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White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, one of President Donald Trump’s most influential but least public-facing advisers, launched an X account Tuesday to share updates from inside the administration.

“I’m joining X to share occasional updates about the work we do at the White House. We are relentlessly focusing on advancing President Trump’s agenda and delivering on promises to the American people,” her first post read. “I welcome different viewpoints. Follow along for insights and information.”

Her newly formed account has amassed nearly 300,000 followers since its launch this week. Wiles is seen very often with the president, sitting in on high-level meetings and standing by his side at events, but Trump’s chief of staff rarely speaks directly to the public.

WHO IS SUSIE WILES, TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF? 5 THINGS TO KNOW

Her account only follows six users, all media outlets: Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC News, The New York Times, and CBS News.

 “NEW MUST FOLLOW: White House Chief of Staff @SusieWiles47,” the White House’s Rapid Response account shared her first post writing. 

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The White House directed Fox News Digital to her first post when approached for additional comment. 

Trump made history when he appointed the first woman to serve as his chief of staff, saying Wiles was integral to his 2016 and 2020 campaigns.

FOX NEWS POLITICS NEWSLETTER: TRUMP DECLARES HIMSELF VENEZUELA’S ‘ACTING PRESIDENT’

Wiles has been dubbed the “Ice Maiden” by Trump, which he noted in his 2024 victory speech, for hard-nosed approach to handling business. 

Wiles is a longtime Trump ally, first throwing her support behind him in 2015 when she became the Trump campaign’s co-chairwoman in Florida.

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“As a card-carrying member of the G.O.P. establishment, many thought my full-throated endorsement of the Trump candidacy was ill-advised — even crazy,” Wiles told the New York Times in a rare public statement back in 2016. 

Democratic lawmakers, who have frequently accused President Donald Trump of acting like a “king” upon his return to the White House, were brutally mocked on Tuesday for applauding and warmly greeting King Charles III during his joint address to Congress. 

“Quite the confusing scene on the House floor today. Many of Congressman Hamadeh’s Democratic colleagues, who have spent months chanting ‘No Kings,’ just gave one a standing ovation,” Arizona Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh’s office posted to X.

The “No Kings” protests began on Presidents Day in February 2025 as a backlash to the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency and broader efforts to shrink the federal government. The movement broke into the national spotlight in June of that year, when Trump’s military parade celebrating the Army’s 250th anniversary gave demonstrators a new focal point for their claims that Trump was conducting himself more like a monarch than a president. 

Some Democratic lawmakers encouraged or joined the protests, with conservative social media commenters pointing out what they viewed as hypocrisy on Tuesday as Democrats applauded a king. 

‘AMERICA IS BACK’: LAWMAKERS RALLY AROUND TRUMP AFTER ‘PHENOMENAL’ JOINT ADDRESS TO CONGRESS

“I’m hearing no Democrats plan to attend King Charles’ speech because ‘No Kings.’ They’d never be gaslighters,” said Republican Florida Rep. Randy Fine posted to X. 

The official White House X account posted a photo of Trump with Charles seemingly trolling the left, captioning the pic, “TWO KINGS.”

FIT FOR A KING? EX-PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU WEARS SNEAKERS TO SEE KING CHARLES’ THRONE SPEECH

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was seen smiling and snapping photos of Charles on Tuesday. She was among lawmakers who have joined the “No Kings” protests. 

“Minnesota showed up in huge numbers today and it was a delight to address the largest #nokings rally in the country,” she posted to Instagram in March, accompanied by footage of a “No Kings” protest. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Omar’s office for any comment on the matter. 

KING CHARLES HEADS TO TRUMP WHITE HOUSE AS AMERICA MARKS 250 YEARS SINCE BREAKING FROM THE CROWN

Actor Tim Allen even weighed in, posting a photo of Charles in front of Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Ron Johnson, R-La., at the podium.

“Would have been funny to see the facial reactions of an actual King with a no Kings parade yelling at him,” said Allen.

One video went viral, with over 4 million views, showing top Democrats such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., standing up to applaud the king.

“NO KINGS! Am I doing it right, Democrats?” said conservative commentator Steve Guest on X.

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“Seems kind of embarrassing for an actual King to get cheered by No Kings people,” wrote co-host of “The Big Money Show” Brian Brenberg.

The king and Queen Camilla will conclude their trip on Wednesday, returning to the UK.

Charles’ address to Congress was a historic moment. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was the first and only other British monarch to address a joint meeting of Congress when she did so in 1991.

EXCLUSIVE: FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau will produce a report “in short order” after reviewing multiple state-level investigations at the White House’s request to determine whether any are connected.

“Those investigations are collectively being looked at by the FBI pursuant to (the) President, the White House’s request,” Patel told Fox News Digital in an interview Tuesday. “So we’re reaching out. We’ve already done it, we’re engaged. They’re all state cases, but we’re looking to see if there’s any connections, and we’re going to have a final report here in short order.” 

He poured cold water on the idea that all the cases of mysterious deaths and disappearances that have resurfaced in recent weeks are connected — noting that some are not even scientists — but said the FBI is “just trying to do our homework.” 

“We are trying to make sure, was there a connection? Did they, were they all working on the same thing or not? Those questions we’re answering right now with our state and local partners, and we’ll produce a report shortly.”

TWO MORE TRUMP ALLIES SAY BIDEN FBI SECRETLY SEIZED THEIR DATA AMID ‘WEAPONIZATION’ CONTROVERSY 

At least a dozen cases involving scientists and others tied to government and defense research have drawn renewed attention in recent weeks, as federal authorities work to determine whether any are connected. The cases — which span disappearances, confirmed homicides and deaths previously ruled accidental — have circulated widely online and prompted questions about whether a broader pattern could pose a national security concern.

The FBI declined to say how much of the report would be made public, noting the matter remains an active investigation.

President Donald Trump also has acknowledged the cases, saying his administration is working to determine whether the incidents are connected.

“I hope it’s random, but we’re going to know in the next week and a half,” Trump said to reporters April 16. “I just left a meeting on that subject.”

“The White House continues to coordinate across the interagency in order to investigate these events and provide transparency to the American people. We will not get ahead of the investigation,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital Wednesday. 

The National Nuclear Security Administration has said it is aware of reports involving personnel across its labs and facilities and is reviewing the matter.

At least a dozen cases involving scientists and defense-linked personnel have drawn renewed attention in recent weeks.

They include the disappearance of retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William “Neil” McCasland, who oversaw classified research programs and vanished from his New Mexico home earlier in 2026, and the death of NASA-affiliated engineer Joshua LeBlanc, whose body was found in a burned vehicle hours after he was reported missing.

Also among the cases is Monica Jacinto Reza, a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer who disappeared while hiking in California, and Melissa Casias, a Los Alamos National Laboratory employee who vanished in New Mexico after leaving work.

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Another case revealed by Fox News Digital involves Army biochemist Jude Height, whose 2022 death was ruled accidental after he was struck by a vehicle, but has since drawn renewed scrutiny from family members and former colleagues who say key details remain unexplained.

Authorities have not indicated that any of the cases are connected.

A 29-year-old Texas woman is now in custody and facing federal fraud charges after being exposed for impersonating an immigration officer in a multi-year visa fraud scheme.

Mayra Collins, a resident of Brownsville, a city on the far southern tip of Texas, is facing five counts of fraudulently posing as a federal agent with various agencies in 2022 and 2025, Acting U.S. Attorney John Marck announced.

The charges against Collins are for two counts of wire fraud and three counts of impersonating a federal agent, according to local affiliate Fox 26.

The DOJ said Collins first allegedly posed as a federal immigration officer. She allegedly falsely represented that she could expedite the process for obtaining U.S. visas and took money from four victims. In 2025, Collins also allegedly impersonated a Border Patrol agent with influence over the hiring of federal employees. She allegedly told one victim there were job positions available, but that they needed to send her money for uniforms and ballistic vests before beginning employment with Border Patrol.

ILLEGAL ALIEN ALLEGEDLY RAN FAKE DHS BRANCH, PASSED OUT ‘IMMUNITY’ CARDS DURING A $400 FRAUDULENT COURSE

According to the DOJ, Collins “never worked for the United States” and “had no power to provide victims of her schemes with Visas or employment” with Border Patrol.

The woman is now facing up to 20 years in federal prison for the two counts of wire fraud and another three years for the impersonation charges. She is also facing a maximum fine of $250,000.

