NationalWatch

As Americans around the nation prepare to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, the Department of Homeland Security posted a video on social media that features a montage of Republican lawmakers expressing their gratitude for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement workers.

Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa noted that with Thanksgiving approaching, she wanted to provide her “heartfelt thanks to the great men and women of ICE.”

“This Thanksgiving, I thank you for your service, and for deporting the illegal invaders who’ve flooded our communities,” Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee said.

DHS SAYS FOUR HOUSE DEMOCRATS ‘CHOSE TO STAND WITH CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS’ AFTER VISITING ICE DETAINEE

The DHS post on X that features the video reads, “This Thanksgiving, we’re grateful to the dedicated men and women of @ICEgov who are working through the holiday to keep our communities safe. From the halls of Congress, thank you for your continued service and commitment.”

The video, which also includes House Speaker Mike Johnson and various other Republicans, comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has been conducting an illegal immigration crackdown around the country.

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

The Department of Homeland Security has noted a spike in reported assaults against ICE this year compared to last year.

SANCTUARY POLITICIANS’ RHETORIC LED TO 1,150% SURGE IN VIOLENCE AGAINST ICE AGENTS: DHS

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“From January 21, 2024, through November 21, 2024, there were only 19 reported assaults against ICE law enforcement, while in the same timeframe in 2025 there were 238 reported assaults. This is a 1,153% increase in assaults,” a DHS release noted.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth criticized a post Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., made about his service, telling the lawmaker, “you can’t even display your uniform correctly.” 

Hegseth’s comments come a day after the Department of War announced a formal review into allegations of misconduct against Kelly over a video calling on service members to “refuse illegal orders.” 

“So ‘Captain’ Kelly, not only did your sedition video intentionally undercut good order & discipline…but you can’t even display your uniform correctly,” Hegseth replied to a post Kelly made on X. 

“Your medals are out of order & rows reversed. When/if you are recalled to active duty, it’ll start with a uniform inspection,” Hegseth added.

FBI SCHEDULING INTERVIEWS WITH 6 LAWMAKERS WHO ENCOURAGED MILITARY MEMBERS TO REFUSE ‘ILLEGAL ORDERS’ 

Kelly on Monday posted a picture of a uniform on X, writing, “When I was 22 years old, I commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy and swore an oath to the Constitution. “

“I upheld that oath through flight school, multiple deployments on the USS Midway, 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm, test pilot school, four space shuttle flights at NASA, and every day since I retired — which I did after my wife Gabby was shot in the head while serving her constituents,” he added. “In combat, I had a missile blow up next to my jet and flew through anti-aircraft fire to drop bombs on enemy targets.” 

“At NASA, I launched on a rocket, commanded the space shuttle, and was part of the recovery mission that brought home the bodies of my astronaut classmates who died on Columbia. I did all of this in service to this country that I love and has given me so much,” Kelly also said.

Kelly’s office did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

MARK KELLY FIRES BACK AT TRUMP OVER MILITARY COMMENTS

The Pentagon has said it might call Kelly back to active duty to face court-martial proceedings or other administrative actions under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

“This matter will be handled in compliance with military law, ensuring due process and impartiality,” the department said, adding that further comments will be limited to protect the integrity of the proceedings. 

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Kelly also said Monday, “If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work. I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.” 

The Department of Homeland Security pushed back against several Democrats over the weekend, saying their claims that ICE crackdowns aren’t focused on the most dangerous illegal immigrants show they’ve been “bamboozled” by politics.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., led a news release featuring Illinois’ Democratic delegation several days prior – in which they objected to DHS’ behavior and their claims of targeting the most egregious offenders in their “Operation Midway Blitz.”

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said she needed to correct the record on such accounts, remarking the agency continues to seek out “criminal illegal aliens convicted of heinous crimes” like aggravated sexual assault of children, child pornography and drug trafficking.

“As Democrat politicians try to bamboozle the American public and assert DHS law enforcement is not targeting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens, our brave ICE law enforcement are putting their lives on the line to remove pedophiles, drug traffickers, and other violent thugs from American neighborhoods,” McLaughlin said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.

ICE ARRESTS ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ ILLEGAL ALIENS IN LOS ANGELES WHILE PROTESTERS ADVOCATE FOR CRIMINALS: DHS

“We are not going to allow these heinous criminals to terrorize innocent American children and families.” 

McLaughlin then laid out the worst offenders from recent days, including new names provided exclusively to Fox News Digital.

Mexican national Cristian Mendivil-Diaz was convicted of aggravated battery of a child and domestic battery in Illinois – while Burmese national Liam San was nabbed in ICE’s latest focus on Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, after a conviction of indecent liberties with a child. Other offenders captured included Salvadoran national Guillermo Guevara-Serrano, convicted of aggravated assault on a minor in Dallas.

ILLEGAL ALIEN WHO SENT ‘VULGAR, RACIST’ BOMB THREAT TO FEMALE MEMBER OF CONGRESS ARRESTED BY ICE

Orville C. Weir, of Jamaica, was convicted of lewd/lascivious acts with a minor in the Fort Lauderdale area, and recently nabbed by ICE.

A Congolese illegal immigrant named Andre Lubala, convicted of aggravated assault near Philadelphia, Tennessee, was also captured by federal authorities, according to DHS.

In their original “fact-check” of DHS, Illinois Democrats branded the agency’s public posturing as a “misinformation campaign.”

MANHUNT UNDERWAY AFTER FEDERAL AGENTS TAKE GUNFIRE AS RIOTERS RAM VEHICLES, HURL DEBRIS IN CHICAGO

“The Trump administration continues to peddle outright lies since its unprovoked, unnecessary, and unhelpful enforcement activity in Illinois,” Durbin said in a statement.

“The photos and videos out of Illinois are horrific, showing unspeakable acts committed by the United States government against its own civilians, including teargassing, pepper spraying, racial profiling, excessive force, and physical violence.”

“Squad” member Rep. Delia Ramirez of Chicago named McLaughlin, Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and border czar Thomas Homan as “vicious liars” who have been caught “manipulating” to hide unlawful actions.

DHS FIRES BACK AT DURBIN FOR CLAIMING FEDERAL AGENTS ARE JUST ‘ARRESTING GARDENERS’ INSTEAD OF CRIMINALS

“I am proud to work with my colleagues of the Illinois congressional delegation to set the record straight on the terror and lawlessness that ICE and CBP have inflicted on our communities,” Ramirez said.

Rep. Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., — who has faced scrutiny over the timing of his retirement announcement, which allowed his chief of staff to qualify for the 2026 ballot — said he witnessed “brutality and abuses” by DHS firsthand in his heavily Hispanic Chicago district.

“My grandchild is scared because their helicopters are hovering at night over our neighborhood. People are being detained and disappeared,” Garcia said.

Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., who represents suburban DuPage and Will County along Chicago’s western edge, said in a statement that ICE’s operation in the Windy City is “not law enforcement.”

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“It is a campaign of fear and intimidation. Federal agents, under orders from the Trump administration, have repeatedly used violence against peaceful communities,” Foster said.

In a formerly-red district farther west of Chicago, Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood added in a statement that DHS is not pursuing the worst of the worst but continuing a “horrifying campaign to spread fear in our communities, trample over our constitutional rights, and violently snatch people from our streets.”

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., accused a top housing official of secretly pulling Democrats’ private mortgage records and weaponizing them to trigger federal criminal probes, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

In the suit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., Swalwell claimed that Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte abused his position to obtain the mortgage records of numerous Democrats, which he used in criminal referrals to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The civil suit argued that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) did not have the authority to obtain, use or leak private data belonging to several prominent Democrats, who are widely viewed as staunch critics of President Donald Trump.

