NationalWatch

Texas hospitals were hit with more than $1 billion in health care costs racked up by illegal immigrants during fiscal year 2025, the first year the state began tracking the figures.

The data, compiled by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and obtained by Texas Scorecard, shows hospitals logged 313,742 visits linked to individuals not legally present, with total costs reaching $1.05 billion by the end of the fiscal year.

Texas’ fiscal year runs from Sept. 1 through Aug. 31, but hospitals were only required to begin reporting in November. Based on the reported data, costs averaged about $105 million per month, meaning the true annual total could be significantly higher.

MIGRANT INFLUX PUSHING MASS. SHELTER COSTS PAST $1B IN FY25: REPORT

To put the figures into perspective, the reported hospital costs approach about 1% of the state’s tax-funded resources.

The figures were collected under an executive order signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in August 2024 that mandated the agency track the number of “individuals not lawfully present” in the U.S. who use Texas public hospitals. Abbott’s executive order directed Texas hospitals to provide HHSC with quarterly breakdowns on patients not lawfully present in the U.S., including the number of inpatient discharges, emergency department visits and the cost of care provided to these patients.

Texas, a border state, reported some of the highest crossing numbers ever recorded under the Biden administration, putting immense pressure on its health care system, Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott’s press secretary, told Fox News Digital previously.

The largest share of expenses came from inpatient discharges for non-Medicaid and non-CHIP patients, totaling $565.4 million across 40,947 discharges, according to the report. CHIP is the Children’s Health Insurance Program, a federal-state program that provides low-cost health coverage for children in families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid.

CONGRESSMAN CALLS ON NOEM, DR. OZ WITH PLAN TO ‘SWIFTLY REMOVE’ 1.4 MILLION ILLEGAL MIGRANTS ON MEDICAID

Emergency department visits for non-Medicaid and non-CHIP patients added another $205.5 million in costs, according to the report.

Patients enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP accounted for significant costs as well, including $255.3 million tied to inpatient discharges and $24.3 million in emergency department visits.

For fiscal year 2025, hospitals were initially required to submit data only for November 2024, when they reported 30,743 visits costing more than $102 million, according to the state.

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Subsequent reporting showed continued high costs. From December 2024 through February 2025, hospitals reported 149,619 visits totaling $330.8 million.

Between March and May 2025, reported costs reached $319.3 million, followed by $298.3 million from June through August 2025.

The Pennsylvania affiliate of the Working Families Party said it launched a new website as part of its campaign to primary Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and “defeat him.” 

“We supported John Fetterman in 2022. Since then, he’s sold us out. It’s time to replace him,” reads a message on the homepage of PrimaryFetterman.com, which was paid for by the Working Families Party PAC. 

“He has supported more of Trump’s nominees than any Democratic Senator. He consistently skips votes and Senate work. We deserve better,” the website adds. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to Fetterman’s office for comment. The effort to primary him was announced last November, and at the time, Fetterman told Fox News, “I guarantee whoever they put up, they’re going to make me look the reasonable guy that’s going to work with both sides together and find a way for Pennsylvania.”

SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN CALLS FOR DEMOCRATS TO ‘RESIST’ ADVOCACY OF ‘EXTREME’ STANCES LIKE ABOLISHING ICE

Fetterman was elected to the Senate in 2022. He isn’t up for re-election until November 2028.  

When PA Working Families launched their effort to primary him, they said in a post on X, “We’re training potential candidates, recruiting volunteers, and soliciting donations to help us defeat him.” 

“If you previously donated to any of Fetterman’s campaigns, you can request a refund of your contributions on the site in just a few clicks,” it added Friday in a post about PrimaryFetterman.com.

On its website, the Working Families Party describes itself as, “a multiracial party that fights for workers over bosses and people over the powerful.”

FETTERMAN BREAKS WITH DEMOCRATS TO BACK TRUMP TAKING MILITARY ACTION IN IRAN IF NECESSARY

While some Democrats advocate for the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Fetterman pressed his party this week not to advocate for “extreme” ideas. 

“Even Mayor Frey of Minneapolis doesn’t support abolishing ICE. The party must resist the destructive tendencies to push extreme positions,” Fetterman noted Thursday in a post on X.  

“Secure the border. Deport all the criminals. Stop targeting the hardworking migrants in our nation,” he added. 

Fetterman also said Monday that he would surely support President Donald Trump taking military action in Iran if it was deemed necessary.

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“Sure, absolutely,” he said on CNN. “If it continues to make more sense, absolutely. I think I was the only Democrat that fully supported our strike of their Iranian nuclear facilities last year.” 

Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg and Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi contributed to this report. 

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has officially moved into the historic Gracie Mansion, and he’s already hoping to make changes. The mayor spoke to reporters on Jan. 12 and shared his “aspirational hope” to have a few bidets installed in the mayor’s residence.

“One thing that we will change is we will be installing a few bidets into Gracie Mansion,” Mamdani said. “That’s an aspirational hope. We’ll see if we can get it done.”

A prominent New York City Democrat mocked the mayor’s idea, painting it as a rich man’s fantasy coming from someone who preaches socialism.

“He’s been mayor for a minute and now the socialist thinks he’s flush with so much cash he can buy bidets,” the prominent Democrat, who asked to remain anonymous, told Fox News Digital.

MAMDANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP HAVE BEEN TEXTING AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK — AS UNLIKELY BROMANCE BLOSSOMS: SOURCES

When speaking to Fox News Digital, the prominent Democrat pointed out the difference between the reaction to Mamdani’s “aspirational hope” to add bidets versus President Donald Trump‘s renovations to the White House’s Lincoln Bedroom bathroom.

Trump posted photos of the renovated bathroom on Truth Social in November celebrating the upgrade which included “highly-polished, statuary marble.” While the president argued that the renovation was in line with the original vision for the space, historians disagreed and comedians mocked him. John Oliver, the host of “Last Week Tonight,” called it “tone-deaf.”

The president’s renovations to the East Wing ballroom have also drawn criticism and mockery with Democrats taking aim at the president over the project. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said during an appearance on MSNBC that Trump “found time to demolish the East Wing of the White House so that he can build a ballroom where he can be celebrated as if he was a king.”

The East Wing renovation was mocked on “Saturday Night Live,” which did a skit featuring James Austin Johnson as Trump and Miles Teller as Drew and Jonathan Scott from HGTV’s popular home makeover show “The Property Brothers.” The mockery didn’t end there. During a “Weekend Update” segment, Michael Che said he was glad the floor looked “slippery,” according to the Architect’s Newspaper.

MAMDANI SPEAKS ABOUT ‘WEIRDEST THING’ HE SAW DURING TRUMP WHITE HOUSE VISIT

The Gracie Mansion Conservancy’s website notes that the residence was originally built by Archibald Gracie, a prosperous merchant, in 1799 and was originally a country house located five miles north of what was then known as New York City. Since then, the city has expanded and the mansion is currently located in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, which is known to be one of the wealthier parts of the city.

The conservancy also stated that Gracie Mansion is one of the oldest surviving wooden structures in Manhattan and has served as the official residence of New York City mayors since 1942.

“Parks Commissioner Robert Moses convinced City authorities to designate the Gracie Mansion as the official residence of the Mayor in 1942 when Fiorello H. La Guardia and his family moved into the house,” the conservancy’s website reads.

