel said President Donald Trump signed an executive order in June that led to the creation of a National Counter-UAS Training Center, which the FBI operates out of its Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.

FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL SAYS BUREAU RAMPING UP AI TO COUNTER DOMESTIC, GLOBAL THREATS

The FBI director said the new training center prepares law enforcement to safely detect, identify, track and mitigate unlawful drone activity when legally authorized, in compliance with the National Defense Authorization Act passed by Congress this year.

Patel said the facility will play a key role in preparing security operations for major upcoming events in the U.S., including the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics.

“This is an investment that will pay huge dividends for America’s national security in the years to come,” he added.

TRUMP ADMIN CUTS RED TAPE ON COMMERCIAL DRONES TO COMPETE WITH CHINA’S DOMINANCE OF THE MARKET

Patel’s post underscores how the FBI is making counter-drone operations a top modernization priority, framing drones as an evolving national security threat.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino wrote on X Saturday that the “drone threat isn’t in the future, it’s in the now,” adding that the Trump administration was taking action to adapt to a “new threat ecosystem.”

On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission announced it would ban new foreign-made drones due to national security concerns.

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The FCC added UAS and their critical components made in China and other foreign countries to its “covered list” that includes equipment determined to pose an “unacceptable risk” to U.S. national security and the safety of Americans.

Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.

A Honduran national had an “unlucky” encounter with Border Patrol enforcement on Friday.

The woman allegedly ran a red light in Slidell, Louisiana, and rammed into an Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (ICE) vehicle, U.S. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino wrote on X.

ICE AGENTS OPEN FIRE ON VAN DRIVER WHO ALLEGEDLY TRIED TO RUN THEM OVER ON CHRISTMAS EVE

“Apparently she never learned the lesson that red means stop,” Bovino wrote. “Not ‘accelerate and collide with a government vehicle actively enforcing federal law.’”

No injuries were reported as a result of the crash, according to the post, but Bovino said she was “certainly taken into custody” following the accident.

“Unlucky for her. Lucky for us,” Bovino continued in the post.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT BITES ICE OFFICER IN ‘GROSS ATTACK’ WHILE RESISTING ARREST: DHS 

Federal agents were reportedly in the area as part of the Operation Catahoula Crunch. The operation targets illegal immigrants in the New Orleans area, according to officials. 

“Catahoula Crunch targets include violent criminals who were released after arrest for home invasion, armed robbery, grand theft auto and rape,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

ICE has reportedly apprehended approximately 370 people in the area, according to a Dec. 18 update. 

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCK DRIVER ACCUSED IN FATAL WASHINGTON CRASH RELEASED ON $100,000 BOND

“DHS is making the New Orleans community safer as it continues to arrest illegal alien drug dealers, hit-and-run criminals, and one monster who was convicted for arson and threatening a person with intent to terrorize,” McLaughlin said.

The DHS reported that it has deported more than 622,000 individuals in 2025 as of Dec. 19. 

The department also reported that 2.5 million illegal immigrants have left the country, and an estimated 1.9 million self-deportations have occurred since President Donald Trump‘s crackdown on immigration.

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Details about the Honduran woman were not made publicly available. 

DHS did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Elon Musk on Friday slammed incoming New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for selecting a woman without operational firefighting experience as the head of the Fire Department of the City of New York City (FDNY).

“People will die because of this,” the billionaire provocateur, who served in President Donald Trump’s administration, wrote on X. “Proven experience matters when lives are at stake.”

Mamdani, who will take office Jan. 1, appointed Lillian Bonsignore, a 31-year FDNY veteran who led EMS Operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, as FDNY commissioner this week.

She retired in 2022.

SENATE CONFIRMS ERIC ISAACMAN AS NASA CHIEF MONTHS AFTER TRUMP-MUSK RIFT THAT MAY HAVE PULLED HIS NOMINATION 

“The first woman to achieve a 4-star rank in FDNY history, she’s joining us as the FDNY Commissioner to bring her crisis leadership and operational expertise to this administration,” Mamdani wrote on X Tuesday.

Bonsignore will be only the second woman to hold the position and the first openly gay person in the role.

LETITIA JAMES, BERNIE SANDERS TO SWEAR IN FAR LEFT NYC MAYOR-ELECT MAMDANI

Mamdani quickly responded to Musk on X, writing on Saturday, “Experience does matter, which is why I appointed the person who spent more than 30 years at EMS. You know, the workforce that addresses at least 70% of all calls coming into FDNY?”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the FDNY and Mamdani’s team for comment.

