NationalWatch

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced a transformation of the agency Wednesday that will cut the “bloated” ODNI by more than 40% by the end of the year and save taxpayers more than $700 million annually, all while executing its core national security and intelligence mission “in the most agile, effective, and efficient way.”

Gabbard, on Wednesday, announced what she described as a “long-overdue” transformation, that will refocus ODNI and eliminate offices that were involved in the politicization of intelligence. 

GABBARD ESTABLISHES NEW INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY TASK FORCE TO RESTORE TRANSPARENCY

“Over the last 20 years, ODNI has become bloated and inefficient, and the intelligence community is rife with abuse of power, unauthorized leaks of classified intelligence, and politicized weaponization of intelligence,” Gabbard said. “ODNI and the IC must make serious changes to fulfill its responsibility to the American people and the U.S. Constitution by focusing on our core mission: find the truth and provide objective, unbiased, timely intelligence to the President and policymakers. Ending the weaponization of intelligence and holding bad actors accountable are essential to begin to earn the American people’s trust which has long been eroded.”

Gabbard said that “under President Trump’s leadership, ODNI 2.0 is the start of a new era focused on serving our country, fulfilling our core national security mission with excellence, always grounded in the U.S. Constitution, and ensuring the safety, security, and freedom of the American people.” 

ODNI was first created after the 9/11 terror attacks and exposed systemic failures across the intelligence community. ODNI’s purpose was to integrate intelligence from and provide oversight over all intelligence community elements in order to ensure the intelligence provided to the president and policymakers was “timely, accurate, and apolitical.”

“Unfortunately, two decades later, ODNI has fallen short in fulfilling its mandate,” an ODNI spokesperson said.

ODNI 2.0 is set to eliminate “redundant missions, functions and personnel,” and is set to make “critical investments” in areas that support Trump’s national intelligence priorities.

GABBARD ESTABLISHES NEW INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY TASK FORCE TO RESTORE TRANSPARENCY

ODNI officials said that ODNI 2.0 will focus on rebuilding trust, exposing politicization and weaponization of intelligence, holding bad actors accountable, saving American tax dollars, and focusing on their “core mission,” which is to protect “the safety, security, and freedom of the American people.”

As part of the effort, Gabbard is closing ODNI’s Reston Campus and moving the National Intelligence Council to the main ODNI campus, which will ensure the all essential intelligence functions are kept “under one roof,” which officials say will “enable savings,” and will ensure “greater efficiency and oversight, and integration across the ODNI and IC.”

Gabbard is also leading intelligence community-wide reforms for “efficient and effective operations.” Gabbard is expected to issue guidance to create a streamlined contracting authority for companies that pursue emerging technologies, and that are already approved for business with the IC to provide services quickly.

Gabbard is also leading an IC-wide effort to “rebalance and optimize” its civilian and contractor workforce to “reduce bloat, increase analytic capability, remove stovepipes, eradicate politicization and analytic bias, accelerate information sharing, and increase efficiency to ensure mission success,” officials said.

Meanwhile, Gabbard has also ended non-merit-based recruitment of intelligence community professionals.

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As for ODNI components, the National Counterterrorism Center is building capability to increase two-way information sharing between federal, state, and local law enforcement to secure borders and communities.

As for the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, Gabbard is calling for a renewed focus on security clearance reform, deterring counterintelligence threats, and oversight of investigations and probes of unauthorized leaks of classified information.

Lawyers for Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia asked a federal judge in Nashville on Tuesday to dismiss a criminal case against him, arguing in a filing that the indictment handed down by the Trump administration amounts to a “vindictive” and selective prosecution.

The 35-page filing was submitted Tuesday to U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in the Middle District of Tennessee. It comes just two days before Abrego Garcia is slated to be released Friday from federal custody, where he was detained on human smuggling charges in May, immediately after being returned to the U.S. from El Salvador at the end of a months-long court fight.

Both Crenshaw and U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes had determined that Abrego Garcia was eligible to be released from criminal custody pending trial, though Holmes agreed to stay his release for 30 days, at the request of Abrego Garcia’s attorneys, who cited fears that he would be detained and immediately deported.

Crenshaw, for his part, said in a 37-page ruling that the Justice Department “fails to provide any evidence that there is something in Abrego’s history, or his exhibited characteristics, that warrants detention.” 

FEDERAL JUDGE EXTENDS ARGUMENTS IN ABREGO GARCIA CASE, SLAMS ICE WITNESS WHO ‘KNEW NOTHING’

He also poured cold water on the government’s repeated allegations that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, a notion he described as “fanciful.”

It’s unclear whether Crenshaw will intervene and grant the motion to dismiss, filed late Tuesday.

But it comes as Abrego Garcia’s case has remained at the center of a months-long legal maelstrom, one that critics argue has allowed the Trump administration to test its mettle on immigration enforcement and its ability to slow-walk or evade compliance with federal courts.

The request by Abrego Garcia’s attorneys focuses squarely on the criminal indictment and investigation brought in the Middle District of Tennessee, which stems from a 2022 traffic stop in the state. 

His lawyers argued Tuesday that the timeline of the investigation and the incitement show the “extreme lengths” the administration has gone to in order to “make a criminal case” against their client.

But Abrego Garcia’s case is deeply complicated, involving dueling, but inextricably intertwined civil and criminal cases that have played out over roughly six months in separate federal courts, across two continents, and in dozens of status hearings before various judges.

Any next steps in the case will therefore be fraught with political backlash. 

Already, Friday will bring to a fore key deadlines in both the civil and criminal cases involving Abrego Garcia: His expected release from U.S. custody in Nashville at the end of a 30-day stay, will set into motion the restrictions on his removal that were imposed in a separate court order handed down by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland last month. 

That order requires him to  be transferred from Nashville to the nearest ICE detention facility in Maryland. Lawyers told the court they plan to escort him via private security, amid concerns about compliance from the Trump administration, as his family’s lawyers acknowledged to Fox News Digital in an interview last month.

ICE officials are also required to give Abrego Garcia 72 hours notice of the country of removal before they begin deportation proceedings, Xinis said in her order.

MARYLAND IMMIGRANT WRONGLY DEPORTED TO EL SALVADOR MUST RETURN TO US, SUPREME COURT RULES

Abrego Garcia’s case has prompted the firing or resignation of at least three government officials at DHS and the Justice Department, including the abrupt resignation of Ben Schrader, a former federal prosecutor and former chief of the criminal division for the U.S. Middle District of Tennessee.

Schrader resigned from his position at DOJ on the same day that the Justice Department secured the indictment against Abrego Garcia.

His lawyers used the ‘Hail Mary’ court filing this week to spell out, in careful detail, the timeline of the civil lawsuit and the Justice Department’s criminal investigation into Abrego Garcia, which kicked off while he was still detained in El Salvador, they noted.

“Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been singled out by the United States government,” his lawyers said Tuesday. “It is obvious why.”

The new filing recounts, in extemporaneous detail, the history of the Trump administration’s actions in Abrego Garcia’s nearly six-month legal saga, which has spanned two continents and multiple federal courts — making his case among the most high-profile immigration battles to date in Trump’s second term.

In the motion to dismiss, lawyers for Abrego Garcia ticked through the timeline of his removal from the U.S. in March, in Trump’s first wave of deportation flights to El Salvador, as well as his eventual return months later. They detailed the timing of when the Justice Department began its probe into Abrego Garcia, and when they secured a federal indictment against him.

They argued that the timing shows the criminal case was brought by the Trump administration “for avowedly vindictive reasons,” and, in their view, as a means of retaliation after Abrego Garcia’s family filed a lawsuit in Maryland challenging his removal.

JUDGE PRESSES TRUMP DOJ ON ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION; ANSWERS LEAVE COURTROOM IN STUNNED SILENCE

Abrego Garcia was returned to the U.S. in May — months after Xinis, the Maryland judge presiding over the civil case, ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return to the U.S .— a ruling upheld by the Supreme Court in April.

The government’s lack of candor and continued stonewalling prompted Xinis to threaten potential contempt proceedings earlier this year. 

Upon his return to the U.S. in May, Abrego Garcia was immediately slapped with two charges of human smuggling stemming from the 2022 traffic stop, prompting fresh concerns about the government’s next steps.

“We have heightened, ongoing concerns about the Trump administration’s compliance with any and all those involved” in the case, Chris Newman, an attorney who represents Abrego Garcia’s family, told Fox News Digital in an interview last month. 

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers noted Tuesday that, in their view, the government “responded not with contrition, or with any effort to fix its mistake, but with defiance.”

 “A group of the most senior officials in the United States sought vengeance: they began a public campaign to punish Mr. Abrego for daring to fight back, culminating in the criminal investigation that led to the charges in this case,” his lawyers said in the Tuesday filing.

“Rather than fix its mistake and return Mr. Abrego to the United States, the government fought back at every level of the federal court system. And at every level, Mr. Abrego won,” they added.  “This case results from the government’s concerted effort to punish him for having the audacity to fight back, rather than accept a brutal injustice.”

His lawyers urged Crenshaw to move quickly to dismiss the indictment.

