NationalWatch

The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker over new laws that aim to protect migrants from arrest at key locations, including courthouses, hospitals and day cares.

The lawsuit was filed on Monday, arguing that the new protective measures prohibiting immigration agents from detaining migrants going about daily business at specific locations are unconstitutional and “threaten the safety of federal officers,” the DOJ said in a statement.

The governor signed laws earlier this month that ban civil arrests at and around courthouses across the state. The measures also require hospitals, day care centers and public universities to have procedures in place for addressing civil immigration operations and protecting personal information.

The laws, which took effect immediately, also provide legal steps for people whose constitutional rights were violated during the federal immigration raids in the Chicago area, including $10,000 in damages for a person unlawfully arrested while attempting to attend a court proceeding.

PRITZKER SIGNS BILL TO FURTHER SHIELD ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN ILLINOIS FROM DEPORTATIONS

Pritzker, a Democrat, has led the fight against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Illinois, particularly over the indiscriminate and sometimes violent nature in which they are detained.

But the governor’s office reaffirmed that he is not against arresting illegal migrants who commit violent crimes.

“However, the Trump administration’s masked agents are not targeting the ‘worst of the worst’ — they are harassing and detaining law-abiding U.S. citizens and Black and brown people at daycares, hospitals and courthouses,” spokesperson Jillian Kaehler said in a statement.

Earlier this year, the federal government reversed a Biden administration policy prohibiting immigration arrests in sensitive locations such as hospitals, schools and churches.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “Operation Midway Blitz,” which began in September in the Chicago area but appears to have since largely wound down for now, led to more than 4,000 arrests. But data on people arrested from early September through mid-October showed only 15% had criminal records, with the vast majority of offenses being traffic violations, misdemeanors or nonviolent felonies.

Immigration and legal advocates have praised the new laws protecting migrants in Illinois, saying many immigrants were avoiding courthouses, hospitals and schools out of fear of arrest amid the president’s mass deportation agenda.

The laws are “a brave choice” in opposing ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, according to Lawrence Benito, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

“Our collective resistance to ICE and CBP’s violent attacks on our communities goes beyond community-led rapid response — it includes legislative solutions as well,” he said.

The DOJ claims Pritzker and state Attorney General Kwame Raoul, also a Democrat, violated the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which establishes that federal law is the “supreme Law of the Land.”

ILLINOIS LAWMAKERS PASS BILL BANNING ICE IMMIGRATION ARRESTS NEAR COURTHOUSES

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Raoul and his staff are reviewing the DOJ’s complaint.

“This new law reflects our belief that no one is above the law, regardless of their position or authority,” Pritzker’s office said. “Unlike the Trump administration, Illinois is protecting constitutional rights in our state.”

The lawsuit is part of an initiative by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to block state and local laws the DOJ argues impede federal immigration operations, as other states have also made efforts to protect migrants against federal raids at sensitive locations.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s request to allow the president to proceed with immediately deploying National Guard troops to Chicago — delivering a blow, if temporary, to President Donald Trump as he seeks to expand his federalization push across the U.S.

The justices declined the Trump administration’s emergency request to overturn a ruling by U.S. District Judge April Perry that had blocked the deployment of troops. An appeals court also had refused to step in. The Supreme Court took more than two months to act.

“At this preliminary stage, the Government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the high court majority wrote.

Three justices, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, publicly dissented. The outcome is a rare Supreme Court setback for Trump, who had won repeated victories in emergency appeals since he took office again in January. 

‘UNTETHERED FROM REALITY’: LAWYERS FOR TRUMP, OREGON, SPAR OVER NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT IN COURT CLASH

The White House told Fox News Digital that the Trump administration plans to keep working “day in and day out to safeguard the American public.”

“The President promised the American people he would work tirelessly to enforce our immigration laws and protect federal personnel from violent rioters. He activated the National Guard to protect federal law enforcement officers, and to ensure rioters did not destroy federal buildings and property,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement. “Nothing in today’s ruling detracts from that core agenda.”

In a statement, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul praised the court’s decision. 

“Nearly 250 years ago, the framers of our nation’s Constitution carefully divided responsibility over the country’s militia, today’s U.S. National Guard, between the federal government and the states – believing it impossible that a president would use one state’s militia against another state,” he said. “The extremely limited circumstances under which the federal government can call up the militia over a state’s objection do not exist in Illinois, and I am pleased that the streets of Illinois will remain free of armed National Guard members as our litigation continues in the courts.”

The update comes after the Trump administration asked the high court last week to stay a lower court order blocking Trump from immediately deploying federalized National Guard troops to Chicago.

“This decision reinforces that domestic deployment of troops is rare and exceptional, and it was absolutely unjustified in Illinois,” said Hina Shamsi, director of ACLU’s National Security Project. “With each court decision against the President’s domestic troop deployments, it becomes clearer that his version of American cities as hellscapes, and protest against his policies as requiring troops, is plain false. We’re glad that the Supreme Court has upheld the order blocking this blatant abuse of presidential power because there’s no reason for any troops policing civilians in our streets.”

Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued in the administration’s appeal to the Supreme Court that a federal judge’s earlier order, as well as the partial stay granted by a unanimous 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, “improperly impinges on the president’s authority and needlessly endangers federal personnel and property.”

Blocking the deployment of National Guard troops, Sauer argued, risks “jeopardizing the lives and safety of DHS officers,” and prevents officials from taking what he argued are “reasonable and lawful measures” to protect federal agents from the “violent resistance” that they argue has persisted in Chicago. 

Lawyers for Illinois and Chicago disputed that contention, however.

‘UNTETHERED FROM REALITY’: LAWYERS FOR TRUMP, OREGON, SPAR OVER NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT IN COURT CLASH

They argued in their Supreme Court filing that the Trump administration’s arguments “rest on mischaracterizations of the factual record or the lower courts’ views of the legal principles.” 

They also cited the lower court judge’s order, which found the administration’s declarations about the nature of the protests in Chicago and nearby Broadview were “unreliable” and overstated the violence and difficulties officers faced enforcing the law.

“As the district court found, state and local law enforcement officers have handled isolated protest activities in Illinois, and there is no credible evidence to the contrary,” lawyers for the state of Illinois said Monday.

The update comes as Trump has sought to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to a growing list of Democratic-led cities, despite stated opposition from local and state leaders.

He has faced opposition from a handful of federal courts, including U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, who described Trump’s actions in a restraining order this month as “untethered to reality,” and failing to reflect the situation on the ground.

A three-judge panel for the 9th Circuit later stayed her order, allowing Trump to proceed with his deployment to Portland.

TRUMP IS THREATENING TO ‘FEDERALIZE’ DC WITH NATIONAL GUARD AND MORE. HERE’S HOW THAT COULD PLAY OUT

In D.C., a federal judge on Friday will hear updates on the status of Trump’s National Guard deployments in the nation’s capital, after the city’s attorney general said in a new court filing that it appears the National Guard troops will remain deployed through at least summer 2026.

It is unclear whether that is the Trump administration’s plan — and if so, how many of the 2,500 National Guard troops originally sent to D.C. in August would remain through that date.

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The fight comes as Trump officials argue that the deployments are a necessary step to crack down on what they have said is an uptick in violent crime and protect against threats from protesters, including anti-ICE demonstrations.

Democrats, meanwhile, argue that Trump has failed to satisfy the criteria needed to federalize National Guard troops under USC § 12406, which allows a president to do so in cases of a foreign invasion, if there is “danger of a rebellion” or in cases when regular officers are unable to enforce the law.

They have also argued that Trump’s characterizations are hyperbolic and merely a pretext to “federalize” Democratic-led cities and states. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

A Department of Justice opinion published Monday reversed a Biden administration directive that allowed Veterans Affairs to provide taxpayer-funded abortions, concluding that federal law bans the VA from offering abortion services in most circumstances.

The DOJ Office of Legal Counsel said in the opinion that a rule the Biden administration issued in 2022, in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s landmark Dobbs decision, flouted the law. 

OLC Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joshua Craddock wrote that while the secretary of Veterans Affairs has wide latitude over what types of medical services it offers to the millions of veterans under its purview, “that discretion is not limitless.” The Veterans Health Care Act “makes clear” that the VA is restricted to providing abortion services only when a pregnancy carries certain types of risks, Craddock wrote.

WHITE HOUSE WARNS VETERANS’ SERVICES AT RISK IF DEMS BLOCK GOP FUNDING BILL

“That language is unambiguous,” Craddock said. A footnote noted that the only exceptions consistent with the law were abortions for “life-threatening circumstances, including treatment for ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages.”

