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Philadelphia County District Attorney Lawrence Krasner criticized the Trump administration for dispatching ICE agents to airports to assist TSA officers who have gone unpaid for weeks amid a Democrat-forced funding lapse at the Department of Homeland Security.

Krasner, a Democrat whose campaigns received funds tied to left-wing Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros, has criticized President Donald Trump and DHS for months over their immigration enforcement measures and previously threatened to “hunt down” ICE agents he believed violated city laws if there were to be a Minnesota-style situation in Pennsylvania.

On Tuesday, Krasner spoke from the airport, saying Trump administration officials have tried to confound the public and agents themselves as to what is legal behavior and what is not.

Krasner said he will not accept any phone calls from President Donald Trump asking for leniency:

IGNORED ICE DETAINERS ‘PUT LIVES AT RISK,’ DHS SAYS, TARGETING NEWSOM, PRITZKER, HEALEY

“The president cannot pardon you and yes I will put you in handcuffs, and I will put you into a courtroom, and if necessary, I will you put you a jail cell if you decide to make the terrazzo floor of this airport anything like what you did in the streets of Minneapolis,” Krasner said, addressing agents.

He claimed that situation involved “the criminal homicide of unarmed, innocent people” and that Philadelphia would not accept such actions.

“My job is to enforce the law: so this is how that works — because I know there have been efforts to confuse you, including by the Vice President of the United States. This is how it works. You commit crimes within the jurisdiction that is the city and county of Philadelphia, I prosecute you.”

Vice President JD Vance declined to comment. But, the White House lambasted separate comments from Krasner as he stood in front of a “Wooder Ice” mural for a video message.

Backed by ominous music, Krasner said Philadelphians enjoy Water Ice because it “doesn’t break the law [nor] bother us at an airport.” The “Rapid Response 47” team called Krasner’s video “sick and deranged,” adding, “If you don’t like it, Larry, tell your fellow Democrats to fund DHS.”

Krasner also noted during his airport remarks that there are law-abiding agents within DHS ranks.

FETTERMAN SLAMS DEMOCRATIC ‘MESS’ AS TSA WORKERS MISS PAYCHECKS DURING DHS SHUTDOWN

“I have a message for the good people, and there are a lot of good people [in] ICE… Keep your oath. Uphold the United States Constitution. Uphold the laws. It does not matter whether I personally approve of policies that you are following,” Krasner began, adding he believes DHS’ “mass deportations” are “immoral.”

“To any agent who might think of doing in an illegal way, I’ll be seeing you in court and you’re not going to like it because a Philly jury is not going like what you did if it is illegal.”

When a reporter appeared to mention that the city cannot instruct ICE agents, Krasner said he is not suggesting Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) agents or ICE should not be present in Philadelphia, but that there appears to be “sort of an escalation” in the novel concept of using ICE to do the work of TSA.

DEMOCRATS BROKE AIRPORT SECURITY. NOW THEY’RE CALLING THE SOLUTION DANGEROUS

Krasner claimed ICE’s presence at airports and elsewhere has given foreigners cold feet.

He said the city saw 2,000 hotel rooms canceled for FIFA’s World Cup in June, and that he heard from Scottish fans that they would stay home because of high gas prices, airline ticket prices and the idea that their brogue could make them a target for ICE.

“There are Scottish soccer fans who do not want to come here for fear their accent will be overheard and they’re going to get a bunch of grief from ICE agents in the airports, which they’ve never experienced before. This is a direct economic hit to FIFA and all the cities where it applies. This is a direct economic hit to the city of Philadelphia.”

“It is just one more thing that this president is doing to basically wreck our economy. I wish he wouldn’t do it. Having said that, I cannot blame an ICE agent who is following orders, has come here and is standing in the corner, basically doing nothing,” he said, calling ICE’s work as TSA agents “stupid but lawful.”

Krasner’s comments come as other top Democrats have lambasted ICE’s presence in airports, including remarks from one senator who claimed people will die because of them.

“ICE agents at airports will only aggravate delays & lines — disrupting checks, interrogating travelers, dragging parents from children, detaining citizens, brutalizing families, shooting & even killing,” Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal wrote on X.

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“Brutal, lawless tactics common in communities across the country by masked, unidentified agents, violating basic rights — no way to help TSA or travelers,” he continued.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York added separately that the last thing “the American people need is for untrained ICE agents to be deployed at airports all across the country, potentially to brutalize or in some instances kill them.”

“We have already seen how ICE conducts itself,” Jeffries continued. “These are untrained individuals when it comes to doing the current job they have, for the most part, let alone deploying them in close proximity in highly sensitive situations at airports across the country,” the East New York lawmaker added.

Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Elaine Mallon contributed to this report.

Democrats blasted President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to airports across the country on Monday as travel centers struggle to maintain a security presence amid a partial government shutdown, which is now nearing the 40-day mark.

“There’s absolutely no reason for him to do that,” said Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas. “[Trump] has put a stop to it.”

Instead of using ICE to meet security needs at airports, Escobar said that Congress should pass a proposal that separates funding for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from the gridlock.

HOUSE GOP TARGETING VULNERABLE DEMS OVER DHS SHUTDOWN, TSA CHAOS

Fellow Democrat Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., echoed Escobar’s condemnation of the deployment.

“I think it’s a horrible, horrible idea that’s just going to cause more problems,” Grijalva said.

Like the rest of the agencies that operate under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), funding for TSA ran dry on Feb. 14 over Democrat-led demands to reform ICE, the agency at the heart of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Democrats have conditioned their support for DHS funding on a ban on masks for ICE agents, stiffer warrant requirements for apprehending suspects in public and a ban on roaming patrols, among other changes.

LIZ PEEK: VOTERS TELL CONGRESS ‘DO YOUR JOB’ AND END THE DHS SHOWDOWN

Republicans have rebuffed the demands, arguing they would handcuff Trump’s immigration enforcement goals. Republicans need at least seven Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold to break a filibuster in the Senate, where they hold just 53 seats.

As the standoff reaches the 40-day mark, TSA agents have struggled to continue working while covering costs. Trump announced on Monday that he would deploy ICE in an effort to shore up airport security.

However, Grijalva voiced concern that their immigration-focused work might clash with places of travel.

“I think that their whole job is to try to pick people off that they think are not legally in the United States. That’s most of our big travel hubs,” Grijalva said.

SENATE REPUBLICANS MOVE TO REOPEN DHS WITH NEW PLAN, WAIT FOR DEMOCRATIC BUY-IN

She expressed concern that ICE agents wouldn’t have sufficient time to receive the training afforded to regular airport security.

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“So, if you think about it, I don’t know how they would be helpful in making people feel calm. If I were an international traveler, I wouldn’t want to come to the United States to deal with a rogue agency that is under-trained,” Grijalva said.

According to DHS, more than 366 TSA agents have left the force. TSA agents missed their first full paychecks on March 13.