The motion to dismiss the criminal case comes just days before Abrego Garcia is slated to be released from federal custody on Friday, after both U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes and Crenshaw agreed to grant the 30-day stay requested by Abrego Garcia’s legal team.

ABREGO GARCIA TO REMAIN IN US FOR NOW, DOJ AGREES

Trump officials, for their part, have said they will immediately seek to take Abrego Garcia into ICE custody and begin removal proceedings to a third country. They told Xinis’ court last month that the handoff would likely occur at the federal detention center where he is currently being held. 

In the filing, lawyers noted the difficult burden of proof that the defense must satisfy, under the Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure, in order for a court to dismiss an indictment based on “selective or vindictive prosecution,” as their filing asks of Judge Crenshaw.

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“Those motions are infrequently made and rarely succeed,” they noted. 

“But if there has ever been a case for dismissal on those grounds, this is that case.”

The Trump administration’s Department of Transportation is raising standards for applicants seeking to become air traffic controllers, a move officials say will reduce the profession’s high washout rate.

Meanwhile, the department argued that the Biden administration’s decision during his first term to lower standards for applicants contributed to the higher attrition rate, while inflating the numbers of candidates entering the profession.

“By eliminating the Best Qualified category and lowering the standard for how top scorers were defined, Biden and Buttigieg juiced the numbers to make it seem like they were making a dent in the air traffic controller shortage,” a Department of Transportation spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

INSIDE THE FAA’S RACE TO TRAIN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS: ‘IT’S GOING TO TAKE TIME’

According to the DOT source, the Biden administration scrapped the “Best Qualified” tier for candidates who scored 85% or better on their Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA) exam. That standard was replaced with a broader “Well Qualified” category that included candidates who scored at least 80%, according to an internal agency PowerPoint from 2023, shared with Fox News Digital.

“They lowered the standard from 85% to 80% to be best qualified … to get these young people into the academy,” Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told the New York Post’s Miranda Devine, referring to the Federal Aviation Training Center located in Oklahoma City. 

Under the second Trump administration, air traffic controller academy standards reverted to the four-tier system that includes “Best Qualified” for scores of 90% or above, “Well-Qualified” for scores between 85% and 89%, “Qualified” for scores between 70% and 84%, and then finally “Not Referred” for scores below 70%.

AIR FORCE TIGHTENS RULES ON TRANSGENDER AIRMEN; SUPPORTERS SAY IT PRIORITIZES READINESS: REPORT  

A DOT official said distinguishing top performers and allowing those with the highest scores to get first pick at training assignments makes it more likely candidates will complete the academy. Different airspaces require different training regimens, the source noted.

The official cited a Transportation Department report from before Trump’s return to office that warned: “Although the lower score selection may assist with increasing the number of applicable candidates to support the FAA’s hiring goals, there is a possibility that it may not contribute to better graduation and program success rates.”

“[The Biden administration] made it harder to identify the best and brightest and exacerbated the washout rate,” the spokesperson said. “Secretary Duffy’s number one priority is safety – which is why he’s restored the proper standards and prioritized the best and brightest for placement at the academy as part of his supercharge initiative.”

Earlier this year, Pete Buttigieg, the former Transportation Secretary under Biden, said on social media that “we did not change the rigorous standard for becoming a certified air traffic controller,” calling those who were saying as much “mistaken, or lying.” 

“We did increase funding & training, and grew the ATC workforce after years of declining numbers, including under Trump,” Buttigieg added.

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Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Buttigieg said in response to criticism about weaker standards that the pre-admission Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA) exam “has nothing to do with the standards of becoming a certified ATC.”

“There is still a minimum standard of qualification, and that line hasn’t changed. And you still have to take a test. And that test hasn’t changed,” the spokesperson said. 

Buttigieg’s spokesperson also described the accusations from the Trump administration as “a desperate attempt to deflect” questions about whether the air-traffic controller shortage is getting worse under Trump.  

“The fact is, certified controller staffing fell during Trump’s first term,” the spokesperson said. “But under Secretary Buttigieg’s watch, the FAA reversed years of staffing declines, meeting an aggressive hiring goal last year and creating the momentum to meet an even more aggressive hiring goal for this year.”

EXCLUSIVE: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sent his deputy to California to pick up fugitive Harjinder Singh – an illegal immigrant from India who allegedly killed three motorists after making an illegal U-turn in his big-rig on Florida’s Turnpike near Port St. Lucie.

“I have dispatched my new lieutenant governor, Jay Collins, to California to apprehend Harjinder Singh,” DeSantis told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

“Fleeing to a sanctuary state will not prevent him from facing justice in Florida—and we will make sure of that.”

“He will be held accountable for his criminal actions.”

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKER ACCUSED OF KILLING THREE PEOPLE FAILED ENGLISH, ROAD SIGN TESTS: DOT

Singh fled to the “sanctuary” Golden State – where he had also obtained his commercial driver’s license (CDL) – after he allegedly killed three people in a minivan who were traveling on Florida’s Turnpike between the Yeehaw Junction and Fort Pierce exits.

Singh allegedly utilized a narrow median crossover clearly marked for only emergency vehicles, and blocked all northbound lanes in attempting the maneuver – which led to the van slamming into the trailer and being wedged beneath; killing its occupants.

Collins, who was appointed lieutenant governor last week after the prior departure of Jeanette Nunez, is a former state senator and wounded veteran from Tampa.

DeSantis notably nicknamed Collins “the Chuck Norris of Florida Politics” for his earnestness and eagerness to pitch in extremely sensitive situations, including the return of Jewish Americans from Israel after the Hamas terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

Collins flew west on Wednesday afternoon to retrieve Singh. 

DESANTIS PICKS THE CHUCK NORRIS OF FLORIDA POLITICS AS NEW TOP DEPUTY

“Florida lost three innocent lives at the hands of an illegal immigrant who never should have been in this country to begin with,” he told Fox News Digital in further exclusive comments.

“I believe in a government that doesn’t look the other way, but takes the time to enforce the law and hold criminals fully accountable: That’s why I’m en route to California right now to ensure this individual is extradited back to Florida.”

Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., said on Wednesday that Singh appeared to believe he would be safer in California due to its sanctuary state status; which contrasts with Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier enforcing state laws meant to keep illegal immigrants out of the Sunshine State.

Those policies are currently under judicial scrutiny in Miami, where Obama-appointed federal Judge Kathleen Williams ordered the state to stop enforcing it.

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After local authorities in some quarters were found to reportedly be continuing to utilize the law, Williams ordered Uthmeier in July to begin producing regular reports on cases being brought on illegal immigration-related grounds, according to the AP. 

DeSantis is expected to comment further on Singh’s return at an unrelated presser Wednesday afternoon.

Singh attempted to obtain work authorization when he first entered illegally in 2020, but was rebuffed by the first Trump administration.

Mast said earlier Wednesday that the case shows the transportation sector and CDL training facilities must be more vigilant in checking on who is driving commercial vehicles on America’s highways and tollways.

A House GOP lawmaker from New York is accusing Democratic leaders in his state of having a hypocritical response to redistricting efforts in Texas and other red states.

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., one of three House Republicans nationwide who won a district that President Donald Trump lost in 2024, has been vocal about his opposition to the growing redistricting war across the U.S.

“I think obviously across the board, you know, I don’t agree with this effort,” Lawler told Fox News Digital of the push in both red and blue states. “But I think we also have to look at this holistically – New York did mid-decade redistricting last year.”

“So, for [Gov.] Kathy Hochul and Democrats like [House Minority Leader] Hakeem Jeffries and [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer to decry what’s happening in Texas, they’re full of s—. They literally did it last year.”

GOP LAWMAKERS CLASH OVER STRATEGY TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CRISIS

The method for drawing congressional maps does vary between states, with some relying more on their state legislatures, while others – like New York – rely on advice from independent bodies known as redistricting commissions. 

The Empire State’s bipartisan redistricting commission approved a new map in early 2024 that largely affected three congressional seats in upstate and central New York – two of which flipped from red to blue in last year’s elections, while the third remained in Democratic hands.

It came after New York State’s highest court ordered new congressional maps to be drawn for the 2024 election, in what was regarded as a major victory for Democrats after they lost a number of suburban seats in the 2022 midterms. 

Two of those seats have since flipped back to blue in last year’s races, though they saw no significant changes in the latest re-draw. 

“New York redrew its maps, getting a bogus court order to do so after stacking the Court of Appeals…in an effort to pick up five seats. They picked up four,” Lawler said, referencing the four total seats Democrats won in 2024 that they lost in 2022.

“So for them to act as though they are holier than thou and that they didn’t actually do this first is laughable. And when you look at Texas, you know they legally can do it. New York legally cannot. And that’s the difference.”

Lawler warned, however, that the growing redistricting fight could have negative implications for representation across the country.

“When you look at these congressional seats, I mean, they’ve become so hyperpartisan that there’s very few districts that are actually competitive,” he said.

“I think the larger point is that the American people should want more competitive races, because it forces members of Congress to make sure that they are appealing to a broader swath of voters in their districts. If they only have to worry about a primary to get elected, then they’re only playing to the base instead of the broader middle.”

Lawler said he would soon be introducing a bill to ban partisan gerrymandering nationwide, as part of a larger package aimed at fixing what he saw as longstanding issues with Congress.

