NationalWatch

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading the U.S. delegation to the high-profile Munich Security Conference — one year after Vice President JD Vance took the German stage in a speech that stunned many in Europe and became one of the defining moments of Trump’s early second term abroad. 

“President Trump has assembled the most talented team in history, including Vice President Vance and Secretary Rubio, who are working in lockstep to notch wins for the American people,” White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told Fox News Digital ahead of Rubio’s speech. 

“The President and his team have flexed their foreign policy prowess to end decades-long wars, secure peace in the Middle East, and restore American dominance in the Western Hemisphere. The entire administration is working together to restore peace through strength and put America First.”

The Munich Security Conference is an annual high-level forum in Germany that draws hundreds of senior decision-makers — including heads of state, top ministers, military leaders and policy influencers — for closed-door and public talks on global security crises. 

VANCE, RUBIO CHEER ON TEAM USA WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY IN THEIR WINTER OLYMPICS OPENING WIN

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Gov. Gavin Newsom of California are among notable Democrats attending the conference, in addition to Rubio. 

Vance became one of the central figures at the 2025 Munich gathering after a widely publicized speech that drew heavy attention and applause from conservatives following the Biden administration. It also sparked backlash among some European officials who viewed his remarks as confrontational. 

Rubio’s attendance at the 2026 meeting follows a lengthy history of the State Department chief earning a series of different roles under the second administration, including acting national security advisor, secretary of state, acting archivist of the United States and acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. 

Amid rising trans-Atlantic tension, the secretary of state issued a warning to Europe as he departed for his trip to Germany Thursday. 

VANCE, RUBIO GREET AMERICAN WINTER OLYMPIANS IN ITALY

“The Old World is gone,” Rubio told reporters as he departed for Europe Thursday. “Frankly, the world I grew up in, and we live in a new era in geopolitics, and it’s going to require all of us to re-examine what that looks like and what our role is going to be.”

President Donald Trump and his administration repeatedly have put Europe on notice for allegedly devolving into a culture of political correctness, speech policing, and a security system that heavily relies on U.S. funding and military might. Amid the rhetoric on Europe, the administration has continued to underscore the importance of U.S.-Europe relations, including Rubio on Thursday. 

“We’re very tightly linked together with Europe,” he told reporters. “Most people in this country can trace both, either their cultural or their personal heritage, back to Europe. So, we just have to talk about that.”

Vance used his Munich Security Conference speech to deliver a blunt warning to Europe’s political class 2025, arguing the continent’s biggest danger is not Moscow or Beijing, but what he described as internal democratic decay that has festered due to political correctness and censorship. 

RUBIO WARNS NATO ALLIES US IS ‘NOT SIMPLY FOCUSED ON EUROPE,’ DOESN’T HAVE UNLIMITED RESOURCES

He accused European governments and institutions of drifting toward censorship, citing policies he said police speech, curb religious expression and pressure online platforms. He also argued elites allegedly were trying to manage elections and debate by dismissing unwelcome outcomes and branding dissent as “misinformation” to sideline populists and blunt voter backlash.

“What I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values — values shared with the United States of America,” Vance said in 2025 in the speech that left many European leaders stunned, according to reports at the time. 

Vance also is overseas this week, holding meetings with Armenia and Azerbaijan, including signing a peaceful nuclear cooperation with Armenia and a strategic partnership with Azerbaijan. 

That trip followed both Vance and Rubio joining a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni earlier in February in Italy, and Vance leading a delegation that included Rubio during the Olympics’ opening ceremony in Milan. 

A source familiar told Fox News Digital that there were never plans for the vice president to attend the 2026 conference in Munich. 

TRUMP HAILS RUBIO AS DIPLOMATIC MENTOR AS SECRETARY OF STATE’S POWER GROWS

Vance’s foreign policy footprint became subject of political media scrutiny earlier in 2026 when the U.S. military successfully captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. Vance was not among high-profile U.S. leaders who joined Trump at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, resort to monitor the operation, unlike Rubio who was with the president. 

The VP’s office brushed off media alarm over his absence, citing  Trump and Vance limit the “frequency and duration” of time they spend together outside the White House due to “increased security concerns.” 

The vice president is by no means is expected to attend the Munich Security Conference each year, with former Vice President Mike Pence, for example, attending the conference twice under the first Trump administration, and former Vice President Kamala Harris attending three times under the Biden administration. Previous secretaries of state such as John Kerry, Antony Blinken and Hillary Clinton have attended and addressed the body in previous years. 

Vance additionally attended a separate Munich Security Conference event, the Leaders Conference, in Washington, D.C., in May 2025.

Trump praised Vance’s 2025 speech as “brilliant” in a statement to reporters at the time, remarking that “they’re losing their wonderful right of freedom of speech” in Europe and that Vance made a strong case against much of Europe’s lax immigration polices. 

Since then, Trump’s team repeatedly has echoed the same critique in official channels, including a State Department push that has blasted European speech restrictions and targeted the European Union’s Digital Services Act as “Orwellian” censorship, alongside new visa restrictions aimed at foreign officials accused of censoring Americans online.

Just in December 2025, Trump blasted European nations for not being “recognizable” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, teeing up what could be another fiery speech from Americans on European soil on Saturday. 

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“I don’t want to insult anybody and say I don’t recognize it,” Trump said during his special address in Davos. “And that’s not in a positive way. That’s in a very negative way. And I love Europe and I want to see Europe do good, but it’s not heading in the right direction.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department for comment on the address Friday. 

A suburban Maryland board meeting was taken off the air after whistling and protests erupted moments after officials approved a resolution endorsing cooperation with DHS, including the purchase of a warehouse in Williamsport that sparked Democratic outrage.

A few miles south of the meeting, DHS had completed the purchase of the $102 million property in Williamsport, just across the Potomac River from Falling Waters, West Virginia and about 75 miles from Washington, D.C.

The property soon became the site of protests, including a video posted by Total Wine billionaire David Trone — who is running for his former U.S. House seat — in which he stood by a snowbank behind the center and declared ICE was “executing people” and did not belong in Maryland.

PHILLY DA’S ‘HUNT YOU DOWN’ WARNING TO ICE DRAWS CALLS FOR DOJ CRIMINAL PROBE

Washington County Board President John Barr slammed his gavel Tuesday as outrage erupted over the resolution, declaring the “safety and security of our community is of utmost importance” and that “DHS [and] ICE play a crucial role in safeguarding our nation’s borders and is responsible for enforcing immigration laws, protecting the country from potential threats, and maintaining the rule of law for public safety.”

Barr’s voice vote appeared to reflect most if not all board members saying “aye” but elicited “nay!” and “no” from the audience — where people began loudly whistling, clapping and pointing at Barr.

Barr calmly announced, “clear the room,” and a broadcast producer could be heard saying, “Off air! Off air” before the TV feed was cut.

DHS FIRES BACK AFTER DEM BILLIONAIRE DAVID TRONE CLAIMS ICE IS ‘EXECUTING PEOPLE’

Outside the building on Washington Street, a throng of anti-ICE protesters similarly whistled and waved signs reading “no concentration camps” and “No ICE Jail.”

“These ICE facilities; they’re inhumane; I don’t want them here,” protester Richard Hartman told Baltimore’s NBC affiliate.

Two counter-protesters waved signs saying “Trump is Your President” and “We Love ICE.”

Maryland federal lawmakers urged the county not to pass the resolution. Rep. April McClain-Delaney — whom Trone is facing in the primary — called the plan “sweeping and dangerous” and forged in “darkness.”

“[It] is yet another example of the Trump administration acting without transparency, accountability, or regard for human life,” she said.

Washington County sits in a transitional area. To the east, deep-blue Washington suburbs reliably vote Democrat. To the west, “Mountain Maryland” and the Maryland panhandle form a Republican-friendly bastion, though they are grouped with some of the aforementioned suburbs in a congressional district that trends blue.

ANTI-ICE LEGISLATION HEADS TO DESK OF RISING STAR DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR, TESTING HIS PRESIDENTIAL AMBITIONS

Closer to the nation’s capital, officials in once-moderate Howard County blocked another ICE facility in Elkridge, according to the Baltimore station.

To the north in Pennsylvania, Democrats have opposed similar transactions, including a facility just off US-22 in Shartlesville – a rural community recently home to the now-defunct Roadside America attraction.

In a statement to Fox News Digital about the Williamsport center, Trone said ICE has “detained children as young as 5 years old, American citizens, and military veterans.”

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“ICE only needs to expand its detention space because reprehensible legislation was passed by Congress—with the support of Rep. April McClain Delaney—that strips due process rights and expands this Administration’s ability to carry out this cruel agenda.”

