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“We have a unique moment in time here, right now, to address an issue that’s really fundamental,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., Tuesday.

In just an hour, the Senate would launch debate on the SAVE America Act.

Longtime Congressional agriculture reporter Matt Kaye had just asked Thune why the Senate was willing to burn so much time on the bill – despite it apparently lacking the votes to pass.

“Floor time is the coin of the realm,” observed Kaye. “How does it help you if you are using up valuable floor time by having an extended debate on this issue?”

Kaye then inquired why the Senate wouldn’t toil instead on a possible farm bill or even a supplemental spending plan for the war in Iran.

Kaye is on to something. Senate floor time is always at a premium. There are only so many floor hours available each week. But floor time isn’t the issue here. There’s only one thing which is more valuable in politics. And in this particular case for the GOP, it’s staying on the right side of President Trump.

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On Tuesday, the president proclaimed on Truth Social that the SAVE America Act is one of the “most important and consequential bills” in Congressional history. He added that he wouldn’t endorse any Republican who opposed the legislation.

Republicans say ID is essential to prove you’re a valid voter. However, the SAVE America Act goes further than that. It requires proof of citizenship – like a passport or birth certificate. That worries Michael Suggs, who lives in the Bronx, New York. He spoke to Fox’s Chelsea Torres.

“Your birth certificate? Social Security number when you show up at the polling place?” asked Suggs. “That might be a little unfair to certain people in this country, including myself. I don’t want to walk around with my birth certificate and my Social Security card. I’m a registered voter. I’ve been voting since I was 18 years old, and now I’m approaching 60. I don’t want that to be some kind of deliberate act to stop me from voting.”

The bill is now into its fourth day of debate – even if it’s doubtful the Senate has the votes to pass the measure. Democrats oppose the legislation. But the main problem lingers among members of the president’s party.

“Republicans by themselves don’t have the votes to get it passed,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY).

She cited that some Republicans opposed the bill over differences about mail-in voting.

“It’s not a one size fits all process. And those challenges are not only apparent within the Democrat caucus. They’re apparent within the Republican caucus,” said Lummis.

There’s been a lot of chatter in the Senate lately about torching the filibuster, so the Senate can pass the bill. Breaking a filibuster requires 60 votes. So if the bill doesn’t have a simple majority, there is simply no universe where the measure can command 60.

Yours truly took this up with Thune.

“You don’t have 60 votes. Why go through this? Is this basically just a show?” I asked.

“We don’t know that we don’t have 60 votes yet. You’re making an assumption,” replied the South Dakota Republican.

“Multiple members of your conference say that there aren’t even 51 votes,” I followed up.

“Yeah. Well, you’re making an assumption that at the end of this debate that none of the Democrats will be won over. And I’m not saying that. I appreciate your skepticism. But I think it’s an important debate to have because it is an issue that is at the very core of elections in this country,” answered Thune.

The “60 vote” issue galls some Republicans. Especially on a subject like this which Republicans believe resonates with the electorate.

“If a body of 100 people can’t find 60 votes for an issue that’s an 80-20 issue, that’s a real disgrace,” said Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Penn., on Fox Business. “So we need to put the Democrats on the spot and have them defend this to their voters.”

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Even if the SAVE America Act is on a parliamentary road to oblivion, one of its feeder ramps has a junction with the midterm election. Republicans believe they have the political upper hand on this. They can again hammer Democrats on illegal immigration – punctuated by what the president cites repeatedly as voter fraud. The GOP hopes to boomerang that on Democrats this fall.

Then, there are social issues – which Republicans hope to link to this measure, too.

Senate GOPers devised amendments which would block men from playing women’s sports, bar transgender surgeries for kids and nix many forms of mail-in voting. Opponents ask what two of those three have to do with election security. That’s why they could be poison pills.

“If those those amendments are made in order, doesn’t that bring down the threshold where you might have a chance of getting 51 votes?” I asked Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.

“Let’s continue to work with leadership and see how all of this is going to proceed and what is going to be the best way to get these forward. I think the amendments are good amendments,” said Blackburn, not addressing the question.

Remember what Thune said about Republicans potentially peeling off some Democrats? Good luck.

“You’re somebody who sometimes bucks your party,” I queried Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn. “Why wouldn’t you side with the Republicans?”

“Well, they’ve turned it into an unserious kind of a Christmas tree and attaching all these other things to it. And now bashing mail-in voting. Absolutely, it’s secure. Florida loves it and uses it. Ohio does too,” said Fetterman.

Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., defended his state’s approach to sending in ballots.

“Almost 99 percent of Republican voters in Colorado voted by mail in 2025,” said Hickenlooper. “Vote by mail has proven to be less expensive, more secure, and people love it. That turnout just goes up. It’s perhaps the single most effective way to increase voter turnout today.”

But a vote related to the mail-in balloting amendment likely lacks the votes to pass and could tank the entire piece of legislation. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) says the vastness of Alaska presents problems for residents to provide proper papers.

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“If I happen to live here in Kotzebue, I’ve got to fly here to Nome to present my documentation. If I live in this Bethel community over here, I’m going all the way to Anchorage to present my documentation,” said Murkowski. “This is going to be costly on Alaskans. And again, these are people who are eligible to vote.”

Fox is told that Thune’s intention is to eventually move to terminate debate on the bill. That needs 60 yeas. There’s nowhere near 60 yeas to break a filibuster. That will kill the bill. Still, Thune might not do that until next week. Why? This is about making a show of things for the GOP base – even if they can’t pass the bill.

The Senate will veer away from the SAVE America Act on Sunday to break a filibuster on the nomination of Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to become Homeland Security Secretary. Senators then vote to confirm Mullin sometime on Monday. After that, it’s back to the SAVE America Act.

Thune is probably willing to let the election security issue slog continue on the floor until there’s a deal to end the shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security. The Senate is scheduled to leave town for the Easter and Passover recess for two weeks at the end of the month.

“It needs to get resolved by the end of next week,” said Thune of the DHS impasse. “I can’t see us taking a break if the government is still shut down.”

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It’s not exactly a secret that any agreement to fund DHS would probably put a halt to debate on the SAVE America Act. Otherwise, Thune may be inclined to burn floor time on the president’s most important legislative goal – even if it goes nowhere. And a potential agreement to end the DHS stalemate would give him reason to cease action on the SAVE America Act.

Floor time is the coin of the realm. You can use it to get something done. Or to earn political capital among party loyalists and the president.

In this instance, Thune is trying to do both.

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Long airport lines and rising concerns about threats at home weren’t enough to stop Senate Democrats from blocking Homeland Security funding again Friday.

It’s the fifth time Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Republicans have tried to reopen the agency. The latest failed attempt comes as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown hit its 35th day, tying it for the second-longest shutdown in history.

As airport lines stretch for blocks and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents go without pay, and concerns about further attacks in the U.S. increase after two shootings last week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus aren’t budging.

DEM SENATORS CALL TO FUND DHS AFTER VOTING TO BLOCK IT 4 TIMES AMID SHUTDOWN FIGHT

They have tried several times to force votes on standalone funding bills for other portions of DHS that don’t involve immigration operations, including several attempts to pay TSA agents, which have been blocked.

“Republicans are saying unless you pass ICE as is without reform, we’re not going to help the TSA workers get paid and reduce the lines at the airport,” Schumer said. 

Thune told Fox News Digital that Democrats have been beholden to their base and forced into a position to continue blocking government funding in a bid to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“The question is,” Thune said, “[Are] any number of Democrats going to be willing to actually make a deal and have enough respect for the appropriations process and for the job that we have here to keep the government functioning, to step up and do what may be a hard thing, even though their base is, you know, screaming at them to do something else.”

DEMS UNMOVED AS WHITE HOUSE REVEALS DHS CONCESSIONS IN SHUTDOWN BATTLE

Still, there was slight movement this week that could signal an off-ramp is forming.

Democrats, after over two weeks of radio silence, sent the White House another counteroffer. The administration dubbed it an unserious effort by Democrats and, in response, made public a list of five concessions it was willing to offer to reopen DHS.

“The parties remain far apart, in large part because the administration has put forward a five-part serious proposal that we are willing to engage in additional conversations on, but that has not been reciprocated in kind,” a senior White House official said earlier this week.

