NationalWatch

The Trump administration is opening civil-rights investigations into the University of Connecticut and the University of Minnesota after receiving complaints alleging the schools are operating dorm programs that may be steering students into campus housing services based on race.

The complaints, filed by the Equal Protection Project and obtained by Fox News Digital, accuse UConn of operating three allegedly discriminatory housing programs — ScHOLA²RS House, BSOUL House and La Comunidad Intelectual — promoted toward Black male, Black female and Hispanic students. A separate complaint against the University of Minnesota Twin Cities names four programs — Huntley House, Charlotte’s Home, CASA SOL and Tsev Hmoob — that allegedly are promoted toward Black male, Black female, Hispanic and Hmong American students. 

According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the programs potentially violate the Fair Housing Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and constitutional equal-protection guarantees by steering students toward or away from dormitory housing programs – which also include student support services – based on race, color or national origin, even when the universities say the programs are “open to all.”

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“Unlawful discrimination cannot be allowed to poison American communities or separate members of our next generation —especially in college and university housing,” Secretary Scott Turner said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Every student has the right to learn and live in an educational environment free from illegal and divisive DEI. Unlike the Biden Administration, the Trump Administration does not play favorites. Every American deserves the law’s protection, and any institution of higher education that engages in unlawful housing discrimination will be held accountable.”

Both universities denied engaging in discriminatory housing practices.

A University of Minnesota spokesperson told Fox News Digital the school wasn’t aware of the probe from HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, but argued the school’s programs are compliant with “federal regulations, guidelines and anti-discrimination laws.” HUD confirmed to Fox News Digital it sent notice of the investigation to the university ahead of publication. 

“The University’s Living Learning Communities are open to all students, regardless of race or ethnicity, which is clearly stated on our website,” the spokesperson said. “The University is diligent in its compliance with federal regulations, guidelines and anti-discrimination laws.”

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However, the Equal Protection Project’s complaint cited by HUD appeared to anticipate UMN’s defense, arguing that the school’s “open to all” disclaimer does not resolve the alleged problem because the university still “expressly defines and markets” the residential communities around race or ethnicity. 

“Such perfunctory non-discrimination language does not cure the racial steering violation,” the complaint says.

The complaint points to UMN materials describing Huntley House as a community “designed for Black men,” Charlotte’s House as “designed for Black women,” CASA SOL as “designed for Latinx students” and Tsev Hmoob as “designed for Hmong American students,” all of which provide housing and programmatic benefits including peer mentoring, academic support, community events and shared residential space for selected students.

The complaint also alleges UMN added its “open to all” language to at least three of the programs sometime after March 17, 2026, based on internet archive history, and argues that the late-added disclaimer does not cure the alleged violation. Instead, the complaint says, the added language suggests the university was aware its race-based descriptions and opens them to legal liability.

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Meanwhile, UConn also denied discriminating in campus housing.

“UConn does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, or any other aspect of identity, including in our on-campus housing,” a university spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

“UConn is home to nearly 20 different interdisciplinary living and learning communities within on-campus housing, all of which are organized around students who may have similar interests, backgrounds, or academic pursuits, including the three that were specifically named,” the spokesperson continued. “However, these communities are open to all students and no student is denied access to these communities based on their identity.”

But the Equal Protection Project complaint cited by HUD in conjunction with its new probe argues that UConn’s housing programs, which also offer student support services, may still amount to unlawful racial steering even if students outside the named groups are not formally barred. 

UConn’s housing descriptions for ScHOLA²RS House, BSOUL House and La Comunidad Intelectual, the complaint alleged, have been promoted in a manner that could signal to other students that the housing programs are not intended for them. The complaint points specifically to the schools’ promotional materials and social media posts, arguing the housing the programs’ titles, descriptions and imagery are likely to steer non-Black or non-Hispanic students away from applying, regardless of whether UConn intended to discriminate.

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“This information steers individuals (‘ordinary readers’) towards and away from dormitory housing based on these preferences in violation of the FHA,” the complaint against UConn states, adding that the allegation holds “even if UConn in fact has no discriminatory intent.”

The complaint highlights how UConn’s learning communities allow students to live together while participating in shared academic courses, mentoring and co-curricular programming, and says the named programs also promote support including academic and social or emotional support, research opportunities, professional development, seminar courses, events and shared community space.

“When parents entrust their children to universities, they expect these institutions to cultivate independent thinkers who will engage with life’s permanent questions, pursue truth, beauty, and goodness, and carry forward the great intellectual, moral, and cultural inheritance of Western civilization,” Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Craig Trainor told Fox News Digital. 

“Too often, however, these young Americans arrive on campus only to be steered toward racially segregated housing arrangements that divide students, create unequal experiences, and betray the core principles of a classical liberal education,” he concluded. “We will fully investigate the allegations against the University of Connecticut and the University of Minnesota to determine if they are, in fact, violating the Fair Housing Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

FIRST ON FOX: A conservative organization is calling for a sweeping overhaul of America’s service academies and war colleges, arguing the institutions have drifted too far toward civilian academia and urging Congress to permanently enshrine the Trump administration’s military education reforms into law.

The 12-page blueprint, obtained by Fox News Digital, was drafted by Restoration of America, a conservative advocacy organization that promotes right-leaning public policy proposals and political engagement, and proposes reshaping admissions, curriculum, faculty and governance around a single objective: preparing officers to “win the nation’s wars” by returning military education to what its authors describe as a warfighting-first mission.

“The expectation is that they’re generating warfighters, not philosophers and future bureaucrats,” Restoration of America founder Doug Truax, a West Point graduate, told Fox News Digital. “We pay a lot for these academies… and the expectation is that they’re generating warfighters.” 

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A Pentagon review already has led to changes at the academies. West Point disbanded a dozen cadet clubs centered on race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation to comply with the administration’s anti-diversity, equity and inclusion directives.

During a March 26, 2025, Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, the service academy superintendents testified that West Point had eliminated two elective courses — “Race, Ethnicity and Nation” and “Power and Difference” — while the Naval Academy canceled two courses, “Gender Matters” and “Gender Sexuality Studies,” and modified 18 others as part of a Pentagon-directed review of diversity-related curriculum.

But Truax argues those changes should not end with executive action.

“We have to take our opportunity when we have power to put this into law,” Truax said. “Otherwise, we’ll look back and be like, well, we had that one little moment where it was getting better, but now we’re right back where we were.”

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Truax said the foundation is sharing the blueprint with lawmakers and administration officials in hopes Congress ultimately will codify many of the recommendations through legislation. He said executive orders can be reversed by future administrations, making statutory changes the only way to ensure the reforms endure.

The blueprint is organized around four pillars — admissions, curriculum, faculty and governance — and proposes some of the most sweeping changes to military education advanced by conservatives since President Donald Trump returned to office.

Among its recommendations, the paper calls for permanently banning consideration of race, ethnicity and sex in admissions decisions, requiring at least 75% of coursework to focus directly on military competencies and warfighting, replacing most civilian professors with active-duty or retired military officers and abolishing tenure at military educational institutions.

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It also recommends ending academy participation in the Rhodes Scholarship program, arguing the military’s top young officers should spend their formative years leading troops rather than pursuing prestigious overseas academic fellowships, along with eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion offices and restructuring academy oversight boards.

Truax argued the nation’s military academies gradually adopted the culture and priorities of civilian universities during the Obama and Biden administrations, shifting attention away from preparing officers for combat.

Critics of similar proposals argue senior military education exists to prepare future generals and admirals for strategic leadership rather than tactical command.

In a March essay published by War on the Rocks, retired Army officer Bradford Duplessis argued “the cult of lethality approach, characterized by its focus on tactical warfighting at the expense of strategic study, will not produce senior military leaders with the necessary skills and attributes to effectively lead in today’s complex environment.”

“The removal of civilian faculty from the war colleges would result in brain drain in vital areas where military officers possess little to no experience or education,” he wrote.

Duplessis argued senior officers “must understand the responsibilities of their future bosses” and said strategic leadership requires an understanding of diplomacy, politics and other instruments of national power in addition to military force.

Truax rejected that argument, saying he believes the officer corps has spent too much time learning to think like “politicians, State Department employees and military contractors” instead of warriors — a theme echoed throughout the blueprint.

