Donald Trump Poll News

A federal judge blocked the Justice Department’s efforts to issue a pair of grand jury subpoenas sent to the Federal Reserve Board after concluding they were merely a “pretext” to pressure Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell into lowering interest rates or resigning.

In the ruling, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said there “is abundant evidence that the subpoenas’ dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed Chair who will.” 

“The Court must thus conclude that the asserted justifications for these subpoenas are mere pretexts,” he added.

The news comes after U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office said last year it had opened a criminal inquiry into Powell related to the testimony he gave to Congress last year regarding the $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

This is a breaking news story. Check back shortly for updates.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has announced a task force to evaluate senior service colleges to ensure they are not tainted by woke ideology and offer quality education.

“Professional Military Education should produce warfighters and leaders—not wokesters,” he asserted in a post on X.

“That’s why we are establishing a Task Force to evaluate our Senior Service Colleges and ensure the focus is where it belongs. No distractions. Just warfighting,” the post adds.

HEGSETH SCOLDS CNN’S ‘UNSERIOUS’ REPORT ON IRAN CONFLICT, SUGGESTS PARAMOUNT OWNER SHOULD OVERHAUL NETWORK

Hegseth’s post includes a video message in which he said, “I’m directing the undersecretary of war for personnel and readiness to establish a task force effective immediately.”

“The mission of that task force is to evaluate our senior service colleges, where we educate our own: Think places like the Army War College, or National Defense University, the Naval War College, Marine Corps University or the Air War College, where our senior officers go to continue their education,” he explained.

TRUMP SAYS US ‘TOTALLY DESTROYING’ IRAN AND TO ‘WATCH WHAT HAPPENS’ FRIDAY

He indicated that the War Department will “make sure that what we’ve seen in our civilian institutions never surface in our military education institutions. Trust me. I’ve heard the stories. I know some of our own senior service colleges … have similar courses and similar ideologies. We need to rip ‘em out. And we’re going to. This task force will have 90 days to assess whether our Senior Service Colleges … are actually effective.”

“And if we’re pulling officers out of civilian universities because they’re too woke, then we better make sure our own universities are prepared to do the task properly,” he said.

NEW IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER ‘LIKELY DISFIGURED,’ HEGSETH SAYS

Hegseth’s message came as the U.S. continues waging war against the Islamic Republic of Iran in conjunction with Israel.

The suspect authorities say killed an ROTC instructor at Old Dominion University had previously been convicted of providing material support to ISIS but received a shorter prison sentence than federal prosecutors sought before his release in 2024, according to court records.

Mohamed Jalloh, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Sierra Leone, entered a classroom Thursday at the Norfolk school and opened fire after confirming it was an ROTC class, killing Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, authorities said. The FBI’s Norfolk Field Office said ROTC cadets physically subdued Jalloh and ended the attack, adding that their actions “rendered [him] no longer alive.”

“The horrific tragedy that occurred today on ODU’s campus never should have happened,” Rep. Jennifer Kiggans, R-Va., said.

Court records show Jalloh was arrested in 2016 for providing material support to ISIS.

MAMDANI AVOIDS ‘RADICAL ISLAMIC TERROR’ PHRASE AFTER ISIS-INSPIRED NYC ATTACK, ECHOING OBAMA-ERA DEBATE

Federal prosecutors sought a 20-year prison sentence, but Senior U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady sentenced him to 132 months — roughly 11 years.

According to prosecutors, a now-deceased ISIS member overseas arranged contact between Jalloh and an individual he believed to be a fellow supporter but who was actually an FBI confidential human source. Investigators said Jalloh also traveled to Nigeria as part of the plot.

The overseas terrorist wanted an attack carried out, while Jalloh told the FBI source he decided not to renew his enlistment with the Virginia Army National Guard after listening to lectures from al Qaeda terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki, a New Mexico native against whom President Barack Obama ordered a fatal drone strike in 2011.

“The defendant was fully aware of what he was doing and the consequences of those actions. His only misgivings seemed to be a fear that he would waver at the critical moment,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum obtained by The Associated Press.

FBI DISRUPTS ALLEGED ISIS-INSPIRED NEW YEAR’S EVE ATTACK PLOT TARGETING NC GROCERY STORE

O’Grady later handed down an 11-year sentence that included mental health treatment and substance abuse testing, according to the wire service, and Jalloh was released in 2024.

Jalloh’s release also required he have no contact with any terrorist organizations and computer monitoring during probation.

“Jalloh was sentenced in 2017 to 132 months in prison for providing material support to ISIS. The [government] had asked for a sentence of 240 months, the statutory maximum,” former federal prosecutor William Shipley wrote on X.

“The Judge who imposed the reduced sentence was Senior Judge Liam O’Grady, in the Eastern District of Virginia, a GWB appointee. Judge O’Grady announced he was taking Senior Status in June 2020 — right in the heart of the start of COVID, meaning there was no chance that Pres[ident] Trump would be able to get his replacement confirmed.

“Joe Biden ended up nominating his replacement — Judge Patricia Giles.”

Giles, he said, controversially ruled in 2024 that Virginia had illegally purged noncitizens from the voter rolls too close to that year’s election and ordered their restoration.

AMERICAN EXTREMIST ADMITS BANKROLLING ISIS TERRORISTS, PLOTTING US VIOLENCE WITH HOMEMADE BOMB: FEDS

Asked whether the spate of recent attacks shows a resurgence of ISIS threats to the homeland or if previously lax immigration policies have played a role, a spokesperson for National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent pointed to recent comments he made after the Iran mission began:

“As the Iran conflict continues to unfold, ODNI’s National Counterterrorism Center is engaged and operating at full capacity, 24/7. We are tracking developments in real time, assessing any potential risks to the homeland, identifying emerging threats and providing timely, actionable intelligence to the White House, law enforcement and interagency partners to detect and prevent attacks against the American people,” Kent said.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Kent said counterterrorism officials are “acutely aware” and focused on eliminating “persistent” threats posed by thousands of people with terror ties who “poured into our nation unchecked during four years of open borders under Biden.”