Asked about whether the VA was providing abortions, press secretary Peter Kasperowicz told Fox News Digital it was not, attributing the halt to the DOJ’s new interpretation of the law.

“The DOJ’s opinion states that VA is not legally authorized to provide abortions, and VA is complying with it immediately,” Kasperowicz said, noting that the DOJ’s opinion was consistent with a new Trump administration rule proposal that was still going through the regulatory process.

That Trump administration’s rule also suggested that the Biden administration had oversold the need for an abortion policy change. The prior administration had predicted the agency would need to provide some 1,000 abortions per year in the wake of post-Dobbs restrictions on abortions in various states. However, the VA has since 2022 been providing roughly 140 per year, the administration said.

The VA, led by Secretary Doug Collins, operates dozens of medical centers throughout the country and offers lifelong health services to about 9 million veterans and other eligible beneficiaries.

The DOJ OLC advises the executive branch on the legality of its policies, and the administration views the OLC’s opinions as binding interpretations of the law.

NEARLY 37,000 VA EMPLOYEES FURLOUGHED OR WORKING WITHOUT PAY AMID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

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The progressive group Democracy Forward blasted the VA for shifting its policy, noting it was “fueled by” OLC’s opinion and did not include an exception for rape.

“Denying veterans essential health care and abortion access – even in cases of rape or serious health risk – after they have sacrificed so much for our country is callous and inhumane,” Democracy Forward President Skye Perryman said, adding that veterans should have the “freedom to make their own health care decisions.”

A Christmastime U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation named Operation “Angel’s Honor” in tribute to murdered Georgia nursing student Laken Riley netted over 1,000 criminal illegal aliens, according to the agency.

In a Monday statement, ICE announced the “successful conclusion” of a 14-day enforcement operation that it said resulted in over 1,030 criminal illegal aliens arrested under the Laken Riley Act.

The agency said the operation was codenamed “Angel’s Honor” in memory of Riley, who was murdered by Venezuelan illegal alien Jose Ibarra in 2024. Congress passed the Laken Riley Act with bipartisan support in January, and the measure was signed into law by President Donald Trump shortly after he took office.

The law stipulates mandatory detention of non-citizens charged with specific crimes, including burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, assault on a law enforcement officer, or any crime causing serious bodily injury or death.

DHS ARRESTS ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ ILLEGAL MIGRANTS, INCLUDING MURDERERS AND PEDOPHILES, IN WEEKEND OPERATION

In the Monday statement, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that Trump “empowered us to arrest and remove the millions of violent criminal illegal aliens unleashed on the United States by the previous administration.”

“Now, these criminals will face justice and be removed from our country,” said Noem.

“We can never bring Laken back, but we can do everything in our power to bring these heinous criminals to justice,” she went on, adding, “I am so proud of what our brave men and women of ICE have done to remove these criminals from America’s streets.”

ICE highlighted some of the criminal illegals arrested during the operation, which included individuals who raped and tortured children.

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

Among those arrested was Jamie Escobar-Mirales, a 37-year-old illegal alien from Mexico, who ICE said was arrested on Dec. 18. According to the agency, his criminal history includes an arrest for two counts of rape of a child. He is now facing removal proceedings. 

A different illegal immigrant from Mexico named Javier Diaz-Cabrera, 40, was arrested on Dec. 18. He has a criminal history that includes an arrest for illegal sexual contact with a victim under the age of 13 and sexual assault with a victim under 18 by a guardian.

Evelyn Martinez-Rodriguez, a 36-year-old from Honduras, was arrested on Dec. 9. ICE said her criminal history includes arrests for assault-torture/willful abuse of a child, domestic violence assault, assault and public order crimes.

Another illegal, Fredy Garcia-Canan, a 34-year-old from Guatemala, was arrested on Dec. 19. He has an outstanding removal order from 2024 and has a criminal history including an arrest for intentional bodily harm with a deadly weapon, criminal discharge of a firearm and aggravated endangering to a child. Guatemalan illegal Brandon Barrientos-Garcia, 28, was also arrested on Dec. 19. His criminal history includes an arrest for assault by strangulation, breaking/entering to terrorize/injure and domestic violence assault, per ICE.

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

Fernando Manzanares-Cruz, a 40-year-old from El Salvador, was arrested on Dec. 16 and had a removal order from 2016. His criminal history includes arrests for assault and battery of a pregnant victim, assault and battery of a family/household member and witness intimidation.

Even further back, ICE arrested Mexican illegal Braulio Rosas-Ayala, 44, who was ordered removed by an immigration judge in 1999. Rosas-Ayala’s criminal history includes an arrest for rape and sodomy.

Commenting on the roundup, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said, “We named this operation ‘Angel’s Honor’ in honor of the memory of Laken Riley, whose life was tragically cut short by illegal alien crime.”

GOP GOVERNOR LAYS OUT PLAN TO ‘PURGE’ TERRORISTS AND TERROR SUPPORTERS FROM STATE

“This operation, while a massive success, also serves as a solemn reminder of the profound impact that immigrant violence and crime can have on victims and their loved ones,” said Lyons.

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“ICE’s mission,” said Lyons, “is to ensure that no more Americans will fall victim to illegal alien crime.” 

The recently launched “GenAI” tool for U.S. service members and Department of War workers is a “critical first step” in the future of warfare, according to a military expert.

This month, the Pentagon announced the launch of GenAI.mil, a military-focused AI platform powered by Google Gemini. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the platform is designed to give U.S. military personnel direct access to AI tools to help “revolutioniz[e] the way we win.”

On Monday, the Department of War also announced that the Pentagon is further integrating Elon Musk’s xAI Grok family of models into the GenAI platform, allowing employees to use xAI safely on secure government systems for routine work, including tasks involving sensitive but unclassified information.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Emelia Probasco, a Navy veteran, former Pentagon official and senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, explained that the tool will help train Department of War service members and civilians on the use of artificial intelligence in their everyday workflow, preparing them for further integration of AI in military matters.

WAR DEPARTMENT REFOCUSES ON AI, HYPERSONICS AND DIRECTED ENERGY IN MAJOR STRATEGY OVERHAUL

Probasco said the tool will have a “big impact” on the everyday functioning of the Department of War.

“Prior to the rollout of this new website and having Gemini 3 available to the force, folks were either using sort of a tool that wasn’t as capable … or even worse, they were sort of going to their home computers and trying to do various things on their home computers, which they’re not supposed to do, but it was probably happening,” Probasco explained. “Now they’ve got a more secure environment where they can experiment with these tools and really start to learn what they’re good for and what they’re not good for.”

While Probasco said she does not believe the tools, such as the GenAI platform, “fully changes war,” she thinks “it’s the critical first step in training so that we know how to use it well.”

She said that the Department of War has “made it very clear in the past year that they want to forge ahead and be innovative and try new things and adopt AI.”

The GenAI tool, Probasco said, gives the department a type of sandbox to experiment with for still bigger innovations to come.

FOX NEWS AI NEWSLETTER: HEGSETH MOVES TO REVOLUTIONIZE AMERICAN WARFIGHTING

“There are responsible people in the department who are trying to figure out what is the best use of this tool. Let’s try lots of experiments in sort of sandboxes or in safe places so that when a conflict comes, we are ready and ahead, frankly, of any adversary who has started to play with the tools,” she explained.

Probasco said the Department of War understands that adversaries such as China are also developing and experimenting with artificial intelligence. Indeed, this month, President Donald Trump announced he would be partially reversing a Biden-era restriction on high-end chip exports, permitting Nvidia to export its artificial-intelligence chips to China and other countries.

The H200 chips are high-performance processors made by Nvidia that help run artificial intelligence programs, like chatbots, machine learning and data-center tasks. 

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill voiced that they are split over the decision, with some seeing the move as a dangerous concession and others as strategic.

HEGSETH TO HIGHLIGHT REBUILDING THE ‘ARSENAL OF FREEDOM’ IN SPEECH AT REAGAN NATIONAL DEFENSE FORUM

Either way, Probasco said “we have lots of evidence” that China “is doing rapid experimentation [with AI] across all domains of warfare.”

“And it’s not, can I use a chatbot, but rather, ‘Can I gather up lots of information to start to target individuals for espionage?’ For example, [and], ‘Can I use data to create more sophisticated cyber-attacks?’” she explained.

“There is this sort of dynamic of a race between the two sides trying to figure out how to adopt it,” she explained.

Though important, Probasco said the GenAI tool is “not going to necessarily be the weapon system that gains [the U.S.] an advantage.”

KYRSTEN SINEMA WARNS US ADVERSARY WILL PROGRAM AI WITH ‘CHINESE VALUES’ IF AMERICA FALLS BEHIND IN TECH RACE

She assured the AI tool that will truly give the U.S. a military advantage “is underway,” but said “that’s not the sort of thing you just roll out for every service member to use.”