She is expected to make her initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Julie Hampton this Thursday.

Lora Ries, an immigration policy expert with the Heritage Foundation, explained that “the needless complexity of immigration law and the fragmented immigration bureaucracy spread across five federal departments are fertile ground for fraudsters.”

Ries, who is director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, told Fox News Digital that Democrats “helped create these systemic conditions because they facilitate illegal immigration.”

CBP SEIZES MASSIVE METH HAUL WORTH MILLIONS STASHED IN SECRET TILE SHIPMENT

“This perpetrator exploiting that confusing and scattered system is a consequence of their own making,” Ries said.

She noted that “Congress should greatly simplify immigration law and consolidate many of the immigration agencies for a better immigration system and to prevent such fraud.”

This comes as the DOJ and Department of Homeland Security ramp up the federal government’s investigation into a massive fraud scheme largely involving the Somali immigrant community in Minnesota. Federal officials raided 22 alleged fraud sites Tuesday morning.

The raids center on federal fraud investigations into largely Somali-owned businesses, including childcare facilities that registered their daycare with the state but were allegedly billing for care that was not provided.

EMMER SAYS MN FRAUD RAIDS SEND ‘CRYSTAL CLEAR’ MESSAGE AFTER FEDS HIT DOZENS OF SITES

Following news of the raids breaking, Vice President JD Vance, head of the administration’s fraud task force, remarked that the “task force and the DOJ will be relentless in exposing these fraudsters wherever they may be hiding.”

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Commenting on the Minnesota crackdown, Ries told Fox News Digital that “Americans, particularly Minnesotans, are pleased to see the ongoing pursuit of justice against fraud in that state.”

“We’ve only seen a glimpse of both the immigration fraud and welfare fraud that have occurred in Minnesota,” she said, adding, “Significant criminal and immigration consequences are needed for all the perpetrators to achieve justice and to send a message to others throughout the country not to engage in fraud.”

Online influencer Hasan Piker mocked the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump during a livestream Tuesday night, even as he bailed on a panel hosted by a pro-communist nonprofit, with organizers citing safety reasons amid backlash to his rhetoric.

Piker, a self-described Marxist and popular streamer on the Twitch platform, was slated to appear as the headliner at an event hosted by the People’s Forum in Manhattan, “Columbia & Palestine: A Test of Democracy — Featuring Hasan Piker & Guests,” but he was a no-show. Instead, while the panel proceeded without him, he streamed his show live from New York City, which he called “Mamdanistan” for Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

He spent much of the six hours reading aloud articles and X posts about himself, at turns giddy, and then complaining about the “threats,” “disparagement campaigns” and “smears” he’d received for spewing rhetoric that critics say has stoked a culture of political violence.

Last year, the far-left streamer drew public scrutiny when he called for the murder of Senator Rick Scott, R-Florida,  as Republicans targeted Medicaid and Medicare fraud. He said, “If you cared about Medicare fraud or Medicaid fraud, you would kill Rick Scott.”

A fellow panelist told attendees that Piker withdrew due to “the level of attacks and targeting that he has been going through from the right and the left and right,” following backlash after “the situation” with the attempted assassination on Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday.

The episode highlights intensifying scrutiny of rhetoric by leftists like Piker, following the assassination attempt, as critics point to a pattern of inflammatory comments and question the influence of online personalities during a volatile political moment. On Tuesday, writer Peter Hamby at liberal Puck News even acknowledged, “There is a rising miasma of conspiratorial thinking, dangerous fact-denying, and dehumanizing language that has taken hold on the American left.” He singled out “clout-chasers.”

Piker’s decision to skip the in-person event while simultaneously mocking the incident online highlights escalating tensions around the influence of online personalities during a volatile political moment.

While the panel unfolded at the People’s Forum without Piker, the influencer used his livestream on Twitch to mock the assassination attempt and amplify conspiracy theories that it was a fabricated operation. 

LEAVITT BLAMES ‘LEFT-WING CULT OF HATRED’ AFTER WHCA DINNER SHOOTING

He also fawned over late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s pre-taped White House Correspondents’ Dinner roast, including a controversial dig at First Lady Melania Trump having the “glow of an expectant widow.”

Piker laughed at the joke and interjected: “That is the bar,” a play off a slang term, “bars,” popularized in hip hop culture to refer to extremely good lyrics.

He continued, smiling: “‘You have a glow like an expectant widow’ is bars. I’m afraid to report that that is actually bars.”

Right about then, about 22 minutes into the People’s Forum event and well into Piker’s separate six-hour livestream, Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian student at Columbia University who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in April 2025 before being released by an immigration judge, took the microphone and said, “First, I would answer, or I would speak to the thing that many of you are wondering, most likely, and the question is, where is Hassan Piker?” The crowd laughed.

He continued, “Oh, yeah, Hasan was supposed to be with us tonight, and we had to do a last-minute call because of the level of attacks and targeting that he has been going through from the right and the left and, specifically, since last night, with the situation in the White House, there are people who are trying to point fingers to Hasan.”

MORNING GLORY: 2026 SHOULD BE YEAR ANTISEMITISM BECOMES UNACCEPTABLE IN AMERICA AGAIN

Mahdawi continued, “As we know, this is a whole war on truth. The system is trying to silence us and to censor us from speaking up for Palestine and from sharing our truth, because the truth has its own power. And we had to debate, as a team, with the People’s Forum team, as well, whether if we should actually reschedule it or cancel it, and it wasn’t as difficult of a decision as one might imagine, because we knew our North Star, and our North Star is to be with you and to empower ourself and to continue to share our truth.”

He finished: “So while we are with you here tonight, Hassan is streaming right now and watching us.” 

The crowd broke out in cheers.

DEM AND GOP LAWMAKERS TRADE BLAME OVER RHETORIC AFTER WHCD SHOOTING: ‘IT IS DISGUSTING’

While the People’s Forum panel lamented the alleged threats against Piker and the streamer blasted Trump and the First Lady during his livestream, NYPD Community Officers were on foot outside of the venue, and multiple police cars lined W. 37th Street in Manhattan. 

POWER COUPLE OF CHAOS: HOW A TYCOON AND ACTIVIST BUILT A ‘REVOLUTIONARY BASE’ AT THE HOUSE OF SINGHAM

Already, lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee and House Oversight Committee are investigating the People’s Forum, a New York City-based nonprofit, as a hub for allegedly stoking chaos and hate in the country as part of a wider malign foreign influence operation. A Fox News Digital investigation found that the nonprofit received $22.4 million from Neville Roy Singham, a Shanghai-based American tech tycoon who has promoted Chinese Communist Party propaganda.

The organization has played a visible role organizing agitators at far-left protests and demonstrations in New York City and across the country, often in coordination with a network of pro-communist nonprofits funded by Singham, including CodePink, co-founded by his wife, Jodie Evans.

Piker has faced repeated criticisms for past remarks. Following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, Piker dismissed the reports of Israelis raped by Hamas militants, saying,  “It doesn’t matter if f—ing rapes happened on October 7th. Like that doesn’t change the dynamic for me even this much,” pinching his fingers together.

He later told TV host Piers Morgan in April 2024 that he supports the chant, “Globalize the intifada,” which critics say calls for violence against Jews and the state of Israel.

“I am perfectly comfortable with people chanting about the intifada,” Piker said.

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NYPD police officers have arrested hundreds of pro-intifada protesters at Columbia over the course of multiple anti-Israel demonstrations and on-campus encampments where agitators spray painted buildings, restricted walkways and occupied the Butler Library in May 2025. Lawmakers and Columbia University investigations established rampant antisemitism among protesters targeting Jewish students.

But in its promotion for the event, the Singham-funded nonprofit’s framed a narrative of the students as victims of “surveillance, suspension and institutional resistance.”

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Meanwhile, as Piker mocked the assassination attempt on his livestream, a few pro-Trump supporters stood in front of the People’s Forum entry door being interviewed on phone cameras as multiple suited security guards ushered attendees safely into the event, walking past shelves packed with books by German philosopher Karl Marx, calling for a communist “revolution.” 

On his livestream, Piker griped about being the victim of “Hasan Derangement Syndrome” and becoming “the poster boy of the left.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Piker but did not receive a response.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to deliver what is expected to be his final news conference as head of the Fed on Wednesday.

The end of his chairmanship next month, however, may not mark his departure from the world’s most powerful central bank — and the circumstances are setting the scene for a standoff between Powell and President Donald Trump.