Dennis Coyle, an American man held by the Taliban for more than a year without charges, landed Wednesday on American soil following his release Tuesday from Taliban captivity in Afghanistan.

Video and images showed the 64-year-old walking off a plane at a base in San Antonio, Texas, before embracing family members.

Coyle, an academic who spent nearly two decades working in Afghanistan, was taken from his home in Kabul in January 2025 by Taliban intelligence and held in near-solitary confinement, Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler told Fox News on Tuesday, adding that Coyle committed no crime and was used as leverage.

“The United States welcomes the release of American citizen Dennis Coyle, who was wrongfully detained in Afghanistan for more than a year,” Boehler said in a statement to Fox News. 

AFGHANISTAN FREES US CITIZEN DENNIS COYLE OVER A YEAR AFTER TALIBAN ARREST

“President Trump made clear: the United States will not tolerate the unjust detention of its citizens — anywhere. His personal determination — executed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a fully aligned interagency team — has driven a shift to accountability, pressure and results.”

IRAN CONFLICT WON’T TRIGGER BIDEN-STYLE REFUGEE REPLAY, EXPERT PREDICTS

Coyle’s family said he had been legally working in Afghanistan to support language communities as an academic researcher.

Rubio welcomed Coyle’s release, saying it was a “positive step by the Taliban,” but added that the United States is still seeking the immediate return of Mahmood Habibi, Paul Overby and all other unjustly detained Americans. 

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“The Taliban must end their practice of hostage diplomacy,” Rubio said. “President Trump is committed to ending unjust detentions overseas – Dennis joins over 100 Americans who have been freed in the past 15 months under his second term in office.”

Fox News’ Trey Yingst contributed to this report.

Travelers weighed in on President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to airports across the country on Monday as the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) workforce struggles to continue operations amid a government shutdown that’s nearing the 40-day mark.

Some travelers blasted the idea, fearing that the training received by ICE agents wouldn’t translate to airport security.

“I think it’s ludicrous,” one observer told Fox News Digital. “First of all, they’re not trained for screening. Secondly, the last thing we need in airports is armed people.”

Others believe the solution is better than nothing.

SCHUMER GAMBIT FAILS AS DHS SHUTDOWN HITS 36 DAYS AND AIRPORT LINES GROW

“I’m a traveler — anything that helps people get through the airports and have a good experience and keeps us safe is great,” a second person said.

Like the rest of the agencies that operate under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), funding for TSA ran dry on Feb. 14 over Democrat-led demands to reform ICE — the agency at the heart of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

In the wake of two deadly encounters with protesters, Democrats have conditioned their support for DHS funding on a slew of procedural guardrails. Those include a ban on masks for ICE agents, stiffer warrant requirements for apprehending suspects in public and a ban on roaming patrols, among other reforms.

TRUMP DEMANDS ‘SAVE AMERICA ACT’ BE TIED TO DHS FUNDING AMID AIRPORT CHAOS

Republicans have rebuffed the demands, arguing they would handcuff President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement goals. Republicans need at least seven Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold to break a filibuster in the Senate, where they hold just 53 seats.

As the standoff reaches the 40-day mark, TSA agents have struggled to continue working while covering costs. According to DHS, more than 366 TSA officials have left the force.

“Transportation Security Officers and other Transportation Security Administration roles critical to national safety at our nation’s airports are going without pay for the third time in nearly six months,” DHS said in a statement.

“Because of this DHS shutdown, Americans are facing hours-long waits at airports across the country. Democrats must reopen DHS now.”

TSA agents missed their first full paychecks on March 13.

Some travelers warned that the public might not receive ICE well in airports due to their role in Trump’s immigration crackdown.

MASK-FREE ICE AGENTS BEGIN PATROLLING US AIRPORTS; TRUMP FLOATS NATIONAL GUARD

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“I don’t think it’s a good idea just because of the optics,” another traveler said.

“I think that ICE agents — what’s happened has kind of wrecked their reputation in communities all over the United States, and so I don’t think it is a good idea. I think it will make people nervous. They could be coming here to do really good things, but they’ve already set that reputation, and I think that’s going to stick with them and people aren’t going to trust them.”

A little over a year after Donald Trump took office for the second time and began going after what he described as “discriminatory” Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) practices, including gender extremism and racial preferences in education, his administration is touting several “wins” it says are shifting the culture war on college campuses and beyond. 

Over 300 colleges and universities have rooted out DEI, according to numbers in a Department of Education press release laying out various “wins” against DEI during President Trump’s second term. Other numbers the administration shared showed 45 colleges and universities have also removed DEI statements and messaging from university programs or websites, at least 15 have eliminated the use of diversity statements in hiring faculty or staff, at least 95 have either eliminated, renamed or shifted staff or faculty positions related to DEI, at least 175 have removed or restructured their current DEI offices, and over a half-dozen recently abandoned racially segregated graduation ceremonies. 

Furthermore, College Board, best known for administering standardized tests like the SAT, revised criteria for their National Recognition Program, which the Department of Education says favored racial groups and awarded scholarships disproportionately to students from underrepresented ethnic groups. 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CELEBRATES PROGRESS AFTER A YEAR OF TRUMP ADMIN’S FIGHT TO SAVE WOMEN’S SPORTS

Here are five more striking DEI “wins” the Trump administration has had since the beginning of the president’s second term:

1. UPenn agreed to apologize, restore women’s records, and bar males from women’s sports and intimate facilities

After finding UPenn violated Title IX, the department announced in early July that it got the school to sign a resolution agreement requiring UPenn to restore individual women’s swimming records and titles, issue a public compliance statement, adopt biology-based definitions of “male” and “female,” and send personalized apology letters to affected female swimmers. The move stripped transgender swimmer Leah Thomas of her 2022 national title, according to UPenn’s records.

“From day one, President Trump and Secretary McMahon vowed to protect women and girls, and today’s agreement with UPenn is a historic display of that promise being fulfilled. This Administration does not just pay lip service to women’s equality: it vigorously insists on that equality being upheld,” said Riley Gaines, the former University of Kentucky swimmer who competed against Thomas. “It is my hope that today demonstrates to educational institutions that they will no longer be allowed to trample upon women’s civil rights, and renews hope in every female athlete that their country’s highest leadership will not relent until they have the dignity, safety, and fairness they deserve.” 

2. Education Department found California violated federal law by helping schools hide students’ gender transitions from parents

Earlier this year, the Education Department Student Privacy Policy Office found the California Department of Education to be in “continued violation” of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law granting parents access to their child’s school records. 

The announcement was followed by the U.S. Supreme Court intervening in a case this month, where they sided with parents who were challenging California law that allowed staff to hide students’ gender transitions from their parents. 