GOP GOVERNOR NOMINEE PUSHES REDISTRICTING TO OUST STATE’S LONE HOUSE DEM

“There’s also other reforms as part of it that I think are essential, including term limits for members of Congress. And, you know, when you’re talking about the census, you know, illegal immigrants should not be counted as part of the census – lawful permanent residents and legal, you know, visa holders, among others, should be – but illegals should not be,” Lawler said.

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“I think most Americans agree with that. So there’s a number of provisions that will be part of the legislation that I’m putting together.”

When reached for comment on Lawler’s criticism, Viet Shelton, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), told Fox News Digital, “We know Lawler never minds bending the knee to Donald Trump, but did he forget that Trump demanded Texas Republicans redraw their congressional map to steal seats because they know their party can’t win on the merits? Stop whining.”

The interview comes as Texas is readying to adopt a new congressional map that could give Republicans as many as five new seats in the 2026 midterms.

California leaders have pledged to press for new maps to give Democrats a corresponding advantage, while a host of states on both sides, including New York, are signaling that they’re also not ruling out similar moves.

Fox News Digital reached out to spokespeople for Jeffries, Schumer, and Hochul for comment but did not hear back.

A moderate House Democrat’s town hall devolved into chaos minutes after it began on Tuesday night, with pro-Palestinian activists clashing with both the congressman and fellow attendees in what became a near-constant torrent of interruptions and protests.

Rep. Wesley Bell, D-Mo., who defeated far-left “Squad” member Cori Bush in the Democratic primary last year, repeatedly pleaded with protesters to allow him to speak while defending his position on Israel and Hamas.

“Stop talking. This is not your town hall. You can leave,” Bell told protesters roughly 20 minutes after he began speaking. He said soon after, “While we’re sitting here being divided and fighting one another, we’ve got other folks out there who are taking our democracy from us.”

At another point, his assertions that Hamas’ initial attack on Israel “was not just a terror attack, October 7 was an invasion” was met with boos and jeers from the crowd.

FAR-LEFT FIREBRAND SAYS SHE ‘NEVER HAD A CONCERN’ ABOUT BIDEN’S MENTAL STATE AS HOUSE PROBE HEATS UP

Even calls to “surge aid” to Gaza were drowned out by demonstrators, prompting Bell to respond, “You disagree with that?”

Despite repeated pleas for calm from both Bell and his moderator, protesters continued to call him a “war criminal” and accuse him of supporting genocide.

The event grew more heated as the hour went on, reaching a fever pitch toward the end when Bell disputed a questioner labeling Israel’s invasion of Gaza a “genocide.”

“You don’t get to set the genocide definition,” an activist yelled.

Bell responded, “No, I don’t… and here’s the thing, people can disagree, that’s what makes our country great.”

“When it comes to the word genocide, I kind of disagree with you… because Israel was attacked by an openly genocidal terrorist group,” he said while protesters attempted to drown him out.

“Hamas said openly that they want to destroy Israel… and so you’re accusing somebody of genocide, you’re standing with an organization that says they want to commit genocide. You don’t see that?”

He continued over boos, “We need to see a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, we need to see an end to the war. We need to see every single hostage returned, and we need to see a viable future for Gaza without Hamas.”

And while pro-Palestinian protesters took up a majority of the attention, there did appear to be a significant number of attendees who were supportive of Bell, particularly when he attempted to bring the conversation back to local issues.

“The number one killer of kids in St. Louis between [ages] 1 and 17 is gun violence, and there’s people who want to talk about that too,” he said, earning applause.

LONGTIME BIDEN AIDE SAYS HE STOOD TO EARN UP TO $8M HAD PRESIDENT WON RE-ELECTION

At one point, a woman attempted to confront the demonstrators directly.

“Shut up with your White privilege,” the woman could be heard yelling. “You’ve never been hungry, you’ve never had a child be hungry, and yet you want to stand here and diminish the work he’s doing?” 

It’s not clear how or if the activists responded.

The town hall’s moderator tried to deescalate the situation early on, calling security to escort an unruly demonstrator out minutes after it began.

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“Let’s do this the Democratic way, the democracy way. You can’t hear anyone yelling. I hear you. As a mixed-race person, I hear you,” she told activists. “We can’t get through this if you are yelling and barking and acting like you want to get physical.”

At the end of the night, however, Bell released a statement thanking all attendees for coming.

“I want to thank everyone that came out to our town hall this evening – yes the conversations were passionate at times, but Democracy is messy and we have to passionately defend it,” Bell wrote on X. “At the end of the day we’re going to continue to fight for the ST. LOUIS region and for our country.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Bell’s office for further comment.

FIRST ON FOX: More than 550 arrests have been made in the nation’s capital amid President Donald Trump’s crime crackdown that began earlier in August, including officials recovering illegal firearms and removing drugs from the streets, photos shared with Fox News Digital show. 

Local police and federal law enforcement officers in the city have made more than 550 arrests since Aug. 7, including the apprehensions of three known gangbangers, one of whom was an MS-13 member, according to White House data provided Wednesday to Fox News Digital. 

“Thanks to President Trump’s bold actions to Make DC Safe Again, more than 550 dangerous criminals have been removed from the streets of our nation’s capital,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital Wednesday of the arrests. 

“While the Fake News tried to sell a lie that D.C. was safe, these arrests reveal the truth,” she continued. “Hundreds of violent criminals have been arrested by federal law enforcement agents for carrying illegal weapons, distributing deadly drugs, committing armed robbery, and having ties to dangerous gangs like MS-13. President Trump is making DC safe again by enforcing the law and everyday Americans support his commonsense, tough-on-crime policies.” 

MS-13 GANG MEMBER ARRESTED IN DC AS BONDI TOUTS ADMIN’S ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ CRIME CRACKDOWN

Tuesday evening’s sweep of the city included 91 arrests, Fox News Digital learned, including 25 arrests of illegal aliens. Many of the illegal aliens arrested had prior criminal histories, according to the White House, including multiple illegal reentries, and a threat to kidnap or injure a person, destruction of property, burglary, possession of drugs and driving while intoxicated. 

68 DC SUSPECTS ARRESTED IN SINGLE NIGHT AS WHITE HOUSE TOUTS TRUMP’S PUSH TO ‘CLEAN UP’ CAPITAL CITY

The White House exclusively shared photos of items recovered during the Tuesday arrests, which included a backpack teeming with baggies of confirmed illegal substances, handguns and a knife. 

The White House told Fox News Digital that law enforcement has removed substances stretching from marijuana, cocaine, meth and fentanyl from D.C. streets since the crime crackdown began Aug. 7. 

All in, law enforcement recovered eight illegal firearms Tuesday evening, and made arrests for crimes such as an assault on a police officer, armed robbery, carrying a pistol without license, assault with deadly weapon, driving under the influence and for outstanding arrest warrants related to “Child Abuse (Death)” and involuntary manslaughter charges. 

HUNDREDS ARRESTED AS TRUMP’S WASHINGTON, DC, CRIME CRACKDOWN HITS FULL STRIDE

A total of 48 homeless encampments across the city have been removed as of Wednesday, Fox News Digital learned. 

Trump federalized the Washington, D.C. police department Aug. 11 amid a trend of high-profile attacks and killings in the city following the wild crime trends that erupted in the U.S.’ notoriously bloody year of 2020. The more than 550 arrests are part of Trump’s March executive order, which established the Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, ahead of the president federalizing the city in August. 

WHITE HOUSE LAUNCHES FEDERAL SECURITY BLITZ AS PRESIDENT VOWS TO END DC ‘CRIME PLAGUE’

Hundreds of National Guard members, as well as the Metropolitan Police Department and personnel from federal agencies, such as the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Capitol Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, have taken to the streets of D.C. to conduct sweeps and root out crime. The National Guard is not making arrests, but is assisting law enforcement with deterring crime and protecting the city. 

There were more than 1,950 law enforcement officials who took part in Tuesday night’s sweeps and arrests, Fox News Digital learned. The crackdown is anticipated to continue heating up, including the U.S. Marshals Service offering $500 rewards to individuals who are able to provide tips that lead to arrests. 

Democrats have slammed Trump over the federalization of the city’s police department, claiming crime data show violence is trending downward. 

The Metropolitan Police Department’s crime data is currently under Department of Justice investigation in response to claims the force manipulated the data to produce more favorable crime trends in recent months, Fox News reported Tuesday. 

SCOOP: TRUMP’S NEWEST DC CRIME CRACKDOWN YIELDS MORE THAN 100 ARRESTS

Trump had threatened to federalize the D.C. police department in the weeks leading up to his final decision, citing a handful of high-profile crimes that have rocked the city, including the fatal shooting of 21-year-old congressional intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym in June; the fatal shooting of a pair of Israeli embassy staffers in May; and a brutal attack on a former Department of Government Efficiency staffer earlier in August. 

Trump championed the crime crackdown in a press conference Aug. 11, when he first announced he would federalize the local police department under section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which allows the president to assume emergency control of the capital’s police force for 30 days. 

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“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people,” Trump said Aug. 11. “And we’re not going to let it happen anymore. We’re not going to take it.” 