If Powell steps aside, it would open a seat for Trump to fill, giving him another opportunity to shape the Fed’s leadership. If he stays, he would retain influence over U.S. monetary policy, intensifying tensions with the president.

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What began as a disagreement over interest rates has escalated into a broader confrontation between Powell and Trump, marking one of the most fraught periods of his eight-years as Fed chair.

Trump has intensified his pressure campaign in recent months, publicly criticizing the Fed’s benchmark interest rate decisions and, at times, resorting to personal attacks.

Powell’s tenure at the central bank dates back to 2017, when he was selected by Trump to succeed Janet Yellen. He was reappointed to a second four-year term by President Joe Biden in 2022, which expires on May 15. However, his underlying term as a Fed governor runs longer, allowing him to remain at the central bank until 2028.

In March, Powell told reporters he had not decided on his next steps and declined to say whether he would remain on the Fed’s board after his term as chair ends.

Powell’s decision could now carry major implications for markets and policy — and further inflame those tensions.

ONE LITTLE-KNOWN MEETING HELPS DECIDE WHAT AMERICANS CAN AFFORD — AND WHAT THEY CAN’T

Attention is now turning to who will lead the Fed next. And at the same time the Supreme Court is expected to weigh-in on a case involving Fed Governor Lisa Cook, which could test the limits of presidential power over the central bank.

Trump has selected millionaire Kevin Warsh as Powell’s potential successor.

The contentious confirmation process had been delayed by a Justice Department investigation into Powell’s congressional testimony related to renovations of the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., which some lawmakers said needed to be resolved before moving forward.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., called the DOJ investigation “bogus” and vowed to block Warsh’s nomination until it was dropped — even if he didn’t object to the quality of Trump’s pick.

THE ONE LINE IN WARSH’S TESTIMONY SIGNALING A BREAK FROM THE FED’S STATUS QUO

With the investigation now closed, a Senate panel is expected to take up Warsh’s nomination, putting the former Morgan Stanley banker on track for a full Senate vote.

Like Powell, Warsh is not an economist by training, instead bringing a background in law and finance. He previously served on the Fed’s Board of Governors, becoming the youngest member in its history at age 35.

His potential return comes at a critical moment for the central bank.

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The question of leadership at the Fed comes as policymakers weigh persistent inflation, the economic impact of the war in Iran and a fragile global outlook ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

Rick Jackson, the Republican frontrunner in Georgia’s race for governor, said he didn’t know if there were any illegal immigrants doing landscaping for him at his mansion when pressed during the race’s only debate ahead of the GOP primary next month.

“You claim to be the tough on illegal deportation, but you’ve got illegals working in your backyard as we speak right now,” fellow frontrunner Republican candidate for governor, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, argued. “Who’s the real Rick Jackson?”

Jones’ question directed at Jackson came during a portion of the Monday night debate where candidates got the opportunity to single out one of their opponents for a question. 

Jones zeroed in on criticism that while Jackson claims to be Trump’s biggest ally in the race, he has donated to the president’s rivals, such as Liz Cheney and Nikki Haley, profited off staffing abortion doctors at Planned Parenthood and has hired illegal immigrants to do landscaping at his mansion.

GEORGIA GUBERNATORIAL HOPEFUL VOWS TO ‘BAN DEI’ BUT HIS OWN COMPANY TOUTED DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

“First of all, the real Rick Jackson has never taken one dollar from Planned Parenthood. We’ve never taken one dollar from recruiting surgeons to do transgender surgery for underage kids from that standpoint,” Jackson responded. “As far as illegals and so forth, I will absolutely make it the number one place in — Georgia will be number one for deporting criminal illegals. That’s my position and that’s who I am.”

Jackson added that he has “done nothing but give to many pro-life nonprofits,” as he continued his rebuttal. “I give more to nonprofits of crisis pregnancy centers here in Georgia than probably you’ve ever given in your entire life,” Jackson said of Jones.

But Jones didn’t let go of the illegal alien question.

“So, you don’t have any illegals working for you right now?” Jones pressed.

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“I don’t know,” Jackson replied incredulously. “Here’s the reason why — you’re talking about a domestic person that somebody hired — I hired thousands of people a year, Burt, I know you have about six yourself — but I hired thousands of people, other people hired them, we obey the laws, we use [unintelligible] verification,” Jackson replied before Jones interjected.

“It’s just a yes or no answer. I asked him if he has illegals working for him right now. He said he did, and then he said he didn’t, so,” Jones shot back before the moderators moved on.

Ahead of Monday evening’s election, the New York Post reported on legal documents from a worker’s compensation suit that Jackson was involved in, which reportedly indicated the billionaire businessman had “maintained a long-standing workforce of multiple laborers performing landscaping and property maintenance work for decades, including individuals without work authorization who nonetheless performed continuous employment for the employer.”

CNN’S SCOTT JENNINGS SAYS LEFT ‘IN LOVE WITH THE WORST PEOPLE’ DURING CLASH OVER DEPORTED ALLEGED MS-13 MEMBER

The case, brought against Jackson Investment Group, LLC, and JIG Real Estate, LLC, which is owned by the former firm, reportedly suggested Jackson — the companies’ CEO — had multiple individuals without proper worker verification documents doing his landscaping. 

The documents also showed Jackson said in a deposition that he was unaware that his hires were undocumented immigrants, but he also admitted not vetting new hires using mandatory I-9 verification forms used to ensure people are eligible to work, according to the New York Post.

In other parts of the deposition, Jackson reportedly echoed what he said Monday night, that he was not directly involved with the hiring of workers and only engaged with the landscaping superintendent.

“I know that sounds confusing,” Jackson reportedly explained in his deposition. “But most of our — if we have other employees, we usually hire them through JIG or another entity. I’m talking about if JIG has employees, we hire them through another entity. I’m not sure that we have any direct employees, from a payroll standpoint, out of JIG Real Estate.”

Jackson, meanwhile, has said if elected he is committed to going after criminal illegal aliens, adding he “doesn’t care if you’re Muslim or Mongolian, you don’t have the right to force your culture on our country” in a recent campaign advertisement that said “criminal illegals” will end up either “deported or departed” under his leadership.

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When asked about the exchange between Jones and Jackson during Monday night’s debate, Jackson’s campaign told Fox News Digital that, “it’s just like a corrupt politician to attack Rick over someone hired by his landscaper.”

“Rick would never knowingly hire someone in the country illegally and, as governor, he’ll make Georgia No. 1 in criminal illegal deportations,” the campaign spokesperson added. “The takeaway from this debate is the universal agreement that Burt Jones has used his office corruptly to enrich himself and attack his political opponents.”

The upcoming primary election between Jones, Jackson, Attorney General Chris Carr, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and others will take place on May 19.

A federal judge in Arizona blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from gaining access to the state’s voter rolls on Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Susan Brnovich, a Trump appointee, dismissed a lawsuit by the Justice Department that sought access to the documents. Brnovich stated that the voter rolls are “not a document subject to request by the Attorney General,” and dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice.

The DOJ’s lawsuit had targeted Arizona Attorney General Adrian Fontes, demanding that he turn over the voter data.

“This moment is a win for voter privacy,” Fontes said in a statement. “I will never comply with illegal requests that put Arizona voters in harms way.”

JUDGE GIVES ‘GREEN LIGHT’ TO CONTROVERSIAL NEW YORK DRIVER’S LICENSE LAW IN BLOW TO TRUMP ADMIN

Arizona is now one of seven states that have rebuffed the Trump administration’s attempts to conduct voter record investigations. The data sought by the administration would include dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.

Those states include Rhode Island, California, Massachusetts, Michigan and Oregon.

Meanwhile, at least 13 states have either complied or promised to comply with the Trump administration’s requests. These states include Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming.

BIDEN JUDGE HALTS ‘SURPRISING’ ILLEGAL ALIEN MINOR REPATRIATION PLAN AFTER ADVOCACY GROUPS SUE

The administration says it needs access to the data to ensure states are complying with federal election law, as well as to check the citizenship status of individuals on the voter rolls.

Tuesday’s ruling came the same week that the North Carolina State Board of Elections identified approximately 34,000 dead people on the state’s voter rolls following a comprehensive comparison with federal data.