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“It’s important to remember that using a chatbot to help you think through certain problems or do talking points is not what’s going to win the war. There are much more sophisticated military systems that use generative AI; they use other kinds of what’s called ‘good old-fashioned AI.’ There are lots of other techniques that militaries need to use,” she said.

“Those are already in the works, and they’ve been in the works for years,” Probasco explained, adding, “That’s not going to be rolled out in a big public announcement where everybody can play with it.”

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

–Trump official freezes millions in SBA aid to Minnesota, slams Walz’s policies as breeding ‘endemic’ fraud

–Epstein file drop includes ‘untrue and sensationalist claims’ about Trump, DOJ says

-House GOP tensions erupt after moderate Republicans’ Obamacare ‘betrayal’

Boasberg says Trump must provide due process to CECOT migrants in US or elsewhere

A federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to provide due process to a class of Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador in March, and gave it two weeks to detail how it will do so – setting up another high-stakes clash between the White House and the federal courts.

In March, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to halt its plans to immediately use the 1798 Alien Enemies Act wartime immigration law to quickly deport hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to CECOT, a Salvadoran maximum-security prison. That did not happen, and the planes landed in El Salvador hours later. 

Boasberg concluded that the Trump administration’s actions were illegal, conducted in defiance of the court, and deprived the migrants in the CECOT class of their due process protections – including prior notice of removal, a “meaningful opportunity” to contest their removal from the U.S., and the ability to dispute their designation as a member of the Tren de Aragua gang…READ MORE.
 

White House

THE FINE PRINT: Trump promises cheaper drugs under TrumpRx, but economists say the long-term costs may be hidden

PAY UP: Trump admin to revive student loan wage garnishments in January 2026 following COVID pause

HOLIDAY ELEGANCE: Trump and first lady go all black for official White House Christmas portrait photo

LEGAL LIMITS: WATCH: Ex-federal prosecutor says DOJ had power to release all Epstein files

World Stage

FAIR COMPETITION: Trump trade crackdown hits cheap food containers from China, Vietnam with massive new duties

Capitol Hill

WASTE WATCH: Rand Paul’s ‘Festivus’ report calls out cocaine dogs, COVID influencers and a mountain of debt

CAPITOL PRESSURE: Senate quietly works on bipartisan Obamacare fix as healthcare cliff nears

FISH VS FLIPPER: Apex predator threatening Northwest salmon sparks rare bipartisan push to ‘kill more’

DOMINOS FALLING: Lawmakers probe SBA loans linked to Minnesota’s $9B fraud scandal: ‘Reckless decision making’

Across America 

SUNSHINE STATE RACE: Boca Raton mayor launches run for Congress touting GOP as ‘party of the middle class’

TERMINAL PROGNOSIS: Former GOP Sen. Ben Sasse reveals stage-4 cancer diagnosis: ‘It’s a death sentence’

BALLOT BATTLE: Republicans have chance to secure governorships in key battleground states next year

PARTY FRACTURE: Cornyn torches Democratic field, says party now ‘ruled by socialists’

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

As the year closes, Republicans are looking to the past for another dance with a partisan exercise that tested the party’s unity and delivered President Donald Trump his crowning legislative achievement of the year.

Budget reconciliation is how congressional Republicans rammed through Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” earlier this year. But it’s a time-consuming, labor-intensive process that laid bare intra-party divisions and nearly exploded before liftoff.

Still, some Republicans want to take another stab at reconciliation, which allows a party in power to advance legislation with just a simple majority in the Senate as long as it adheres to strict, budgetary parameters.

SENATE QUIETLY WORKS ON BIPARTISAN OBAMACARE FIX AS HEALTHCARE CLIFF NEARS

“We can do two more reconciliation bills without a single Democratic vote,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Fox News Digital. “Doesn’t mean we wouldn’t welcome Democratic votes, but we can do them without a single Democratic vote.”

Turning once again to reconciliation would help Senate Republicans, in particular, address one of Trump’s desires to kill the 60-vote filibuster threshold in the upper chamber without changing the precedent that Democrats, for years, have threatened to do.

But they need a plan, first.

That would come from Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the de facto maestro of the reconciliation process. His committee was responsible for drafting the budget resolution that unlocked the process in the upper chamber earlier this year, and he is reportedly eying drafting another resolution in the new year.

SEN MURPHY WARNS ‘PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE’ AS CONGRESS PUNTS ON EXPIRING OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES

“It would be political malpractice not to do another reconciliation,” Graham told Semafor.

But many Republicans acknowledged just how difficult reconciliation is, especially after the latest exercise that dominated much of Congress’ attention for the first half of the year.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital that “it’s always hard, but it’s an option, and one that we’re not ruling in or ruling out.”

“I would say you have to have a reason to do it, you know,” Thune said. “I mean, you don’t just do reconciliation for the heck of it. You got to have a, you know, a specific purpose. And so we’ll see. I mean, that purpose may, you know, may start getting some traction.”

TRUMP’S PUSH TO ‘KNOCK OUT’ FILIBUSTER GAINS NEW GOP TRACTION AS FUNDING DEADLINE NEARS

Kennedy floated using reconciliation to tackle affordability issues, but some see the painstaking process as an avenue to grapple with another issue that has dominated Congress for several months: healthcare.

Lawmakers left Washington, D.C., without a fix to expiring Obamacare subsidies, effectively setting up a drastic hike in out-of-pocket healthcare costs for millions of Americans. There are bipartisan negotiations in the works to deal with the issue when lawmakers return, but Republicans have a gnawing appetite to drastically change the program.

Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital that Republicans “have to do something” on healthcare.

“Reconciliation is one pathway to do something, but it also limits what we can do,” Banks said. “So we need bipartisan support to pass something that will help everybody.”

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And Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., who has been critical of Republicans’ inability to get a healthcare solution across the line, told Fox News Digital that reconciliation “may be an answer.”

“The healthcare situation is really, it’s a big deal,” Justice said. “It’s more than difficult, you know? And so we need to, we need to try to fix it. That’s for sure.”

The Department of Education will begin garnishing wages of those with defaulted federal student loans starting in January. 

The Trump administration announced in May that it would resume collections on defaulted federal student loans — including wage garnishments and seizure of Social Security benefits — for the first time since 2020. In March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government paused referring federal student loans to collections. 

Now, the Trump administration has said that it will introduce garnishing wages in early January after providing student and parent borrowers ample heads up to repay their debts. Garnishing wages means that the U.S. government is authorized to order employers to withhold up to 15% of their employees’ wages after taxes, which would contribute toward paying off their student loans. 

“We expect the first notices to be sent to approximately 1,000 defaulted borrowers the week of January 7, and the notices will increase in scale on a month-to-month basis,” a Department of Education spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “All (Federal Student Aid) collections activities are required under the Higher Education Act of 1965 and Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 and conducted only after student and parent borrowers have been provided sufficient notice and opportunity to repay their loans.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION RELEASES OVER $6B IN FROZEN EDUCATION FUNDS TO THE STATES

Meanwhile, Democrats have sought to stop the Trump administration from garnishing wages for student loan borrowers. After the Trump administration announced in May it would resume collections, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., introduced legislation that would suspend the Department of Education’s ability to garnish wages, tax refunds, Social Security checks and other benefits. 

TRUMP STILL NEEDS CONGRESS’ HELP WITH PLAN TO ABOLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

“No one should have their hard-earned wages, tax refunds, and Social Security checks seized by Donald Trump—and our bill would ensure they do not,” Pressley said in a statement in May. “The Trump Administration should not be in the business of picking the pockets of our most vulnerable borrowers, gutting the Department of Education or exacerbating the student debt crisis.”

In May, the Trump administration said that approximately 43 million student borrowers had federal student loan debt, which translated to an outstanding federal student loan balance of $1.6 trillion.

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Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has sought to overhaul and eliminate the Department of Education and shift its functions to other agencies. Should Trump successfully dissolve the Department of Education, he’s indicated that an agency such as the Department of the Treasury could oversee student loans instead. 

Fox News’ Patrick Ward contributed to this report. 

As President Donald Trump rolls out his TrumpRx proposal to cut prescription drug prices, economists are raising questions about what happens when prices are capped and whether short-term savings for consumers come at the expense of future medical breakthroughs.

On Friday, Trump announced deals with nine pharmaceutical companies to lower prices on certain medications for Americans, along with $150 billion in promised new investments in domestic manufacturing and pharmaceutical research.