“Constant vigilance is a must. Stay aware of your surroundings, and if you see something suspicious, report it immediately to local law enforcement. Every one of us has a role to play in keeping this nation secure,” Kent said.

A DOJ spokesperson told Fox News Digital there are “no known or credible threats to the homeland” at this time and that federal agents are “maintaining a constant state of vigilance to keep Americans safe.”

Fox News Digital reached out to ODNI, the FBI and O’Grady for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Florida lawmakers are sending Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis a strict elections bill modeled after the federal SAVE America Act strongly championed by President Donald Trump that mandates voters verify their citizenship when registering.

Lawmakers in Tallahassee, Florida, in the GOP-dominated state House approved the measure in a 77–28 vote Thursday, hours after the bill passed the Republican-controlled state Senate 27–12. The votes in both houses of the Florida legislature were nearly entirely along party lines.

DeSantis, a supporter of what he calls “the Florida version of the SAVE Act,” is expected to sign the measure when it reaches his desk. 

“Although Florida has already enacted much of what the federal legislation contemplates, this will further fortify our state as the leader in election integrity,” the governor highlighted in a social media post.

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

The developments in Florida come as the federal bill faces an uncertain future in Congress.

The SAVE Act, which stands for Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, narrowly passed the GOP-controlled House in February mostly along party lines. But it’s stalled in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53–47 majority in the chamber, far short of the 60 vote threshold needed to pass the bill.

The federal bill would require strict voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements across the country. Republicans say the bill is necessary to secure election integrity.

While polls indicate the vast majority of Americans — regardless of the political affiliation — support voter IDs at the polls and preventing noncitizens from voting in federal elections, Democrats argue the bill is not needed, since citizenship already is a requirement to vote and instances of noncitizen voting are rare.

THUNE GUARANTEES VOTER ID BILL TO HIT THE SENATE DESPITE SCHUMER, DEM OPPOSITION: ‘WE WILL HAVE A VOTE’

Democrats and voting rights groups also claim that the federal bill would create unnecessary barriers, making it harder for voters to cast a ballot.

Trump, who is intent on holding the Republican congressional majorities in the 2026 midterm elections, said earlier recently that the federal bill should be the top priority in Congress and that if passed, it “will guarantee the midterms” for Republicans.

But the Florida bill’s proof of citizenship requirement wouldn’t take effect until January, after the November 2024 midterm elections. And the bill also doesn’t limit the Sunshine State’s allowance for excuse-free mail-in-voting. 

Trump has long railed against mail-in-balloting.

SCHUMER DOUBLES DOWN ON GOP VOTING BILL ‘JIM CROW 2.0’ DESPITE DEMOCRATIC VOTER SUPPORT

The Florida measure also would prevent college students from using their student IDs when voting in person, but that provision wouldn’t take effect until 2027.

“This bill creates real barriers for everyday Floridians, especially those with the fewest resources,” Democratic state Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis of Orlando argued in a social media post. “It will disproportionately impact working families, seniors, and college students who want to exercise their voice and right to vote.” 

The bill would make Florida the most populous state in the nation to mandate proof-of-citizenship to register to vote.

Arizona and Kansas enacted similar requirements in the past two decades, and Louisiana passed a law two years ago.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Proof-of-citizenship bills passed recently in the South Dakota and Utah legislatures, and are awaiting the governors’ signatures.

And in 2024, New Hampshire mandated that all first-time voters show proof of citizenship when registering.

Rep. Josh Riley, D-N.Y., has put criticism of soaring utility costs at the center of his re-election bid in one of the most competitive House districts in the country, but state Sen. Peter Oberacker, R-N.Y., Riley’s likely general election challenger, argues the incumbent Democrat is quietly profiting from the industry.

In response to proposed rate hikes from New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG), Riley has accused the company of “robbery” and seeking to “line the pockets” of its Spanish owner, Iberdrola. 

Recent reporting from Mid-Hudson News found that Riley owns up to $250,000 in mutual funds that hold shares of Iberdrola. The outlet also reported that Riley’s campaign received a total of $1,500 from a lobbyist who directly represented Avangrid, Iberdrola’s primary U.S. subsidiary, at the time the donations were made.

The NYSEG-tied contributions and investment listed on Riley’s financial disclosure report were reviewed and verified by Fox News Digital. 

BIDEN’S GREEN ENERGY FIASCO, NOT TRUMP’S REFORMS, IS JACKING UP YOUR ELECTRIC BILL

“I think we could sum it up in one word: hypocrite,” Oberacker told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. “I don’t know any other word that fully encompasses what’s going on.”

Riley’s campaign fired back in a statement to Fox News Digital, calling Oberacker’s attack a “pathetic attempt to distract from the fact that he takes NYSEG’s corporate PAC checks.”

“The fact is, Josh doesn’t own stocks, doesn’t take corporate PAC money, and is the only person in this race who’s actually taking on the utility monopolies to lower our bills,” the spokesperson said.

Avangrid New York PAC has donated $350 to Oberacker since he began serving in the state Senate. However, an Oberacker campaign spokesman said those donations were returned prior to his entering the congressional race.

Riley, a first-term Democrat, narrowly won a purple swing district in 2024 that President Donald Trump lost by two points. The president handed Oberacker his “complete and total” endorsement in February.

Though Democrats nationwide are seeking to capitalize on voter discontent with rising costs ahead of November’s midterm elections, Oberacker said his campaign is rolling out proposals that are laser-focused on affordability issues.

The three-term state senator unveiled a “ratepayer bill of rights” in late 2025 that would require itemized billing and in-person hearings in communities subject to a rate hike, among other provisions.

If the legislation is signed into law, “The average person who’s looking at these increases in bills could actually say, ‘Where’s this going? What is this charge?” Oberacker said.

AS TRUMP TOUTS TARIFF WINDFALL, BATTLEGROUND STATES SHOULDER BILLIONS IN COSTS

Oberacker also contends that “radical environmental policies” enacted by Albany Democrats are responsible for making New Yorkers pay some of the highest energy bills in the country. The Empire State’s residential electricity rates were more than 50% higher than the national average in December 2025, according to data compiled by the Energy Information Administration.