HomeAdvisor, a home-improvement cost and contractor marketplace owned by Angi, said in 2025 that the average cost to install a bidet was $640, with a typical range of $400 to $1,500. The site noted that costs can run as low as $40 or as high as $2,000. The bidet type, size and quality, as well as necessary plumbing modifications can impact the installation cost.

Meanwhile, HomeGuide, a home-improvement cost guide that compiles pricing data from contractors and project estimates, broke down bidet pricing by unit and installation. The site said a standalone bidet could cost between $700 and $2,600 including installation, while the unit and installation cost for a bidet attachment typically ranges from $100 to $300.

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It is unclear how exactly the city would install bidets in Gracie Mansion.

New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection celebrated Mamdani’s announcement, saying that “more bidets = fewer wet wipes.”

The Trump administration accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey of “actively organizing” anti-ICE resistance after officials from the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) accused the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of lying about how the state is handling its illegal immigration problem. 

DHS called on Walz and Frey earlier this week to honor federal immigration detainers for the more than 1,300 illegal aliens that the federal agency said the state of Minnesota had in custody, accusing officials in the state of releasing nearly 470 criminal illegal immigrants onto Minneapolis’ streets. Walz’s office subsequently disputed DHS’s claim, calling it “categorically false” that the state does not honor federal immigration detainers, meant to hold criminal illegal aliens in custody after committing a crime until Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can come pick them up.       

In a press release Thursday, the Minnesota DOC echoed Walz’s verbiage that DHS’s claims were “categorically false,” adding that they are “unsupported by facts and deeply irresponsible” as well. The Minnesota DOC also claimed that they have “always” coordinated with ICE agents when individuals in custody have detainers.

ICE RELEASES PHOTOS AFTER VIOLENT MINNEAPOLIS PROTESTS LEAVE MULTIPLE ALLEGED AGITATORS ARRESTED

“The Minnesota Department of Corrections honors all federal and local detainers, including those issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” said the Minnesota DOC. “DHS’s assertion that 1,360 non-U.S. citizens are in Minnesota’s state custody is inexplicable. Minnesota’s total state prison population is approximately 8,000 individuals, and only 207 (less than 3 percent) are non-U.S. citizens. Further, in 2025, 84 individuals with ICE detainers were released. In each case, ICE was notified in advance and DOC staff coordinated with ICE officials to facilitate the custody transfer when requested.”

According to the Minnesota DOC, DHS did not identify which “jurisdictions, systems, or timeframes” were relied upon by the agency to support their numbers, and said that they did not align “with DOC records or the reality of Minnesota’s prison system.”

But the Trump administration stood behind their numbers and claims in a statement to Fox News Digital from DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, arguing Walz and Frey were “actively encouraging an organized resistance to ICE and federal law enforcement officers.”

“As DHS stated, across the state of Minnesota nearly 470 criminal illegal aliens including violent criminal illegal aliens have been RELEASED into communities. We have more than 1,360 active detainers on illegal aliens in the custody across all jurisdictions in Minnesota,” McLaughlin said. “We are once again calling on Governor Walz and his fellow sanctuary politicians to commit to honoring all ICE detainers.” 

REPUBLICANS URGE TRUMP NOT TO INVOKE INSURRECTION ACT IN MINNEAPOLIS AMID UNREST AFTER ICE-INVOLVED SHOOTING

On the heels of a fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this month involving federal ICE officers, Minneapolis Mayor Frey told Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to “get the f—- out” of his city, while Walz similarly told the Trump administration to “leave Minnesota alone.” Mayor Frey has also issued an executive order prohibiting federal agents from using city property to conduct operations, and a city separation ordinance was recently bolstered by local Minneapolis officials to protect illegal immigrants.

Meanwhile, in February, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison issued a formal opinion arguing state law prohibited state and local law enforcement from holding someone solely on an ICE civil detainer.

The danger of not properly adhering to ICE detainers reared its head in December after an illegal immigrant with a detainer in Northern Virginia was released from custody and then subsequently killed someone a day later.

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On Friday, two sources familiar with the probe indicated that federal prosecutors were investigating both Walz and Frey for allegedly impeding law enforcement efforts in the blue state. Sources said the investigation is in early stages, and it is unclear if it will result in any criminal charges.

Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.

Though the federal government’s Department of Government Efficiency has been largely disbanded, a Louisiana state version, dubbed “LA DOGE,” has pushed on and, according to an official report, is set to garner $1 billion in annual tax dollar savings.

LA DOGE will achieve $999.5 million in annual cost savings of both federal and state tax dollars across 17 state departments, according to a report by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry’s office reviewed by Fox News Digital. The report posits that these savings will be achieved “without any reductions in service.”

LA DOGE was established by an executive order signed by Landry in December 2024 as the Louisiana Fiscal Responsibility Program. Similar to Elon Musk’s vision for the federal DOGE, the Louisiana version was set up with the intent to eliminate wasteful spending, improve government efficiency and modernize government operations.

Since being established, LA DOGE has been spearheaded by Louisiana Fiscal Responsibility Czar Steve Orlando, an oil and gas executive who had worked exclusively in the private sphere until being appointed to the role. The report said the department worked closely with Louisiana legislative leadership, the Louisiana legislative auditor, and the commissioner of administration to identify and implement the cuts.

PRITZKER CHALLENGERS DEMAND AUDIT, PITCH ‘DOGE FOR ILLINOIS’ AND POINT TO WALZ-STYLE FAILURES

Of the nearly $1 billion in savings, the report said that $367 million was from Louisiana’s state general fund, $601 million from federal tax dollars and $65 million from other funding sources.

From the state fund, LA DOGE was able to cut $407.6 million in spending by improving the governmental workforce and service inefficiencies amongst state staff. An additional $206.4 million was cut through renegotiated and canceled contracts.

Critically, Louisiana was able to cut $285.5 million through Medicaid cuts that included improved eligibility determination processes to remove ineligible recipients and the implementation of an optimized process of monthly checks of residency of Medicaid members by utilizing data from the Office of Motor Vehicles. An additional $14.9 million was cut in similar eligibility determination improvements for SNAP beneficiaries.

An official in the governor’s office emphasized to Fox News Digital that the state has been able to do all these cuts while simultaneously improving the state’s services to citizens.  

TRUMP’S MAIN DOGE OFFICE SHUTTERS — BUT ITS WAR ON GOVERNMENT WASTE ISN’T OVER

“We have been able to keep the budget down and not have a fiscal cliff, wean ourselves off of one time money used for recurring expenses, improve our roads and bridges, fund SNAP through these savings during the government shutdown, and give the largest tax cuts in state history,” she said.

Meanwhile, the official said that this has allowed the governor’s office to “continue to push for no income tax.”

Landry, who has been in office just two years, referred to LA DOGE as an “unbelievably tremendous effort” during a press conference touting its success.

The governor told Fox News Digital that he was “shocked” by the “sheer amount of federal and state matching dollars that we were able to save in the welfare program by doing simple things like cross-checking IDs, license verifications, things that have been pointed out as best practices in order to control the abuses inside the welfare system and nobody would do them. And we just did them and we just immediately started seeing savings.”

Landry compared some of the cuts the state made to a family going back and cancelling its unused subscriptions. 

“Sometimes it’s as just checking to find out about subscriptions,” he said. “In our households, we have a tendency to maybe go back and do that, especially when times get tight, inflation starts biting into people’s pockets. But in government, it’s really not their money, they don’t have to generate the revenue like you have to generate in businesses.” 