“I am honored, so honored, and humbled to stand before you as the new fire commissioner,” Bonsignore said at a Tuesday news conference. “This appointment represents a significant responsibility, one I accept with humility, dedication and a deep sense of commitment to the city and its people.”

Outgoing NYC Mayor Eric Adams also made his own FDNY commissioner appointment this week, FDNY First Deputy Commissioner Mark Guerra. 

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“Under our administration, keeping New Yorkers safe and protected has always been our North Star, and having principled, qualified public servants in place to lead our critical public safety agencies is crucial to fulfilling that goal; there’s no person who meets those high standards (like) Commissioner Mark Guerra,” Adams said Tuesday. 

“Lillian’s light is one that can’t be dimmed by anything else that takes place,” Mamdani said in response, according to FOX 5. “The mayor is free to continue to be the mayor until the end of this year and make decisions as such.”

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin on Saturday took aim at Kilmar Abrego Garcia for “making TikToks” while DHS remains constrained by an “activist judge.”

McLaughlin was reacting to a minute-long video that appears to show Abrego Garcia, an El Salvadoran illegal immigrant who became a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign, filming himself lip-syncing to a song in Spanish. 

“So we, at [DHS], are under gag order by an activist judge and Kilmar Abrego Garcia is making TikToks,” McLaughlin wrote. “American justice ceases to function when its arbiters silence law enforcement and give megaphones to those who oppose our legal system.”

JUDGE BLOCKS ICE FROM RE-DETAINING ABREGO GARCIA — BUT SIGNALS RULING COULD COME FAST

KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA RELEASED AFTER JUDGE RULES TRUMP ADMIN LACKED VALID REMOVAL ORDER

A court order had previously been issued by an Obama-appointed federal judge that restricts DHS and other Trump administration officials from publicly discussing Abrego Garcia’s human smuggling case. That order was later narrowed, according to The Tennessee Star.

Abrego Garcia had repeatedly sought to curb public criticism from Trump administration officials, arguing the remarks threaten his right to a fair trial, Politico reported.

ABREGO GARCIA RELEASED FROM JAIL, WILL RETURN TO MARYLAND TO AWAIT TRIAL

Abrego Garcia’s case has drawn national attention since March, when he was deported to his home country of El Salvador in violation of a 2019 court order and in what Trump officials acknowledge was an “administrative error.”

Upon his return to the U.S., Abrego Garcia was immediately taken into federal custody and detained on human smuggling charges from a 2022 traffic stop. The Trump administration has claimed he is a member of MS-13, which Abrego Garcia denies. 

A federal judge this week canceled Abrego Garcia’s trial and scheduled a hearing to review whether prosecutors pursued the human smuggling charges vindictively, according to The Associated Press.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis on Monday also extended a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump administration from immediately detaining Abrego Garcia again after failing to produce a final removal order. 

The ruling keeps in place an earlier order that secured his release from ICE custody.

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DHS and a defense attorney for Abrego Garcia did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano, Breanne Deppisch and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

Politicians took to social media Saturday to criticize Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after a viral video raised questions about a Minneapolis daycare center that allegedly received millions of dollars in state funding despite appearing largely inactive.

Responding to an X post highlighting allegations of Somali Medicaid fraud and voter fraud in the state, Vice President JD Vance described the situation as “a microcosm of the immigration fraud in our system.”

“Politicians like it because they get power. Welfare cheats like it because they get rich,” Vance wrote. “But it’s a zero sum game, and they’re stealing both money and political power from Minnesotans.”

TRUMP CABINET OFFICIAL CALLS ON WALZ TO RESIGN OVER MASSIVE FRAUD SCANDAL IN SCATHING LETTER: ‘SHAME ON YOU’

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., demanded Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz be “held accountable.”

“Folks need to be arrested and prosecuted and the Governor of Minnesota needs to be held accountable,” Lawler posted to X on Saturday. “Congress should hold a hearing immediately and start getting answers.”

A 42-minute video posted to X and YouTube on Friday by independent reporter Nick Shirley shows Shirley and another man visiting several childcare centers in the blue state, including a location on Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis.

The footage shows no visible activity at the site, which displays a misspelled sign that says “Quality Learing Center,” even though the center is reportedly supposed to account for 99 children and received roughly $4 million in state funds.

HHS PROBES MINNESOTA’S USE OF BILLIONS IN FEDERAL SOCIAL SERVICE FUNDS AMID FRAUD CONCERNS: REPORT

Several other high-profile figures also weighed in on Shirley’s video Saturday.

Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X, “If you haven’t watched this yet. Watch it. All of it. Understand that this is what journalists are supposed to do, but no one in the mainstream media will even bother to look let alone actually publish it. This is what they’re doing to your country with your tax dollars!!!”

Elon Musk shared similar concerns, accusing the “radical left” of exploiting government programs to bring in and retain immigrants to “win elections and turn America into a single-party state.”

MINNESOTA SENATE CANDIDATE WEARS HIJAB IN VISIT TO SOMALI MARKET AS FRAUD SCANDAL UNFOLDS

“The more you look at it, the more you will be horrified at what your tax money is doing and the fact that, if this is not reversed, your vote will mean nothing,” Musk posted to X. “The most obvious case example is the Somali voting bloc in Minnesota, a state that historically had zero Somalis, electing Ilhan Omar to the US Congress.”

A day earlier, Musk posted, “Prosecute [Tim Walz].”

The video went viral this week amid the burgeoning scandal enveloping the Walz administration that notably included at least $1 billion lost to alleged social services fraud largely tied to the Somali community in the Twin Cities.

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A portion reportedly ended up in the hands of the Somali terror group Al-Shabab.

Lawler and Walz did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.

The economy, the issue that hurt Democrats in the 2024 elections, gave them a major boost in this year’s ballot box showdowns.

“Look, we know what’s important right now,” Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin said in his speech at the DNC’s winter meeting earlier this month. “S‑‑‑ is too expensive.”

One year after deep concerns over inflation helped President Donald Trump and Republicans win back the White House and Senate and keep their House majority, Democrats say their decisive victories in last month’s 2025 elections, and their overperformances in special elections and other ballot box showdowns this year were fueled by their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation.

Democratic Governors Association Executive Director Meghan Meehan-Draper said Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, who overperformed the public opinion polls as they cruised to double-digit Election Night victories in the blue-leaning states, “stayed laser focused on the economy,” and “talked about it all day, every day.”

DOUBLING DOWN: TOP HOUSE DEMOCRAT SAYS FOCUS ON AFFORDABILITY ‘ABSOLUTELY GOING TO CONTINUE’

The issue also fueled one-time longshot far-left candidate Zohran Mamdani to a mayoral victory in New York City as he made cost of living the centerpiece of his campaign.

Democrats say they’ll double down on the issue of affordability heading into next year’s midterm elections, as they try to win back congressional majorities from the Republicans.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) chair says Democrats will keep their focus squarely on affordability as they aim to “take back those gavels” by capturing the House majority in next year’s midterm elections.

ELECTION REFLECTION: DEMOCRATS ‘FLIPPED THE SCRIPT’ ON AFFORDABILITY 

House Democrats need to flip just three GOP-held seats in 2026 to win back control of the chamber for the first time in four years.

“We’re going to hold Republicans accountable for their policies that are hurting American families,” Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington state, who for a second straight election cycle is chairing the DCCC, told Fox News Digital.

DelBene said she’ll keep her focus squarely on affordability as she aims to “take back those gavels.”

Pointing to last year’s elections, she said, “That was their [Republicans] big message. They were going to lower costs. It has been a big broken promise, and people are feeling that, and that’s had a big impact and will continue. People want folks who are going to stand up to them for them, not just be blindly loyal to the president.”

But GOP Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chair of the rival National Republican Congressional Committee, highlighted the Republican narrative, as he took aim at former President Joe Biden, telling Fox News Digital, “There are challenges out there with the economy, because Biden broke it, and House Republicans, working with President Trump, are going to fix it, and we’re working very hard to do that. “

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLL ON TRUMP AND THE ECONOMY

It’s an argument that Trump has repeatedly voiced in recent weeks, as he’s pointed fingers at his predecessor for the persistent high costs.

“When I took office last January, I inherited a mess, and very simply, I’m fixing it,” Trump said this month.

But a recent Fox News national poll was full of apparent warning signs for Trump and the GOP.

Three-quarters of voters questioned in the survey viewed the economy negatively, and large numbers of respondents, including Republicans, said their costs for groceries, utilities, healthcare and housing have gone up this year.

The poll indicated that voters blame the president, with nearly twice as many pointing fingers at Trump than former President Joe Biden, when asked who is responsible for the current economy.

And Trump’s approval rating when it comes to the economy has dropped to record lows in surveys by Fox News and other organizations.