“The folks in upstate New York are being squeezed at every turn,” he said. “I’m running to bring a reality check to the congressional district.”

National Republicans have sought to tie Riley to New York’s 2019 climate law, whose implementation is widely believed to be contributing to higher electric bills. Several left-wing groups that have previously endorsed Riley — such as the New York affiliates of the Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters and the Working Families Party — also advocated for the climate legislation.

A Feb. 26 memo from the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority projected that households would pay $4,000 in additional energy costs per year if the state enacts a carbon tax as called for by the law. Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., warned of “cataclysmic” costs for businesses last week, despite previously supporting the idea. 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The sprawling upstate New York district could be pivotal in keeping House Republicans’ slim majority in November. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the contest as “Lean Democrat.”

“There is no doubt that the House majority runs through the congressional New York 19th district,” Oberacker said.

A pair of shootings on Thursday, one involving a suspect linked to ISIS, has Republicans sounding the alarm to reopen the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), while Democrats dig further into their position.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus again blocked a full-year funding bill for the agency, as well as multiple attempts to provide temporary funding, on Thursday. Just as the vote ended and as lawmakers fled Washington, D.C., an active shooter incident at the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, Mich., erupted.

The suspect died in a shootout with police in that incident. Meanwhile, another shooting at Old Dominion University in Virginia with a suspect previously imprisoned for supporting ISIS led to one person killed and two others injured. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital, “At some point, the consequences, impacts of not funding DHS are real.”

DEMS VOTE TO KEEP DHS CLOSED DESPITE AIRPORT CHAOS, IRANIAN SLEEPER CELL THREAT

Senate Republicans have tried and failed three times to pass full-year funding for the agency, and Thune noted that it had been two weeks since Schumer and Democrats responded to the latest compromise offer from the White House.

When asked if the latest shooting could make Democrats budge, he said, “I’m not sure.”

“But it’s a dangerous game and people are going to get hurt,” Thune said.

‘YOU CAN CRY ABOUT IT’: TEMPERS FLARE IN SENATE AS DHS SHUTDOWN DEBATE ERUPTS, STALEMATE DIGS DEEPER

The funding impasse has caused the agency to be shuttered for nearly one month, with little hope in Congress that a deal can be reached soon. Republicans have warned that because of President Donald Trump’s war on Iran, there could be increased threats in the U.S. that DHS would have to handle without proper funding.

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., blasted Schumer and Democrats for continuing their blockade and accused them of trying to “peel apart” DHS.

“They are so beholden and detached to the far-left component of this nation that they don’t care about everybody else,” Barrasso said. “We’ve had terrorist attacks right here in the homeland — two in the last two weeks.”

KATIE BRITT BLASTS DEMOCRATS FOR PLAYING ‘POLITICAL GAMES’ WITH SHUTDOWN AMID AIRPORT CHAOS

Democrats spent much of Thursday trying to fund the agency one piece at a time in a bid to carve out funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), for which they have sought stringent reforms that Republicans say go too far.

Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer’s office for comment on whether the latest shootings would change his calculus on the shutdown, but it did not immediately respond.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Instead, Schumer released a statement on the synagogue shooting that did not mention the agency or the funding battle.

“Antisemitism is not theoretical. It is real, and it is deadly,” Schumer said. “In solidarity with good-thinking people everywhere, it must be faced head-on, denounced and defeated. Every one of us has a responsibility to not just stand up against this pernicious hate, but to fight it wholeheartedly, no matter where it comes from.”

President Donald Trump said on Friday that the U.S. was “totally destroying” and “killing” Iran, warning to watch “what happens to these deranged scumbags today.”

“We are totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran, militarily, economically, and otherwise,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in the early morning hours on Friday.

“Iran’s Navy is gone, their Air Force is no longer, missiles, drones and everything else are being decimated, and their leaders have been wiped from the face of the earth,” he continued. “We have unparalleled firepower, unlimited ammunition, and plenty of time.”

4 US SERVICE MEMBERS KILLED IN REFUELING AIRCRAFT CRASH IN IRAQ

Trump also appeared to signal significant developments later on Friday, writing, “Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today.”

“They’ve been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years, and now I, as the 47th President of the United States of America, am killing them. What a great honor it is to do so!” the president said.

TRUMP SAYS US ‘TOTALLY DESTROYING’ IRAN AND TO ‘WATCH WHAT HAPPENS’ FRIDAY

The president’s post comes nearly two weeks since he launched the U.S. war against Iran in conjunction with close U.S. ally Israel on February 28.

The effort has proven controversial, and Americans have been facing surging gas prices domestically during the conflict.

US DESTROYS AGING IRANIAN WARPLANES, VIDEO SHOWS

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money. BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stoping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World. I won’t ever let that happen!” Trump declared in a Truth Social post on Thursday.

Top House Republicans are eyeing a surge in military funding as the U.S. continues its joint operation with Israel against Iran, and some are arguing that a second “big, beautiful bill” is the vehicle to get it done.

Republicans are discussing the possibility of supplemental funding to aid the U.S. effort as Iran continues to retaliate against allies in the region. 

Senior House GOP lawmakers told Fox News Digital that the resulting heightened national security environment means that Congress has a responsibility to ensure the armed forces are prepared for whatever threats may arise. At the same time, they’re skeptical that Democrats will provide the votes necessary to pass such a funding bill through traditional means.

“They are certainly not going to spend an additional dime on the military, on security, on any of the things that we care about,” Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital of the opposing party. “The threats around the world have never been higher. They’ve never been greater. And we have to recapitalize after four just disastrous years of President Biden completely decimating our military.”

OPERATION EPIC FURY SURVIVES SENATE CHALLENGE AS REPUBLICANS CLOSE RANKS BEHIND TRUMP

“So this conflict right now, and the future of our country and our Western values, have to be secured by additional defense spending, which can only happen in a reconciliation bill.”