Earlier this month, the NCSBE submitted over 7.3 million voter records to the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database as part of an initiative to strengthen the accuracy and integrity of the state’s voter registration list. The NCSBE clarified that the identification of deceased individuals on the state’s voter rolls does not necessarily indicate illegal votes were cast.

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“While we expected to find some cases, this is higher than we anticipated,” Sam Hayes, the executive director of the State Board of Elections, said in a statement.

Fox News’ Alex Schemmel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Congressional Republicans entered the record-breaking Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown united — 75 days later, and they are increasingly at odds over how to end it.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is now floating a change to the Senate’s DHS bill funding most of the department after declining to put the measure on the floor for more than a month.

The new demand comes as the department’s vital security role was spotlighted on Saturday when the Secret Service stopped a gunman from storming the ballroom where he allegedly planned to assassinate President Donald Trump and members of his Cabinet. 

The Secret Service is among several agencies under the DHS umbrella that are currently operating without full-year funding. The assassination scare notably spurred Trump to demand that DHS funding, and the forthcoming budget reconciliation process, be wrapped up soon.

DEMOCRAT WHO BROKE WITH PARTY SAYS HIS DHS FUNDING VOTE A ‘MISTAKE’ AFTER 2ND MINNEAPOLIS ICE SHOOTING

Now, Johnson’s new tactic is to modify the Senate bill, which he claims “has some problematic language because it was haphazardly drafted.” 

“We have a modified version that I think is going to be much better for both chambers,” Johnson told reporters on Monday.  

“It makes sure that we’re not going to orphan two of the primary agencies of DHS,” he added. “We have to make sure that immigration law is enforced and that the border is safe and secure. Democrats don’t want to have any part of that, so unfortunately, we have to do that on our own.”

But the White House, in a memo to House Republicans obtained by Fox News Digital, demanded that Johnson pass the Senate’s bill as-is, and warned that unless the House took action, the remaining DHS funding would soon dry up. 

“It is imperative that Congress immediately fund DHS and its critical operations to protect the homeland,” the memo stated. 

The Senate bill and a separate budget reconciliation bill funding immigration enforcement are part of a two-track approach that congressional Republicans are pursuing to end the funding lapse.

Johnson has long reflected the view of many in the GOP by voicing objections to the Senate bill because it zeroes out funding for ICE and CBP. 

But Senate Republicans are frustrated with their House colleagues who continue to sit on the bill that would reopen most of DHS while teasing forthcoming modifications. Any substantial alteration to the bill outside a minor technical correction would kick the bill back to the Senate for reconciliation.

Trump has not weighed in on the Senate’s partial DHS bill, but has urged the House to quickly approve the Senate-passed budget blueprint funding immigration enforcement.

GOP INFIGHTING REPLACES CLASH WITH DEMS, DERAILS PATH TO END HISTORIC DHS SHUTDOWN

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., noted that it had been nearly 30 days since he and the speaker put out a joint statement supporting the Senate’s funding bill. 

“I guess my question is, what was the alternative? And that’s what I said to them at the time, and you tell me, give me a better option, ’cause I’m open to ideas,” Thune said Tuesday. “But I don’t think anybody had one, and we had a bunch of agencies that weren’t being funded.”

Congressional Democrats have ripped Johnson for holding up the Senate bill, though Republicans note that Congress would not be in the funding stalemate if Democrats had agreed to a full-year spending bill for the department.

“Johnson can just take up the bill that was passed unanimously in the Senate and we’d be funding all of DHS except for ICE and CBP, and then we could work on that,” Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., told Fox News on Tuesday.

“The fact that he has failed to do so is outrageous and it’s on him that we are not paying the rest of DHS,” she added.

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats, who voted unanimously alongside Republicans twice on the funding deal, are scratching their heads about what exactly Johnson is trying to do.

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Democrats have also signaled a possible return of the funding standoff that dominated the upper chamber for over a month. 

“They’re just stuck so they come up with — we need some technical changes,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. “Hold up national security for technical changes? It’s absurd.”

The Senate Banking Committee will vote Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, in a key test of how much influence the White House can exert over the central bank.

If he clears committee, Warsh’s nomination heads to the Senate floor, where Republicans’ narrow majority leaves little room for defections if they want to place Trump’s pick at the helm of the Fed for the next four years.

The Federal Reserve operates largely out of public view, but its influence touches nearly every corner of the U.S. economy — shaping borrowing costs, job growth and inflation, making the outcome of his nomination a key moment for how that power could be steered.

FROM MORTGAGES TO CAR LOANS: HOW AFFORDABILITY RISES AND FALLS WITH THE FED

Warsh’s potential ascent to lead the world’s most powerful central bank comes at a particularly volatile moment. The Federal Reserve is grappling with persisting inflation, economic ripples of the war in Iran and a looming Supreme Court decision over Fed Governor Lisa Cook — all while political pressure builds ahead of the midterm elections in November.

The path to a Senate Banking Committee vote on Warsh’s nomination was finally able to move forward after the Justice Department closed its probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after months of scrutiny.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., withheld support for moving forward with Warsh’s nomination until the DOJ probe was resolved. Trump pushed back on closing the investigation, further raising questions about governance and oversight at the central bank.

The probe was related to potential mismanagement of funds during renovations at the Federal Reserve’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. and it unfolded despite Powell’s term as chair ending next month.

Powell, breaking from his typically measured approach, called the Justice Department investigation “unprecedented” and framed it as part of Trump’s pressure campaign on the Fed to cut interest rates and his fiery rhetoric against the chairman for his refusal to cave to that pressure.

FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR POWELL UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OVER HQ RENOVATION

In March, Powell told reporters he has “no intention of leaving” the central bank until the DOJ investigation is “fully resolved with transparency and finality.”

His term as Fed chair is set to end May 15, though he is eligible to remain on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors for an additional two-year term. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors, known as the Fed board, consists of seven members nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, who help set interest rate policy and oversee the central bank’s operations.

THE ONE LINE IN WARSH’S TESTIMONY SIGNALING A BREAK FROM THE FED’S STATUS QUO

Warsh has already signaled a clear break from the central bank’s current approach regardless of whether Powell remains at the Federal Reserve beyond his chairmanship.

In testimony before lawmakers on April 21, Warsh pledged to keep monetary policy “strictly independent” and said he intended to keep the central bank “in its lane,” warning that the Fed has become too involved in social policy.

He has also taken aim at what he sees as a complacent central bank, warning that large institutions are prone to inertia and that clinging to the “status quo” in a fast-moving economy is not just outdated, but dangerous.

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At the same time, he has signaled openness to closer coordination with elected leaders and work with the White House and Congress on nonmonetary matters — an approach that could reshape how the Fed operates in Washington.

How that balance is struck could define not only Warsh’s tenure, but the future direction of the institution that plays a major role in the financial lives of millions of Americans.

A wave of party switching in West Virginia is reshaping the state’s political landscape, with tens of thousands of voters — including more than 16,000 Democrats — registering as Republicans since early 2024, according to new data released by the secretary of state.

West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner reported that 68,235 voters have changed party affiliation since Jan. 31, 2024, signaling a significant shift ahead of the state’s May 12 primary election.

Among the biggest changes, 16,910 voters switched from Democrat to Republican, while another 20,003 unaffiliated voters also moved to the GOP, according to the data.

At the same time, 12,299 Democrats left their party to become unaffiliated, and 7,559 Republicans also dropped their party affiliation, suggesting a broader reshuffling among voters across the state.

INSIDE JAY JONES AND THE DEMOCRATS’ LATE SURGE TO UPSET WINS ACROSS VIRGINIA, FROM THE SUBURBS TO THE SHORE

Smaller shifts included 5,211 voters moving from unaffiliated to Democrat and 2,399 switching from Republican to Democrat.

As of April 23, the data Warner shared shows 519,756 registered Republicans, 327,089 registered Democrats and 301,933 independents. The latter two add up to about 620,000 people, outnumbering registered Republicans.

The changes come as West Virginia prepares for its upcoming primary, with more than 1.19 million registered voters currently eligible to participate. Officials said that number will be finalized ahead of the April 28 deadline for updating voter rolls.

Early in-person voting begins April 29 and runs through May 9.

The recent shifts in party affiliation have drawn attention as West Virginia continues to evolve politically, with voter registration trends reflecting changing allegiances across the state.