Longtime Trump political foe Democrat Sen. Adam Schiff for years has been accused of leaking classified documents — long before the release of a “bombshell” whistleblower testimony claiming the California lawmaker approved leaking classified information in order to discredit the president during the Russiagate probe, Fox News Digital found. 

Schiff, who served in the U.S. House for more than two decades before securing his spot in the U.S. Senate in 2024, is facing heightened scrutiny following FBI Director Kash Patel declassifying claims from a Democrat whistleblower that Schiff approved the release of classified information on Trump that allegedly “would be used to indict President TRUMP,” according to the report. 

The whistleblower, who reportedly had worked for Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee for more than 10 years, made the claims to the FBI in 2017. Schiff had access to classified information while serving on the House Intelligence Committee during his tenure in the lower chamber, including serving as its chair from 2019 to 2023. 

“In this meeting, SCHIFF stated the group would leak classified information which was derogatory to President of the United States DONALD J. TRUMP. SCHIFF stated the information would be used to indict President TRUMP,” according to the whistleblower documents.

WHITE HOUSE REACTS TO DEM WHISTLEBLOWER’S ‘BOMBSHELL’ CLAIM SCHIFF LEAKED TO HIT TRUMP

The whistleblower “stated this would be illegal and, upon hearing his concerns, unnamed members of the meeting reassured that they would not be caught leaking classified information,” the report added.

Schiff has denied the allegations, with his office telling Fox News Digital Aug. 12 that the allegations were “absolutely and categorically false.”

But this isn’t the first time Schiff has been accused of leaking classified information to the public, with accusations following him since at least the first Trump administration. Fox News Digital took a look back at Schiff’s political history in recent years and gathered the times he previously had been accused of leaking classified materials. 

The August declassified whistleblower accusations are “just the latest in a series of defamatory attacks from the President and his allies meant to distract from their plummeting poll numbers and the Epstein files scandal,” a Schiff spokesperson told Fox Digital when approached for comment on the allegations, after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the whistleblower’s account a “bombshell.” 

TRUMP-FOE ADAM SCHIFF DISMISSES TULSI GABBARD’S DECLASSIFIED RUSSIA COLLUSION INTELLIGENCE AS ‘DISHONEST’

“These baseless smears are based on allegations that were found to be not reliable, not credible, and unsubstantiated from a disgruntled former staffer who was fired by the House Intelligence Committee for cause in early 2017, including for harassment and potentially compromising activity on official travel for the Committee,” the spokesperson continued. “Even Trump’s own Justice Department and an independent inspector general found this individual to not be credible, have ‘little support for their contentions’ and was of ‘unknown reliability,’ and concluded that his accusations against Members of Congress and congressional staff ‘were not ultimately substantiated.’” 

‘Leaked classified information that had been provided to him’ 

Just days after former President Joe Biden was sworn in as president in January 2021, Trump’s former acting director of national intelligence and U.S. ambassador from his first administration, Ric Grenell, took to X to list out “facts” regarding Schiff. 

“Facts,” a Jan. 22, 2021, post on X that is no longer available on the social media site read. The X post received media attention and was preserved in reports at the time, such as the Washington Examiner. 

He listed off: “Schiff wouldn’t return my call to coordinate on DNI reforms.– the reforms were asked for by career officials for years. – Schiff complained when I appointed the 1st female head of counterterrorism (a career person). – Schiff & team regularly leaked classified information.”

Grenell’s message was in response to Schiff claiming in an interview with The Hill that Grennell and former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe under the first Trump administration “bent intelligence work products to the president’s will.”

TRUMP INVOKES RUSSIA COLLUSION HOAX WHILE CALLING FOR LONGTIME FOE SCHIFF TO FACE JAIL TIME

“The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, probably the most devastated of all of the agencies by terrible leadership of people like Rick Grenell and John Ratcliffe,” Schiff said during a video interview at the time. 

Fast-forward to 2023, former Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who served under the first Trump administration, also accused Schiff of leaking classified docs. 

“Adam Schiff lied to the American people, and during my time as CIA director and secretary of State, I know that he leaked classified information that had been provided to him,” Pompeo said in January 2023 during a Fox News interview.

Pompeo continued that he “held back” sharing information with the House Intelligence Committee due to not feeling “comfortable” when Schiff led the panel. 

A representative for Pompeo told Fox Digital in August that the former Trump official stands by his 2023 comments on Schiff. 

Schiff’s office slammed Pompeo’s remarks at the time as “another patently false and defamatory statement.” 

Trump had also accused Schiff of leaking classified documents under his first administration, claiming in 2018, he was the “one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington.”

“Adam leaves closed committee hearings to illegally leak confidential information. Must be stopped!” Trump wrote in one X thread at the time. 

Schiff shot back at the time that Trump’s X post was a “false smear.”

“Mr. President, I see you’ve had a busy morning of ‘Executive Time.’ Instead of tweeting false smears, the American people would appreciate it if you turned off the TV and helped solve the funding crisis, protected Dreamers or… really anything else,” Schiff responded to Trump in February 2018. 

As Trump railed against the alleged leaks during his first term, reports spread that the Department of Justice subpoenaed Apple for account data of House Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, including Schiff, between 2017 and 2018. The DOJ, which was led by Jeff Sessions at the time, was searching for individuals who leaked to the media about Trump’s alleged ties to Russia. 

The investigation dragged, including after Bill Barr was tapped as Trump’s attorney general in 2019 through the end of Trump’s first term, the New York Times reported in 2021, citing sources familiar with the investigation. 

The Justice Department’s internal watchdog, under the Biden administration, opened an investigation into the subpoenas and published a report in 2024 that found the Trump DOJ did not comply with established procedures when it sought the records.

“We are glad that the Department of Justice Inspector General conducted a thorough investigation, and that the Inspector General has recommended safeguards to further protect the media, and to safeguard the separation of powers,” a spokesperson for Schiff said following the release of the report, according to Reuters in 2024. 

As the 2020 campaign heated up, Trump continued accusing Schiff and other House Democrats of leaking, with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence at the time scaling back its security briefings with Congress that year as high-profile Democrats promoted concerns that Russia was interfering in that election. 

“Director Ratcliffe brought information into the committee, and the information leaked,” Trump said in August 2020. “Whether it was Shifty Schiff or somebody else, they leaked the information.… And what’s even worse, they leaked the wrong information. And he got tired of it. So he wants to do it in a different forum, because you have leakers on the committee.”

Schiff denied leaking any classified intelligence in 2020, but said he could not confirm the same for other House Democrats.  

“I haven’t. My staff hasn’t. I can’t speak for what all the members of the committee have done or not done, including a lot of the Republican members,” Schiff told CNN’s Dana Bash in 2020, following Trump claiming “Shifty Schiff” may have been behind another leak of intelligence given to the House Intelligence Committee at the time. 

The Trump administration continued its laser-focused hunt to identify and suss out internal federal government leakers during the second administration, with a White House official telling Axios in June, “We are declaring a war on leakers.” 

The comment came in response to a leak of an internal assessment of the Trump administration’s bombing of a trio of Iranian nuclear facilities that claimed the strikes were not as effective as the president said. 

Federal agencies such as the FBI, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security have leveraged using polygraph tests on staffers suspected of leaking information under the second Trump administration. 

Alleged mortgage fraud, ‘Russiagate’ 

Trump and Schiff have long been political foes. 

This was underscored during Trump’s first administration when Schiff served as the lead House manager during the first impeachment trial against Trump in 2020. It also was highlighted when Schiff repeatedly promoted claims that Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with Russia. 

FEDERAL HOUSING OFFICIAL SUBMITTED SCHIFF CRIMINAL REFERRAL TO DOJ OVER MORTGAGE DOCUMENTS

Schiff landed in hot water earlier this spring, when the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sent a letter to the Department of Justice in May sounding the alarm that in “multiple instances,” Schiff allegedly “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, impacting payments from 2003-2019 for a Potomac, Maryland-based property.”

He is currently under criminal investigation for mortgage fraud, Fox Digital previously reported. The California Democrat has denied any wrongdoing, claiming the matter is a “baseless attempt at political retribution.”

Days after Trump first posted about Schiff’s mortgages in Maryland and California in July, the president’s director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, declassified documents that reportedly show “overwhelming evidence” that then-President Barack Obama and his national security team allegedly laid the groundwork for what would be the yearslong Trump–Russia collusion probe after Trump’s election win against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016. 

“It lays out, these over 100 documents that you’re referencing, that I declassified and released, spells out in great detail exactly what happens when you have some of the most powerful people in our country directly leading at the helm, President Obama and his senior-most national security cabinet, James Comey, John Brennan, James Clapper and Susan Rice and others, essentially making a very intentional decision to create this manufactured, politicized piece of intelligence with the objective of subverting the will of the American people,” Gabbard told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in July following the release. 

Schiff was an incredibly vocal lawmaker amid the Russian collusion claims, most notably when the House censured him in 2023 over his promotion that Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with Russia. Schiff served in the House representing California from 2001 to 2024, when he was sworn in as a senator after his successful 2024 campaign to serve in the nation’s upper chamber.

