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Former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., is facing a fresh ethics complaint urging the Justice Department to investigate whether he leveraged his position in Congress to promote a startup business he was running on the side with his chief of staff.

The complaint comes as Swalwell has also been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct in recent weeks, allegations he has denied despite conceding he has made poor choices in his past with women.

The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), a conservative ethics watchdog, filed a complaint Wednesday calling on the Justice Department’s Office of Congressional Conduct to investigate allegations Swalwell was personally pitching Findraiser, an artificial intelligence political fundraising tool, to Democratic lawmakers, staff and campaigns.

Included in FACT’s complaint is Yardena Wolf, Swalwell’s former chief of staff and also the co-founder of Findraiser. Wolf eventually left her chief of staff role to lead Swalwell’s now defunct gubernatorial campaign.

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Swalwell already is facing multiple investigations related to sexual misconduct allegations, including from the Los Angeles County District Attorney, Manhattan District Attorney and the Justice Department. 

But, prior to sexual misconduct allegations against him coming to light earlier in April, the former member of Congress also was facing heat for his behavior on Capitol Hill as it pertained to promoting Findraiser.

One Democratic operative reportedly told news outlet NOTUS that Swalwell was “peddling the s— out of” Findraiser on Capitol Hill.

NOTUS released a pair of reports in March, one of which cited Federal Election Commission data that showed the artificial intelligence-powered political fundraising tool was getting business from some of Swalwell’s longtime political allies, including Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. 

NOTUS published a follow-up days later based on interviews with a half dozen Democratic Party political operatives and other unnamed sources and reviews of emailed communications and texts. Both Swalwell and Wolf allegedly would send texts to Democratic staff and lawmakers about their company, according to the subsequent report, in addition to promoting it during in-person interactions.

FACT’s ethics complaint seeks to have the allegations revealed by NOTUS and substantiated by other outlets investigated.  

“Public office is a position of trust, and no individual should be able to skirt accountability for potential abuses of power simply by resigning,” FACT’s Executive Director Kendra Arnold said in a press release accompanying the group’s complaint. 

“The reported actions using an official position to promote a personal business and potentially misusing government resources raise serious legal concerns that warrant a thorough investigation by the Department of Justice. Ensuring accountability in cases like this is essential to maintaining public confidence in government.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Swalwell’s legal team, Wolf and Findraiser for comment but did not receive any responses. 

The Justice Department also did not provide any comment on whether it plans to look into FACT’s complaints.

While lawmakers on Capitol Hill are legally allowed to earn passive income through businesses they own, House rules do prohibit lawmakers and their staff from using their “political influence, the influence of (their) position … to make pecuniary gains.” 

According to the 2022 House Ethics Manual, lawmakers and their staff are expected to avoid even an appearance that they may be using their political influence for financial gain.

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“In any event, the Standards Committee routinely advises Members and staff to avoid situations in which even an inference might be drawn suggesting improper conduct,” the manual states. 

In addition to allegedly pitching the company in-person, Wolf, while still working as Swalwell’s chief of staff on Capitol Hill, allegedly emailed congressional campaigns offering demos for Findraiser and texted congressional staff below her to set up business meetings with her and Swalwell to discuss their startup company, according to the accusations reported by NOTUS.

Democratic operatives described Swalwell’s promotion of Findraiser on Capitol Hill as “relentless” and said he “aggressively” peddled it to Democratic candidates for office and senior campaign officials, according to NOTUS. One of the operatives told NOTUS that being approached by Swalwell or his staff about his company has been “surprisingly universal” in some Democratic circles.

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“They were really hitting up everyone,” a source with knowledge of the situation told the New York Post. “I bet every California member probably got outreach.”

The New York Post also reported it had spoken to sources who indicated Swalwell allegedly would use his company as a legislative negotiating tactic.

“The only way you get Swalwell to sign on to your bills is if you take this weird call from his chief of staff,” a source reportedly told the New York Post.

According to NOTUS’ reporting, Findraiser received about $60,000 from more than a dozen Democratic campaigns. Meanwhile, Swalwell’s congressional financial disclosures have listed his company as being worth between $200,000 and $500,000.

NOTUS did indicate that it was informed by a former Swalwell spokesperson in March, who has since left his position, that both Swalwell and Wolf consulted with the necessary House Ethics personnel about Findraiser. The spokesperson also claimed that Swalwell receives no income from the company.

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“These alleged facts deserve to be criminally investigated,” FACT’s complaint to the Justice Department argues. “This is just one issue of many during Swalwell’s problematic tenure in Congress, which among others includes being accused of using campaign funds to pay for a Brazilian nanny in our country illegally and being removed from the House Intelligence Committee over his association with a Chinese spy.”

Fox News Digital previously reported on the other ethics complaints Swalwell has faced that are mentioned in FACT’s letter to the Justice Department.

Swalwell was accused of paying his nanny, Amanda Barbosa, with campaign funds for roughly two years while she allegedly did not have valid work authorization. Following multiple complaints against Swalwell over the matter, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed to Fox News that it has referred the matter to the Department of Homeland Security for investigation.

Swalwell’s removal from the influential House intelligence committee in 2023 involved concerns about the former congressman’s actions related to a decade-old scandal over his ties to a suspected Chinese spy. 

The matter gained new life amid sexual misconduct allegations that came to life earlier in April as FBI officials weighed whether to release documents about Swalwell’s relationship with the alleged spy, Christine “Fang Fang” Fang. 

Fox News Digital’s Michael Sinkewicz and Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.

Republicans are cheering a circuit court victory in Virginia that showed Democrats’ redistricting efforts in Virginia are not quite over yet despite a referendum to accept a new map drawn by Democrats getting approved by voters Tuesday.

Virginia Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley ruled Wednesday, one day after the Democrat redistricting referendum passed, that all votes for or against the proposed redistricting amendment were unconstitutional, citing rules that impose certain requirements that the referendum did not meet. 

There are a handful of cases making their way through the Virginia court system challenging various aspects of the referendum, including the one Hurley ruled on Wednesday.

“The Tazewell Circuit Court just ruled the referendum unconstitutional. The Judge entered an injunction blocking certification of the election & denied a motion to stay pending appeal. A final order will be entered once drafted, & it will be immediately appealed,” former Republican Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said on X after Hurley’s ruling. 

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Shortly after the ruling came down, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, a Democrat who beat GOP incumbent Jason Miyares in November, indicated his office will “immediately file an appeal.”

Cuccinelli, who heads the American Principles Project Election Transparency Initiative, indicated Wednesday there are four constitutional challenges to the referendum making their way through the courts, three of which are challenges to the amendment process itself.

“Virginia has a process to amend its constitution that has the General Assembly pass a proposed amendment and then have a state election — an intervening election — where the new House of Delegates was elected and so forth. And then that new General Assembly comes back and has to pass the exact same amendment,” Cuccinelli told CNN conservative commentator Scott Jennings on Wednesday.

“The General Assembly passed the amendment for the first time — called first passage, very creative — on Halloween. Well, these same Democrats, five years ago, gave us a 45-day election. So, voting began September 19 of 2025. Over a million people had already voted before first passage, and they want to treat that election as the intervening election. They’re going to have a very difficult time with that.”

Cuccinelli added that there are other “equally difficult” constitutional challenges Democrats are facing in this legal battle, which he said he expects to move quickly through the courts. Cuccinelli told Jennings he expects a final ruling on the matter by May.

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Shortly after news of the Virginia circuit court ruling in Tazewell, Jones announced his office would be immediately appealing the measure. Jones argued that “an activist judge” should not have the power to veto “the People’s vote.”

“Virginia voters have spoken, and an activist judge should not have veto power over the People’s vote,” Jones said Wednesday after the ruling. “We look forward to defending the outcome of last night’s election in court.”

Democrat strategist Adam Parkhomenko echoed Jones’ criticism after the news broke Wednesday but also said he has expectations that Republicans’ legal challenges will not hold up in court.

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“Virginia voters spoke. MAGA lost. And now a rogue Republican judge is trying to override the will of the people because they didn’t like the outcome,” Parkhomenko said on X. “That’s not democracy. That’s desperation.”

Parkhomenko added he has “full confidence a higher court will overturn this nonsense quickly, and the will of Virginia voters will prevail.”

“Nice try,” the Dem strategist added.

Senate Republicans are inching closer to funding federal immigration operations for years to come, but first they have to plow through a marathon of votes Democrats plan to weaponize against them.

The Senate officially launched a “vote-a-rama” for Republicans’ budget resolution, the blueprint guiding the GOP’s push to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s presidency.

But, first, lawmakers must grind through amendment after amendment from Senate Democrats — and some Republicans — before voting to adopt the resolution.

SENATE GOP BLOCKS FIFTH DEM BID TO END TRUMP’S IRAN WAR AS DIVISIONS GROW

Some Republicans unhappy with the limited scope of the GOP’s latest budget reconciliation push have vowed to force votes on amendments addressing economic issues and a provision set to expire in July that prohibits Medicaid funding from going to abortion providers.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he would not block amendments from his own party from reaching the floor.