While Truax praised Hegseth for taking what he called “a number of steps in the right direction,” he argued executive action alone is insufficient.

“There’s been a number of steps in the right direction,” Truax said. “However, here’s the main problem. A lot of this has been done by executive order.”

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“Woke did not go anywhere,” he added. “It’s just in hiding right now.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of War and all three military service academies for comment.

House GOP leaders narrowly avoided a major setback Thursday as they race to pass a third-party-line megabill, but fiscal hawks are still threatening to derail the effort down the road.

The first test came Thursday at a critical House Budget Committee markup, during which the panel approved a $95 billion budget reconciliation framework along party lines.

But House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is likely to face trouble on the House floor next week as some conservatives sharply criticize the package for including no spending-cut instructions. 

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a member of the budget panel, did not vote.

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The budget blueprint now heads to the House Rules Committee, where GOP leaders will attempt to win a key vote and put the plan up for a chamber-wide vote by the end of next week.

The framework would provide $73 billion for defense and intelligence, allocate $12 billion in assistance to farmers and establish a $10 billion funding pot that is expected to provide grants to states to implement elements of the SAVE America Act.

House fiscal hawks warned earlier this week that the bill was a non-starter because it included no spending offsets.

“I think that a no offset plan is dead on arrival because, frankly, three of us would kill it,” Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, told reporters. “And so, I think that’s likely at this point.”

Passing a budget blueprint is the first step to unlock the complex budget reconciliation process, which requires near-unanimity among Republicans amid their slim margins.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can afford to lose just three GOP defections assuming all members are present and voting.

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Republicans are pursuing a third “big, beautiful bill” to cut Democrats out of the process, meaning Johnson will have to rely solely on GOP votes.

The plan also faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where some Republicans remain skeptical of another reconciliation effort. House Republicans’ blueprint notably contains no spending instructions for the upper chamber, an omission that could further delay the process.

If the budget blueprint advances out of the House and Senate, only then will lawmakers start writing the actual bill.

The plan could also face trouble in the upper chamber, where a faction of Senate Republicans remain skeptical of another reconciliation effort.

“Everybody is betting against us being able to get it done,” Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “I am more and more optimistic each day that passes.”

Johnson has cast the effort as the best opportunity for Republicans to pass pieces of the stalled SAVE America Act before the November midterm elections.

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“It’s our best shot at enacting our party’s top priority legislation, the SAVE America Act,” Johnson said Wednesday at a news conference with Vice President JD Vance. “It is important to the American people and it’s important to the future.”

The Republican in charge of funding and backing candidates for the Senate has two people in mind to replace the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., has been fielding calls from former and current members of Congress all interested in jumping into the Aug. 11 special election to replace the late lawmaker, but there’s only one he’s been calling consistently: former Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.

Scott said during an event remembering his colleague Graham on Wednesday, “You probably will be surprised to hear this, but I have an affinity for Trey Gowdy.

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“Trey would be an amazing senator for South Carolina. I’m not sure that, as he says, he could afford the alimony or the pay cut,” Scott said. “But I would love to see him. He’s happily married, by the way.”

Gowdy served in the House for eight years, opting to retire from the lower chamber in 2019 after making a name for himself leading the House Select Committee on Benghazi, where he peppered former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the 2012 terrorist attacks in Libya where four Americans died. He’s since become a host on Fox News.

Scott believed that Gowdy could easily slot into the role because of his years of experience in Congress, and noted that he shared similar areas of expertise as Graham, given his past as a prosecutor and his foreign policy acumen.

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And he could easily step in on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Graham was expected to become chair next year, to debate and help select a new Supreme Court Justice should a retirement come down the pike in the near future.

“I think he would make a great representative,” Scott said. “I think that’s undeniably true.”

“I can’t think of a better person that, I think, represents the heart of South Carolina than Trey Gowdy,” Scott said. “However, he’s been pretty clear that he is not looking for the job, asking for the job. I’m trying to get him interested in it, but we’ll see if that works out at all.”

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But,he acknowledged that there are others who may be catching the eye of President Donald Trump, who will likely have a major role in tapping Graham’s successor.

“The president’s enthusiasm around Russell Fry probably is no surprise to anybody,” Scott said. “But I have not seen or heard of an endorsement yet coming out of the White House.”

Trump has suggested that Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C., who he handpicked to run for the House four years ago, would be a person to watch in the special election. And Fry has been communicating with the White House about jumping into the race.

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But there’s also another person that, in Scott’s opinion, would be a near-perfect fit to replace Graham: his sister, Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., who was appointed to fill out the remainder of her brother’s term.

“I think the truth of the matter is that Darline has so far been off to a remarkable start,” he said. “Why not her, would be my question.”

The Trump administration announced Thursday it is investigating 75 entry-level truck driver commercial driver’s license schools across the U.S. that are suspected of fraudulently helping put non-citizen drivers on American highways.

The Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) are partnering to address fraud regarding the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs to illegal aliens.

“FMCSA has identified approximately 75 entry-level driving training schools suspected of fraudulent activities, including using improper driver certifications, falsifying training records, and failing to properly train drivers applying for CDLs, among other violations,” DHS announced in a release Thursday.

The crackdown comes after months of American deaths from truck-driving accidents caused by reported illegal immigrants.

“Too many American lives have been lost in completely avoidable accidents because illegal aliens have been granted commercial driver’s licenses to drive trucks and 18-wheelers on America’s roadways,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin wrote in a statement. 

“DHS law enforcement is partnering with the Department of Transportation to eliminate CDL fraud, strengthen the integrity of the CDL system, and investigate commercial driver’s license schools throughout the country. This is a whole-of-government approach, to keep America’s roads safe.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy hailed President Donald Trump’s DHS investigators for being “force multiplier” in the administration’s effort to root out CDL fraud and restore safety to America’s streets.

“USDOT has spent the last year rooting out bad actors from our trucking industry,” Duffy wrote in a statement. 

“We’ve knocked over 24,000 drivers off our roads for failing to speak English, forced states to cancel over 28,000 licenses illegally issued to foreign drivers, and purged over 9,500 unqualified training schools from our FMCSA registry.

“DHS will be a force multiplier of our efforts to clean up America’s roads. President Trump is using every lever at his disposal to ensure the safety of American families.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday he was the target of an assassination attempt by a “left-wing activist” just two hours after being sworn into office, citing the case as evidence that violent political extremism from the left is a real and growing threat.

Speaking at the State Department‘s Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, Bessent pushed back against critics who have questioned the Trump administration’s focus on violent far-left extremist groups.

“I’m going to remind everyone in this room — and all the media — that I was the subject of an assassination attempt by an addled left-wing activist two hours after being sworn into my job,” Bessent said. “Any of you who want to report that this is a fiction and does not exist, be there for the sentencing this August.”

Bessent appeared to be referring to Ryan Michael English, a 24-year-old Massachusetts man who pleaded guilty in March to charges related to attempting to assassinate the then-Treasury secretary nominee at the U.S. Capitol.

English traveled to Washington on Jan. 27, 2025, carrying a folding knife and two improvised Molotov cocktails before approaching a U.S. Capitol Police officer and asking to turn himself in, according to the Justice Department.

Prosecutors said English admitted he had come to the Capitol intending to kill a Cabinet nominee whose Senate confirmation vote was scheduled that day or burn down a Washington think tank. Investigators also recovered a note in which he allegedly wrote, in part, “This is terrible but I cant do nothing while nazis kill my sisters.”

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English pleaded guilty in March to one count of unlawful receipt, possession and transfer of a firearm and one count of carrying a dangerous weapon on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 14.

Before his time as Treasury secretary, Bessent spent years at Soros Fund Management, serving as the firm’s chief investment officer from 2011 to 2015 after earlier helping lead its London office. Following his departure, he launched Key Square Capital Management with backing from George Soros, the billionaire investor and Democratic megadonor who has frequently been a target of criticism from Trump and other conservatives.

Bessent made the remarks as administration officials gathered representatives from roughly 65 countries for a State Department summit aimed at building international cooperation against what the Trump administration describes as a resurgence of violent far-left political terrorism.

The Trump administration took the fight over who controls U.S. attorney appointments to a whole new level, firing a Seattle-based prosecutor less than an hour after he was picked for the job without the blessing of the administration.