But that offer and public counter led to a closed-door meeting with border czar Tom Homan on Capitol Hill on Thursday, where Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine; Katie Britt, R-Ala.; Angus King, I-Maine; Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.; and Patty Murray, D-Wash., had the first real face-to-face meeting of the shutdown.

That same group is expected to meet again on Friday, Thune said. 

“I think we’re going to know today whether we’re actually serious about getting a deal,” he said.

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It also comes as the Senate is moving to confirm Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., President Donald Trump’s pick to replace embattled DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. He eked out a committee approval thanks to support from Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., but faces a hostile Democratic crowd in the Senate.

Schumer and Democrats demanded Noem’s firing, and Mullin made concessions during his confirmation hearing that his colleagues across the aisle have been demanding for weeks — most notably his willingness to require judicial warrants for ICE agents to enter homes in most cases.

Still, Democrats were unswayed. They plan to force a vote on just funding TSA, which will also likely fail.

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And Thune isn’t keen on letting lawmakers leave Washington, D.C., again until the government reopens, given that after next week, they’ll get a two-week break for Easter.

“It needs to get resolved, you know, by the end of next week,” Thune said. “I can’t see us taking a break if the government is still shut down.”

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and his administration are presiding over a city in serious financial straits, as decades of mismanagement and present-day fiscal irresponsibility compound. 

Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, is facing a corporate fund budget gap of more than $1 billion, while its 2025 fiscal year is projected to close with a roughly $150 million deficit as about two-fifths of the budget goes toward debt service and pension costs.

Johnson said in April that the city was “at a crossroads” and had to “essentially do more with less,” while simultaneously slamming the Trump administration for reportedly threatening federal funding; calling it a “different scenario we weren’t under before.”

Austin Berg, executive director of the pro-taxpayer research group Illinois Policy Institute, said markets are looking at the true numbers and are “really concerned” about Chicago.

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“And that’s why you see the spreads on Chicago debt getting wider and wider; the structural issues,” he said. 

Berg explained that the situation is akin to someone calling financial adviser Dave Ramsey’s radio show to ask what to do while buried in debt.

“The solution set is always the same: Stop making bad decisions and you have to put a structure in place to make better decisions,” Berg said.

“So the bad decisions are things like taking one-time revenues from federal COVID spending and putting it into operations. The bad decisions are borrowing for operations, which this latest bond issue just did. That’s a huge no-no and a red flag for investors.”

Chicago also drew scrutiny over former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s 75-year parking meter lease in 2008, a deal critics say has already allowed the private operator to recoup its investment while leaving the city without that revenue stream for decades.

Berg pointed to a recent analysis he authored accusing Johnson of extending the city’s “pay later” culture, arguing that the mayor’s $830 million 2025 bond deal — which delays principal payments for 20 years — is his version of Richard M. Daley’s parking-meter boondoggle.

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He also suggested the city take more seriously a plate of $1 billion in potential efficiencies produced in a taxpayer-funded deep-dive by consulting firm EY – formerly Ernst & Young.

While Chicago spends 40% of its money on debt servicing, actual services suffer. Berg said it is also the only city besides New York that doesn’t require voter approval of new general obligation debt.

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The city lacks a “truly independent” chief financial officer, Berg claimed, saying that the treasurer’s office does not have full auditing authority and that another related agency called COFA is understaffed and underresourced.

“Voters didn’t decide to have all of that debt. And it’s important for voters to be able to decide because those decisions affect Chicagoans 30 years from now. So shackling them with these political decisions now is just really unfair,” he said.

Chicago has also come under fire for expenditures on social justice and other efforts while city services continue to lack.

Independent journalist William J. Kelly created a viral moment in January when he questioned Johnson on which type of ICE he should be focused on immigration officers or snow that inundated the city, as he drove through unplowed streets. 

“Let me just commend the efforts of the city employees that made sure that our streets were plowed… I do not personally plow streets… No one was stuck,” Johnson replied in-part.

Berg suggested one outlet for Chicago would be to demand the state of Illinois allow municipalities to declare Chapter 9 Bankruptcy, which he said is a rare restriction nationally. He underlined that he did not want to see Chicago declare bankruptcy but that without that lever, the city has much less leverage when negotiating with public-sector unions for the very liabilities it is drowning in.

The City Council successfully killed Johnson’s proposition of a “head tax” – a levy-per-employee on large corporations, which critics said would have driven out or prevented future business – and thereby sources of revenue in the city.

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The editorial board of the left-leaning Washington Post also slammed Chicago’s straits in a recent op-ed, writing that “it takes a long time to kill a city, and the bigger the city, the longer it takes.”

“Chicago’s ‘public servants’ have done a fine job speeding up the process,” the board wrote, while also citing the city having its bond rating downgraded in February by both Kroll and Fitch.

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“The modest tweaks [council] forced [Johnson] to accept in December won’t change the fiscal trajectory,” the paper said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson’s office for comment.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer says a string of recent terrorist attacks by naturalized citizens exposes serious flaws in U.S. immigration law, arguing it’s “more imperative now than ever” to pass the Stop Citizenship Abuse and Misrepresentation (SCAM) Act to allow the government to remove “America-hating terrorists” from the country.

First introduced by Emmer in January, the SCAM Act would expand the U.S. government’s ability to revoke citizenship from naturalized citizens convicted of being involved in terrorism, fraud or espionage. The Senate version of the bill was introduced by Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.

“This has to be dealt with,” Emmer, a Minnesota Republican, told Fox News Digital.

“If you’re going to take advantage of the generosity of Americans, or you are going to associate with known terrorist organizations or commit aggravated felonies or terrorist attacks, even attempted, it doesn’t matter; no more playing games,” said Emmer. “You should be denaturalized and shipped back to wherever the heck you came from.” 

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He lamented that under current law, “the standards to denaturalize someone are just too high,” but noted, “we have a solution to fix it.”

The bill, which on the House side currently sits in the House Judiciary Committee, allows prosecutors to use crimes committed after naturalization as evidence that an individual falsely claimed good moral character during the citizenship process, effectively arguing their citizenship was invalid from the start.

The SCAM Act already has nearly 50 House co-sponsors, according to Emmer. Once it is scheduled for a vote, he believes it will not have an issue passing and may even receive some bipartisan support from Democrats recognizing the gravity of the issue.

“It’s really simple,” he said. “The message is, terrorists do not belong on U.S. Soil, naturalized or not.” 

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At the start of March, Senegalese-born naturalized citizen Ndiaga Diagne killed three people and injured over a dozen in a shooting in Austin. Diagne was shot and killed by police responding to the attack. 

Not long after, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, the children of naturalized citizens from Turkey and Afghanistan, allegedly pledged support to ISIS and attempted to bomb an anti-Islam demonstration outside the mayor’s mansion in New York City. They have been charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS, attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, and multiple explosives-related offenses including transporting, receiving and possessing destructive devices.

Then, March 12, Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Lebanon, allegedly attempted to ram his vehicle into a Michigan synagogue filled with children and teachers. 

The same day at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a naturalized citizen from Sierra Leone, opened fire on a class of Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) students, killing Lt. Col. Brandon Shah. He also was killed at the scene. 

“Clearly something is broken in our immigration system,” said Emmer, adding that terrorists “keep getting into our country and they keep being allowed to stay here at the expense of Americans and American lives.”

“We can’t go on like this,” he went on, emphasizing, “It is more imperative now than ever that we get this thing done.”

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Despite this, Emmer has faced some opposition in Minnesota for his hardline stance. 

Local outlet MPRNews reported a community activist leader in his district named Abdikadir Bashir, who is executive director of the nonprofit Center for African Immigrants and Refugees Organization, accusing Emmer of “trying to erase us politically.”

“The moment citizenship becomes conditional on whether a politician finds us convenient, none of us is safe,” said Bashir. “Today, it might be the Somali Americans. Tomorrow, it could be another ethnic group.”

Though he declined to hazard a guess on a timeline of when the bill might be passed, he said that “as soon as possible would be my plea.”

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“We have an immigration system that is not requiring these people to actually declare their allegiance to the United States of America and their willingness to be Americans,” he said.

“We want anybody and everybody from anywhere who comes here to chase their American dream and become an American … we want you,” he concluded. “If you come here and you don’t intend to become an American, you intend to change America or destroy America, you need to get the heck out.”

The Department of Justice has begun investigating nonprofit groups that the Trump administration says are involved in organizing or funding political violence and destructive protests, including those linked to Antifa, sources familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital.