Republicans passed a sweeping tax and policy bill last summer dubbed President Donald Trump’s landmark One Big, Beautiful Bill Act. It was done via the budget reconciliation process, which allows the party in power to change broad swaths of fiscal law while sidelining the minority party — in this case, Democrats.

It makes that possible by lowering the threshold for advancing legislation in the Senate from 60 votes to a simple majority, lining it up with the House.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: GOP TARGETS AFFORDABILITY WITH RECONCILIATION 2.0 PLAN AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, said he believed an additional funding package for Iran was inevitable but added, “The politics are such that there’s no guarantee that the supplemental will pass.”

“On top of that, the president has been talking about a big capital investment to modernize the military,” Arrington told Fox News Digital. 

“If we can’t get Democrats to support either of those endeavors — I think we’ve got a better chance of getting support on an emergency supplemental than we do on a one-time capital investment — but I think that reconciliation may be the only train leaving the station that could address those important things.”

Pfluger also signaled a broader path: “Is it specific to Iran or is it more general and more broad to just increasing defense spending and making sure that our military has what they need to deter Iran and others? I think that’s probably the more likely path.”

However, he noted that reconciliation meant that spending would likely have to be offset by cuts elsewhere, something that could appease fiscal hawks wary of bloated spending levels.

“So where do we find the savings? I’ve got some ideas on that. I think it’s related to fraud. I think there’s a lot of money to be saved when we look at fraud, like what happened in Minnesota with the daycares and the billions of dollars that went out the window there,” Pfluger said.

THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO CONGRESS’ OPTIONS ON HAMSTRINGING TRUMP’S WAR POWERS IN IRAN

The idea of a second reconciliation bill has already been met with skepticism by a significant number of Republicans, many of whom have cited the GOP’s razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate.

But a senior House Republican who also spoke with Fox News Digital argued that the situation in Iran could bring the unity Republicans need.

“That would be the biggest motivating factor in another reconciliation bill,” the lawmaker said.

And Pfluger pointed out that there was precedent — Democrats passed two reconciliation bills themselves when they last controlled Congress at the beginning of former President Joe Biden’s term.

“We should remind ourselves that they stuck together, and they were able to do that. So should we,” he said.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

But Arrington warned that lawmakers would have to move fast for something to be attainable.

“The window is closing, and I don’t see us being able to do a reconciliation bill if we get past the spring, because we’ll be too close to the election,” Arrington said.

Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama declared “the enemy is inside the gates” when sharing a post on X that juxtaposed a photo of the September 11, 2001, terror attack on the Twin Towers with an image of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

The post Tuberville shared was from an account called “End Wokeness,” which included a message that read, “Less than 25 years apart.” 

The image appears to show Mamdani hosting a Ramadan Iftar event at city hall, based on an Instagram post from an account called “muslimnews” that includes video footage which matches up with the image of Mamdani that End Wokeness shared on X.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI WILL BE FIRST MAYOR TO BE SWORN IN ON QURAN DURING NEW YORK CITY INAUGURATION

Mamdani, who is both a Muslim and a democratic socialist, directly responded to Tuberville’s remark.

“Let there be as much outrage from politicians in Washington when kids go hungry as there is when I break bread with New Yorkers,” Mamdani wrote in a post on X when sharing Tuberville’s tweet.

Democrats blasted Tuberville in response to the remark.

MAMDANI SPARKS VIRAL OUTRAGE OVER DINNER PHOTO WITH MAHMOUD KHALIL INSIDE GRACIE MANSION: ‘DISGRACEFUL’

“Racist. Islamophobic. Disgusting. Republicans just want to Make America White Again,” Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts declared in a post on X. 

“This is mindless hate,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer asserted in a post on X. “Muslim Americans are cops, doctors, nurses, teachers, bankers, bricklayers, mothers, fathers, neighbors, mayors, and more. Islamophobic hate like this is fundamentally un-American and we must confront and overcome it whenever it rears its ugly head.”

Tuberville shared Schumer’s post and declared, “Calling Radical Islam out for being a CULT doesn’t make you an ‘Islamophobe.’ Radical Islamists chant ‘death to America’ and would love to see every Christian and Jew murdered. Under Sharia Law, if you are not a Muslim, you are the ENEMY. Under Sharia Law, minorities are PERSECUTED. Under Sharia Law, women are SOLD, RAPED, and TRAFFICKED. Don’t believe me?? Read it for yourself! Radical Islam is NOT compatible with the Constitution and has NO PLACE IN AMERICA. I won’t be silenced about this.”

MAMDANI TOUTS LANDMARK COURT VICTORY AGAINST REPEAT OFFENDER LANDLORD IN HOUSING ENFORCEMENT PUSH

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Tuberville also posted “the enemy is inside the gates” on Dec. 31 when sharing a screenshot of a New York Times headline about Mamdani being slated to be the first Big Apple mayor to use a Quran for his swearing in.

Jack Schlossberg, the only grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, is running for Congress in New York City, where he says, despite being a member of arguably the most prominent political family in American history, he’s heading an ‘outsider’ campaign that’s upsetting the political establishment power brokers.

“It’s probably hard for people to believe me saying that I’m an anti-establishment outsider given my family ties, but in this race, I really am,” Schlossberg told Fox News Digital in an interview.

“I am going up against a political machine here in NY-12 that doesn’t want change, that doesn’t want any outsiders to come shake things up, do things differently,” he continued. “They want to control the people who they send to Congress, and that means trading favors and endorsements before the seat has even opened up.”

A dozen Democrats are running in the June primary to replace Democratic Congressman Jerry Nadler, who announced his retirement in September at the age of 78 after more than three decades in Congress, citing the need for “generational change” in the party. 

JFK’S GRANDSON RIPS ‘LOVE STORY’ SERIES ABOUT LATE UNCLE JFK JR AND CAROLYN BESSETTE, CALLS IT ‘GROTESQUE’

If Schlossberg, the only son of John F. Kennedy’s daughter Caroline, wants to be the Democrat that brings that change, he will have to navigate a political landscape in New York City dominated by county committees, major donors, and a Nadler-endorsed candidate in the race.

“The insiders here, they don’t like us,” Schlossberg said, before providing a recent example he says helps paint the picture of what he’s up against.