“District court judges can appoint a temporary U.S. Attorney, and POTUS can fire them,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote Wednesday on X as he was testifying before the Senate in his confirmation hearing, calling out a U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington state panel for elevating Judge Roger Rogoff to be the top federal prosecutor in Seattle.

“WDWA judges abandoned the time-honored process of consultation with the administration so that the selected U.S. Attorney is qualified to serve in the administration,” Blanche said. “Roger Rogoff has been fired by the President.”

That post came after Rogoff, 57, a former King County Superior Court judge and longtime state and federal prosecutor, was sworn in before 8 a.m. local time at the federal courthouse in downtown Seattle as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington.

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He then went to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and asked to meet with Charles Neil Floyd, the Trump administration’s preferred choice for the job, whose 120-day interim term expired in February.

While Rogoff waited in the lobby, he received an email notifying him that Trump had removed him from office.

Rogoff’s situation was not mentioned in Blanche’s Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday, but Blanche is back before the Senate again Thursday and Rogoff now might be a notable topic of discussion during his confirmation process.

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The quick dismissal came after all 17 active and senior federal judges in the deep-blue district appointed Rogoff to the vacancy. The judges, appointed by five presidents (10 by Democrats and seven by Republicans), had opened an application process after the administration did not send Floyd’s nomination to the Senate and instead kept him in place by making him first assistant U.S. attorney while leaving the top job vacant.

U.S. attorneys, who serve as the Justice Department’s chief federal prosecutors in each district, are normally nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Federal law allows the attorney general to name an interim U.S. attorney for 120 days. If that period expires without a confirmed nominee, district judges may appoint someone to serve until the vacancy is filled.

Because of obstruction by Democrats in the narrowly held Senate, the Trump administration has resorted to using acting titles and other personnel moves to keep its prosecutors in place. Courts have pushed back in several Democrat-heavy districts like Seattle and New Jersey, issuing legal challenges to the Justice Department and White House authority.

“I don’t think it’s the way to run the Department of Justice,” Rogoff told The New York Times. “When you have this sort of made up way of putting people in these positions, the process breaks down.”

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., opposed Floyd for the U.S. attorney job and blasted Rogoff’s quick firing.

“Throughout his career, he has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to public service, and he was appointed legally by the federal judges in the Western District of Washington,” Murray wrote in a statement. “This administration doesn’t want to deal with advice and consent — they just want to install cronies to carry out a corrupt political agenda.”

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Trump administration officials have long noted that the “advise and consent” role of the Senate does not grant Democrats against Trump’s administrative priorities to be a hard block on his agenda and nominees, though.

Rogoff has retained an employment law firm and is considering a legal challenge to his firing.

Fox News Digital reached out to Rogoff for comment.

The Seattle clash follows similar disputes elsewhere. In New Jersey, Alina Habba resigned as the top federal prosecutor after an appeals court said she had been serving unlawfully. In Virginia, Lindsey Halligan left an acting U.S. attorney post after a judge found her appointment unlawful and dismissed indictments she had brought against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey.

The administration has also fired court-appointed U.S. attorneys in other districts.

Rogoff, who spent 20 years as a state prosecutor and six as a federal prosecutor before becoming a state judge, said he knew the administration might fire him immediately. Despite this, he said he had no qualms about the potential conflict he was walking into, because being U.S. attorney is “the best job there is.”

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“I’m really proud of my career,” Rogoff said. “The fact that the judges of this district — most of whom I’ve spent my career appearing in front of, or trying cases against, or working with — believed that I was the right person to do this work is just really humbling and amazing.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has “no plans” to leave the Democratic Party but if it officially became the “anti-Israel party,” count him out.

“My long-term concern has been with the Democratic Party, as I am a member of that, is that our party is going to back away and turn their back to Israel,” he said Wednesday at the Hill Nation Summit in Washington, D.C.

“If our party ever becomes, and just makes it official, the anti-Israel party, that’s when I would leave because that’s been a moral clarity for me.”

The news comes as Fetterman and fellow Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., launch a rare joint fundraising PAC called “Common Ground PA” this month, according to FEC filings, and Fetterman’s breaks from Democratic Party votes have become increasingly apparent since he was elected in 2022 and took office Jan. 3, 2023.

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“Though I was elected as a Democrat, I’m proud to serve all Pennsylvanians,” Fetterman wrote in a May op-ed, delivering the age-old mantra that he has not changed from his principles, the party has. “It has become increasingly lonely to serve in that way, but I firmly believe it’s what is needed.

“My party cannot simply be the opposite of whatever President Donald Trump says. The president could come out for ice cream and lazy Sundays, and my party would suddenly hate them. Such pointless pile-ons and attacks are unproductive. The American people want us to work together to find solutions on issues they and our country face.”

His lines in the sand, he wrote, had been laid bare on:

• Israel
• Open borders
• Party toxicity
• Anti-Trump reflex
• Obstruction and government shutdowns
• Defund the police
• Lack of “working across the aisle”
• Poor candidate vetting
• Rejection of voter ID

JOHN FETTERMAN’S FALL FROM HERO TO HERETIC EXPOSES DEMOCRATS’ HARD LEFT TURN

The push away from Israel has become a “long-term concern” that he “can’t understand” and might ultimately become the ultimate red line for him, he told the Hill Nation Summit.

“You look at the kinds of individuals that are winning our recent primaries,” he said. “It’s becoming more … anti-Israel and hostile to people.”

Fetter declined to discuss what he called “private conversations” with Republicans on a potential party switch, but he wrote in May he would first become independent.

“Being an independent voice that works with the other side to deliver for Pennsylvanians might put me at odds with the party that I have stayed committed to and have no plans to leave — but I will continue to put the commonwealth and the country first,” he wrote.

“Plus, I’d be a terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly with Democrats.”

WHY TRUMP, GOP ARE COURTING JOHN FETTERMAN, WHO INSISTS HE’LL REMAIN A DEMOCRAT

The latest vow to break from Democratic Party votes is his rejection of the amendment from Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., that would cut off $3.3 billion in annual security assistance to Israel.

He is also increasingly concerned about the primary election successes of progressive candidates who have been sharply critical of Israel – evidence of what he views as a troubling shift inside his party.

Democrats are “trying to ingratiate ourselves with that segment of the base of our voters” that are “intensely, intensely anti-Israel,” he warned Wednesday.

Fetterman also raised concerns about Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed’s performance in polling for the Michigan Senate primary, warning that Democrats could be forced to spend more heavily in the battleground state if El-Sayed becomes the nominee against former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., who narrowly lost Michigan’s 2024 Senate race.

“Rogers just barely, barely lost in ’24,” Fetterman said.

“If El-Sayed wins, then that puts Michigan much more in play for us and would require us to spend more money. What’s defined El-Sayed is the more anti-Israel and hostile-to-Israel thing.”

Fetterman also criticized El-Sayed and other progressive candidates over past support for the “defund the police” movement, arguing that his party risks repeating political mistakes from the 2024 election.

“Now here’s more Democrats to ‘defund the police,’” he warned. “Here we are back to part of the worst impulses that we just can’t resist.

“We forgot the crazy things that we said, and that cost us the election in 2024. Now we want to revisit that — if anything they’re coming back in the strongest kind of terms. Look at the people who are winning.”

The senator also took aim at fellow Democrats who backed progressive Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner before Platner ended his campaign following allegations that he raped a woman in 2021.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., forcefully supported Platner, which left him “angry,” he said, questioning why Democrats embraced him as the evidence mounted.

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“Why did you push these people? Why did you buy in and then plunge that most consequential Senate race now into chaos?” Fetterman asked, arguing that it is now “more difficult” to defeat Republican Sen. Susan Collins and win control of the narrowly held Senate.

“Where’s the accountability?” Fetterman asked. “Imagine if I would have done that and pushed that kind of individual.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Fetterman’s Senate office and campaign officials for further comment.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is calling for more information about Sen. Mitch McConnell’s, R-Ky., prolonged absence from the Senate, while Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., urged people to “leave Mitch alone” as questions about the Kentucky Republican’s health persist.

“Somebody needs to do something,” Tuberville told Fox News Digital. “Somebody needs to come out.”