The effort involves the FBI and IRS, the sources said, and stemmed from directives by President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to probe political violence. The Trump administration has contended that the violence is often being perpetrated by self-described Antifa adherents and could be a result of organized and well-funded campaigns by nonprofits.

“These movements portray foundational American principles (e.g., support for law enforcement and border control) as ‘fascist’ to justify and encourage acts of violent revolution,” Trump wrote in his memorandum in September, days after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated by a man who authorities say wrote antifascist phrases on his bullet casings.

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Trump’s directive came after a string of harrowing ideologically-inspired shootings that included Kirk’s killing, an attack on a Dallas ICE facility that killed one detainee and the murder of a health insurance CEO. The DOJ also recently secured convictions for nine members of a Texas Antifa cell for their roles in an attack on an ICE facility in Alvarado last year that involved weapons, explosives and a murder attempt.

Bondi, in a memorandum on Dec. 4, directed federal law enforcement to carry out Trump’s memorandum, coined NSPM-7, in part by looking into Antifa’s funding sources and investigating any tax crimes by “extremist groups.”

A spokesperson for the IRS Criminal Investigations unit confirmed to Fox News Digital that the bureau was working with the FBI on the matter.

“In accordance with National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7), IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is collaborating with federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, to investigate individuals and entities that may be funding domestic terrorism or political violence,” the spokesperson said, calling it a “coordinated effort.”

Antifa, short for antifascist, is a broad term, and its members often promote a range of radical views closely aligned with anarchism, communism or socialism, according to the Congressional Research Center. Trump declared Antifa a “major terrorist organization” last year, drawing criticism from civil rights advocates who said the president was targeting people for their political views. Bondi’s memo carefully noted the DOJ would not investigate “solely for the purpose of monitoring activities protected by the First Amendment.”

One of the sources familiar with the NSPM-7 probe told Fox News Digital that every U.S. attorney across the country was directed by the DOJ to designate a federal prosecutor in their office to serve as a “district coordinator” for the cases.

The DOJ has been urging prosecutors to focus on funding because nonprofits could be funding and coordinating instances of domestic terrorism, the person said.

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A DOJ spokesperson said in response to a request for comment on the effort that the department was pursuing a wide range of domestic terrorism crimes.

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“The Department of Justice is fully committed to preserving the rule of law, protecting law enforcement from coordinated attacks, ensuring everyone has the freedom to speak in the public square, participate freely in the electoral process, and practice their faith without fear of violence or harm, and bringing to justice the full range of criminal actors engaged in criminal conduct matching Congress’s definition of domestic terrorism,” the spokesperson said.

The FBI declined to comment.

The Trump administration filed a lawsuit Friday against Harvard University, alleging that it failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students by essentially enabling antisemitism on campus in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel by Hamas. 

The 44-page lawsuit, filed in Massachusetts, is the latest in an ongoing battle between the White House and the Ivy League school. The complaint alleges that Harvard has tolerated antisemitic mobs comprised of students, faculty members and visitors opposed to Israel and has acted with indifference by selectively enforcing its campus rules to permit the continuation of the harassment.

“Harvard University has failed to protect its Jewish students from harassment and has allowed discrimination to wreak havoc on its campus,” a White House spokesperson told Fox News. “President Trump is committed to ensuring every student can pursue their academic goals in a safe environment.”

TRUMP SECURES $221M COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENT OVER ALLEGED CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

The administration is seeking to recover billions of taxpayer dollars given to the elite university by federal agencies. 

“Since October 7, 2023, too many of our educational institutions have allowed antisemitism to flourish on campus – Harvard included,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Today’s litigation underscores the Trump administration’s commitment to demanding better from our nation’s schools and putting an end to discriminatory behavior that harms students.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a Harvard spokesperson said the university “cares deeply” about its Jewish and Israeli students and remains committed to making sure they are embraced and respected.  

“Our actions illustrate this. Harvard has taken substantive, proactive steps to address the root causes of antisemitism and actively enforces anti-harassment and anti-discrimination rules and policies on campus,” the statement said. “We also have enhanced training and education on antisemitism for students, faculty, and staff and launched programs to promote civil dialogue and respectful disagreement inside and outside the classroom. Harvard’s efforts demonstrate the very opposite of deliberate indifference.”

The school said it will continue to prioritize such work and defend itself, calling the lawsuit “yet another pretextual and retaliatory action by the administration for refusing to turn over control of Harvard to the federal government.”

Friday’s lawsuit is another in the protracted battle between Havard and President Donald Trump. In June, the administration said a civil rights investigation had led to a formal finding that Harvard tolerated antisemitism.

TRUMP DOJ FILES NEW LAWSUIT ACCUSING HARVARD OF WITHHOLDING RECORDS ON RACE IN ADMISSIONS

“Harvard remained deliberately indifferent to a level of hostility on its campus so well-known across the nation that members of Congress were writing about it,” government lawyers wrote. “Harvard also intentionally refused to enforce its campus rules — rules it enforced against others — when the victims were Jews or Israelis. This sent the clear message to Harvard’s Jewish and Israeli community that the indifference was not an accident; they were being intentionally excluded and effectively denied equal access to educational opportunities.”

Last year, the school sued the Trump administration over the freezing of federal funds. A judge blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to freeze Harvard’s federal funds.

The Internal Revenue Service was also considering stripping Harvard of its tax-exempt status.

Harvard is slated to receive more than $2.6 billion from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Justice Department said. 

In February, the Trump administration said it was seeking to recover $1 billion in damages from Harvard, the main target in its attempt to leverage federal funding in order to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses. 

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HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said institutions that take taxpayer funds are obligated to protect civil rights. 

“We hold Harvard accountable on the principle that antisemitism has no place in any program funded by the American people,” he said. 

Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said that Democrats should seek criminal prosecution against Trump administration and law enforcement officials who have “broken the law” if they were to gain control of the White House in 2028.

Pritzker, who is running for a third gubernatorial term, sat down for an interview with the New York Times in which he proposed Democrats adopt their own version of Project 2025 — the Heritage Foundation’s conservative policy blueprint for presidential administrations released in nearly every election cycle since the 1980s. Pritzker dubbed the Democrats’ counter “Project 2029,” urging it to be quickly implemented to “restore the rule of law.”

“I don’t think you can speak of it in shorthand, but we’ve got to restore the rule of law, and that means holding people accountable who’ve broken the law,” Pritzker said. “I’m talking about the people in this administration who’ve broken the law and federal agents who’ve broken the law.”

New York Times reporter Lulu Garcia-Navarro asked Pritzker whether this meant Trump officials and law enforcement agents would face criminal prosecution.

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“Criminally prosecuted, civilly prosecuted,” Pritzker said. “Whatever it is that we can do.”

Trump and Pritzker have been at odds over Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda for months.

Last October, Pritzker filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago. The lawsuit argued that the deployment of the National Guardsmen to the Windy City was “unconstitutional and/or unlawful.”

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U.S. District Judge April Perry issued a temporary restraining order preventing the deployment of National Guard troops to the state as the lawsuit worked its way through the legal system. The Supreme Court also upheld Perry’s decision. The Trump administration withdrew federal troops from the state in January.

Pritzker and Trump have also clashed over the tactics used by federal immigration enforcement agents in Illinois. Pritzker has accused federal agents of “waging war on our people” and “acting like jackbooted thugs.”

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The Trump administration faces another lawsuit stemming from accusations of immigration enforcement agents’ alleged misconduct during Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit accused federal agents of violating protesters’ constitutional rights through their use of tear gas and force. District Judge Sara Ellis issued a preliminary injunction barring federal agents’ use of force and tear gas on protesters, but an appeals court overturned her decision earlier this month.

Fox News Digital reached out to Pritzker’s office and the White House for comment.

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., issued an open letter calling upon Muslim leadership in the U.S. to condemn a spate of recent attacks in the country, arguing that their silence “legitimizes the concerns of millions of Americans” about Islam.

He specifically indicated that the message was directed toward “Mosques, Imams, and Muslim Religious Leaders Across the United States.”

In the letter, Ogles, who serves on the House Homeland Security Committee, ran through a list of four recent incidents being investigated as acts or potential acts of terrorism on U.S. soil, and then declared, “To this day, zero American mosques have publicly condemned this pattern of Islamic bloodshed and disavowed the attackers. This silence legitimizes the concerns of millions of Americans that Islam requires such violence.”