Schiff also served on the Jan. 6 select committee, which investigated the breach of the Capitol building in 2021 by Trump supporters following then-President Joe Biden’s election win. 

At the 11th hour of Biden’s tenure on Jan. 20, Schiff was among lawmakers who served on the committee who were granted preemptive pardons. The subcommittee concluded Trump’s actions played a key role in promoting the breach of the Capitol and recommended Trump be criminally prosecuted. 

TRUMP ACCUSES ‘SCAM ARTIST’ SCHIFF OF LYING ABOUT MARYLAND HOME TO COMMIT MORTGAGE FRAUD

Biden specifically granted preemptive pardons to “Members of Congress and staff who served on the Select Committee, and the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the Select Committee.”

Schiff, however, had publicly railed against the prospect of Biden doling out preemptive pardons, saying it would set a poor precedent. 

“First, those of us on the committee are very proud of the work we did. We were doing vital quintessential oversight of a violent attack on the Capitol,” Schiff said during an interview on ABC News in December 2024. “So I think it’s unnecessary.”

“But second, the precedent of giving blanket pardons, preemptive blanket pardons on the way out of an administration, I think is a precedent we don’t want to set,” he added.

Charges stemming from the Jan. 6 case were dismissed following Trump’s decisive win in the 2024 presidential election against then-Vice President Kamala Harris. 

The White House responded to the whistleblower’s declassified testimony claiming Schiff approved the release of classified information to damage Trump, and doubled down on Trump’s stance that Schiff be “held accountable for the countless lies he told the American people in relation to the Russiagate scandal.”

“This is obviously a bombshell whistleblower report,” Leavitt said at a Tuesday White House press briefing. “Hopefully more people in this room will cover it as such.”

“I understand Kash Patel, last night, declassified a 302 FBI document showing that a whistleblower, who is a Democrat, a career intelligence officer who worked for Democrats on the House Intel Committee for more than a decade, repeatedly warned the FBI in 2017 that then-Rep. Adam Schiff had approved leaking classified information to smear then-President Donald Trump over the Russiagate scandal,” Leavitt said. 

In August, a representative for Schiff confirmed a legal defense fund was established for the senator in response to Trump and his allies. 

“It’s clear that Donald Trump and his MAGA allies will continue weaponizing the justice process to attack Sen. Schiff for holding this corrupt administration accountable,” Marisol Samayoa, a spokesperson for Schiff, told Fox News Digital Tuesday evening of the legal fund. “This fund will ensure he can fight back against these baseless smears while continuing to do his job.”

Titled “Senator Schiff Legal Defense Fund,” the fund was filed with the Internal Revenue Service Thursday, The New York Times first reported. 

White House spokesman Harrison Fields called Schiff a “fraud” and “corrupt politician” when approached for comment Tuesday regarding the legal fund.

“Adam Schiff is a sleazy and corrupt politician who betrayed his oath to the Constitution by prioritizing his selfish and personal animosity toward the president over the interests of the American people,” Fields told Fox News Digital. “No amount of money can shield Adam from the truth that he is a fraud.” 

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Fox News Digital reached out to Schiff for additional comment on the matter but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Fox News Digital’s Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.  

Less than three months after its launch, Elon Musk’s “America Party” appears to have been shelved.

Musk allegedly told associates that he wants to focus on his companies and avoid starting a party that could siphon voters from the GOP, the The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with his plans.

Musk has also allegedly worked to maintain ties with Vice President JD Vance, considered the heir apparent to the MAGA movement, according to WSJ. The outlet added that the tech billionaire reportedly told associates he was concerned that forming a new political party would damage his relationship with the vice president.

WHAT MUSK’S FRACTURE WITH TRUMP MEANS FOR GOP’S FUTURE: ‘BEATING HEART OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY’

While the plan is paused at the moment, Musk’s allies told WSJ that he has not formally ruled out launching the America Party and could revisit the idea as the 2026 midterms approach.

After spending months working with the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk’s time at the Trump White House came to an end on May 30. Though they appeared on good terms, President Donald Trump and the tech billionaire began trading barbs almost immediately.

A few days after leaving the administration, Musk posted on X — the social media platform he owns — criticizing legislation the Trump White House was promoting.

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,” Musk wrote.

His criticism continued, including memes and jabs aimed at the administration. Musk stayed firm in his opposition to the bill, citing the amount of spending as his reason for objecting to it.

TRUMP DISMISSES MUSK’S POLITICAL AMBITIONS AS ‘RIDICULOUS’ IN SHARP REBUKE

On June 5, Musk posed a question — and a poll — to his followers: Should there be a new political party? The next day, he announced that “the people have spoken. A new political party is needed in America to represent the 80% in the middle!”

Musk asked a similar question nearly a month later, on July 4, the day Trump signed the Big Beautiful Bill.

“Independence Day is the perfect time to ask if you want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system! Should we create the America Party?” Musk included another poll with his post. In the end, 65.4% of respondents voted “yes,” while 34.6% voted “no,” showing a drastic change from his June poll in which 80.4% voted “yes.”

Musk announced the next day that “the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”

“I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on July 6. “He even wants to start a third political party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States – The system seems not designed for them.”

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However, the feud between the two appears to have cooled. The social media spats have stopped, and in late July Trump appeared to wish Musk well, writing on Truth Social that he wanted to see the tech billionaire’s businesses “thrive like never before.”

“Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon’s companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large-scale subsidies he receives from the U.S. government. This is not so! I want Elon, and all businesses within our country, to THRIVE, in fact, THRIVE like never before! The better they do, the better the USA does, and that’s good for all of us,” Trump wrote.

A spokesperson for Musk did not respond to a request for comment.

The Texas legislature is poised to take up a new congressional redistricting bill put forward by Republicans on Wednesday, following weeks of pushback from Democrats.

It is unclear how quickly Republicans will be able to vote on the redistricting plan, as it must go through floor debate before coming to a vote. It is a victory for Republicans, nevertheless, as Democrats who fled the state in an effort to block the plan are now back in the Capitol. If passed, the new congressional map would likely flip five seats currently held by Democrats over to Republicans, a reality that has unleashed cries of gerrymandering across the country.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has vowed to “fight fire with fire,” saying New York Democrats will pursue their own redistricting plan.

BETO O’ROURKE ASKED POINT BLANK WHY HE’S HELPING DEMS FLEE TEXAS RATHER THAN HELPING TEXAS

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has followed suit, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) proposing a California congressional map that would flip five Republican seats over to Democrats.

COLBERT CONFRONTS JB PRITZKER WITH MAP SHOWING ILLINOIS GERRYMANDERING

Meanwhile, more Republican states, including Ohio, Florida, Indiana and Missouri, are moving forward with or considering their own redistricting efforts, as are Democratic states such as Maryland and Illinois.

Nowhere has a redistricting battle been more dramatic than in Texas, however, where roughly 50 Democratic state lawmakers absconded from a special legislative session to block the vote in early August.

TRUMP, REPUBLICANS RACE TO REDRAW TEXAS CONGRESSIONAL MAP AS DEMOCRATS THREATEN LEGAL WAR

Democrats fled to Illinois and New York, but they faced a $500 fine for each day they refused to return home. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, and other state officials hit the Democratic legislators with lawsuits seeking criminal charges or to have them removed from office entirely.

The walkout ended when Democrats returned on Monday, saying they had accomplished their goals of blocking a vote during the first special legislative session and persuading Democrats in other states to take retaliatory steps.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Vice President JD Vance – who eviscerated European leaders earlier this year for allegedly retreating on free speech, essentially threatening fundamental democratic values – recently played a commanding role in convincing the United Kingdom to drop its demands that Apple provide the British government a “backdoor” to personal user data, Fox News Digital has learned. 

A U.S. official told Fox News Digital that Vance “was in charge and was personally involved in negotiating a deal, including having direct conversations with the British government.” 

Working with U.K. partners, the vice president “negotiated a mutually beneficial understanding” that the British government “will withdraw the current backdoor order to Apple,” the U.S. official said, adding that the “agreement between our two governments maintains each country’s sovereignty while ensuring close cooperation on data sharing.” 

BIPARTISAN LETTER WARNS GABBARD NEW UK ORDER FOR BACKDOOR APPLE DATA COULD JEOPARDIZE AMERICANS

The U.S. official further told Fox News Digital that the vice president “took a strong interest in this issue because of his background in technology, his concern for privacy, and his [sincere] commitment to maintain a strong U.S.-U.K. relationship.” 

Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard said in an X post on Monday that she, alongside President Donald Trump and Vance, had been working “closely with our partners in the U.K.” over the past several months “to ensure Americans’ private data remains private and our Constitutional rights and civil liberties are protected.” 

“As a result, the UK has agreed to drop its mandate for Apple to provide a ‘back door’ that would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens and encroached on our civil liberties,” Gabbard wrote. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Apple and the British Home Office for comment but did not immediately hear back. 

In February, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., penned a letter to the then-newly confirmed DNI, informing Gabbard of recent press reports that the U.K.’s home secretary “served Apple with a secret order” at the start of the year, “directing the company to weaken the security of its iCloud backup service to facilitate government spying.”