McConnell finally broke his silence on his previously undisclosed medical conditions that have kept him absent from the Senate since he was first hospitalized on June 14. In a post to social media, McConnell said he would not be returning to the Senate floor just yet due to doctors’ orders, but vowed he would return to “finish the job” before his announced retirement at the end of his term.

MITCH MCCONNELL BREAKS SILENCE ON MYSTERY HOSPITALIZATION AFTER GRAHAM’S DEATH

Tuberville said no additional information from Senate leadership about a timeline for when McConnell may come back or the status of his health has been given out internally to his colleagues.

“We didn’t get any information today in our luncheon,” Tuberville said Tuesday. “I don’t know what’s going on, but you know that’s not my business.”

Meanwhile, Kennedy vehemently defended McConnell, dismissing rumors that the 84-year-old senator was in a vegetative state, or even dead, as some had speculated a more serious condition than what was disclosed.

“Look, I believe Mitch,” Kennedy said. “I don’t believe all these stories that he’s brain dead and all of that. People need to get a life.”

‘THIS IS NOT NORMAL’: AOC UNLOADS ON MCCONNELL’S PROLONGED ABSENCE

In his post, McConnell claimed that his childhood fight with polio contributed to a fall that left him “briefly unconscious” and hospitalized last month — when some speculated he had suffered cardiac arrest. He said he was then hit with a “mild case of pneumonia” while in recovery, extending the healing process.

“I think he had a fall, and Mitch is not 29 anymore,” Kennedy said. “And he’s recuperating from it, and he’ll be back as soon as he can.”

He continued, “That’s what he said, and I take him at his word.”

MCCONNELL WAS FOUND ‘UNCONSCIOUS’ IN HOME LAST MONTH AS CONDITION REMAINS UNKNOWN

While Tuberville also expressed his well-wishes for McConnell’s recovery, he said more information about his timeline for return needs to be shared before the Senate begins August recess — when senators will take a break to head back to their home states from Aug. 8 to Sept. 13.

“He’s gonna need to come back probably before this three-week session’s over with, because then we’re off for like five weeks,” Tuberville said.

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Tuberville said Republicans will need McConnell back as the Senate prepares for votes on President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda before lawmakers leave for the August recess. McConnell has not indicated when he expects to return.

“We’re gonna need him, because the Democrats are not gonna give us any votes,” Tuberville said.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is headed for a second straight day of grilling in the Senate, and his path to confirmation still remains cluttered with two key Republicans keeping tight-lipped on whether they’ll support him.

Blanche’s first day was fraught with questions about the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) handling of millions of documents related to the late, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, known as the Epstein Files, the now-defunct anti-weaponization fund and whether he would operate the DOJ as a tool of retribution for President Donald Trump.

Two Republicans on the committee hold the key to Blanche’s success, Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, and so far, neither has committed to voting for him.

TRUMP’S DOJ PICK IN TROUBLE AS GOP CONCERNS THREATEN CONFIRMATION

Cornyn, who has taken issue with the nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund and the underlying settlement reached by Trump and his family and the IRS, which Blanche acknowledged was still “enforceable” but was not moving forward, was noncommittal on how he would vote.

Cornyn, who has taken issue with the nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, created under Trump’s IRS settlement to compensate people who claimed they were victims of government “weaponization,” which Blanche acknowledged was still “enforceable” but not moving forward, was noncommittal on how he would vote.

“Well, I don’t know what other information’s gonna be coming in,” Cornyn said. “The hearing is not even halfway done. And so, you know, I don’t have to make a decision now, so I’m not.”

Blanche received heat throughout the hearing for being Trump’s former personal defense lawyer, and quickly corrected himself when asked by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., if he considered himself the president’s friend.

TRUMP’S AG NOMINEE RACKS UP MASSIVE SUPPORT AHEAD OF CONFIRMATION HEARING: ‘REAL RESULTS’

“I’m his lawyer — was his lawyer, and now I’m the deputy attorney general,” Blanche said.

When asked about the slip-up, Cornyn said, “I think he’s trying to walk the line.”

“I think he’s trying to walk a very difficult line,” he said.

Tillis’ primary concern, similar to Cornyn’s, is the anti-weaponization fund and whether it is truly dead and gone.

He declined to say whether he would support Blanche, but noted that when asked if he was willing to work on legislation to put a permanent end to the fund, Blanche said, “Yes.”

TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON $1.8 BILLION ‘SLUSH FUND’ THAT KILLED HIS AGENDA, SPURRED REPUBLICAN REBELLION

“I think that’s a pretty strong indication that he and the administration are OK with [it],” Tillis said. “Does anybody really believe that the nominee for attorney general would answer that question if he didn’t think that he had the support of the president to end this?”

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats on the panel are dug in against him.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the top-ranking Democrat on the committee, browbeat Blanche for his handling of the Epstein Files release and whether he would actually meet with Epstein survivors.

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“Anyone who can represent a known pathological liar like Donald Trump can have no integrity,” Durbin said. “You can’t have integrity if you represent Donald Trump, because he is such an inveterate liar. And that person, of course, should never, never, never be attorney general.”

And Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., admitted that Blanche was, “qualified … as someone who has been a prosecutor.”

“But given his legal experience, he should have known better than to be willing to tolerate or support the weaponization of the department,” Coons said. “Using it as a tool not to follow the facts and the law, to pursue justice, but to carry out a retribution agenda by President Trump.”

President Donald Trump announced he will deliver a Thursday night address that he suggested will focus on “free and fair elections,” teasing what he called one of the most important speeches of his presidency while offering few details about what he plans to unveil.

“As usual, anonymous sources are speculating about what President Trump will say during his speech on Thursday evening,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital. “The truth is, nobody knows yet what President Trump will ultimately say, which is why everyone should tune in.”

Trump has teased the contents of his speech without fully revealing what it will be about. “It will be a potpourri,” a senior advisor told Axios, adding that Iran is something the president “wants to address.”

The address is expected to begin at 9 p.m. ET from the White House. 

TRUMP HOLDS WASHINGTON HOSTAGE OVER SAVE ACT AS MIDTERM CLOCK TICKS ON GOP CONTROL

Trump has touted his speech as being “really big news” and called for the country to “to shape up.”

“Thursday is, it doesn’t get bigger because without free and fair elections, you don’t have a country,” Trump said while in the Oval Office Tuesday. “We’ll be discussing other things too. But it’s going to be a very big announcement.”

The White House did not respond to questions about which administration officials are expected to attend the speech. Fox News Digital also reached out to the FBI and CIA about whether FBI Director Kash Patel or CIA Director John Ratcliffe will be present. 

TRUMP THREATENS TO EXPAND STRIKES ON IRAN, SAYS POWER PLANTS ARE NEXT TO GO: ‘HIT THEM HARD’

The address also comes against a volatile foreign policy backdrop, after negotiations over an Iran memorandum collapsed and the U.S. resumed strikes on Iranian targets.

CENTCOM announced another round of strikes on Iran on Wednesday morning, marking the fifth straight day the U.S. launched attacks on the country. 

Iran has fired back with numerous attacks on U.S. allies in the Middle East, including Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.

U.S. forces reinstituted a naval blockade on Iran Tuesday afternoon.

TRUMP TAKES UNUSUAL STEP, LETS BIPARTISAN HOUSING BILL BECOME LAW UNSIGNED AMID SAVE PRESSURE CAMPAIGN

Gas prices surged during the early days of the Iran conflict, then fell in June as crude oil slipped to roughly $69 a barrel before climbing again to nearly $80 a barrel Monday.

While Trump also suggested Iran would be addressed, he repeatedly indicated Tuesday that election integrity would be a centerpiece of his remarks.

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Trump has been laser focused on passing the SAVE America Act which includes Trump’s long-sought voter ID and citizenship verification — which Republicans say is key to ensuring elections are safe and secure.

Endorsements from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a pro-LGBTQ+ advocacy group, are raising questions about whether the candidates they’ve endorsed hold the same beliefs as the organization — stances that could fly in the face of attempts to paint a moderate image.

The endorsements highlight the struggle candidates face to manage their associations — especially on topics and in areas that may draw controversy.

Among their stances, HRC has a few that put it solidly in the progressive camp.