The announcement builds on the administration’s Trump Rx initiative, a government-run portal designed to steer consumers toward lower-cost prescription drugs offered directly by manufacturers. The program is central to Trump’s effort to tie U.S. drug prices to those paid in other wealthy countries, a policy known as “most favored nation” pricing.

But economists caution that price-lowering agreements don’t eliminate costs and often shift them elsewhere, particularly into reduced drug development, delayed innovation, or higher prices in other parts of the market.

TRUMP SECURES AGREEMENTS WITH MAJOR DRUGMAKERS TO LOWER MEDICAID PRESCRIPTION COSTS FOR AMERICANS

Michael Baker, director of healthcare policy at the American Action Forum, said government price setting shifts costs rather than eliminating them.

“At the most basic level, government price setting only limits what patients pay for a drug — usually reflected in an out-of-pocket or co-insurance payment,” Baker said. “This does nothing to address the overall cost of the drug, which someone still has to pay, nor does it lower the cost associated with development.”

As a result, Baker said, patients ultimately bear those costs through tighter coverage rules, fewer treatment options or reduced future innovation.

“Patients will experience far less of the crown jewel of the U.S. healthcare system that they are currently accustomed to receiving,” he added.

Economists say the effects of permanent price caps would also be felt upstream, in research and development.

“We know for sure that if drug prices are capped permanently below the levels the firm would have set, that will lead to lower incentives for R&D to discover new drugs and bring them to market,” explained Mark V. Pauly, professor of healthcare management at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

EXPERTS SAY MEDICAID CHANGES IN ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ ARE ‘COMMON SENSE’ FOR HEALTHCARE POLICY

Pauly added that the impact is expected to be negative, but its scale — including how many drugs might never be developed and their potential value — remains highly uncertain.

“I do not know the answer, but I know for sure no one else does either,” he added.

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS SOUND ALARM ON HEALTHCARE COSTS

Others argue the administration’s approach avoids the most damaging forms of price control.

Ed Haislmaier, an expert in healthcare policy and markets at The Heritage Foundation, said recent agreements appear to involve companies trading lower prices for benefits such as expanded market access or relief from other costs, including tariffs.

“In such cases, companies are likely calculating that revenue losses from lower prices will be offset by revenue gains from more sales,” Haislmaier told Fox News Digital.

“The kind of government price controls that are most damaging to innovation are ones that limit the initial price a company can charge for a new product. That is the situation in some countries, but fortunately not yet the in the United States,” he added.

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Ryan Long, Paragon’s director of congressional relations and a senior research fellow, suggested that pricing pressure abroad could force foreign governments to shoulder a greater share of drug development costs.

Long said this strategy would lead “to lower prices for American consumers without sacrificing U.S. leadership in biopharmaceutical innovation that leads to new treatments and cures.”

A federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to provide due process to a class of Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador in March, and gave it two weeks to detail how it will do so – setting up another high-stakes clash between the White House and the federal courts.

In March, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to halt its plans to immediately use the 1798 Alien Enemies Act wartime immigration law to quickly deport hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to CECOT, a Salvadoran maximum-security prison. That did not happen, and the planes landed in El Salvador hours later. 

Boasberg concluded that the Trump administration’s actions were illegal, conducted in defiance of the court, and deprived the migrants in the CECOT class of their due process protections – including prior notice of removal, a “meaningful opportunity” to contest their removal from the U.S., and the ability to dispute their designation as a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He ordered the Trump administration to submit to the court by Jan. 5 its plan to provide due process protections to the CECOT class – which he said the administration could do by either returning the migrants to the U.S. to have their cases heard in person, or to otherwise facilitate hearings abroad with members of the class that “satisfy the requirements of due process.”

“On the merits, the Court concludes that this class was denied their due-process rights and will thus require the Government to facilitate their ability to obtain such hearing,” Boasberg said Monday. “Our law requires no less.”

APPEALS COURT BLOCKS TRUMP ADMIN’S DEPORTATION FLIGHTS IN ALIEN ENEMIES ACT IMMIGRATION SUIT

The Justice Department is almost certain to appeal the order.

Monday’s ruling adds new clarity to a complex immigration case that began 10 months prior, and which sparked a flurry of appeals, contempt inquiries and open questions as to the status of the CECOT plaintiffs and the ability the U.S. has to order their return.

Boasberg said Monday that the U.S. appeared to be operating with the knowledge that it had some level of constructive custody over the migrants detained at CECOT, citing the terms of an agreement made between the U.S. and El Salvador to house the migrants for at least a one-year period.

He also cited multiple public remarks from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other senior DHS officials, which appear to cast CECOT as an “extension” of U.S. detention facilities.

“These statements strongly undermine the Government’s contention that El Salvador retains complete discretion over what to do with individuals” removed from the U.S., he noted.

JUDGES V TRUMP: HERE ARE THE KEY COURT BATTLES HALTING THE WHITE HOUSE AGENDA

If “secretly spiriting individuals to another country were enough to neuter the Great Writ, then the Government could ‘snatch anyone off the street, turn him over to a foreign country, and then effectively foreclose any corrective course of action,'” Boasberg concluded.

The update comes after the court’s inquiry had been stalled for months, both by appeals court rulings, efforts to shield certain information from the court for national security purposes, and a separate, but related, contempt inquiry.

The CECOT migrants were again moved in July from the Salvadoran prison to Venezuela as part of a broader prisoner exchange that involved the return of at least 10 Americans detained in Venezuela. That step further complicated efforts to ascertain the status of the migrants, some of whom had fled Venezuela and were in hiding.

That made it difficult to contact the migrants from the CECOT class and determine how many of them still wished to proceed with their due process cases, as ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, told Boasberg in court last month. 

The ACLU said this month that, of the 252 Venezuelan migrants deported to CECOT in March, 137 of them still wished to move forward with the due process cases.

US JUDGE VOWS TO RULE ‘SOON’ ON ABREGO GARCIA’S FATE AFTER MARATHON HEARING

Still, the new ruling is almost certain to face fierce opposition from Trump officials, who have assailed Boasberg and other judges who have blocked or paused the president’s flurry of executive orders as “rogue, activist” judges, whom they argue are overstepping their authority.

They argue that lower court judges should not have the power to prevent the president from executing what administration officials say is a lawful agenda – though the judges in question have disagreed that the president’s actions all follow the law.

Boasberg, the chief judge for the U.S. District Court, has appeared unfazed by the new level of scrutiny. 

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He told the Justice Department in November that he “certainly intends to determine what happened” on the day the government either intentionally or unintentionally violated his emergency order intended to halt the Alien Enemies Act removals. 

The government, he said, “can assist me to whatever degree it wishes.”

The Trump administration is dropping the hammer on cheap imports of disposable food containers from China and Vietnam, announcing massive trade penalties that experts say will lead to safer products while simultaneously protecting U.S. companies from unfair competition. 

“America continues to thrive when fair competition occurs,” attorney Yohai Baisburd of Cassidy Levy Kent, counsel to the American Molded Fiber Coalition, told Fox News Digital Tuesday. “The Trump Administration is using every tool in the toolbox to enforce U.S. trade laws and cheaters beware because they are coming after you.” 

Baisburd, whose legal background focuses on trade litigation, was reacting to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) announcing recently that its board voted to rule that U.S. industry is materially injured by importing “thermoformed molded fiber products from China and Vietnam.” Baisburd argued on behalf of U.S. companies as the International Trade Commission considered the case. 

Thermoformed molded fiber products are common food containers — including disposable bowls, plates, cups and containers for ready to make meals or take-out containers — made from natural fibers and recycled products, such as wood pulp. The fibers are turned to pulp before they’re molded, and then shaped using heat and pressure. 

CBP ANNOUNCES RECORD-BREAKING $200 BILLION IN TARIFF REVENUE AMID TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ENFORCEMENT PUSH

The U.S. market has been flooded with such products from China and Vietnam, with the nations “dumping” the containers at unfairly low prices that affect American businesses, according to the United States International Trade Commission. 

Following the vote from the ITC, the Commerce Department will issue final antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CVD) duty orders on those imports from China and Vietnam. Antidumping and countervailing duties are special trade penalties — in addition to typical tariffs — that the U.S. imposes on imports found to be unfairly underpriced in order to level the playing field for American companies.

TRUMP SAYS THOSE AGAINST TARIFFS ‘SERVING HOSTILE FOREIGN INTERESTS,’ ‘FULL BENEFIT’ YET TO BE SEEN

The new orders are expected in the coming weeks, with ITC expected to release its report by Jan. 23. 

The duties will include an upward of 540% tax on certain Chinese producers — including a 477%-plus tax for “dumping” alone — and a 260%-plus tax on Vietnamese producers of the thermoformed molded fiber packaging products, ITC data shows.