Republicans running for the seat, including Robin Ficker and Chris Burnett, have signaled support for immigration enforcement – and state Del. Neil Parrott of Hagerstown, who has formed an exploratory committee but not formally declared, said as much in prior comments to Fox News Digital.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made the case Friday for the passage of the SAVE America Act, accusing opponents of the bill of favoring access to the ballot box for illegal immigrants. 

Noem was in the Phoenix area, where she pushed the Trump administration’s efforts to shore up election integrity and voter security. 

She touched on the Save America Act, a bill that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote, photo identification to vote in federal elections and that states remove noncitizens from their voter rolls. 

She noted that wide majorities of Republicans and Democrats approve of the legislation. 

MURKOWSKI BREAKS WITH GOP ON VOTER ID, SAYS PUSH ‘IS NOT HOW WE BUILD TRUST’

However, she criticized the bill’s opponents who say it will disenfranchise millions of voters. 

“Each of the arguments that have been laid out to criticize this bill are baseless speculation from the radical left because they want illegal aliens to vote in our elections,” Noem told reporters during a news conference. 

“They want to disenfranchise American citizens by telling them that their votes don’t matter. There’s only one reason that anyone would oppose this bill, and that’s because they would want to cheat.

“They want illegal people and aliens in this country to be able to vote for them and to rob the United States citizens of their vote,” she added. “And that’s why they resist us at every single level.”

REPUBLICANS, TRUMP RUN INTO SENATE ROADBLOCK ON VOTER ID BILL

Congressional Democrats have characterized the bill as an effort to remove millions of Americans from voter rolls, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called it “Jim Crow 2.0,” a term used by some to describe modern so-called voter suppression laws.

During her remarks, Noem mentioned a handful of illegal immigrants who were registered to vote in various states.

“There is no room in our election system for people that aren’t Americans,” she said. “There is no room in our election system for fraudsters and foreign influence.”

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The secretary also called for Arizona to clean up its voter rolls, noting that DHS Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements can be used to do just that. The program helps local, state and federal agencies determine the citizenship and immigration status of individuals.

“Maybe people who’ve passed away, people that aren’t citizens, people that don’t live here,” she said. “That would make sure that, in your next election, when people are casting their votes, they know they’re voting for the right decisions and that those votes are counted. And they’re counted appropriately. And someone else didn’t get to weigh in on their leadership.”

The Trump administration swiftly removed Carrie Prejen Boller, a former Miss California winner, from a White House religious council amid accusations she worked to “hijack” a hearing on antisemitism, earning applause from religious leaders and conservatives. 

“Carrie Prejean was thrown off the Religious Liberty Commission, and thank God,” a former Trump White House official told Fox News Digital in reaction to the ouster. “These commissions exist to advance the President’s agenda, not to serve as a personal Jew-hating platform.” 

Prejean Boller was ousted from the White House Religious Liberty Commission after she worked to “hijack a hearing” held Monday regarding antisemitism in the U.S. to promote her “own personal and political agenda on any issue,” according to chair of the commission, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. 

Prejean Boller is the 2009 Miss California USA winner who was stripped of her crown over allegations of breaching contract. She gained nationwide attention in 2009 for speaking out against legalizing gay marriage from the pageant’s stage. 

MAMDANI’S ANTISEMITISM CZAR ONCE SLAMMED POST CONDEMNING HAMAS TERROR ATTACKS

Trump owned the Miss Universe Organization at the time and defended Prejean Boller, then Carrie Prejean. 

Trump established the religious liberty commission in May via an executive order directing the Department of Justice to provide support to the newly formed body focused on upholding “Federal laws that protect all citizens’ full participation in a pluralistic democracy, and protect the free exercise of religion.”

The commission held a hearing Monday at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., on combating antisemitism and upholding religious freedom, where Prejean Boller wore a Palestinian flag pin and got into tense exchanges. 

Prejean Boller converted to Catholicism from evangelical Christianity in April and invoked her Catholic faith in comments rejecting Zionism during the hearing. 

TARGETED FOR THEIR FAITH OVERSEAS, PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS GET A WHITE HOUSE WELCOME UNDER TRUMP

“I am a Catholic, and Catholics don’t embrace Zionism,” she said. 

Catholic League President Bill Donohue swiftly called for her ouster in an opinion piece published on his organization’s website, underscoring that she did not represent Catholics in her remarks. 

“Prejean Boller is a former Miss California and a convert to Catholicism,” he wrote Wednesday. “She does not run a Catholic organization, has no Catholic credentials as an author or instructor, and indeed represents no one but herself. For her to say, without qualification, that ‘Catholics do not embrace Zionism,’ is presumptuous and arrogant.”

“Zionism is a movement that promotes Jewish self-determination in a homeland,” he said. “There are millions of Catholics like myself who, even if they do not identify themselves as Zionists, recognize the Jewish state of Israel. Prejean Boller apparently does not—she is more comfortable showing up at the Religious Liberty Commission wearing a Palestinian flag pin. So telling.” 

Shawn Carney, president and CEO of 40 Days for Life pro-life group, added in comment to Fox Digital that her “claim that Catholics are against Jews is absurd.”

“This division is a recent fad and an online invention,” Carney said. “For centuries, Catholics have understood that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Davidic kingdom and that our faith comes from the Jews. Catholic teaching holds that the Church is the fulfillment of the promises of the Old Covenant. To suddenly claim that Catholics are against Jews is absurd — it is a modern, internet-based error.” 

He added that Trump has a very strong track record of hiring and appointing Catholics to his administration, noting “no president in modern history has done more to protect religious liberty for both Catholics and Jews.”

At one point, Prejean Boller got into a heated exchange with Shabbos Kestenbaum, a former Harvard student who sued the university over its response to antisemitism.

“Are you willing to condemn what Israel has done in Gaza?” Prejean Boller asked Kestenbaum during the hearing. “You won’t condemn that? Just on the record.”

She also defended Candace Owens when pressed by Babylon Bee Founder and CEO Seth Dillon if the commentator had ever made antisemitic remarks. 

“Do you think anything Candace has said is antisemitic?” he asked her, after referring to Owens as one of the “most famous antisemites” in the current political landscape. 

“No, I don’t,” Prejean Boller replied.

The former Trump White House official continued in comment to Fox Digital that backing Israel has long been a priority for President Donald Trump. 

“President Donald Trump has been clear for decades that he stands proudly with the Jewish people and with America’s closest ally, Israel,” the former official said. “Supporting Israel and standing with Jewish Americans is not just morally right, it is America First.” 

TRUMP SAYS GOP, MAGA MOVEMENT DOESN’T NEED, DISLIKES PEOPLE WITH ANTISEMITIC VIEWS

“President Trump delivered historic victories for the Jewish people. He recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moved the U.S. Embassy there. He recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. He brokered the Abraham Accords and reshaped the Middle East. He kept his promise to bring every last hostage home and made clear that antisemitism at home will be confronted head on, including holding universities accountable when Jewish students are targeted.”

Conservatives and others on social media celebrated her ouster while condemning her remarks at the hearing. 

“The only one who brought up Zionism at the event was … Carrie Prejean Boller,” account Bonchie posted. “Classic grifter play happening here. Cause a scene of her own making, claim to be the victim, profit. A story as old as time.”

“Whatever you think of the rest of Carrie Prejean Boller’s views, wearing a Palestinian flag to a hearing on religious liberty is disgraceful,” president of WorldStrat information warfare firm and chief editor of the Middle East Forum Jim Hanson posted. 

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said that while he does not personally know Prejean Boller, what he saw of her actions was “just sad.”

“There are 57 Muslim countries on earth; this poor thing has been deluded into thinking that the fact that Israel exists — in the promised land given to the Jewish people thousands of years ago by Jehovah — is somehow the source of all her troubles.” he wrote.  “And no, Catholics don’t hate Israel. As Charlie Kirk said repeatedly, antisemitism is a brain rot, and someone has been pouring this poison into her head.”

FOX NEWS ‘ANTISEMITISM EXPOSED’ NEWSLETTER: WALZ SHOCKS WITH MISGUIDED HOLOCAUST COMPARISON

Patrick said he personally made the decision to remove her, while Prejean Boller responded on X that only the president could order her removal. 

“You did not appoint me to the Commission, and you lack authority to remove me from it,” Prejean Boller wrote on X in response to Patrick. “This is a gross overstepping of your role and leads me to believe you are acting in alignment with a Zionist political framework that hijacked the hearing, rather than in defense of religious liberty.” 

Cruz shot back on X: “Let’s be clear: it was President Trump who fired her.”

The former Miss California has continued to stick by her remarks, saying she “will never bend the knee to the state of Israel. Ever.”

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“Christians have been manipulated into believing that God blesses bombing, starvation, and mass killing,” Prejean posted to X. “That is the opposite of Christ, who came to stand with the suffering and confront power. I reject that lie completely. I am not owned by money, donors, or access. I belong to Christ alone who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I would rather die than bend the knee to Israel.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for additional comment on the matter Thursday, and attempted to reach Prejean Boller Friday for comment. 