“There’s a couple of Democratic clubs here in New York-12, and I got a lot of respect for any group that does civic engagement, and that’s great, no knocks for that, but they’ve had a few forums where they invite the candidates to come speak. There was at least three forums where we found out about the forum because it was posted online with the lineup of all the other candidates, and we hadn’t been invited yet, so we’re kind of disinvited and disrespected when we get there,” Schlossberg said. 

“But I think what’s interesting — I think at least—is we do show up at all the forums, we put our best foot forward, and afterwards, there’s been a couple of times where some of the members — maybe not the leaders of the organizations, but some of the members — come up, and they say, ‘Hey, listen, I couldn’t say this, but you got my vote.’ There’s whispers. There are whispers around from the members and the people who realize this seat shouldn’t just be handed to somebody.”

JACK SCHLOSSBERG, JFK’S GRANDSON, DEFENDS ‘AGGRESSIVE’ POSTS ABOUT VANCE’S WIFE

Schlossberg, who is personally wealthy and was endorsed by family friend Speaker Emerita Rep. Nancy Pelosi, is lagging behind two candidates, venture capitalist Alex Bores, N.Y. State Rep. and Nadler protégé Micah Lasher, in fundraising and cash on hand. 

One of the most prominent Democratic organizations in New York City, the Four Freedoms Democratic Club, endorsed Bores, as did The NewDEAL.

Eleanor Roosevelt Independent Democrats, another significant Democratic club in Manhattan, endorsed Lasher.

Prominent local elected Democrats have mostly endorsed other candidates over Schlossberg and the 33-year-old New York City native told Fox News Digital he is the one candidate in the race that doesn’t “owe anybody anything.”

“I’m the only candidate who’s gone out and said I won’t take money from corporate PACs, from super PACS, or from big AI companies, and I’m doing this because we’re a people-powered campaign,” Schlossberg said, pointing out that his average donation is $40 and that his grassroots style of campaigning shows up on the streets of New York City when he holds events, including a packed house during a recent blizzard.

“I posted one infographic on my Instagram during the middle of a blizzard, and we had 300 people show up for a pizza party the next day, ready to, with Jack for New York shirts on, ready to volunteer, ready to sign up,” Schlossberg said. “And they’re there because they care. They’re there because they understand our campaign isn’t bought or paid for by any interest group, dark money, anything. We’re for the people, and we’re doing this our way.”

An operative on a rival campaign pushed back on Schlossberg’s outsider label, telling Fox News Digital that “not having accomplishments or a track record doesn’t make you an outsider, it makes you unqualified.”

Just months after socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, endorsed by Schlossberg, rode an anti-establishment wave into Gracie Mansion, the progressive Kennedy is promising to “shake things up” and attempt to ride a similar wave to Washington, D.C.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Schlossberg has faced intense criticism from Republicans and conservatives for some of his progressive platforms, inflammatory social media posts, and critiques of the Trump administration that included his own cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but he told Fox News Digital the thing he is “probably the most proud of is the policies that I’ve released to date”, which he believes will resonate with residents of his district, where 81% of voters supported former VP Kamala Harris in 2024.

Those policies, Schlossberg says, include a “standard renters deduction” that would let renters in NY-12 deduct part of their rent from their federal income taxes, lowering the cost of food and clothing by isolating and repealing certain tariffs while negotiating a broader trade deal, a plan called “Jack’s Fast Track Plan” to double funding for security upgrades at houses of worship in the district, and the “Ricochet Rule” to “stop the flow of illegal firearms into our state that end up being used in crime.”

Schlossberg joked that he understands now why the United States has secret ballots as he goes around and sees people “that may not be able to socially say that they’re for Schlossberg” but that the “secrets going to get out eventually when we deliver a victory in June.”

Voters in NY-12 will take part in the Democratic primary to determine their nominee on June 23 and the winner is widely believed to be in the driver’s seat to win the general election in one of the most heavily Democratic districts in the country.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has endorsed former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, one of the candidates running in the Democratic primary for Maryland’s 5th Congressional District.

Dunn was serving on the police force during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

“My friend Harry Dunn is a true American hero and exactly the right person to represent Maryland in Congress,” Pelosi asserted in a release, according to The Hill. “On January 6, 2021, Harry Dunn bravely defended our democracy from Donald Trump’s violent MAGA mob. Since then, Harry’s been called to do everything he can to protect Marylanders and all Americans from extremists like Donald Trump. I’m proud to endorse Harry Dunn for Congress.”

Pelosi is not seeking re-election.

NANCY PELOSI DOUBLES DOWN ON DEFENDING OBAMA’S STRIKES ON LIBYA WHILE ATTACKING TRUMP: ‘READ THE LAW’

Dunn said in the release that Pelosi “stood firm when our democracy was under attack and helped lead the country through one of the most difficult moments in our history,” according to the outlet. “I’m grateful for her support and proud to have her in this fight,” he noted.

Fox News Digital reached out to Dunn’s campaign on Thursday morning.

FORMER CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER RUNNING FOR CONGRESS IN DIFFERENT DISTRICT THAN FAILED 2024 BID

Pelosi previously endorsed Dunn in 2024, but Dunn ultimately failed to win the Democratic Primary that year in Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District.

Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer, who currently represents Maryland’s 5th Congressional District, is not seeking re-election.

HOYER WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION, SAYS HOUSE HAS STRAYED FROM FOUNDERS’ VISION

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The congressman has endorsed his former campaign manager, Maryland Delegate Adrian Boafo, for the U.S. House seat.

A handful of immigrants and advocacy organizations are asking the Trump administration to extend its March 17 deadline to end the temporary protected status (TPS) afforded to Somalis in the U.S., arguing the administration is changing the immigration designation purely along lines motivated by race.

The change in designation would force roughly 1,080 Somali TPS recipients to self-deport or turn themselves in to immigration enforcement, according to a Tuesday filing before a Massachusetts district court.