TALARICO CAMPAIGNS WITH SURGEON WHO OPERATED ON TRANSGENDER MINORS: ‘WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING’

The organization has supported gender-affirming care for minors in the form of puberty blockers and hormone therapy. It has also opposed state restrictions on their implementation and has promoted elementary school lessons on gender identity, resisted efforts to restrict Critical Race Theory and promoted removing police from schools.

“Our goal is to ensure that all LGBTQ+ people, and particularly those of us who are trans, people of color and HIV+, are treated as full and equal citizens within our movement, across our country and around the world,” the organization states on its website.

The organization has advocated fiercely against virtually all LGBTQ+ restrictions.

In one such case, after the Supreme Court ruled that parents had a right to pull their children out of LGBTQ+ classes and lessons, HRC blasted the decision.

“This decision elevates the religious beliefs of some parents, who believe that being LGBTQ+ is wrong, over any acknowledgement in the classroom that LGBTQ+ young people and their families exist,” the organization said in a statement.

In 2026, the organization endorsed 11 Democratic newcomers and 18 incumbents in battleground districts.

Among them, HRC has endorsed members like Rep. Josh Riley, D-N.Y., Derek Tran, D-Calif., and Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, — all of whom won their races by less than five points.

WATCH: SURFACED VIDEOS OF DEM SENATE CANDIDATE BACKING ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ CONTRADICT RECENT DENIALS

Those members did not respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital on whether they stood by HRC’s positions.

Headed into the midterms, HRC framed their success as key to taking pressure off of the LGBTQ+ community from the Trump administration.

“Our community is facing an all-out assault on our rights and its coming from a congressional majority bowing to Trump and his MAGA followers. They’re trying to strip away our freedoms and push us back into the closet while doing nothing to meet the urgent needs of the American people,” the group’s president, Kelley Robinson, said in a statement.

In the past, some of the candidates HRC has endorsed have framed their appreciation as a matter of shared interest in anti-discrimination.

That was the way Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., acknowledged their endorsement of him in a 2023 special election.

“I am grateful for the support and endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign. This will be a tough race, and the support of HRC, which has been dedicated to anti-discrimination research, advocacy and education for more than 40 years, means a great deal to me,” Suozzi said.

FIRST ON FOX: PRESSURE MOUNTS ON YMCA TO DITCH TRANSGENDER POLICIES AFTER SUPREME COURT TITLE IX RULINGf

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HRC has renewed its endorsement of Suozzi in the 2026 midterms.

The organization did not immediately respond to questions about what factors go into their endorsement process or whether they ask candidates for permission before publicly endorsing them.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche pushed back Wednesday against claims that the Justice Department has closed the book on Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, insisting prosecutors remain prepared to pursue anyone who can be criminally linked to the late financier’s sex-trafficking operation if new evidence emerges.

“There are no closed investigations,” he said. “If we learn today, if we learn next week, if we learn next month that there’s an individual that we can investigate, indict and prosecute out of the Epstein files, you better believe it, we will.”

Blanche’s comments came during his Senate confirmation hearing amid continued scrutiny of the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files.

The Justice Department, then led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, and the FBI concluded a review in July 2025 that found no evidence of a so-called “client list” belonging to Epstein and no basis for further public disclosures. The findings sparked renewed calls — including from some of President Donald Trump’s supporters — for the full release of the remaining Epstein files, a process Blanche later oversaw and defended amid mounting criticism.

TRUMP’S AG NOMINEE RACKS UP MASSIVE SUPPORT AHEAD OF CONFIRMATION HEARING: ‘REAL RESULTS’

Blanche drew a distinction between the department’s completed review of the existing Epstein files and its authority to pursue new criminal cases. While the prosecutions of Epstein, who died in federal custody in 2019, and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell have concluded, Blanche said the Justice Department remains willing to investigate and prosecute any additional individuals if credible evidence warrants it.

He also rejected suggestions that the department has neglected Epstein’s victims, saying DOJ officials have met with representatives of more than 30 victims since the review began and would continue speaking with anyone who comes forward.

MELANIA TRUMP’S EPSTEIN REMARKS TURN UP THE HEAT ON DOJ, ACTING AG TODD BLANCHE TO DO MORE

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“We will never not talk to victims,” Blanche said. “We will never not do everything we can to prosecute anybody that committed any crimes against any of these women.”

He encouraged any victims or their attorneys with additional information to contact the FBI, reiterating that the department would “100%” investigate any new evidence that could support criminal charges.

Later in the hearing, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., pressed Blanche to apologize directly to Epstein’s victims for the Justice Department’s handling of the file release after roughly 1% of released documents required corrected redactions.

“Any mistake that we made should not have been made,” Blanche said. “Yes, I am sorry that in about 1% of the documents mistakes were made.”

He added that DOJ immediately pulled affected documents, corrected the errors and dedicated around-the-clock attorneys to issue redactions.

Blumenthal also urged Blanche to personally meet with Epstein survivors. Blanche responded that he had “never said I can’t meet with them,” adding that if victims are represented by counsel, meetings would be coordinated through their attorneys.

“Of course, I can meet with them,” Blanche said. “I’m the acting attorney general of the United States.”

The Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files was also top of mind for Republican senators as Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., asked Blanche whether additional people identified in the Epstein files could face charges.

Blanche said prosecutors reviewing the evidence had not identified evidence that other men participated in Epstein’s trafficking operation, while stressing that “that does not mean it didn’t happen.”

“If there’s anybody out there, victim or otherwise, that has information, I beg them to come forward,” Blanche said.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., also questioned Blanche about his interview with Ghislaine Maxwell in July 2025, asking whether it had led to any additional criminal charges. Blanche replied that it had not. 

Blanche declined to say whether the interview led to any new investigations, saying the Justice Department does not comment on the existence of investigations.

Booker further pressed Blanche about his interview with Maxwell, asking whether he or anyone else at DOJ had discussed the possibility of a presidential pardon, clemency or Maxwell’s later transfer to a minimum-security prison camp. Blanche denied that any of those topics were discussed with Maxwell or her attorneys.

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., is brushing off calls to debate his Republican rivals in Florida’s gubernatorial race, arguing his opponents remain stuck in single digits while he holds a commanding lead ahead of the Aug. 18 primary.

“I’ve been consistent,” Donalds told Fox News Digital when asked about criticism of his refusal to participate in debates. “These guys are in single digits. They stay in single digits.”

Donalds has argued there is no reason to debate given the large lead he has maintained throughout the campaign leading up to the primary.

JOE LOMBARDO CRUISES PAST SIX GOP CHALLENGERS TO SECURE NEVADA REPUBLICAN GUBERNATORIAL NOMINATION

The Florida Republican, retiring from the House to run for governor, has consistently polled at roughly 50%, with all his opponents trailing far behind in single digits. His campaign has also vastly outraised the rest of the field, collecting over $90 million.

“They should spend their time going to see the people of Florida because they’re not getting much support at all,” Donalds said.

Donalds entered the race with President Donald Trump’s endorsement, giving him a major boost among MAGA voters. Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is term limited, has not formally endorsed a candidate.

Donalds’ opponents include Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, former House Speaker Paul Renner and investor James Fishback. The three participated in a debate earlier this month — without Donalds — though he was mentioned consistently throughout conversations.

Fishback has raised eyebrows with unconventional moves throughout his campaign. from using Tinder to “meet young female voters where they are” and proposing a “sin tax” that drew the ire of multiple women on OnlyFans.

WATCH: MACE SAYS TRUMP’S ENDORSEMENT HASN’T SEALED SC GUBERNATORIAL RACE: ‘IT’S A DOG FIGHT’

Fishback recently attempted to disrupt one of Donalds’ campaign events, where the controversial candidate stood outside and shouted for Donalds to participate in a GOP gubernatorial debate.

“Another stunt,” Donalds told Fox News Digital about Fishback showing up to his event. “Another stunt with people trying to get attention as opposed to, you know, taking their mission, their vision, their ideas to the people of Florida to earn support.

“I’m not going to play with stunts. I’m not going to engage in that stuff.”

Fishback pushed back on Donalds’ criticism, telling Fox News Digital he has spent more time meeting with voters than any other candidate in the race.