“Gender dysphoria is a condition that has an important bearing on a child’s mental health, but when a child exhibits symptoms of gender dysphoria at school, California’s policies conceal that information from parents and facilitate a degree of gender transitioning during school hours,” the court’s decision read. “These policies likely violate parents’ rights to direct the upbringing and education of their children.”

Meanwhile, at least 20 university-affiliated hospitals have ended, or suspended puberty blockers, hormone therapies, gender transition surgeries, or other transgender care for minors, according to the Education Department.

IVY LEAGUE WATCHDOG WARNS TRUMP’S ANTI-DEI WINS ARE TEMPORARY AS COLLEGES ‘WAIT HIM OUT’

3. Trump admin found Colorado school district to have violated Title IX for allowing males in girls’ bathrooms, locker rooms, overnight accommodations, and sports

Trump’s Education Department entered into another resolution agreement with the Jefferson County Public Schools District in Colorado after it found that the district was allowing transgender students access to female bathrooms, locker rooms, overnight accommodations, and to compete in female sports. 

According to the department, the district committed to rescinding or revising any policies that allowed male students to use female intimate facilities, share overnight accommodations with them, or compete in female sports. The district must also issue and prominently post a public statement committing to Title IX compliance using biology-based definitions of “male” and “female,” stating Title IX applies regardless of state law or sports governing-body rules, and explaining how students can report or file sex-discrimination complaints.

4. Education Department secures 31 agreements with colleges and universities to end partnership with nonprofit recruiting pipeline that Trump said provided racial advantages

Trump’s Department of Education secured 31 resolution agreements with universities and colleges who were partnering with The Ph.D. Project, an organization that helps hopeful doctoral students get into programs. The department’s Office of Civil Rights found the program “unlawfully limits eligibility based on the race of participants.” 

“After initiating investigations several months ago into forty-five institutions of higher education for collaborating with the Ph.D. Project, OCR later determined that these institutions violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) by partnering with an organization that discriminates on the basis of race,” a February press release from the department states.

TRUMP ADMIN DETERMINES SJSU VIOLATED TITLE IX WITH HANDLING OF TRANS VOLLEYBALL PLAYER BLAIRE FLEMING

5. NCAA updates transgender athletic participation policy to keep men out of women’s sports  

In Feb. 2025, the NCAA revised its transgender participation rules to restrict the women’s category to student-athletes assigned female at birth, barring athletes assigned male at birth from competing on women’s teams, though they are still allowed to practice with women’s teams and receive related benefits. The men’s category remains open to all eligible athletes, and the change took effect immediately on Feb. 6, 2025.

“Just over a year ago, we saw men claiming victories in women’s athletics. Colleges and universities were focused more on diversity, equity, and inclusion than ensuring graduates were prepared for success in life after graduation,” a Trump administration fact sheet on “wins” during the president’s second term stated. 

“Institutions required DEI statements from faculty and held segregated affinity graduation ceremonies for students. Academic standards fell, admissions were skewed to favor race over merit, and students graduated with a massive pile of debt and degrees that led to no job prospects,” the sheet continues. “Today, institutions of higher education are changing the game because President Trump is bringing back America’s Golden Age — shifting the culture and restoring our nation’s institutions to greatness.”

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In the fact-sheet, the Trump administration also touted an end to “test-optional admissions” at “dozens” of colleges and universities, including several Ivy League campuses and others that it says are reinstating SAT and ACT admissions requirements.

Top Republican in the North Carolina Senate Phil Berger conceded his GOP primary race Tuesday after a second recount left him behind by a mere 23 votes, ending Berger’s long hold on the Triad-area seat and setting up a leadership shake-up in a key battleground state.

“While this was a close race, the voters have spoken, and I congratulate Sheriff Page on his victory,” Berger wrote in a statement Tuesday after the results of the second recount confirmed Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page won the District 26 race.

“Over the past 15 years, Republicans in the General Assembly have fundamentally redefined our state’s outlook and reputation. It has been an honor to play a role in that transformation.”

Berger’s defeat is a major upset in North Carolina politics, particularly after President Donald Trump had endorsed him and fellow state Republicans had reportedly urged Page to end the primary challenge. Unofficial state election results showed Page with 13,135 to Berger’s 13,112.

NC SENATE SHOWDOWN ESCALATES AS TRUMP RALLIES BEHIND WHATLEY TO KEEP GOP SEAT

Berger has led the Senate since 2011 and has been one of the state’s most influential Republican figures, while Page’s narrow win is expected to usher in a new era of GOP leadership in the General Assembly.

Page, who had pressed Berger to concede, said voters in Guilford and Rockingham counties had placed their trust in him and called for Republicans to unite ahead of the November general election. Berger will remain in office until January, presiding over the state Senate in one of the nation’s biggest political battleground states.

“Looking ahead, I remain committed to working with my colleagues in the short session to ensure North Carolina continues to be the best state in the nation in which to live, work, raise a family, and retire,” Berger’s concession statement concluded. “In the months ahead, I will also do everything I can to support all Republican Senate candidates and protect our supermajority.”

Trump’s endorsement came several weeks after the legislature redrew the state’s U.S. House district map in an attempt to flip a Democrat seat amid the ongoing fight to retain the narrow GOP House majority in this year’s midterm elections.

IN DIVIDED NORTH CAROLINA, WHATLEY AND COOPER EMERGE FOR SENATE BATTLE THAT COULD TIP WASHINGTON

Unofficial results on primary election night showed Page leading Berger by just two votes out of more than 26,000 counted in the 26th Senate District that includes part of Greensboro and neighboring areas.

Page’s lead expanded as elections boards in the two counties within the district reviewed provisional, absentee and other ballots. Later recounts were conducted and Berger’s campaign filed formal protests. But Berger gave up after a hand recount of a small portion of the ballots Tuesday morning showed no change in Page’s razor-thin lead.

“I thank him for wishing me the best moving forward,” Page said in a statement after Berger called him to concede. “Now it’s time for our community to come together and focus on winning in November.”

Page will now advance to the November general election in the GOP-leaning district against Democrat Steve Luking, whom Berger defeated in 2024.

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Page’s campaign was outspent by Berger’s campaign by more than 40-to-1 through mid-February, finance reports show. That does not include several million dollars that a pro-Berger independent expenditure group spent on mailers and advertising.

North Carolina state senators will pick a new chamber leader in early 2027.

President Donald Trump is urging Sydney Gruters, the wife of Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters, to run for Congress, pledging to endorse her if she runs in Florida’s 16th Congressional District.

“Word is that Sydney Gruters, the wife of our GREAT Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Joe Gruters, is considering launching her Campaign for Congress in Florida’s 16th Congressional District!” Trump wrote in a Tuesday Truth Social post.

“Should she decide to enter this Race, Sydney Gruters has my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, SYDNEY, RUN!” the president said.