“We’ll see what our colleagues come up with, but we’re talking to them and their offices about strategy and the best way to move forward in order to ultimately succeed — and that is to get it passed in both houses and signed [into law],” Thune said.

SENATE REPUBLICANS UNVEIL IMMIGRATION FUNDING PLAN WITH $140 BILLION PRICE TAG AS DIVISIONS SIMMER

But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus intend to use the opportunity to attack Republicans on several issues, including the war in Iran, affordability and other concerns tied to Trump’s agenda.

Schumer said Democrats plan to “show the contrast” between the parties over Republicans’ reconciliation plans, which they intend to use to inject tens of billions of dollars into ICE and Border Patrol over the next 3½ years.

“We are for reducing costs for the American people — whether it’s housing, healthcare, electric bills, groceries or childcare,” Schumer said Wednesday. “And they are funding a rogue police force that is not even popular with the American people. And we’re going to keep at it.”

REPUBLICANS EYE ENDING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS FOREVER OVER FEARS DEMS WILL DO IT AGAIN

Senate Democrats have teed up several amendments, including proposals aimed at forcing rebates for small businesses affected by Trump’s tariffs, addressing rising grocery costs and renewing their push to extend the long-expired Obamacare enhanced premium tax credits, a fight from last year that led to the longest full government shutdown in history.

Republicans turned to reconciliation after months of avoiding the maneuver after congressional Democrats refused to fund ICE and Customs and Border Protection without stricter immigration enforcement reforms, including warrant requirements and rules requiring agents to remove their masks.

Senate Republicans unveiled their budget resolution Tuesday in a bid to meet Trump’s June 1 deadline to have the full package on his desk.

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The measure directs the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to each craft legislation providing $70 billion in funding for the agencies. Republicans are ultimately eyeing up to $80 billion for immigration enforcement.

Once the vote-a-rama ends and the budget resolution is adopted, it will head to the House. After the House adopts it, Congress will begin the process of crafting a reconciliation package without Democratic input.

Peeling concrete, exposed steel rebar, rust-streaked electrical equipment and vents patched together with layers of duct tape are among the problems hidden beneath the Trump Kennedy Center, according to photos, project materials and board minutes obtained by Fox News Digital as officials push to temporarily shut down the building for major repairs.

The Trump Kennedy Center released documentation Wednesday of what it described as “decades of deferred maintenance and critical infrastructure needs” as part of a $257 million renovation effort, offering an unusually detailed look at the condition of the venue as leadership pushes forward with the project.

The disclosures come as debate intensifies over the plan to close the center for up to two years. While there appears to be broad agreement that the building requires significant repair, some Democrats have objected to the speed of the process.

According to March 16 meeting minutes reviewed by Fox News Digital, Democrat Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, said she had “no opposition for the need for repair” but “strongly opposes voting on a closure.”

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The minutes also say Beatty argued there had not been “enough time to review, study, and discuss” the proposal.

The condition of the building is evident in images and video provided by the Trump Kennedy Center, which show water damage affecting electrical systems, rusted infrastructure and large sections of concrete where internal steel supports are exposed.

Project materials describe “2,000+ pound soffit panels” that have reached “end-of-life” and “present a public safety risk,” along with “hundreds of structural failure points” in areas such as the parking garage. 

Officials also cited “extensive water infiltration,” deterioration in electrical rooms beneath entrances and long-term damage affecting the center’s iconic white marble exterior as well as concrete and core structural systems.

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Officials have warned that, without repairs, deteriorating structural elements, water-damaged electrical systems and heavy overhead components nearing “end-of-life” could pose potential safety risks to visitors and staff.

The scope of the problems outlined in the new materials echoes earlier warnings from center leadership. In February, officials told Fox News Digital that decades of neglect had left the building in “extremely poor condition,” citing broken elevators, failing HVAC systems and deferred maintenance needs they warned could threaten the venue’s very survival.

“We are financially stable, yet the building is still physically in trouble,” Vice President of Public Relations Roma Daravi said in a previous statement to Fox News Digital.

WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA TO DEPART TRUMP–KENNEDY CENTER AMID REPORTED FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES

Executive Director Matt Floca said the decision to close the center is driven by the scale of the work required.

“So, the recommendation was just natural: You shut the building down, temporarily, and you make this investment. And then you reopen,” Floca said.

President Donald Trump has also previously argued that closing the building is necessary to complete the work efficiently. 

“If we don’t close, the quality of construction will not be nearly as good,” Trump said.

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Floca said the scope of the repairs is based on long-standing assessments of the building’s condition, not a newly developed plan. 

“The maintenance needs were all developed previously in a 2021 Comprehensive Building Plan,” he said.

Asked how visitors have reacted when seeing the condition of the building up close, Floca said there has been “surprise across the board — ‘How did we get here,’ right?”

Tours of the Trump Kennedy Center have been offered on a bipartisan basis to lawmakers, along with donors and other key stakeholders, as officials seek to demonstrate the extent of the damage firsthand.

The sessions began earlier this month while Congress was in recess and included staff for a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, as well as offices representing both parties in the House and Senate and a representative for Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser.

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Opponents have also raised concerns about process and oversight, and a lawsuit brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation has argued that major changes could affect the historic integrity of the building.

“We’re maintaining the JFK bust where it is,” Floca told gathered press on Wednesday. “The memorial at large will stay the same. All of the quotes and everything on the marble on the exterior building, none of that’s changing.” 

The physical deterioration outlined in the renovation plans comes as the center has reported financial gains under current leadership. In December, officials told Fox News Digital the Kennedy Center Honors raised a record $23 million, nearly doubling the previous year’s total.

The fundraising gains followed leadership changes that saw Trump take on a more direct role in the institution, including as chairman of its board.

Congress has appropriated roughly $257 million for the work through the “One, Big Beautiful Bill” signed into law last year.

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Renovations are expected to begin after July 4, 2026.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the center,” Floca said Wednesday. “All of these improvements that we need to make are real, are needed. And we have the timeframe to do it. I’m incredibly excited about it.”  

The Office of Rep. Joyce Beatty did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

FIRST ON FOX: A Mexican national who illegally voted in U.S. elections and falsely claimed to be a citizen has been convicted and could face removal under federal immigration law.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed to Fox News Digital that Jose Ceballos-Armendariz, a lawful permanent resident who has held a green card since 1990, pleaded guilty to three counts of Disorderly Election Conduct following prosecution by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office.

Officials said Ceballos-Armendariz unlawfully voted multiple times and falsely claimed U.S. citizenship on voter registration forms, including a 1999 application in which he affirmed he was a citizen of the United States.

He later applied for U.S. citizenship in February 2025. DHS said he falsely stated on that application that he had never claimed to be a U.S. citizen.

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Under federal immigration law, false claims to U.S. citizenship can make a noncitizen removable, though DHS has not detailed any potential action in this case.

“This alien has now been convicted of illegally voting in American elections, voting in American elections,” DHS acting assistant secretary Lauren Bis said. “The SAVE program is a critical tool for state and local governments to safeguard the integrity of elections across the country.”

Records provided by DHS and reviewed by Fox News Digital show Ceballos-Armendariz checked “yes” when asked if he was a U.S. citizen on a Kansas voter registration form and signed to affirm the information was true.

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On his naturalization application, however, he marked “no” when asked whether he had ever claimed to be a U.S. citizen, despite his prior voter registration.

DHS said Ceballos-Armendariz also has a prior criminal conviction, having been found guilty of battery in 1995.

President Donald Trump has made election integrity a central focus of his administration, with officials pointing to enforcement actions like this case as part of broader efforts to prevent noncitizens from participating in U.S. elections.

Existing federal law — 18 U.S.C. § 611: “Voting by aliens” under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996 — prohibits noncitizens, including lawful permanent residents, from voting in elections for all federal offices.

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“Nothing is more fundamental than the integrity and security of our elections,” Bis said. “That’s why the Trump Administration has repeatedly called on Congress to pass the SAVE America Act — commonsense legislation that requires voters to present photo ID and implements other critical measures to protect federal elections from fraud. 

“Our elections belong to American citizens, not foreign citizens.”

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Despite the IIRIRA, since April 2025, more than 24,000 potential non-U.S. citizens have been identified on voter rolls through the SAVE program and referred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for further investigation, according to DHS. 

Officials said more than 60 million voter verification queries have been processed during that time.

Federal officials say the system allows states to verify citizenship status and prevent unlawful voting, and they continue to urge broader adoption nationwide.

The CEO of a California hospice advocacy group told congressional lawmakers Tuesday that fraud in the industry is flourishing across the state, questioning how numerous fraudulent providers can continue to operate under the nose of regulators.

Sheila Clark, the president and CEO of the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association (CHAPCA) — a nonprofit that pushes to improve access to quality end-of-life care — told the House Ways and Means Committee that some hospices operate in name only, meaning they have no patients or staff.

Clark said the surge in hospice and home healthcare providers is a symptom of failures across multiple regulatory bodies that degrade patient protections and hurt taxpayers.