“Today I have filed a civil lawsuit against FHA Director Bill Pulte for violating the Privacy Act and First Amendment,” Swalwell said in a statement. “Director Pulte has combed through private records of political opponents. To silence them.”

REPUBLICANS FEUD OVER ‘ARCTIC FROST’ ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURE, BUT CRITICS OFFER NO CLEAR ALTERNATIVE

According to the lawsuit, Pulte “abused his position” by scouring government-sponsored databases for the private records of a number of Democrats, including Swalwell, which he then used “to concoct fanciful allegations of mortgage fraud” that he referred to the DOJ for prosecution, the lawsuit stated.

The DOJ opened a probe into Swalwell on Nov. 13 over alleged mortgage fraud.

The lawsuit stated that Pulte claimed in his referral to the DOJ that Swalwell falsely claimed his D.C. home as his primary residence on a mortgage agreement to help secure more favorable loan terms.

But the California Democrat’s suit described the allegations in the referral as a “gross mischaracterization of reality” that represents “a gross abuse of power that violated the law.”

“The allegations in Pulte’s referral are patently false,” the suit argued.

The DOJ probe came as Swalwell set his sights on a higher office, announcing last week that he is launching a campaign for California governor in 2026. The lawsuit claims that the release of his personal information has harmed his reputation ahead of his gubernatorial campaign and forced him to “expend personal resources” as he fights the DOJ probe.

LAWYERS FOR COOK, DOJ TRADE BLOWS AT HIGH-STAKES CLASH OVER FED FIRING

Swalwell added in his complaint that the “widespread publication of information about the home where his wife and young children reside has exposed him to heightened security risks and caused him significant anguish and distress.”

Swalwell claims in his suit that his political views have “earned him the ire of President Trump.” The lawsuit points to additional referrals FHFA made to the DOJ involving political figures who are seen as critics of Trump, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, arguing that there is a pattern of political retaliation.

A federal judge threw out the indictment against Letitia James on Monday.

Swalwell argued that Pulte’s “unlawful actions” were intentional and represented “a purposeful attack on core democratic norms and reflect a base desire to achieve exactly what the First Amendment and the Privacy Act exist to prevent: the use of government machinery to chill and silence the government’s critics.”

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Swalwell is seeking damages, a declaration that FHFA violated federal law and an injunction forcing the agency to retract its referral.

Pulte and the Federal Housing Finance Agency did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

A video featuring six Democrats telling U.S. troops to reject unlawful orders has sparked backlash, with President Donald Trump declaring it to be “seditious behavior.” 

Former U.S. Army Captain Doug Truax, founder of Restoration of America, told Fox News Digital the video risks undermining the military’s chain of command and increasing political tensions across the country.

“This is one of the most unpatriotic things I’ve seen in my lifetime,” Truax told Fox News Digital.

Truax argued that the undermining of the military’s chain of command would cause chaos with troops suddenly questioning orders based on morality and not legality. He said that putting the onus on service members was “not fair to them” because they are facing difficult tasks and have no interest in getting involved in political matters.

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

The video, which was released last week, featured Sens. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Reps. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., and Jason Crow, D-Colo. All the lawmakers in the video have various service backgrounds, including the Army, Navy, Air Force and Central Intelligence Agency.

In the video, which has since gone viral, the lawmakers tell U.S. military members that they can and must reject illegal orders, something Truax said service members know. He argued that the Democrats in the video were “blurring lines.”

“You’ve got the situation where you have elected officials that are basically telling our people in uniform that if you don’t think that this is a good idea, you don’t have to do it, which, you know, they’re never required to obey illegal orders. Everybody knows that. They’re blurring lines here,” Truax said.

He added that this kind of message causes “an incredible amount of apprehension” for those on the ground who may second guess orders that are lawful. Truax also underscored the importance of the chain of command within the military, saying that without it there would be “a lot of chaos.”

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth expressed a similar sentiment on Tuesday, writing in a post on X, “The despicable video urging [DOW] troops to ‘refuse illegal orders’ may seem harmless to civilians — but it carries a different weight inside the military.”

“In the military, vague rhetoric and ambiguity undermines trust, creates hesitation in the chain of command and erodes cohesion. The military already has clear procedures for handling unlawful orders. It does not need political actors injecting doubt into an already clear chain of command,” Hegseth added.

,DEMOCRATIC SENATOR ‘NOT AWARE’ IF TRUMP GAVE ANY ILLEGAL MILITARY ORDERS AMID VIDEO CONTROVERSY

When asked about those who defend the lawmakers based on their service background, Truax said that their experience in uniform makes the video even worse.

“They should know better,” he said. “This is all about political power. I think that everybody in there. They know they’re losing political power over time here because the country is moving in a direction that’s more conservative and less chaos and less lawlessness. So, they’re trying to find ways to maintain their political power.”

Truax argued that the video is especially dangerous due to the volatile political environment, pointing to the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the near assassination of Trump. He accused the lawmakers in the video of stoking the flames of division.

“We’ve got a lot of political violence already. The president was almost killed. Charlie Kirk was assassinated. We just have a lot of stuff going on right now, and then you got these guys coming out and doing this. You know, I think most Americans would say this is not a good idea. We don’t need more fuel on the fire with what these guys are doing,” Truax told Fox News Digital.

He didn’t hold back in his criticism of the lawmakers, calling them a “sophisticated D.C. cocktail version of Antifa.” He said that they are trying to “fray the country further.”

DEPUTY AG BLASTS DEMOCRATS’ ‘ABHORRENT’ VIDEO URGING TROOPS TO ‘REFUSE ILLEGAL ORDERS’

Despite saying the video’s message could cause chaos in the ranks, Truax said he does not think active duty service members will be impacted by the fallout. However, he thinks that the National Guard and reservists will face issues when they “find themselves in difficult situations in some city, following legal and lawful orders.”

Truax warned that the U.S. could be repeating past mistakes by politicizing the military, drawing comparison to how troops were treated after the Vietnam War. After fighting an intense war, soldiers faced immense criticism upon their return home. Truax shared an example that hit close to home. His father-in-law served in Vietnam and earned a Purple Heart before going on to serve in the Army for 20 years.

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“When he came back it wasn’t pretty. And he’s a young guy, wounded, serving his country,” Truax said. “He still thinks about it. He’s fine now, but it was a terrible time.”

He said that “nobody wants” to see soldiers sent to do difficult and dangerous tasks only to come back and find themselves being politically targeted for serving their country.

Americans are heading into the holidays uneasy about the economy, even as inflation slowly cools.

As the holidays approach, Thanksgiving has become a kind of national check-in on President Donald Trump‘s economic stewardship and whether voters believe his affordability promises are finally paying off. 

That uncertainty is reflected in how consumers are approaching the holidays, cautious about big purchases but still willing to spend selectively when they find value. That mix of caution and compromise is something Joanne Hsu, director and chief economist of the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers, has been tracking closely. 

NEARLY 1 IN 4 AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS LIVING PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK, REPORT REVEALS

“Our interviews reveal that consumers believe that now is a very unfavorable time for major purchases for multiple reasons, including high prices and high borrowing costs,” Hsu told Fox News Digital. “It is possible, however, that consumers may still be willing to spend on smaller-ticket items. That said, it is likely that consumers will be looking for value and the best way to stretch their dollars given that they generally do not feel confident about the economy at this time,” Hsu added.

That disconnect between improving data and persistent pessimism poses a political challenge for Trump, who rode promises of affordability back to the White House but is now confronting voter doubts about whether that promise is being met.

According to a Fox News national survey, 76% of voters rate the economy negatively, compared with 67% in July and 70% at the close of former President Joe Biden’s tenure. Voters largely blame Trump for the downturn, with about twice as many holding him responsible for the current economy as Biden, and three times as many saying his policies have hurt them personally.