“The ITC vote will give the U.S. industry at least five years of duties on unfairly traded products from China and Vietnam,” Baisburd said. “The ITC confirmed that the U.S. industry is severely injured by the corrosive impact of Chinese and Vietnamese imports. The ITC also authorized retroactive duties on Vietnamese imports.  This is only one of a handful of times they have done so in the past 25 years sending a message to importers that they cannot surge into the U.S. market to try to get ahead of potential duties.” 

Baisburd said that the upcoming duties will “level the playing field” for U.S. industry against cheap imports. 

“U.S. workers/companies can compete against anyone, anywhere. What they can’t do is outcompete Chinese and Vietnamese government subsidies that violate US trade laws. The duties allow US manufacturers to reinvest in their workers, operations, technology, because they can now compete on a level playing field,” he said. 

The duty orders are separate from the Trump administration’s tariffs on foreign nations, Fox News Digital learned. The tariffs are subject to change and negotiation, while the duties are legally binding trade enforcement mechanisms based on investigative findings by the U.S. Department of Commerce and International Trade Commission, and enforced by Border Patrol. The duties are applicable for the next five years minimum and are not subject to presidential discretion, Fox News Digital learned. 

TRUMP’S SIGNATURE TARIFFS HANG ON KEY QUESTION ABOUT CONGRESS’ POWER BEFORE SUPREME COURT

Other presidential administrations have used antidumping and countervailing duties to level the playing field for U.S. companies, including the Biden administration touting in 2024 that it leveled more than 30 new antidumping and countervailing duties on steel-related products alone. 

Baisburd argued that the Trump administration broadened its tool chest for an all-encompassing approach to protecting U.S. manufacturing. 

“The Trump Administration is taking advantage of all the enforcement tools available across the Federal government to support U.S. manufacturing.  We are seeing increased customs enforcement (both civil and criminal), a new DOJ Trade Fraud Taskforce, and greater scrutiny of supply chain shifts that circumvent duties,” the attorney said. 

In addition to business concerns about the Asian nations boxing out the U.S. market for food service containers, health concerns also have simmered. China and Vietnam have been identified as nations that produce containers with “forever chemicals,” or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs). An ITC report published in 2024 found that while some foreign nations claim products are PFAs-free, studies indicate that it is not always true, while the U.S. “generally produces PFA-free products.”

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The vote marks the third recent trade ruling that affects disposable food service containers. The U.S. Department of Commerce ITC issued antidumping and countervailing duties on disposable aluminum containers, pans, trays and lids imported from China and elsewhere, as well as leveling antidumping and countervailing duties on low-cost white paper plates from China, Thailand and Vietnam in March. 

EXCLUSIVE: Federal Small Business (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler sent a letter Tuesday to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz alerting him that her agency will “halt” more than $5.5 million in annual support to resource partners in the state “until further notice.”

The move comes as Walz and his administration grapple with billions of dollars in social services fraud diverted to everything from sham nonprofits to the Somali terror group Al-Shabaab. U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said Thursday a “significant amount” of $18 billion worth of programmatic Medicaid funding was likely lost to fraud.

“I am notifying you that effective immediately and until further notice, the SBA is halting the disbursement of federal funds to SBA resource partners operating in the state of Minnesota, totaling over $5.5 million in annual support,” Loeffler wrote Walz on Tuesday.

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

“This action is the result of a fundamental breakdown in the public trust. Under your leadership, Minnesota failed to safeguard taxpayer dollars, and SBA will not continue to place federal resources at risk in a state where oversight measures are ignored and accountability is abandoned.”

Loeffler blamed Walz for making the Land of 10,000 Lakes the “epicenter” of the largest fraud scandal of the COVID-19 pandemic era, and that recent criminal convictions of Somalis and other figures prove such fraud is “endemic” to St. Paul’s vast welfare curriculum.

She cited Thompson’s calculations, saying that the Somali fraud network netted $1 billion in its Minneapolis-centered fraud scheme and that at least half of certain Medicaid funding programs subsidized by Minnesota taxpayers have been “pocketed by criminals” – assessing the final figure at at least $9 billion.

HOW FEARS OF BEING LABELED ‘RACIST’ HELPED ‘PROVIDE COVER’ FOR THE EXPLODING MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL

She noted the USDA – which facilitates SNAP and other programs – as well as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have launched probes into the scandals.

At least $2.5 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds issued during the pandemic were tied to the Somali fraud scheme, the SBA said.

Another $430 million in PPP subsidies – totaling 13,000 individual loans – had been flagged as fraudulent but funded anyway, including some that were among those loans altogether forgiven during the Biden administration, Loeffler wrote.

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

“The volume and concentration of potential fraud is staggering, matched in its egregiousness only by your response to those who attempted to stop it,” she told Walz.

“When legislators and whistleblowers raised concerns about potential abuse during the pandemic, your Administration resisted oversight, refused accountability, and allowed the misconduct to metastasize.”

Loeffler faulted Walz for dismissing some criticisms of his administration’s “generosity” as “racism.”

MEET MINNESOTA’S FRAUD ‘MASTERMIND’ ACCUSED OF PLAYING ‘GOD,’ WIELDING ‘FAKE’ RACISM CLAIMS IN SOMALI SCANDAL

Walz previously said that fraudsters in Minnesota will go to prison, and that “I don’t care what color you are [or] religion you are,” but followed up by saying that critics “demonizing an entire population” is “beneath that,” according to PBS.

SBA will immediately halt $2.22 million in Small Business Development Center awards, $450,000 in women’s business center awards, $2.6 million in “microloan” awards – the entire 2025 disbursement – and about $550,000 in other disbursements.

Loeffler called Minnesota’s fraud scandals the consequence of “socialist policies deliberately designed to pump out welfare funding without oversight or accountability.”

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“SBA’s responsibility is to taxpayers and small business owners, not to criminals or the politicians who enable them — We will continue to do what you did not: protect federal dollars on behalf of the American people,” she said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz for any comment on general sentiments expressed in the letter about the fraud scandal and his handling of it.

FIRST ON FOX — Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, a strong House supporter of President Donald Trump, on Tuesday announced her candidacy for the Senate in the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Cynthia Lummis.

Hageman’s campaign launch comes four days after Lummis announced that she wouldn’t seek re-election in next year’s midterms for a second six-year term representing the solidly red western state in the Senate.

If she wins next year’s election, Hageman would give Trump another top supporter in the upper chamber of Congress.

REPUBLICAN SEN. CYNTHIA LUMMIS MAKES A MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT

“President Trump’s America First movement made it popular to say you want to Make America Great Again, and he continues to deliver on that promise,” Hageman said in a statement and launch video announcing her candidacy. “It would be a great honor to keep advancing the America First agenda in the Senate, as it has been in the House.”

Hageman, a water and property rights attorney, grabbed national attention in 2022 when, with Trump’s support, she ousted then-Rep. Liz Cheney in the Republican primary for the state’s at-large congressional seat.

SENATE GOP CAMPAIGN CHAIR REVEALS HIS 2026 MIDTERM STRATEGY

Cheney had become a top Trump target after being just one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach the president after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Cheney went on to serve in a leadership role in the Democratic-steered committee that investigated the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters aiming to upend congressional certification of former President Joe Biden’s 2020 White House victory.

Hageman, who won nearly 70% of the vote in the general election, was also backed by Trump in her landslide 2022 congressional re-election victory, and a possible endorsement of Hageman by the president as she now bids for the Senate would hardly be surprising.

THE GOP’S TAKE ON HIGH-PROFILE SENATE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES: ‘THEY’RE IN SHAMBLES’

Lummis, in explaining her decision not to seek re-election, pointed to this autumn’s divisive government shutdown.

“Deciding not to run for re-election does represent a change of heart for me, but in the difficult, exhausting session weeks this fall I’ve come to accept that I do not have six more years in me,” the senator wrote in her statement.

Hageman, in launching her campaign, praised Lummis.

“Cynthia Lummis leaves a legacy of over four decades of principled, conservative leadership, and Wyoming and America are better for it,” Hageman said. “I thank her for her distinguished and admirable service, and pledge to also bring honor to the office she held, should the people of Wyoming make the decision to elect me to the United States Senate.”

Hageman, who has been a leader in the Western Caucus, a coalition of Republican lawmakers from western states in both chambers of Congress, is a fourth generation Wyomingite. In launching her campaign, she pledged to carry on the fight for conservative ideals and the protection of Wyomingites’ natural rights and liberties.   

“I will always defend Wyoming’s ability to access, manage and use our natural resources to fuel our economy. We must ensure that Wyoming remains a leader in energy and food production to help us maintain our way of life,” she said in her statement.