The directive reportedly required Apple to weaken the encryption of its iCloud backup service, giving the British government “blanket capability” to access customers’ encrypted files. Reports further stated that the order was issued under the U.K.’s Investigatory Powers Act 2016, commonly known as the “Snoopers’ Charter,” which does not require a judge’s approval, according to the letter previously obtained by Fox News Digital. 

Wyden, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Biggs, who chairs a House Judiciary subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, informed Gabbard that Apple “is reportedly gagged from acknowledging that it received such an order, and the company faces criminal penalties that prevent it from even confirming to the U.S. Congress the accuracy of these press reports.” The letter focused on the threat of China, Russia and other adversaries spying on Americans. 

At the Munich Security Conference in February, Vance, meanwhile, said that the threat he worried about the most when it comes to Europe was not China, Russia or “any other external actor,” but rather “the threat from within the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.” Vance specifically cited the case of Adam Smith-Connor, a British Army veteran and physiotherapist, who was prosecuted under the U.K.’s “buffer zone” or “safe access zone” laws around abortion clinics. British police confronted him for silently praying outside the clinic. 

The vice president also called out Europe more broadly for stifling opposition speech. 

DNC RIPS JD VANCE FOR FISHING WITH BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY IN LATEST BIZARRE ATTACK; REPUBLICANS HIT BACK

“To many of us on the other side of the Atlantic, it looks more and more like old, entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation, who simply don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion or, God forbid, vote a different way, or even worse, win an election,” Vance said at the time. 

More recently, Vance made a diplomatic visit to the U.K. earlier this month, meeting with the British foreign secretary for talks centered on the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas wars.

Last week, the State Department, meanwhile, released its 2024 annual country report on “human rights practices.” In the report on the United Kingdom, the Trump administration cited “credible reports of serious restrictions on freedom of expression,” including “enforcement of or threat of criminal or civil laws in order to limit expression; and crimes, violence, or threats of violence motivated by antisemitism.” 

The State Department asserted that the British government “sometimes took credible steps to identify and punish officials who committed human rights abuses, but prosecution and punishment for such abuses was inconsistent.” 

The report said British authorities, including the U.K. Office of Communications (Ofcom), are legally authorized to monitor all forms of communication for speech they deemed “illegal.” The U.K. Online Safety Act of 2023, which came into force in 2024, “defined the category of ‘online harm’ and expressly expanded Ofcom’s authority to include American media and technology firms with a substantial number of British users, regardless of whether they had a corporate presence in the UK,” according to the State Department. Under the law, the report said, companies were required to engage in proactive “illegal content risk assessment” to mitigate the risk of users encountering speech deemed illegal by Ofcom. 

“Experts warned that one effect of the bill could be government regulation to reduce or eliminate effective encryption (and therefore user privacy) on platforms,” the report said. 

The U.K. has been increasingly cracking down on British citizens for opposition commentary, especially online posts and memes opposing mass migration. In August 2024, as riots broke out in the U.K. after a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event left three girls dead and others wounded, London’s Metropolitan Police chief warned that officials could also extradite and jail U.S. citizens for online posts about the unrest. 

In its report, the State Department noted that the local and national government officials in the wake of the Southport attack “repeatedly intervened to chill speech as to the identity and motives of the attacker,” who was later identified as Axel Rudakubana, a British citizen of Rwandan origins. The British government “called on companies, including U.S. firms, to censor speech deemed misinformation or ‘hate speech,’” according to the State Department, which also noted that Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson threatened to prosecute and seek the extradition of those who “repost, repeat, or amplify a message which is false, threatening, or stirs up racial/religious hatred.” 

The report noted that numerous individuals were arrested for online speech about the attack and its motivations, though in some cases charges were later dropped.

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“Numerous nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and media outlets criticized the government’s approach to censoring speech, both in principle and in the perceived weaponization of law enforcement against political views disfavored by authorities.” 

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., railed against “radical Far Left Democrat agitators” who disrupted an event in her home district in upstate New York on Monday. 

Stefanik, a Trump ally who has for months been teasing a Republican campaign for governor of New York, was booed offstage by protesters during an event in Plattsburgh honoring the late John Zurlo, a Clinton County political leader. 

“Today #NY21 witnessed shameful conduct by radical Far Left Democrat agitators who disgracefully attempted to drown out and silence a non-political event in Plattsburgh to honor the lifelong service of John Zurlo in Clinton County as the building was named in his honor,” Stefanik said on X on Monday morning. 

When Stefanik approached the podium to deliver remarks, protesters booed the congresswoman, shouting, “Traitor!” until she stepped back into line alongside the other officials. Later on, Stefanik returned to the podium and delivered her remarks over the protesters’ cries. 

HOCHUL FAILS TO CRACK 50% BUT TOPS POTENTIAL GOP CHALLENGES BY DOUBLE DIGITS IN NY GOVERNOR RACE: POLL

Speaking to reporters after the event, Stefanik explained why she returned to the podium. 

“I thought that the Radicals would calm down out of respect for the Zurlo family,” she said. “Obviously, they did not do that, but I was not going to let them drown out me by talking about how important it is to commemorate John Zurlo’s legacy.”

MAJOR REPUBLICAN RUMORED FOR GUBERNATORIAL RUN, HITS BACK AGAINST DEM: ‘WORST GOVERNOR IN AMERICA’

Despite the protesters carrying on, Stefanik said it was important “to make sure the Zurlo family heard from me.” The likely gubernatorial candidate later clarified in her statement on X that she also privately delivered her remarks to the family. 

House members have been campaigning and hosting events in their home districts during the August congressional recess. 

While Republicans are celebrating the tax cuts and immigration reform included in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” Democrats have criticized vulnerable House Republicans for cutting Medicaid. 

Republicans have argued that the megabill only cuts waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid, but according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), about 10 million more people will be uninsured by 2034 due to Trump’s megabill. 

The impact of Trump’s signature policy bill is likely to take center stage in the competitive midterm elections expected in 2026. 

The protesters’ messages were mixed on Monday, as those who booed Stefanik offstage held signs rejecting Trump’s sweeping second-term agenda on multiple grounds, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportations as well as Stefanik voting in favor of the megabill. 

Other protest signs mentioned racism and called Stefanik a “bully.”

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Stefanik has yet to formally launch her campaign for governor against incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, but she has been laying the groundwork for months and leading criticism of the governor’s anti-Trump politics. 

Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this report. 

Major votes are on tap this week in the Texas and California legislatures in the high-stakes battle between Republicans and Democrats over congressional redistricting ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

In Austin, Texas, the GOP-dominated state House of Representatives on Wednesday resumes meeting amid a second straight special session called by conservative Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

At the top of their to-do list as they return to work is passing a GOP-crafted redistricting map that would create up to five Republican-leaning congressional districts at the expense of currently Democrat-controlled seats. Republicans currently control 25 of the state’s 38 U.S. House seats. 

“Please pass this Map, ASAP. THANK YOU TEXAS,” President  Donald Trump wrote in a social media post on Monday.

REDISTRICTING BATTLE: FLEEING TEXAS DEMOCRATS RETURN HOME

The Republican push in Texas, which comes at Trump’s urging, is part of a broader effort by the GOP across the country to pad their razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.

Trump and his political team are aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House, when Democrats stormed back to grab the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections.

Republicans in red state Texas enjoy a supermajority in the legislature and the state Senate passed the new congressional maps last week, during the first special legislative session.

TEXAS HOUSE SPEAKER VOWS RUNAWAY DEMS WILL BE ARRESTED IF THEY TRY TO SNEAK HOME OVER WEEKEND

But dozens of Texas Democratic state representatives fled the state to prevent a quorum in the Texas House, effectively preventing Abbott and Republicans from moving forward with new maps. 

Many of the Democrats who had fled the state returned on Monday, and made it to the state capitol building as the House reconvened. They were cheered by supporters as they arrived.

But with Republicans outnumbering Democrats 88-62 in the state House, the new maps are expected to pass when lawmakers return on Wednesday.

“Let me also be clear about where we go from here. We are done waiting, and we have quorum. Now is the time for action,” Republican Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows said on Monday.

During the walkout, Abbott and Republican state attorney general Ken Paxton sued to try and remove some of the absent Democratic lawmakers from office. Meanwhile, GOP Sen. John Cornyn worked to get the FBI’s help in tracking down the AWOL lawmakers. And Burrows issued civil arrest warrants and also pledged to fine the lawmakers $500 per day.

The fleeing Democrats, who set up camp in the blue states of Illinois, New York and Massachusetts, late last week signaled that they would return to Texas after the adjournment of the first special session, and after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and other top California Democrats unveiled their playbook to counter the push by Trump and Republicans to enact rare – but not unheard of – mid-decade congressional redistricting.

The end of the walkout by the Democrats will lead to the passage of the new maps, but Texas Democrats vow they’ll fight the new state maps in court and say the moves by California are allowing them to pass “the baton.”

CALIFORNIA UNVEILS NEW CONGRESSONAL MAPS TO WIPE OUT FIVE GOP-CONTROLLED SEATS AND COUNTER TRUMP

While the Republican push in Texas to upend the current congressional maps doesn’t face constitutional constraints, Newsom’s path in California is much more complicated.