BALLOT BOX UPSET: DEMOCRATS FLIP FLORIDA LEGISLATIVE SEAT IN TRUMP’S STOMPING GROUND

GOP Rep. Vern Buchanan, who currently represents the Sunshine State’s 16th Congressional District, is not seeking re-election.

Joe Gruters, who became RNC chair last year, is also serving as a Florida state senator.

MEET JOE GRUTERS, THE TRUMP ALLY NOW AT THE HELM OF REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE

“I am deeply honored to have the endorsement of President Donald J. Trump,” Sydney Gruters noted, according to Florida Politics. “His leadership transformed our country and continues to inspire millions of Americans who believe in putting America First. I’m especially committed to advancing policies that lower the cost of living for hardworking families across our community. I’m grateful for his support and look forward to making an announcement about the path ahead very soon.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Sydney Gruters, who is the executive director and vice president of advancement of the New College Foundation.

FLORIDA GOP GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE CALLS FOR SWEEPING FEDERAL LIMITS ON MUSLIM IMMIGRATION

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“A Highly Successful Civic Leader and Public Servant, Sydney has dedicated her life to serving her Community, and she and her family are fierce advocates for our Movement to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post. 

“As your next Congresswoman, Sydney will fight tirelessly to Grow our Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE, Keep our Border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Support our Military/Veterans, Safeguard our Elections, Champion School Choice, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.”

England’s King Charles III will visit Washington next month, his first state visit since taking over the throne in the United Kingdom.

The king will address congress in the last week of April, Fox News has learned. No date and time has been confirmed. 

The visit will be the first time a British monarch will address Congress since 1991, when Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II, became the first British royal to speak before American lawmakers. 

KING CHARLES TO ADDRESS ‘INCREASING PRESSURES OF CONFLICT’ IN SPEECH AS TRUMP CRITICIZES BRITISH PM ON IRAN

President Donald Trump visited London in September in which he attended a state dinner hosted by Charles at Windsor Castle. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson addressed the UK parliament in honor of America’s 250th anniversary where he addressed the special relationship between the U.S. and the U.K.

Charles’ visit will come as the Trump administration pressures British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to provide assistance in the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. 

UK DEPLOYING WARSHIP, HELICOPTERS TO CYPRUS AFTER DRONE STRIKE

Starmer has distanced himself from the conflict, prompting Trump to publicly call him out and mock him by saying the British leader is “no Winston Churchill.”

Meanwhile, Starmer has said he remains focused on securing British interests. 

“I’m the British prime minister and my job is to be absolutely focused on what’s in the British national interest,” he recently said. 

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“That has served me well, in recent weeks,” he added. “And that is the principle that I’ll continue to adhere to as we go forward, taking difficult decisions, notwithstanding the pressure that comes from me from a number of different places.”

A progressive Chicago lawmaker issued an apology Tuesday after facing backlash for suggesting a slain college student was in the “wrong place at the wrong time.”

Last Thursday, Sheridan Gorman, 18, of Westchester County, New York, was gunned down while taking a walk with friends around 1:30 a.m. along Chicago’s lakefront.

Alderwoman Maria Hadden sparked outrage on social media after she suggested in an interview with Fox 32 Chicago that the Loyola University Chicago student was in the “wrong place at the wrong time” and that she may have “startled” the individual who shot and killed her.

The local Democrat’s comments were slammed as insensitive and also prompted a response from Gorman’s family, who referenced her remarks.

PRITZKER BREAKS SILENCE ON MIGRANT CHARGED IN STUDENT’S MURDER, BLAMES TRUMP FOR ‘POLITICIZING’ CASE

Hadden, a progressive ally of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, released a statement Tuesday saying her interview on Fox 32 had “gone viral on conservative media,” and that her comments were in response to a question comparing Gorman’s murder to a separate 2018 case.

“In an effort to make sense of a senseless situation, I said things that landed wrong with some people,” she said. “My comments were never intended to blame the victim or to imply that Sheridan should not have been out enjoying the park or that it was her fault that she was shot.

“In the interview, I tried my best to share what limited information I had with our community as fast as possible while helping to address the fears people had about the shooting,” Hadden continued. “I sincerely apologize for any additional pain that my comments may have caused.”

MASKED GUNMAN KILLS LOYOLA CHICAGO COLLEGE STUDENT IN SHOOTING NEAR CAMPUS; POLICE HUNT FOR SUSPECT

She added, “The fact that some media outlets are intentionally creating sound bites to misconstrue my words during this tragedy is also unfortunate.”

Gorman’s family referenced Hadden’s remarks from the Fox 32 interview, saying the slain college student “deserved the future that was stolen from her.”

“What happened to Sheridan cannot be reduced to the idea of someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is not an abstraction. This is the loss of a daughter. The loss of a sister. The loss of a future filled with milestones that will now never come. Our family is forever changed.”

CHICAGO LAWMAKER RIPPED OVER ‘DISGUSTING’ RESPONSE TO COLLEGE STUDENT KILLED BY ALLEGED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT

The family added: “We cannot accept a world where moments like this become something people grow used to. We cannot allow ourselves to become desensitized to violence. When we begin to accept these tragedies as inevitable, we all become vulnerable to them. Apathy is not harmless—it allows these moments to repeat.”

Jose Medina-Medina was arrested and charged with Gorman’s murder.

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Medina is an illegal immigrant who entered the U.S. during the Biden administration before being apprehended and released into the country.

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DHS said the 25-year-old Venezuelan national was previously arrested for shoplifting in Chicago.

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill is taking her political star power among Democrats across the country in a midterm power play.

Sherrill, one of the Democratic Party‘s biggest winners in last year’s elections, is launching a new political committee to boost fellow moderates in the party who are running in this year’s elections.

The move by Sherrill, who also plans to head out on the campaign trail later this year as part of her effort to help fellow Democrats, comes amid ongoing face-offs between moderates and progressives in the party’s 2026 primary showdowns.

SETBACK FOR PROGRESSIVES AS THEY BATTLE MODERATES FOR DEMOCRATIC PARTY CONTROL

Sherrill is a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who spent more than nine years on active duty in the Navy as a helicopter pilot and later served as a federal prosecutor before winning election and re-election to Congress four times.

She defeated Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli in November’s gubernatorial election. And she made history as the first female Democrat elected governor of blue-leaning New Jersey.

BLUE STATE DEMOCRAT ON FAST TRACK TO SENATE DEFIES SCHUMER

Sherrill, who ran as a moderate, topped Ciattarelli by more than 14 points, which was a much larger than expected margin in a race where the final public opinion polls indicated a significantly closer contest.

The governor’s new group, named “Mission to Deliver PAC,” is a federal political action committee that will support candidates running in both federal and statewide races, according to a release shared with Fox News Digital. News of the PAC was first reported earlier Tuesday by Axios.

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“Americans are sick and tired of the status quo, and they want leaders who are ready to take on the tough missions to make their lives better and protect our fundamental freedoms,” Sherrill emphasized in a statement.