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“You’d be amazed at how many hospices… the door you can walk up to in California and there is nobody there. Five months’ worth of mail that you can see stacked… nobody’s there,” Clark said. “And that passed a survey. How did that happen?”

“How do you put a hospice in a burrito stand in California?” she quipped. “How do you put a hospice in an entire store in California? That all had to be vetted through licensure and through certification and accreditation.”

Dr. Lynn Ianni, a licensed psychotherapist with nearly 40 years of clinical experience who also testified, said she was locked out of her own Medicare benefits for months after she was falsely enrolled in hospice care.

“Imagine being told, in effect, that you are at the end of your life — when you are not — and then being denied access to care because of that error. It was not just frustrating,” she said. “It was terrifying.”

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“A Medicare representative gave me the name of the hospice where I was supposedly enrolled,” Ianni added. “I looked it up. It appeared legitimate on the surface—listed on Medicare’s own website, with an NPI number, a named CEO, and an address. But the address led to what looked like a strip mall. The phone number went unanswered.”

Republican lawmakers have called for investigations into Medicare fraud, particularly in blue states where reports have surfaced detailing hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent activity.

The hearing came as the Trump administration has ramped-up efforts nationwide to combat healthcare fraud.

The Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, led by Vice President JD Vance, recently suspended 447 hospices in the Los Angeles area over more than $600 million in suspected fraud. Another crackdown led to charges against more than a dozen people in a brazen multimillion-dollar scheme where people who weren’t even dying were used to bilk taxpayers out of more than $50 million.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom has pushed back on claims that his office has failed to act to combat the issue.

“FACT: The state has no role in the Medicare billing or payment process,” his press office wrote on X earlier this month in response to a CBS report on hospice fraud in California. “We are glad the Trump Admin is taking action to combat fraud. Now, if Trump could stop pardoning fraudsters—and hold them accountable—that would be great!”

A Supreme Court leak is giving liberals new ammunition in their long-running criticism of the emergency docket after recently published internal memos showed how the high court fast-tracks major cases, a process that critics say has served to advance key parts of President Donald Trump’s agenda in his second term.

“The liberals are salivating over this. They’re very happy because it reinforces their narrative,” South Texas College of Law professor Josh Blackman told Fox News Digital.

The memos, published Saturday by the New York Times, offered a rare look at how Chief Justice John Roberts pressed the court in 2016 to quickly block President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan. But the immediate concern now is not about what the documents revealed about the Supreme Court’s emergency docket but rather the leak itself, according to experts, who said it was a deliberate attempt to damage the court’s credibility.

“The bigger issue is people are leaking stuff to try to hurt the court,” Blackman said. “That’s the bigger story. This was done to try to make the court look bad. Roberts, I think, doesn’t come out looking very good in this one. … I think it’s designed to hurt the chief in particular.”

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The leaked internal memos appeared centered on the 5-4 decision along ideological lines in February 2016 to block Obama’s signature energy plan. The memos, written by and circulated among the justices, showed Roberts urging his colleagues to quickly intervene and halt the plan, a revelation that fueled attacks from the left on the so-called shadow docket.

“The new reporting highlights the role of this rashly issued stay in inaugurating the Supreme Court’s use of unexplained and hastily issued ‘shadow docket’ proceedings to alter major national policies,” Environmental Defense Fund general counsel Vickie Patton said in a statement Monday.

The leak incident has generated several theories in legal circles that a liberal justice or retired liberal justice, or one of their former clerks, passed the 16 pages of memos off to the New York Times to weaken confidence in high-profile emergency docket decisions, which have often favored Trump since he took office. A similar, smaller-scale leak to the same New York Times reporters occurred in 2024.

A ‘deteriorating culture at the court’

Blackman noted the person who gave the decade-old memos to the New York Times could share even more.

“This person probably kept a lot of things and decided to leak this, and there might be even more coming,” Blackman said. “I think this is absolutely partisan, and it’s done in a way to hurt and wound the court and to reaffirm this notion that the shadow docket is an evil, nefarious regime.”

SUPREME COURT’S 2026 RULINGS COULD DEFINE AMERICA FOR DECADES TO COME

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley echoed Blackman’s sentiments in an op-ed, saying “the controversy over the use of the shadow docket is immaterial to this story.”

Turley pointed to the Dobbs opinion leak to Politico from 2022, which was, at the time, a stunning violation of the high court’s confidentiality. Turley noted while that breach was an apparent “effort to influence the final opinion,” this latest one is about an old case and therefore “had a purely malicious purpose to embarrass or disrupt the court.”

“The leaks appear to reflect a deteriorating culture at the court,” Turley added.

The Supreme Court’s press office did not respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital about the leaks.

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Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News on Monday the memos were “100%” intended to discredit the court. Hawley and his wife, Erin, a lawyer at the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom, both previously worked as law clerks for Roberts.

“You can tell from the news article that builds it that way,” Hawley said. “They criticize the court for how they’re managing their docket. They say this is some big conspiracy. The only conspiracy is the multi-year effort funded by somebody to undermine the institution of the court from within, from without. … We need to find out who’s doing this.”

Shadow docket criticism

The emergency docket allows litigants to bypass lengthy court proceedings and seek immediate relief from the Supreme Court if lower courts block them through restraining orders or preliminary injunctions.

Democrats have criticized the Supreme Court for the higher frequency of emergency decisions, which often contain little explanation but have increased because of what legal experts say is a rise in executive actions in lieu of Congress passing laws. In Trump’s second term, the justices have ruled in favor of Trump on emergency decisions most of the time, clearing the way for Trump to fire masses of federal employees, cancel hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracts, move forward with aggressive immigration policies and more.

MORNING GLORY: IF YOU CARE ABOUT THE CONSTITUTION, READ SARAH ISGUR’S NEW BOOK

Last week, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a Biden appointee, tore into the high court’s majority during a Yale Law School speech for issuing what she said were rushed, “scratch-paper musings” that advance “harmful” policies.

Upon introducing a bill to “increase transparency” of the emergency docket in December, Rep. Jamie Raskin, the leading Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said the Supreme Court was losing credibility by not allowing cases to first play out in the lower courts.

“The Roberts Court’s reliance on the Shadow Docket to covertly fast-track one-paragraph decisions on major cases drives tremendous mistrust toward Justices already facing record-low levels of public confidence,” Raskin said at the time.

Roberts the ‘bulldozer’

The Clean Power Plan would have involved the Obama Environmental Protection Agency imposing regulations on coal-powered plants under the Clean Air Act, a move that red states and industry groups implored the Supreme Court to quickly stop in 2016. Roberts, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, wrote, according to the memos, that without the high court stepping in, “both the states and private industry will suffer irreparable harm from a rule that is — in my view — highly unlikely to survive.”

The New York Times described Roberts as acting like a “bulldozer.” Blackman said “it’s very clear” that Roberts stepped in to stop the EPA administrator from ramming through a plan in Obama’s last year in office that could reshape the energy sector with only the “very liberal” D.C. appellate court weighing in.

In another memo, Justice Elena Kagan, an Obama appointee, disagreed with Roberts, saying “the unique nature of the relief sought in these applications gives me real pause.”

In a matter of days, the high court issued its brief, unexplained decision along ideological lines to temporarily block Obama’s plan. The move would become a death blow to Obama’s efforts because Democrats would lose the White House later that year.

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Blackman noted that accountability for leaking the private memos, which framed Roberts as spearheading a reckless decision, would be difficult, saying any possible crime would fall outside of statutes of limitations and that, outside of the possibility of attempting to disbar the culprit for an ethics violation, there was no real recourse, especially for conservatives seeking to punish a possible left-leaning leaker.

“If a liberal leaks they’ll get a medal,” Blackman said. “They’ll become a hero. They’ll suffer zero professional consequences. In fact, they’ll probably be better off.”

An appeals court on Wednesday blocked California from requiring federal immigration agents to display identification during operations, handing the Trump administration a legal victory over Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit found California overstepped its authority by trying to regulate Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, marking the latest flashpoint in a broader fight between blue states and the federal government over immigration enforcement operations.

The panel of judges, comprising two Trump appointees and one Obama appointee, found California’s No Vigilantes Act violated the Constitution’s supremacy clause, which says that when a state and federal law are in conflict, the latter wins out.

“We conclude that [section 10] of the No Vigilantes Act attempts to directly regulate the United States in its performance of governmental functions,” the panel wrote in an order. “The Supremacy Clause forbids the State from enforcing such legislation.”

APPEALS COURT BLOCKS ORDER LIMITING IMMIGRATION AGENTS’ USE OF FORCE IN CHICAGO

The decision came after Newsom signed into law a pair of bills last fall designed to address reports of unidentified federal agents, sometimes wearing masks and other gear, carrying out arrests and detaining illegal immigrants in California. The No Vigilantes Act and No Secret Police Act required ICE agents to display identification and banned them from wearing masks, respectively.

“Trump’s ICE agents need to be reined in and held to the same standards as any other law enforcement agency,” Newsom said in a statement in March. “Federal accountability and clear identification shouldn’t be optional.”