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“I challenge America’s more than 3,000 mosques to publicly and unequivocally condemn these specific attacks, disavow the perpetrators, reject any religious justification for terrorism, and state clearly that murdering innocents or targeting houses of worship has no place in Islam or America,” he wrote.

Ogles specifically pointed to four incidents, including the March 1 shooting in Austin, Texas, the March 7 attempt to detonate explosives near Gracie Mansion in New York City, a March 12 attack in which the perpetrator rammed a vehicle into the Temple Israel Synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, and opened fire, and a March 12 shooting episode at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Viriginia.

AUSTIN MASS SHOOTING SUSPECT AVOIDED FELONY IN 2022 CASE, MISDEMEANOR LATER DISMISSED AFTER PLEA DEAL: DOCS

“Issue statements from your pulpits, post them online, and share them widely. America is watching. Your voices can isolate extremists, protect Americans, and preserve peace,” Ogles said in his message.

“I stand ready for dialogue with leaders committed to this. However, if no such peace is desired, I will not cease to further legislate and advocate that violent Islamists have no place in American culture, life, and civil government,” he wrote.

REPUBLICAN SAYS ‘MUSLIMS DON’T BELONG IN AMERICAN SOCIETY,’ DRAWS FIERCE DEMOCRATIC BACKLASH

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Ogles asserted in a post on X last week that “Muslims don’t belong in American society,” and that, “Pluralism is a lie.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., have both endorsed Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., for U.S. Senate.

“Kevin Hern is a proven conservative leader and fighter for Oklahomans in the House, where he has championed our shared Republican agenda. He will be a great asset in the Senate and has my full support and endorsement,” Thune said in a statement.

“Kevin Hern is a principled conservative, Oklahoma-first leader who knows what it means to create jobs and unleash prosperity. He is a fighter for President Trump’s agenda, and we’re excited to welcome him to our Republican majority as Oklahoma’s next Senator,” Scott said in a statement.

THUNE ACCUSES CRITICS OF ‘CREATING FALSE EXPECTATIONS’ AMID BACKLASH OVER STALLED SAVE AMERICA ACT

President Donald Trump has tapped GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma to take over the role of Department of Homeland Security secretary.

If the Senate confirms Mullin to serve in the post, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, will get to appoint a replacement to fill the vacancy, but that appointment would come with a significant catch. 

HOUSE GOP LEADER LAUNCHES SENATE BID AS TRUMP TAPS MARKWAYNE MULLIN FOR DHS

Oklahoma state law stipulates that “a person who is a prospective appointee shall submit to the Secretary of State an oath affirming that the person will not file as a candidate for the office when it next appears on the ballot.”

In a post on X last week, Stitt wrote, “I appreciate @POTUS taking time to meet to discuss the importance of appointing a new U.S. Senator for Oklahoma. President Trump has made a great selection in Markwayne Mullin to join his cabinet, and I am committed to making a swift decision on his replacement once Mullin is confirmed by the Senate.”

Trump endorsed Hern for the Senate seat last week.

‘TELL ME TO MY FACE’: TOP MOMENTS IN MULLIN’S HEATED CONFIRMATION HEARING TO BE TRUMP’S NEXT DHS CHIEF

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“Kevin Hern will be an outstanding Senator, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement – HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” the president declared in a Truth Social post.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul became the latest blue-state leader to lament the flight of wealthy tax-paying residents to Republican-led tax havens like Florida, Alaska, Wyoming and Tennessee, calling millionaires who stayed in the Empire State to fund its massive social services net “patriotic.”

With Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declaring his jurisdiction a “free state” for transplants wishing to leave liberal policies and taxation behind, blue states like New York, Illinois and California are squeezing and at times pursuing natives who emigrate to financially greener pastures — while at the same time, some governors are blasting conservative voters as inauthentic neighbors and driving them out in the first place.

Fox News Digital took a look back at taxing authorities and top officials in blue states that have pursued or criticized the very people they are trying to retain for taxation purposes – and those who aren’t simply urging them to return are finding ways to force continued collection.

BRING THEM BACK FROM PALM BEACH

Hochul, speaking during a Politico event this month, said “high-net-worth” people need to stay in New York to support the “generous social programs we want to have in our state.”

“There are some patriotic millionaires who stepped up. OK, cut me the checks. If you want to be supportive — but maybe the first step should be [to] go down to Palm Beach and see who you can bring back home, because our tax has been eroded.”

GRADUALLY, THEN SUDDENLY, BLUE STATE AMERICA IS HEADING FOR FINANCIAL DISASTER

‘JUMP ON A BUS’

Hochul has often criticized the most prominent New Yorker to flee to Palm Beach: President Donald Trump.

At a 2022 rally for Rep. Pat Ryan, a moderate Democrat from Ulster County, Hochul trashed Republican-voting New Yorkers and urged them to do what she now wants to see reversed.

BLUE STATE’S BILLIONAIRE EXODUS ABOUT TO GET MUCH WORSE IN 2026, INSIDER WARNS

“And we are here to say that the era of Trump, and Zeldin and Molinaro, just jump on a bus and head down to Florida where you belong, OK?”

“Get out of town. Because you do not represent our values. You are not New Yorkers,” Hochul said, while facing off with now-EPA chief Lee Zeldin and criticizing Ryan’s opponent, then-Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro whom Trump recently appointed as head of the FTA.

THE ‘TEDDY BEAR’ TAX TEST

Revenue agencies in states like New York have established multitiered tests to enforce residency liabilities for people who split their time between or try to claim other states as their primary home.

In Albany’s lengthy guide to determining whether a taxpayer must consider themselves a New Yorker, a five-part review includes what some attorneys have called the “Teddy Bear Test” – in that it all depends on where you lay your head at night.

A “Near and Dear” factor asks taxpayers to consider the “location of items which the individual holds ‘near and dear’ to his or her heart, or those items which have significant sentimental value” – such as teddy bears.

MORE AMERICANS LEAVE BIG CITIES FOR RURAL STATES AS MIGRATION PATTERNS SHIFT IN 2026

“This analysis of ‘Near and Dear’ items can help to solidify the intent of the taxpayer concerning the location of his domicile,” the document read.

Another aspect is whether a person uses or maintains his New York residence at the same level as his out-of-state residence, as it and other states have a 183-day threshold for determining tax liability.

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance conducted 3,000 nonresidency audits between 2010 and 2017, encompassing part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s term, and collected about $1 billion from those who fled the state.

Cuomo, however, appeared to have what pundits called a political “epiphany” when he voiced concern about the state’s lurch to the left on tax policies.

In 2019, The Wall Street Journal quoted Cuomo on realizing what Democratic policy had done to New York’s tax base:

“Tax the rich, tax the rich, tax the rich. We did that. God forbid the rich leave.”

The top 1% of taxpayers foot 46% of personal income tax in New York, which is not alone in trying to keep people in.

REVERSE GOLD RUSH

In 1849, when gold was discovered at John Sutter’s mill not far from Sacramento, people from across the country rushed in to make a buck.

Today, people are reversing flow and trying to escape Sacramento’s reach.

“California … they don’t particularly like when people that were large taxpayers … leave,” Marc Minker, lead managing director at accounting provider and consulting firm CBIZ MHM, previously told FOX Business. “The state becomes very aggressive with respect to making you prove that you essentially changed your domicile.”

While California does not have an explicit “Exit Tax,” the term is thrown around to describe the complex hierarchy of levies and policies Sacramento enforces on people who leave or now only spend part of their year in the state.

MILLIONAIRE ACTOR MARK RUFFALO TELLS NEW YORKERS TO ‘TAX THE RICH’ WHILE CRITICS DEMAND ‘HIM FIRST’

Gov. Gavin Newsom opposed a 2023-24 iteration of an “exit tax” – that would have applied to the wealthiest Californians who leave for the first four years of nonresidency.

If the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) determines a taxpayer to be a nonresident, their California-based income sources, like rental homes, can still be taxed.

The recent Super Bowl in Santa Clara brought the state’s “jock tax” back to the fore, as Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold’s tax liability following his win led to a net financial loss for him.

The FTB also regularly conducts residency audits similar to New York’s, with residency requirements remain more complex than other states’ calculation of number-of-days-spent.