Democrats are aiming to win back the House and Senate majorities in the midterm elections, as Republicans battle stiff political headwinds as the party in power in the nation’s capital traditionally loses seats in the midterm elections. The GOP is also facing a rough political climate fueled by economic concerns amid persistent inflation and President Donald Trump’s underwater approval ratings.

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“The 2026 midterms are a critical moment as we look to stand up to the Trump administration’s reckless policies that are driving up costs and threatening our shared values as Americans,” Sherrill argued. “Our race in 2025 charted what a different path forward looks like, and I’m ready to support candidates who share that same sense of service and the urgency to take action.”

The state of Minnesota is suing the Trump administration for access to evidence related to a series of shootings involving federal agents that sparked condemnation from Democrats during a federal crackdown on illegal immigration. 

The lawsuit, filed in Washington D.C., by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office (HCAO), the state, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, names the Justice Department, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, as well as the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem as defendants. 

The suit seeks evidence related to the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and non-fatal shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis, an illegal immigrant, saying federal authorities are intentionally withholding the materials. 

TRUMP CONFIRMS FEDERAL REVIEW OF MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING THAT KILLED NURSE: ‘REVIEWING EVERYTHING’

Federal and local authorities have sparred over information about the shootings, which occurred during the administration’s massive crackdown. 

“It is extraordinary that we need to file this lawsuit at all,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said. “Cooperation between federal and state law enforcement in Minnesota is entirely routine: local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies on the ground in Minnesota have decades of relationships with each other and share a desire to solve crime and keep people safe.”

“It should go without saying that we share jurisdiction with the federal government in this case: these incidents happened in Minnesota and fall under state law, regardless of the fact that federal agents are involved,” he added. 

Minnesota officials have blamed federal agents for the shootings, despite immigration authorities facing opposition from anti-ICE agitators while trying to arrest criminal illegal immigrants.

“These shootings are just three examples of the violent actions committed by federal agents in Minnesota during the Surge,” the complaint said. “Federal agents also carried out illegal stops, sweeps, arrests, and dangerous raids in sensitive public spaces. The Surge created widespread fear among Minnesota residents, both citizens and noncitizens.”

GOP SEN. CASSIDY BREAKS WITH TRUMP OVER DEADLY SHOOTING BY BORDER PATROL AGENT IN MINNEAPOLIS

Good was shot and killed on Jan. 7 when she attempted to ram her vehicle into a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, DHS said. 

Pretti was fatally shot on Jan. 24 while confronting agents, which sparked outrage among critics of the surge. Sosa-Celis was shot on Jan. 14 after authorities said he attacked them with a shovel.

However, charges against the Venezuelan national were dismissed after video evidence suggested the officers involved may have made “untruthful statements,” ICE Director Todd Lyons said at the time. 

Operation Metro Surge ended soon after the Pretti shooting and federal agents were pulled out of Minnesota in February. 

The lawsuit alleges that the federal government’s policy of withholding evidence is unlawful and prevents local authorities from fulfilling a core duty to the people of Minnesota.

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“That responsibility rests primarily with Minnesota’s law enforcement and prosecutorial authorities — in this case, Plaintiffs — who must gather the evidence, evaluate the facts, and decide whether Minnesota criminal law was violated,” it states. 

Conservative critics are accusing former special counsel Jack Smith of improperly coordinating with two federal judges after Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, released documents Tuesday showing Smith’s team interacted with the pair during the Trump investigations.

“Democrat DC U.S. district judges illegally worked in secret with Biden Special Counsel Jack Smith to bring charges against President Trump,” Article III Project founder Mike Davis claimed on X as details of the documents emerged on Tuesday. 

Smith’s investigations led to criminal charges against President Donald Trump over the 2020 election and alleged retention of classified documents. Trump called the investigations a “witch hunt,” while Republicans widely condemned the charges as an abuse of power designed to take out the then leading Republican presidential candidate.

The documents released by Grassley included notes about a briefing Smith’s team gave Attorney General Merrick Garland on Jan. 13, 2023, just after Garland appointed Smith as special counsel. The notes referenced meetings with Judges Beryl Howell and James Boasberg of Washington, D.C., both Obama appointees and Trump nemeses known for their high-profile adverse rulings against the president.

MIKE DAVIS: WHY DC’S TRUMP-HATING JUDGE BOASBERG MUST BE IMPEACHED

“She liked our approach of pursuing the executive privilege litigation in an omnibus fashion,” Smith’s team wrote in reference to Howell, according to the documents. Omnibus motions allow for consolidated, rather than piecemeal, litigation and are typically used by lawyers to streamline court filings. Smith’s team frequently sought permission from the court to pierce executive privilege, a presumptive right that a president and his aides have that gives their communications a layer of legal privacy.

The briefing notes also referenced a forthcoming meeting with Boasberg on March 18, 2023, the day after he was set to become chief judge, succeeding Howell. The White House responded in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“We have long known that Judge Boasberg is a far-left judicial activist trying to undermine the President’s lawful authority, this is just further proof,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. “President Trump has restored integrity to the Department of Justice that Joe Biden and his administration weaponized to target their political opponents – including President Trump himself.”

Sen. Ted Cruz’s office told Fox News Digital the Texas Republican thought the meetings with the judges were significant, a remark that came after Cruz led a Senate hearing on the Trump cases on Tuesday. Cruz in the hearing declared Smith’s work a “modern Watergate” scandal that was expansive and hyper-political, sweeping up personal information, such as phone records, belonging to hundreds of Republican entities and individuals.

A Republican congressional investigator told Fox News Digital the meetings with the judges merited further scrutiny.

JACK SMITH DEFENDS SUBPOENAING REPUBLICAN SENATORS’ PHONE RECORDS: ‘ENTIRELY PROPER’

Smith’s team wrote in the briefing notes for Garland that Howell was aware that an omnibus executive privilege motion was coming “and loves the idea.” Smith’s team listed out nearly a dozen former Trump officials, such as Mark Meadows and Ken Cuccinelli, who would be included in the consolidated motion. The notes referenced five other, separate executive privilege motions that were already making their way through the court process, signaling that an omnibus motion would be a reduction in paperwork for the court.

The briefing notes also mentioned recent meetings between the special counsel’s team and top FBI officials. The FBI “has been very responsive,” Smith’s team wrote. The team mentioned “precedent-setting issues we face in areas of executive privilege [and] Speech or Debate,” a possible reference to Smith testing the separation of powers by seeking the potentially privileged material from those in Trump’s orbit.

Independent journalist Julie Kelly, an outspoken critic of the Biden DOJ, observed on X that Smith’s team interacted with the judges. Kelly suggested the judges were “in cahoots with Biden DOJ to rubber stamp, even advise, any strategy set forth by Jack Smith.”