The governor is moving to hold a special election this year, to obtain voter approval to undo the constitutional amendments that created the non-partisan redistricting commission. A two-thirds majority vote in the Democrat-dominated California legislature would be needed to hold the referendum.

Democrats in Sacramento on Monday unveiled a bill to move forward with the referendum.

“California and Californians have been uniquely targeted by the Trump Administration, and we are not going to sit idle while they command Texas and other states to rig the next election to keep power — pursuing more extreme and unpopular policies,” Newsom said Monday in a statement.

The Democrat-dominated legislature is expected to approve the referendum on Thursday. The maps the Democrats unveiled late last week,  would create up to five more left-leaning congressional districts at the expense of the Republican minority in heavily blue California.

“Here we are in open and plain sight before one vote is cast in the 2026 midterm election and here [Trump] is once again trying to rig the system,” Newsom charged on Thursday.

Last week’s appearance by Newsom, who is considered a likely contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, also served as a fundraising kickoff to raise massive amounts of campaign cash needed to sell the redistricting push statewide in California. 

The non-partisan redistricting commission, created over 15 years ago, remains popular with most Californians, according to public opinion polling.

That’s why Newsom and California Democratic lawmakers are promising not to scrap the commission entirely, but rather replace it temporarily by the legislature for the next three election cycles.

But Republican former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who represented a congressional district in California’s Central Valley for 17 years, argued in an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that “when you think about how they drew these lines, there wasn’t one hearing. There is no debate. There’s no input. Even the legislature in California doesn’t have input. The DCCC is just ending it. That is why we need to stop Newsom’s power grab.”

McCarthy, who is helping to lead the GOP fundraising effort to counter Newsom and California Democrats leading up to the likely referendum this fall, said that “November 4th will be the election that people could actually have a say,” as he pointed to polls showing strong support for the current non-partisan redistricting commission.

A handful of California Republican state lawmakers on Tuesday filed a lawsuit in the state Supreme Court to stop the proposed redistricting reform.

And the push to temporarily replace the commission is also being opposed by other high-profile Republicans. Among the most visible is former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the last Republican elected governor in Democrat-dominated California.

The longtime Hollywood action star says he’s mobilizing to oppose the push by Newsom to temporarily scrap the state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission.

“I’m getting ready for the gerrymandering battle,” Schwarzenegger wrote in a social media post Friday, which included a photo of the former professional bodybuilding champion lifting weights.

Schwarzenegger, who rose to worldwide fame as the star of the film “The Terminator” four decades ago, wore a T-shirt in the photo that said “terminate gerrymandering.”

Schwarzenegger spokesperson Daniel Ketchell told Politico earlier this month that “he calls gerrymandering evil, and he means that. He thinks it’s truly evil for politicians to take power from people.”

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“He’s opposed to what Texas is doing, and he’s opposed to the idea that California would race to the bottom to do the same thing,” Ketchell added.

Schwarzenegger, during his tenure as governor, had a starring role in the passage of constitutional amendments in California in 2008 and 2010 that took the power to draw state legislative and congressional districts away from politicians and placed it in the hands of an independent commission.

Bodycam footage from the Newport Police Department in Newport, Rhode Island, shows Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Flanagan pleading with officers not to arrest her and appearing to try to use her job as a state prosecutor to get officers to let her go.

“I’m an AG! I’m an AG!” Flanagan can be heard saying to police as they tried to detain her for failing to comply with their demands. “You’re going to regret this. You’re going to regret it. I’m an A-” Flanagan said as she was escorted to the back of a police car and the door was shut.

“Good for you, I don’t give a s—,” one of the arresting officers can be heard saying back at one point.

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The Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office indicated Monday that they were reviewing the matter involving Flanagan, but did not indicate whether any disciplinary measures have been taken.

Throughout the video, Flanagan can also be heard telling the officers how to do their job.  

“I want you to turn your body-camera off. Protocol is that you turn it off. It’s a citizen request to turn it off,” Flanagan told the officer when he approached her to ask her to leave.

“She knows, she’s a lawyer,” a separate female who was with Flanagan told the officer. “She’s a f—ing lawyer.” 

EX-TRUMP PROSECUTOR JACK SMITH UNDER INVESTIGATION BY GOVERNMENT WATCHDOG OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL

“On the evening of Aug. 14, the Office of the Attorney General learned that members of the Newport Police Department arrested Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Flanagan for trespassing,” Megan Skinner, a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office, said Friday, according to The Boston Globe.

Meanwhile, a separate spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital that the attorney general’s office was “reviewing the matter” of Flanagan’s arrest.

“The Office immediately began a review of the incident, which we anticipate will conclude within the next few days,” the attorney general’s spokesperson added in their statement to The Boston Globe. “At this time, we are unable to comment further on this matter as it relates to personnel issues.”

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Flanagan has reportedly worked in the attorney general’s office for seven years and works on appeals cases in criminal court. She was ultimately charged with willful trespass and issued a summons to appear in court.

In addition to Flanagan’s arrest, the other female in the video, seen yelling at officers and escaping from their handcuffs at one point, was also arrested, according to the Globe. That individual, identified as Veronica Hannan, was reportedly charged with willful trespass, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.  

President Trump told Brian Glenn of the conservative Real America’s Voice that he didn’t want to answer his question because it was “off-topic” as he stood there with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders.

Then he proceeded to answer it at great length.

The idea, it turns out, began with Vladimir Putin, who has a bit of experience at keeping himself in power, which isn’t all that hard if you’re a dictator.

My source? Donald Trump.

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He said Putin told him that “it’s impossible to have mail-in voting and have honest elections,” in an interview with Fox’s Sean Hannity. He said Putin told him he won the 2020 election “by so much,” as Trump has long claimed, “and you lost it because of mail-in voting. It was a rigged election.”

Music to the president’s ears.

So Trump was ready when a friendly reporter asked the question.

“Mail-in ballots are corrupt,” he declared. “Mail-in ballots, you can never have a real democracy with mail-in ballots, and we as a Republican Party are going to do everything possible that we get rid of mail-in ballots. We’re going to start with an executive order that’s being written right now by the best lawyers in the country to end mail-in ballots because they’re corrupt.”

He was just warming up.

And, you know, that we’re the only country in the world, I believe I may be wrong, but just about the only country in the world that uses [mail-in ballots] because of what’s happened, massive fraud all over the place. The other thing we want, change of the machines. For all of the money they spend, it’s approximately 10 times more expensive than paper ballots. And paper ballots are very sophisticated with the watermark paper and everything else, we would get secure elections. We get much faster results, the machines, I mean, they say we’re going to have the results in two weeks with paper ballots. You have the results that night. Most people almost have, but most people in many countries use paper ballots. It’s the most secure form.”

A little fact-checking is in order.

As Axios points out, many countries around the world have some form of mail-in voting. And millions of Americans who live overseas, such as military families, are eligible for mailing in their ballots.

Trump actually doesn’t have the power to do this. While he says the states are an “agent” of the feds, the Constitution says the mechanics of holding elections “shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof.” But Congress can change those requirements. Could the president get this through the narrow majorities in both chambers?

“It’s a fraud,” Trump said, adding: “It’s time that the Republicans get tough and stop it because the Democrats want it, it’s the only way they can get elected.”

DONALD TRUMP AS STRONGMAN, RILING UP HIS BASE AND INVESTIGATING HIS ENEMIES

Trump even invoked Jimmy Carter. In 2004, a commission set up by the former president and ex-Reagan aide James Baker III concluded that “absentee ballots remain the largest source of potential voter fraud.”

In 2020, Trump went all-out in favor of mail-in ballots, arguing that they would help Republicans. Of course, he may just have been trying to make the best of the tools already in place. No party believes in unilateral disarmament.

But his enthusiasm for mail-in ballots in that election stands in stark contrast to his current stance that they are corrupt and should be banned.

Trump wound up telling Brian Glenn, who is dating Marjorie Taylor Greene, “I’m glad you asked that question.”

The president doesn’t let himself be tied down by the rules of consistency that most conventional politicians have to obey. Until last Friday, he was insisting on a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine as a precondition for any peace agreement. After the Alaska summit, he dropped the cease-fire idea that Zelensky had been demanding, given that his country is being bombarded every day, with significant civilian casualties, and adopted the Putin stance of allowing the war to continue to further freeze his military gains in the crucial Donbas region.

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But that flexibility – what critics call flip-flopping – has put the president in the position where he has a shot at hammering out a peace agreement, though major obstacles remain.

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So I expect we’ll hear a lot more about how mail-in ballots are horrible and evil in the coming months, though whether he can get his Hill allies to go along is very much an open question. 

EXCLUSIVE: The GOP Doctors Caucus is backing a possible effort to overhaul the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, or USPSTF, an independent task force that’s used to determine recommendations on what services health insurance companies in the United States have to cover free of charge.

A letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., led by Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., and Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., and other members of the caucus expressed concerns that the group may be prioritizing social justice issues over other issues.

“Preventive care should be about keeping Americans healthy, not about checking political boxes,” Harshbarger said in a statement. 