WASHINGTON POST CITES U-HAUL DATA IN CALIFORNIA EXODUS TO ‘PRO-GROWTH’ STATES, SAYS ‘DECLINE IS A CHOICE’

FTB considers a resident someone who is “present in California for other than a temporary or transitory purpose” or “domiciled in California, but outside California for a temporary or transitory purpose,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Several factors, including voter registration, bank accounts, doctors and memberships, are examined by the state.

LEAVING THE LAND OF LINCOLN

In one Illinois tax tribunal case, Rothman v. Illinois Dept. of Revenue (IDOR), a couple objected to Springfield’s levies as they claimed to be Florida residents. In that case, cell phone records and subpoenas to Uber and Seamless were used to determine whether the couple was from Illinois or Florida, according to a document.

The Chicago accounting firm FGMK wrote on their website that IDOR has a series of factors they use to determine residency including utility usage, relocation of immediate family, school enrollment, homestead exemption status and library card usage.

A bill that had been floated in the state legislature in 2023 would have also assessed unrealized gains of millionaires in any tax year that they attempt to leave the state, called the Extremely High Wealth Mark-to-Market Tax Act.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul for comment on her recent remarks.

Fox Business’ Brittany De Lea contributed to this report.

Two former FBI agents who helped investigate efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election sued Thursday to challenge their abrupt firings from the bureau, arguing that their terminations were “solely” due to their involvement in the probe.

The two agents, identified only as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2, accused FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi of politically retaliating against them for their work in the 2020 election case, known internally as “Arctic Frost,” despite having played brief and largely administrative roles in the investigation.

The lawsuit argues that the firings were a violation of FBI policy as well as the agents’ rights under the First and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution. Both former agents are seeking reinstatement to the bureau, and a declaration from the court that their terminations were unlawful. 

FBI AGENTS GROUP TELLS CONGRESS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST POLITICIZATION 

“Political support for President Trump is not a legal or appropriate requirement for the effective performance of plaintiffs’ respective roles within the F.B.I.,” the lawsuit states. “Accordingly, perceived lack of political support for President Trump is an impermissible basis for termination of plaintiffs’ F.B.I. employment.”

According to the lawsuit, the two agents were fired last fall, within a five-day period, and shortly after, unredacted internal documents related to the Arctic Frost probe were shared with members of Congress. 

FBI Director Kash Patel proceeded to “summarily” fire both agents in late October and early November, the lawsuit says, “without evidence,” and without “internal investigation, notice, or hearing” to precede their terminations. 

Neither the FBI nor the Justice Department responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on their removals, or the new lawsuit. During House testimony Thursday, however, FBI Director Kash Patel dismissed criticism raised by Democrats about terminations within the bureau. 

“There’s 36,000 people employed at this FBI,” Patel told lawmakers. 

“And I reject the notion wholeheartedly that the termination of those that were weaponizing law enforcement are the only ones that can do the mission,” he added.

FBI AGENTS SUTE TRUMP DOJ TO BLOCK ANY PUBLIC IDENTIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES WHO WORKED ON JAN.6 INVESTIGATIONS

The lawsuit argues that the terminations run afoul of FBI policy, which states that non-probationary special agents may be removed only for cause, such as misconduct, national security concerns, or an inability to perform the essential duties or responsibilities of their roles. Both had been lauded for their work at the bureau, it notes, and had received “exemplary” performance reviews and other outside recognition.  

“In Arctic Frost, as in all other investigations to which they were assigned, Plaintiffs fully adhered to DOJ policies and procedures, including applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and executed their law enforcement duties without bias or political motives,” they said in the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. 

BONDI SWORN IN AS ATTORNEY GENERAL WITH MISSION TO END ‘WEAPONIZATION’ OF JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

Lawyers for the agents also argued the removals break with Patel’s remarks last year during his Senate confirmation hearing, in which he vowed that agents would not be fired based on case assignments, and stressed that personnel decisions “should be based on performance and adherence to the law.”

The lawsuit adds to a growing list of unlawful termination lawsuits filed by ex-FBI agents in recent months, including former agents who have argued they were removed solely for their perceived political views, or for their involvement in certain politically sensitive investigations.

Former Department of Justice officials have cited concerns that the probe or any retaliatory measures carried out as a result could have a chilling effect on the work of the FBI, including its more than 52 separate field offices.

The FBI Agents’ Association, or FBIAA, a voluntary agents’ group that represents more than 14,000 active and former special agents, sharply criticized the removals of the two special agents, saying in a statement released at the time that Patel “has disregarded the law and launched a campaign of erratic and arbitrary retribution.”

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“An Agent simply being assigned to an investigation and conducting it appropriately within the law should never be grounds for termination,” the group said.

“FBI Agents deal in facts, and we urge Director Patel to do the same.”

FIRST ON FOX: Legacy Democrats and a slew of Michigan Democratic Party lawmakers dismissed concerns over their connections to a radical Imam who eulogized the death of Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei by “the most wretched hands on Earth” and works at a mosque known for being a purveyor of Iranian propaganda. 

Dearborn Heights, Michigan, Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi’s social media pages were a who’s who of Michigan Democratic Party politicos and also included a slew of photos of him with legacy Democrats and Democratic Party officials from other states, before they were deleted. The photos, many of which come from various political and religious-oriented events, were removed from the Imam’s social media after Fox News Digital reached out to him and his Michigan-based Islamic House of Wisdom (IHW). 

However, screenshots retained by Fox News Digital and other photos that remain publicly available on the Imam’s social media sites show him posing alongside legacy Democrats like former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Secretary of State John Kerry.

Other Democrats the Imam was pictured with on his social media pages included current candidates for office in Michigan and some of the state’s highest-ranking leaders, such as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, whose 2023 inauguration included a Muslim prayer tribute from Ali Elahi, Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, and Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich. One post on his socials included a flyer highlighting an event the IHW helped sponsor that was headlined by Dr. Anthony Fauci, while others included photos of the Imam interacting with out-of-state Democrats, such as Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.

CRITICAL SWING STATE CANDIDATES REVEAL WHERE THEY STAND ON DHS FUNDING AFTER SUSPECTED TERROR ATTACKS   

In addition to the public photos of Ali Elahi, with a slew of various Democrats, he has also donated to several of these same lawmakers as well, including candidates running for office this year in his state of Michigan, according to Michigan’s campaign finance database. Current Michigan U.S. Senate candidate, Abdul El-Sayed, featured in at least one of the Imam’s photos, received over $800 from him in 2017. Gilchrest, pictured numerous times with the Imam on his social media pages, received over $1,000. 

Meanwhile, Mike Duggan, the former Mayor of Detroit now running an Independent bid for governor who is seen eating dinner with the Imam, received $500, according to state records. Ali Elahi has also, for years, made many small-dollar donations through Act Blue to various Democrats and Democrat institutions.

“The unwillingness of public officials to distance themselves from someone so controversial would be troubling enough under normal circumstances, but doubly so during a time of conflict when Americans’ lives hang in the balance and voters expect their leaders to rally around the flag,” said GOP strategist Colin Reed. “For nearly 40 years, the leaders of the Iranian regime have pushed ‘death to America’ and exported terror around the world. It shouldn’t be a close call to want to put daylight between someone so sympathetic to their cause.”

When asked, following Ali Elahi and IHW’s Khamenei tribute, if any of the Democratic Party figures regretted attending events alongside the Iranian-born Imam living in Michigan, or whether they planned to reconsider interactions with him going forward, those Democrats seen with him in photos at various events either did not respond or downplayed their ties to the Imam. A staffer for Michigan gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson initially got in touch after Fox News Digital reached out, but then ignored Fox News Digital’s inquiries after they were told the story was not only about Benson.    

Khamenei, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike last month, has repeatedly attacked the United States and Israel on social media, including saying, “Death to America.”

“Yes, it will happen. Death to America will happen,” Khamenei declared in 2022, the Middle East Media Research Institute reported at the time. “Some people say: By chanting ‘Death to America,’ you bring America’s animosity upon yourself. I say that this is not true. When America began its hostility towards Iran, nobody had been chanting ‘Death to America.’”

“Senator Peters routinely attends events with his constituents across Michigan. Peters has long said that Iran and its leaders, like Ayatollah Khamenei, are bad actors, and he strongly believes that we must ensure Iran never has nuclear weapons,” a spokesperson for the Michigan senator said.