Del. Josh Holstein, a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and chairman of the state Republican Party, told the Herald-Dispatch that the increase in West Virginians joining the Republican Party is likely due to the upcoming primary being a closed election, meaning only registered Republicans will be able to vote in the competitive Republican primary. Conversely, only registered Democrats can vote in the Democratic primary.

“This huge uptick in the last couple of months is certainly tied to the primary being closed,” Holstein said. “So I think it’s why a lot of those folks said, ‘Hey, I’ll just register Republican.'”

‘VEXIT’ MOVEMENT REIGNITES AS RED STATE INVITES DISENFRANCHISED VIRGINIANS TO ‘BEST VIRGINIA’

Del. Mike Pushkin, chairman of the state Democratic Party, said in a statement obtained by the outlet that the data shows a broad change across the state, not a one-way shift in any direction.

“Thousands of West Virginians are stepping away from party labels entirely, which reflects a broader frustration with politics as usual,” Pushkin wrote. “While Republicans have gained some voters, they are also losing thousands to ‘No Party,’ and many voters who re-engage are continuing to choose Democrats.”

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Pushkin added that “none of this is particularly surprising,” noting that the data includes 2024, when President Donald Trump was running for re-election — and won every county in the state.

Fox News Digital reached out to both Holstein and Pushkin for comment but did not immediately hear back.

FIRST ON FOX — The State Department is rolling out limited-edition U.S. passports to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence. The new passport designs, obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, prominently feature President Donald Trump’s image on the inside cover. 

Mock-ups show Trump’s image surrounded by the text of the Declaration of Independence and American flag along with the president’s signature in gold. Another page features the famous painting of the founding fathers at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The passports, which are set to be released this summer, are part of the Trump administration’s broader “America250” celebration, which also includes a Grand Prix race on the National Mall in August and a UFC fight on the White House South Lawn in June.

TRUMP URGED TO DECLARE ‘AMERICAN’ THE OFFICIAL US LANGUAGE AHEAD OF 250TH ANNIVERSARY

“As the United States celebrates America’s 250th anniversary in July, the State Department is preparing to release a limited number of specially designed U.S. passports to commemorate this historic occasion,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Fox News Digital.

Featuring customized artwork and enhanced imagery, Pigott maintains the identification booklets will include the “same security features that make the U.S. Passport the most secure documents in the world.” 

The cover of the commemorative U.S. passports has been slightly altered with the words “United States of America” enlarged and placed at the top of the passport, above the crest. The back cover will feature an American flag with “250” centered between the 13 stars featured on the 1777 version of the flag. 

REVOLUTIONARY WAR ARTIFACTS UNEARTHED AT SITE OF INFAMOUS COLONIAL AMERICAN HEIST: ‘VERY SURPRISED’

A State Department official told Fox News Digital that the new designs will be available for “any American citizen” who applies for a passport when the rollout happens and will continue for as long as there is availability. The passports will only be available at the Washington Passport Agency, the official detailed. 

The launch is expected to coincide with the 250th Anniversary in July, the official confirmed to Fox News Digital.

Americans all over the country are preparing for the major kickoff this summer of a nationwide celebration that’s been years in the making.

NEARLY 500 PUBLIC FIGURES FROM POLITICS TO HOLLYWOOD WILL READ BIBLE COVER TO COVER TO MARK AMERICA’S 250TH

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An Interior Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “Under President Donald J. Trump, America’s 250th birthday will be marked by a once-in-a-lifetime celebration that encapsulates the American spirit — including a spectacular fireworks display at Mount Rushmore that honors our history at the monument that symbolizes those who built it.”

Between June 25 and July 10, 2026, the National Mall in Washington, D.C. will transform into the “Great American State Fair” and feature rodeo-style events, a Ferris Wheel and pavilions from all states and territories.

A political advocacy group is launching an investigation into mail-in ballot practices in Virginia after a narrow “Yes” victory on a redistricting referendum raised questions about election procedures.

Final results in last week’s contest showed voters narrowly approved of Democrats’ effort to redraw Virginia’s congressional map for at least the next four years with heavy geographical and population-based preference given to dense, Democratic-majority areas like Richmond-Petersburg, Hampton Roads and the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

While the election is again in the hands of the courts over procedural and ballot-language-related concerns — at both the county and state Supreme Court levels — the America First Policy Institute issued legally binding records requests to several key counties across the commonwealth, from Christiansburg to Ashburn.

“If we don’t have secure elections, then we won’t have a country,” Leigh Ann O’Neill, chief legal affairs officer for AFPI, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

NEW DEM STAR’S QUICK HARD-LEFT TURN AFTER ‘MODERATE’ CAMPAIGN WON HER COVETED RESPONSE TO TRUMP: LAWMAKER

“And so that is a very high priority for us. And we are very invested in making sure that all the proper procedures are always followed in elections. And that’s, of course, no different with respect to this referendum in Virginia.”

AFPI’s investigation is asking election officials to turn over communications regarding how mail-in and absentee balloting was administered during the election — which had a several-week early-voting window.

Factors the group is interested in include how ballots were stored, guidance given to county officials, how ballots were distributed and accepted and so forth.

O’Neill said AFPI acted upon reports including online where people were pointing out alleged discrepancies and “unusual mail-in ballot counts” from some counties.

Late in the evening, Virginia’s largest county — Fairfax — reported a tranche of votes that helped “Yes” across the finish line. Fox News Digital reached out to Fairfax officials and several other counties targeted by AFPI’s probe.

GOP GOVERNORS, AGS BACK TRUMP SAVE ACT PUSH, WARN SYSTEM GIVES ‘UNDUE INFLUENCE’ TO STATES WITH ILLEGAL ALIENS

O’Neill said AFPI’s probe isn’t simply focusing on places where allegations exist, but also a sampling of counties across the commonwealth, to ensure “election integrity principles are upheld in all parts of [Virginia] and around the country.”

“We’re looking for information that will give us peace of mind that all of the proper procedures were in fact followed.”

O’Neill stressed objectivity versus any political or issue-based end goal in AFPI’s probe, in hopes it will help illustrate where election integrity stands on a national basis.

DEFEATED VIRGINIA REPUBLICANS REGROUP FOR LAST CHANCE FIGHT TO SAVE HOUSE MAJORITY

She said AFPI is seeking evidence of uniformity and consistency across Virginia and to assuage any cause for concern among voters.

A second part of AFPI’s probe focuses on allegations of educational impropriety in Fairfax’s school district, where reports surfaced in The Washington Times and elsewhere of teachers trying to ascertain students’ parents’ stance on redistricting and commit what AFPI described as “partisan voter influence.”

In a Times column, Fairfax parent Kelly Sadler said her twins who are in different civics classes asked her if she was voting for the redistricting amendment.

When Sadler replied that she wasn’t, she wrote that her sons already understand her politics and therefore was interested in why they would ask her again.

“Turns out, in both of their civics classes that day, taught by two different teachers in Fairfax County Public Schools, they were urged to go home and persuade their parents to vote yes on the measure to make Virginia’s maps “as fair as they can be [to] stop Donald Trump at all costs,” Sadler wrote.

“Any time you have reports of teachers basically directing students which way to vote on a given topic, you know that we’ve moved outside the realm of objective teaching about how the civics process and systems work, and you’ve moved into advocating for a particular political belief or concept,” added O’Neill in her interview.

O’Neill said FCPS Superintendent Michelle Reid should take such reports seriously and conduct her own investigation.

Fox News Digital reached out to FCPS for comment.

O’Neill said a 1978 federal policy called the Pupil Privacy Rights Act requires parents to be given notice before their students are surveyed for sensitive information, including political beliefs.

TRUMP DOJ APPOINTEE THOMAS ALBUS TAPPED TO LEAD FULTON COUNTY SEARCH WARRANT FIGHT

“So again, that’s an open question. We don’t know if that’s what happened here. But if so, that would be a very serious concern. And we think that the voters, the taxpayers in Virginia have a right to understand what was going on,” she said.

Fox News Digital additionally reached out to Loudoun, Stafford, Montgomery and Spotsylvania County election officials.

Spotsylvania County was the only county to reply by press time, as Director of Elections and General Registrar Kellie Acors defended the exurban county’s practices.

“We understand the importance of public trust in the integrity of our election processes, and we appreciate the interest in mail-in ballot procedures and any concerns raised,” Acors told Fox News Digital.

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“At this time there has been zero interest or questions on our Vote by Mail process, numbers entered and turnout. We are all finishing completing these numbers [Monday] actually.  As … mentioned, the only question has been the extensive FOIA I received late last week.”