Attorney Bill Shipley, a longtime federal prosecutor who represented dozens of Jan. 6 defendants, wrote on X that he did not find much about the memo “noteworthy,” saying it was “clearly” designed to bring Garland up to speed following the holidays and Smith’s new appointment. Shipley also noted how Howell and Boasberg were chief judges, meaning any grand jury matters were required to go through their offices.

Shipley noted, however, that he felt Howell notoriously ruled against the Trump administration and that her eager approval of an omnibus motion represented a desire for her to make decisions before her tenure as chief judge expired in March 2023.

“What troubles me in the text of the memo is the suggestion — which was borne out by events that followed — that Judge Howell desired to resolve all the issues involving witness privilege before she stepped down as Chief Judge,” Shipley wrote, though he noted that her decisions were appealable.

CRUZ DEMANDS IMPEACHMENT OF BOASBERG AND JUDGE WHO SENTENCED KAVANAUGH’S ATTEMPTED ASSASSIN

Smith has repeatedly stood by his work, testifying to Congress that it was aligned with DOJ policies and nonpartisan. 

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A Smith representative declined to comment on the latest document release.

Howell’s and Boasberg’s chambers did not respond to requests for comment.

Illinois’ Democratic Governor JB Pritzker recently highlighted the calm of Chicago’s shore with Lake Michigan in a video he posted across his social media platforms — a nearby area where an illegal alien shot and killed a college student last week.

“Lots of runners coming by,” Pritzker said in a video he posted to Facebook last September.

“Lakefront path, Lakefront Trail — absolutely gorgeous. Just gorgeous. Look at that overpass. A great lakefront.”

The tone of the resurfaced clip clashes with the death of Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old Loyola University student who was shot to death near Tobey Prinz Beach Park, an area included in Chicago’s Police District 24.

CHICAGO LAWMAKER RIPPED OVER ‘DISGUSTING’ RESPONSE TO COLLEGE STUDENT KILLED BY ALLEGED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT

Pritzker’s walk went viral on social media when several viewers online criticized the governor for his characterization of the shoreside area.

“Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker & Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson haven’t posted anything about the murder of Sheridan Gorman, allegedly at the hands of a Venezuelan illegal alien,” Fox News Congressional Correspondent Bill Melugin posted on X. “Last year, Pritzker made a video from the lakefront she was killed at, mocking claims that it wasn’t safe.”

“Governor JB Pritzker posted this video of the Chicago lakeside to brag about how safe it is. Sheridan Gorman was just killed there by a Venezuelan immigrant his state law PROTECTED,” End Wokeness, a popular conservative account, wrote in a X post.

“> crosses the border illegally > released into the country by Biden > arrested for shoplifting > released back onto the street > murders an innocent girl,” former Trump White House staffer Greg Price wrote.

“Pritzker posted this video bragging about how safe Chicago’s lakeside is — right where Sheridan Gorman was just killed by a Venezuelan illegal his state law protected. Unreal,” another account wrote.

MY DAUGHTER WAS KILLED, AND I WARNED SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES WOULD COST LIVES AGAIN

The area has improved in the categories of thefts, burglary and motor vehicle theft in recent years, according to recent police reports. However, reporting for murder, sexual assaults and aggravated battery have gone up, according to crime stats from March.

District 24 has reported three murder cases, 19 sexual assaults and 32 aggravated battery incidents so far in 2026.

The district has the second-most murders of any district of the six districts included in Chicago’s Area 3, which covers a significant chunk of the city’s northern side.

In Gorman’s case, authorities charged Jose Medina, a Venezuelan national, with her murder.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, Medina had already been apprehended for shoplifting in Chicago but had been released in June 2023.

Even before that, Medina had been apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol in May 2023. He was also allowed to walk free then.

“Sheridan Gorman had her whole life ahead of her before this cold-blooded killer decided to end her life. She was failed by open border policies and sanctuary politicians who RELEASED this illegal alien TWICE before he went on to commit this heinous murder,” Acting Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.

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“We are calling on Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this criminal illegal alien from jail back into American neighborhoods.”

The office of Governor Pritzker did not respond to a request for comment on the Chicago shoreside area and its crime rates.

New Jersey Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill attended a Ramadan event at a Paterson mosque led by an Imam who fought deportation for years over alleged ties to Hamas.

Sherrill posted photos of her visit to the Islamic Center of Passaic County on social media, wearing a hijab and taking selfies. In one image, she is seen speaking with the mosque’s longtime leader, Imam Mohammad Qatanani.

“Thank you to the Islamic Center of Passaic County for welcoming me to join their celebration as the holy month of Ramadan comes to a close,” she wrote. “I wish our Muslim neighbors a safe, joyous, and peaceful Eid al-Fitr.”

Qatanani, a Palestinian-born cleric, has been at the center of a decades-long immigration battle after federal authorities sought to deport him, citing alleged ties to Hamas and claims he failed to disclose a prior detention in Israel. He has denied those allegations, saying he was detained but never convicted.

MAMDANI TELLS TRUMP ADMIN ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST SHOULD ‘REMAIN IN NEW YORK CITY’ AMID DEPORTATION CASE

As Fox News previously reported, the federal government moved to remove Qatanani from the U.S. beginning in the mid-2000s, arguing he made misrepresentations on his green card application and raising national security concerns tied to Israeli records.

An immigration judge ruled in Qatanani’s favor in 2008, finding the government’s evidence unreliable and giving little weight to Israeli court documents used to support the allegations, according to court records . The judge also found the government had not proven Qatanani engaged in terrorist activity.

TOP DEMS BRUSH OFF TIES TO IMAM WHO HELD MEMORIAL FOR IRANIAN LEADER WHO VOWED ‘DEATH TO AMERICA’

Court records further raised concerns about the reliability of statements attributed to Qatanani, including whether they may have been obtained under coercive conditions. Subsequent rulings over the years continued to favor him.

A federal appeals court ultimately blocked his deportation in 2025, ruling immigration officials acted improperly in attempting to reverse his legal status.

MUSLIM CLERIC IS IN US COURT FIGHTING AGAINST DEPORTATION

The [Board of Immigration Appeals] exceeded its authority when it attempted to undo Qatanani’s adjustment to LPR status by using an agency regulation in a manner inconsistent with the procedures set out by Congress,” the court wrote.

The decision focused on legal process rather than resolving the underlying allegations, finding federal authorities failed to follow required procedures after missing deadlines to challenge a key ruling granting him permanent residency.

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It is unclear whether Sherrill was aware of Qatanani’s legal history at the time of her visit. Fox News Digital has reached out to the governor’s office for comment.

A Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate is pushing a “permanent” federal ban on Muslim immigration, arguing Islam is incompatible with American law and values.

Former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, who launched his gubernatorial bid in the Sunshine State last summer, said Tuesday he would propose and promote a federal ban on Muslim immigration that is “permanent and comprehensive.”