The Trump administration sued over the two bills and sought injunctions, arguing in court papers that “a state law that directly regulates the federal government’s operations is straightforwardly invalid, no matter the size of the burden it imposes.”

ICE has defended the practice of agents concealing their identities during operations, saying last summer as Trump’s intensifying immigration crackdown prompted anti-ICE protests and riots that rhetoric on the left had caused a spike in “threats and assaults against [agents’] families.”

TRUMP ADMIN URGES NEWSOM TO HONOR ICE DETAINERS FOR MORE THAN 33K CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

A federal judge also blocked California’s mask ban in February, and state Democratic lawmakers responded by attempting to rewrite the bill, a process that remains ongoing.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche commended the DOJ Civil Division, which has been handling the ICE litigation, calling the 9th Circuit’s decision “another decisive victory in this administration’s effort to remove illegal aliens from this country.”

Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney in California, celebrated the win, calling it a “huge legal victory … where the court permanently enjoined California’s unconstitutional mask law targeting federal agents.”

DOJ Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon said on X, “Told ya!”

Former DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf also weighed in, saying: “Finally – a good decision for common sense and strong immigration enforcement.”

TRUMP TELLS JUDGE HE DOES NOT NEED NEWSOM’S PERMISSION TO CRACK DOWN ON RIOTERS, DEPLOY NATIONAL GUARD

California could appeal the decision. Asked for comment, a Newsom spokesperson told Fox News Digital undercover ICE agents were “terrorizing” people at the direction of Trump and his aide Stephen Miller, the architect of many of the White House‘s immigration policies.

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“These laws shouldn’t even be necessary,” the Newsom spokesperson said. “We shouldn’t have unidentified, masked men terrorizing our communities. We will continue demanding federal accountability and fighting against Trump and Miller’s reign of terror against our communities.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

7President Donald Trump appeared to target Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Wednesday, calling her a “low IQ person” as he criticized the Supreme Court over recent rulings he opposes.

Trump’s comments come as he has grown increasingly frustrated with the Supreme Court, particularly after it blocked his sweeping tariff plan and weighs his effort to end birthright citizenship. 

Though Trump did not name Jackson directly, his reference to the “new” female justice appointed by former President Joe Biden was clear. Biden in 2022 nominated Jackson, a Harvard Law School graduate and former clerk to former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, to the high court.

“The Republican Justices don’t stick together,” Trump said, adding that the court “ALWAYS vote as a group, or BLOCK, even that new, Low IQ person, that somehow found her way to the bench (Sleepy Joe!).”

JUSTICE THOMAS WARNS PROGRESSIVISM IS A THREAT TO AMERICA IN RARE PUBLIC REMARKS

Trump’s remarks came as part of a broader tirade against the Supreme Court’s conservative majority, which he said showed him “very little loyalty” earlier this year in blocking his global tariffs from taking force. He also suggested the court might rule against him on his executive order seeking to end so-called “birthright citizenship” in the U.S.

Trump had attended a portion of those oral arguments in person, making history and signaling just how closely he has been monitoring the issue.

“Certain ‘Republican’ Justices have just gone weak, stupid, and bad, completely violating what they ‘supposedly’ stood for,” Trump said. He contrasted this with Democrat justices, whom he said “stick together like glue, totally loyal to the people and ideology that got them there.”

TRUMP WARNS SUPREME COURT TARIFF SHOWDOWN IS ‘LIFE OR DEATH’ FOR AMERICA

“They are an immovable force, and there is nothing that can be done to change that,” Trump said, adding: “Frankly, I respect that a lot!” 

Trump’s remarks come after the high court blocked his so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs from taking force earlier this year. Justices in February blocked Trump, 6-3, from using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA to unilaterally enact steep reciprocal tariffs. 

Trump on Wednesday also suggested the high court might rule against him on birthright citizenship. Trump used the social media post to take aim at what he described as the “nasty, one-sided questions on the country destroying the subject of Birthright Citizenship” during oral arguments earlier this month.

Trump attended roughly half of the oral arguments, and left shortly after U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer finished making the administration’s case.

“If they rule against our Country on Birthright Citizenship, which they probably will, it will be even worse, if that’s possible,” Trump said of the Supreme Court. “It will cost America massive amounts of money but, more importantly, it will cost America its DIGNITY!”

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

The remarks come weeks after a majority of justices earlier this month appeared skeptical of Trump’s effort to end so-called birthright citizenship, using oral arguments to cite concerns over the legality and enforcement of an executive order that could reshape protections for millions of Americans.

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A ruling in Trump’s favor would represent a seismic shift for immigration policy in the U.S., and would upend long-held notions of citizenship, which Trump and his allies argue are misguided. 

Trump said in a separate Truth Social post Tuesday night that, “based on the questioning by Republican Nominated Justices that I watched firsthand in the Court, we lose” the case. 

While Rep. Ilhan Omar’s, D-Minn., has been denying accusations that she’s racked up a multi-million-dollar net worth since getting elected to Congress, her daughter has continued her hard-left political activism and support for communist causes that began when she was just 12.

Isra Hirsi, who was just 16 when her mother and charter member of “The Squad” was elected to Congress in 2019, has described herself as “an angry Black girl,” and played the role of a strident political activist. While her views would seem to jibe with her famous mother’s, they don’t easily square with reports, which Omar denies, that she is worth as much as $30 million.

AOC’S CAMPAIGN POURS MASSIVE CASH INTO LUXURY PUERTO RICO HOTELS, PRICEY CATERING AND BAD BUNNY VENUE RENTAL

In a February letter to Omar’s husband, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., raised concerns about financial disclosures showing the value of two companies, eStCru LLC and Rose Lake Capital, surged from tens of thousands of dollars in 2023 to as much as $30 million in 2024.

Later, an amended filing reviewed by The Wall Street Journal showed Omar and her husband’s assets were worth between $18,004 and $95,000. The quick revision prompted skepticism from Omar’s critics, including Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

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“Ilhan Omar says her congressional financial reports have massive accounting error,” Fitton wrote on X. “She and her husband only worth 18k-86k, NOT $6 million-$30 million! Previously unreported ‘liabilities’ erase wealth!”

The New York Post reported in 2024 that Hirsi participated in demonstrations as early as age 12, when she joined Omar and their family at a Black Lives Matter event that forced the Mall of America to shut down. The demonstration would later be stopped by 50 riot control cops and more than 200 police officers. 

At about age 15, Hirsi co-founded and served as co-executive director of the U.S. Youth Climate Strike, a branch of activist Greta Thunberg’s organization “Fridays for Future,” according to a biography on the Brower Youth Awards website. 

Hirsi received the award, which is given to young people who are active in climate sustainability advocacy, in 2019.

ILHAN OMAR DEFENDS MEALS ACT DESPITE TIES TO MASSIVE MINNESOTA FRAUD SCHEME

Omar posted on X in 2024 that Hirsi organized “a statewide school walk out on the 20th anniversary of Columbine at the age of 15” and led “the biggest youth climate rally at our nation’s Capitol at 16.”

Hirsi’s involvement with the anti-Israel groups and her participation in the encampments that plagued the Columbia University campus prompted her suspension from Barnard College in 2024.

She later continued her education at the private, liberal arts college for women in New York City, while Omar was in Congress. 

The estimated cost of attending Barnard is just shy of $100,000 for resident students, including tuition, fees, housing and food.

HOUSE DEM’S GRAPHIC CHICKEN DECAPITATION ‘HORRIFIED’ HER COLLEGE ROOMMATES: ‘BLOOD WENT EVERYWHERE’

Omar’s daughter then became an organizer with CU Apartheid Divest and Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, an organization which is not formally recognized by the Ivy League school.

Fox News Digital reached out to Hirsi and Omar, but didn’t receive a response. 

In April 2024, Hirsi was arrested by the New York City Police Department along with more than 100 people who were issued summons for trespassing as a result of the encampments on the Ivy League campus — an arrest in which Omar praised her daughter for “courage and compassion,” saying she was “enormously proud.”

“I am enormously proud of my daughter @israhirsi,” Omar posted on X. “She has always led with courage and compassion, from organizing a statewide school walk out on the 20th anniversary of Columbine at the age of 15, to leading the biggest youth climate rally at our nation’s Capitol at 16, and now pushing her school to stand against genocide.”

ILHAN OMAR SAYS THERE ARE FEW UNDOCUMENTED SOMALI MIGRANTS IN THE COUNTRY

“Stepping up to change what you can’t tolerate is why we as a country have the right to speech, assembly, and petition enshrined in our constitution,” the post added.

Just 15 months after her arrest, the New York Post reported that Hirsi posted an Instagram Story, revealing she was unemployed and selling used clothes to make money, while still posting anti-Israel content on various social media platforms. 

OMAR ALLIES TIED TO MASSIVE MINNESOTA COVID MEAL FRAUD SCHEME INVOLVING SOMALI COMMUNITY

Last month, she traveled to Cuba on a trip sponsored by CodePink, an organization co-founded by Jodie Evans, the wife of a Shanghai-based American tech tycoon, Neville Roy Singham, who supports the policies of the Chinese Communist Party.