“I’m the only campaign in Florida history running for governor that has met voters in all 67 counties,” Fishback said. “I have done twice as many events as Byron Donalds in just the last month.”

On Donalds’ refusal to debate, Fishback argued voters deserve to see the candidates face off.

“That’s what Joe Biden and Kamala Harris tried to do,” Fishback said. “And it seems that he’s closer to them than he is to Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump, who consistently engage in debate. Voters deserve candidates who are willing to debate before them.”

TRUMP ENDORSES JOHN JAMES IN MICHIGAN GOVERNOR RACE AS GOP RIVAL EXITS PRIMARY

Fishback also appeared unfazed when asked about his single-digit polling, compared to Donalds as the frontrunner in the race.

“The only poll that matters is Aug. 18, 2026. Election night,” he said.

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Florida’s primary election will be held Aug. 18, and Donalds is still projected to be far ahead in the polls compared to the remaining GOP candidates.

“We’re in a really good position, but we take nothing for granted, so just keep working,” Donalds said.

Of the many political crusades the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., undertook, few were as front of mind for him than crippling Russia’s war machine in its conflict with Ukraine.

Yet during the last year-and-a-half of President Donald Trump’s second term, momentum behind a bone-crushing sanctions package against Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin would start and stop, with hopes rising and falling for its proponents every few months.

Earlier this year, Graham had similarly gotten a green light from the White House for a different iteration of the package.

SENATE DEMS DRAW RARE LINE AGAINST MUST-PASS PENTAGON BILL

“It’s never going back on the shelf because President Trump believes he needs it,” Graham told Fox News Digital at the time. “I think he needs it.”

Hours before his death, he again got confirmation that the White House supported his and Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s, D-Conn., latest offering.

“Senator Graham and I were told, very authoritatively, literally just a couple of hours before his death, that the White House was OK with this,” Blumenthal said. “We were exalted, he was as exuberant and as over the moon as I’ve ever seen him.”

And on Tuesday, the same day that Graham’s sister, Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., was sworn in, Blumenthal and a bipartisan group of over a dozen senators unveiled the long-awaited Russia sanctions package.

“I guess I’m going to begin by channeling my inner Lindsey Graham to say, ‘This is a big effing deal,’” Blumenthal said.

LINDSEY GRAHAM’S SISTER CARRIES ON LATE SENATOR’S WORK, BECOMING SOUTH CAROLINA’S FIRST FEMALE SENATOR

The Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 is the culmination of more than a year of work and closed-door negotiations across the aisle and with 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. It’s one that this time many senators believe it can pass.

Many of the core aspects of the legislation are the same: direct sanctions on Putin, Russian officials and Russian military leaders, up to 500% tariffs on Russian imports, tariffs of up to 100% on countries buying Russian energy, like China and India, and allowing Trump flexibility for when to turn off some aspects of the sanctions.

Key changes to the newly unveiled package include adding a “national interest certification” for Trump’s sanction waiver authority and incorporating sanctions on the myriad ships and tankers that comprise Russia’s “shadow fleet” hauling energy exports under the radar.

EUROPE BANKROLLS PUTIN’S WAR MACHINE EVEN AS NATO RACES TO BOLSTER DEFENSES

A source familiar with the negotiations to craft the package noted that “this is the only product that currently has buy-in from everybody.”

“And it’s likely the only product that is going to move forward and put pressure on Russia the way we would all like to see it,” they said.

Still, the political winds in Washington, D.C., can shift at a moment’s notice.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital that he believed “anything is a candidate” to fall victim to external political fights, like Democrats blocking the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) over the Iran war or Republicans fearing another shutdown.

Then there’s the question of what could happen to the package in the House.

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“Anything you send to the House right now probably has the possibility of other things getting attached to it, but I’m hoping, at least over here, there’s some critical mass behind this,” Thune said.

Meanwhile, lawmakers who support the tranche of sanctions view it as a lasting mark of Graham’s legacy in the Senate, and one of the key pieces of work that he left unfinished after his sudden passing on Sunday.

“I’ve known this man for 32 years, and I’m willing to say this is Lindsey Graham’s greatest achievement when it comes to saving lives,” Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said.

Trump administration officials and conservatives torched a California judge’s sentence for an illegal immigrant trucker who killed three people in a fiery California semi-truck collision, after he was given less than five years behind bars.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who called the sentencing a “slap on the wrist,” said his agency will not stop “until ALL illegal alien truckers are put out of business and held accountable,” while the Department of Homeland Security said immigration officials were standing by to arrest the trucker “upon his release, so he is never allowed back on our roads.”

Jashanpreet Singh, a 21-year-old Indian national who federal authorities said was in the United States illegally, was sentenced Tuesday to four years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to three felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence stemming from an October 2025 crash on Interstate 10 in San Bernardino County, California. Singh’s semitruck plowed into slow-moving traffic, killing three people and injuring several others, while dashcam video showed him never applying the brakes before impact.

HIGH SCHOOL COACH, WIFE ID’D AS VICTIMS KILLED IN CRASH TIED TO ILLEGAL ALIEN TRUCKER RELEASED BY BIDEN ADMIN

“This is a wildly insufficient punishment for a foreign national, in our country illegally, who killed 3 people with a truck,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said.

“Despite taking the lives of 3 people in a horrific eight-vehicle crash, criminal illegal alien Jashanpreet Singh was given a SLAP ON THE WRIST prison sentence of less than 5 years in sanctuary California,” DHS said following news of Singh’s sentencing. “Illegal aliens like this killer should NEVER be allowed behind the wheel or on our nation’s roads. ICE stands ready to arrest Singh upon his release so he is never allowed back on our roads to take another innocent life.”

“5 years is a slap on the wrist for KILLING 3 AMERICANS,” the Transportation Secretary added. “If California followed the rules, illegal aliens like Jashanpreet Singh wouldn’t be driving 80,000 pound missiles down our roads We won’t stop until ALL illegal truckers are put out of business and held accountable.”

Singh crossed the southern border in California’s El Centro Sector in March 2022 and was released into the U.S. under the Biden administration pending an immigration hearing, according to federal sources. He later obtained a California commercial driver’s license in June 2025, according to the Department of Transportation.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKERS ACCUSED OF MOWING DOWN AMERICANS IGNITE FURY OVER LOOPHOLES UNLEASHING DEADLY ROADS

Federal officials had previously warned California about compliance issues involving commercial driver’s licenses and directed the state to pause new licenses to non-citizens and review existing licenses to make sure they complied with federal requirements. Fox News Digital previously reported that Singh should have been disqualified under an emergency DOT policy, while California officials said his eligibility was based on federally approved employment authorization documents.

Meanwhile, during an April debate among candidates for California governor, several running as Democrats said they would fight the Trump administration’s push to get California police officers to begin issuing English proficiency tests for big rig drivers in the state because it’s racist. 

“Racial profiling is illegal. And, in fact, picking on people based on the color of their skin in the state of California, is illegal,” Democrat megadonor and billionaire businessman Tom Steyer said when asked if he would support a policy enforcing police to issue road-side language proficiency tests to truck drivers.

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“Is that officer asking everyone he pulls over to explain those road signs? Or, is he asking only people who look like me? If he’s doing that, then he’s violating the law,” former Biden administration Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Beccera said, slamming a police officer in a short local news clip that was played by debate moderators showing an officer issuing a field test to determine if a commercial driver who spoke Spanish could understand road signs.

But then-Republican California gubernatorial hopeful Sheriff Chad Bianco, who was forced to bow out after not qualifying for the general election in the state’s nonpartisan June primary, slammed his Democratic opponents for pulling the race card. 

“Let’s stop with this whole racism thing, and racial profiling and all of this garbage. We have to get over this. You either violated the law or you didn’t. End of story,” Bianco said. “Consequences for bad behavior.”

It was 2:35 am et Sunday.

The phone rang, yanking me out of deep slumber.

Calls like these are never good.

In the split second before I answered the phone, my mind traveled to the obvious place for any journalist who covers Capitol Hill and gets a call at that hour.

LINDSEY GRAHAM, SOUTH CAROLINA SENATOR WHO ROSE FROM SMALL-TOWN ROOTS TO GOP POWER BROKER, DIES AT 71

Surely it was about former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

McConnell has been out of service and nowhere to be found for weeks — after being hospitalized with an unspecified illness. The internet was rife with conspiracy theories and conjecture. And, considering the dearth of information, I suspected the worst.