While Trump has repeatedly described the Democrats’ focus on affordability as a “hoax,” he has also become more engaged in combating high prices in recent weeks, as the president has scaled back some of his tariffs and pledged to lower high food prices. And Trump this month made stops in two key battlegrounds — Pennsylvania and North Carolina — to tout his efforts to combat high prices.

Trump was buoyed this past week by better than expected government reports on inflation and economic growth, and Republicans see better days ahead when it comes to the issue of affordability.

Former Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley, the Trump-backed Republican Senate candidate in next year’s race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, told Fox News Digital “we’re seeing signs already that the economy is starting to tick up and is starting to take hold as the President’s policies are getting in place.”

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told Fox News Digital, “2026 is a year of affordability, and the great news is President Trump has been producing time and time again.”

Pointing to the tax cut provisions in the GOP’s sweeping domestic policy measure signed into law this past summer by Trump, Scott said “2026 is shaping up to be the year where Donald Trump’s activities, his actions, the legislation we’ve passed, shows up for the American voter. And consumers all across the country will see a more affordable economy because of President Trump and the Senate majority and the House majority in the hands of the Republican Party.”

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But Martin and the Democrats see it differently.

The DNC chair accuses Republicans of not inheriting a “mess — they manufactured it. They took the economy and drove it straight into a ditch. They took certainty and swapped it for chaos.”

And Martin predicts Trump and Republicans headed for a ballot box disaster.

“Donald Trump has lost the economy, is losing his mind, and is going to lose the midterms,” Martin charged.

It was an off-year when it comes to elections, but 2025 was on fire on the campaign trail, as next year’s looming midterm showdowns took shape.

While it was never expected to match the intensity of the tumultuous 2024 battles for the White House and Congress, this year’s off-year elections grabbed outsized national attention and served as a key barometer leading up to the 2026 midterm contests for the House and Senate majorities.

Here are five of the biggest moments that shaped the campaign trail.

5. Trump pushes mid-decade congressional redistricting

Aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterms, President Donald Trump in June first floated the idea of rare but not unheard of mid-decade congressional redistricting.

HERE ARE THE NEXT BATTLEGROUNDS IN REDISTRICTING FIGHT

The mission was simple: redraw congressional district maps in red states to pad the GOP’s razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.

Trump’s first target: Texas.

A month later, when asked by reporters about his plan to add Republican-leaning House seats across the country, the president said, “Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five.”

The push by Trump and his political team triggered a high-stakes redistricting showdown with Democrats to shape the 2026 midterm landscape in the fight for the House majority.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called a special session of the GOP-dominated state legislature to pass the new map.

But Democratic state lawmakers, who broke quorum for two weeks as they fled Texas in a bid to delay the passage of the redistricting bill, energized Democrats across the country.

Among those leading the fight against Trump’s redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.

California voters earlier this month 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 Democratic-dominated legislature.

That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which aimed to counter the move by Texas to redraw their maps.

The fight quickly spread beyond Texas and California.

Right-tilting Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push.

SETTING THE STAGE: WHAT THE 2025 ELECTIONS SIGNAL FOR NEXT YEAR’S MIDTERM SHOWDOWNS

Republicans are looking to GOP-controlled Florida, where early redistricting moves are underway in Tallahassee. A new map could possibly produce up to five more right-leaning seats. But conservative Gov. Ron DeSantis and GOP legislative leaders don’t see eye-to-eye on how to move forward.

“We must keep the Majority at all costs,” Trump wrote on social media this month.

In blows to Republicans, a Utah district judge this 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.

And Republicans in Indiana’s Senate defied Trump, shooting down a redistricting bill that had passed the state House.

But Trump scored a big victory when the conservative majority on the Supreme Court greenlighted Texas’ new map.

Other states that might step into the redistricting wars — Democratic-dominated Illinois and Maryland, and two red states with Democratic governors, Kentucky and Kansas.

4. Jay Jones text messages revealed, rocking Virginia’s elections

Virginia Democrats were cruising toward convincing victories in the commonwealth’s statewide elections when a scandal sent shockwaves up and down the ballot.

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

Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones instantly went into crisis mode after controversial texts were first reported earlier by the National Review in early October.

Jones acknowledged and apologized for texts he sent in 2022, when he compared then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert to mass murderers Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot, adding that if he was given two bullets, he would use both against the GOP lawmaker to shoot him in the head.

But Jones faced a chorus of calls from Republicans to drop out of the race.