At the same time, approval of Trump’s handling of the economy has dropped to a new low, while disapproval of his overall job performance has climbed to record highs, even among some of his core supporters.

Democrats leaned heavily on affordability themes in state and local elections this fall and it paid off.

In places like Virginia, New York and New Jersey, where voters have been squeezed by high housing costs and utility bills, Democratic candidates seized on Trump’s early economic moves, including his trade policy, to argue that his policies were worsening the affordability crisis rather than easing it.

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

They promised to rein in energy costs, expand affordable housing and protect middle-class wages, a message that resonated with voters and analysts say, reflects a broader trend: in an economy where many still feel stretched thin, the party that speaks most directly to people’s pocketbooks often wins.

“I think they made a real strategic blunder back in January and February and that is that the president ran on inflation and promised to lower prices and then his very first and most prominent policy moves were to enact policies that were going to increase prices,” Scott Lincicome, the vice president of general economics at Cato’s Herbert A. Stiefel Center for trade policy studies, told Fox News Digital.

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“Americans aren’t stupid, and they can put two and two together. If the guy who promised you lower prices then suddenly promises to raise prices and prices go up, well, guess what? That guy is going to get blamed,” Lincicome added.

For Trump, the real test may come not from economic data but from dinner-table conversations. If Americans don’t yet feel the relief he promised, this Thanksgiving could reveal just how far affordability remains out of reach.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday accused several House Democrats of meeting with a criminal illegal immigrant at an ICE detention facility, calling the visit a move in which they “chose to stand with criminal illegal aliens over American citizens.”

According to the department, four House Democrats — Reps. Juan Vargas, Mike Levin, Sara Jacobs and Scott Peters — visited the ICE San Diego Field Office on Monday and requested to speak with the Honduran national, who has been accused of kidnapping and abusing his spouse. 

“Democrats once again chose to stand with a criminal illegal alien over American citizens,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “This criminal illegal alien these Democrat lawmakers met with has been charged with kidnapping and domestic abuse.”

Peters’ office told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that the lawmakers did not specifically request to speak with that detainee. The members reportedly asked to speak with “any detainee” during their oversight visit and were brought Rojas-Molina. The office added that DHS did not present any evidence that the detainee was convicted of such crimes. 

DHS TORCHES ‘BAMBOOZLED’ DEMS FOR CALLING ICE CRACKDOWN ‘VICIOUS LIES’

“The members asked weeks ago to conduct an oversight visit, ensuring that due process is followed and everyone is being afforded their legal rights,” Communications Director Lena Jacobson said. “They were finally allowed to do so yesterday. They did not ask to speak with Mr. Rojas-Molina. There were three detainees present. The members asked to speak with any detainee. This is the person who ICE presented to them. DHS has not provided any evidence to Rep. Peters’ office to show Mr. Rojas-Molina was convicted of the crimes they allege he committed.”

McLaughlin described the representatives as “sanctuary politicians” who “continue to smear” efforts made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to remove offenders from the country.

“These sanctuary politicians continue to smear law enforcement and falsely claim ICE is not targeting the worst of the worst. It’s disgusting that these sanctuary politicians continue to do the bidding of criminal illegal aliens.”   

Dennis Mauricio Rojas-Molina, who was deported from the U.S. a decade ago, was arrested in May on charges of kidnapping and spousal battery.

In the summer of 2015, during the Obama administration, Rojas-Molina was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol near Lukeville, Arizona, but was later released into the country. An immigration judge issued a final order of removal several months after his arrest, and he was deported Oct. 14, 2015. He subsequently reentered the United States illegally at an unknown date and time.

SENATE DEM DICK DURBIN ACCUSES TRUMP ADMIN OF ‘TERRORIZING PEOPLE IN THEIR HOMES’

In a video posted to Rep. Mike Levin’s X account on Monday featuring all four lawmakers at a news conference, Levin confirmed they had visited a detainee who was recently arrested, though he did not name the individual. He noted that the man has two children — ages 11 and 5.

“Folks like him need a path to stay,” Levin said of the detainees the representatives visited. “They need a path to legal status so that they can continue to work hard and contribute positively to our economy. … We need to treat them better than this.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Reps. Juan Vargas, Mike Levin and Sara Jacobs for more information. 

DHS added that ICE continues to arrest the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal immigrants despite Democrats’ claims that the department is not prioritizing offenders, citing Rep. Sara Jacobs’ post on X Monday stating, “ICE isn’t going after criminals; they’re targeting your neighbors and friends.”

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“Seventy percent of the illegal aliens arrested by ICE have criminal convictions or pending charges in the United States,” DHS said, adding that the department continues to focus its enforcement efforts on murderers, rapists, gang members, pedophiles, terrorists and other dangerous individuals. 

The department also emphasized that the figure does not reflect those wanted for crimes in other countries, those with Interpol notices or those facing human rights-related violations. 

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced on Tuesday she will not seek re-election for a fourth term, ending her decade-long reign in the nation’s capital.

The Democrat, who previously represented the 4th ward as a member of the D.C. Council, shared the news in a video posted to social media.

“My fellow Washingtonians, for 10 years, you and I have worked together on an ambitious agenda to restore faith in our government and ensure that every D.C. resident gets the fair shot they deserve,” Bowser said. “To keep that promise, we took big swings, keeping D.C. teams in D.C., raising enrollment and graduation rates in our schools, and investing more money in housing than any other city or state, creating 36,000 homes.”

She added her administration drove unemployment to its lowest levels, achieved strong reserves and completed the largest infrastructure project in city history with the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge.

TRUMP PRAISES DEMOCRATIC DC MAYOR FOR WORKING WITH HIS ADMINISTRATION ON CRIME CRACKDOWN 

“We also brought our city back from the ravages of a global pandemic, and summoned our collective strength to stand tall against bullies who threaten our very autonomy, while preserving home rule. That is our North Star,” Bowser said. “… Looking to the future, I know we’ve laid the groundwork for others to build upon, to reshape and grow D.C.’s economy, establish D.C. as the 51st state, and protect our investments in affordable housing, transportation, public safety and public schools.

“… When you placed your trust in me 10 years ago, you gave me an extraordinary opportunity to have a positive impact on my hometown. Every day since, I’ve cherished the opportunity and have happily given all my passion and energy to the job that I love. Together, you and I have built a legacy of success, of which I’m intensely proud, and for the next 12 months, let’s run through the tape and keep winning for D.C.”

The announcement came months after Bowser pushed back on President Donald Trump‘s plans to deploy National Guard troops to restore public safety in the capital.

‘RESISTANCE’ LEFT BLASTED BY WASHINGTON POST AS MAYOR BOWSER BACKS TRUMP’S DC CRIME PLAN

In August, she admitted the success of the federal crime crackdown, noting she appreciated the surge of officers that “enhance what [the Metropolitan Police Department] has been able to do in this city.”

“Having more federal law enforcement officers on the street — [has led to] having more stops that got to illegal guns,” Bowser said during a prior news conference. “We think that there is more accountability in the system, or at least perceived accountability in the system, that is driving down illegal behavior. We know that we have had fewer gun crimes, fewer homicides, and we have experienced an extreme reduction in carjackings.”

However, she noted there was a “break in trust” between the community and police, criticizing the use of masked ICE agents in neighborhoods.

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The next D.C. mayoral election will be held Nov. 3, 2026.

Axios reported last month D.C. Council members Kenyan McDuffie and Janeese Lewis George have been floating potential mayoral runs.

Fox News Digital’s Alexander Hall contributed to this report.