‘MISSISSIPPI MUSK’: STATE AUDITOR’S MOGE REPORT FINDS $400M IN GOVERNMENT WASTE

Though he said LA DOGE’s mission is complete, Landry noted that “our goal and efforts toward improving government and continuing to seek efficiencies are not complete.”

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“In fact, we are just getting started,” he said. 

The governor shared that he plans to reform the Office of the Inspector General to “take on a new, expansive role as a reformed office also focused on optimization and efficiency within state government.”

“We haven’t stopped, and we won’t stop in finding efficiencies and actually improving the services we have provided through state government,” said Landry.

In a word of advice to other states hoping to emulate LA DOGE’s success, Landry urged governors to “just go out and challenge your cabinet members to reach into the bureaucracy and take a look at where the spending is occurring.”

The Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department and legal scholars laid out what could happen if Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner follows through on his promise to prosecute ICE in the line of their duty, should operations in Pennsylvania reach a flashpoint.

Last week, Krasner warned he would prosecute agents who “come to Philly to commit crimes” in an apparent reference to allegations an agent acted unlawfully in shooting a Minnesota woman who appeared to intentionally hit him with her car while disrupting an operation.

Philadelphia County Sheriff Rochelle Bilal doubled down, calling ICE officers “fake, wannabe law enforcement” and warned them they “don’t want this smoke ‘cause we will bring it to you.”

GOP, DEMOCRATS CLASH ON CAPITOL HILL AS REPUBLICANS TARGET CARTELS AND DEMS PUSH TO CURB ICE PARTNERSHIPS

Krasner argued President Donald Trump could not pardon arrested agents because any cases would be brought at the state level, leading Fox News Digital to ask officials and experts to weigh in on what the true case may be.

César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, the chair of Civil Rights & Civil Liberties at Ohio State’s college of law, and an expert in immigration and criminal law that is at nexus in this case, said interfering with federal law enforcement carrying out their job duties is just as much of a crime as killing someone without legal justification.

“Immigration agents are permitted to enforce federal immigration laws within any community in the United States, including Philadelphia, but local police officers there are equally authorized to investigate anyone who they suspect of having committed a violent crime.”

TOP REPUBLICAN REBUKES NOTIONS TO ARREST DHS AGENTS WITH PLAN TO PULL FUNDING FROM PROBLEM CITIES

While federal and local authorities often work in tandem in important operations to deconflict potential flash points, Hernandez said that dynamic has “clearly broken down in cities like Minneapolis” and that Krasner’s comments suggest it’s “frayed” in Philadelphia.

If trust is broken between local and federal authorities, actions like Krasner’s pledge may lead to court battles to determine supremacy.

Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano – a former professor of strategic studies at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle – predicted the feds would win any litigation due to the Supremacy Clause, which reads that “the supreme law of the land and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.”

ICE HEAD SAYS AGENTS FACING ‘CONSTANT IMPEDIMENTS’ AFTER MIGRANT SEEN RAMMING CARS WHILE TRYING TO FLEE

He added in recent comments to Fox News Digital that the “Constitution is not optional” and if Philadelphia officials think they can “bully” Washington, they will find out “that’s not how America works.”

Hernandez said “it is absolutely clear that no one — not even federal law enforcement officers — can do anything they like in the course of carrying out their job duties.”

“The hard question is where the line is drawn. That is what courts are set up to do, but they can only play their part if law enforcement officials investigate what happened, then prosecutors dig in to see whether there is a legal basis for filing criminal charges.”

When asked how they would treat such a case, a Justice Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital the DOJ has a “zero-tolerance policy for violence against law enforcement and will hold offenders accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

A top attorney at the Washington investigative nonprofit Oversight Project said that Philadelphia officials have to be “bluffing.”

“Any local arrest of a federal law enforcement official for performing federal law enforcement functions would be blatantly unlawful. Any ICE agents would be immediately released and the local officials should face charges for obstructing federal law enforcement.”

“This is hornbook constitutional law that every law student in America learns early in their schooling,” he said, adding that residents in cities where prosecutors believe they can pursue federal agents deserve officials with a “basic rudimentary understanding of law.”

DHS also weighed in, saying that the city would have no legal leg to stand on if prosecutors decided to interfere in any Minneapolis-style operations on Broad Street.

“Enforcing federal immigration laws is a clear federal responsibility under Article I, Article II and the Supremacy clause,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.

It would be up to Congress then to give local officials any carveouts, she suggested.

MINNESOTA AG SAYS ‘THERE IS NO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON MURDER’ AFTER FATAL ICE SHOOTING OF RENEE GOOD

“Our law enforcement is enforcing federal law—if politicians and activists don’t like the law, they should try to change it instead of demonizing our brave men and women in uniform.”

McLaughlin said Philadelphia is not alone in anti-enforcement rhetoric, and laid out the stakes of what kind of lawlessness could have continued in Pennsylvania if her agency hadn’t already begun taking criminal illegal immigrants off the streets.

She pointed to DHS’ recent capture of Yehia Badawi, an Egyptian illegal immigrant convicted of aggravated assault and robbery in Philadelphia.

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McLaughlin also shared the names of a Cuban drug trafficker, Cambodian methamphetamine dealer, and several other illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes, including rape.

Krasner’s office did not return a request for comment, and Bilal referred further questions to the DA after a spokesperson told Fox News Digital that lawmakers in Harrisburg do not decide who gets arrested in Philadelphia.

President Donald Trump broke out a French accent during a White House roundtable Friday while recounting a call he had shared with French President Emmanuel Macron regarding lowering drug prices. 

Trump hosted a rural healthcare roundtable Friday at the White House, where he celebrated investments made in rural communities under the “big, beautiful bill,” signed in July 2025. Amid his conversation with lawmakers and health officials, Trump recounted a phone call he shared with Macron as he worked to bring parity to U.S. drug prices that were far higher than prices in Europe. 

“I said, ‘Emmanuel,’” Trump recounted. 

“‘Yes, Donald, Donald. Thank you so much for calling,” he continued, using an accent to indicate Macron was speaking.

TRUMP PROMISES CHEAPER DRUGS UNDER TRUMPRX, BUT ECONOMISTS SAY THE LONG-TERM COSTS MAY BE HIDDEN

“I said, ‘You’re not going to like this call,'” Trump continued. 

Trump signed an executive order in May establishing a “most-favored-nation” drug pricing policy, directing the U.S. to pay no more than the lowest price charged by other developed countries for the same medications. Europe — including France — would have to pay more for drugs, Trump argued, because their ultra-low government-set prices let pharmaceutical companies shift costs onto Americans.

Trump said he was armed with threats of tariffs in order to force European nations to raise their drug prices as he worked to address drug pricing disparities between the two countries. 

“‘You’re going to have to get your drug prices up,'” Trump said he told Macron. 

PENCE GROUP BLASTS TRUMP’S DRUG PRICING PLAN AS ‘SOCIALIST’ IN NEW AD CAMPAIGN

“No, no, no, no, no, I will not do that,'” Trump said with an accent. 

“I said, ‘Emmanuel, we’re paying 13 times more than — 13 times, not 13% — 13 times more than you are for this bill.’ I rattled off some numbers that are crazy. You know the numbers I’m talking about,” the president continued. 

“‘Here’s the story, Emmanuel. If you don’t do it, I’m going to put a 25% tariff on all goods, wine, champagnes and everything else coming into the United States of America.'”