Hirsi, along with other far-left activists, went to Cuba to protest the economic sanctions imposed on the country by President Donald Trump’s administration, with many of the activists staying in a five-star hotel while many residents of the communist country suffered from an electricity blackout.

“People are here from across the globe to express solidarity with the Cuban people,” Hirsi wrote in an X post. “People who are standing against the oppressive blockade exacerbated by the [T]rump administration. i am honored to be here. I am honored to make history and Eid Mubarak to all.”

In an Instagram post touting the trip to communist Cuba, Hirsi credited the People’s Forum, an organization that has received a documented $22.44 million from Singham, according to a Fox News Digital investigation. In the post, she noted that the U.S. “has long bullied Cuba with its sanctions and now this oil blockade is killing people.”

According to Fox News Digital reporting, Singham has funneled $278 million into a network of agitator groups across the country, with the People’s Forum and CodePink at the center of many heated demonstrations.

Omar’s non-Congressional X account, which boasts 2.8 million followers, has interacted with her daughter’s account on the platform, mainly praising her political activism in posts that are then reposted by Hirsi. Hirsi’s social media presence has been less active on X, though she frequently reposted far-left accounts during her time at Barnard.

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“I am incredibly proud of Isra and everyone who made the trip to Cuba,” Omar said in an X post that Hirsi then reposted. “They took tons of aid to make sure the people of Cuba knew that there are so many people across the world who stand in solidarity with them.”

President Donald Trump said Iran is “starving for cash” after extending the ceasefire deadline, arguing that the regime is losing hundreds of millions of dollar a day due to the U.S.-enforced blockade.

Trump claims that that the foreign nation is “collapsing financially.”

“Iran doesn’t want the Strait of Hormuz closed, they want it open so they can make $500 Million Dollars a day (which is, therefore, what they are losing if it is closed!). They only say they want it closed because I have it totally BLOCKADED (CLOSED!), so they merely want to ‘save face.’ People approached me four days ago, saying, ‘Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait, immediately.’ But if we do that, there can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included!” he declared in a Tuesday night Truth Social post.

IRAN THREATENS ‘NEW CARDS’ ON BATTLEFIELD AS CEASEFIRE WANES

“Iran is collapsing financially! They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately- Starving for cash! Losing 500 Million Dollars a day. Military and Police complaining that they are not getting paid. SOS!!!” the president claimed in another Tuesday night post.

Trump had indicated in a Tuesday afternoon Truth Social post that he would extend the ceasefire.

“Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” Trump declared in the post.

“I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other,” he added.

KEITH KELLOGG URGES US TO ‘FINISH THE JOB’ AGAINST IRAN BY SEIZING ISLANDS, STRANGLING ECONOMY

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Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi had declared in a post on X that “Blockading Iranian ports is an act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire. Striking a commercial vessel and taking its crew hostage is an even greater violation. Iran knows how to neutralize restrictions, how to defend its interests, and how to resist bullying.”

Iran reportedly fired upon three ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Republicans are divided over Virginia’s new redistricting map, which creates a 10-1 Democratic advantage, with party leaders calling it an ‘egregious power grab’ while others blame GOP messaging for their loss.

Virginia’s new map, which gives Democrats the opportunity to pick up four additional seats, passed on slim margins, with 51.5% of votes cast in favor and 48.5% against the ballot measure. Republicans have argued that the close results show the new map is not an accurate reflection of Virginia voters.

“Virginia Democrats can’t redraw reality,” National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson, R-N.C., said. “This close margin reinforces that Virginia is a purple state that shouldn’t be represented by a severe partisan gerrymander. That’s exactly why the courts, who have already ruled twice to block this egregious power grab, should uphold Virginia law.”

DEMOCRATS’ CHAIR VOWS TO FIGHT ‘TOOTH AND NAIL’ TO STOP TRUMP, REPUBLICANS, IN REDISTRICTING BATTLE

The nonprofit group Virginians for Fair Maps, which is chaired by former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, echoed Hudson’s call to take the fight to the courts.

“Virginians deserve fair maps and respect for the rule of law, but as voters, they have a right clearly articulated by the Supreme Court in Coleman v. Pross, to vote on constitutional amendments before them at the ballot box only if faced there by a fair process,” the co-chairs wrote. “Virginians disenfranchised by today’s vote will have their day in court.”

SOROS-LINKED DARK MONEY NETWORK FUELS VIRGINIA REDISTRICTING PUSH BACKED BY NATIONAL DEMOCRATS

Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., is one of four House Republicans now at a greater risk of losing their re-election following the new map’s passage. She claimed that under the new map “conservative voices and values have been eliminated.”

“But the fight is far from over,” Kiggans wrote in a statement. “My mission remains to hold leaders accountable, to serve the people who elected me, and to once again win the vote in Virginia’s Second Congressional District this November.”

House Majority Leader Mike Johnson, R-La., said the Republicans will fight against the Democrats.

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

“If Democrats are successful in the 2026 midterms, we know this is only the beginning. They will throw open our borders, let crime run rampant in our streets, project weakness on the world stage, make life more expensive for every family, and flood our elections with non-citizens to try and hold on to power forever,” Johnson wrote on X. “Republicans have responded in state after state, and we will finish this fight — and in November, we will WIN the midterms.”

But other Republican Party members, who have fallen out favor with President Donald Trump, have suggested that Republicans losing in Virginia is their own fault.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who is retiring from Congress, said the map passed because Republicans haven’t been able to deliver on their promised agenda to voters.

“It’s the absolute failures of Republicans to pass the agenda that the American people voted for in 2024 and it’s the complete and total campaign betrayals by President Trump of him going to war with [sic] Iran and fighting the release of the Epstein files and protecting the elite pedophiles,” Greene wrote on X. “There’s no amount of money that can be spent to lie to voters and get them to come back and vote for a Republican [sic] right now. If Trump and Republicans had delivered what they promised, this would be different.”

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Former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele was quick to point out the hypocrisy over the upset over Democrats in Virginia passing a new map, while voters in Texas didn’t get a say when Republicans did the same thing.

“Let the whining from my Party begin about the fact the voters in Virginia, unlike Texas (which started all of this gerrymandering mess) actually had a say in whether or not they wanted their congressional maps redrawn,” Steele wrote on X. “In Texas, the Republican legislature just did it and not one Republican complained.”

Iran seized two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz hours after President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire, as confrontations at sea continued under the truce.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the vessels, identified as the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas, were operating without proper authorization and had tampered with navigation systems, accusations that could not be independently verified. The ships had earlier reported coming under fire near the strait, underscoring the increasingly volatile conditions in one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes.

Both ships are managed by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC).

The Guard attacked a third ship, identified as the Euphoria, which had become “stranded” on the Iranian coast, Iranian media reported.

In a turn of events Tuesday, Trump announced he would extend the two-week ceasefire with Iran. For how long is unclear, but a White House official told Fox News it would be several days. 

IRAN FIRES LIVE MISSILES INTO STRAIT OF HORMUZ AS TRUMP ENVOYS ARRIVE FOR NUCLEAR TALKS

Despite heavy U.S. strikes that officials say severely degraded Iran’s conventional navy, Tehran maintains maritime capability through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ fleet of fast-attack boats used for harassment and boarding operations in the narrow strait.

“We should think in the thousands,” Farzin Nadimi, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Fox News Digital. “If you include very small boats up to more capable fast-attack craft, the total could reach 3,000 to 4,000 vessels.”

Those forces have been used to harass commercial ships, force them to stop, and take them into custody. Iranian state media said similar tactics were used when Revolutionary Guard units attacked multiple vessels before escorting at least two into Iranian waters.

The continued attacks highlight a gap between battlefield claims and reality.

In a Truth Social post April 13, Trump said, “Iran’s Navy is obliterated. It is laying at the bottom of the sea,” adding that U.S. forces did not need to target Iran’s “little fast-attack boats” because they were not a threat.

TRUMP WATCHES STRIKE ON IRAN-BACKED HOUTHIS IN YEMEN IN NEW WHITE HOUSE PICS AS LARGE-SCALE OP CONTINUES

But those smaller vessels, long a cornerstone of Iran’s asymmetric strategy, are now central to its ability to disrupt shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The seizures mark the latest escalation in a widening maritime standoff between Iran and Washington. 

Both sides have targeted commercial and cargo vessels as part of a broader pressure campaign tied to stalled negotiations. U.S. forces have also moved to seize at least one Iranian-linked vessel in the region, with each side accusing the other of violating the terms of a fragile ceasefire.

The Strait of Hormuz is a vital artery for global oil shipments, with roughly 20% of the world’s supply passing through it. Traffic has slowed dramatically as ships reroute or avoid the area amid gunfire, seizures and conflicting directives from both militaries.

In a series of Truth Social posts Tuesday night, Trump claimed Iran privately wants the Strait of Hormuz reopened despite public threats to close it.