Zohran Mamdani and other top New York City officials could see their salaries jump under a proposed 16% pay hike that council members are hoping to push through soon, according to reports.

A bill introduced by Councilwoman Nantasha Williams, D-Queens, would raise members’ salaries from $148,500 to $172,500, the New York Post reported Tuesday.

If passed, the pay hike would also apply to the new mayor, public advocate, comptroller and borough presidents.

It would put Mamdani’s pay at nearly $300,000, up from the current $258,000, the outlet said.

NYC MAYOR-ELECT MAMDANI ASKS SUPPORTERS FOR $4M TO FUND TRANSITION, VOWS NO WEALTHY DONORS

Other top officials, such as the comptroller, public advocate, and borough presidents, would see comparable increases.

The legislation would be introduced this week with a hearing by year’s end, allowing the next City Council to vote in January for a swifter approval. Council members last received a raise in 2016.

Interestingly, it was Mamdani who built out a platform centered on affordability for working-class New Yorkers.

FOX NEWS’ MARTHA MACCALLUM TO INTERVIEW NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE ZOHRAN MAMDANI

The Ugandan-born 34-year-old pledged free buses, rent freezes on rent-stabilized apartments, universal childcare and city-run grocery stores during his campaign for New York City mayor.

He also campaigned on a gradual increase of the minimum wage to $30 an hour by 2030.

Mamdani has said these proposals would be funded primarily by raising taxes on wealthy individuals and large corporations.

As a state assembly member in 2022, Mamdani also voted for a pay raise for state legislators.

MAMDANI LAUGHS OFF CRITICISM THAT HIS TAX HIKE PROPOSALS WILL COMPEL NEW YORKERS TO FLEE

The latest NYC pay hike plans were originally headed for Mayor Eric Adams’ desk, but that schedule was shelved, according to the Post.

“If we have a hearing on the bill this year, we don’t need a hearing on it next year. It’s pre-considered,” Williams told The Post.

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When the outlet asked her if the council would pass the pay hike bill in January, Williams responded, “That’s the goal.”

A source also said that the pay hike legislation puts Mamdani in a predicament. He could veto the bill or approve a law “making New York more affordable for the political class,” the source said.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Zohran Mamdani for comment.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said crime in Chicago is “out of control” and blasted so-called “liberal judges” after a woman was set on fire in the deep-blue city last week — allegedly by a man with 72 prior arrests who had been out on bond despite prosecutors calling for him to be incarcerated.

Trump, speaking at the White House during the annual Thanksgiving turkey pardon, again called on Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to allow National Guard troops to be deployed to the Windy City to tackle crime amid a wave of recent violent incidents.

The president’s plea came a week after Bethany MaGee, 26, was allegedly set on fire by 50-year-old Lawrence Reed, who has spent decades cycling through the criminal justice system. Additionally, a teenager was fatally shot and at least eight others were injured after two shootings on Friday night in downtown Chicago.

“This is a very serious thing,” Trump said. “They burned this beautiful woman riding in a train. A man was arrested 72 times. 72 times. Think of that. And they’ll let him out again, the liberal judges will let him out again.”

DEMOCRATS SLAM TRUMP FOR ‘WAR’ THREATS TARGETING US CITIES: ‘NOT YOUR WAR ZONE’

Trump for months has attempted to send troops to Chicago, as he has done in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tenn., to help curb violent crime. He has said those deployments caused crime to plummet.

But Pritzker and Johnson have staunchly opposed deploying troops. They have called any deployment unconstitutional and insisted the city is not facing the kind of crime crisis the White House claims. The president has also floated invoking the Insurrection Act to tackle violent crime in Chicago.

“But we’re ready to go,” Trump said Tuesday. “You know, we’ve been moving toward Chicago. We have a governor that thinks it’s wonderful that only like seven people were killed this week… It’s horrible what’s happening in Chicago.”

Trump said a federal response would make Chicago “totally safe” in a matter of weeks.

“And the people of Chicago want us to go there. And if you look at the crime that’s taking place in Chicago in the last two weeks, just take a look. It’s on the front page of every newspaper,” Trump said. “It’s out of control. The mayor is incompetent, and the governor is a big fat slob. He ought to invite us in and say, ‘please make Chicago safe.’”

“We’re going to lose a great city if we don’t do it quickly,” Trump added.

TRUMP OFFICIALS SLAM BLUE STATE GOVERNOR FOR IGNORING CHAOTIC ANTI-ICE ‘RIOTERS’ DISRUPTING OPERATION

Critics of Illinois’ progressive criminal policies point to the attack on MaGee as the latest in a string of crimes perpetrated by career criminals who are repeatedly released back onto the streets to target law-abiding citizens.

Reed, MaGee’s alleged attacker, had been ordered onto electronic monitoring on Aug. 22 when Cook County Judge Teresa Molina-Gonzalez denied a prosecution request to keep him jailed on felony allegations that he knocked a social worker unconscious inside MacNeal Hospital’s psychiatric ward.

During that hearing, transcripts show Molina-Gonzalez told prosecutors, “I can’t keep everybody in jail because the State’s Attorney wants me to.”

According to court documents in that battery case, Cook County electronic monitoring records show Reed repeatedly violated his curfew and movement restrictions in the days leading up to the alleged Chicago Transit Authority attack on MaGee on Nov. 17.

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Shortly before Trump’s comments on Tuesday, the White House weighed in on the attack, blasting left-wing policies in deep-blue cities.

“Liberal soft-on-crime policies are FAILING American communities and endangering law-abiding citizens,” the White House wrote on X.

“A career criminal with 72 arrests should have never been free to roam the streets. Pray for Bethany.”

Fox News’ Stephen Sorace, Greg Wehner, Alexandra Koch and Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.

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…

-‘Full-blown battle’ brewing in Dem party as Mamdani-style candidates rise in key races

–Biden-era regulation on the chopping block as Trump-aligned legal group warns of ‘DEI lens’

-Trump admin ends Temporary Protected Status for Burmese migrants

Former Army captain warns Dems’ ‘unpatriotic’ video telling troops to defy orders could spark chaos

A video featuring six Democrats telling U.S. troops to reject unlawful orders has sparked backlash, with President Donald Trump declaring it to be “seditious behavior.” 

Former U.S. Army Captain Doug Truax, founder of Restoration of America, told Fox News Digital the video risks undermining the military’s chain of command and increasing political tensions across the country.

“This is one of the most unpatriotic things I’ve seen in my lifetime,” Truax told Fox News Digital…READ MORE.
 

White House

‘BAMBOOZLED’: DHS blasts “bamboozled” Dems claiming worst of worst targets are “vicious lies”

‘OUT OF ORDER’: Hegseth rips Mark Kelly’s post about his service: ‘You can’t even display your uniform correctly’

FOWL PLAY: Trump jokes that Biden turkey pardon in 2024 ‘invalid’ due to autopen

MOCKING DOJ ‘FOOLS’: Comey expects further legal scrutiny from Trump admin, criticizes ‘fools who would frighten us’

World Stage

WAR ON TWO FRONTS: Trump pushes peace in Europe, pressure in the Americas — inside the two-front gamble

TROJAN HORSE ENERGY: CCP-linked firms quietly hold stakes in US solar companies, fueling Dems’ green push

Capitol Hill

EXODUS WARNING: Former House Speaker McCarthy warns Marjorie Taylor Greene ‘the canary in the coal mine’

RISKING IT ALL: War on cops: House committee targets anti-police rhetoric after ICE attacks

RENT-FREE: Rep. Thomas Massie jokes amid incoming fire from President Trump

CAPITOL INQUIRY: FBI scheduling interviews with 6 lawmakers who encouraged military members to refuse ‘illegal orders’

TITLE IX CRACKDOWN: GOP senator probes 18 blue states, DC over Trump’s transgender athlete order

Across America 

MUSIC CITY SHOWDOWN: Democrats, Republicans, go all in on final 2025 congressional ballot box showdown

DOJ BACKS TEXAS: DOJ backs Texas in Supreme Court fight over Republican-drawn map

LUXURY LIBERAL: Iowa Dem House candidate’s luxurious lifestyle clashes with ‘working-class’ campaign message

‘MISSED THE MARK’: Cracker Barrel CEO says she felt like got ‘fired by America’ after redesign scandal

‘SKIRTING THE LAW’: ICE seeking to deport ‘criminal’ who allegedly threw coffee on baby, mother and dog

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

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s surprise resignation from Congress stunned House Republicans, and sets up an even tighter majority in the lower chamber that could foil major legislative priorities.