“President Trump has smeared the Somali community publicly, categorically, and repeatedly. He has called Somali people ‘garbage’ and ‘low IQ people.’ And he has said point blank: ‘I don’t want [Somali people] in our country,’” the challenge states, referring to remarks President Donald Trump made at a Cabinet meeting last year.

“They reflect a desire to target and punish Somali nationals based on their race and national origin in violation of the U.S. Constitution.”

MINNESOTA FRAUD HEARING SPARKS IMMIGRATION CLASH AS GOP LAWMAKER SPOTLIGHTS SOMALI WELFARE DATA

The suit was brought by African Communities Together and the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans and lists the Department of Homeland Security as a defendant.

Their challenge comes amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration and his administration’s continued focus on Somali populations in states like Minnesota, where alleged fraud activity has drawn national attention.

Trump has had an eye toward Somalia since his first term, when, in 2017, he included the country in a travel ban. That focus resurfaced in November 2025 amid news that a number of predominantly Somali-led fraud schemes had allegedly siphoned as much as $9 billion from Minnesota government assistance programs.

The news prompted Trump’s first move against Somali TPS.

“Minnesota is a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity. I am, as president of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in Minnesota,” Trump wrote in a November post on Truth Social.

US FREEZES ALL VISA PROCESSING FOR 75 COUNTRIES, INCLUDING SOMALIA, RUSSIA, IRAN

Outgoing Secretary of Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem made the designation switch official in January.

Asked about the TPS designation in the wake of Noem’s recent ouster from the agency earlier this month, a DHS spokesperson confirmed the plans remained unchanged.

“Temporary means temporary. Country conditions in Somalia have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law’s requirement for temporary protected status. Allowing Somali nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interests. The Trump administration is putting Americans first,” an agency spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

Under the Immigration Law of 1990, aliens protected by TPS are allowed to work in the United States and are shielded from removal as long as their country of origin is experiencing “temporary conditions” like war or natural disaster that would prevent their safe return. The attorney general may extend a country’s TPS status for 18 months at a time.

Somalia received TPS in 1991 and has held a TPS designation for 35 years.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BLOCKED FROM ENDING TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR HAITIANS

Tuesday’s filing argues dangerous conditions remain in place, citing terrorist activity from groups like Al-Shabaab listed in Somalia’s latest TPS extension.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“The 2024 redesignation noted that ‘Somalia continues to experience widespread insecurity due to armed conflict involving state and non-state actors’ … subjecting civilians to human rights abuses, including summary executions, indiscriminate and targeted killings, gender-based violence, child recruitment, disappearances and physical abuse,” the plaintiffs argued.

DHS declined to comment on its on-the-ground assessments of Somalia’s local conditions.

The Justice Department filed a criminal complaint this week against a Venezuelan national accused of assaulting a federal officer and grabbing and possessing the officer’s firearm while resisting arrest outside a place of business earlier this month.

Law enforcement officers assigned to the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Task Force, or HSTF, began surveillance near a business in Utica, Michigan, after receiving information that individuals living in the U.S. illegally were working at the facility as delivery drivers.

Agents observed a vehicle registered to Arnoldo Jose Marquez-Pulido, 33, who was leaving the parking lot, where they determined he was in the country illegally, according to a press release from the Justice Department. 

‘YOU CAN CRY ABOUT IT’: TEMPERS FLARE IN SENATE AS DHS SHUTDOWN DEBATE ERUPTS, STALEMATE DIGS DEEPER

After agents attempted a routine traffic stop, authorities say the individual, Marquez-Pulido, briefly pulled over before fleeing from officers at a “high rate of speed.” 

He then returned to the business location, where he proceeded to flee on foot, the criminal complaint alleged.

The HSTF agent proceeded to tackle Marquez-Pulido after he allegedly ignored the agent’s commands to stop and attempted to enter the business, the Justice Department said in a press release.

During the struggle, Marquez-Pulido is accused of striking the agent in the face with his elbow and reaching for the agent’s service weapon, identified as a “Glock 19” pistol. Prosecutors say he was able to remove the firearm from the agent’s holster and briefly wield it before losing control of it as the agent regained leverage. 

Additional officers responded and recovered the weapon from the ground. Authorities say Marquez-Pulido continued to resist before being restrained.

The agent suffered a contusion to his elbow, abrasions to his knees and hands, and a contusion to his cheek, officials said. A second agent sustained a knee contusion. Both were treated at a hospital and released.

He was scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court in Detroit this week, though prosecutors said they will seek to have him held in custody pending further proceedings.

MINNESOTA DRAGS TRUMP’S ICE TO COURT IN EFFORT TO PAUSE IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN

Marquez-Pulido is believed to have entered the U.S. at a San Ysidro, California, port of entry in 2024, without a visa or valid travel documents.

Federal prosecutors said the allegations against the Venezuelan national underscore the dangers that some officers face while seeking to crack down on border security and enforce a hardline immigration enforcement agenda that President Donald Trump has prioritized during his second White House term. 

“Some say that enforcing our nation’s immigration laws is unfair because illegal aliens are all harmless,” U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon of the Eastern District of Michigan said in a statement.  “Today’s allegations break that narrative.”

“High speed flight from arrest, fighting federal agents, and grabbing an agent’s gun are not ‘harmless,'” he added. “And what’s ‘unfair’ is the fact that Americans pay the price for dangerous illegal aliens.” 

The news comes as DHS officials and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials said assaults on officers have increased sharply, and vowed to pursue individuals accused of violence against law enforcement.

A criminal complaint is an allegation and Marquez-Pulido is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

The incident comes as Senate lawmakers remain sharply divided over how to proceed with fully funding DHS and ending the shutdown that stretched into its 27th day on Thursday. 

Immigration enforcement has emerged as a key sticking point for Democrats, in particular, as they continue to grapple over the specifics of a bill to fully fund the sprawling federal agency.

KATIE BRITT BLASTS DEMOCRATS FOR PLAYING ‘POLITICAL GAMES’ WITH SHUTDOWN AMID AIRPORT CHAOS

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday that he and most Democrats in the chamber were ready to fund “most of DHS,” including TSA, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, FEMA, the Coast Guard — but not the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or CBP. 