And the GOP leveraged the explosive revelations up the ballot, forcing Democratic Party nominee, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, back on defense in a campaign where she was seen as the frontrunner against Republican rival Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.

Earle-Sears didn’t waste an opportunity to link Spanberger to Jones. And during October’s chaotic and only gubernatorial debate, where Earle-Sears repeatedly interrupted Spanberger, the GOP gubernatorial nominee called on her Democratic rival to tell Jones to end his attorney general bid.

“The comments that Jay Jones made are absolutely abhorrent,” Spanberger said at the debate. But she neither affirmed nor pulled back her support of Jones.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE 2025 ELECTIONS 

While the scandal grabbed national headlines, in the end it didn’t slow down the Democrats, as Spanberger crushed Earle-Sears by 15 points. Democrats won the separate election for lieutenant governor by 11 points and Jones even pulled off a 6-point victory over Republican incumbent Jason Miyares.

3. Democrats overperform at the ballot box

Just eight days into Trump’s second term in the White House, demoralized Democrats had something to cheer about.

Democrat Mike Zimmer defeated Republican Katie Whittington in a special state Senate election in Iowa, flipping a Republican-controlled vacant seat in a district that Trump had carried by 21 points less than three months earlier.

Zimmer’s victory triggered a wave of Democrats overperforming in special elections and regularly scheduled off-year ballot box contests.

Among the most high profile was the victory by the Democratic candidate in Wisconsin’s high-stakes and expensive state Supreme Court showdown.

With inflation, the issue that severely wounded them in the 2024 elections, persisting, Democrats were laser focused on affordability, and the wins kept coming.

In November’s regularly scheduled elections, they won the nation’s only two gubernatorial showdowns — in New Jersey and Virginia — by double digits. And they scored major victories in less high-profile contests from coast to coast.

The year ended with Democrats winning a mayoral election in Miami, Florida for the first time in a quarter-century, and flipping a state House seat in Georgia.

The Democratic National Committee, in a year-end memo, touted, “In 2025 alone, Democrats won or overperformed in 227 out of 255 key elections — nearly 90% of races.”

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

ELECTION REFLECTION: ‘DEMOCRATS FLIPPED THE SCRIPT’ ON AFFORDABILITY IN BALLOT BOX SHOWDOWNS

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

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

2. Democrats’ primary problem

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

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

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

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

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

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

And the center-left Third Way, in a memo following the Tennessee special election, argued that “there are two projects going on in the Democratic Party right now. One is winning political power so we can stop Trump’s calamity. The other is turning blue places bluer.”

“If far-left groups want to help save American democracy, they should stop pushing their candidates in swing districts and costing us flippable seats,” the memo emphasized.

1. Mamdani wins NYC mayoral primary

It was the story that has dominated campaign politics for the past six months.

Zohran Mamdani‘s convincing June 24 victory in New York City’s Democratic Party mayoral primary was the political earthquake that rocked the nation’s most populous city and sent powerful shockwaves across the country.

The capturing of the Democratic nomination by the now-34-year-old socialist state lawmaker over frontrunner former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates propelled Mamdani to a general election victory.

Mamdani’s primary shocker, and later, his general election victory, energized the left.

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But it also handed Republicans instant ammunition as they worked to link the first Muslim New York City mayor with a far-left agenda to Democrats across the country, as the party aimed to paint Democrats as extremists.

But Trump, who had repeatedly called Mamdani a “communist,” appeared to undercut that narrative with a chummy Oval Office meeting with the mayor-elect last month.

This year has had no shortage of alarming Chinese espionage efforts targeting the United States that were uncovered by government officials.

2025 saw the conviction of a former active-duty military member accused of selling Navy secrets to Chinese intelligence, the arrests of Chinese nationals accused of trying to recruit active-duty service members as intelligence assets and smuggle dangerous toxins into the United States, the disruption of a Chinese “Hacker-for-Hire” ecosystem, and more.

“President Trump is not afraid of the Chinese,” Gatestone Institute senior Fellow Gordon Chang said on Fox Business’ “Mornings with Maria” following a new arms sale to Taiwan. However, Chang lamented that Trump was ambivalent to the “information war” with China, noting that “the Chinese are able to tar him and tell the rest of the world that Trump is afraid of the Chinese … but when you look at the reality, President Trump is going after China across the board,” Chang argued.