But whether it triggers a ripple effect of Republican lawmakers following her lead remains to be seen. Still, there are members of the House GOP that are frustrated by how events have unfolded in recent months, especially after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., opted to keep the House in session for over 50 days during the government shutdown.

Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital that he’s “heard rumors” of frustrations among his colleagues, but that from the people he’s spoken with, “They’re committed to being here.”

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION FROM CONGRESS AFTER PRESIDENT TRUMP WITHDRAWS ENDORSEMENT

“This is an incredible honor to serve in the House of Representatives, and when you run for office, I think you should fill out your term,” Haridopolos said.

“This is what the American public wanted,” he continued. “I mean, they affirmatively put Republicans in power. And the only frustration we’ve been through, at least my biggest frustration, is when the Democrats exercise their power to shut the government down for 43 days.”

Greene, in her resignation letter teeing up her departure from Congress on Jan. 5, 2026, aired grievances about how little progress has been made on Capitol Hill since she became a lawmaker in 2021.

She also took aim at President Donald Trump, who she has for weeks been distancing herself from despite being a die-hard Trump loyalist for much of her legislative career, and at Johnson for his handling of the shutdown.

JASMINE CROCKETT CALLS OUT MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE FOR RESIGNING FROM CONGRESS AMID TRUMP FEUD

“During the longest shutdown in our nation’s history, I raged against my own speaker and my own party for refusing to proactively work diligently to pass a plan to save American healthcare and protect Americans from outrageous overpriced and unaffordable health insurance policies,” Greene said. “The House should have been in session working every day to fix this disaster, but instead America was forced fed disgusting political drama once again from both sides of the aisle.”

Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, the fifth highest-ranking House Republican, sought to quash any rumors of dissent among the ranks in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Speaker Johnson and the House Republican leadership team have made a diligent effort to listen to all members of the conference for input, policy ideas, and concerns,” he said. “As usual, the media is building a negative narrative, but our record of delivering for the American people with our majority this year speaks to our teamwork and unity.”

And that majority is now headed for a tenuous situation with Greene’s retirement.

Though Republicans are expected to maintain a seat after former Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., retired, the special election to replace the late former Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, is expected to stay in Democratic control, effectively nullifying the results.

That means when Greene leaves, and if the results in Tennessee in December favor Republicans — Democrats are hoping for a miracle in the race — and the results in Texas in late January favor Democrats, the GOP will be left with effectively a two-vote majority.

FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER MCCARTHY WARNS MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE IS ‘THE CANARY IN THE COAL MINE’

Meanwhile, another lawmaker was tempted to exit the House for a different reason.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., was furious over the White House’s 28-point plan for Russia and Ukraine, and told Fox News Digital that he found it, “So appalling, so embarrassing.”

Bacon argued that the plan, which has broadly been viewed as giving Moscow much of what it wants and leaves Ukraine with little other than an end to the ongoing war, was “a recipe for Ukraine being abused for decades to come, and to be basically a vassal state under Russian control, and that was unacceptable.”

His preference is that if Ukraine is pushed to give up territory to Russia, at the very least, they should be allowed to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

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He noted that he ran on a pro-Ukraine platform, and for a moment, considered resigning, fast-tracking his planned retirement from Congress at the end of next year.

“I was so frustrated, it went through my mind,” Bacon said. “You know, I don’t want to be a part of this team, frankly, but I don’t — I knew it was wrong. It was short-lived.”

“I think people would be doing a disservice to a lot of people just to resign,” he continued. “I frankly think you should only resign if you got, like, an illness, or your spouse has an illness, or you got a legal issue. You know, when you run, there’s a commitment.”

FIRST ON FOX: A nonprofit patient’s rights advocacy group is urging President Donald Trump to take immediate action to enhance price transparency of healthcare costs as the White House weighs a new health care proposal. 

PatientsRightsAdvocate.org, (PRA), a nonpartisan group focused on enhancing systemwide health care price transparency and quality, is calling on the Trump administration to take steps to improve informing patients what their health care services will cost as the White House prepares to unveil a new healthcare proposal. 

“You recently articulated a compelling vision: Americans, not insurance companies, should be in control of their healthcare dollars,” PRA founder Cynthia Fisher wrote in a letter to Trump Tuesday. “Empowering people directly is the most effective way to restore fairness, choice, and accountability to a system that has too long served corporate interests instead of the American people.”

Specifically, Fisher urged Trump to take steps through the Department of Labor to ensure that employers that provide health care receive full access to claims, payments to providers, and a rundown of fees so they can facilitate hammering out lower costs that result in lower fees for their employees.

TRUMP’S SHUTDOWN IS JACKPOT FOR BILLIONAIRES WHILE WORKING AMERICANS PAY 

Likewise, she encouraged Trump to back the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act spearheaded by Sens. Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas, and John Hickenlooper, a Democrat from Colorado. The measure would require hospitals to provide the actual prices of approximately 300 services, and would require providers or facilities to craft a detailed itemized bill of each separate item or service. 

“By doing this, you will deliver a system in which patients, employers, and unions–not the insurance and private equity fat cats–hold the power,” Fisher wrote in her letter. 

These efforts would build on previous actions from the Trump administration, Fisher said.

NEWT GINGRICH: THE SIMPLEST WAY TO MAKE AMERICAN LIFE AFFORDABLE AGAIN 

For example, Trump signed an executive order in February ordering the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services Department to enforce transparency regulations, which would require hospitals and insurers to share the actual prices of healthcare, rather than estimates. Additionally, the order requires the agencies to require hospitals to work toward making healthcare prices more uniform across hospitals and insurers. 

Meanwhile, it remains unclear when Trump will release his health care proposal. Media reports indicated that the plan could be released as early as Monday, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not give any indication on the timeline as she told reporters Monday that while the issue is a priority for the president. 

The potential health care plan comes as Republicans grapple with extending Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies about to expire at the end of 2025 or not. The issue was a sticking point in funding negotiations that led to the government shutdown in October.

VANCE SAYS TRUMP ADMIN HAS ‘GREAT’ HEALTHCARE PLAN COMING, WANTS TO WORK WITH DEMS: ‘POLITICS BE DAMNED’ 

Although Democrats refused for weeks to back a measure without a provision to permanently extend the ACA subsidies, they eventually got behind a short-term spending bill that does not extend these subsidies by the end of the year. 

Even so, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., agreed to a vote in December on legislation that would continue these credits.

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Regardless, Americans want more precise information on their health care costs. According to a September poll from Echelon Insights, a Republican-leaning poll and data firm, nearly 90% of U.S. voters support enforcing regulations that would require hospitals and insurance companies to provide the exact prices from the get-go. 