AFPI is led by Board Chairman and FOX Business anchor Larry Kudlow and interim president Greg Sindelar, formerly of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and was reportedly co-founded by current USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins.

Another assassination attempt targeting Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner adds to a mounting list of threats since he entered politics, a total that has hit double digits.

Just days before the most recent assassination attempt, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Democrats are in an “era of maximum warfare,” prompting criticism from Republicans that the political rhetoric is pushing citizens to commit political violence. 

Since the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, calls from politicians and activists on both sides to “lower the temperature” have grown into an ongoing national conversation.

Ever since Trump first entered the political sphere in 2015, prominent public figures have referred to him as a “fascist,” and a “Nazi,” and he’s been likened to Adolf Hitler. Comparisons to Trump and members of his administration to Nazi Germany have only grown since he took office in January 2025. 

UNEARTHED VIDEO REVEALS COLE ALLEN AS QUIET INVENTOR YEARS BEFORE ALLEGED BID TO ASSASSINATE TRUMP

Many of Trump’s attempted attackers or assassins have pointed to their belief that Trump was a “White supremacist” and a “bully,” as the rationale for their planned attacks.

“President Trump remains completely undeterred despite the multiple attempts on his life by cowardly individuals,” White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster said. 

“The president will not allow deranged lunatics to change the fabric of this country and dictate the American way of life. President Trump and the entire administration will continue to stand strong and fight for the American people.”

Here is a timeline of all the known attacks on President Donald Trump’s life:

March 12, 2016 — Dayton, Ohio

During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump held a rally at Wright State University. A 22-year-old protester named Thomas DiMassimo jumped a security barrier and attempted to charge the stage, but he was stopped by Secret Service. DiMassimo claimed he wanted to “bully the bully” and was going to make “some remarks” to Trump and his followers. He was charged with a misdemeanor and was sentenced to a year of probation.

June 18, 2016 — Las Vegas 

Michael Steven Sandford, a British national, attempted to grab a police officer’s gun while in attendance at Trump’s rally in Las Vegas. Sandford, who is diagnosed with autism, told an arresting officer that he intended to “shoot and kill Trump.” He was sentenced to 12 months and a day in U.S. federal prison, and he was deported back to the United Kingdom after he completed his sentence.

Sept. 6, 2017 — Mandan, N.D.

During President Trump’s visit to the Andeavor Mandan Refinery where he delivered a speech on tax reform, Gregory Lee Leingang attempted to drive a stolen forklift into the presidential motorcade. He intended to “flip” Trump’s limousine and kill him, but the forklift got stuck. Leingang was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

MAN ACCUSED OF IRAN-BACKED TRUMP ASSASSINATION PLOT COMPARED HIS PLAN TO BUTLER SHOOTING: FBI

November 2017 — Manila, Philippines

During Trump’s visit to the Philippines for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ ASEAN 50 Summit, ISIS operatives planned to kill the president, having released several videos threatening Trump’s life. One of the videos included a picture of Trump with several bullet holes. Just 20 minutes before Trump’s plane landed, Secret Service agents tracked down and apprehended one of the ISIS operatives, who was parked a mile away from Trump’s hotel.

September 2020 — Canada

A Canadian woman mailed to the White House and eight Texas state law enforcement officials a slew of threatening letters and homemade ricin, a deadly toxin. Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier, 55, called in the letters for Trump to end his presidential candidacy and made calls on Twitter that “someone please shoot ‘Trump in the face.'” Border Patrol agents stopped Ferrier at the Peace Bridge Border Crossing in Buffalo, N.Y., Sept. 20, 2020. She was in possession of a loaded gun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. She was sentenced to over 21 years in prison.

April 2024 — Iranian plot

Asif Raza Merchant, a Pakistani national and a trained operative of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was sent by the terrorist force to plan and execute political assassinations with intended targets including President Donald Trump, former President Joe Biden and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, according to the Eastern District of New York. 

Merchant arrived in the United States in April 2024 and met with a purported hitmen in June, but in reality they were undercover U.S. law enforcement officers. Merchant was convicted in March 2026 but has not yet been sentenced.

NEW BOOK DETAILS SECURITY LAPSES AHEAD OF TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: ‘CLEAR THERE WAS A PROBLEM’

July 13, 2024 — Butler, Pa.

Positioned roughly 150 yards atop a building outside the security perimeter at Trump’s Butler rally, Thomas Matthew Crooks fired approximately eight shots from his AR-15 rifle, hitting Trump in the ear and killing an attendee, Corey Comperatore, 50. It was the closest attempt on Trump’s life. Crooks, 20, was killed by a member of the Secret Service counter sniper team. Little is known about Crooks, who acted alone with no criminal history. The attempted assassination has intensified scrutiny over the Secret Service.

Sept. 15, 2024 — West Palm Beach, Fla.

A little more than two months after Butler, a Secret Service agent found Ryan Wesley Routh hiding in a bush near a fence surrounding Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course after noticing the barrel of a rifle poking out. Routh fled and was later apprehended. Routh was sentenced to life in prison in February after being convicted for his assassination attempt on Trump. In a letter outlining his reasoning for assassinating Trump, Routh accused the president of being a threat to democracy and accused Trump of being a “pedophile” and a “rapist.”

February 2026, Palm Beach, Fla.

Austin Tucker Martin, a 21-year-old from North Carolina, breached Mar-a-Lago’s perimeter carrying a gas can and shotgun. Secret Service agents confronted Martin, ordering him to lay down his weapons, but he refused. Martin was fatally shot by the Secret Service agents. At the time of the incident, Trump was at the White House. Martin’s motive remains unknown.

ARMED MAN SHOT AND KILLED AFTER ‘UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY’ INTO MAR-A-LAGO: SECRET SERVICE

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April 25, 2026, Washington, D.C.

The most recent alleged attempted assassin, Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old school teacher from California, rushed through the lobby doors leading to the Washington Hilton Hotel ballroom, where the dinner was held. He fired several shots before Secret Service agents tackled him to the ground, stopping Allen from breaching the ballroom. 

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that, based on the evidence collected, which includes a manifesto, investigators suspect that Allen sought to kill as many high-ranking Cabinet officials as possible, including President Donald Trump.

Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted for a second time by the Justice Department (DOJ), multiple sources told Fox News. The charges appear to be related to a May 2025 Instagram photo of an “86 47” shell formation on a beach. 

Comey is charged with “knowingly and willfully making a threat to take the life of, or inflict bodily harm upon, the President of the United States and knowingly and willfully transmitting a communication in interstate and foreign commerce that contained a threat to kill President Donald Trump,” according to the indictment.

Both charges, released Tuesday by the DOJ, carry up to 10 years in prison. The move follows a wave of criticism from Republicans and Trump administration officials who viewed Comey’s post as a veiled threat.

“I think it’s fair to say that threatening the life of anybody is dangerous and potentially a crime threatening the life of the president of the United States will never be tolerated by the Department of Justice,” Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters during a news conference without going into specifics of the case. 

“While this case is unique and this indictment stands out because of the name of the defendant, his alleged conduct is the same kind of conduct that we will never tolerate and that we will always investigate and regularly prosecute,” he added. 

FBI LAUNCHES CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS OF JOHN BRENNAN, JAMES COMEY: DOJ SOURCES

In the slang often used in the service industry, to “86” something means to eject, cancel or get rid of it. And Trump is the 47th president. 

According to the charges, a reasonable person familiar with the circumstances would interpret this image as a “serious expression of an intent to do harm” to the president.

The indictment aldo includes a Forfeiture Notice, meaning that if convicted, Comey must forfeit any property or proceeds derived from his alleged unlawful activities to the government. 

A grand jury issued an arrest warrant for Comey. Blanche said he expects that there would be communication Comey’s legal counsel. 

U.S. District Judge Louise Wood Flanagan, a Georgie W. Bush appointee, has been assigned to the case. 

In a video posted to Substack, Comey reacted to the latest indictment. 

“Well, they’re back. This time about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina beach a year ago,” he said in the 39-second clip. “But nothing has changed with me. I’m still innocent. I am still not afraid and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary. So let’s go.”

Comey added that it was “really important that all of us remember this is not who we are as a country.”

“This is not how the Department of Justice is supposed to be. And the good news is we get closer every day to restoring those values,” he added. 