TRUMP WARNS OF IRANIAN ‘SLEEPER CELLS’ AS CANADA ACCUSED OF HARBORING REGIME OPERATIVES

“Georgians are concerned about an illegal war that’s costing taxpayers $1 billion a day and spiking gas prices,” a Warnock spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “The Senator believes Ayatollah Khamenei was a brutal dictator, and this President should be focused on problems at home instead of entangling our country and service members in another endless war.”

“It was 60 seconds of social niceties at a funeral. Shaking someone’s hand isn’t a connection or an endorsement,” said a Clinton spokesperson. “They don’t know each other.”

“The press corps often sprints after Republicans in office to ask them about why someone took a picture with them and how quickly will they distance themselves from that individual, but that same level of scrutiny is not remotely applied to Democrats,” lamented Republican strategist Mark Bednar. “For the good of the country, elected Democrats and candidates must explain to their constituents and to the media where exactly do they stand regarding cheerleaders of the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.”

Duggan, who initially told local Michigan news outlet, The Michigan Enjoyer, that he “had no recollection” of photos they shared of him with the Imam, told Fox News Digital that the candidate for governor did not know Ali Elahi personally when asked if he planned to reconsider interacting with him in the future. Fox News Digital uncovered multiple photos of Duggan attending events alongside Ali Elahi that were on the Imam’s Facebook page, including one where the two are seen embracing each other. 

“In his 12-year tenure, Mayor Duggan constantly reached out to congregations of all faiths, visiting 40-50 churches, mosques, and synagogues each year,” a spokesperson for Duggan’s gubernatorial campaign said. “He attended close to 1,000 political events in that time and greeted and took photos with people at each of them. The Mayor does not know Imam Elahi any more than the many others across the political spectrum he encountered over the years.”

As recently as September, Ali Elahi was seen pictured with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian at the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. 

The gathering was also attended by the co-founder of the left-wing activist group CODEPINK, which has been accused of having close ties to China, and former U.S. intelligence official and U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter, whose house was raided by the FBI for what Ritter himself described as violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

The Imam similarly met with Pezeshkian at the U.N. Assembly in 2024, a photo on the Imam’s Facebook and Instagram shows, which also includes a caption praising the regime leader and slamming Israel and the media. Ali Elahi has photos of himself meeting with antisemite Louis Farrakhan, who infamously compared Jews to termites in one of his sermons.

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“The numerous photographs of Elahi with high-level Iranian politicians and religious leaders that he regularly publishes on his social media networks speak to his ties to the Islamic Republic,” a report from George Washington University’s Program on Extremism states. The same report points out that Ali Elahi served as the head of the Iranian Navy’s “political ideological office” in 1982, an allegation the Imam addressed but did not deny in a 2023 speech.     

Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers have accused Ali Elahi’s mosque of being “a significant purveyor of extremist propaganda, in line with the Iranian regime’s views,” in a 2023 letter to then-U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, calling on him to investigate various Iranian regime-backed mosques in the United States. As recently as 2023, Ali Elahi traveled to Iran, sharing photos and video of his trip in 2023 on social media. 

MIAMI, Florida – There’s growing unrest in Cuba as the communist government struggles to deal with island-wide blackouts and a collapsing economy. As President Donald Trump alludes to change on the island, the Cuban community in Miami is left wondering what is next.

The island has experienced 67 years of authoritarian rule where the Communist Party of Cuba is the only legal party. Last week, protesters attacked a Communist Party headquarters on the island overnight, ransacking the building and attempting to set it on fire, according to local reports.

“The protesters are more brave today than before,” said Jose Collazo, a Cuban migrant who left the island in the 1960’s. “But if you remember four years ago when they came out, they were brutally repressed.”

TRUMP SAYS HE BELIEVES HE HAS ‘HONOR’ OF ‘TAKING CUBA,’ CALLS CARIBBEAN ISLAND A ‘VERY WEAKENED NATION’

Collazo often spends time at Domino Park in the heart of Little Havana, a neighborhood in Miami with a large population of Cuban immigrants. He and other Cuban Americans meet up for friendly — but highly competitive — games of dominoes and to discuss current affairs.

Lately, there’s been a lot of chatter about the situation in Cuba. On Monday, a nationwide power grid collapse left roughly 10 million people without electricity, according to U.S. Embassy statements and Cuban authorities. Cuban officials have said the outages are linked to fuel shortages and failures at aging power plants.

Then, there’s the ongoing economic crisis which has been made even worse in recent months after President Trump threatened tariffs on any country that sends oil to Cuba. 

RUSSIA SHIPS FUEL TO CUBA USING ‘SPOOFING’ TACTIC CHALLENGING TRUMP EMBARGO: REPORTS

“They’re living like in the Stone Age. Cave people. That’s how they live. It’s sad to see the people  [living with] malnutrition, living in ragged clothes,” said Collazo.

The escalating tension on the island comes amid remarks by Trump that he expects to have the “honor” of “taking Cuba in some form” and “I can do anything I want” with the neighboring country.

“Cuba right now is in very bad shape. They’re talking to Marco,” Trump told reporters, “We’ll be doing something with Cuba very soon.… We’re dealing with Cuba.”

On Tuesday, Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, also made comments about the island, saying “they have to get new people in charge” in Havana. 

Meanwhile, Pentagon officials told lawmakers there are no plans to invade Cuba, even as they described it as a long-standing security concern.

CUBAN ACTIVIST TO TRUMP: ‘MAKE CUBA GREAT AGAIN’ BY ENDING COMMUNIST RULE

“In all the years I’ve been here— I’m going on 47 years— I think this is the first time I’ve seen really good things happening for Cuba,” said Francisco Botella, a Cuban migrant who lives in Miami. “You can tell it’s a very precarious situation this time around. Now the system is going down, way down.”

Hearing U.S. leaders discuss the situation brings members of the Cuban exile community like Botella and Collazo hope.

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“I think this is the end for Cuba. I really think it’s over. Either the communist leaders leave, or what happened to Maduro will happen to them,” said Botella.

Cuban officials have continued to blame U.S. sanctions for the country’s economic hardships, while analysts say the government is facing mounting pressure from ongoing blackouts, shortages of basic goods and growing public frustration.

In trying to downplay its seriousness and scope, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., tacitly acknowledged the existence of a problem they’ve argued is immaterial: that illegal immigrants may be able to unlawfully participate in federal elections.

“The evidence is that almost no illegal aliens vote,” Schumer said in remarks on the Senate floor.

Warnock similarly acknowledged the issue while listing statistics about voting records in his home state.

“8.2 million people are registered to vote in Georgia. The Republican secretary of state found 20 instances of noncitizens who were registered, and only nine had ever attempted to vote,” Warnock said.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT’S TWO DECADES OF UNLAWFUL VOTES EXPOSE THE REAL ‘THREAT’ TO DEMOCRACY: EXPERTS

Their comments came as the pair of Democrats argued against passage of the SAVE America Act — legislation that would impose citizenship requirements for voter registration.

Democrats have fiercely opposed the Republican-led bill, citing concerns that its voter integrity measures are overly heavy-handed and could inadvertently burden communities that may struggle to provide documented proof of citizenship.

“This is a solution in search of a problem that does not exist,” Warnock said.

DAVID MARCUS: SENATE GOP SHOULD TAKE FETTERMAN’S DEAL ON VOTER ID

Under the bill, voters could use a REAL ID, a birth certificate, or a passport to satisfy the requirements, according to the bill’s text.

Republicans, who argue that lax identity requirements may have already allowed an unknown number of noncitizens onto voter rolls, have launched a marathon standoff over the bill on the Senate floor.

Republicans cannot pass the bill without the 60 votes needed to end debate. They hold 53 seats in the chamber, making passage impossible without support from at least seven Democrats.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, the sponsor of the SAVE America Act, argued that the scope of the problem remains unknown.

“Democrats argue that federal law prohibits noncitizen voting and insist that it is not just rare but exceedingly rare — so rare that we shouldn’t even consider it cognizable in this chamber,” Lee said Tuesday.

REPUBLICAN SENATORS BLAST DEMOCRATS FOR ‘FEAR-MONGERING’ OVER ELECTION SECURITY SAVE ACT

Lee said the lack of documented cases does not rule out future risk.