“The data I’ve seen is crystal clear: If President Trump executes on this affordability-action by forcing hospitals and insurers to reveal actual prices upfront, the American people will overwhelmingly support it,” David Kochel, a Republican campaign strategist, said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday. “This isn’t just good policy, but a potential game-changer heading into 2026 and beyond. By tackling one of the clearest pain-points in surprise medical bills and hiding pricing, Republicans can shift the narrative on healthcare, win back trust, and deliver real results that voters can feel.”

President Donald Trump pardoned a pair of turkeys at the White House on Tuesday, going on to joke that former President Joe Biden’s turkey pardons last year were “null and void” because he used an autopen.

Trump made the joke while carrying out the decades-long White House Thanksgiving tradition, this year pardoning “Gobble” and “Waddle.” The crowd laughed as Trump said he saved last year’s turkeys, “Peach” and “Blossom” from being carved up after the nullification of Biden’s pardons.

“I wanted to make an important announcement. Because you remember last year, after a thorough and very rigorous investigation by [Attorney General] Pam Bondi and all of the people at Department of Justice, the FBI, the CIA, and the White House Counsel’s Office…I have determined that last year’s turkey pardons are totally invalid,” Trump said.

“Null and void,” Trump said of the pardons. “The turkeys known as Peach and Blossom last year have been located, and they were on their way to be processed, in other words, to be killed. But I’ve stopped that journey, and I am officially pardoning them. And they will not be served for Thanksgiving dinner. We saved them in the nick of time.”

THANKSGIVING TRAVEL RUSH IS UNDERWAY AT AIRPORTS NATIONWIDE

This year’s turkeys, “Waddle” and “Gobble,” are the largest turkeys ever to receive a presidential pardon, Trump said. Both of the birds weigh over 50 pounds.

AMERICAN TRUCKER SAYS TRANSPORTING CAPITOL CHRISTMAS TREE 3,000 MILES TO WASHINGTON, DC, IS ‘HUGE HONOR’

A National Turkey Federation spokeswoman told reporters at the White House that after Waddle and Gobble are pardoned, they will move to North Carolina State University, where they will serve as “Turkey ambassadors for our industry.”

First lady Melania Trump held a poll on X to name this year’s turkeys, resulting in Waddle and Gobble.

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Last year’s pardoned turkeys, the aforementioned Peach and Blossom, and the ones before them, “Liberty” and “Bell,” all came from Minnesota.

North Carolina, Indiana, Iowa, South Dakota, Ohio, California, Virginia and Missouri have all sent turkeys to the White House.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., seemingly made light of President Donald Trump recently branding the maverick Republican congressman a “Rand Paul Jr.”

“In case you were wondering after five posts in ten days… I am NOT paying any rent to live there,” Massie wrote in a post on X that contained screenshots of multiple Truth Social posts in which Trump referred to the congressman as “Rand Paul Jr.,” a reference to the Republican U.S. senator from Kentucky.

Massie added the face with tears of joy emoji and joked, “BTW, the name is Ron Paul, Jr. — Rand and I were mixed up at the hospital.”

PATRIOT OR ‘PATHETIC RINO’? MAVERICK REPUBLICAN THOMAS MASSIE TRADES ‘AMERICA FIRST’ LABEL FOR ‘AMERICA ONLY’

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a Massie ally who has said he will help the congressman win re-election, is the son of former Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas.

Massie made the quip hours after Trump re-issued a broadside targeting both Massie and Paul. It was the same attack Trump made in a Truth Social post last month targeting the two lawmakers.

TRUMP CLAIMS GOP HAS ‘NEVER BEEN SO UNITED,’ CALLS GREENE AND OTHER REPUBLICANS ‘LOWLIFES’

“Whatever happened to ‘Senator’ Rand Paul? He was never great, but he went really BAD! I got him elected, TWICE (in the Great Commonwealth of Kentucky!), but he just never votes positively for the Republican Party,” Trump declared in the post. 

“He’s a nasty liddle’ guy, much like ‘Congressman’ Thomas Massie, aka Rand Paul Jr., also of Kentucky (which I won three times, in massive landslides!), a sick Wacko, who refuses to vote for our great Republican Party, MAGA, or America First. It’s really weird!!!” Trump added.

TRUMP ORDERS EPSTEIN FILES RELEASE, WELCOMES MAMDANI, CROWN PRINCE TO WHITE HOUSE IN BUSY WEEK

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Massie has served in the House of Representatives since late 2012, but Trump is backing primary challenger Ed Gallrein.

A pair of major North American solar companies, including one touted by Senate Democrats in 2023, could face scrutiny over their ties to China.

While the feds have created barriers to Chinese firms flooding the solar market, many have found ways to localize operations in the U.S. or North America in a manner that allows for public investment and even deferential press coverage at times.

After then-President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, Senate Democrats praised the law for its substantive investments in “green” energy, including solar. One company that received top billing was an Ontario-based firm that was founded by a Chinese entrepreneur and keeps much of its assets in China.

“The Inflation Reduction Act is already paying huge dividends for the American people,” blared a topline from Senate Democrats in 2023 after investments were being made in several companies.

ARREST OF CHINESE NATIONALS IN SWING STATE, ISRAEL’S FIGHT WITH IRAN ARE ‘WAKE UP’ CALL ON CCP THREAT: EXPERTS

The release cited a Reuters report that Canadian Solar – based in Guelph, Ontario, but founded by Qu Xiaohua and with its main operating arm listed on Shanghai’s SciTech board – committed to $250 million to a 5GW module facility in Texas after the IRA took effect.

Trina Solar North America president Steven Zhu boasted to China Daily, a Chinese state-run propaganda outlet, that the project represents “a significant investment in American manufacturing that will bolster the U.S. solar market in addition to positioning Texas as a leader in the transition to a sustainable future.”

Canadian Solar saw a 34% spike in its stock performance in the first half of 2022, according to a Benzinga analysis, which quoted company CEO Shawn Qu as saying he was “excited to see the [IRA] in the U.S. coming into effect.” The report said “alternative energy companies” like Canadian Solar stood to get a leg up thanks to about $370 billion in subsidies from the IRA.

THINK TANK FOUNDER FACES SCRUTINY OVER CHINA CORPORATE TIES DESPITE DECOUPLING ADVOCACY

A 2025 company filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) referenced that due to the company’s business in China, the CCP “may intervene or influence the operations of our PRC subsidies at any time” and that the firm is “exposed to legal and operational risks associated with having a significant portion of our manufacturing operations in China.”

The Canadian-based company with a large Chinese manufacturing footprint – praised by Democrats – extends China’s state-backed dominance, yet can still qualify for IRA tax incentives meant for American allies – something that Congress has been focused on.

Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, recently sounded the alarm on companies affiliated with China that receive or are qualified for federal subsidies – including through Biden’s IRA.

TOP HOUSE REPUBLICAN THREATENS TO EXPOSE CCP OFFICIALS IF CHINA INVADES TAIWAN

Moolenaar previously focused on another Chinese firm called Gotion, telling The Midwesterner there are “about 30 tax credits” in the law “Biden calls his Inflation Reduction Act [that] will go to companies who are manufacturing, in some way, green energy.”

Moolenaar’s “No Gotion Act” would ensure no subsidies go to firms based in officially designated politically-concerned countries like China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.

He also inserted language in the 2024 funding bill for the Department of Energy that would prohibit the agency from awarding contracts to companies tied to the CCP.

4 WAYS AMERICAN STATES AND CITIES CAN MEET THE CCP THREAT TO OUR WAY OF LIFE

Fox News Digital reached out to Moolenaar for additional comment.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., chair of the House Homeland Security Transportation Subcommittee, said at the time that the U.S. cannot continue “ceding dominance over our critical supply chains to our greatest geopolitical rival.”