“The American people deserve a task force that follows the science, acts with urgency and relies on the expertise of front-line doctors. The USPSTF should be leading the charge in President Trump’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ agenda, not wasting time on woke distractions while chronic disease rates keep climbing.”

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Specifically, the letter asks for “relevant specialists” to be part of the process when making certain recommendations, greater transparency in decision-making and more of a focus on outcomes as opposed to “substantial attention to divisive social issues,” citing “race and gender identity considerations that extend beyond traditional clinical parameters,” according to a news release.

“In 2010, the Affordable Care Act expanded the authority of the USPSTF and tied coverage recommendations to Task Force determinations. However, since the USPSTF’s authority was expanded, the rate of incidence of preventable chronic disease in the United States has only climbed,” the letter states.

The letter was also signed by other members of the caucus, including Reps. Andy Harris, Ronny Jackson, Mike Kennedy, Brian Babin, Sheri Biggs and Bob Onder.

GOP SENATORS RALLY AROUND EFFORT TO END ‘RADICAL WOKENESS’ IN HHS TASK FORCE

Earlier this month, three Republican senators wrote a similar letter raising ideological concerns about the current task force.

“In particular, the USPSTF departed from its proper activities in its December 2023 Health Equity Framework. The framework criticizes ‘equal access to quality health care for all’ as an inadequate goal of public health and announces that the Task Force will instead use equity as ‘a criterion of the ‘public health importance’ of a topic’ for consideration,” that letter stated.

The Wall Street Journal reported that, in July, Kennedy was considering removing members of the board.

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“No final decision has been made on how the USPSTF can better support HHS’ mandate to Make America Healthy Again,” an HHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement when asked about the WSJ report at the time.

The American Medical Association has opposed an overhaul of the task force.

“USPSTF plays a critical, nonpartisan role in guiding physicians’ efforts to prevent disease and improve the health of patients by helping to ensure access to evidence-based clinical preventive services. As such, we urge you to retain the previously appointed members of the USPSTF and commit to the long-standing process of regular meetings to ensure their important work can continue without interruption,” the AMA wrote.

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Meanwhile, a group of physicians, including those from the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, America’s Frontline Doctors and the Pennsylvania Direct Primary Care Association, signed another letter in support of possible changes.

The signers wrote that new members should have an “ideological balance to develop recommendations based on facts and science.”

Fox News Digital reached out to HHS for an updated comment.

Officers with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) must consider the “positive contributions” of immigrants applying to become U.S. citizens as part of a more “holistic” approach, according to an agency memo. 

The new policy directs USCIS officers to account for an applicant’s positive attributes, rather than simply the absence of misconduct. 

“Becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen means being an active and responsible member of society instead of just having a right to live and work in the United States,” the Aug. 15 memo states. “Among other eligibility factors, aliens applying for naturalization must demonstrate that he or she has been and continues to be an individual of good moral character (GMC).

TRUMP IS TARGETING NONVIOLENT AND LEGAL IMMIGRANTS. AMERICANS ARE STARTING TO NOTICE

“Evaluating GMC involves more than a cursory mechanical review focused on the absence of wrongdoing,” the memo continues. “It entails a holistic assessment of an alien’s behavior, adherence to societal norms, and positive contributions that affirmatively demonstrate good moral character.”

Applicants with convictions for serious violent crimes have long been barred from obtaining U.S. citizenship. Friday’s memo expands the list of offenses to include drug use or two or more convictions for driving under the influence.

Officers are also encouraged to consider conduct that may not be illegal but considered inconsistent with civic responsibility within the community, including “reckless or habitual traffic infractions, or harassment or aggressive solicitation.”

“U.S. citizenship is the gold standard of citizenship — it should only be offered to the world’s best of the best,” USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser told Fox News Digital. “USCIS is adding a new element to the naturalization process that ensures America’s newest citizens not only embrace America’s culture, history, and language but who also demonstrate good moral character.

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“This memo ensures that USCIS officers are accounting for an alien’s positive contributions to American society —including community involvement, achievements and financial responsibility rather than the absence of their misconduct,” he added. “USCIS will continue to restore integrity in the nation’s immigration system — especially when it comes to the prestigious privilege of citizenship.”

The memo also encourages the officers to look at other factors, such as whether applicants are involved in their communities, including family caregiving or raising a family, their ties to the United States, educational attainment, stable and lawful employment history, career achievements and paying taxes.

“GMC findings must go beyond the absence of disqualifying acts, it must reflect a genuine positive assessment of who the alien is and how they have lived in their community,” the memo states.

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The White House referred questions from Fox News Digital about the USCIS policy to the agency. 

Immigrants seeking to attain U.S. citizenship must already live in the country for several years and pass a civics test in English, among other requirements. 

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Tuesday that the entire southern border wall will be painted black as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to increase the effectiveness of the wall as a deterrent.

Speaking in front of a portion of the southern border wall in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, Noem explained that the wall would be painted entirely black for the dual purposes of making it heat up more and thus harder to climb, as well as increasing the lifespan of the metal.

Noem said the new paintwork comes at the request of President Donald Trump.

“If you look at the structure that’s behind me, it’s tall, which makes it very, very difficult to climb, almost impossible. It also goes deep into the ground, which would make it very difficult, if not impossible, to dig under. And today we are also going to be painting it black,” said Noem.

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“That is specifically at the request of the president, who understands that in the hot temperatures down here, when something is painted black, it gets even warmer, and it will make it even harder for people to climb,” she added.

“So, we are going to be painting the entire southern border wall black to make sure that we encourage individuals to not come into our country illegally, to not break our federal laws, but that they will abide and come to our country the right way so that they can stay and have the opportunity to become United States citizens and pursue the American dream.”

Noem credited the ‘one big, beautiful bill’ that was passed by Congress in July for allocating “an incredible amount of resources” that she said is “going to allow us to continue construction” of the wall.

The secretary said that construction on the wall is advancing at a pace of close to half a mile per day. Besides additional wall and the new paint job, Noem said the administration is also investing in technology, cameras, sensors and waterborne infrastructure that she said will ensure the border “will be secure far into the future and that will be efficient as well.”

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She also mentioned that the administration is not just focused on the southern border but also the northern as well, saying, “We’re doing due diligence in securing every single inch of our border.”

“Remember that a nation without borders is no nation at all,” she said. “We’re so thankful that we have a president that understands that and understands that a secure border is important to our country’s future.”

Noem was joined by several Border Patrol agents and officials, including Interim Chief Patrol Agent for the El Paso Sector Walter Slosar. He shared that agents in the sector are now apprehending an average of 41 people per day, compared to 2,300 a day under the Biden administration in 2023. 

Slosar said the seven-day average for gotaways in the sector is currently nine. He said the majority of those apprehended are single adults from Mexico, Guatemala and Ecuador.

While agents were left simply “observing” migrants passing through under Biden, Slosar said illegals are now “running from us.”

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“We’re apprehending those individuals. Our gotaways are the lowest they’ve ever been. And we’re putting we’re working with the Department of Justice … we’re putting criminal charges on those individuals applying consequences and our partners in ICE ERO [Enforcement and Removal Operations] are removing those individuals from the United States.”

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Slosar said that the morale among Border Patrol agents in the El Paso sector “is better than it’s ever been because we are doing our national security job, and we are keeping this area safe.”

“Words and messages matter. It is not okay to enter the country illegally, and somebody is finally saying that, that’s our leadership here in the U.S government,” he said.  

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is expanding detention centers with a new facility in southwest Nebraska and nicknaming it the “Cornhusker Clink.” 

As part of President Donald Trump’s push to add thousands of new beds nationwide for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), just like “Alligator Alcatraz” and “Speedway Slammer,” the facility increases ICE detention space for illegal aliens awaiting deportation or in deportation proceedings in the region.

At the same time, Cornhusker Clink’s name recognizes the region’s heritage and is located around 200 miles from the state capital, Lincoln. 

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With ICE arrests down and data showing removals are up, the new venue combines 200 beds with the 280 already in place at the Work Ethic Camp in McCook, which opened in 2001 as a prison.

Acknowledging the facility as part of an agreement between Nebraska and the federal government, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem warned that illegal aliens in the region could find themselves at Cornhusker Clink.

“To help remove the worst of the worst out of our country, if you are in America illegally, you could find yourself in Nebraska’s Cornhusker Clink,” she said. “Avoid arrest and self-deport now using the CBP Home App.” 

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Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” provided funding for 80,000 new beds for ICE to use, which has contributed to an increase in facilities across the country. 

“Alligator Alcatraz,” one of the better-known facilities, was opened in the Florida Everglades and can house up to 3,000 migrants, while the East Montana Detention Center at Fort Bliss outside El Paso, which opened on Sunday, will be able to hold up to 5,000.

FLORIDA BUILDING ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’ WHERE ICE DETAINEES FACE NATURE’S OWN SECURITY SYSTEM

“Speedway Slammer” in Indiana will also hold up to 1,000 migrants.

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Back in Nebraska, the National Guard is also helping ICE officials enforce immigration laws, involving 20 or so soldiers. 

In a statement supporting Trump’s immigration crackdown, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said he was “pleased that our facility and team in McCook can be tasked with helping our federal partners protect our homeland by housing criminal illegal aliens roaming our country’s communities today.”