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Hageman becomes the first major Republican to launch a Senate campaign.

Two-term GOP Gov. Mark Gordon is thought to be mulling a potential Senate bid.

Republicans dominate statewide elections in Wyoming. 

Trump carried the state by 46 points in his White House victory last year, and GOP Sen. Tom Barasso won re-election last year by 51 points.

If the Department of Justice (DOJ) wanted to release every Jeffrey Epstein-related document they had on file, they had the firepower to do so, a former assistant U.S. attorney argued.

The DOJ has faced bipartisan criticism over its initial release of heavily redacted Epstein files, which lawmakers argue fell short of the requirements of a recently passed transparency law.

“The Department of Justice has all the resources in the world, right? I mean if they wanted to put 1,000 lawyers on this to review the documents and get them ready for the production, they could have,” Sarah Krissoff said.

“And they don’t appear to have done that,” she added.

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

The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Krissoff, who worked as a prosecutor for almost 14 years in the Southern District of New York, described key differences between the Epstein files and the normal redaction process that attorneys grapple with. Those distinctions make it unclear who would have had final say about the information the DOJ released on Friday as the agency attempted to follow through on the requirements laid out by the Epstein Files Transparency Act. 

That law, passed by Congress last month and signed by President Donald Trump on Nov. 19, gave the DOJ just 30 days to make its documentation of Epstein public. It included some exceptions for protecting the identity of victims.

Despite the thousands of files that became publicly available at the end of last week, the DOJ’s first trove sparked criticism from some lawmakers and viewers online outraged that the department hadn’t released them all at once.

“They are hiding a lot of documents. That would be very helpful in our investigation,” Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., a member of the House Oversight Committee, told CNN on Monday morning. 

SCHUMER ACCUSES DOJ OF BREAKING THE LAW OVER REDACTED EPSTEIN FILES

Although she remains skeptical of the department’s effort, Krissoff noted that what the DOJ’s been asked to do goes far outside the norm for disclosures.

“There is no real mechanism in the law that the public can just access documents because they’re interested in them, right? In this case, this law is requiring the DOJ to make these things public because so many members of Congress are interested in this issue,” Krissoff said.

In the cases she’s been a part of, Krissoff said redactions usually came down to meticulous negotiations between the prosecution and the defense. Sometimes deliberations drilled into individual sentences or words.

“This situation is a little different because it’s unclear, you know, who is still working on this from the original case team. And so, the question is: who at the Department of Justice reviewed these in connection with the redactions here?” Krissoff said.

She said whole case files rarely get released to the public beyond what shows up in court filings — and what’s there usually serves the narrow purposes of the prosecution. In Epstein’s case, the public’s interests extend beyond any potential conviction of Epstein himself. Epstein died in 2019 while incarcerated on suspicion of sex-trafficking minors. His death, ruled a suicide, cut short his prosecution and left behind questions about whether he facilitated illegal sexual encounters for his vast social network. 

Photos released by the DOJ last week lack context and do not, on their own, implicate anyone depicted in them of wrongdoing. 

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

“The case file often implicates many other people that are not charged in the crimes. So, there may be 15 people charged in a drug ring. You’ve only charged one or two people; you don’t want to impugn those other people who have not been charged by releasing information showing their involvement in this drug ring,” Krissoff said.

“The last thing you want to do is put that neighbor’s information or his name or even his statement out there,” Krissoff said.

She believes that there’s a danger in forcing disclosure of an ongoing case simply because of great public interest and setting a precedent for that to become a regular occurrence. In her view, it could disrupt ongoing investigations of the future that draw intense public interest.

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The DOJ said it will continue to release its documents on Epstein on a rolling basis. It has not announced when they expect to continue their release of the Epstein files.

While next year’s midterms will determine whether Republicans can keep control of Congress after winning big in 2024, there are also a slate of gubernatorial elections, several that are toss-ups, which could have equally wide-ranging impacts.

Three states with Democratic Party governors, Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin, are currently listed as “toss up” races across multiple high-profile election polling groups, such as The Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball. Meanwhile, Republicans will have to defend the governorship in Georgia and Nevada, two other races considered a “toss up” by some, while others are giving Republicans a slight advantage. For example, Nevada and Georgia are considered a “toss up” in The Cook Political Report’s latest polling that came out Dec. 20, but they are listed as “lean Republican” by Sabato’s Crystal Ball. 

“Whether it’s Aaron Ford vacationing instead of doing his job in Nevada, Katie Hobbs tanking Arizona’s economy, or Jocelyn Benson letting non-residents vote in Michigan, Democrats are not sending their best to gubernatorial races next year,” Regional Communications Director Delanie Bomar told Fox News Digital. “Republicans have a track record of winning these states and we will do so again next year.” 

TIM SCOTT TELLS MAGA VOTERS TRUMP ‘IS ON THE BALLOT’ AS GOP FIGHTS TO GROW SENATE MAJORITY IN 2026   

In Arizona, Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs will have to maintain her seat against long-time House Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., and David Schweikert, R-Ariz., as well as attorney Karrin Taylor Robson, who lost to Kari Lake in the GOP primary for governor in 2022.

In 2024, Hobbs was investigated for involvement in an alleged “pay-for-play” scheme after a report revealed a group home business that looks after vulnerable children was approved for a rate hike after it donated big to her inauguration and the Arizona Democratic Party. However, Hobbs has pushed back against the allegations, arguing she was not personally involved in the rate decision. The controversy is still under criminal investigation by both the Arizona Attorney General and the Maricopa County Attorney, and the Arizona House also launched its own inquiry last month into the matter. Hobbs, who has had a lengthy political career dating back to 2010, has been criticized for how she treats her staff and who she hires, but also has a history of being able to rake in campaign funds and run successful elections. 

In Michigan, Democratic Party Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will be term-limited out. Her Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, is among the front-runners to take over Whitmer’s seat. Earlier this year, Fox News Digital reported about Benson’s attendance at a “unity” dinner that featured decor threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump and equating his supporters with Nazis. Republican Michigan lawmakers have called on the Trump Justice Department to monitor Michigan’s 2026 elections, arguing there is an “inherent” conflict associated with Benson, who is Michigan’s top election official, running while overseeing the state’s elections.  

DESANTIS WARNS GOP FACES ‘ISSUE’ KEEPING TRUMP VOTERS ENGAGED IN FUTURE ELECTIONS

Wisconsin’s Democratic Party Gov. Tony Evers announced his retirement in July, indicating he will not seek a third term under the state’s unlimited term limit rules. As a result, the seat is up for grabs, with House Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wisc., and Wisconsin County Executive Josh Schoemann, among the GOP front-runners. On the Democrat side, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, current Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, and Wisconsin County Executive David Crowley find themselves at the top of the heap.

Courtney Alexander, a spokesperson for the Republican Governor’s Association, pointed out how voters view governors’ races “through a unique prism” following Trump’s first year of his second term. “They see that Republican-led states are more affordable and safer, while Democrat-led states are among the most expensive and have allowed their cities to become hellscapes of crime and homelessness,” Alexander told Fox News Digital. “Americans have already voted with their feet, and that tells us everything we need to know about what to expect in 2026 — Democrats running at the gubernatorial level have records they cannot defend.”

Georgia and Nevada will have to be defended by Republicans if they hope to add to their GOP gubernatorial headcount. Georgia, which historically has been a Republican stronghold, has seen Democratic Party wins in the last several years, making it a place for hard-fought elections. Current Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is being term-limited. It was being mulled he might go to the U.S. Senate, but Kemp later waved off the rumors.

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In 2026, there will be a total of 36 gubernatorial elections held on Nov. 3, 2026. The primaries for these races will be held at various times ahead of the scheduled general election date.  

While not seen as a tough race for Republicans, Florida’s primary race has the ingredients for something interesting. The Sunshine State’s current GOP governor, Ron DeSantis, will be term-limited and it is unclear who DeSantis desires to be his replacement after President Donald Trump endorsed GOP Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla. Thus far, DeSantis has not embraced Donalds as the best person to take over his office, like Trump. Rather, DeSantis has publicly hinted his wife, Casey DeSantis, could be a formidable contender. “She would do better than me,” DeSantis told reporters earlier this year while discussing speculation about Florida’s first lady succeeding him. “There’s no question about that.”

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.

As President Donald Trump’s administration continues its controversial policy of conducting deadly attacks against vessels it alleges are involved in drug trafficking, U.S. Southern Command announced another strike on Monday.

“On Dec. 22, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a low-profile vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters,” a post on X states. 

There was one “narco-terrorist” confirmed to have been killed in the attack, according to SOUTHCOM.