EX-TRUMP DHS OFFICIAL SOUNDS ALARM OVER NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT WITHIN CRITICAL US INDUSTRY

One of the alarming Chinese espionage headlines to hit the news this year was an effort by several Chinese nationals to smuggle a pathogen described by the government as a “potential agroterrorism weapon” into the United States in 2024. A complaint against the suspects was unsealed by federal officials this year, leading the case to make headlines nationwide. 

One of those individuals complicit in the case, Yunqing Jian, 33, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China and a researcher employed at the University of Michigan, was allegedly receiving money from the Chinese government for her work on the pathogen the suspects were trying to smuggle. Meanwhile, her boyfriend, who worked at a Chinese university conducting research on that same pathogen, initially lied but then admitted to smuggling it through the Detroit airport so it could be taken to the University of Michigan laboratory where his girlfriend worked.

Jian eventually pleaded guilty. She was later sentenced to time served and then deported back to China. Her boyfriend was immediately deported to China when he was caught at the Detroit airport trying to bring the toxin into the United States.  

Just this month, a separate Chinese researcher from Indiana University was also accused by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of trying to smuggle a dangerous toxin into the country, this time Escherichia coli (E. coli). The FBI identified the smuggling suspect as post-doctoral researcher Youhuang Xiang, who also allegedly made false statements to law enforcement.

FCC, STATE AGS TO JOIN FORCES IN CRACKDOWN ON CHINA-LINKED COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY

Federal officials have disrupted Chinese intelligence efforts to recruit assets in the United States this year as well, according to Justice Department communications.

In July, federal officials disrupted a “Clandestine PRC Ministry of State Security Intelligence Network” that was operating in the United States and was attempting to bribe active-duty soldiers with thousands in cash to work for them as assets. 

The following month, in a separate case, a federal jury convicted former Navy sailor, Jinchao Wei, also known as Patrick Wei, who was caught trying to sell military secrets to a Chinese intelligence officer for $12,000.

Hacking was a big part of Chinese espionage efforts in 2025 too. 

A major Chinese-linked hacking threat referred to as “Salt Typhoon” was reported this year to have launched an attack compromising at least 200 American companies as part of its broader efforts that have included gaining access to law enforcement wiretapping mechanisms and information on members of Congress, according to the top cyber chief at the FBI. Critical infrastructure manufacturers like AT&T, Verizon, Charter Communications, and others have reportedly been exposed by the group, which was first uncovered publicly in 2024 but whose efforts have dated back several years.

Earlier this year, in March, the Department of Justice also announced that federal officials had disrupted a “Hacker-for-Hire Ecosystem” operating out of China at the direction of Chinese intelligence officers as well. These malicious actors worked for private companies and as contractors in China, which was intended to hack and steal information in a way that would obscure the Chinese government’s involvement, the DOJ said.

China’s increasing acquisition of farmland in the United States has been of growing concern during 2025 as well, with Chinese-linked entities buying up land near military bases, including a trailer park near Missouri’s Whiteman Air Force Base. 

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“From smuggling crop-killing pathogens and E. Coli into the United States, to conspicuously purchasing a trailer park that shares a fence with America’s entire B-2 bomber fleet and selling ‘green’ tech devices that spread kill switches across our electrical grid, Communist China seeks to harm the American homeland,” Michael Lucci, a China-hawk and the founder of State Armor Action, a conservative group with a mission to develop and enact state-level solutions to global security threats such as those emanating from China.

“Furthermore, these events are just the tip of the iceberg,” Lucci continued. “Lawmakers across the country must accelerate action to shield Americans from CCP influence, espionage, and sabotage. Communist China treats the United States as an enemy, and it is past time we recognize the CCP party-state always and everywhere chooses conflict with the United States.”

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

Economic momentum is building under President Donald Trump, but translating those gains into political advantage will require sharper messaging, economist Stephen Moore said, as voters remain skeptical despite improving indicators.

“There’s a perception and there’s reality,” explained Moore in an interview with Fox News Digital. 

“The reality is what the numbers show — that median family income is up by about $1,200 this year, adjusted for inflation. We’re seeing real increases in wealth. Anyone investing in the stock market — not just rich people, but about 160 million Americans — has retirement savings in stocks.”

WHITE HOUSE TEASES MAJOR HOUSING AFFORDABILITY PLAN AS PRICES SQUEEZE AMERICANS

Still, Moore, a former Trump adviser and co-founder of a free-market advocacy organization, Unleash Prosperity, acknowledged that rising costs in everyday life continue to shape how many Americans view the economy.

“People tend to focus on the things that are rising in price, and I understand that,” Moore said. “But there are also areas where costs have fallen, including gasoline, airline tickets and some everyday items.”