My longtime colleague Jodie Curtis was on the line when I picked up. Jodie is a senior figure at Fox, forced into weekend overnight assignment editor duty because of an illness. Jodie calling to tell me that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was dead.

“Graham?” I asked incredulously. “Not McConnell?”

Emerging from my stupor, I instinctively presumed this might be about the infirm, Kentucky Republican. You’d have better odds presuming that overnight call was about McConnell than hitting an exacta wheel at Churchill Downs.

My instincts immediately kicked in.

What if this was psy-ops by the Russians, Chinese or Iranians. A rouse. A hoax. A hack.

I told my colleague to just wait a moment while we confirmed. It would be easy to get this wrong.

Back in the 1990s, lawmakers “killed” comedian Bob Hope on the House floor, prematurely announcing his death during special orders speeches. Yours truly – and everyone else in Washington – prematurely reported the death of the late Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-OH). She suffered from a catastrophic brain aneurism. Yet after they removed the Congresswoman from life support, she continued to live for a few hours before dying.

However, it became clear that Lindsey Graham was indeed dead. I was quickly on the air. When asked about the shock of Graham passing, I invoked a Native American adage: Death comes. And it’s always out of season.

Lindsey Graham was gone. But who would succeed him on Capitol Hill?

Think all in the family. At least for now.

Sens. Katie Britt (R-AL) and Tim Scott (R-SC) both implored the late senator’s kid sister Darline Graham to follow her brother. President Trump believed it would be a fitting tribute to the senator. So did South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) – who was in charge the appointment.

“It’s my honor to ask his sister to finish his work now,” said McMaster.

Darline Graham is a political neophyte. Lindsey Graham adopted his sister after their parents died – and Darline was a teenager.

“Lindsey has always been there for me. And now I will be there for him,” said now Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC).

Lindsey Graham was his sister’s caretaker. Now she’s the caretaker of his Senate seat until January.

But who’s next?

South Carolina has a small Congressional delegation. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) quickly excluded himself from the immediate running, noting the importance of remaining in the House. Plucking one of South Carolina’s House GOP members and appointing them to the Senate is a problem for the narrow Republican majority. The Constitution bars appointments to the House. So McMaster would have diminished the GOP’s slim majority had he picked a House member to fill in for Lindsey Graham. It would take months to conduct a special election to fill the vacant House seat.

Appointing Darline Graham solves that problem.

Reps. Russell Fry (R-SC), Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Ralph Norman (R-SC) are all interested in running for the full term. South Carolina will hold a snap primary in mid August. The winner will face Democrat Annie Andrews in November. Lindsey Graham had just secured the Republican nomination for a fifth term last month.

President Trump’s influence will play an outsized role in who gets the nod. He’s already singled out Fry.

But the election will look a little different this fall. November will mark the first time since the mid-1950s that either Lindsey Graham or late, legendary Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC) isn’t on the ballot in the Palmetto State.

The Senate met for the first time Monday afternoon since Graham’s passing.

“Lord, we remember with gratitude his commitment to the responsibilities entrusted to him and the many ways he sought to serve the people of this country. Give comfort, strength and peace to his family, friends, colleagues and all who mourn his passing,” prayed Senate Chaplain Barry Black.

The Senate shrouded Graham’s desk with a black cloak. A bouquet of white roses rested on the desk, signifying a new beginning without a Senate titan.

“The halls of the Senate already feel empty without him,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).

‘THIS IS NOT NORMAL’: AOC UNLOADS ON MCCONNELL’S PROLONGED ABSENCE

Well wishers left notecards and flowers outside Graham’s office in the Russell Senate Office Building.

Senators praised Graham’s tenacity.

“He didn’t want to just argue about things. He wanted to actually solve things,” said Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) on Fox.

Even until the end.

Over the weekend, Graham appeared to forge a deal on a Russia sanctions measure.

“This could be well, this could well be the end of the war in Ukraine. It could put all the pressure on Russia to finally end their illegal war of aggression,” predicted Sen. Angus King (I-ME).

Lindsey Graham first won a seat in Congress in 1994 as part of the “Republican Revolution.” That’s the historic class which flipped control of the House for the first time in 40 years. Graham and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) are the only members from that 1994 class still serving in Congress.

Graham earned a national profile barely four years after arriving in Washington. House GOP leaders tapped Graham to serve as one of the House “managers,” prosecuting articles of impeachment for President Clinton in the Senate.

“Impeachment is not about punishment,” argued Graham before the Senate in January, 1999. “Impeachment is about cleansing the office.”

Three years after that, Graham left the House. He became one of 100 in the Senate. But his colleagues conceded that the institution felt hollow at just 99.

“I am comforted by the knowledge that in the end, he has just changed his address. And that one day, Mr. President….” said Thune on the floor, pausing for ten seconds. “We will laugh together again.”

The Leader’s voice then cracked as he fought back tears.

“Mr. President, I yield the floor,” Thune whispered.

By Tuesday afternoon, Darline Graham became the 2,022nd senator in American history. But the first to immediately succeed her brother.

“He always said that his greatest accomplishment was the way that Darline turned out,” said Britt.

“I’m glad that there will be another Sen. Graham and that Darline will serve with us,” said

Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE). “That’ll allow for some continuity.”

Graham’s passing leaves a Congressional chasm.

“It will be difficult to pass anything without Sen. Graham because he’s been such a significant voice in the Senate,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY).

It’s unclear if any of that will fall to the Senate’s newest member.

LINDSEY GRAHAM’S SISTER CARRIES ON LATE SENATOR’S WORK, BECOMING SOUTH CAROLINA’S FIRST FEMALE SENATOR

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Darline Graham joined her brother’s side when he briefly ran for President in 2015. She says Lindsey taught her how to ride a bike while growing up.

“He would hold on to the bicycle as I pedaled. And he’d run along beside of me. Give me a big push and shout ‘Keep pedaling! Keep pedaling!’ said the new senator. ” And then he was the one who comforted me when I stopped pedaling and fell off the bicycle.”

Today, Darline Graham is again hopping onto that bicycle to finish Lindsey Graham’s term.

You can almost hear the late senator, in his “upstate” twang shouting to his sister “Keep pedaling! Keep pedaling!”

Nevada Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony has an unusual plan to rev up the Silver State’s entertainment business: space tourism. And with Elon Musk having significant business interests in the state, Anthony won’t have to look far to find the man to do it.

Anthony’s background has been anything but boring. He had a nearly three-decade career in law enforcement, was a regent in the state’s higher education system and served as a longtime Las Vegas city councilman. 

He ran a spirited campaign for mayor of Las Vegas and, since 2022, has served alongside Gov. Joe Lombardo, leading the Silver State. The Lombardo/Anthony ticket was the only one in America in which Republicans defeated an incumbent Democratic governor and lieutenant governor.

Recently, Anthony sat down with Fox News Digital at FreedomFest in Las Vegas to discuss his career, the Nevada economy and electoral prospects in 2026 in what is shaping up to be one of the tightest gubernatorial races in the country.

JOE LOMBARDO CRUISES PAST SIX GOP CHALLENGERS TO SECURE NEVADA REPUBLICAN GUBERNATORIAL NOMINATION

Anthony promotes the state as a mecca for the entertainment business, touting a light regulatory touch and a thriving climate for entrepreneurship. He’s particularly bullish on professional sports and the nascent space tourism industry.

“If you look at 10 years ago, we didn’t have one major sporting activity here in Nevada. They actually would not come here because they thought there would be illegal gambling and corruption and bribery and so on and so forth. In 10 years, we’ve become the sports capital of the world. Baseball is coming. We have hockey. We have football. We’re going to have basketball coming. F1. NASCAR. We have women’s basketball, on and on and that just kind of cropped up.

“The thing about Las Vegas is anything can happen here, so it’s really not up to me as a lieutenant governor to decide what’s the next big thing in tourism. It’s the tourist industry that has to decide what’s the next big thing. 

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“One thing that is of interest is space tourism. I think that might be a future here in Nevada because we have a lot of open land where … somebody like Elon Musk can shoot rockets up into outer space, hang out up there for a while, have some drinks. Hang out with friends.