A battle between elected Democrat officials and the Trump administration is developing in New York City involving a Pride flag being flown at a government monument outside the historic Stonewall Inn.

Earlier this week, the Trump administration removed a Pride flag from the national monument outside the Stonewall Inn, the site of a clash between police and patrons of a gay bar seen by many as the start of the gay rights movement in the 1960s, in a move it says is in accordance with decades-old federal code. 

The administration says that only the American flag, Department of Interior flag, or POW flags are permitted to fly on national monuments rather than political flags, and Pride flags have continued to be displayed around the monument at the Stonewall Inn itself, located nearby. 

The move sparked outrage from activists and Democrat leaders in New York City, including the city’s socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, who posted on X that he was “outraged” and “our city has a duty not just to honor this legacy, but to live up to it.”

MAMDANI’S ANTISEMITISM CZAR ONCE SLAMMED POST CONDEMNING HAMAS TERROR ATTACKS

On Thursday, hundreds of protesters watched as local officials re-raised the Pride flag at the national monument, Fox 5 New York reported, prompting a scathing response from the Department of Interior, which manages the country’s national parks. 

“Instead of addressing the basic needs of their constituents, city leaders seem more focused on theatrics than solutions,” a Department of Interior spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Residents are left wondering why their elected officials are prioritizing headlines over heating. Every day that these issues go unresolved is another day families are forced to live with the consequences of mismanagement and neglect.”

“Hundreds of families in New York City went without power during this year’s severe cold weather, people are being found dead on the streets, and trash has piled up so high it towers over city residents. This is Mayor Mamdani and city officials’ New York City. While today’s political stunt is a distraction from their recent deadly failures, it would be a better use of their time to get the trash buildup off city streets, ensure there are no more avoidable deaths, and work to keep the power on for the people of New York City.”

HOUSE GOP LEADER RIPS ‘SOCIALIST’ ZOHRAN MAMDANI AFTER 18 PEOPLE FREEZE TO DEATH IN NYC

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

The Department of Interior maintains that recent adjustments to flag displays at the monument are part of “longstanding federal flag policy” and to ensure “consistency with federal guidance.”

“Stonewall National Monument remains committed to preserving and interpreting the history and significance of this site through its exhibits, programs, and educational initiatives.”

A source familiar with the situation tells Fox News Digital that an American flag was previously not displayed at the monument and park officials had to purchase one in order to be compliant with the U.S. Code.

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The source explained that this issue is not specifically targeted at the Stonewall Monument but rather part of broader concerns about the politicization of national monuments carried out by what are known as “Resistance Rangers,” employees who are openly working against the Trump administration from the inside. 

A report from Outside Magazine last fall highlighted an upside-down American flag being displayed on Yosemite National Park’s famed El Capitan cliff and similar incidents at other national parks as part of a campaign by fired National Park Service employees, activists, and the group of anonymous employees within the National Park Service calling themselves the “Resistance Rangers.”

President Barack Obama established the Stonewall National Monument on June 24, 2016, designating the area around the Stonewall Inn in New York City as a protected historic site. The move marked the first time a U.S. national monument was dedicated to LGBTQ history.

President Donald Trump is visiting Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Friday to honor U.S. special forces and their families for their roles in the high-profile military operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in January.

Trump will be joined by first lady Melania Trump, who also is slated to spend time with military families during the base visit — one of the largest home stations for U.S. Army special operations forces. 

Trump’s social media posts ahead of the visit highlighted what he called “extraordinary” relations between the United States and Venezuela’s interim leadership, including cooperation on oil revenue and transition planning. 

After the dramatic capture of Maduro, his vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, took over as Venezuela’s leader. 

DEA ZEROES IN ON CARTEL OF THE SUNS BOSSES AS MADURO IS HAULED INTO US NARCO CASE

Rodríguez has publicly maintained that both Maduro and Cilia Flores are “innocent,” rejecting assertions of wrongdoing that led to their capture. Despite her alignment with Maduro, the U.S. has insisted it could assert influence over her leadership.

 In late January, the U.S. and the interim Rodríguez government signed a massive energy pact. The U.S. has already begun marketing Venezuelan crude oil, with proceeds flowing into U.S.-controlled accounts to be disbursed at the discretion of the U.S. government.

Nearly 200 U.S. troops were involved in the Maduro operation, known as Operation Absolute Resolve. Seven were injured. 

Venezuela’s defense ministry said 83 people were killed in the mission on its own side, including Venezuelan security forces and 32 Cuban security personnel.

Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is also home to units that could be deployed if diplomatic efforts in the Middle East falter, including Trump’s push for Iran to reach an agreement or face what he has warned could be a “very traumatic” outcome. The visit comes just as the U.S. deployed a second aircraft carrier, the USS Ford, to the region while talks continue.

The Pentagon has not revealed which military units were involved in the operation.

LAWMAKER WHO FLED COMMUNISM DRAFTS SPECIAL RESOLUTION HONORING TRUMP AFTER MADURO OUSTER

Trump has repeatedly hailed the Maduro capture as a “spectacular” operation that showed the U.S.’s capability to assert dominance in its own backyard. He called the special operators involved a “group of unbelievable talented patriotic people that love our country. You couldn’t hold them back.”

The president has also hinted at a secret weapon he calls the “discombobulator” used in the operation to disable Venezuelan communications and equipment and disorient personnel.

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“I’m not allowed to talk about it,” Trump said in an interview  with NBC News. “But let me just tell you, you know what it does? None of their equipment works, that’s what it does.

“Everything was discombobulated.”

The highest-ranking Minnesotan in Congress is arguing that President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in his state is already producing incredible results.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Fox News Digital on Thursday that Operation Metro Surge, the federal law enforcement action in Minneapolis, helped recover some 3,000 migrant children who were previously thought to be missing.

“Do you realize that Operation Metro Surge picked up 4,000 illegal alien criminals? Rapists, murderers, pedophiles, drug dealers — 4,000!” Emmer said.

“And by the way, I was told that, coming down here from the [House floor], that they’ve also located 3,000 missing migrant children. I mean, that’s just in the Minneapolis area. You gotta be kidding me.”

BORDER CZAR HOMAN MEETS WITH MINNESOTA OFFICIALS FOLLOWING IMMIGRATION OPERATION TENSIONS

Emmer, who has emerged as one of Trump’s most outspoken congressional allies during his second White House term, is also an aggressive critic of his state’s Democratic leadership.

He accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison of rooting against the success of the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

“Their crazy sanctuary state and sanctuary city policies literally have allowed these criminals to roam our streets and put our law-abiding, tax-paying, American citizens’ — good Minnesotans’ — lives at risk,” Emmer said.

LEAVITT VOWS NOTHING WILL STOP ICE ENFORCEMENT AFTER 4,000 ILLEGAL ALIEN CRIMINALS CAUGHT IN MINNESOTA

Trump ordered a surge of federal law enforcement, primarily Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), to the progressive-run city in a bid to find and arrest illegal immigrants that have been shielded by its sanctuary policies.

The administration announced on Thursday that it was ending the deployment.

The federal operation in Minneapolis has been controversial at times and led to fierce clashes between law enforcement and city residents. Criticism or praise have largely fallen along partisan lines.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle called for added scrutiny after two U.S. citizens were shot during anti-ICE demonstrations there. Renee Nicole Good was killed by an ICE agent after being accused of hitting him with her car while attempting to drive away, while Alex Pretti was fatally shot multiple times by Border Patrol weeks later.

Emmer blamed the chaos on a refusal by state and city Democrats to cooperate with federal authorities.

“I don’t care if you think they were in the right place, the wrong place, it doesn’t matter. A loss of a life is tragic, but it didn’t have to be this way,” he said. “Had there been cooperation, none of this would have happened. If they will cooperate, which it sounds like they are now going forward, things are going to settle down very fast.”

Trump had responded to the uproar by replacing federal leadership there, bringing in border czar Tom Homan to lead the government effort instead of Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino. Homan’s appointment has been praised by Republicans.

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Emmer said Homan took a “great step” in announcing the drawdown on Thursday, arguing “the numbers speak for themselves.”

“I think what the administration has done is frankly excellent. Tom Homan, I think, announced … that Operation Metro Surge was successful and that they’re going to be ending it and the president approved of that, which tells me that they’re getting the cooperation that they need [from state and local authorities],” he said.

Karrin Taylor Robson dropped out of the Arizona Republican gubernatorial primary despite being one of the two candidates in the race backed by President Donald Trump.

“After deep reflection, prayer, and many conversations with my family, I have decided to suspend my campaign for Governor,” Robson said in a statement posted to X on Thursday.