US MILITARY STRIKES NARCO-TERRORIST VESSELS IN LATEST EASTERN PACIFIC DRUG TRAFFICKING OPERATION

“Intelligence confirmed the low-profile vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations. One male narco-terrorist was confirmed killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed,” the post, which features footage of the attack, reads.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth reposted U.S. Southern Command’s post on his personal X account.

SOUTHCOM SAYS 8 NARCO-TERRORISTS KILLED IN LATEST EASTERN PACIFIC LETHAL KINETIC STRIKES

Trump has indicated that the U.S. will start conducting strikes on land.

PENTAGON WON’T RELEASE ‘TOP SECRET, FULL, UNEDITED’ VIDEO OF SEPTEMBER DRUG BOAT STRIKE, HEGSETH SAYS

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“And soon we’ll be starting the same program on land. The land is much easier,” Trump said on Monday, claiming that each of the “boats that we knocked out saved 25,000 lives.”

A straw poll taken at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest this weekend revealed that conservatives are, as a spokesman described, “all in” for Vice President JD Vance running for president in 2028. 

Asked who they would like to see as the Republican presidential nominee in 2028, the vast majority of respondents, 84.2%, answered Vice President JD Vance. Far behind Vance was Rubio at 4.8% and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 2.9%.

Andrew Kolvet, a spokesman for TPUSA, told Fox News Digital that the poll portrays a clear picture of the state of the conservative movement. 

From the responses, Kolvet said it is clear that “the movement is all-in for JD Vance in 2028, winning the most support in the history of our poll.”

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

Kolvet explained,”There are bright dividing lines in the conservative movement right now, so we wanted to get clarity on where the base is on these hot-button issues in Turning Point Action’s official AmericaFest 2025 straw poll.” 

“We wanted to get a real read on where the base is at after Charlie’s assassination, and a few things really jump off the page,” he said. 

The most popular Trump administration accomplishment amongst conference attendees was securing the border, with nearly 60% of respondents answering this, while 22.2% of respondents answered deportations.

Conference attendees also shared that winning the midterms and radical Islam are among their top concerns.

A wide margin believed that the conservative movement’s top priority in 2026 should be winning the midterms. Per the poll, 63.9% of AmFest attendees believed the conservative movement should be prioritizing winning the midterms, which would preserve Republicans’ majorities in the House and Senate.

POLICY GROUP PRAISES TRUMP’S 100 GLOBAL WINS SINCE TAKING OFFICE, FROM CARTEL CRACKDOWNS TO PEACE DEALS

The next highest priority, according to attendees, was voter integrity/voter ID at 9.3%. Other priorities were the affordability crisis at 8.1%, mass deportations at 5.3% and accountability for the deep state/lawfare at 4.2%.

Asked what the biggest threat is facing America, 31,008 responded “radical Islam.” In close second was socialism and Marxism at 30,387. Third was mass migration, with 28,223 saying that is the greatest threat to America, and fourth was the economy and affordability at 27,315.

Related to mass migration, 89.5% of poll respondents said they would support a moratorium on new immigration into the United States.

Attendees were also questioned on their feelings about Israel. Over half, 53.4 percent, said they see Israel as “one ally out of many,” while a third said they see Israel as America’s “top ally” and 13.3 percent said they believe Israel is “not an ally.” 

The poll also revealed what members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet are most popular and unpopular amongst the conference’s heavily conservative audience.

According to the poll, which was taken by Big Data Poll, the Trump Cabinet member with the strongest job performance approval rating amongst AmFest attendees is Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, as 83.3% of conference attendees voiced they strongly approve of him.

A total of 94.7% of AmFest attendees said they either strongly or somewhat approve of Hegseth.

As War secretary, Hegseth has been one of the most vocal Trump Cabinet members, with such actions as changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, expunging DEI from the military and targeting cartel drug boats in the Caribbean.

TRUMP CABINET WIVES REVEAL RARE GLIMPSE INTO PRESIDENT’S ‘ONE BIG TEAM’ APPROACH

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. received similarly high approval ratings from the AmFest attendees at 76.6% and 80.8%, respectively. Kennedy received the highest overall approval rating from AmFest attendees, with 96.8% saying they either strongly or somewhat approve of him.

The Cabinet member with the highest disapproval rating was U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, whom 13.4% of attendees said they strongly disapprove of and 15.6% said they somewhat disapprove. Despite this, most poll participants, 64.8%, still said they either strongly or somewhat approve of Bondi’s job performance in the Trump administration.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, another highly vocal and prominent Trump Cabinet member who has spearheaded the administration’s deportations and border security efforts, received broad approval with 90.1% of participants saying they either strongly or somewhat approve of her job performance.

FOX NEWS POLL: MAJOR INCREASE IN POSITIVE VIEWS ON BORDER SECURITY

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy both received approval ratings in the 80s.

Poll participants had less to say about Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collin, with between 28 and 39% of respondents saying they were unsure about their job performance.

According to the poll, 88.3% of respondents self-identified as Republican and 94.7% identified as conservative.

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Commenting on the poll, Kolvet said that conservatives “see Israel as an important ally of the United States despite so much chatter to the contrary” and “they love the job that Secretaries Hegseth, Rubio, and RFK Jr. are doing, but they harbor skepticism about the DOJ.” 

“Above all,” Kolvet said that conservatives “are laser focused on winning the midterms and fixing mass migration, which they clearly see as connected to the rise of radical Islam, socialism, and crime.” 

He added that “it’s clear that immigration remains the key to energizing the base ahead of the midterms.” 

Florida’s Catholic bishops made an appeal on Monday for a pause in immigration enforcement for the Christmas holidays, but the White House said operations will continue.

The appeal to President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was issued by Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski and signed by seven other members of the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“The border has been secured,” Wenski wrote. “The initial work of identifying and removing dangerous criminals has been accomplished to a great degree. Over half a million people have been deported this year, and nearly two million more have voluntarily self-deported.”

“At this point, the maximum enforcement approach of treating irregular immigrants en masse means that now many of these arrest operations inevitably sweep up numbers of people who are not criminals but just here to work,” he continued. “It should be noted that a significant majority of those detained in Alligator Alcatraz have no criminal background.”

US CATHOLIC BISHOPS PRESIDENT SAYS DEPORTATIONS INSTILLING ‘FEAR’ IN ‘WIDESPREAD MANNER’: ‘CONCERNS US ALL’

He noted that migrant sweeps sometimes include people with legal authorization to be in the U.S. and that surveys show Americans believe immigration enforcement operations are going too far.

“Eventually these cases may be resolved, but this takes many months causing great sorrow for their families … A climate of fear and anxiety is infecting not only the irregular migrant but also family members and neighbors who are legally in the country,” Wenski said.

“Since these effects are part of enforcement operations, we request that the government pause apprehension and round-up activities during the Christmas season,” he said. “Such a pause would show a decent regard for the humanity of these families. Now is not the time to be callous toward the suffering caused by immigration enforcement.”

The White House did not directly address the appeal for a holiday pause, but did say that enforcement activities would be business as usual.

“President Trump was elected based on his promise to the American people to deport criminal illegal aliens. And he’s keeping that promise,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement to The Associated Press.

Wenski, like many other Catholic leaders, has been an outspoken advocate for treating illegal immigrants humanely.

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

In September, he joined other Catholic leaders on a panel at Georgetown University criticizing the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown for splitting up families, inciting fear and upending church life.

Wenski also cited the contributions illegal immigrants make to the U.S. economy.

“If you ask people in agriculture, you ask in the service industry, you ask people in health care, you ask the people in the construction field, and they’ll tell you that some of their best workers are immigrants,” Wenski said. “Enforcement is always going to be part of any immigration policy, but we have to rationalize it and humanize it.”

Wenski has joined the “Knights on Bikes” ministry, an initiative led by the Knights of Columbus that brings attention to the spiritual needs of migrants held at immigration detention centers, including “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Florida Everglades. He recalled praying a rosary in the scorching heat outside its walls before receiving permission just days later to celebrate Mass inside the facility.

“The fact that we invite these detainees to pray, even in this very dehumanizing situation, is a way of emphasizing and invoking their dignity,” he said.

Last month, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted a “special message” in which they slammed Trump’s mass deportation agenda and the “vilification” of illegal immigrants, expressing concern over the fear and anxiety immigration raids are stoking in communities, as well as the denial of pastoral care in detention centers.

CHARLOTTE CHURCH DEPICTS ICE ARRESTING HOLY FAMILY IN TRUMP-ERA NATIVITY SCENE

The special message was endorsed by Pope Leo XIV and Bishop Ronald Hicks, who the pontiff recently named as the next archbishop of New York, replacing conservative Cardinal Timothy Dolan as the leader of the country’s second-largest Catholic diocese. Dolan announced earlier this year he would resign upon turning 75, which is required by Catholic law.