TRUMP’S QUEST TO REDUCE DRUG PRICES IS HEATING UP. BUT WILL HE BE ABLE TO DO IT?

“He said, ‘Donald, I would love to do this for you. It would be a great honor to do it,’” Trump continued of his conversation with Macron. “And that’s where it began. And I went through country after country.”

Trump previously has used an accent while talking about Macron, and noted Friday that he is a fan of Macron’s, calling him a “very nice person.”

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“I like him a lot. I hope he’s listening, because he doesn’t believe that, but I do,” Trump said. “He’s a nice man.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to Élysée Palace for additional comment from Macron Friday afternoon and has yet to receive a reply. 

The Virginia state Senate on Friday greenlit a constitutional amendment that would clear the way for the Democrat-controlled legislature to redraw the state’s U.S. House maps ahead of this year’s midterm elections.

The move by state senators, following a similar vote on Wednesday in the state House, was the final step needed to send the amendment to Virginia voters. If the ballot measure is approved this spring, the legislature, rather than the current non-partisan commission, would redraw the state’s congressional maps through 2030.

Virginia is the latest battleground in the ongoing high-stakes battle between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats to alter congressional maps ahead of November’s elections. And Virginia Democrats, who currently control six of the state’s 11 U.S. House districts, are aiming to draw up to four additional left-leaning seats.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) called Friday’s development “a critical step in giving Virginia voters the opportunity to ensure they have fair and equal representation in Congress.”

THE NEXT BATTLEGROUNDS IN THE HIGH-STAKES MAP FIGHT

And charging that “Donald Trump and Republicans are doing everything they can to rig the midterms in their favor through unprecedented mid-decade gerrymandering,” DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene argued that “Virginians — not politicians — will now have the chance to vote for a temporary, emergency exception that will restore fairness, level the playing field, and stand up to extremists seeking to silence their voices.”

But the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus accused the state Senate Democrats of passing “a partisan gerrymandering amendment to entrench their party in power.”

And the Republican National Committee (RNC) called it a “power grab.”

“This is just the most recent example of Democrats’ multi-decade campaign to gerrymander in every state where they gain power,” RNC national press secretary Kiersten Pels argued in a statement to Fox News Digital. “This is exactly why red states are fighting back to level the playing field after years of states like Illinois, New York, and California drawing their districts to disenfranchise Republicans.”

STUNNING SETBACK FOR TRUMP IN REDISTRICTING WARS

Virginia Democratic lawmakers have indicated they will release a proposed map later this month.

And on Thursday, a Democratic-aligned nonprofit titled “Virginians for Fair Elections” launched, to urge voters to vote in favor of the redistricting ballot measure.

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.

And Florida Republicans, in a move pushed by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers are also hoping to pick up an additional three to five seats through a redistricting push during a special legislative session in April.

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.

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

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

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

Hovering over the redistricting wars is the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule in Louisiana v. Callais, a crucial case which 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.

FIRST ON FOX: Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno is demanding answers from a Toledo county commissioner after the official compared ICE officers to terrorists, which Moreno suggested could violate his oath of office.

“Since December 2025, these agencies have changed from a legitimate agency to a terrorist group,” Commissioner Pete Gerken said earlier this week as the Lucas County Board of Commissioners voted against enforcing a grant providing funding to DHS.

In a letter to Gerken, obtained by Fox News Digital, Moreno called the vote “incoherent and perilous” and labeled Gerken’s comments as antithetical to the oath he swore as commissioner.

“Your irresponsible rhetoric and decisions are wholly inconsistent with the duties that you swore a constitutional oath to uphold,” Moreno wrote. “In fact, it is your legal responsibility, for example, to ‘work with all county elected officials and with judges to assure that they are properly funded to perform their statutory duties.’ Ohio Revised Code 3.07 states that ‘any person holding office… in this county… who refuses or willfully neglects to enforce the law or to perform any official duty imposed on him by law… is guilty of misconduct in office.’”

MEET THE MINNESOTANS KILLED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS THAT WALZ, DEMS NEVER HELD NEWS CONFERENCES OR VIGILS FOR

According to the letter, Toledo Public Schools are facing an estimated $70 million budget deficit, while the Lucas County sheriff has requested a $6.57 million budget increase to address staffing shortages. Moreno argued that rejecting federal assistance under those circumstances was “particularly confounding” and harmful to county residents.

Moreno, elected to the U.S. Senate in 2024, also accused Gerken of doubling down on his remarks rather than apologizing, citing the commissioner’s public statement that he did not believe the county should accept money from “an organization that has delegitimized itself.”

‘WORST OF THE WORST’: ICE ARRESTS CHILD PREDATOR, VIOLENT CRIMINALS AMID SURGE IN ANTI-AGENT ATTACKS

In the letter, Moreno warned that rhetoric labeling federal law enforcement officers as “terrorists” contributes to real-world violence, pointing to attacks on ICE and Border Patrol personnel and a surge in assaults against federal agents nationwide.

“Your disgusting declaration and decision not to fund critical criminal justice and safety infrastructure in Lucas County is not only an embarrassment,” Moreno wrote, “but will likely lead to more violence against law enforcement personnel.”

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The senator also accused Gerken of hypocrisy, noting that the commissioner had previously urged then-President Trump to be “respectful toward the local community,” while now publicly disparaging federal officers who “sacrifice so much to uphold our laws and keep our communities safe.”

Ultimately, Moreno asked Gerken to respond to a series of questions in the next five days that include how much of Lucas County’s budget comes from federal funds, whether calling federal law enforcement “terrorists” is consistent with his duties, and whether county residents benefit from refusing federal assistance.

Fox News Digital reached out to Gerken for comment. 

As elected Democrats across the country continue to lash out against ICE agents in the aftermath of the shooting death of Renee Good in Minneapolis, DHS told Fox News Digital this week there has been a 1,300% increase in assaults against agents and an 8,000% increase in death threats.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe was in Venezuela’s capital of Caracas Thursday to meet with acting President Delcy Rodríguez and other top officials, a U.S. official told Fox News Friday. 

The meeting unfolded about two weeks after the Trump administration carried out a military operation capturing Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. 

A U.S. official told Reuters Ratcliffe met with Rodriguez under the direction of President Donald Trump “to deliver the message that the United States looks forward to an improved working relationship.” 

The two discussed intelligence sharing, economic stability and the need to guarantee that Venezuela is no longer a “safe haven for America’s adversaries, especially narco-traffickers,” Reuters added.

TRUMP SIGNALS LONG ROAD AHEAD IN VENEZUELA IN HIS BOLDEST INTERVENTIONIST MOVE YET

On Wednesday, Trump said he had a call with Rodríguez and later described her as a “terrific” person. 

“This morning I had a very good call with the Interim President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez. We are making tremendous progress, as we help Venezuela stabilize and recover,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. 

MARIA CORINA MACHADO DETAILS GIFTING TRUMP NOBEL PEACE PRIZE DURING WHITE HOUSE VISIT

“Many topics were discussed, including Oil, Minerals, Trade and, of course, National Security. This partnership between the United States of America and Venezuela will be a spectacular one FOR ALL. Venezuela will soon be great and prosperous again, perhaps more so than ever before!” 

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The same day, Rodríguez announced her government will continue to release prisoners detained under the rule of Maduro in an initiative she touted as a “new political moment,” according to The Associated Press. 

Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancey and Bonny Chu contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump on Friday said there wasn’t a reason, in the present, to invoke the Insurrection Act, as agitators continue to clash with federal immigration authorities carrying out enforcement operations in Minneapolis. 

Trump was departing the White House when he was asked about the 1807 law, which he threatened to invoke earlier this week. 

“I believe it was Bush, the elder Bush, he used it, I think 28 times,” Trump told reporters. “It’s been used a lot. And if I needed it, I’d use it. I don’t think there’s any reason right now to use it, but if I needed it, I’d use it. It’s very powerful.”

The law allows the president to deploy the military to suppress rebellions and enforce federal laws. It would grant Trump the authority to federalize the National Guard and deploy active duty forces to restore order. It would temporarily override the Posse Comitatus Act, which normally restricts the use of the military for domestic law enforcement. 

MINNEAPOLIS POLICE CHIEF SAYS IF RHETORIC KEEPS ESCALATING ‘WE ARE HEADED TOWARDS YET ANOTHER TRAGEDY’

The law reportedly hasn’t been invoked since the 1992 Los Angeles riots, which began after four police officers were acquitted in the beating of Rodney King.

Despite Trump’s threat, some Republicans are resistant to the idea of using the centuries-old law. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., seemed to downplay Trump’s threat, placing his hope in local law enforcement’s ability to “settle things down.”

“Hopefully the local officials working with not only the federal law enforcement, ICE and other agencies, but also the local law enforcement officials will be able to settle things down,” Thune told reporters.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker, R-Miss., cast doubt on whether it would be appropriate to invoke the act, according to The Hill.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Ala., also expressed her concerns about the move, saying that the administration needs to be “very careful,” The Hill reported.

In a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump said “Troublemakers, Agitators, and Insurrectionists” that have been seen violently confronting federal officers are “highly paid professionals” in many cases.

“The Governor and Mayor don’t know what to do, they have totally lost control,” he wrote. “If, and when, I am forced to act, it will be solved, QUICKLY and EFFECTIVELY! President DJT.”

WHITE HOUSE BLAMES DEMOCRATS FOR ICE VIOLENCE AS MINNEAPOLIS ERUPTS, INSURRECTION ACT THREAT LOOMS

Fox News Digital has reached out to the offices of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. 

Trump has accused Walz, Frey and other local leaders of inflaming tensions and has blamed dangerous rhetoric for the doxxing and violence directed at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. 

On Thursday, he threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act if the violence continued in Minnesota. 

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“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
 

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey accused the Trump administration Friday of unleashing “political retribution” and an “invasion” on the state of Minnesota through federal immigration enforcement activity. 

The remarks come as lawmakers gathered in the Minnesota Senate Building in St. Paul for a hearing titled, “Kidnapped and Disappeared: Trump’s Deadly Assault on Minnesota.” Tensions remain high in Minnesota following last week’s shooting death of Renee Nicole Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. 

“What we are witnessing right now is unprecedented. There is no modern precedent for this level of federal overreach, violence, lawlessness carried out in the name of immigration enforcement,” Omar said. 

“This is not routine enforcement. This is not about public safety. This is not even about immigration. This is about political retribution,” she continued. “The president said it himself this week. It is increasingly clear that the entire purpose of these actions is to provoke chaos and fear in order to justify invoking the Insurrection Act and expand the president’s ability to rain terror upon American cities who do not vote for him.”

PROTESTERS CLASH WITH FEDERAL OFFICERS AFTER ANOTHER ICE SHOOTING IN MINNEAPOLIS

‘What we’re seeing on our streets is unnecessary abuses of force. This is an invasion for the sake of creating chaos by our own federal government to interrupt the daily lives of tens of thousands of people,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey later said. 

In a statement to Fox News Digital on Friday afternoon, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, “ICE officers are facing a 1300% increase in assaults against them because of dangerous, untrue smears from elected Democrats.”

“ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities with the utmost professionalism. Anyone pointing the finger at law enforcement officers instead of the criminals is simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens,” she added.

President Donald Trump first warned Thursday that he would invoke the Insurrection Act if people in Minnesota don’t obey the law and continue attacking federal agents there. He told reporters on Friday that the Insurrection Act was not needed amid anti-ICE unrest “right now” but said he could invoke the law if needed in the future.

DHS ARRESTS ARMED MAN WITH EXTRA AMMUNITION FOR ASSAULTING FEDERAL OFFICER AT LATE-NIGHT MINNEAPOLIS RIOT

“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

“In Minnesota, the Troublemakers, Agitators, and Insurrectionists are, in many cases, highly paid professionals. The Governor and Mayor don’t know what to do, they have totally lost control, and our currently being rendered, USELESS! If, and when, I am forced to act, it will be solved, QUICKLY and EFFECTIVELY!” the president wrote Friday in another post on the matter.

Trump’s warnings came after a second ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis in recent days. An ICE agent shot an illegal immigrant from Venezuela in the leg in Minnesota after a shovel attack during an ambush, federal officials said.

“This administration has unleashed a paramilitary force into our neighborhoods, terrorizing families, escalating enforcement, and now killing a U.S. citizen in our state,” Omar said at one point in the hearing Friday. “And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Our office has received numerous reports of deeply questionable arrests. Individuals detained without explanation, without warrants, without access to counsel, and in many cases, without any discernible lawful basis at all.”

“We have heard of agents pushing people because they look Latino or Somali, forcing them into car accidents where they smash windows, cut seatbelts, carry people away. Abandoned cars with broken windows have become a normal sight of daily life in the Twin Cities,” she continued. 

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“They have deliberately blurred the lines between public safety threats, legal immigration and U.S. citizens, creating an enforcement campaign so indiscriminate that citizens are being swept up, arrested and carried away to this detention facilities. In Minnesota, dozens of U.S. citizens have been taken into custody and released hours later. We have yet to see charges materialize, because, in nearly all instances, no federal charges are possible,” Omar said. 

President Donald Trump‘s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, said Friday that prosecutors in both the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the New York Attorney General’s Office “pressured and coerced” him into delivering testimony tailored to securing convictions against Trump.

Cohen, who was a key prosecution witness in two New York cases against Trump, accused New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of pursuing evidence aimed at Trump, saying prosecutors were uninterested in testimony that didn’t fit their narrative.

“I felt pressured and coerced to only provide information and testimony that would satisfy the government’s desire to build the cases against and secure a judgment and convictions against President Trump,” Cohen wrote in a post on Substack.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Office of the New York State Attorney General and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for comment.

APPEALS COURT HANDS TRUMP LEGAL WIN, ORDERS REVIEW OF HUSH MONEY CASE OVER PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY

Cohen, who was Trump’s personal lawyer for many years, said he was writing as a federal appeals court considers the president’s request to move his hush money case to federal court for further review.

The former Trump fixer testified in a civil case brought by James’ office in 2023, where Trump was found liable for fraudulently inflating his assets to obtain favorable loan terms. He also took the stand in Bragg’s case in 2024, where Trump was ultimately found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Cohen accused both James and Bragg of using their high-profile cases to elevate their careers, claiming they sought credit as officials who “took down Trump.”

TRUMP FILES ‘POWERHOUSE’ APPEAL IN ‘POLITICALLY CHARGED’ MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY CASE

“They blurred the line between justice and politics; and in that blur, the credibility of both suffered,” he wrote.

Cohen said that both before and during the trials, prosecutors made it clear they were only interested in testimony from him that would convict Trump.