“We have to be realistic and be honest that the long-term compatibility of Islam in this country does not exist,” he said. “We cannot have long-term compatibility with the American Constitution and with the American way of life.”

Renner added that anyone with terrorist ties, who has defrauded taxpayers or who has been convicted of a serious crime should be denaturalized and deported.

MAGA HARDLINER PUSHES BAN ON IMMIGRATION FROM ISLAMIC COUNTRIES, US ADVERSARIES IN WAKE OF TEXAS SHOOTING

Renner made the comments during a news conference while speaking in front of a “No Sharia Law” sign. Sharia law is a religious legal framework derived from Islamic texts that governs aspects of life for some Muslims.

The gubernatorial candidate pointed to the passage of a bill in the Florida Legislature prohibiting the use of certain foreign laws, including Sharia law, in state courts.

Renner asserted that “only American law can be used in American courts and that should go without saying.”

GOP GOVERNOR LAYS OUT PLAN TO ‘PURGE’ TERRORISTS AND TERROR SUPPORTERS FROM STATE

He added that he would also end all funding for schools that promote what he described as Sharia law concepts.

Renner said he would pursue legislation designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis previously issued an executive order last December designating the groups as FTOs, but a federal judge issued a temporary injunction citing First Amendment concerns, according to The Floridian.

In his announcement, Renner cited a “recurring pattern of conflict and violence” in the years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, including a recent shooting at Old Dominion University in Virginia that left one person dead and two others injured.

The suspected shooter, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, was a former Army National Guard soldier convicted of supporting ISIS, according to the DOJ.

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“The simple fact is while there may be people in this country that will live peaceably with us, as a system there will continue to be increased division, increased conflict, and increased violence, which we have seen over the decades since 9/11, and we have to be realistic about that and put a stop to it so that we protect Americans,” Renner said. “That is the first order of business for any governor or any elected official and that is what I will do as governor.”

DeSantis, who is serving his second consecutive term, is not permitted to run again in 2026. President Donald Trump has previously backed U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds for the job.

Florida Democrats on Tuesday flipped control of a long-vacant Republican-held state House seat in a Palm Beach-anchored district that includes Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s home turf.

The Associated Press reports that Democrat Emily Gregory defeated Republican Jon Maples in a special election in Florida’s House District 87, in the race to fill the seat left vacant last August, when GOP state Rep. Mike Caruso resigned to become Palm Beach County clerk and comptroller.

The ballot box battle was one of three special legislative elections being held in GOP-dominated Florida on Tuesday. And while the contests won’t change the balance of power in the state legislature, where for more than a quarter-century Republicans have held majorities in both the House and Senate chambers, bragging rights were up for grabs in the president’s home district.

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Maples was backed by Trump, who moved his primary permanent residence in 2019 from Trump Tower in New York City to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. He is also backed by a number of top Sunshine State Republicans.

“There is a very important Special Election tomorrow, Tuesday, March 24th, for Florida State House District 87 in beautiful Palm Beach County — JON MAPLES HAS MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT!” the president wrote in a social media post on Monday evening.

The 43-year-old Maples, a financial planner and former Lake Clarke Shores Council member who, during his years at Palm Beach Atlantic University was an all-American athlete, made cutting taxes and government spending, reducing regulations, promoting private sector job creation and advancing school choice.

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Gregory, a 40-year-old Army spouse, owns and runs a Jupiter-based fitness center for pregnant and postpartum women. The first-time candidate made affordability, increasing public education, tackling rising property insurance and housing costs, and access to healthcare key parts of her campaign.

Maples was the favorite heading into the special election, thanks to his fundraising advantage in a district that leads to the right. Trump carried the district by roughly 10 points in his 2024 re-election victory. Palm Beach County was once firmly blue until a GOP surge in recent cycles.

Senate Republicans again didn’t budge against Senate Democrats’ bid to handcuff President Donald Trump’s war powers in Iran.

Senate Democrats again forced a vote on a war powers resolution to rein in Trump’s military authority in Iran, which Senate Republicans again blocked. It’s also been less than a week since Democrats triggered a war powers resolution in their bid to force the Trump administration to publicly explain the ongoing conflict.

The resolution, this time from Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., was blocked on a largely party-line vote, save for Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who joined all Senate Democrats to advance the measure.

It’s part of a flood-the-zone strategy Senate Democrats are taking to force Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to testify publicly before the Senate. Earlier this month, Murphy and a cohort of Senate Democrats unveiled their plan to force votes on five war powers resolutions.

DHS SHUTDOWN TIED FOR SECOND-LONGEST EVER AS DEMS AGAIN BLOCK FUNDING AMID AIRPORT CHAOS, TERRORISM CONCERNS

“We’re not going to let the Senate be silent until they make at the very least that commitment,” Murphy said at the time. “I don’t think they can defend this war.”

Whether either Hegseth or Rubio is forced to testify before the Senate Armed Services and Senate Foreign Relations panels, respectively, remains in the air, given that neither committee chair has made the move to request the administration officials appear.

TOM COTTON PUTS BIDEN ON NOTICE WHILE DEMANDING ANSWERS ON DRAINING OF NATION’S OIL STOCKPILE

The latest attempt to cuff Trump’s war powers comes as his strategy in Iran dramatically shifted in a moment of whiplash from the weekend to Monday.

Over the weekend, Trump warned that unless Iran fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. would “hit and obliterate” the nation’s power plants. 

But then Trump shifted gears Monday and announced that the U.S. and Iran had been engaged in “very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East,” which the Iranian government denied. 

MULLIN CONFIRMED AS DHS CHIEF AS LAWMAKERS NEAR SOLUTION ON SHUTDOWN STANDOFF

Meanwhile, Congress is still awaiting a supplemental funding package from the administration that could be to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars. Some Republicans want to cram that funding, which could be as high as $200 billion, into another reconciliation package.

That vehicle could get busy fast, given that they are also eyeing reconciliation as a means to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and to pass portions of the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who has led the charge on several war powers resolutions in the last several months, said that “the numbers that they’re talking about are pretty staggering in the sense of what they say about how this is going to go on.”

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And as far as letting up on war powers, Kaine said Democrats were ready to keep going round for round.

“But we’re going to keep forcing war powers resolution votes,” Kaine said. “Have you seen enough? Have you seen enough? Have you seen enough? … We’ll probably have at least one a week, and continue to ask our colleagues, ‘okay, have you seen enough yet?’”

Some Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents are selling their blood plasma to make ends meet as the 38-day Department of Homeland Security shutdown drags on, acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl told reporters Tuesday.

“We got folks sleeping in cars,” Stahl told reporters at Washington’s Reagan National Airport, referring to TSA employees. “I talked to a single mother recently who has a three-year-old child with special needs and can’t afford to pay for childcare for that three-year-old child.”

Stahl also said some agents are having “blood drawn to afford gas to come to work.”