Gimenez, who was born in communist Cuba and fled to the U.S. as a child, said Western nations were too slow to recognize threats from Huawei and TikTok, and that doing business in China ensures the CCP will get a cut; “a steep cost.”

WHITE HOUSE FINALIZES RULES INCREASING CLEAN ENERGY SUBSIDIES FIVEFOLD IN BID TO SUPPORT GREEN JOBS

Canadian Solar had about 12,000 employees in China at the beginning of the year with less than 6,000 in the rest of the world combined.

The Coalition for a Prosperous America raised red flags in a report last year on Chinese dominance in the solar industry, and the fact they’re largely kept afloat by “massive financial support” from the Chinese government – with reports citing as much as Y1B ($140M) in subsidies in recent times.

Those subsidies, CPA argued, threaten all solar firms in the West.

BIDEN FINALIZES CRACKDOWN ON US MILITARY TECH INVESTMENTS IN CHINA WITH ONE WEEK TO LAME DUCK SESSION

In 2024, Trina Solar, then a subsidiary of a Chinese solar giant by the same name, forged an agreement to sell its Texas-based manufacturing assets to another U.S.-based but Chinese-tied company, which is now known as T1 Energy. Trina Founder Gao Jifan is also a Chinese National People’s Congress delegate.

Gao has several links to CCP-connected organizations, as a profile on the Chinese-controlled search giant Baidu lists several curriculum vitae including a former vice president of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products – a semi-governmental trade association made up of representatives from several industrial and green-energy corporations like Huawei and Trina Solar.

More recently, in 2023, Gao was vice president of the China Association for the Promotion of Industry-Academic-Research Cooperation, a group under the auspices of the CCP’s Ministry of Science and Technology that connects research universities and manufacturing outfits in the fields of nanotechnology, material manufacturing and green energy.

TRUMP IS TAKING THE FIGHT TO THE CCP. IT’S LONG PAST TIME WE PROTECTED OUR BASES AND CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

On its homepage, T1 bills itself as “building domestic solar and battery supply chains to invigorate America with scalable, reliable, and low-cost energy,” and saying that “America needs advanced manufacturing capacity to unlock our most scalable energy resources.”

Baidu noted Gao’s investment in a Texas solar module factory, saying he did so to “prevent the shipment of photovoltaic products from being blocked.”

T1 formed after FREYR Battery, a Norwegian firm, sold off its Texas assets to Trina Solar, which then rebranded the operation as T1 Energy after a restructuring – while FREYR focused on a separate Georgia operation.

BROTHER-IN-LAW OF TOP DEM SENATOR PLAYED KEY ROLE IN RECRUITING CHINESE FIRMS TO DEEP BLUE CITY

T1 positions itself as an “integrated U.S. supply chain for solar and batteries,” but remains largely dependent on Trina.

Earlier this month, T1 tweeted a video of robots at its Texas factory, saying that it produced 14MW of solar panels in one day and calling it “the path to American power.”

Trina Solar, the Chinese company, owns between 16-25% of T1, according to reports, allowing it a minimum of two board members. One member is reportedly a businessman who previously held a deputy directorship at the Chinese Development Bank, a financial powerhouse that helps fund China’s infamous Belt-and-Road Initiative.

COZY TIES BETWEEN TOP NEWSOM ALLY AND CCP OFFICIAL UNEARTHED ON NETWORKING SITE: ‘SHE HELPED ME A LOT’

A Caribbean-domiciled firm tied to the wife of a Trina executive also holds a stake in T1, potentially offering more Eastern control.

With T1 being a U.S. company eligible for tax credits under the IRA, the company benefits – but also its dependence on Chinese subsidy translates to a CCP-tied firm benefiting from American money.

In Canadian Solar’s case, critics have considered the branding and international dynamic to be geopolitical camouflage, suggesting to Western governments the company is one of their own.

The overall dynamic is one that again depicts China’s persistence in circumventing or manipulating U.S. defenses in various situations, this time in business and investments.

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Chinese companies often collaborate on joint transpacific ventures and keep their equity stakes just under the proportion that triggers federal restrictions as a “Foreign Entity of Concern” (FEOC).

Fox News Digital reached out to Trina Solar and Canadian Solar for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Cameron Cawthorne contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: A top Senate Republican is launching an investigation into over a dozen blue states over whether they’re in compliance with President Donald Trump’s executive order, “Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., is taking a microscope to schools across the country for alleged infractions against Trump’s order, which was designed to undo several changes made under former President Joe Biden to Title IX, the decades-old law that bars sex-based discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal funding.

His investigation is specifically targeting the inclusion of transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports, and the promotion of policies that allow shared access to facilities, like locker rooms and bathrooms.

130 DEMOCRAT CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES URGE SCOTUS TO SIDE WITH TRANS ATHLETE IN TITLE IX LEGAL BATTLE

The scope of Cassidy’s investigation is broad and includes California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Washington, D.C.

In 19 letters to various heads of state and collegiate education departments, Cassidy alleged that many recipients of federal funding “continue to interchangeably enroll males and females in sports teams that differ from their biological sex,” and that the recipients push policies that allow shared access to facilities.

“Under the current and correct interpretation of the law, this is a clear violation of Title IX,” Cassidy wrote.

NEWSOM SIGNS LAW TO APPROVE ATHLETE EQUITY STUDY AS MORE CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS OPPOSE MALES IN GIRLS’ SPORTS

The lawmaker’s investigation also comes as the Supreme Court considers a pair of cases that could have wide-ranging implications on Title IX enforcement across the country, and whether biological male athletes can participate in women’s sports. 

Cassidy, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, noted that under Biden there were several changes and expansions to Title IX that he believed were unlawful, including changing the definition of sex to include gender identity, undermining protections for female athletes.

Trump’s executive order from earlier this year changed that and returned Title IX to its 2020 version. It also ordered that the Department of Education and its Office for Civil Rights “enforce all sex-protective laws to promote the reality that there are two sexes, male and female, and that these sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality,” Cassidy wrote.

GOP WRESTLES WITH OBAMACARE FIX AS TRUMP LOOMS OVER SUBSIDY FIGHT

“As Chairman, it is my priority to ensure women and girls have every opportunity to succeed on the field and in the classroom,” Cassidy said. “This means ensuring that states receiving federal financial assistance for educational programs comply with federal law and federal agency directives.”

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Cassidy has given the state education agencies and colleges until Dec. 8 to provide several pieces of information for his investigation, including state and institutional Title IX policies on gender identity, state laws protecting biological females, steps taken to comply with Trump’s order, revisions to definitions of sex, policies on athletic participation and facility access by biological males, and complaint records, parental notifications, and disciplinary actions involving students objecting to shared spaces.

Iowa Democrat Christina Bohannan has built her campaign for Congress around the image of a hard-working, middle-class advocate who understands what it’s like “to struggle to put food on the table.” 

However, her real estate portfolio and financial disclosures paint a very different picture — one of expensive homes, a Florida waterfront condo and lucrative stock investments that place Bohannan among the wealthy elite she claims to want to fight against in Congress.

“You know, I know what it’s like to work so hard and to, to still struggle to put food on the table,” Bohannan previously told a crowd at the Iowa State Fair. Throughout her multiple campaigns – Bohannan has run for the same seat in the House for the past two elections and lost – she has touted her history of growing up in a trailer park and being forced to choose “between putting groceries in the cart and filling prescription drugs.” 

In an interview with Iowa Public Radio, Bohannan reportedly reiterated once again that “she knows what it’s like to struggle.”