READ THE 2-COUNT INDICTMENT:

In a statement to Fox News, Comey’s lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, said, “Mr. Comey vigorously denies the charges contained in the Indictment filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina. We will contest these charges in the courtroom and look forward to vindicating Mr. Comey and the First Amendment.” 

Comey removed the social media post of the shells the same day it was uploaded, claiming he had misinterpreted the shells as a general political message.

“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,” Comey wrote in a subsequent post. “I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind, so I took the post down.”

Following the post, Comey was questioned by the U.S. Secret Service in Washington D.C. At the time, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said the former FBI chief should be “put behind bars” for allegedly “issuing a call to assassinate” Trump. 

In an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, Trump rejected this explanation. 

“He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant,” Trump said. “If you’re the FBI director, and you don’t know what that meant, that meant ‘assassination,’ and it says it loud and clear.”

CLAPPER ALLEGEDLY PUSHED TO ‘COMPROMISE’ ‘NORMAL’ STEPS TO RUSH 2017 ICA, DESPITE CONCERNS FROM NSA DIRECTOR

House Judiciary Ranking Member Jamie Raskin criticized the move by the DOJ, while recalling Trump’s own remarks about Democratic lawmakers who urged military service members to disobey unlawful orders and his statement about former Rep. Liz Cheney. 

“Trump’s DOJ just criminally indicted James Comey for a beach photo of seashells and no other evidence cited,” he said. “If that’s a crime in America, then what is calling the free speech of six Democratic Members of Congress ‘seditious behavior, punishable by DEATH’? What is suggesting a former Republican Member of Congress should have to ‘face nine barrels shooting at her’ with ‘the guns trained on her face’?”

This second indictment against Comey comes just hours after a federal judge in New York allowed a separate lawsuit brought by his daughter, Maurene Comey, to move forward against the DOJ.

Maurene Comey, a former federal prosecutor, is suing the DOJ over what she describes as an unlawful dismissal. Her lawsuit alleges she was terminated “solely or substantially because her father is former FBI Director James B. Comey, or because of her perceived political affiliation and beliefs, or both.”

Comey was fired by Trump in 2017 during his first term over the handling of the Russia investigation. Since then, Comey has been a vocal critic of the president.

In September 2025, Comey was charged with lying to Congress regarding press leaks. However, a federal judge dismissed that case after ruling that the prosecutor involved had been improperly appointed. Comey’s legal team has declined to comment on this latest indictment.

Earlier this month, Blanche said Trump has a “right” and a “duty” to influence federal investigations, including those involving his political enemies who probed him in the past.

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“We have thousands of ongoing investigations and prosecutions going on in this country right now. It is true that some of them involve men, women and entities that the president in the past has had issues with and believes should be investigated,” Blanche said at a press conference.

He previously dismissed the notion that the DOJ has improperly been going after Trump opponents.

On April 14, the DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group published a report accusing the Biden administration of weaponizing federal law.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is being roasted online for a brutal resurfaced video of her misreading World War II as “World War Eleven” during a Capitol Hill news conference.

Omar, the first Somali American member of Congress, made the error during her opening remarks at a Democratic news conference last year on the reintroduction of the Neighbors Not Enemies Act. The bill, which did not pass, was aimed at opposing President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement, particularly his invocation of the Alien Enemies Act.

The congresswoman railed that the “last time the Alien Enemies Act was invoked it was used to detain and deport German, Japanese, Italian immigrants during World War Eleven.”

JEFFRIES CALLS TRUMP ‘DUMBEST PERSON EVER’ TO SIT AT 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE

She quickly corrected herself, saying, “Oh, two,” and laughing.

As Omar’s district faces increased scrutiny amid a massive federal fraud probe largely involving the Somali immigrant community, the resurfaced clip is circulating online. The mistake drew mockery, including from Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who teased Omar, saying, “‘World War Eleven’ … Yes, that was deadly.”

In a separate post, Lee continued to rib Omar, sharing a side-by-side of her error alongside another video of her calling Trump voters “idiots.” The video showed Omar saying, “It’s become really hard to have an intellectual debate with any of these people,” and asserting that “the dumbing of the United States has arrived, because how else do we get a Trump presidency again?”

The video of Omar’s gaffe also garnered a reaction from Elon Musk, who posted a grimacing emoji.

The popular conservative account “I Meme Therefore I Am” posted, “She must have gotten her education in the Quality Learing Center.” The post referenced one of the Minneapolis daycare centers allegedly engaged in fraud, which went viral for misspelling its name on its sign as “Quality Learing Center” instead of “Quality Learning Center.”

Chloe Cole, a conservative activist and prominent “detransitioner,” posted on X, “Absolutely in awe of this clip of Ilhan Omar calling World War II ‘World War Eleven.’”

“Truly quality learing. We’re learing like we’ve never leared before,” Cole wrote.

TRUMP BLASTS KETANJI BROWN JACKSON AS ‘LOW IQ PERSON’ IN SUPREME COURT TIRADE

Conservative podcast host Matt Walsh reacted, “God forbid we ever have World War 3, Ilhan Omar will think we’re on World War One Hundred Eleven.”

“Consider the astronomical levels of stupidity on display here. Ilhan Omar doesn’t know how to read Roman numerals AND she thinks there have been 11 world wars,” Walsh wrote in another X post. “Either one of those would be reasonable justification to remove her from office and send her back to Somalia. But both?”

Fox News Digital reached out to Omar for comment.

This comes as the federal government’s investigation into alleged rampant fraud in Minnesota ramps up, with agents executing 22 search warrants at locations, including childcare centers suspected of involvement. The raids, conducted Tuesday morning, centered on federal investigations into largely Somali-owned businesses, including childcare facilities that registered with the state but were allegedly billing for care that was not provided.

Sources told Fox News that two of the raids were conducted at the Quality Learning Center and Baby Halimo Child Care, both in Minneapolis.

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Omar has been largely critical of the federal investigation. In a January interview with CBS News, Omar said the Trump administration’s handling of the scandal “is harming my constituents, and it is creating the kind of chaos and confusion that no one needs in this moment.”

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Speaking with Margaret Brennan, Omar said the Trump administration’s response to the fraud being exposed “creates the level of confusion and chaos that is not necessary in a moment when we are trying to deal with a serious problem that needs serious people to be able to address it.”

Omar added, “We want to collaborately [sic] work with the administration to try to make sure that there is no fraud that’s being perpetuated on our state.

“What we do not want is the level of terror, of confusion, of chaos that is being created without any results in this moment.”

The Pentagon has formally asked for congressional approval to codify its “Department of War” moniker, estimating it will cost taxpayers around $52 million.

The estimate from the Pentagon is significantly lower than what the Congressional Budget Office projected in January, when it estimated the rebranding could cost as much as $125 million if it were adopted “broadly and rapidly” throughout the department.

The Pentagon claimed the change, which includes renaming the Secretary of Defense to the Secretary of War, would have no “significant impact” on President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2027 defense budget request because most implementation costs will be absorbed during the current 2026 fiscal year.

The “actual costs are being collected during implementation and will be available” once the current fiscal year’s execution of the name change is completed, according to the department.

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In its legislative proposal, the Pentagon said roughly $52 million is expected to be used, including $44.6 million for the Defense Agencies and the department’s field activities, $3.5 million for the military departments, $3 million for Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth’s office and Washington Headquarters Services, $400,000 for the Joint Staff, Combatant Commands and National Guard Bureau.

“The revision to the designation of the Department serves as a fundamental reminder of the importance and reverence of our core mission, to fight and win wars,” the proposal reads. “It serves as a strategic objective in which to measure and prioritize all activities.”

The request to rebrand the department would make around 7,600 changes to federal law. The Pentagon has already changed its website and social media accounts to reflect the rebranding, and Hegseth’s nameplate on his office door already reads, “Secretary of War.”

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This comes after Trump signed an executive order in the fall to rename the Department of Defense to the Department of War, a move that sparked criticism but that some anti-war advocates argued was more fitting for an administration they say is eager to wage war.

“The name change really does help highlight how rogue, unconstitutional, and unlawful the president’s actions are,” former Rep. Justin Amash, a Republican turned Libertarian, wrote on X in September.

But some of Trump’s Republican allies in Congress have signaled support for the name change, with Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introducing legislation in their respective chambers seeking to codify the rebranding.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, Democrats have criticized the Pentagon’s request to codify the moniker, as lawmakers begin hashing out the fiscal 2027 defense policy bill.