She explained that she does not want to contribute to a contentious GOP primary. 

HOCHUL PRIMARY CHALLENGER ANTONIO DELGADOO ENDS CAMPAIGN FOR NEW YORK GOVERNOR

“We cannot afford a divisive Republican primary that drains resources and turns into months of intraparty attacks. It only weakens our conservative cause and gives the left exactly what they want: a fractured Republican Party heading into November. With so much on the line in 2026, I am not willing to contribute to that outcome,” she noted in the statement.

Robson did not make an endorsement.

“I remain committed to helping Republicans win in 2026 and to ensuring Arizona remains strong, safe, and free for generations to come,” she noted in the statement.

Trump had pledged to support her for governor in 2024. 

“Are you running for governor? I think so, Karrin, cuz if you do, you’re gonna have my support,” Trump said at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in December 2024.

ADAM SCHIFF MAKES ENDORSEMENT IN CALFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL RACE

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., launched a gubernatorial bid in January 2025, and Robson launched her bid in February 2025 — but in April 2025, Trump made the unorthodox move of announcing that he endorsed both of them.

“I like Karrin Taylor Robson of Arizona a lot, and when she asked me to Endorse her, with nobody else running, I Endorsed her, and was happy to do so. When Andy Biggs decided to run for Governor, quite unexpectedly, I had a problem — Two fantastic candidates, two terrific people, two wonderful champions, and it is therefore my Great Honor TO GIVE MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT TO BOTH. Either one will never let you down. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump declared in an April 2025 Truth Social post.

In 2022, Robson lost the GOP gubernatorial primary in Arizona to Kari Lake, who went on to lose the general election to Democrat Katie Hobbs.

TRUMP BACKS REPUBLICAN RIVALS IN ARIZONA GOVERNOR’S RACE AFTER REP. BIGGS ENTERS CONTEST: ‘I HAD A PROBLEM’

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Hobbs is seeking re-election this year.

Rep. David Schweikert, R-Arizona, is another Republican seeking the Grand Canyon State governorship.

Some of the most hotly contested states in this year’s elections are also footing the nation’s steepest tariff bills, according to an analysis of U.S. Census trade data.

That convergence creates a new economic pressure point at a time when affordability dominates the national midterm debate and the cost of everyday goods remains a top voter concern. Candidates in both parties are campaigning on promises to rein in the cost of groceries, housing and other everyday goods.

All 435 House seats and 33 Senate seats are on the ballot this year, putting Republicans’ slim majorities at risk. Democrats need four seats to reclaim the Senate, while Republicans can afford to lose just two in the House.

US TARIFF REVENUE UP 300% UNDER TRUMP AS SUPREME COURT BATTLE LOOMS

Tariffs factor directly into those costs.

Tariffs are taxes the federal government places on imported goods. While American importers pay those duties at the border, economists say businesses often pass the added costs along, raising prices as the expense moves through supply chains.

California and Texas — the nation’s two largest state economies — top the list in tariff totals at $38 billion and $21 billion, driven by the volume of imports flowing through major ports and industrial supply chains. 

Among the states with the most consequential Senate races are Georgia and Michigan, both of which carry sizable tariff burdens, underscoring how deeply their economies are intertwined with international trade.

Other states bearing the brunt of hefty tariff bills include Illinois ($9.6 billion), Ohio ($6.5 billion), Pennsylvania ($6.3 billion), North Carolina ($5 billion), South Carolina ($5.2 billion) and Kentucky ($4 billion).

Even as states shoulder billions in tariff costs, collections nationwide have climbed 300% since President Donald Trump’s return to office, significantly boosting federal revenue.

January collections hit $30.4 billion, a 275% jump from a year earlier, pushing fiscal-year revenue to $124 billion, more than triple last year’s pace.

TRUMP CALLS TARIFF WINDFALL ‘SO BEAUTIFUL TO SEE’ AS CASH SAILS IN

The surge in revenue has become a cornerstone of Trump’s economic agenda, with the administration arguing tariffs can fund domestic priorities, chip away at the nation’s $38 trillion debt and finance a proposed $2,000 dividend check for Americans. Trump has promoted the policy as a strategy to revive domestic industry and extract concessions from foreign trading partners.

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But the policy faces a pivotal test at the Supreme Court, which has yet to rule on whether the tariffs fall within Trump’s authority. A decision against the government could jeopardize a key source of federal revenue and reshape the administration’s trade strategy.

With billions in revenue at stake and control of Congress hanging in the balance, the court’s ruling could reverberate far beyond Washington.

With little time and no deal in sight to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a partial government shutdown by midnight is all but guaranteed.

The battle to prevent the third government shutdown under President Donald Trump in less than six months was lost in the Senate on Thursday. Now, with Congress scattered across the U.S. and several senators headed abroad, there’s no chance that a shutdown will be averted.

Senate Republicans were unable to smash through Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats’ unified front to pass a full-year DHS funding bill, nor were they able to do yet another short-term, two-week extension.

DHS SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS WITHOUT PAY, WHAT HAPPENS TO AIRPORTS AND DISASTER RESPONSE

“The idea of not even allowing us to have an extended amount of time to negotiate this suggests to me, at least, that there isn’t a high level of interest in actually solving this issue,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said.

The final fight on the floor Thursday wasn’t with every lawmaker present, but between Sens. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., over giving lawmakers a little more time to keep the agency open while negotiations continue.

Senate Democrats argued that Republicans offered their legislative proposal in the dead of night, giving little time to actually move toward a compromise.

DEMS DIG IN, GUARANTEE SHUTDOWN WITH BLOCK OF DHS FUNDING

“We had plenty of time to get a deal in the last two weeks,” Murphy said. “And the lack of seriousness from the White House and from Republicans not getting language until last night has put us in the position we are in today.”

And with the expected shutdown, Democrats’ main targets — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — won’t see their cash flow dry up because of billions injected into the agency by Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

Instead, agencies like TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and several others will suffer the brunt of the shutdown.

“There is no way that you can’t say we’re working in good faith. We want to continue this conversation,” Britt said on the Senate floor. “But yet you’re penalizing a TSA agent. A TSA agent is going to go without a paycheck. Why? So that you can posture politically? I’m over it.”

DHS FUNDING BILL FAILS AFTER SCHUMER REJECTS TRUMP’S ICE REFORM OFFER

“Everybody on that side of the aisle knows that ICE and CBP will continue to be funded,” she continued. “They’re going to continue to enforce the law just as they should. Who’s going to pay the price?”

The final floor argument was a microcosm of what the week had devolved into. Senate Republicans argued that Democrats had burned too much time producing their list of demands, while Senate Democrats contended that they weren’t given enough time by the White House.

And as is typical during the string of shutdowns in the last several months, it has devolved into a public blame game. When asked about the effects a shutdown would have on the agencies not involved in immigration enforcement, Schumer pointed the finger at the GOP and the White House.

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“Talk to the Republicans, OK? We’re ready to fund everything,” Schumer said. “We’re ready to have good, serious proposals supported by the American people. They’re not; they’re sort of dug in the ground, and they’re not moving forward.”

But neither side is willing to divulge publicly what the exact sticking points are in their ongoing negotiations. And Senate Democrats now appear to be considering a counteroffer to the White House, a sign that negotiations aren’t totally dead in the water.

“Negotiations will continue, and we will see in the course of the next few days how serious they are,” Thune said.

Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz was slammed online by Republicans after proposing a $10 million emergency relief package for small businesses across the state impacted by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Walz unveiled the proposal Thursday after border czar Tom Homan announced that Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota would be ending. The proposal calls for forgivable loans ranging from $2,500 to $25,000 to be distributed to eligible businesses that are able to demonstrate “substantial revenue loss” during “specified dates” tied to the operation.

“The campaign of retribution by the federal administration has been more than a short-term disruption; it has inflicted long-term damage on Minnesota communities,” Walz said in a statement. “Recovery will not happen overnight. Families, workers, and business owners are feeling the effects, and our responsibility is clear: we will help rebuild, stabilize these businesses, protect jobs, and ensure Minnesota’s economy can recover and thrive.”

Republicans quickly criticized the proposal as Minnesota continues to face extensive fraud allegations.

CONVICTED MINNESOTA FRAUDSTER ALLEGES WALZ, ELLISON WERE AWARE OF WIDESPREAD FRAUD

President Donald Trump previously claimed that fraud in Minnesota exceeded $19 billion.

Dozens of people have been prosecuted in Minnesota in recent years for alleged large-scale welfare fraud schemes involving food assistance and autism services. Federal prosecutors have alleged the schemes stole hundreds of millions of dollars from taxpayer-funded programs, with separate investigations also examining alleged fraud in the state’s daycare system.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn. reacted to the governor’s proposal on X, saying, “BREAKING: Tim Walz opens up a new avenue for fraud in Minnesota.”