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“It remains unknown — and in many instances, unknowable. How many illegal votes are being counted in federal elections? How many illegal votes cast by noncitizens might be cast in any future federal election?” Lee said.

The standoff, which began Tuesday, appears unlikely to advance the bill.

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Schumer and Warnock.

Democrats have been stockpiling ideas for months on how to retaliate against companies and figures that have aligned themselves closely to President Donald Trump’s political agenda, telegraphing that merger breakups and committee investigations will play a central role in their efforts to push back against the administration should they regain power.

Most recently, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., took to social media to highlight his most recent entry on that list.

“Brendan Carr is a corrupt political hack and fake chair of the FCC,” Jeffries said in a post to X. “This guy (and the entities he promotes) will find himself on the wrong side of a congressional investigation in short order.”

Jeffries’ comments were made in response to a post from Carr, suggesting the administration would more closely review license renewals for broadcasters perpetuating “fake news.”

FCC BOSS VOWS TO ‘REBALANCE’ MEDIA, URGES MORE PRO-AMERICA PROGRAMMING

The struggle over political alignment isn’t unique to Carr.

The comments have piled up as the nation inches closer to the November midterms — a critical opportunity for Democrats to break a Republican governing trifecta and more visibly push back against the Trump administration. Even regaining control of just one chamber of Congress could enable Democrats to carry out their list of retaliation.

Democrats like Sen. Ruben Gallego hope to pressure companies that have received approval for mergers under Trump’s watch.

“Once we take power, whoever the president is, we’re going to break up your companies,” Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., told Semafor.

“So, all the investment you did to create these mergers are going to be for naught. Your investors are going to be pissed at you, and you’re likely going to end up getting fired as the CEO because you wasted so much money and corrupted yourself in the process,” Gallego said.

EX-BIDEN OFFICIAL FACES BACKLASH OVER THINLY VEILED WARNING TO COMPANIES WHEN DEMS ARE BACK IN CHARGE

Under Trump’s administration, notable mergers have included Paramount’s $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Bros., Capital One’s $35 billion acquisition of Discover and Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., similarly echoed Gallego’s thinking in a X post.

“Paramount should enjoy its growing news monopoly while they have it, because when Democrats win back power we are going to break up these anti-democratic information conglomerates,” Murphy wrote. “All of them.”

Skydance Media, the parent company of Paramount, has close ties to the Trump administration through its CEO, David Ellison — a figure who appeared as a Republican guest at the 2026 State of the Union and who has been a frequent guest at the White House.

TRUMP ‘THRILLED’ AS FCC CHAIR WARNS NEWS ORGANIZATIONS TO CORRECT COURSE OR LOSE LICENSES

Susan Rice, a former top official in the Biden and Obama administrations, also recently caused a stir after she appeared to vow political retribution during a Vox interview last month against companies once Democrats regain control of Congress and the White House.

“They’re going to be held accountable by those who come in opposition to Trump and win at the ballot box,” Rice said.

“I think whether you’re a law firm, whether you’re a university, whether you’re a media entity, whether you’re a big corporation, whether you’re big tech, you need to play a long game, not this short game that has been so detrimental,” Rice added.

Subpoena powers also make up a part of how Democrats will also look to pursue their objectives if they regain power.

Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., the third most powerful Democrat in the House of Representatives, noted that using the subpoena powers to bring in former President Bill Clinton likely clears the way for lawmakers to compel high-profile testimony from Trump’s orbit.

“It sets an interesting precedent on who is subject to come into Oversight, and we will see what the next year holds for Trump Inc. and the Trump family,” Aguilar said, alluding to the requests Democrats might make if they hold a majority in 2027.

The targets for Democrats extend to the private sector as well.

During a House Oversight Committee hearing last year, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, interrupted proceedings to demand lawmakers subpoena billionaire Elon Musk over his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

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“The motion was to subpoena Elon Musk, who is heading DOGE who is the one who made the recommendations for these [spending] cuts,” Crockett said. 

Her calls were taken up in the Senate where Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced a very similar motion, citing Musk’s closeness to the president and influence in efforts to slim down government operations.

“Mr. Chairman, if we are serious about exercising our constitutional responsibilities, which I hope all of us are, it is critical for our committee to hear from the person who is in fact in charge of the federal government,” Sanders said in committee. 

Democrats reached by Fox News Digital did not respond to a request for comment on their plans to implement their past comments.

FIRST ON FOX: Senate Republicans launched a test of Senate Democrats’ resolve against voter ID legislation, and while it may not look like what many wanted, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., argued it was the only path forward.

Thune has been pressured by President Donald Trump, a cohort in the Senate GOP, and a fervent online network of conservatives demanding that he activate the talking filibuster to pass the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act.

But it’s a floor tactic that Thune argued has never proven successful in passing legislation.

REPUBLICANS SIGNAL NO RETREAT ON SAVE ACT AS MARATHON SENATE DEBATE KICKS OFF

“Nobody really knows how this ends, and the people who are out there saying they do, don’t,” Thune told Fox News Digital in an interview. “Because it’s never been done, or at least hasn’t been done in modern history.”

Proponents of the talking filibuster view it as a method to blow through the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold and ensure that the SAVE America Act is passed. But it comes at the steep price of the upper chamber’s most valuable currency — floor time — which, during an ongoing shutdown, is not something lawmakers would want to give up.

Thune added that Senate Democrats have also considered the move in the past under former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and noted that they “opted against it in both cases because I think they felt like the price that we would make them pay wasn’t worth whatever it was they were trying to get done.”

GOP TRIGGERS MARATHON SENATE FIGHT TO EXPOSE DEMS’ OPPOSITION TO TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID BILL

“If I saw a pathway, even if it was a small-percentage pathway of getting an outcome, I’d be more inclined to do it,” Thune said. “But we looked at it, ran all the contingencies, gamed it out, mapped it out, what it would look like on the floor, did the research, studied the history, and couldn’t find a single example in modern Senate history where a talking filibuster actually led to a piece of legislation passing.”

Instead, Thune and Senate Republicans are doing a version of the talking filibuster that does allow for unlimited debate but prevents an unlimited number of amendments from Senate Democrats that would drastically alter the bill and that Republicans know they don’t have the votes to kill.

It’s not a move he made on his own, either. The nature of Thune’s leadership style, which helped secure him the top spot in the Senate GOP, is to avoid unilateral decision-making and instead allow Republicans to come to an agreement on a plan.

SENATE GOP EYES BLAME GAME AS TRUMP-BACKED SAVE ACT HEADS FOR DEFEAT

Still, there are critics who are unhappy with the plan Republicans landed on given that it doesn’t lower the threshold to pass the bill. But the pressure Thune felt from all sides wasn’t enough to make him cave and pull the trigger on the talking filibuster.

“I think there’s a sort of a leadership guru who, one of his main points is, the first responsibility of a leader is to define reality, and so I try and figure out what’s achievable,” he said. “And there are a lot of folks out there who are over-promising and creating false expectations about what we can get done here.”

Republicans’ plan has seen the Senate engage in three straight days of debate on the SAVE America Act in a bid to force Senate Democrats to argue against the legislation. When that debate comes to an end is still in the air.

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Some, like Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who is the lead sponsor of the bill, want the Senate to spend time on the bill for “as long as it takes” to wear down Senate Democrats.

“And if we’re not there yet, we need to continue debating it,” Lee said.

Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is speaking out over an incident in a restaurant in her home state where she says she was treated rudely and asked to leave by staff while having lunch. 

“Last week I was having lunch with two other moms at a restaurant when the owner approached a member of the State Police Executive Protection Detail and said my presence made their employees feel threatened and told us to leave,” Sanders said in a statement Thursday about her recent dining experience at The Croissanterie restaurant in Little Rock, Arkansas. 

“Arkansans are known for their warm hospitality, and while that restaurant certainly doesn’t meet that standard, my administration will continue to focus on lifting Arkansans up, not tearing others down with discrimination and hate.”

Sanders’s office tells Fox News Digital the governor visited the establishment on Friday, March 13, along with her security detail and after about an hour and fifteen minutes, during which her group was seated at two tables and had already paid and tipped staff, the restaurant’s owner approached a member of the security detail and requested that the governor leave.

GOV SANDERS, CONSERVATIVES UNLOAD ON ‘BIZARRE’ DEMOCRAT SOTU COUNTERPROGRAMMING: ‘NORMAL VS CRAZY’

Her office said the request was made due to concerns that her presence was making employees feel threatened and uncomfortable due to her political views.