“Iran doesn’t want the Strait of Hormuz closed, they want it open so they can make $500 Million Dollars a day (which is, therefore, what they are losing if it is closed!),” he wrote.

“But if we do that, there can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included!”

Trump said he agreed to extend the ceasefire at the request of Pakistani officials while waiting for Iran’s leadership to present a unified position in negotiations.

“Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other,” he added.

Plans for renewed peace talks remain in limbo, with Iran signaling it may not participate in a second round of negotiations while the U.S. maintains its naval blockade. The blockade remains a key sticking point driving the confrontation at sea.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the naval blockade an “act of war,” accusing Washington of violating the ceasefire.

“Blockading Iranian ports is an act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire. Striking a commercial vessel and taking its crew hostage is an even greater violation,” he wrote on X.

The comments came after U.S. forces moved to seize Iran’s M/V Touska vessel on Monday, which Araghchi described as “an act of piracy.”

The seizures come as U.S.-Iran diplomacy appears increasingly uncertain, with a planned second round of talks in Islamabad thrown into doubt. Vice President JD Vance, who had been expected to lead the U.S. delegation, remained in Washington after Iran signaled it would not participate, scrapping plans for the delegation to travel to Pakistan.

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The abrupt shift followed a day of mixed signals from Trump, who said Tuesday morning he did not want to extend the ceasefire as its deadline approached, warning time for negotiations was running out. By the afternoon, however, he reversed course and announced he would extend the truce indefinitely to allow more time for diplomacy.

The reversal has further clouded fragile negotiations. No date has been set for renewed talks, and Iranian officials continue to insist they will not engage while the U.S. maintains its naval blockade. The confrontation has increasingly shifted from the negotiating table to the waters of the Strait of Hormuz, where the risk of miscalculation is rising.

Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report. 

Soros-backed Democratic prosecutor Steve Descano has been hit with a formal federal complaint alleging that his lenient policies led to the “preventable” murder of a woman who was stabbed to death by an illegal alien in Virginia’s most populous county.

This comes as Descano, Fairfax County’s commonwealth attorney, faces mounting criticism and pressure over his handling of a spate of illegal immigrant crime in the area. Descano rose to power with heavy financial backing from the Soros family’s Justice and Public Safety PAC. Three of the four murders actively being investigated by authorities in Fairfax County were committed by illegal aliens, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The debate mirrors broader national scrutiny of how sanctuary leaders handle migrant crime in their jurisdictions.

Victims Rights Reform Council (VRRC), an advocacy group for victims of violent crimes, filed a federal civil rights complaint against Descano this week on behalf of Cheryl Minter. Minter’s 41-year-old daughter, Stephanie Minter, was fatally stabbed at a bus stop earlier this year, allegedly by Abdul Jalloh, a 32-year-old illegal alien from Sierra Leone. Jalloh is now being held without bond and charged with second-degree murder.

In a Tuesday statement, Minter remarked that her daughter “should be alive today,” saying, “She was taken because the system chose to release a violent offender again and again.”

HOUSE PANEL SUMMONS SOROS-BACKED FAIRFAX PROSECUTOR OVER RELEASES TIED TO VIOLENT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CASES

This particular killing has caused significant national outrage, as Jalloh entered the country illegally under the Obama administration in 2020 and has had a final deportation order since 2020. He has a lengthy criminal history, including more than 30 arrests for charges of rape, malicious wounding, assault, drug possession, identity theft and other offenses. In 2023, he was convicted of malicious wounding and sentenced to seven years in prison, with five years suspended. He only ended up serving about seven months in prison, according to local outlet WUSA9.

Minter asserted that “had I murdered someone, I would be doing life in jail.”

She suggested that “it seems that citizens are doing a lot more time and receive a lot more punishment for the same crimes than the illegals are.”

VRRC is requesting that the Trump Department of Justice conduct a federal pattern-or-practice investigation into policies and practices it alleges resulted in the “preventable murder” of Minter’s daughter.

In its complaint, VRRC alleges that systemic failures in Descano’s office include discriminatory prosecutorial practices, including policies that consider and seek to mitigate immigration consequences in criminal cases. It also alleges that Descano’s office shows deliberate indifference to public safety by “repeatedly releasing a known violent offender despite clear warnings and a broader pattern of leniency toward repeat and violent offenders.”

Additionally, it alleges that Descano’s office has “potential outside influence on prosecutorial policy.”

Descano’s entry into political office was propelled by a massive $627,653 donation from the Soros family’s Justice and Public Safety PAC, which made up roughly 70 percent of his 2019 campaign budget. 

SPANBERGER FACES ‘BAIT-AND-SWITCH’ BACKLASH IN FINAL HOURS BEFORE REDISTRICTING REFERENDUM

In a statement shared with Fox News Digital, Jennifer Harrison, executive director of VRRC, explained the group is “demanding accountability for a system that failed Stephanie and too many others.”

“When known violent offenders are repeatedly released despite clear warnings, and policies yield unequal outcomes, the federal government must act,” she went on. “Equal justice means protecting innocent people — not prioritizing ideology over safety,”

In response, Descano’s office shared a statement from the commonwealth attorney who said, “I can’t speak to any individual lawsuit, but I can tell you that the idea that we favor one group over another is completely wrong.”

Descano said that the idea his office favors certain groups “has been fed by, in my opinion, purposeful misreporting and people taking things out of context for political gain.”

“I can tell you that my job and our office’s job is to keep us safe,” he added.

Descano delivered these remarks outside the Fairfax County Courthouse on Tuesday, following the sentencing of 18-year-old illegal immigrant Israel Flores Ortiz to 360 days of incarceration for assault by groping of several teenage girls. Descano said after the press conference that his office is “happy” with the sentence. Flores Ortiz is expected to serve about 135 days of his 360-day sentence.

SPANBERGER RECEIVES DHS PLEA TO HOLD ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT REPEAT OFFENDER NOW CHARGED IN ATTEMPTED RAPE

Meanwhile, Sean Kennedy, president of Virginians for Safe Communities, remarked that the DOJ “should heed Cheryl Minter’s warning,” because “Descano’s discriminatory policies are deadly.”

“Stephanie Minter would be alive today if Fairfax’s top prosecutor treated everyone equally and obeyed the law,” alleged Kennedy in a statement to Fox News Digital.

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“DOJ must act now before another parent buries a child because Descano decided to protect an illegal alien instead of the public,” said Kennedy.

The DOJ did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wants to extend protections for Haitian migrants, and Republicans say it’s a perfect example of him putting the interests of illegal immigrants over Americans. 

Schumer fast-tracked a House-passed bill that would extend the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) of Haitian migrants for three years earlier this week onto the Senate schedule. Whether it actually makes it to the floor is ultimately up to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

The top Senate Democrat’s desire to pass the legislation in the Senate comes at an inflection point for both the protected status of Haitian migrants and a funding battle started, in part, over immigration operations in the country. 

HOUSE REPUBLICANS DEFY TRUMP TO SHIELD HAITIANS FROM DEPORTATION

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who led negotiations for Senate Republicans to try to strike a compromise deal to end the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, told Fox News Digital, “I’m so glad that he is prioritizing people who are not American consistently.”

“What about the countless Americans that have died at the hands of illegal aliens? I mean, the fact that you’re literally trying to defund the organization that is tasked with keeping our streets safe, our borders secure, keeping Americans — allowing Americans to go home to their families at night,” Britt said. “It’s just totally, his priorities are completely and totally off.”

While Schumer is trying to extend the protected status of Haitian migrants, DHS is still shut down over disagreements on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) funding.

SENATE TAKES FIRST STEP TO FUND ICE, BORDER PATROL IN BID TO CUT DEMS OUT OF THE FUNDING PROCESS

The legislation made it through the House last week after 10 Republicans bucked President Donald Trump and joined Democrats to shield more than 350,000 Haitian nationals from deportation.

The TPS program allows foreign nationals whose home countries face humanitarian crises or dangerous conditions to temporarily live and work in the United States without fear of deportation, but it does not provide a pathway to citizenship.

Schumer noted on the Senate floor earlier this week that Haitian migrants became a political flash point during Trump’s campaign, in which he claimed that a community of Haitians in Ohio were eating pets. 

SENATE REPUBLICANS UNVEIL IMMIGRATION FUNDING PLAN WITH $140 BILLION PRICE TAG AS GOP AIMS TO SPEND LESS

“Despite ongoing violence, gang violence, civil instability, terrible medical infrastructure, and poor food access in Haiti,” Schumer said, “Trump directed Kristi Noem to strip Haitian immigrants of their TPS, their Temporary Protected Status, disregarding the process Congress set into law.”

Trump tried to revoke the program for Haiti and argued that because conditions have improved in the country, granting Haitians legal protections runs counter to American interests. But his administration’s effort is currently snarled in the courts. 

And if it were to make it to a vote, Republicans plan to swiftly kill it.

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When asked whether the bill stood a chance in the upper chamber, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, flashed a zero sign by connecting his index finger and thumb. 