“What an experience that would be to see the Earth from up there and actually make it a tourist kind of an adventure. So, those are the kind of things that we’re constantly thinking about, but it’s the private sector that needs to do it. And I am very much in favor of allowing our entrepreneurs to come up with the next best thing and to support them.”

Anthony credits his lengthy career with the Las Vegas Metro Police for giving him the problem-solving foundation to launch a successful political career:

“You know, most people think of the policing that they see on television. High-speed pursuits, gunfights, bar fights, chasing people down dark alleys and arresting serious criminals. And that is a big part of policing. But, really, 90% of police work is really solving problems. Going into neighborhoods, finding out what are the issues in those neighborhoods, helping those neighbors solve issues to make their quality of life a lot better.

“I’ve learned that that’s really what I should be doing as an elected official. My job is to go out there and talk to people and find out what the state can do, what a county could do, what a city could do to make their lives better; helping folks live the American dream and not causing problems like higher taxes, higher regulations, getting in their way, those sorts of things. So, that’s really what I learned about police work.”

President Trump has endorsed the Lombardo/Anthony ticket, and he believes the new no tax on tips policy will prove to be a major electoral boost come November.

“Well, President Trump has endorsed the governor. President Trump has endorsed me. He was just here a couple of months ago to talk about his no taxes on tips, which was a huge thing here in Nevada.

TRUMP ENDORSES NEIGHBORING STATE LIEUTENANT GOVERNORS FOR RE-ELECTION

“I think President Trump will be here. He’s welcome anytime to come to the great state of Nevada and talk to folks in Nevada. When he was campaigning, he would have events with 5,000 or 6,000 people attending. So, we have a good relationship with him. We want to have a relationship with him, and I believe he’ll be here to talk about some of the great things his administration is doing, not only in the country, but how it’s impacting Nevada in a positive way.”

Anthony noted that his political philosophy is heavily shaped by his immigrant parents from Cyprus who instilled the values of hard work, self-reliance and fiscal responsibility.

“When they came to the United States, and they didn’t have anything, all they could do was find a job and get married and raise a family. … No. 1: you work hard. 

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“No. 2: you don’t ask the government for anything. You want them to protect you, you want to have roads. But you don’t ask them for welfare. You don’t ask them for unemployment checks. You don’t ask them for food stamps. So, that’s not something that they thought the government would do.

“Their responsibility was to work hard, raise a family, buy a home and live the American dream. That taught me a lot. And that’s really how I’ve continued my public service. I am here to support Nevadans in ways that they want support, but I’m not here to carry them. They need to carry themselves, and I think they understand that.”

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Iran has released an American woman who he said was “wrongfully detained” in the country for the past year and a half.

She was identified as Iranian-American citizen Dena Karari by her attorney Jared Genser, who confirmed her release to Fox News. She was reportedly accused of espionage over her work with an American nonprofit helping impoverished children.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the woman was detained in December 2024, during the Biden administration and was recently allowed to leave Iran. 

“Iran has allowed an American Citizen, who was wrongfully detained in December of 2024 under the ‘presidency’ of Sleepy Joe Biden, to leave the Country,” Trump wrote.

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Karari is reportedly now safely outside Iran and in good condition following her release, according to Trump.

Her release marks the first time an American has been freed from Iranian custody since 2023, and represents a notable development amid ongoing military confrontations between Washington and Tehran.

Following her release, Trump thanked Iran for what he described as a “gesture of goodwill.”

“The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran!” he wrote.

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Gesner released a statement shortly after Trump’s announcement, saying she had been “trapped in Iran on bogus charges of collaboration with a hostile state and espionage” but is now on her way back to the United States.

According to Genser, Karari was targeted after Iranian authorities linked her to the Children of Mehr Foundation, a U.S.-registered nonprofit that provides books, literacy programs and other humanitarian assistance to impoverished children in rural Iran.

Under the regime, affiliations with U.S.-based organizations operating inside Iran are often viewed with heightened suspicion and can lead to accusations of security-related offenses.

Genser clarified that Karari was never formally imprisoned but was effectively held in Iran through a “coercive exit ban.” She was reportedly interrogated dozens of times by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and “suffered enormous physical and psychological hardship.”

“We urge Iran to drop all the remaining charges against those who worked locally in support of the Children of Mehr Foundation, who are innocent and committed no crimes,” Genser said. “And I personally call on Iran to release both all wrongly imprisoned Americans and those subjected to coercive exit bans and all Iranian political prisoners.”

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Sources previously told Fox News Digital in January 2026 that Iran may have been holding more than eight American citizens and residents in custody, exceeding publicly available data that listed five American hostages in Iran.

Two of the current hostages include Kamran Hekmati, a 61-year-old Jewish man held since May 2025, and Reza Valizadeh, a 49-year-old journalist and dual Iranian-American national held since March 2024.

A U.S. State Department official previously told Fox News Digital that “President Trump is working to secure the release of detained Americans around the world.”

“The Iranian regime has a long history of unjustly and wrongfully detaining other countries’ citizens as hostages for use as political leverage. Iran should release these individuals immediately,” the official said.

US HOSTAGES IN IRAN FACE HEIGHTENED RISK AS PROTESTS SPREAD, EXPERTS SAY NUMBER HELD MAY EXCEED ESTIMATES

According to United Against Nuclear Iran, Tehran detains foreign nationals on vague charges and uses them as “bargaining chips” to extract concessions from other countries, such as securing the release of frozen financial assets locked up by international sanctions.

Iran has frequently targeted individuals who hold both American and Iranian citizenship, as Tehran does not recognize dual nationality and often treats dual citizens solely as Iranian nationals, limiting their access to U.S. consular assistance, United Against Nuclear Iran said.

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During the most recent major prisoner exchange in September 2023, the U.S. secured the release of five Americans who had been detained in Iran for years. In exchange, the U.S. approved the transfer of $6 billion in frozen funds.

Fox News’ Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz publicly defended his vote to pardon  a Laotian national who had been under a final removal order after losing legal status following a child-sex-crime conviction convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a 10-year-old girl after the Trump administration deported him to Laos last week.

Tou Lue Vang, 42, received a pardon from Minnesota’s Board of Pardons on June 10. Last Friday, the Trump administration announced that Vang’s legal status had been revoked and that he had been deported to his home country of Laos.

Asked about the deportation, Walz questioned what the move accomplished.

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“Did that make us any safer?” Walz said Tuesday, according to KTTC. “Did that make the children that are left behind any more stable?”

“Did it improve the idea that we can’t all be judged by our worst day?” he added.

“And I want to be very clear,” Walz continued. “These are horrific crimes. They often are.”

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Walz also said Vang’s pardon was not about immigration policy, noting that the Board of Pardons had denied clemency to other applicants facing immigration-related consequences.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Vang’s deportation Friday, telling Fox News Digital: “Americans should never have to live in fear that foreign sex predators — shielded from deportation by their own elected officials — could endanger them or their children.”

“That’s why I terminated his legal status in the United States,” Rubio continued. “Vang has now been removed from our country and will never pose a threat to any American ever again.”

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Fox News Digital previously reported that Vang admitted to repeatedly sexually assaulting a girl over a period of several years beginning when she was 10 years old.

Vang entered the United States through California in 1994 and was granted legal status during the Clinton administration. Between 2002 and 2004, he repeatedly sexually assaulted the victim in St. Paul, Minnesota. The first assault occurred when she was in the fourth grade. After his conviction, federal officials said Vang lost legal status and was placed under a final removal order.

The Minnesota Clemency Review Commission recommended a pardon for Vang. The Board of Pardons — made up of Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson — later granted the pardon.

The pardon drew criticism from federal immigration officials and Republican lawmakers. Walz defended the decision by citing the victim’s support for Vang’s pardon, among other factors, according to KSTP. A spokesperson for Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office told MPR News that the pardon did not protect Vang from deportation.

At the time, Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis criticized the decision.

“Governor Tim Walz’s decision to pardon an illegal alien convicted child rapist so he can remain in our country is disgusting,” Bis said.

“These are the criminal illegal aliens he and his Minnesota sanctuary politicians are protecting,” she added.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to Walz’s office for additional comment.

Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.