NOEM HAMMERS WALZ, FREY FOR IGNORING 1,360 ICE DETAINERS FOR CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS

Minnesota Republican state Sen. Michael Holmstrom said on X that the proposal would be an “immediate NO from me,” adding that Minnesota taxpayers “do not deserve to have more money stolen from them.”

Others referenced fraud related to Minnesota’s daycare system, including Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., who responded to the proposal on X, “Does that include learing centers?”

His post referenced a typo that read “Quality Learing Center,” which was eventually corrected. The Quality Learning Center was infamously featured in a video by YouTuber Nick Shirley, who visited multiple daycare centers across Minnesota that allegedly received public funds but were not providing any services.

SCOOP: THOUSANDS OF VIOLENT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRESTED IN MINNESOTA AS ADMIN VOWS ‘WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN’

The governor’s office included a statement from Henry Garnica, the owner of CentroMex in East St. Paul, who said the past few months during the immigration operation have been “some of the hardest I’ve experienced as a business owner.”

“Sales are down, we have limited hours, and we have had to change how we operate,” he stated. “That’s not who we are as a neighborhood store. This proposed forgivable loan package would give businesses like mine breathing room — to keep employees on payroll and keep our doors open. For some of us, it could mean the difference between surviving and closing for good.”

On Thursday, Walz demanded that the federal government “pay for what they broke” after the Trump administration said it would draw down its presence in the Twin Cities.

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Walz said during a news conference that federal law enforcement’s presence in the state was leaving “deep damage” and “generational trauma.”

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

EXCLUSIVE: Industry experts warn the United States is “one crisis away” from losing access to the rare earth elements that power everything from fighter jets to electric vehicles — a vulnerability President Donald Trump’s new $12 billion “Project Vault” aims to address.

The initiative, backed by $1.67 billion in private seed money and a $10 billion loan from the Export-Import Bank, would create a federally supported stockpile of rare earth elements and other critical minerals. The U.S. currently imports much of those materials from China.

Executives from Graphite One, one of the country’s largest critical mineral developers, told Fox News Digital the effort could mark a turning point in the battle over China’s dominance of global supply chains.

“The Chinese are willing to weaponize access to … semiconductor materials like gallium and uranium,” Graphite One advisor Dan McGroarty said. “Then they turn off the tap and sort things out, give us a one-year reprieve, you know, it’s a leash, and they can yank that leash anytime they want.”

TRUMP SAYS ‘YOU’LL SEE’ WHEN ASKED HOW FAR HE’LL GO ON GREENLAND TAKEOVER

CEO Anthony Huston compared the concept to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, established after the 1970s oil crisis to safeguard U.S. energy security, arguing that critical minerals now play a similarly vital role in powering modern defense systems, advanced electronics and electric vehicles.

“For years, American businesses have risked running out of critical minerals during market disruptions… Project Vault [will] ensure that American businesses and workers are never harmed by any shortage,” Trump said in his announcement last month.

Graphite One recently made news with its “truly generational” Graphite Creek site in Alaska, which is the U.S.’ largest asset of that particular critical mineral, in Huston’s words.

As of 2024, the U.S. was at least 93% import-dependent on rare earth elements and graphite, according to the International Energy Agency, and remains heavily reliant on foreign suppliers for dozens of other critical minerals.

TRUMP KNOWS GOOD REAL ESTATE — AND HE KNOWS GREENLAND’S VALUE TO NATIONAL SECURITY

“The United States really relies on China and Africa for graphite. China, as we understand, is our adversary,” Huston said.

A buried lede in the Project Vault news, he added, is a little-reported counter-terror aspect.

Huston said some African mineral deposits, including in parts of Mozambique, are located in areas where ISIS-linked groups have operated. By onshoring development of critical minerals, the U.S. will not only work to unseat Chinese dominance but also deal a blow to operations in areas run by people who want to kill us, he argued.

McGroarty added that Project Vault reminds him of the idea of “dual-use technologies” during the Cold War, where computers of the time had technology that could not be exported – but could be used for both manufacturing and nuclear weapons design, for instance.

“On another level, we’re going to have to balance it across 20, 30, 40 different metals, minerals, compounds, and composites, not just oil,” he said.

TRUMP CHALLENGES CARNEY AT DAVOS, ASSERTS CANADA SHOULD BE ‘GRATEFUL’ FOR GOLDEN DOME MISSILE DEFENSE

McGroarty said the U.S. is “one crisis away” from having REEs “cut-off” by adversaries like China.

Huston also spoke of why Project Vault fits the 2020s more than any other time.

In the prior century, there were no cell phones, no EVs and graphite and the like were being used in analog tools like pencils and primitive computers.

The Graphite Creek site supplied materials for World War II-era steel production, a far cry from its potential role in today’s high-tech economy. Huston reiterated that the U.S. needs its own “strategic petroleum reserve” of critical minerals rather than relying on adversarial nations.

“As they say when you’re flying, put the oxygen mask on yourself first before turning to help those around,” he said.

TRUMP SAYS GREENLAND’S DEFENSE IS ‘TWO DOG SLEDS’ AS HE PUSHES FOR US ACQUISITION OF TERRITORY

Asked about any nexus between Project Vault, the Senate’s renewed focus on Arctic national security amid foreign incursions and Trump’s overtures toward Greenland, McGroarty suggested there may be one — but it’s not yet clear.

He quipped that sometimes it’s better to look at the globe from the top rather than the side, which places North America in the center of everything.

“See what nations have a presence in the Arctic, you’ll see the importance of Greenland; you’ll also see that the U.S. is an Arctic nation only because of Alaska,” he said.

Of the 60 critical minerals on the U.S. government’s official list, Alaska has known resources of at least 58, he added.

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“It’s the same sort of thing with Greenland. In the case of Greenland, I think there’s a phrase that I use from time to time: resource denial — That is to say, you might try not to be interested in Greenland’s resource potential in critical minerals. If you wake up one day, and the Chinese and the Russians are engaging in economic relationships in Greenland and directing those metals and minerals into their supply chains, you will have to be concerned about what goes on.”

China-based experts, on the other hand, were dismissive of Project Vault, with rare-earths analyst Wu Chenhui telling the state-owned Global Times that while Trump’s move is novel, it “functions more as a short-term buffer than a fundamental solution,” and other officials in the Communist nation were similarly bearish on the news.

A partial government shutdown is all but certain after Senate Democrats rejected attempts to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offered by Republicans on Thursday afternoon.

But it will not look like the record-long 43-day full shutdown that paralyzed Congress last year, nor will it look like the shorter four-day partial shutdown that hit Capitol Hill earlier this month. That’s because Congress has already funded roughly 97% of the government through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2026 on Sept. 30.

When the clock strikes 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14, just DHS will be affected by a lapse in its federal funding. While it’s a vastly smaller scale than other recent fiscal fights, it will still have an impact on a broad range of issues given DHS’s wide jurisdiction.

SCHUMER, DEMS CHOOSE PARTIAL SHUTDOWN AS NEGOTIATIONS HIT IMPASSE

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

Disruptions to the TSA, whose agents are responsible for security checks at nearly 440 airports across the country, could perhaps be the most impactful part of the partial shutdown to Americans’ everyday lives.

Acting Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill told lawmakers at a hearing on Wednesday that around 95% of TSA employees — roughly 61,000 people — are deemed essential and will be forced to work without pay in the event of a shutdown.

McNeill said many TSA agents were still recovering from the effects of the recent 43-day shutdown. “We heard reports of officers sleeping in their cars at airports to save money on gas, selling their blood and plasma, and taking on second jobs to make ends meet,” she said.

TSA paychecks due to be issued on March 3 could see agents getting reduced pay depending on the length of the shutdown. Agents would not be at risk of missing a full paycheck until March 17.

If that happens, however, Americans could see delays or even cancellations at the country’s busiest airports as TSA agents are forced to call out of work and get second jobs to make ends meet.

SHUTDOWN CLOCK TICKS AS SCHUMER, DEMOCRATS DIG IN ON DHS FUNDING DEMANDS

Coast Guard

The U.S. Coast Guard is the only branch of the Armed Forces under DHS rather than the Department of War, and as such would likely see reduced operations during a shutdown.

That includes a pause in training for pilots, air crews, and boat crews until funding is restarted.

Admiral Thomas Allan, Coast Guard Vice Commandant, warned lawmakers that it would have to “suspend all missions, except those for national security or the protection of life and property.”

A lapse in its funding would also result in suspended pay for 56,000 active duty, reserve, and civilian personnel, which Allan warned would negatively affect morale and recruitment efforts.

Secret Service

The U.S. Secret Service (USSS), which is critical to protecting the president and key members of the administration, is also under DHS’s purview. 