“When my testimony was insufficient for a point the prosecution sought to make, prosecutors frequently asked inappropriate leading questions to elicit answers that supported their narrative,” he said.

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to several crimes, including tax evasion, campaign finance violations and lying to Congress. He described cooperating with authorities while incarcerated, saying he sought sentence relief and felt compelled to provide testimony fitting prosecutors’ narratives with the hope that his sentence would be reduced.

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“You may reasonably ask why I am speaking out now. The answer is simple. I have witnessed firsthand the damage done when prosecutors pick their target first and then seek evidence to fit a predetermined narrative,” Cohen said, while noting that he was not writing in defense of Trump.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) delivered good news for America’s troops Friday, confirming that the one-time $1,776 “Warrior Dividend” paid to service members in December 2025 is completely tax-free, allowing troops to keep every dollar of the bonus.

In a Friday release, the Treasury Department and the IRS said that “supplemental basic allowance for housing payments” made to members of the uniformed services in December 2025 “are not to be included in income by those who received the payments; they are not taxable.”

The agency said federal tax law specifically excludes from gross income a “qualified military benefit,” adding that basic allowances for housing payments fall under that category and therefore are not subject to federal income taxes.

The confirmation caps off President Donald Trump’s pre-Christmas announcement that nearly 1.5 million U.S. service members would receive a special “Warrior Dividend” in recognition of their service and to commemorate roughly 250 years since the nation’s founding.

CONGRESS UNVEILS $900B DEFENSE BILL TARGETING CHINA WITH TECH BANS, INVESTMENT CRACKDOWN, US TROOP PAY RAISE

“And the checks are already on the way,” Trump said during a Dec. 17, 2025, primetime address from the White House, crediting tariffs and recently passed GOP spending and tax legislation for funding the payments. 

“Nobody deserves it more than our military. And I say congratulations to everybody,” he added.

According to the IRS, Congress appropriated $2.9 billion in legislation enacted last July to supplement the basic allowance for housing payable to members of the uniformed services, with the one-time $1,776 payments funded by that appropriation.

The IRS said the supplemental payments were made primarily to active-duty service members in pay grades O-6 and below, along with eligible Reserve Component members as of Nov. 30, 2025, across the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Space Force.

TRUMP SIGNS ‘MEDAL OF HONOR ACT’ TO RAISE PENSIONS FOR AMERICA’S MILITARY HEROES

Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson welcomed the tax treatment in remarks carried by Pentagon News, saying the ruling ensures the money reaches military families directly.

“The tax-free Warrior Dividend places $1,776 directly in the hands of our warfighters and their families,” Wilson said. “The department is proud to recognize their sacrifice.”

During his December address, Trump also pointed to what he described as a turnaround for the armed forces under his leadership, citing record enlistment and contrasting it with what he called historically poor recruitment numbers under the previous administration.

“What a difference a year makes,” Trump said.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the dividend reflects a broader push to improve quality of life for military families.

“This Warrior Dividend serves as yet another example of how the War Department is working to improve the quality of life for our military personnel and their families,” Hegseth said. “All elements of what we’re doing are to rebuild our military. 

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The Department of War and the Internal Revenue Service did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for additional comment. 

Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this reporting.

President Donald Trump is celebrating an increase in funding for healthcare focused particularly on rural communities across the country, a move was made possible by cutting “waste, fraud and abuse from Medicaid.”

“As part of the Great Big Beautiful Bill, we’ve increased … funding for the healthcare by an unprecedented $50 billion. That’s rural healthcare. Nobody thought that was going to happen,” Trump said during a roundtable Friday.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act directs half of the rural health funding to be distributed evenly among all 50 states, with the remaining funds allocated based on state-specific factors, including the condition of rural hospitals.

TRUMP ROLLS OUT ‘GREAT HEALTHCARE PLAN,’ URGES CONGRESS TO SLASH COSTS FOR AMERICANS

“We increased funding for rural health care by an unprecedented, record-setting $50 billion over five years, which will benefit Americans in all 50 states, and this was made possible by cutting massive waste, fraud and abuse from Medicaid and reinvesting those funds to revitalize hospitals in our cherished rural communities,” he added.

SPEAKER JOHNSON EKES OUT HEALTHCARE BILL VICTORY AFTER HOUSE GOP OBAMACARE REBELLION

The roundtable, which included Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, was aimed at promoting the Trump administration’s Great Healthcare Plan, which was announced during a White House press briefing Thursday.

Some have described the proposal as an effort by Trump to shape Republican messaging ahead of the 2026 midterm elections as the party tries to hold onto its slim majorities in the House and Senate.

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In its fact sheet on the plan, the White House highlighted several main points, including lowering drug prices, lowering insurance premiums, holding insurance companies accountable and maximizing price transparency. Trump touched on several of the elements of the plan during the roundtable and said that hospitals that accept Medicaid and Medicare will be required to prominently post prices so that patients are aware of the cost of their care.

During the roundtable Friday, Trump implored Congress to enact the Great Healthcare Plan, but the president said he was confident Republicans would back it.

Fox News has learned federal prosecutors are investigating both Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for allegedly impeding law enforcement efforts in the blue state.

Two sources familiar confirmed the probe, though no additional details about the investigation have been publicly released.

Sources said the investigation is in early stages, and it is unclear if it will result in any criminal charges.

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News the duo’s anti-ICE rhetoric was teetering on a federal crime.

“When the governor or the mayor threaten our officers, when the mayor suggests that he’s encouraging citizens to call 911 when they see ICE officers, that is very close to a federal crime,” Blanche said.

Bondi added on X, “A reminder to all those in Minnesota: No one is above the law.”

PROTESTERS CLASH WITH FEDERAL OFFICERS AFTER ANOTHER ICE SHOOTING IN MINNEAPOLIS

Walz responded to the news by accusing the Trump administration of “weaponizing the justice system.”

“Two days ago, it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly,” Walz wrote in an X post. “Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic. The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.”

Frey also weighed in on social media, asserting he “will not be intimidated.”

“This is an obvious attempt to intimidate me for standing up for Minneapolis, local law enforcement, and residents against the chaos and danger this Administration has brought to our city,” Frey wrote on X. “I will not be intimidated. My focus remains where it’s always been: keeping our city safe.

Frey’s office told Fox News Digital they have not yet heard from the federal government.

“America depends on leaders that use integrity and the rule of law as the guideposts for governance,” Frey’s office wrote in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Neither our city nor our country will succumb to this fear. We stand rock solid.”

“America depends on leaders that use integrity and the rule of law as the guideposts for governance. Neither our city nor our country will succumb to this fear. We stand rock solid.”

Both Democrat leaders have encouraged anti-immigration enforcement protests following the death of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot Jan. 7 by a federal agent while allegedly blocking an ICE operation in Minneapolis.

The White House’s Rapid Response 47 team criticized Walz following a statewide address Wednesday, where he called for ICE agents to be prosecuted.

“Help us establish a record of exactly what’s happening in our communities. You have an absolute right to peacefully film ICE agents as they conduct these activities,” Walz said. “So, carry your phone with you at all times. And if you see these ICE agents in your neighborhood, take out that phone and hit record.

“Help us create a database of the atrocities against Minnesotans, not just to establish a record for posterity. But to bank evidence for future prosecution.”

Frey called for peace on Wednesday, just days after telling ICE to “get the f— out” of the city. 