“Zero point zero,” Moreno told Fox News Digital.  “Schumer is all illegals first, it’s crazy.”

Sparks flew on Capitol Hill as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., accused Federal Reserve nominee Kevin Warsh of being a potential “sock puppet” for President Donald Trump.

Warsh, tapped by Trump in January to lead the Federal Reserve, faced a two-and-a-half-hour confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.

If confirmed, he would take the helm of the world’s most powerful central bank, shaping interest rates, borrowing costs and the financial outlook for millions of American households for the next four years.

WHO IS KEVIN WARSH, TRUMP’S PICK TO SUCCEED JEROME POWELL AS FED CHAIR?

In her opening remarks, Warren sharply criticized Warsh’s record and questioned his independence, arguing he is “uniquely ill-suited for the job as Fed chair” and warning he could give Trump influence over the central bank.

She accused Warsh of enabling Wall Street during the 2008 financial crisis, which fell during his tenure as a Federal Reserve governor when he served from 2006 to 2011.

“In our meeting last week, we discussed the 2008 financial crash, where 8 million people lost their jobs, 10 million people lost their homes and millions more lost their life savings,” Warren said. “Giant banks, however, got hundreds of billions of dollars in bailouts… and he said to me that he has no regrets about anything he did.”

She added that Warsh “worked tirelessly to arrange multibillion-dollar bailouts” for Wall Street CEOs, with nothing for American families.

The hearing grew more tense as Warren pivoted to ethics concerns, pressing Warsh over his undisclosed financial holdings and questioning him over links to business dealings connected to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The two spoke over each other and raised their voices in a heated exchange on Capitol Hill.

WARSH’S $226 MILLION FORTUNE UNDER SCRUTINY AS FED NOMINEE FACES SENATE CONFIRMATION

Sen. Elizabeth Warren: The Fed has been plagued by deeply disturbing ethics scandals in recent years. It’s critical that the next chair have no financial conflicts — none. You have more than $100 million in investments that you have refused to disclose. So let me ask: do the Juggernaut Fund or THSDFS LLC invest in companies affiliated with President Trump or his family, companies tied to money laundering, Chinese-controlled firms, or financing vehicles linked to Jeffrey Epstein?

Kevin Warsh: Senator, I’ve worked closely with the Office of Government Ethics and agreed to divest all of my financial assets.

Warren: Could you answer my question, please? You have more than $100 million in undisclosed assets. Are any of those investments tied to the entities I just mentioned? It’s a yes-or-no question.

Warsh: I have worked tirelessly with ethics officials and agreed to sell all of my assets before taking the oath of office.

Warren: Are you refusing to tell us if you have investments in vehicles linked to Jeffrey Epstein? You just won’t say?

Warsh: What I’m telling you is those assets will be sold if I’m confirmed.

Warren: Will you disclose how you plan to divest these assets? The public might question your motives if, for example, someone who profits from predicting Fed policy cuts you a $100 million check as you take office.

Warsh: I’ve reached a full agreement with the Office of Government Ethics and will divest those assets before taking the oath.

Warren: I’m asking a very straightforward question. Will you disclose how you divest those assets?

Warsh: As I’ve said, I’ve worked with ethics officials.

Warren: I’ll take that as a no.

In a separate exchange, Warren invoked Trump’s past statements about the Fed and challenged Warsh to prove his independence in real time.

She insisted that Warsh answer whether he believes Trump won the 2020 presidential election and if he would name policies of the president with which he disagrees. The hopeful future Fed chair dodged the question and said he would remain apolitical, if confirmed.

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

Warren: Donald Trump has made clear he does not want an independent Fed. He has said, “Anybody that disagrees with me will never be Fed chairman.” He’s also said interest rates will drop “when Kevin gets in.” Let’s check out your independence and your courage. We’ll start easy. Mr. Warsh, did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?

Warsh: Senator, we should keep politics out of the Federal Reserve.

Warren: I’m asking a factual question.

Warsh: This body certified the election.

Warren: That’s not what I asked. Did Donald Trump lose in 2020?

Warsh: The Fed should stay out of politics.

Warren: In our meeting, you said you’re a “tough guy” who can stand up to President Trump. So name one aspect of his economic agenda you disagree with.

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Warsh: That’s not something I’m prepared to do. The Fed should stay in its lane.

Warren: Just one place where you disagree.

Warsh: I do have one disagreement — he said I looked like I was out of central casting. I think I’d look older and grayer.

Warren: That’s adorable. But we need a Fed chair who is independent. If you can’t answer these questions, you don’t have the courage or the independence.

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., announced Tuesday she is resigning from the House of Representatives after Republicans vowed to force a vote to expel her from the chamber.

“Rather than play these political games, I choose to step away so I can devote my time to fighting for my neighbors in Florida’s 20th District,” she wrote on social media Tuesday afternoon. “I hereby resign from the 119th Congress, effective immediately.”

“This fight is far from over,” Cherfilus-McCormick, who was indicted by a grand jury last year for allegedly stealing COVID-19 emergency funds, added in her statement. 

She is facing 53 years in prison as part of a separate criminal indictment.

INDICTED DEMOCRAT SHEILA CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK REFUSES TO RESIGN AS EXPULSION VOTE LOOMS

Cherfilus-McCormick’s abrupt announcement came after Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., pledged to file a motion to expel her, teeing up a vote later this week. It takes two-thirds of the House to remove a lawmaker, but a growing number of Democrats have voiced support for the expulsion effort.

It also came just minutes prior to a House Ethics Committee hearing that was slated to recommend sanctions against her for committing a bevy of violations involving financial misconduct. 

House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., announced the panel lost jurisdiction with Cherfilus-Mccormick’s eleventh-hour decision to quit Congress. 

The committee panel found “clear and convincing evidence” in March that the Florida Democrat misused federal disaster relief money that was improperly paid to her family’s healthcare company, among other misconduct. 

Cherfilus-McCormick has denied any wrongdoing and repeatedly rebuffed speculation she would resign if confronted with an expulsion vote. 

She slammed the ethics panel’s investigation as a “witch hunt” on social media and claimed a violation of her due process rights, despite the committee granting a request to delay proceedings when she temporarily lost legal representation earlier this year. 

Guest vigorously pushed back on that assertion Tuesday, noting that she had repeatedly declined the committee’s request to provide exculpatory evidence.

“The committee has worked diligently to investigate this matter,” he said. “This was not a rush to judgment, as some would claim … this was a very deliberate process to gather information into allegations that were extremely serious, and extremely complicated.”

Guest also thanked committee staff Tuesday who had worked for more than two years and reviewed tens of thousands of documents to probe Cherfilus-McCormick’s alleged misconduct.

She is the third lawmaker to resign from Congress in the past week. Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, stepped down last week to avoid their own expulsion threats related to sexual misconduct allegations.

At least five women have come forward with allegations against Swalwell of sexual assault and rape. Gonzales admitted to sexual misconduct in March with a former aide who later died by suicide.

JIMMY KIMMEL IGNORES ERIC SWALWELL RESIGNATION AFTER SAYING IT’D BE ‘SHAMEFUL’ TO AVOID POLITICAL TOPICS

The embattled lawmaker is facing a separate 15-count federal criminal indictment that carries a maximum sentence of 53 years in prison, if convicted. The federal trial is not scheduled to begin until early 2027.

She filed to run for re-election, despite raising just $11,000 in the year’s first fundraising quarter, according to recent Federal Election Commission filings. It is unclear whether she plans to suspend her campaign.

Cherfilus-Mccormick was not present as her resignation announcement was read on the House floor. 

A Cherfilus-McCormick aide told reporters that she was with her family in Washington, D.C. as the news broke.

“She’s with her family digesting this development and digesting this decision,” the staffer said. “As you can imagine, this wasn’t what she wanted.”

House Democratic leadership did not publicly weigh in before Cherfilus-McCormick’s resignation announcement, despite the extensive misconduct determined by the House ethics panel.

But the congresswoman appeared to cave to the pressure after a wave of Democrats said they would vote to expel her if a rare removal vote hit the floor. 

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi notably urged the quick expulsion of the Cherfilus-McCormick during an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, stating, “Let’s just get this over with.”

Pelosi also advocated for the swift removal of embattled Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., who is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for an alleged domestic violence incident, among other misconduct. 

“These cases just being out there … they make us look terrible,” Pelosi said. 

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has argued that the Ethics Committee’s investigation into Mills should run its course before lawmakers consider punitive measures.

“I’m confident that they are moving along as quickly as they are able,” Johnson told Fox News. “And when members cooperate, which my understanding is Representative Mills is cooperating, unlike Cherfilus-McCormick, I would expect that the outcome would be much sooner.”

“He’s very upset about some of the allegations that have been made,” Johnson said of Mills. “He says that he wants to prove his innocence, and he has the opportunity to do that.”

Fox News’ Chad Pergram and Kelly Phares contributed to this report.

Democrat Analilia Mejia was sworn in to the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday after decisively winning a special election last week in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District.