Sanders and her party complied with the request and exited the restaurant. As they were leaving, an individual standing with the restaurant staff shouted for them to go and made a crude hand gesture in the governor’s direction.

The Croissanterie released a lengthy statement about the incident to local media, saying when they first learned she had arrived at the establishment they were “surprised and uncertain how best to respond.”

“By the time we entered the dining room, she was already seated and eating. At that point, we chose not to interrupt, expecting that the party would complete their meal and depart without issue,” the statement said. 

The restaurant says that as time went on, the governor’s security detail became “more widely noticed, by both employees and guests, questions were raised about them remaining in the restaurant.”

GOV SANDERS REJECTS DEMAND FROM LEGAL GROUP TO UNDO CHRISTMAS CLOSURE: ‘I WILL DO NO SUCH THING’

“As business owners and members of this community, we recognized that any course of action carried consequences. Allowing her to stay risked being perceived as a lack of support for the community that makes up the majority of our team, as well as their families and friends. Conversely, asking her to leave could be viewed as denying service based on differing beliefs.”

The restaurant says they “ultimately made the decision” to “support our employees and guests who expressed they were uncomfortable” but said “we do not recall any statements indicating that anyone felt threatened.”

The restaurant says that one hour into the governor’s visit, a member of the security detail was “quietly approached and asked to encourage the governor to conclude her visit” given she had finished dining.”

“Nearly 30 minutes later, the party remained on the premises,” the restaurant says. “As the 90-minute table seating limit approached, the security detail was approached a second time and informed that approximately 10 minutes remained. Around this time, another customer attempted to involve themselves in the situation and was asked to step away.”

The restaurant says they reviewed camera footage from the incident and confirmed “that a member of the security detail did send a message to the governor following the initial request; however, it was not seen at that time. Once the message was received, she and her party departed without incident.”

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The restaurant went on to say that “many” guests in the dining room were “unaware of the situation” and that there was “no applause or disruption.”

The Croissanterie also claimed that the individual who made an “inappropriate hand gesture” to Sanders was a customer rather than an employee and “the matter has been addressed.”

“We regret being placed in this position and having to make a difficult decision,” the restaurant said. “However, we stand by our choice to support our employees and guests.”

Fox News Digital reached out to The Croissanterie for details on what specifically made the employees “uncomfortable” but did not receive a response. 

A similar incident unfolded in 2018, while Sanders was serving as President Donald Trump’s press secretary, when she was asked to leave a Red Hen restaurant in Virginia after being told the ownership took issue with her political views and job position.

“Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA to leave because I work for @POTUS and I politely left,” Sanders tweeted at the time. “Her actions say far more about her than about me. I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so.”

Other Republican political targets who were harassed at restaurants that year included Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; and former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., remained silent earlier this week when asked how long Democrats intended to hold out on funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) amid a recent string of suspected terror attacks.

Fox News Digital approached Schumer with a pair of questions in the basement of the Senate.

“Is it time to fund the DHS after four domestic suspected terror attacks have occurred?” a Fox News Digital reporter asked.

“If the Republicans don’t agree to the ICE reforms that you guys want, all of them, what’s the next step? How long are you willing to leave DHS unfunded?”

SCALISE ACCUSES DEMOCRATS OF REVIVING ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ PUSH WITH DHS FUNDING GAMBIT

Schumer deflected the questions.

“Ask the Republicans,” Schumer answered.

Funding for DHS originally lapsed on Feb. 14 when Democrats refused to advance spending legislation for DHS that didn’t also include a set of demands to reform ICE. Among other changes, Democrats have conditioned their support on a ban on masks for ICE agents, stiffer warrant requirement for apprehending suspects in public and a ban on roaming patrols.

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.

DEM SENATORS IN THE HOT SEAT AS REPUBLICANS RIP THEIR DHS VOTE AMID TERROR THREATS: ‘UNDER ATTACK’

The standoff has overlapped with a series of domestic attacks, raising alarm among Republicans that DHS’ closure may be reducing the country’s preparedness to counter similar threats.

A vehicle ramming at a synagogue in Michigan, a university shooting in Virginia, the detonations of explosives in New York and another shooting in Texas have left Republicans like Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., calling for Democrats to abandon their demands.

“Democrats have shut down the very department charged with defending our nation from terrorism while our nation is on high alert,” Barrasso said in a post to X.

In addition to ICE, DHS also manages the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Secret Service and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

Barrasso, the Senate GOP whip, was echoed by Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

DEM SENATORS CALL TO FUND DHS AFTER VOTING TO BLOCK IT 4 TIMES AMID SHUTDOWN FIGHT

He stressed the urgency to fund the department amid the U.S. conflict with Iran.

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“I urge my Democrat colleagues to make the right decision and stop playing dangerous games with DHS funding. As threats from Iran escalate, America must be fully prepared to respond and mitigate threats to the homeland,” Garbarino wrote.

The funding lapse hit the one-month mark on Saturday.

Gov. JB Pritzker, D-Ill., emerged as a decisive kingmaker in Illinois’ primary elections Tuesday, but his efforts to boost his deputy, Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton, D-Ill., could create headaches for a future presidential run.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) are sharply criticizing Pritzker for spending millions of his personal wealth to shore up support for Stratton in the state’s bruising Senate primary. 

Pritzker’s deputy beat out Rep. Robyn Kelly, D-Ill., the CBC’s preferred candidate, and a $30 million war chest from Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., to advance to the general election.

“We don’t need to reach out to the governor,” Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said of Pritzker, according to a new Politico report. “Others are going to have to reach out to us,” he said in a reference to Pritzker. Meeks helms the CBC’s PAC, which backed Kelly’s failed Senate campaign.

AS 2028 BUZZ BUILDS, PRITZKER DRAWS REPUBLICAN CHALLENGER IN SHOWDOWN FOR ILLINOIS GOVERNOR

Stratton’s dominant win could have immediate ramifications for Pritzker, who is running for a third gubernatorial term and is rumored to be considering a 2028 presidential bid. The Black caucus remains an influential force in the Democratic Party after allying itself with former President Joe Biden in 2020 and former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.

For now, the group is holding Pritzker at arm’s length. 

“Keep in mind, the Democratic candidate for president that prevails has to go through [us],” Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, said referring to the Black caucus, according to the report. “The CBC is very strategic and so if there is an issue … we will lay out our framework for what it will take” to earn the group’s support, the Ohio Democrat added.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss, a longtime CBC member, did not hide his frustration with Pritzker, telling the outlet that the billionaire governor “has to justify what he did” by backing Stratton’s Senate campaign.

“As to whether or not it has merit or not, remains to be seen,” he added, according to the report.

ESTABLISHMENT DEMOCRATS FEND OFF FAR-LEFT INFLUENCER IN PRIMARY TO SUCCEED REP JAN SCHAKOWSKY

The billionaire governor contributed at least $5 million to a super PAC supporting Stratton’s candidacy. The donation helped Stratton overcome a torrent of attack ads from the cryptocurrency industry seeking to block her from the nomination.

Additional CBC members have also lambasted Pritzker’s influence over the Senate race, with some voicing concerns that Stratton and Kelly’s dueling campaigns split the Black vote.

“Governor Pritzker’s effort to tip the scales in Illinois’ U.S. Senate race is beyond frustrating for the Congressional Black Caucus,” Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., chair of the CBC, told Punchbowl News earlier this month. “A sitting governor shouldn’t be heavy-handing the race. Quite frankly, his behavior in this race won’t soon be forgotten by any of us.”

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Stratton, who has served as lieutenant governor since 2019, branded herself as a staunch anti-Trump foe on the campaign trail. She sparked controversy when her campaign released an ad full of expletives directed toward Trump, which notably featured Pritzker.

Pritzker appeared to downplay his role in boosting Stratton when speaking with reporters Thursday. 

“She got outspent more than 3 to 1, with all the money that went into the other candidate, the other leading candidate versus all the money that was supporting her 3 to 1, she was outspent,” Pritzker said. “Why is it that you can overcome that kind of onslaught?”

“It’s because she’s a genuine person who people believe when she stands up and says what she believes in, people look at her and understand she’s been advocating for them for her entire career,” he added.

Fox News Digital reached out to Pritzker for comment.