TRUMP LANDS ANOTHER LEGAL VICTORY AS LAWSUIT AGAINST IOWA POLLSTER, DES MOINES REGISTER REMAINS IN STATE COURT

However, Bohannan’s own financial disclosures and local real estate records paint a picture that clashes with her alleged working-class image. In June, Bohannan purchased University of Iowa basketball coach Fran McCaffery’s $1.55 million mansion in Iowa City, while for years she has also owned a waterfront condo inside a gated community in Sarasota, Florida. The gated community sells homes ranging from as little as $300,000 to over $1 million, plus requires thousands in annual homeowner’s fees.

Meanwhile, according to Bohannan’s financial disclosures, her Sarasota condo has also helped her net as much as $50,000 in rental income annually.

Bohannan’s own financial filings also show that she and her husband own over six-figures in individual tech stocks, such as Apple, Alphabet and Meta, from which they have not divested despite Bohannan’s “ETHICS PLAN” proposal aimed at compelling members of Congress to cease trading stocks while serving on Capitol Hill.

Fox News Digital reached out to Bohannan for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication. 

Bohannan is set to take on Republican incumbent Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who represents Iowa’s 1st Congressional District.

SEE IT: SUSPECTED DRUNKEN DRIVER’S WRONG-WAY HEAD-ON CRASH CAUGHT ON DEPUTY’S DASHBOARD CAMERA

Earlier this month, Bohannan attempted to stir backlash against her GOP opponent over her “true values,” pointing to a photo of Miller-Meeks sitting first-class on an airplane, “as her constituents suffer from Trump’s policies.”

“This photo tells you more about Miller-Meeks’ true values than her entire town hall did,” Bohannan wrote in a tweet that included an alleged image of her Republican opponent flying first class.

But the attempted jab did not go unnoticed by a locally elected district supervisor, Austin Hayek, who slammed Bohannan for worrying about Miller-Meeks sitting first class when she had just bought a $1.55 million mansion. 

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“Christina Bohannan is concerned with 1st class – weird since she just bought a $1.55 million dollar home,” Hayek commented on Bohannan’s photo of Miller-Meeks allegedly sitting first class. “Seems she’s wanting others to share the wealth, but not herself and she cares more about her personal living than the ‘poor,'” the local elected official concluded. “Stop the virtue signally [sic].”

The Trump administration on Monday ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Burmese migrants, deeming conditions in the country to have improved enough for citizens to return safely.

“This decision restores TPS to its original status as temporary,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. “Burma has made notable progress in governance and stability, including the end of its state of emergency, plans for free and fair elections, successful ceasefire agreements, and improved local governance contributing to enhanced public service delivery and national reconciliation.” 

Burma, also known as Myanmar, was first designated for TPS in May 2021 by then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. In March 2024, Mayorkas extended TPS for Burma for 18 months, making its expiration date Nov. 25, 2025.

TRUMP TERMINATES DEPORTATION PROTECTIONS FOR SOMALI NATIONALS LIVING IN MINNESOTA ‘EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY’

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said in its announcement that the designation will end on Jan. 26, 2026. It noted that Noem came to the decision “after conferring with interagency partners” and that she “further determined that permitting Burmese nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to the national interest of the United States.”

USCIS also said that Burmese nationals are encouraged to use the U.S. Customs and Border Protection CBP Home app, which is designed for self-deportations.

Since January 2025, Noem has ended TPS for migrants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Nepal, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Syria and South Sudan.

FEDERAL JUDGE FINDS ‘RACIAL AND DISCRIMINATORY ANIMUS’ IN TRUMP MOVE TO CANCEL TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS

USCIS issued a statement on Nov. 13 saying it was “ending exploitation” by ensuring that TPS would be “truly temporary.” Additionally, it announced the implementation of “rigorous screening and vetting protocols.”

“The distinction between legal and illegal immigration becomes meaningless when both can destroy a country at its foundation,” USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser said in the statement. “Unchecked mass migration floods the American labor market, depressing wages and taking jobs away from hardworking Americans, while straining healthcare, education, and housing systems.”

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On Friday, President Donald Trump said he would move to end TPS for Somali migrants in Minnesota following a bombshell report tracing money in the hands to Al-Shabaab terrorists to a series of fraud schemes in the North Star State.

“Minnesota, under Governor Waltz, is a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity. I am, as President of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS program) for Somalis in Minnesota. Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great state, and BILLIONS of dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from. It’s OVER!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Democrats are seeking to put limits on private donations to foot the bill for President Donald Trump’s new White House ballroom amid what they say are bribery concerns. 

Trump announced in October that construction had started on the ballroom — leading to the demolition of the White House’s historic East Wing — and would be privately funded at an estimated cost of $300 million. That was up from the $200 million estimate first provided in July when the project was unveiled.

But Democrats are concerned the donors — including individuals and other organizations — are footing the bill for the project because they are seeking something in return from the Trump administration, and recently introduced legislation to try to curb it. 

Although the White House released a list of the donors in October, Democrats, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Adam Schiff of California, claim that additional oversight is needed and that the White House has not identified all donors, while others have been granted anonymity.

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Among those who’ve donated to the ballroom project are Google, Apple, Meta Platforms, Amazon, Microsoft and Lockheed Martin. As a result, lawmakers argue that those who’ve contributed to the project could be doing so to curry favor with the administration, setting up a “pay-to-play” relationship with the Trump administration. 

Specifically, lawmakers pointed to Google agreeing to a $22 million settlement with Trump in September, stemming from Trump’s censorship lawsuit against YouTube for banning him from the platform after the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol. Google, which owns YouTube, is also involved in an antitrust case leveled against it by the Justice Department, and therefore, could benefit from soliciting favor from the Trump administration, the lawmakers claim. 

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

“Billionaires and giant corporations with business in front of this administration are lining up to dump millions into Trump’s new ballroom — and Trump is showing them where to sign on the dotted line,” Warren said in a statement Tuesday. “Americans shouldn’t have to wonder whether President Trump is building a ballroom to facilitate a pay-to-play scheme for political favors. My new bill will put an end to what looks like bribery in plain sight.”

TRUMP CELEBRATES WHITE HOUSE DEMOLITION AS NEW BALLROOM RISES: ‘MUSIC TO MY EARS’ 

Warren, along with the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, spearheaded the legislation. Other lawmakers, including Schiff, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and others, have also cosponsored the measure. 

Specifically, the legislation would bar donations from organizations or individuals that present a conflict of interest, and would prohibit the president, vice president or their families and staff from soliciting donations. 

Once donations have been made and are cleared by the directors of the National Park Service and the Office of Government Ethics, the measure would then bar displaying donors’ names in recognition of the donation, and would also require a two-year freeze for the donor to lobby the federal government.

SWALWELL MOCKED FOR DEMANDING 2028 DEMOCRATS PLEDGE TO DEMOLISH TRUMP’S BALLROOM 

Additionally, it would prohibit using any remaining donated funds to then go toward personal use, or to benefit the president, vice president or their family and staff. 

Likewise, the measure also would require that donors disclose meetings with the federal government that occur in the year following the donation, and prohibit anonymous donations. 

“President Trump has put a ‘for sale’ sign on the White House—soliciting hundreds of millions of dollars from special interests to fund his $300 million vanity project,” Blumenthal said in a statement Tuesday. “Our measure is a direct response to Trump’s ballroom boondoggle. With commonsense reforms to how the federal government can use private donations, our legislation prevents President Trump and future presidents from using construction projects as vehicles for corruption and personal vanity.” 

Meanwhile, the White House dismissed the measure and Democrats’ efforts to impose new restrictions on donations.

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“President Trump is making the White House beautiful and giving it the glory it deserves,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday. “Only people with a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome would find a problem with that.”

Trump has initiated several renovation projects at the White House during his second term, including adding gold accents to the White House’s Oval Office and paving the Rose Garden.