Democrat Mikie Sherrill vacated the House seat last year after winning the Garden State’s gubernatorial contest.

Mejia has been an advocate for abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

MEET ANALILIA MEJIA, THE SANDERS-AOC BACKED PROGRESSIVE WHO JUST WON ELECTION TO CONGRESS

“I join you today with a message delivered by the people of New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, but echoed nationally: Stand up, defend, restore, not only our democracy, but also a just economy that actually works for working people,” Mejia declared during a speech after being sworn in.

BERNIE SANDERS, AOC-BACKED DEMOCRAT WINS KEY HOUSE RACE; GOP FAILS TO EXPAND FRAGILE MAJORITY

Republicans now hold a slim 217-214 majority in the lower congressional chamber.

Rep. Kevin Kiley of California switched from Republican to independent last month.

EX-TRUMP ALLY MTG SLAMS BOTH SIDES OF THE POLITICAL AISLE: ‘NOTHING EVER CHANGES’

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While Republicans currently hold the majority in both the House of Representatives and Senate, Democrats are aiming to change that during the 2026 midterm election cycle.

House Democrats are launching an investigation into FBI Director Kash Patel following a bombshell story from The Atlantic alleging he had “alarmed colleagues” with excessive drinking and erratic behavior. 

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and House Judiciary Democrats are demanding that Patel complete a 10-question test identifying “hazardous drinking behaviors” under the penalty of perjury.

“These glimpses of your relationship to alcohol would be alarming to see in an FBI agent; for us to see them in the FBI Director himself is shocking and indicative of a public emergency,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Patel late Tuesday evening. 

Patel has vigorously denied the allegations in The Atlantic story and said Tuesday he has “never been intoxicated on the job.”

LEFT-WING GROUP CHASES PROOF OF KASH PATEL’S ALLEGED ‘EXCESSIVE DRINKING’ AS DEMS EYE FBI DIRECTOR’S OUSTER

“I can say unequivocally that I never listen to the fake news mafia, and as when they get louder, it just means I’m doing my job,” he added, during a joint press conference with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Raskin also sent a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Chairman Jim Jordan, demanding that the top Republican require Patel to testify under oath in person if he does not provide the requested information.

The missive is likely to fall on deaf ears, with a spokesperson for the committee Republicans slamming the letter as “unserious” in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Crime is down to record-low levels. Criminals are behind bars, and America is safer thanks to the leadership of President Trump and Director Patel,” the spokesperson said. “This is just another unserious effort from anonymous sources and partisan actors to attack the President and his Administration.” 

Democrats’ probe comes after Patel on Monday sued the outlet and Sarah Fitzpatrick, the story’s author, for $250 million in a defamation lawsuit alleging “actual malice.”

 KASH PATEL CALLS ‘BULLS**T’ ON SWALWELL IN HEATED EXCHANGE OVER EPSTEIN FILES

The story, relying completely on anonymous sourcing, cited several officials detailing an alleged “emotional outburst” Patel had after being logged out of his computer. The outlet also reported officials alleging several instances of the FBI director engaging in copious drinking that led to difficulties waking him up.

“Defendants are of course free to criticize the leadership of the FBI, but they crossed the legal line by publishing an article replete with false and obviously fabricated allegations designed to destroy Director Patel’s reputation and drive him from office,” the lawsuit states. 

The Atlantic released a statement defending its reporting and argued Patel’s lawsuit is “meritless.”

Trump administration officials have publicly defended Patel following the viral story.

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Blanche told reporters Tuesday that he had “a lot of concerns” with the report’s anonymous sourcing, but said he had not read it.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Atlantic that “Director Patel remains a critical player on the administration’s law and order team.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI for comment.

California Angel Mom Agnes Gibboney, who lost her son in an illegal alien-involved shooting, is blasting Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Democrats over a proposed bill that would use taxpayer dollars to fund legal defense for immigrants facing deportation. She urged voters to “stop this insanity.”

State lawmakers are considering a proposal that would expand access to taxpayer-funded legal representation for immigrants facing deportation proceedings. The measure would build on existing state programs by creating a framework to provide attorneys to adults in immigration court, regardless of legal status, with priority given to those in detention. This comes as California, and other sanctuary states across the country, are facing increasing pressure and scrutiny from the Trump administration for allegedly prioritizing illegal aliens over citizens.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Gibboney, whose son, Ronald, was shot and killed by an illegal alien, ripped into Newsom and California Democrats over the bill. She claimed that it is further proof that they care for illegal immigrants more than citizens.

“My son was murdered,” she said. “Not one politician has ever contacted me. Not one politician said, ‘I’m so sorry that this previously deported criminal illegal alien shot and killed your son.’ Not one of them.”

NEWSOM ADMINISTRATION ALLEGEDLY KNEW OF $2B CALIFORNIA BUDGET ERROR FOR MONTHS: REPORT

Gibboney said that since losing her son in 2002, she sent Newsom “many, many emails,” and “never once did I get a response, not even from his office, much less from Newsom.” 

Newsom has not signaled whether he would sign the bill into law. He previously signed legislation that created and expanded a state-funded legal aid program to ensure legal representation for unaccompanied immigrant children in deportation proceedings.

Ronald da Silva, 29, the son of a law enforcement official, was shot and killed by an illegal immigrant gang member while standing in his driveway.

Gibboney asserted that “Newsom doesn’t care about citizens of this country, about legal immigrants like myself. He cares about free votes from illegal aliens.”

Regarding the legal defense bill, Gibboney said she is “outraged.”

“California is about three to 400 billion, with a ‘B,’ dollars in debt. How is that possible? How much more can you milk us citizens?” she railed.

Meanwhile, for citizens, she said, “everything has gotten worse” under Newsom.

ILLEGAL ALIENS ARE GETTING TAXPAYER-FUNDED BOOB JOBS AND SEX CHANGE OPS IN NEWSOM’S CALIFORNIA, WATCHDOG SAYS

“We have the highest tax in the entire country, we have the highest cost of living, the most homeless,” she said, adding, “We are number one on everything, and nothing number one in good things, it’s always on the bad things.”

“We taxpayers keep paying more and more each year for taxes just so our government, actually Gavin Newsom, can hand it out and squander our tax dollars and give it to illegal aliens.”

The bill, introduced by Democratic Assemblymember Mia Bonta in February, advanced out of two Assembly policy committees and is currently under review in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

In addition to Gibboney, the bill has garnered significant outrage, including from The American Border Story, a group that advocates on behalf of the families of victims of migrant crime. Earlier this month, the group condemned the measure as “a grave affront to Angel Families across the country who have suffered immeasurable loss at the hands of foreign criminals.” The group asserted that the bill “actively incentivizes illegal immigration and directly undermines the progress achieved by the Trump administration since the President’s second inauguration.”

At the same time, the bill has been lauded by some, such as Abraham Bedoy, manager of California policy and government affairs for the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. Bedoy said in a March statement that “increasing immigrant legal defense is critical to address the mass deportations, unprecedented numbers of people held in detention, and indiscriminate arrests devastating families, communities, and our economy across our state.” 

He called the measure “another important step in our state’s strong trajectory towards universal legal representation.”

DOJ SUES NEWSOM OVER CALIFORNIA MEASURE GIVING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS COLLEGE TUITION BENEFITS

While the bill does not explicitly outline all its exclusions, existing California policy suggests some immigrants with certain criminal histories could be excluded or deprioritized under any expanded program. California has already moved to limit state-funded legal aid in certain immigration cases, particularly for individuals with serious or violent felony convictions.

Bonta, who represents the Oakland area, framed her bill as ensuring “every Californian’s right to a fair hearing.”

In a March statement, Bonta’s office said the bill “builds on” her earlier bill to expand access to counsel for unaccompanied minors and other young immigrants in removal proceedings. That bill was signed into law by Newsom last year.

“Every person deserves their day in court, with a lawyer by their side. In California, thousands of our neighbors are being swept into one of the most complex legal systems in the country, often in a second language, without an attorney or a fair shot,” she said in a March statement.

She decried the Trump administration’s “mass deportation machine,” saying it is “accelerating that injustice.”

“[The bill] represents California’s chance to stand up for our values: a commitment to due process, dignity, and the principle that justice shouldn’t depend on what you can afford,” said Bonta.

Gibboney, however, said California should “use that money appropriately.”

“Use it for our education, which is failing … Use it for the veterans for better healthcare and for the seniors for better healthcare,” she suggested.

She urged Newsom to “recall his oath of office is to serve us, the public, we the people, not those that broke into our country and came here illegally.”

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“Ronald was my firstborn and only son. He was 29 years old, a father of two. They were eight and 10,” she shared. “The media usually doesn’t talk about that kind of family separations, six feet of dirt in a coffin. But they talk about the ones that are deported to their country, where they can go back and visit and be reunited. I can never be reunited with my son.”

While expressing she is grateful that Newsom is term-limited, Gibboney urged California voters to vote to “stop this insanity,” saying, “Yesterday it was my son that was shot by a previously deported criminal illegal alien. Tomorrow it could be your child.”