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“I think we have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have,” Leo said last month. “If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that. There are courts, there’s a system of justice.”

The pope has previously urged local bishops to speak out on social justice concerns and has suggested that people who support the “inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States” may not be pro-life.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Federal Communications Commission announced on Monday that it would ban new foreign-made drones, citing national security concerns.

The FCC said it was adding uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and their critical components made in China and other foreign countries to its “covered list” that features equipment that has been determined to pose an “unacceptable risk” to U.S. national security and the safety of Americans. Specific drones or components would be exempt if the Pentagon or Department of Homeland Security determined they did not pose such risks.

The distinction prohibits the products from being sold or imported in the U.S. The order does not apply to technology that has already been sold in the U.S.

The agency said that allowing foreign-made UAS and component parts to be sold in the U.S. “undermines the resiliency of our UAS industrial base, increases the risk to our national airspace, and creates a potential for large-scale attacks during large gatherings,” citing upcoming events such as the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

FLORIDA TO USE HUNDREDS OF CONFISCATED CHINESE-MANUFACTURED DRONES AS TARGET PRACTICE FOR US MILITARY

“Criminals, terrorists, and hostile foreign actors have intensified their weaponization of these technologies, creating new and serious threats to our homeland,” the FCC said in its notice.

The announcement comes a year after a defense bill was adopted that raised national security concerns about Chinese-made drones, which have been used in farming, mapping, law enforcement and filmmaking.

The bill called for stopping two Chinese companies — DJI and Autel — from selling new drones in the U.S. if a review found they posed a risk to U.S. national security.

A spokesperson for DJI said in a statement that it is “disappointed” by the FCC’s decision and that “no information has been released regarding what information was used” in the government’s determination to add its drones and component parts to the covered list.

“Concerns about DJI’s data security have not been grounded in evidence and instead reflect protectionism, contrary to the principles of an open market,” the statement said.

The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party praised the FCC’s move, saying it “strongly supports” the decision.

HEGSETH TEARS UP RED TAPE, ORDERS PENTAGON TO BEGIN DRONE SURGE AT TRUMP’S COMMAND

“It will help safeguard our national security, protect the American people, and wind down the unacceptable national security threat posed by DJI and other Chinese drones,” the committee wrote on X.

“Taken together with the Administration’s recent executive actions to accelerate domestic drone commercialization, this sends an unmistakable signal to American industry: The U.S. is open for drone innovation—and American manufacturing will be rewarded,” it added.

Arthur Erickson, chief executive officer and co-founder of the Texas-based drone-making company Hylio, told The Associated Press that the departure of DJI would provide more opportunity for American companies like his to grow. He said new investments are coming in to help him boost production of spray drones, which farmers use to fertilize their fields, and it will bring down prices.

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But Erickson also called it “crazy” and “unexpected” that the FCC would expand the restrictions to all foreign-made drones and their components.

“The way it’s written is a blanket statement,” Erickson said. “There’s a global-allied supply chain. I hope they will clarify that.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Former President Bill Clinton‘s spokesman is calling on the Department of Justice to release any remaining documents related to the former president and Jeffrey Epstein following the DOJ’s document release Friday. 

“We call on President Trump to direct Attorney General Bondi to immediately release any remaining materials referring to, mentioning, or containing a photograph of Bill Clinton,” a statement from Clinton spokesman Angel Ureña on Monday reads. 

“This includes, without limitation, any records that may exist and are subject to disclosure under the Act (Public Law 119–38 enacted Nov. 19, 2025), including grand jury transcripts, interview notes, photographs, and findings by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (as referenced under oath to Congress by President Trump’s first-term Attorney General),” it continued. 

Clinton’s office said that the DOJ’s partial release of Epstein-related documents Friday allegedly shows “someone or something is being protected.” President Donald Trump signed a bipartisan law in November that required the Department of Justice to release all “unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials” within 30 days of Trump’s signature. 

SCHUMER ACCUSES DOJ OF BREAKING THE LAW OVER REDACTED EPSTEIN FILES

“The Epstein Files Transparency Act imposes a clear legal duty on the U.S. Department of Justice to produce the full and complete record the public demands and deserves,” Ureña continued.

“However, what the Department of Justice has released so far, and the manner in which it did so, makes one thing clear: someone or something is being protected. We do not know whom, what or why. But we do know this: We need no such protection.”

A spokesperson for the DOJ shot back that the statement’s assertions were “ridiculous” later on Monday.

“This is a ridiculous and false assertion,” the DOJ told Fox Digital when asked about Ureña’s statement. “Bill Clinton is desperate to point fingers at anyone to distract from the photographs of him. The Department of Justice will continue to release thousands of pages of material, and no redactions will be made to protect any famous or politically sensitive people.”

The Friday Epstein drop included a handful of photos of Clinton, including him swimming shirtless, posing with music icons such as Michael Jackson, and other redacted photos showing the former president with unidentifiable individuals. 

When asked about the photos when they initially dropped, Ureña directed Fox Digital to a statement he posted to X.

“The White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton,” he wrote Friday. “This is about shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they’ll try and hide forever. So they can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton. Never has, never will be. Even Susie Wiles said Donald Trump was wrong about Bill Clinton.”

Ureña said there are “two types of people” involved in the Epstein scandal: those who did not know of Epstein’s crimes and cut him out of their lives upon his conviction and a second group of people who “continued relationships with him after” his crimes came to light.

“We’re in the first. No amount of stalling by people in the second group will change that,” the Clinton spokesman continued. “Everyone, especially MAGA, expects answers, not scapegoats.” 

Files that included victims’ names, child sex abuse materials, classified materials or other materials that could threaten an active investigation were allowed to be withheld or redacted by the DOJ, per the transparency law. 

Trump was asked about the number of photos showing Clinton from the DOJ’s Friday release, saying: “I hate to see photos come out of him, but this is what the Democrats, mostly Democrats and a couple of bad Republicans, are asking for.”

“There were a lot of people that are angry about all of the pictures of other people, you know, but I think it’s terrible. Look, I don’t like the … I like Bill Clinton. I’ve always gotten along with Bill Clinton, have been nice to him. He’s been nice to me. We’ve always gotten along. I respect him,” Trump said Monday while taking questions from the media surrounding his shipbuilding announcement. 

“Everybody was friendly with this guy, either friendly or not friendly,” Trump said of Epstein, noting he was also in Epstein’s orbit before he “threw him out” of Mar-a-Lago back in the 2000s. “He was all over Palm Beach and other places. The head of Harvard was his best friend, Larry Summers, and Bill Clinton was a friend of his, but everybody was.”

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

The Trump DOJ released thousands of files related to the Epstein investigations throughout the years, with the department expected to release additional documents in the coming days. Democrats have slammed the DOJ and Trump over the slow release of the documents following the president signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law. 

“The law Congress passed is crystal clear: release the Epstein files in full so Americans can see the truth,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schummer said in a press release Monday, teeing up litigation against the administration over the release. “Instead, the Trump Department of Justice dumped redactions and withheld the evidence — that breaks the law. Today, I am introducing a resolution to force the Senate to take legal action and compel this administration to comply.”

Epstein was a well-connected financier with a lengthy Rolodex of billionaires and celebrities who floated in and out of his orbit across the years. He was convicted of sex trafficking minors in 2008 and served just more than one year of incarceration, which also included a controversial work-release arrangement under a plea agreement. 

He was arrested again in 2019 on charges of sex trafficking before he was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell by suicide. 

WOMAN WHO FILED A COMPLAINT AGAINST EPSTEIN TO CLINTON FBI VINDICATED AFTER DOJ RELEASE OF FILES

MAGA supporters have claimed that Epstein kept an alleged “client list” of high-profile names that he used to blackmail individuals in a web of sex trafficking and crimes. The Department of Justice announced over the summer, however, that there was “no incriminating ‘client list'” of prominent individuals involved in an alleged sex trafficking scheme, nor that Epstein blackmailed anyone on such list. 

The DOJ previously reported that the evidence shows Epstein did in fact commit suicide, which contradicted speculation on social media that Epstein was murdered in his jail cell in 2019, which set off criticisms among Trump supporters to release further documents on the case, with Democrats joining those calls while invoking questions about Trump’s relationship with Epstein. 

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Trump has slammed the calls as part of a “Democrat hoax” while defending that he “threw him out” of Mar-a-Lago after he “stole” employees from the private club in his falling out with Epstein in the 2000s.

Fox News Digital reached out the Department of Justice Monday afternoon regarding Urena’s latest statement, but did not immediately receive a reply.