Schumer, for his part, has also accused Republicans in the chamber of blocking the bill due to disagreements over immigration, prompting a heated exchange with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

“I assume the Democrat leader is aware of the fact that we have tried repeatedly to fund everything temporarily to allow the negotiations over the ICE budget to continue,” Thune shot back.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: One of the top Republican contenders for governor in Georgia hyped that he would “be Trump’s favorite governor” and is vying for President Donald Trump’s endorsement, but his Federal Election Commission records reveal he financially backed multiple GOP rivals of Trump during the 2024 presidential race.

In particular, two top contenders, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and billionaire healthcare entrepreneur Rick Jackson, have been sparring over who is more aligned with Trump. 

“This Primary Election is very simple,” Jones says on his campaign website. “There is one authentic conservative who has fought for President Trump.” Meanwhile, Jackson has assured voters that he would “be Trump’s favorite governor” after donating $1 million to the president’s political action committee, MAGA Inc. less than two months before he jumped in the race last month.

However, Jackson and his network of companies and investment groups have a history of donating funds to Trump’s rivals, including during his 2024 presidential bid prior to him obtaining the Republican Party nomination, according to a Fox News Digital review of FEC filings. Jackson gave at least $150,000 to Nikki Haley and $100,000 to Vivek Ramaswamy, who were both running against Trump at the time.

TRUMP ALLY CLAY FULLER ADVANCES IN GEORGIA FIGHT FOR MTG’S FORMER SEAT 

Jackson Investment Group, an entity that Jackson has controlled for decades, according to a 2024 SEC filing, spent at least $150,000 supporting Nikki Haley through the SFA Fund, INC., and Team Stand for America. The SFA Fund, INC. received three separate donations from the Jackson Investment Group totaling at least $140,000 between 2023 and 2024, including $40,000 weeks before Haley suspended her campaign in early 2024. Jackson also directly gave $10,000 to Team Stand for America, a joint fundraising committee that was supporting Haley.

The $100,000 donation from the Jackson Investment Group to Ramaswamy’s super PAC occurred in July 2023, months before he suspended his campaign in Jan. 2024.

Jackson has also donated across the last decade to other Trump rivals like former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., former Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and over $1 million in support of Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign against Trump, FEC filings show. Jackson also contributed funds against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga., when she was fully on the MAGA train in 2020, and donated to Sen. Lindsay Graham’s, R-S.C., 2016 presidential bid shortly after he dropped out and endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

The $2,700 donation to Cheney’s leadership PAC, The Great Task, came weeks after she joined Democrats in voting to impeach Trump after they said he incited the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 

Jackson, the wealthy founder of Jackson Healthcare who is seeding his own campaign with at least $50 million, shook up a primary field that many had expected was set in stone between Jones, the Trump-endorsed front-runner, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and state Attorney General Chris Carr. 

The newcomer to the race has brushed off attacks that he is not sufficiently loyal to Trump, comparing himself to people serving in Trump’s orbit who were once skeptics of the president, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance. When reached for comment about his previous donations to Trump rivals, a Jackson campaign spokesperson pivoted to Jones. 

“Self-dealing Burt Jones is recycling old attacks to distract from his failing campaign. From shielding doctors who perform sex change surgeries on minors to protecting Chinese vape manufacturers for campaign cash and family profit, the more Georgians learn about Burt Jones, the more they realize he operates like the kingpin of the Atlanta political mob. That’s why even with the endorsement, Burt Jones is losing,” Dave Abrams, a Jackson campaign spokesperson, told Fox News Digital when reached for comment.

“To be clear, President Trump endorsed Burt Jones for governor,” a former senior Trump White House official told Fox News Digital. “Rick Jackson claiming he is Trump’s ‘favorite’ is downright dishonest.”

Kayla Lott, a campaign spokesperson for Jones, contested the claim from Jackson’s team that he has worked to protect Chinese vape manufacturers, arguing the Lt. Gov.’s efforts on a bill that would have created a directory of authorized nicotine vapor products was about preventing monopolization and promoting free-market solutions. Lott also pointed to Jones’ support for House Bill 54, preventing minors from obtaining sex-change surgeries or drug treatment. 

TRUMP FOE FANI WILLIS BLOCKED YET AGAIN FROM COLLAPSED RICO CASE AS PRESIDENT PUSHES TO CLAW BACK MILLIONS

“Never Trumper Rick Jackson bankrolled candidates running against President Trump and the America First agenda,” Lott said. “Now he’s lying to voters to try and cover it up. As the only Trump-endorsed candidate in this race, Lt. Governor Burt Jones will always stand up for Georgians and stand with our President. Not even Slick Rick can buy his way out of his own record.” 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Even before his support for Bush in 2016, Jackson supported Romney, another Trump rival who has described the president as a “phony” and a “fraud.” FEC filings show that Jackson spent over $100,000 supporting Romney’s presidential campaign and his political action committee, Romney Victory Inc. Trump repeatedly said Romney “choked” in 2012 and “let us all down.”

Jackson, Jones, Carr and Raffensperger will duke it out in their upcoming primary on May 19, with the general election to follow in early November.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is facing backlash for criticizing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for the Pentagon’s spending on luxury items, including food for the miliary, despite similar expenses under former Biden administration Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin.

The top Senate Democrat said Hegseth’s spending in the final month of fiscal year 2025, $93.4 billion, which included millions of dollars on steak, seafood and furniture, could have instead been used to extend the Affordable Care Act.

Social media users panned Schumer online for the remarks, accusing him of cherry-picking a politically convenient area to care about spending, lambasting him for not supporting feeding high-quality meals to military members and citing similar defense spending during the Biden era. 

“Hegseth spent $93 billion in one month – roughly the cost of extending the ACA tax credits for THREE YEARS,” Schumer wrote. “But instead of lowering American’s healthcare costs, Hegseth used millions of taxpayer dollars on fruit baskets, Herman Miller recliners, ice cream machines, Alaskan King Crabs, and a Steinway & Sons grand piano.