While its core functions would be largely unaffected by a shutdown, some 94% of the roughly 8,000 people the service employs would be forced to work without pay until the standoff is resolved.

Deputy USSS Director Matthew Quinn also warned that a shutdown could also hurt the progress being made to improve the service in the wake of the July 2024 assassination attempt against President Donald Trump.

“The assassination attempt on President Trump’s life brought forward hard truths for our agency and critical areas for improvement — air, space, security, communications and IT infrastructure, hiring and retention training, overarching technological improvements,” Quinn said. “We are today on the cusp of implementing generational change for our organization. A shutdown halts our reforms and undermines the momentum that we, including all of you, have worked so hard to build together.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

ICE operations would largely go on unimpeded during a shutdown, despite Democrats’ outrage at the agency being the main driver of the current standoff.

Nearly 20,000 of ICE’s roughly 21,000 employees are deemed “essential” and therefore must work without pay, according to DHS shutdown guidance issued in September 2025.

But even though it’s the center of Democrats’ funding protest, ICE already received an injection of some $75 billion over the course of four years from Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). It means many of its core functions retain some level of funding even during a shutdown.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

CISA is responsible for defending critical U.S. sectors like transportation, healthcare, and energy from foreign and domestic threats.

The agency would be forced to reduce operations to an active threat mitigation status and activities “essential to protecting and protecting life and property,” according to Acting CISA Director Madhu Gottumukkala.

That means a shutdown would significantly reduce CISA’s capacity to proactively monitor for potential threats from foreign adversaries.

“We will be on the defensive, reactive as opposed to being proactive, and strategic in terms of how we will be able to combat those adversaries,” Gottumukkala said.

Operations like “cyber response, security assessments, stakeholder engagements, training, exercises, and special event planning” would all be impacted, he said.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

FEMA, one of the largest recipients of congressional funding under DHS, would also likely see reduced operations if a shutdown went on for long enough.

The bright spot for the agency is that past congressional appropriations have left its Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), the main coffer used to respond to natural disasters throughout the U.S., with roughly $7 billion.

The DRF could become a serious problem if the DHS shutdown goes on for more than a month, however, or in the event of an unforeseen “catastrophic disaster,” an official warned.

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FEMA is also currently working through a backlog of responses to past natural disasters, progress that Associate Administrator of the Office of Response and Recovery Gregg Phillips said could be interrupted during a shutdown.

“In the 45 days I’ve been here…we have spent $3 billion in 45 days on 5,000 projects,” Phillips said. “We’re going as fast as we can. We’re committed to reducing the backlog. I can’t go any faster than we actually are. And if this lapses, that’s going to stop.”

Democratic state lawmakers in control of the Virginia legislature are fast-tracking a proposed new congressional map that would give the competitive state up to four more left-leaning U.S. House districts in time for this year’s midterm elections.

The map, which Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger is expected to sign early next week, comes as Virginia voters are getting ready to vote this spring on a ballot measure which would give the legislature, rather than the current non-partisan commission, redistricting power through the 2030 election.

Republicans are calling the Democrats’ redistricting effort an “unconstitutional power grab.” Democrats are countering that it’s a necessary step to balance out partisan gerrymandering already implemented in other states by the GOP.

Virginia is the latest battleground, with Florida on deck, in the ongoing high-stakes battle between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats to alter congressional maps ahead of November’s elections.

VIRGINIA JUDGE STRIKES BLOW TO DEMOCRATS REDISTRICTING PUSH

Republicans are defending their razor-thin House majority in the midterms, and Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to win back control of the chamber. That means the redistricting efforts in Virginia and other states may very well decide which party controls the House next year.

“It’s happening all over the country,” the narrator in a new ad by Virginians for Fair Elections says. “Politicians redrawing maps to rig the midterm elections. And Virginia can’t sit back and do nothing.”

The Democrat-aligned public advocacy group tells Fox News Digital it’s spending an initial seven figures to run the ad statewide in the Commonwealth.

The new map, if implemented before the midterms, could give the Democrats a shot at flipping four GOP-held congressional seats, turning a 6-5 edge in the state’s U.S. House delegation into a 10-1 advantage.

STUNNING SETBACK FOR TRUMP IN REDISTRICTING WARS

But the rival Virginians for Fair Maps, a Republican-aligned group that opposes the redistricting push, highlights that “Virginians came together to pass bipartisan redistricting reform — a process that took the power to draw maps out of politicians’ hands. Now, politicians in Richmond want to undo that progress.”

And the Republican National Committee has called the Democrats’ push in Virginia a “power grab.”

Democrats were dealt a big blow after a local court blocked their efforts to amend the state Constitution in order to redraw the lines, with a circuit court judge in conservative Tazewell County saying Democrats didn’t follow proper procedures.

The ruling was appealed, and both sides are waiting to see if the Virginia Supreme Court weighs in.

The clock is ticking, with early voting for the April 21 referendum scheduled to start on March 6.

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

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

Trump’s first target was Texas.

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

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

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

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

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

California voters in November overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative that temporarily sidetracked the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and returned the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democratic-dominated legislature.

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

The fight quickly spread beyond Texas and California.

Republican-controlled Missouri and Ohio, and swing state North Carolina, where the GOP dominates the legislature, have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push.

In blows to Republicans, a Utah district judge late last year rejected a congressional district map drawn up by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the midterms.

But Utah Republicans have appealed to the state Supreme Court to block a new court-ordered map for this year’s elections.

Meanwhile, Republicans in Indiana’s Senate in December defied Trump, shooting down a redistricting bill that had passed the state House. The showdown in the Indiana statehouse grabbed plenty of national attention.

Florida’s next up.

Two-term Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers in the GOP-dominated legislature are hoping to pick up an additional three to five right-leaning seats through a redistricting push during a special legislative session in April.

But the bid by DeSantis and Republicans in Tallahassee last week drew its first lawsuit, from a group aligned with Florida Democrats. The lawsuit contends that the governor and Secretary of State Cordy Byrd don’t have the legal authority to reshape election laws, after Byrd pushed back congressional qualifying dates from April to June.

Democrats in solidly blue Maryland are also pushing redistricting, which could result in one extra left-leaning congressional seat. But the effort, pushed by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore and green-lighted by state House Democrats, is facing opposition from Senate President Bill Ferguson, a fellow Democrat.

Lastly, Republicans in South Carolina, Nebraska, Kansas and New Hampshire, and Democrats in Illinois and Washington State are also exploring possible bids to redraw the maps.

Hovering over the redistricting wars is the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule in Louisiana v. Callais, a crucial case that may lead to the overturning of a key provision in the Voting Rights Act.

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If the ruling goes the way of the conservatives on the high court, it could lead to the redrawing of a slew of majority-minority districts across the county, which would greatly favor Republicans.

But it is very much up in the air — when the court will rule, and what it will actually do.

A House Democratic lawmaker told Attorney General Pam Bondi that the “worst of the worst” targeted by the Trump administration are actually native-born Americans, not illegal immigrant criminals. 

Rep. Steve Cohen, of Tennessee, was speaking to Bondi during a combative congressional hearing over the Justice Department’s handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein when he made his remarks. 

“We need people working on the front lines and local law enforcement to protect our citizens from the worst of the worst,” Cohen said. “The worst of the worst are not the immigrants. The worst are the worst, records show, are native-born Americans, and they are committing crimes that hurt our citizens and our cities.”

DHS SAYS ANTI-ICE AGITATORS HELPED CHILD RAPISTS, GANG MEMBERS EVADE DEPORTATION

“And you’re working against it,” he added. “And thank you for that, but by trying to get our local law enforcement, where we have an undercount of officers in Memphis, to leave Memphis and go to work for ICE to deport people is a wrong priority.”

The Trump administration has said that around 70% of the illegal immigrants targeted by federal immigration authorities have criminal records, including for violent offenses. 

DHS CALLS RAPE OF AUTISTIC TEEN ‘MOST HEINOUS WE’VE SEEN’ AS ICE DETAINER TESTS CALIFORNIA SANCTUARY LAWS

Many Democrats maintain that most illegal immigrants have not broken any laws aside from entering the United States illegally. 

Bondi argued that local and federal law enforcement both need “strong people.”

“I’ve seen some of the worst of the worst, violent criminals, violent criminals who were in this country illegally,” she said. “We both know that.”

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Cohen also told Bondi that ICE was “running rampant” and that Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti were “executed” by federal authorities in Minneapolis as they allegedly impeded law enforcement operations. 

“They were executed like (Homeland Security Secretary) Krisit Noem executed her dog, and that was wrong,” Cohen said. “And you should investigate those people. And you should investigate anybody that uses a weapon as a federal official or not, for civil rights violations.”