OMAR, MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR ACCUSE TRUMP ADMIN OF UNLEASHING ‘POLITICAL RETRIBUTION,’ ‘INVASION’ WITH ICE ACTIVITY

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News that Walz, Frey and other Democratic leaders have “done nothing but turn up the temperature, smear heroic ICE officers, and incite violence against them—all in defense of criminal illegal aliens.”

President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday warning he would invoke the Insurrection Act if Minnesotans continue aggression toward federal agents.

“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump wrote in the post.

WHITE HOUSE BLAMES DEMOCRATS FOR ICE VIOLENCE AS MINNEAPOLIS ERUPTS, INSURRECTION ACT THREAT LOOMS

The Insurrection Act, which allows the president to deploy the military to suppress rebellions and enforce federal laws, has not been invoked since the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

If invoked, National Guardsmen could be deployed to carry out domestic law enforcement.

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Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman-Diamond contributed to this report.

House Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would press to restore funding cut by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and even add to the original amounts.

Schumer made the comments when he was asked Thursday if he would work to replenish funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at a forum held by the Center for American Progress.

“If you look at the budget we’re working on right now, we restore most of the cuts. And even go higher than previous years on many of the programs that DOGE slashed,” Schumer said.

SENATE QUIETLY WORKS ON BIPARTISAN OBAMACARE FIX AS HEALTHCARE CLIFF NEARS

“We have worked really hard and gotten bipartisan support to increase these amounts and undo a lot of the cuts which are essential.”

He did not describe which specific programs he hopes to supplement. 

Lawmakers have not yet released a final text for the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bill for 2026. The Senate Appropriations Committee has proposed a plan that would increase its fiscal year 2026 funding by $5 billion over fiscal 2025 levels.

Since the Trump administration began making cuts through DOGE, Democrats like Schumer have largely condemned them, calling them an attack on government resources and services.

HOUSE GOP TENSIONS ERUPT AFTER MODERATE REPUBLICANS’ OBAMACARE ‘BETRAYAL’

Republicans, by contrast, have framed the effort as a way to remove waste, fraud and abuse. According to the DOGE website, the group believes it has eliminated $215 billion in waste.

Republicans made $115 billion of those spending reductions official through a bill passed last year.

Since then, lawmakers have not advanced another rescissions package, a bill that helps lawmakers fast-track spending reductions at the request of the president.

Republicans like Aaron Bean, R-Fla., chairman of the House DOGE Caucus, say the GOP’s cost-cutting efforts are still ongoing in the background.

“DOGE is still alive,” Bean told Fox News Digital in December. “We’re going to get it rocking. I think that will come down the road.”

Bean noted that several pressing issues have captured Congress’ attention in the last few months.

CONGRESS FLEES TOWN AS HEALTH CARE PREMIUMS SET TO EXPLODE FOR MILLIONS OF AMERICANS IN JANUARY

“I think, you know, the shutdown set everybody back a little bit. These credits, with the budget, with everything,” Bean said, referring to the COVID-era Obamacare tax credits that were at the heart of the 2025 government shutdown.

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Members of the House and Senate Appropriations committees did not immediately respond to a request for a response to Schumer’s statements.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem declared Friday that America’s border is the “most secure” in history, pointing to an eighth straight month of zero parole releases.

In a post on X, Noem touted newly released Customs and Border Protection (CBP) numbers for December 2025, praising President Trump and frontline law enforcement for delivering historic results.

“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and the dedication of DHS law enforcement, America’s borders are safer than any time in our nation’s history,” Noem wrote. “What President Trump and our CBP agents and officers have been able to do in a single year is nothing short of extraordinary.”

CBP reported zero parole releases in December, compared to 7,041 released along the southwest border in December 2024 under the Biden administration.

TRUMP HAS MADE THE BORDER SECURE AGAIN — BUT NOW THE HARD PART BEGINS

“Once again, we have a record low number of encounters at the border and the 8th straight month of zero releases,” Noem said. “Month after month, we are delivering results that were once thought impossible: the most secure border in history and unmatched enforcement successes.”

According to CBP, total nationwide encounters from October through December fell to 91,603, the lowest ever recorded at the start of a fiscal year and 25% below the previous record low set in 2012.

December alone saw just 30,698 encounters nationwide, a 92% drop from the Biden-era peak of 370,883 and the lowest December total on record, according to the federal agency.

THE NEW HIGH-TECH TOOL TRUMP IS USING TO SECURE OUR BORDER

Along the southwest border, Border Patrol recorded just 21,815 apprehensions in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, marking a 95% drop compared to the Biden administration’s first-quarter average, CBP noted.

Border Patrol agents made 6,478 apprehensions in December along the southwest border, marking a 96% decrease from the Biden administration’s monthly average and fewer than what agents encountered in just four days in December 2024. 

Border patrol agents averaged 209 apprehensions per day during the month, compared to Biden-era levels that exceeded that number every 1.5 hours, CBP wrote.

“Our agents and officers have set a new standard for border security, achieving historic results that speak for themselves,” CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said in a statement.

NEW DATA REVEALS BORDER CROSSINGS REACH RECORD LOWS AMID TRUMP ADMIN’S CRACKDOWN

CBP also seized 39,030 pounds of illicit drugs nationwide in December. 

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“The men and women of CBP are demonstrating what’s possible through unwavering commitment and effective enforcement and will continue to ensure the safety and security of our nation’s borders every single day,” Scott added.

FIRST ON FOX: A new initiative to “Make Housing Great Again” led by conservative influencer Benny Johnson and the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) has a plan on how to make housing more affordable for Americans.

In November, conservative influencer Benny Johnson and AFPI announced a new ‘Make Housing Great Again’ initiative, which has also tapped former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson and developer Michael Burkentine to help advise. 

Johnson brings a massive following to the initiative and also has a stake in the matter himself, considering he is a young father, AFPI pointed out when asked to explain the decision to select Johnson as the initiative’s co-chair and national spokesperson. This week, the initiative unveiled a list of concrete policy goals it will pursue, which it believes will make the American Dream of owning a home more attainable for all.

“Housing affordability has reached a crisis point in America, with a 167% increase in home prices in the past half-century. The result of more expensive homes is the delay of a significant life milestone: homeownership,” the MAGA housing initiative’s policy white paper points out. “The America First vision of housing affordability is to restore the American Dream to what it once was. By taking a pragmatic and targeted approach to the affordability crisis these proposals will increase the housing supply, provide direct relief to home buyers, bring prices down, and, ultimately, allow all Americans to obtain the cornerstone of the American Dream: a place to call their own.”

TRUMP OPENS DOOR TO LIZ WARREN ON CREDIT CARD RATES AS GOP WEIGHS AFFORDABILITY FIGHT 

Incentivizing deregulation at the local level via market-driven solutions, efforts to reduce construction costs, the implementation of tax benefits for first-time home buyers, expanding economic “opportunity zones,” and reducing foreign housing demand are among several of the concrete policy goals the new MAGA housing initiative said it will be prioritizing.

As home prices have risen, wages are not keeping pace, the blueprint pointed out, highlighting that the median household income in the United States increased 99.7% between 2000 and 2024, while the median sale price for a single-family home increased by 150.1% during the same period. Additionally, the median age of first-time home buyers today is 40-years-old, compared to just four years ago when it was 33-years-old. 