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“The American people can’t afford groceries, gas, or rent — and the Pentagon has ALREADY wasted $50 million on renaming the Department of Defense to the Department of War. Now they want more money,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., wrote on X.

The Department of War was established in 1789 by President George Washington. It was later replaced by the National Military Establishment in 1947, which was redesignated as the Department of Defense in 1949.

Legal questions are emerging over whether charges against former FBI Director James Comey would withstand a First Amendment challenge as he is indicted for a social media post allegedly tied to threats against President Donald Trump.

Comey faced charges Tuesday under 18 U.S.C. § 871, which criminalizes threats against the president, and 18 U.S.C. § 875(c), which covers interstate communications containing threats to harm others. 

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley told Fox News Digital just before the indictment was released that, if the case is based solely on the widely circulated image posted by Comey, it could face steep constitutional hurdles.  

“If Comey is charged for the shell picture, it would face a monumental challenge under the First Amendment,” Turley said. “In my view, the image itself is clearly protected speech. Absent some other unknown facts or elements, it would be unlikely to survive a threshold constitutional challenge.”

JAMES COMEY INDICTED AGAIN IN NEW JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PROBE

Both statutes require prosecutors to prove not only that a statement constituted a “true threat,” but that it was made knowingly and with intent, standards that legal analysts say could prove difficult to meet based on publicly available information. 

The indictment was filed Tuesday in the Eastern District of North Carolina, where Comey allegedly posted the image of seashells forming the numbers “86 47” during a beach walk. 

Others pushed back on the idea that the case raises significant First Amendment concerns, arguing that threats against a sitting president fall squarely outside protected speech.

“The third assassination attempt against President Trump on Saturday made this crystal clear: The Justice Department must prosecute those who threaten to assassinate the president,” said Mike Davis, founder of the Article III Project. 

“No one has a First Amendment right to do this. No one is above the law, especially not a former director of the FBI who should know better. A jury of James Comey’s peers will decide his fate.”

That argument comes amid heightened concerns about threats against Trump after a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. A suspect has been charged with attempting to assassinate the president.

Prosecutors allege that the post would be interpreted by a “reasonable recipient familiar with the circumstances” as a serious expression of intent to harm the president, signaling they intend to rely heavily on context surrounding the message rather than explicit language alone.

The U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, W. Ellis Boyle, will oversee the case. Boyle was appointed in 2025 and sworn in by his father, a longtime federal judge in the district, after being selected for the role by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The indictment marks the second time Comey has been charged during the second Trump administration. 

In 2025, he was indicted on charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding tied to his testimony in the FBI’s Russia probe. That case was later dismissed after a federal judge ruled the prosecutor in the case had been unlawfully appointed.

Comey, who served as FBI director from 2013 to 2017, has long been a polarizing figure in U.S. politics, drawing criticism from both parties over his handling of the Clinton email investigation and the FBI’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and potential links between Trump’s campaign and Moscow. 

He was fired by Trump in 2017 amid escalating tensions tied in part to the Russia investigation.

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The expected charges stem from a social media post in which Comey shared an image of seashells arranged to form the numbers “86 47,” which some critics interpreted as a coded threat against Trump. The post drew swift backlash and prompted an investigation.

Comey later said he did not intend the image to be interpreted as a call for violence.

“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”

His explanation could complicate prosecutors’ efforts to establish intent, a key element required under both statutes.

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Comey’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security called out the legacy media for characterizing the perpetrator of a recent Wisconsin machete attack as a “Green Bay man” when he is actually an illegal alien from Nicaragua.

Fox News Digital has learned that David Joel Herrera-Garcia, 24, who is charged with two counts of attempted murder, aggravated assault and armed burglary, is an illegal immigrant who was marked as a “non-enforcement priority” by the Biden administration, according to DHS.

Herrera-Garcia’s charges stem from an alleged break-in and machete attack at the home of his ex-girlfriend. Citing local reports, DHS said the Green Bay police responding to an emergency call discovered bloodied female and male victims in the early morning of April 20. The agency said that police on the scene found blood “all over the concrete” leading up to the house. The woman, Herrera-Garcia’s 23-year-old ex-girlfriend, identified him as the attacker, and he was arrested later that morning.

DHS has lodged an immigration detainer for Herrera-Garcia for the Brown County Jail to turn him over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for possible deportation. The agency commented that “despite the legacy media calling Herrera-Garcia a ‘Green Bay man,’ he is in fact an illegal alien from Nicaragua.”

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“Yet again, legacy media has gone to bat for a vicious criminal illegal alien allowed by the Biden administration to roam our streets and prey upon innocent people,” remarked Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.

The agency said that Herrera-Garcia allegedly used a key to enter his ex-girlfriend’s home before proceeding to beat her and repeatedly stab her and a man with a machete.

Officers responding to the emergency call applied tourniquets to the victims, who were transported to a hospital. The female victim suffered a head injury and lacerations on her hand and neck. The male victim, whose age was not given, sustained wounds on his shoulder, forearm and shin.

According to DHS, Herrera-Garcia entered the country illegally in Texas as a minor with his father in 2019. He was given a final order of removal in 2022 after he failed to appear at his immigration hearings. However, the agency said that in the final days of the Biden administration, ICE used its prosecutorial discretion to label Herrera-Garcia as a “non-enforcement priority.” The agency said that ICE under former President Joe Biden chose not to take him into custody following an arrest by local law enforcement on charges of driving without a license.

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“The Biden administration marked this criminal illegal alien as a non-enforcement priority,” said Bis.

“This is not a ‘Green Bay man.’ This is a criminal illegal alien from Nicaragua who barbarically attacked two people with a machete,” she added. “Under President Trump’s leadership, ICE lodged an arrest detainer with our local authorities to ensure this monster is never released back into our communities.”

This comes amid heightened scrutiny on jurisdictions across the country with sanctuary policies limiting cooperation with ICE.

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Bis has previously slammed sanctuary politicians, saying that “at every step on the way to make America safe again,” they “have tried to slow ICE down and chosen to release criminals from their jails into our communities to perpetrate more crimes and create more victims.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Brown County Sheriff’s Office and to spokespeople for Biden for comment.

Republicans stifled Senate Democrats’ attempt to prevent President Donald Trump from bringing military action close to home before any action has actually been taken by the administration.

Democrats failed to advance a forward-looking war powers resolution that would handcuff Trump’s ability to use military force against Cuba, which lies roughly 90 miles from the coast of Florida.

The move was spurred by his recent comments that once the U.S. was finished in Iran, it would make moves on the island nation.

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“All my life I’ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba — when will the United States do it? I do believe I’ll be the honor, having the honor of taking Cuba,” Trump said in March.

The resolution, introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., would require the removal of forces from within or around Cuba and considers the “use of the United States Coast Guard and other components of the Armed Forces to conduct a blockade or quarantine of Cuba” a hostile act that would require Congress’ approval.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., moved to block the bill from getting a full vote on the floor. His gamble was successful, though Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, joined nearly every Senate Democrat to force the vote. Only Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., broke ranks to support tanking the resolution. 

Still, Trump has not taken action on Cuba while the U.S. is engaged in the war in Iran.

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Kaine’s war powers resolution marked a momentary departure from Democrats’ quest to rein in Trump’s authority in the Middle East. Republicans have so far batted down five attempts to cease hostilities in the region.

When asked by Fox News Digital if he was surprised that most Republicans had stayed in line, save for Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Kaine said, “You gotta ask Republicans about their position.”

“There are many saying that the 60-day time frame is relevant to them,” Kaine said. “We’ll see that because we’ll have an Iran war vote close to the 60-day [deadline] by the end of this week.”

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Support for that conflict, while still holding out among most Senate Republicans, is growing strained by the day as the 60-day deadline for Congress to weigh in under the War Powers Resolution Act is set to hit this week.

At least three Senate Republicans — Susan Collins of Maine, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and John Curtis of Utah — said they wouldn’t extend Trump’s war in the region after 60 days. And Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is working on an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) for lawmakers to weigh in on the conflict.

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., argued that Republicans should “do Trump a favor” by joining Democrats to block future engagements with Cuba without congressional approval.

“The last thing working Americans need right now is another war, let alone one that’s 90 miles south of the United States,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “Republicans must get out in front of a looming catastrophe in Cuba before it gets even worse, as they should have done with Trump’s war in Iran.”