President Donald Trump‘s pick to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.) office focused on aviation is facing heightened scrutiny for hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes that were not disclosed in official ethics documents obtained by Fox News Digital. 

Jeffrey Anderson, a retired Delta Air Lines captain and U.S. Navy veteran, was nominated to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization in July 2025. The International Civil Aviation Organization is a U.N. office based in Canada that is charged with overseeing international aviation standards, including issues related to safety, navigation and environmental protection. 

The administration has backed him as “highly qualified” for the role and a “great choice to represent the President’s America First foreign policy agenda in the international aviation community,” in a statement to Fox News Digital in 2025 as his tax issues and past support of Democrats came to light. 

The role is a Senate-confirmed post, with Anderson’s nomination sitting before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

TRUMP PICK FOR UN AVIATION OFFICE HAS LONG HISTORY DONATING TO DEMS, NIKKI HALEY

Now, Anderson has signed his ethics agreement and disclosure forms, but mentions of the now-paid off liens are not included, Fox News Digital found.  

Fox News Digital obtained Anderson’s IRS Certificates of Release of Federal Tax Lien that show he and his wife had multiple federal tax liens stemming from tax years 2013–2019, with unpaid assessed balances totaling approximately $426,000. The liens were related to “small business/self employed” taxes, according to the documents. 

A federal tax lien is “the government’s legal claim against your property when you neglect or fail to pay a tax debt,” according to the IRS. 

The liens, filed in two Georgia counties, were not released until October 2025 after payment was fulfilled. One IRS Certificate of Release of Federal Tax Lien shows liens tied to the 2012–2018 tax years totaling $354,791.63 and later released on Oct. 15, 2025, according to the documents obtained by Fox Digital. A second release shows a lien tied to tax year 2019 totaling $71,313.11 and released Oct. 29, 2025. 

Anderson’s Public Financial Disclosure Report, called OGE Form 278e, however, only lists a single mortgage in the liabilities section — not any disclosures of federal tax liens or IRS liability, according to the documents obtained by Fox News Digital. The OGE Form 278e does detail boilerplate and detailed information on Anderson’s assets, past employment and income. 

The Office of Government Ethics’ guidance for OGE Form 278e instructs filers to report liabilities over $10,000 owed at any time during the reporting period.

Anderson signed the OGE Form on Aug. 14, 2025, according to the document obtained by Fox News Digital. 

Anderson’s OGE Form 278e and a separate ethics document sent by Anderson to the State Department’s Office of the Legal Adviser were added to the Office of Government Ethics’ system tracking financial and ethics disclosures Sept. 21, 2025, Fox News Digital found. 

Fox News Digital repeatedly reached out to the State Department, specifically inquiring why Anderson did not disclose the liens on the liabilities section of the OGE 278e, if he filed an amended financial disclosure to add any IRS liability or lien after the initial filing, and when the administration was first notified of the liens.  

The ICAO ambassador operates under the authority of the secretary of state when confirmed.

“We support the president’s nominee and look forward to having him confirmed,” a State Department spokesperson told Fox Digital of Anderson Wednesday. 

A review of other nominees listed on the OGE disclosure database shows individuals have amended their ethics disclosures amid the vetting process. Anderson’s file does not reflect any public amendments to his initial disclosures. 

Public financial disclosure is a core piece of the nomination vetting process. Federal ethics rules and guidance generally require nominees to disclose major outstanding liabilities during the reporting period. 

Nominees for Senate-confirmed ambassador posts typically are cleared through a multistep White House process that can include FBI background checks and federal ethics review of financial disclosures, with the State Department helping compile and process the nomination package before it is formally sent to the Senate.

“Everyone has setbacks. That’s not the problem,” a former Trump official told Fox Digital about the matter. “The problem is lying to Congress and misleading President Trump. Jeffrey Anderson stiffed the IRS for more than $426,000, carried federal tax liens for years, then tried to slip through Senate confirmation by hiding them on a sworn disclosure. Federal tax liens aren’t optional, and they don’t magically disappear.”

The former official added that most “Americans don’t just come up with half a million dollars to make a scandal vanish,” while arguing “Anderson’s record of donating to anti-Trump politicians” tees up a nomination that will collapse on itself. 

TRUMP NOMINATES SEASONED MILITARY LEADERS TO HEAD VITAL GLOBAL COMMANDS

ICAO ROLE HAS GONE UNFILLED FOR YEARS 

Anderson’s nomination to serve in the office follows years of it sitting dormant of U.S. leadership. The role was last filled by former ambassador, famed pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who stepped down in 2022. 

Sullenberger gained widespread applause in 2009, when the US Airways pilot landed Flight 1549 on the Hudson River after a bird strike disabled both engines and saved 155 people — an event known as the “Miracle on the Hudson.”

Anderson’s nomination has been dragging since July 2025, with it returned to the president on Jan. 3, 2026 under Senate Rule XXXI, a technical rule, and Trump resending Anderson’s nomination to the Senate days later. 

Anderson’s nomination has received pushback from the Air Line Pilots Association, a union that represents nearly 80,000 pilots across the U.S. and Canada, arguing his “only” qualification was supporting an effort to raise the mandatory pilot retirement age. 

The union opposes increasing the mandatory retirement from 65 years of age to age 67, arguing it “would leave the United States as an outlier in the global aviation space and create chaos on pilot labor, and international and domestic flight operations,” the group’s statement in July 2025 read.

International aviation rules prohibit airline pilots older than 65 from flying. Some global airline groups have called on the International Civil Aviation Organization to consider raising the international pilot retirement age to 67, citing staffing pressure and that retaining veteran pilots would only bolster airline safety. 

Anderson also has had close financial ties to Democrats and other politicians frequently hostile toward Trump and his policies, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

FIRST ON FOX: RETIRED AIR FORCE COLONEL WHO PILOTED LAST FLIGHT OUT OF AFGHANISTAN REVEALS NEW MISSION

“Jeffrey Anderson isn’t a Trump Republican at all; he’s a liberal sleeper who slipped through the cracks of PPO (Presidential Personnel Office),” a former Trump official told Fox Digital of Anderson’s political donations and tax history in August 2025. 

Anderson made a handful of small-dollar donations to Republican Nikki Haley during the 2024 campaign cycle, when the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. ran against Trump, whom she slammed as “unhinged” while on the campaign trail before dropping out of the race and endorsing Trump as the GOP nominee for president. 

The former pilot also donated to the former Democratic opponent who tried to unseat then-Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in the 2024 cycle, according to donation filings previously reported by Fox News Digital. Anderson’s political donations to Democrats stretch back years, including in 2017 when he donated to Democrats, such as former House candidate Dan Ward in Virginia and former Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon.

Texas Republican Rep. Troy Nehls, who serves as chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation, told Fox Digital in August 2025 that Anderson will help usher in “the Golden Age of aviation” if confirmed. 

“Mr. Anderson served as a naval aviator and has more than three decades of experience as a pilot for Delta,” Nehls said in August. “He is, without a doubt, qualified to represent the United States of America at ICAO, where his first-hand experience with the aviation industry will play a crucial role in advancing President Trump’s mission of ushering in the Golden Age of aviation.”

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“I am fully supportive of President Trump and his America First agenda. I have been fully vetted by the White House and appreciate the approval of the President, House Aviation Chair Troy Nehls and House T&I Chair Sam Graves, among others. I look forward to advancing American interests as the next Permanent Representative to ICAO,” Anderson wrote in a direct message on LinkedIn to Fox Digital in August 2025, while adding that Trump is seeking to “move effectively forward in a space negligently left vacant by Biden.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on the timeline of disclosure but did not receive a reply.

Fox New Digital reached out to Anderson for comment on the timeline of the tax liens and ethics filings but did not receive a reply.

FIRST ON FOX: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on Thursday will eliminate the “2009 Obama EPA Endangerment Finding,” which set in motion most federal greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles, saving Americans billions.

The 2009 development was an EPA finding that carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and three other greenhouse gases “endanger the public health and welfare of current and future generations” under the Clean Air Act — leading to a slew of new restrictions and regulations.

An ensuing Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA found greenhouse gases qualify as air pollutants and that if the EPA determines they endanger public health or welfare it can regulate them.

“As I traveled across all 50 states this past year, I heard from countless Americans who not only dislike the (motor-vehicle) start-stop feature but passionately advocated for this mechanism to be a thing of the past,” Zeldin said of the major recission made Thursday.

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“Not only do many people find start-stop annoying, but it kills the battery of your car without any significant benefit to the environment. The Trump EPA is proudly fixing this stupid feature at Trump Speed.”

Zeldin said automakers shouldn’t be forced to adopt or be rewarded for using technologies that represent a “climate participation trophy” with no meaningful reduction in actual pollution.

The former New York lawmaker said consumer choice is a priority for his agency, and that his office will continue to advocate for “commonsense rules.”