The ‘Make Housing Great Again’ policy report cited low supply due to “excessive” regulations, immigration-induced demand spikes, high mortgage rates, and record debt burdens among young Americans, as factors causing the American Dream of owning a home to be less attainable:   

To combat these roadblocks, the new MAGA housing initiative says it will focus on supply-side deregulation and financial incentives aimed at the local level. The initiative points out that regulations imposed by local governments often preclude the federal government from setting national-level mandates to deregulate, but through HUD it can incentivize localities to expand their housing supply by tying federal housing benefits to deregulation efforts.

WHITE HOUSE ‘LASER FOCUSED’ ON AFFORDABILITY AS TRUMP SOFTENS TARIFF STRATEGY

Furthermore, to encourage localities to undertake deregulatory actions, the initiative will push the Trump administration to offer “concrete benefits” to home builders and buyers, such as a “Working Families Housing Fund” which the initiative coined the “Targeted Regional U.S. Middle-Class Prosperity Fund,” or “TRUMP Fund” for short. The TRUMP fund would invest in professionally managed housing funds designed to help provide financial assistance for middle-income, working-class families in the 80% to 120% median income for their area. However, in order for people to be eligible, communities must show they have taken steps to reduce barriers to building, the initiative suggests. 

The “Make Housing Great Again” initiative also sees boosting the number of workers in skilled trades as an avenue to reduce overall construction costs. Experts estimate that the skilled labor jobs in the construction industry have recently been short by around 350,000 workers month-over-month. The National Association of Home Builders estimates the industry will need to hire nearly 723,000 workers per year just to keep pace with demand and close a nationwide housing gap of 1.5 million homes.  

“There are numerous opportunities at the state and federal levels to increase interest in and access to careers in the skilled trades,” the report argues. “By increasing interest in skilled trades and reducing barriers to entry, it is possible to increase the pipeline of workers entering skilled trades and, by extension, reduce the costs of building new homes.”

A new and revamped version of “Opportunity Zones,” which is essentially a federal tax incentive intended to spur local investment in low-income areas, is also among the policy plans AFPI and Johnson’s new MAGA housing initiative has in mind. The plan is to create “Opportunity Zones Plus” that would create an even higher-tier benefit for housing that is constructed in designated communities that meet certain affordability criteria. 

Providing direct benefits to home buyers, such as through tax-advantaged savings plans, a family formation mortgage credit for young couples trying to have kids, and a new fixed 30-year mortgage rate for first-time home buyers supplemented by HUD, were among the policy prescriptions as well.

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Another major touchpoint for improving housing affordability by the initiative includes reducing the housing demand among foreign nationals. According to the “Make Housing Great Again” white paper, foreign investors bought $56 billion worth of homes during a 12-month period between 2024 and 2025, with 47% of those foreign buyers purchasing property for use as a vacation home or rental. Foreign buyers also reportedly pay in cash at a much higher rate than American home buyers.

In an effort to help protect young home buyers, the initiative also plans to focus on “cracking down on predatory lending” practices and setting guardrails for this industry. Congress can effectuate this change by capping the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) lenders are allowed to set at 36% for most consumer borrowing, payday loans and credit card interest. According to the report, similar policies have been implemented for the military community.    

“The average first-time home buyer in America is now 40-years-old. 40. years. Old. That is far beyond the optimal age to get married and start a family,” Johnson told Fox News Digital after the initiative was launched in November. “The fight for homeownership is a fight for the survival of our culture and civilization. Young Americans cannot build families without homes, and a nation without families cannot survive. The American Dream is dying before our eyes. This is a generational betrayal, and we must reverse it for our children and for their future. This was the final policy priority of Charlie Kirk. We will deliver and save the American Dream.”

Fox News Digital’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report.

A Reagan-appointed federal judge assailed the Trump administration’s effort Thursday to deport certain pro-Palestinian protesters and academics at major universities, describing the actions as unconstitutional and “targeted” efforts to chill free speech — a characterization that prompted fierce pushback from the administration. 

U.S. District Judge William G. Young used a remedies hearing in Boston Thursday to take aim at Trump, whom he accused of acting “illegally” and “intentionally” in targeting noncitizen pro-Palestinian academic protesters on college campuses — an effort the judge described as illegal and targeting certain groups.

In response to the remarks, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital that it’s “bizarre that this judge is broadcasting his intent to engage in left-wing activism against the democratically elected President of the United States.”

A senior DHS official also blasted the remarks from the Boston-based federal judge. 

FEDERAL JUDGE LAUNCHES SCATHING BROADSIDE OF TRUMP’S EFFORTS TO DEPORT PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTERS

Young ruled in September that the actions in question violated the First Amendment and had scheduled Thursday’s hearing with the intent of crafting a remedy to protect the noncitizens in question from being deported, or having their immigration status changed barring certain circumstances.

But what transpired instead was largely a stunning dressing-down of top Trump officials, including the president, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. 

“I find it breathtaking that I have been compelled on the evidence to find the conduct of such high-level officers of our government — cabinet secretaries — conspired to infringe the First Amendment rights of people with such rights here in the United States,” Young said Thursday. “These cabinet secretaries have failed in their sworn duty to uphold the Constitution.”

The most searing remarks of the day, however, were reserved for Trump. 

Young said Trump has continued to disregard the First Amendment in an “appalling” capacity, likening his actions to those of an “authoritarian” leader. 

“We cast around the word ‘authoritarian,'” Young said. “I don’t, in this context, treat that in a pejorative sense — and I use it carefully — but it’s fairly clear that this president believes, as an authoritarian, that when he speaks, everyone, everyone in Article II is going to toe the line absolutely.”

Young used the rest of the hearing to tick through a rough outline of an order he plans to finalize and publish next week, which will enumerate the conditions under which administration officials can amend the immigration status of the academic groups in question.

He also said he planned to make public a large amount of the materials used as evidence in the case, despite the administration’s request that the materials be sealed.  

Trump and his senior advisors have adopted a “fearful approach” to freedom of speech to “exclude from participation everyone who doesn’t agree with them,” Young said.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP’S BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP BAN FOR ALL INFANTS, TESTING LOWER COURT POWERS

Lawyers for the administration argued that the actions were part of their fight against antisemitism, including on college campuses, and had argued that the individuals in question were “pro-Hamas.”

Young in September sided with the plaintiffs — the American Association of University Professors and the Middle East Studies Association — in ruling that the Trump administration’s actions violated the First Amendment.

Trump’s “palpable misunderstanding that the government simply cannot seek retribution for speech he disdains poses a great threat to Americans’ freedom of speech,” he said then. “It is at this juncture that the judiciary has robustly rebuffed the president and his administration.” 

Still, Young said Thursday he planned to issue an order with a more narrowly tailored form of relief for students than the lawyers had sought and would not grant them the blanket injunction they had sought. 

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, fired back at the judge in a statement Thursday to Fox News Digital.

“There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world’s terrorist sympathizers, and we are under no obligation to admit them or let them stay here,” she said.

Representatives for the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

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

It’s not the first time Young has raised eyebrows for his sharp criticisms of the president.  

Young in June ruled that the Trump administration acted illegally when it slashed funding for NIH research grants and issued an injunction for the funding to be restored. 

He also used the order to describe the cuts as “appalling” evidence of what he described as “racial discrimination” and “discrimination against the LGBTQ community.” 

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The Supreme Court later ruled 5-4 to lift the injunction, and two justices took the opportunity to chastise Young, to some degree, for the manner in which he went about issuing the opinion.