That disconnect between economic data and how voters feel about the economy poses a political challenge for Trump, who returned to the White House promising affordability but is now confronting doubts over whether that pledge is being met.

A Fox News national survey found that 76% of voters rate the economy negatively, up from 67% in July and 70% at the end of former President Joe Biden’s term. 

The poll showed voters are more likely to blame Trump than Biden for current economic conditions, with three times as many saying Trump’s policies have hurt them personally.

The sentiment has fueled Democratic messaging focused on affordability, which has resonated in recent state and local elections.

THE SOCIALIST EXPERIMENT COMES TO NYC: MAMDANI’S VISION FOR A MORE AFFORDABLE CITY

That disconnect, Moore said, isn’t just about prices — it’s also about tone.

“I think people want empathy from the president,” Moore said. “People in the middle and working class want to know that this president understands the struggles of working 40 hours a week and still having a hard time meeting their bills.”

To close that gap, Moore compared Trump’s current challenge to Ronald Reagan’s early presidency, which followed economic difficulties after Jimmy Carter — a dynamic he said mirrors the aftermath of the Biden administration.

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“Trump should use an old line from Ronald Reagan, because Reagan’s first 18 months in office were very tough. We had a very bad economy as a residual effect from Jimmy Carter. And Reagan told the American people, stay the course, these policies are going to work and they’re going to make America better off.”

Moore said recent data suggest the recovery is accelerating, and that momentum is likely to continue.

“In the last couple of months, the economy has really sped up,” Moore said. “At 4.3% growth, that’s a very high rate, and the recovery is well in progress. It’s been a very prosperous first year and I expect 2026 to bring very strong continued economic growth.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed he will be meeting with President Donald Trump Sunday, likely to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine.

“Rustem Umerov reported on his latest contacts with the American side. We are not losing a single day. We have agreed on a meeting at the highest level – with President Trump in the near future. A lot can be decided before the New Year,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.

Zelenskyy reportedly confirmed in a WhatsApp chat with Ukrainian journalists that the meeting would take place Sunday, according to NBC News. He told the reporters it is unclear “whether territorial issues will be discussed.”

ZELENSKYY ENCOURAGED BY ‘VERY GOOD’ CHRISTMAS TALKS WITH US

The meeting could indicate that Russia and Ukraine are closer to a peace deal after Trump said last month that he would not meet with Zelenskyy or Russian President Vladimir Putin until a deal to end the war was final or in its final stages.

“Over the past week, my team has made tremendous progress with respect to ending the War between Russia and Ukraine… I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Nov. 25.

On Friday, Zelenskyy also said he had a “very substantive and positive conversation” with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, another sign that Russia and Ukraine could be closer to reaching a deal.

“We coordinated our positions ahead of the meetings in Florida, and we must work at maximum productivity in the coming days, as always,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “Ukraine has never been and will never be an obstacle to peace, and we will continue working efficiently to ensure all necessary documents are prepared as quickly as possible.”

UKRAINE, US NEAR 20-POINT PEACE DEAL AS PUTIN SPURNS ZELENSKYY CHRISTMAS CEASEFIRE OFFER

The announcement of Sunday’s meeting comes just one day after Zelenskyy expressed optimism about the progress of peace negotiations following a conversation with Jared Kushner and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff. Zelenskyy said the Christmas conversation centered on ongoing efforts to end the war and move toward a durable, lasting peace.

Earlier this week, Zelenskyy said Ukraine and the U.S. were close to finalizing a framework for security guarantees and economic arrangements tied to a possible peace deal. He also stated at a news conference that talks with U.S. officials led to a 20-point plan, reduced from the original 28-point plan that Trump proposed.

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Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev told reporters in the U.S. Dec. 20 that peace talks with Ukraine were constructive, even as Russian forces launched a missile strike on Odesa that left eight dead and 27 injured. Despite peace talks, Russia’s efforts against Ukraine have continued in their third year of war after Putin’s February 2022 invasion.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan and Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is expecting a baby girl, Fox News Digital has learned. 

Leavitt and her husband Nick are expecting their second bundle of joy to be born in May 2026. Their first son, Niko, was born in July 2024.

“My husband and I are thrilled to grow our family and can’t wait to watch our son become a big brother,” Leavitt told Fox News Digital. “My heart is overflowing with gratitude to God for the blessing of motherhood, which I truly believe is the closest thing to Heaven on Earth.”