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US Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy added in a statement that resetting of mileage standards and removal of auto-starts and other greenhouse-gas-regulation-precipitated regulations are part of President Donald Trump’s vision to lower costs and revitalize manufacturing.

All federal greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles and engines subsequent to the 2009 declaration will be rescinded, a source familiar with the situation said.

When it comes to the start-stop off-cycle technology, a credit for it was created by the EPA in 2012 and quickly infuriated motorists who hear their engine click off then on again at a stoplight or in the teller line at the bank.

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The start-stop became a regulatory loophole allowing automakers to claim greenhouse gas credits without actually delivering empirical emission-reduction or human health benefits.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move to rescind the 2009 finding will “be the largest deregulatory action in American history, and it will save the American people $1.3 trillion in crushing regulations,” according to multiple reports.

However, the climate change field appears eager to litigate the new rule, as the nonprofit green-focused law firm Earthjustice signaled as much to PBS.

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“The Trump administration is abandoning its core responsibility to keep us safe from extreme weather and accelerating climate change,” Earthjustic president Abigail Dillen told the outlet.

“There is no way to reconcile EPA’s decision with the law, the science and the reality of disasters that are hitting us harder every year. Earthjustice and our partners will see the Trump administration in court.”

Some states, however, were not supportive of the news including Colorado, where Gov. Jared Polis said he “stands by (the) science” of the former EPA guidance.

“Protecting people’s health and making our air cleaner should never be a partisan issue,” Polis said in a statement.

“The science is clear that pollution from cars and trucks harms our air quality and puts families — especially kids, seniors, and those with health conditions — at greater risk. Rolling back long-standing protections creates uncertainty for consumers and businesses at a time when we should be investing in cleaner air, innovation, and energy diversity.”

“These investments aren’t just the right thing for our climate, it’s good business,” the Democrat concluded. “Clear, science-based standards give companies the certainty they need to invest and create jobs. Colorado will continue to stand behind science and protect the health and well-being of Coloradans.” 

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., on Thursday called for Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to resign and suggested he should face criminal charges, accusing him of assisting people later charged in a sprawling welfare fraud scheme.

The confrontation came during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing in which Hawley questioned Ellison, an elected Democrat, about his actions surrounding the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, which was at the center of a $250 million scheme to defraud a child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hawley pointed to a meeting in December 2021 between Ellison and people who were later indicted, arguing that the Minnesota attorney general surreptitiously attempted to help them during what public records say was a 54-minute encounter.

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Hawley said Ellison accepted $10,000 in campaign donations days after the meeting from individuals later charged.

“You helped fraudsters defraud your state and this government … and you got a fat campaign contribution out of it,” Hawley said, yelling, “You ought to be indicted.”

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Hawley later added that Ellison “ought to be in jail.”

“Well, see what you can do about it,” Ellison shot back.

The Minnesota attorney general forcefully denied the accusations, saying Hawley was “cherry-picking quotes” and mischaracterizing the meeting. Ellison said he did not help the defendants. His office assisted with information that led to prosecutions and convictions in the broader investigation, Ellison said.

The entire exchange was loud and contentious as both men interrupted one another, prompting committee chairman Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to interject at one point and call for lowering the temperature.

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Former Attorney General Merrick Garland called the Feeding our Future case the largest pandemic-related fraud in the country, and dozens of individuals, mostly of Somali descent, have been charged.

Attorney General Pam Bondi recently intensified the department’s investigations into fraud in Minnesota, sending additional manpower to the embattled U.S. attorney’s office there to help with ongoing inquiries into possible fraud across several welfare programs. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s book tour will take him early next month to New Hampshire, the state that’s traditionally held the nation’s first presidential primary for a century.

The Portsmouth Music Hall announced on Thursday that California’s two-term Democratic governor will present his new book, “Young Man in a Hurry,” on Thursday, at their theater on March 5.

It’s a sure bet that the stop along New Hampshire’s Seacoast will generate more buzz about Newsom’s national ambitions and the likelihood that he’ll launch a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, in the race to succeed term-limited President Donald Trump.

Newsom’s stature in his own party has soared over the past year, thanks to his very vocal and visual pushback against the president, including his viral social media trolling of Trump and his successful California push to counter the Republican congressional redistricting effort.

THE 2028 WHITE HOUSE RACE IS ALREADY UNDERWAY

“Newsom has shown an ability to stand up to Trump in a bold and highly effective manner without shying away from core democratic values,” veteran Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo told Fox News Digital.

Newsom was treated like a VIP as he held meetings and mingled with party delegates during the opening day of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) winter meeting, which was held in Los Angeles in December. And Newsom held meetings with the Democratic Party chairs from New Hampshire and Nevada, another crucial early voting state.

“We had a great discussion on a wide range of issues,” longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley told Fox News Digital.

DEMOCRATIC HEAVYWEIGHTS TURN HEADS, SPARK 2028 SPECULATION

Newsom has acknowledged that he’s mulling a presidential bid, telling CBS News last year he would “seriously consider” following the 2026 midterms and that he’d be “lying” if he said otherwise.

Newsom is one of more than a dozen Democrats viewed as potential 2028 White House contenders. And many of them have been paying visits to New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina, which held the first sanctioned Democratic presidential primary in the 2024 election cycle. Newsom stopped in South Carolina last summer.

A New Hampshire-based Democratic strategist who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely shared that he and other activists in the state for months have been receiving fundraising emails on a regular basis from some of the White House hopefuls.

“Every week I receive a dozen,” the strategist said.

VANCE AMPLIFIES HIS 2026 MESSAGE WHILE LANDING KEY 2028 BACKING

Kathy Sullivan, a former New Hampshire Democratic Party chair and former DNC committee member, told Fox News Digital that “successful candidates in New Hampshire start early here and get to know the activists. They find out what issues are important to people in New Hampshire.”

Sullivan said the early trips to New Hampshire by the potential contenders “show that they’re putting the work in to take the whole process seriously and know they need to do the hard work to win the primary.”

The California governor was last in New Hampshire in July 2024, to support then-President Joe Biden in the days after Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Trump. Newsom was a top surrogate for Biden, and later for then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden as the party’s standard-bearer after Biden dropped his re-election run amid questions about his physical and mental durability.

Harris, a fellow Californian who is also currently on a book tour, is also mulling a potential 2028 presidential run.

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Among the other Democrats seen as possible presidential candidates are Govs. JB Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Wes Moore of Maryland and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan; Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly of Arizona, and Chris Murphy of Connecticut; progressive superstar Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rep. Ro Khanna of California, another leading progressive; and two moderate Democrats, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and former White House chief of staff and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons revealed that there are about 1.6 million illegal aliens with final deportation orders in the U.S., half of whom have criminal convictions.

During testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday, Lyons said, “What we’re tracking right now is about 1.6 million final [deportation] orders in the United States, with approximately 800,000 of those having criminal convictions.”

Lyons clarified that these deportation orders have not been issued by ICE or the Department of Homeland Security. Rather, Lyons said the orders have come “through an immigration judge with the Department of Justice separate from Immigration Customs Enforcement.”

The director added that “there’s 16,840 final orders at large in the state of Minnesota.”

ACTING ICE DIRECTOR DEFENDS AGENCY’S FOCUS ON TARGETING CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS, DETAILS THREAT TO AGENTS

Lyons revealed this during questioning by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla. Lankford asked Lyons to communicate his gratitude to the men and women in immigration enforcement, commenting, “Two years ago, we had 10,000 people a day illegally crossing into the country, two years ago, 10,000 people a day not vetted, had no idea who they were.”

Lankford also pointed out that “70,000 people were estimated by the Biden administration to come in in 2024 that were special interest aliens that had a locational connection to terrorism.”

“But we had no idea who they were. They were allowed to be able to come into the country two years ago,” he lamented.

SCOOP: THOUSANDS OF VIOLENT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRESTED IN MINNESOTA AS ADMIN VOWS ‘WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN’

This comes as ICE faces intense criticism from Democrats over their operations, especially in Minnesota, where two activists, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed in altercations with federal officers. Democrats have threatened defund DHS unless the agency changes its approach to enforcement.

Lankford remarked, “We’re losing perspective of what’s really happened.”

“The work that the men and women that work around you have done have stopped that chaos,” Lankford said to Lyons.

TRUMP DHS HAMMERS DEM GOVERNOR’S PORTAL TO TRACK ICE AGENTS: ‘ENCOURAGES VIOLENCE’

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“There are thousands of arrests that are happening in a day that are happening by the book,” he continued. “And what’s happening is a group of protesters that are protesting and agitating, and some of them running into churches and disturbing church services and saying, ‘It’s my First Amendment right to shut down your church during a service.’ And saying they’re a peaceful protester while they throw rocks at agents, it just gets old.”