The bleak situation comes as TSA agents nationwide have been forced to report to work without pay during the prolonged funding lapse. More than 50,000 TSA personnel will miss their second full paycheck of the shutdown if the funding lapse is not resolved by Friday.

TRUMP SAYS ICE WILL DEPLOY TO AIRPORTS MONDAY TO ASSIST TSA AMID FUNDING STANDOFF

Though talks to end the shutdown have ramped up in the past 24 hours, Stahl warned that the impact funding lapses have on TSA agents would continue to worsen if the shutdown does not end soon.

“It’s a dire situation,” Stahl said. “The longer our folks don’t get paid, the more they’re going to not be able to come into work and the more they’re going to quit altogether.”

The shortage of TSA workers at major travel hubs across the country has led to hours-long wait times at airport security checkpoints. Stahl said the ongoing spring break travel season could exacerbate airports’ staffing constraints.

More than 400 TSA agents have quit since the shutdown began on Feb. 14.

“This again is going to get worse before it gets better if Senate Democrats particularly don’t act and don’t act soon,” he said, adding that a mass exit of TSA workers hurts the agency’s ability to prepare for the upcoming FIFA World Cup later this summer.

LIZ PEEK: VOTERS TELL CONGRESS ‘DO YOUR JOB’ AND END THE DHS SHOWDOWN

GOP lawmakers have blasted their Democratic colleagues for withholding support for a full-year DHS funding bill as the party demands reforms to immigration enforcement. They argue that TSA agents — in addition to thousands of other DHS workers employed by various sub-agencies — are victims of Democrats’ hardball tactics.

“The men and women who work for TSA agents are American heroes,” Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., said at Reagan National airport Tuesday. “Would you still be at your job if you were facing a third paycheck of not getting paid?” 

TSA agents were also forced to work without pay during the record-breaking 43-day shutdown in fall 2025.

Democrats, by contrast, have blamed Republicans for opposing legislation that would fund DHS — including TSA — minus the department’s immigration enforcement functions. 

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President Donald Trump laid into Democrats Tuesday when asked about TSA agents working for over a month without their salary.

“They’ll do anything to hurt our country so they can try and win the midterms,” Trump said

Fox News Digital reached out to TSA for comment.

The Senate confirmed Colin McDonald on a 52–47 vote to serve as the Justice Department’s first assistant attorney general for national fraud enforcement on Tuesday, as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to crack down on abuse of taxpayer-funded programs.

The confirmation comes as federal officials continue investigating large-scale fraud schemes, including a Minnesota daycare fraud probe involving millions in taxpayer-funded federal dollars, while House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has alleged whistleblowers warned state leaders about the issue for years.

President Donald Trump created the new National Fraud Enforcement Division to target systemic fraud across federal programs, pointing to cases such as Minnesota, which officials say have both exposed widespread abuse and helped shape the federal government’s response.

“My Administration has uncovered fraud schemes in states like Minnesota and California, where these thieves have stolen hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars,” Trump said. “Together, we will end the fraud and restore integrity to our federal programs.”

EXCLUSIVE: SENATE BILL TARGETS MINNESOTA-STYLE ‘RUNAWAY FRAUD’ TO FORCE SCAMMERS REPAY TAXPAYERS

The new role is intended to centralize enforcement efforts and expand the Justice Department’s ability to investigate and prosecute complex fraud schemes tied to public assistance programs.

During his confirmation hearing, McDonald said the work in Minnesota had been “pivotal” spotlighting fraud in taxpayer-funded programs and that the new division would seek to “scale” similar efforts nationwide.

Attorney General Pam Bondi called McDonald an “experienced, skilled, and tough prosecutor” who will “continue doing incredible work to root out fraud across America.”

FEDERAL FRAUD FACES SENATE SHOWDOWN AS THUNE TAPS ERNST TO LEAD REFORMS AFTER MINNESOTA SCANDAL

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche described McDonald as “one of the most effective attorneys” he has worked with and said the American people should have confidence in his leadership of the new division.

Vice President JD Vance said McDonald has an “exceptional prosecutorial track record” and is well positioned to take on the role.

McDonald currently serves as an associate deputy attorney general at the Justice Department, where he has worked on major enforcement initiatives under Blanche.

GOP SENATOR PUSHES TO CREATE ANTI-FRAUD SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL AFTER MINNESOTA FRAUD REVELATIONS

During his testimony, McDonald emphasized the scale of the problem, citing estimates that hundreds of billions of dollars are lost to fraud annually, and said the Justice Department would work with federal, state and local partners to investigate and prosecute cases, adding that “no fraud is too big” and “no fraud is too small” for enforcement.

The Minnesota daycare fraud investigation has drawn particular scrutiny as part of the broader crackdown, with federal investigators and lawmakers examining allegations that funds intended for childcare and meals for children were diverted or misused.

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A recent state audit found Minnesota officials failed for years to properly investigate fraud-related allegations, concluding the Department of Human Services had the authority to pursue cases but did not act, according to the report.

Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion, Andrew Mark Miller, Emma Colton and Max Bacall contributed to this reporting.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is calling for a national framework to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) — but cautioned it should not go too far.

“America will win the AI race. We will win it, if two things happen —  if government resists the siren song of control, and if industry steps up as our patriotic partner,” Johnson said. “I think we can do both of those things.”

The leader of the House of Representatives spoke at the Hill & Valley Forum on Tuesday, an annual bipartisan meeting of lawmakers and private sector leaders to discuss American AI innovation.

TRUMP SAYS EVERY AI PLANT BEING BUILT IN US WILL BE SELF-SUSTAINING WITH THEIR OWN ELECTRICITY

He told attendees on Capitol Hill that Congress had “three things” it needed to accomplish regarding AI.

“The first thing is, we have to deliver a single national framework that protects children, safeguards communities, supports creators, and avoids a patchwork of state regulations,” Johnson said. “We recognize that constant shifts in policy don’t just confuse the market, they run contrary to our national interest.”

He said lawmakers “will utilize existing structures to establish safeguards and rules of the road, so to speak, without smothering the whole marketplace with red tape.”

The second thing, Johnson said, was to treat AI technology as a matter of national security in keeping it in the hands of the U.S. and its allies rather than the country’s adversaries.

CHINA RACES AHEAD ON AI —TRUMP WARNS AMERICA CAN’T REGULATE ITSELF INTO DEFEAT

The final task the speaker mentioned is a duty to “move at the speed that victory demands.”

It comes days after President Donald Trump released his own framework for AI regulations that includes more guardrails against self-harm and sexual exploitation for AI platforms accessed by children, streamlining permitting for AI data centers, and preventing AI from being used to silence free speech, among other measures.

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The proposal would need to be drafted as legislation by congressional lawmakers and passed by both chambers to be able to affect any meaningful change.

Trump also issued a moratorium on states’ abilities to enact their own AI regulations late last year.