Leavitt told Fox News Digital that she is “extremely grateful to President Trump and our amazing Chief of Staff Susie Wiles for their support, and for fostering a pro-family environment in the White House.”

“Nearly all of my West Wing colleagues have babies and young children, so we all really support one another as we tackle raising our families while working for the greatest president ever,” Leavitt said.

Leavitt added: “2026 is going to be an amazing year for the President and our country, and personally, I am beyond excited to become a girl mom.” 

A senior White House official told Fox News Digital that Leavitt will remain in her post as press secretary.

Leavitt will be the first pregnant press secretary in U.S. history.

President Donald Trump is taking his pressure campaign to the next level against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and making it clear he doesn’t believe the strongman should be leading the country — all while China and Russia are speaking out on the escalating conflict involving their ally.

The Trump administration has launched a series of strikes targeting alleged drug boats off the coast of Latin America in recent months and announced this month a “complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela” as his administration has significantly beefed up its naval assets in the region. 

While the Trump administration has said that these efforts align with the administration’s effort to curb the influx of drugs into the U.S., the campaign also appears geared toward removing Maduro from power. This isn’t the first attempt by Trump to squeeze out Maduro. He previously imposed sanctions on Venezuela and backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó during his first term. 

As a result, Trump said Monday that Washington’s pressure campaign against Venezuela would “probably” be sufficient to coerce Maduro to step down and made it clear he believes that’s something Maduro should be doing.

US COAST GUARD PURSUES THIRD ‘DARK FLEET’ OIL TANKER AS TRUMP TARGETS VENEZUELAN SANCTIONS EVASION NETWORK 

“That’s up to him, what he wants to do,” Trump said Monday. “I think it would be smart for him to do that. But, again, we’re going to find out.”

The White House has historically refused to comment on whether it is pursuing regime change in Venezuela even though it does not recognize Maduro as a legitimate head of state and insists he is the leader of a drug cartel. 

China and Russia are speaking out about U.S. actions in the region, accusing the U.S. of breaking international law after the U.S. seized multiple oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela. The first seizure occurred Dec. 10, and Trump confirmed Monday that the U.S. is still pursuing another oil tanker that a U.S. official told Fox News Digital is a “sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion.”

TRUMP’S VENEZUELA OIL BLOCKADE PUTS CHEVRON IN THE MIDDLE OF A HIGH-STAKES SANCTIONS CRACKDOWN 

“The U.S. practice of arbitrarily seizing other countries’ vessels grossly violates international law,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters Monday. Jian said Beijing opposes anything that “infringes upon other countries’ sovereignty and security, and all acts of unilateralism or bullying.”

Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Venezuela’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Yván Gil spoke over the phone Monday, and the “Russian side reaffirmed its all-out support and solidarity with the leaders and people of Venezuela in the current context.” 

“The ministers expressed grave concern in connection with Washington stepping up its escalation actions in the Caribbean, actions fraught with far-reaching consequences for the region and creating a threat for international shipping,” the statement said.

MADURO TRAPPED WITH FEW RETALIATION OPTIONS AFTER TRUMP ADMIN SEIZES VENEZUELAN OIL TANKER 

Katherine Thompson, a senior fellow in defense and foreign policy studies at the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute, previously told Fox News Digital that adversaries like Russia and China are likely perplexed as to why the Trump administration has zeroed in on the Maduro regime. That’s because Caracas doesn’t jeopardize U.S. interests as much as other actors, in addition to the Trump administration’s “American First” mantra, Thompson said. 

“I imagine, for them, it’s probably a bit puzzling if they’re looking at it through a real, brass tacks, realist lens why this administration would be prioritizing ousting the Maduro regime as opposed to conflicts in other theaters,” Thompson said earlier in December. 

The Trump administration has conducted nearly 30 strikes in Latin American waters since September as part of its hard-line approach to crack down on the influx of drugs into the U.S. 

For example, the Trump administration designated drug cartel groups like Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa and others as foreign terrorist organizations and bolstered its naval assets in the region in recent months, including signing off on the unprecedented step of sending the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to the region.

In addition to the strikes against alleged drug vessels, Trump has suggested for months that strikes on land could be the next step.

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

Although the Trump administration has said it has the authority to conduct these attacks against alleged drug boats, Democrats and some Republicans have questioned the legality of the strikes.

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and senators Tim Kaine, D-Va., Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced a war powers resolution this month to bar Trump from using U.S. armed forces to engage in hostilities within or against Venezuela.

Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.