TRUMP SAYS HE BELIEVES HEGSETH ‘100%’ ON VENEZUELAN DRUG BOAT STRIKE DENIAL AMID ALLEGATIONS

“A true grifter in every sense of the word.”

During the Biden administration, Austin’s spending nearly mirrored Hegseth’s. Food expenses across administrations went toward feeding members of the military, according to the nonprofit Open the Books, which conducted the spending analyses.

There is no record of Schumer scrutinizing Austin’s spending. Fox News Digital reached out to the senator’s office for comment on the matter.

Defense spending is historically modest compared to past decades, representing a small fraction of the United States’ gross domestic product at 3.7%. Its share of the GDP has decreased significantly since the 1950s, according to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. 

Schumer’s grievance also comes as he leads Senate Democrats’ resistance to funding the Department of Homeland Security, which has been shut down for about a month. Democrats have demanded changes to the department’s deportation policies, which are nonstarters for Republicans. Essential DHS components, like Immigration and Customs Enforcement, remain operational at this stage, but some agencies, like the Transportation Security Administration, are facing pains as workers go unpaid.

Critics slammed Schumer over the comment on social media. 

Fox News analyst Guy Benson called Schumer “the leader of the ‘Learing Center’ fraud party,” in reference to a viral video about welfare fraud scandals in Minnesota, saying Schumer “finally [discovered] one spending line item he’s willing to cut.”

Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, said Schumer “thinks it’s bad that U.S. troops get to eat steak & lobster during deployment” and that the Affordable Care Act is a “failed” plan that makes healthcare more expensive.

“Remember that Democrats would have you eating MREs,” another commenter posted, referring to military-issued “Meals Ready to Eat.”

“Chuck Schumer hates the troops,” Republican communicator Steve Guest wrote. 

A commentary writer for the conservative Washington Examiner said, “You said nothing in 2024.”

Another social media user told Schumer he “should’ve done the 30 seconds of research to find Lloyd Austin’s September 2024 expenditures before posting. Missed your outrage back then.”

Hegseth’s spending in September 2025 was the highest the Pentagon has seen on grants and contracts since September 2008. Austin, however, held the record before that, spending $79.1 billion in September 2024.

The last month of the fiscal year has long been notorious for spending that appears lavish as agencies face pressure to “use it or lose it” so that they can justify keeping their budget for the next year. Contract and grant payment schedules also include September due dates, which can contribute to the spending uptick.

In 2024 under Austin, according to an audit by Open the Books, “the military spent $103.7 million on meat, fish and poultry in September, partially because it ordered raw lobster tail 147 times for $6.1 million. It also dropped $16.6 million on ribeye steak, $6.4 million on salmon and $407,000 on Alaskan king crab.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Similar to Austin, Hegseth spent $6.9 million on lobster tail, Open the Books found. Austin spent about $1.5 million more than Hegseth on ribeye steaks. Hegseth more than quadrupled Austin’s spending on Alaskan king crab, while Austin’s spending on salmon was roughly six times that of Hegseth’s. The food went toward feeding military personnel, the nonprofit noted.

The Biden and Trump administration’s Pentagon expenses saw parallels for other line items, too. Hegseth’s $5.3 million on Apple products is comparable to Austin’s $5.1 million. Both spent more than $1 million on musical instruments. Hegseth tripled Austin’s spending on footrests at about $111,000, according to the data. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office and the Pentagon. 

Michael Allen, a Republican candidate for Colorado attorney general, said he was “shocked” by a Democratic proposal to legalize prostitution, warning it would “open the floodgates” to human trafficking in Colorado.

“It’s hard for me to even decipher why they’ve decided this is the time and place to introduce a radical bill like this,” Allen said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

The bill, which sponsors said would “decriminalize adult commercial sexual activity,” was introduced last month by Democratic state Sens. Nick Hinrichsen and Lisa Cutter and Reps. Lorena García and Rebekah Stewart. 

NEWSOM KNOCKED FOR ‘INSANE’ CALIFORNIA GAS PRICES AFTER BLAMING TRUMP FOR RISING COSTS

According to Allen, the bill would go far beyond Nevada’s law allowing prostitution and would make Colorado “the leader in the entire country on legalized prostitution.”

“I was shocked,” Allen admitted.

“It doesn’t make any sense to me. It would not solve any issue that is happening on the ground in Colorado. It would not help with our huge budget deficit. It will not help our crime deficit,” he said.

“It is, frankly, very appalling to me that we’ve got four members of the left-leaning Democrat legislature who thought it would be a good idea to just open the floodgates and let these criminal actors run free without any repercussions.”

The bill sponsors did not respond to requests for comment. 

A current Colorado district attorney, Allen is one of two Republicans running to flip one of the state’s top offices red. If successful, Allen would be the first Republican elected attorney general in over a decade.

Allen said, despite the state being dominated by Democrats, he believes that, after 10 years of “devastatingly bad criminal justice reform,” voters are ready for a Republican attorney general.

Though the bill appears to have stalled for now in the state legislature, Allen said it demonstrates how the Democratic Party is “not doing the right things on behalf of the people in this state.”

The only outcome he predicts will result should the prostitution bill ever pass is “continued depravity in the state of Colorado.”

DEMOCRAT RISING STAR CALLED OUT FOR ‘CREEPY’ COMMENT ABOUT TRANSGENDER CHILDREN

“Prostitution is a natural outgrowth of human trafficking,” he said. “The links are undeniable.”

He explained that, in Colorado, “You’ve got two major corridors of travel that go through the state,” which, he said, “are major arteries for human trafficking, and we see that in the Denver metro area as a huge hub for human trafficking.”

Colorado is seeing record highs in human trafficking victims and is ranked among the states with the highest numbers of reports, according to data gathered by the Common Sense Institute. Further, according to the study, 79% of Colorado human trafficking crimes were for the purposes of commercial sex. The study also backs Allen’s claim that the trafficking is concentrated in the Denver area.

MODERATE DEMOCRATS LOOKING PAST KAMALA HARRIS FOR 2028, SUGGESTING PARTY ‘START OVER’

As attorney general, Allen vowed to work to finally turn the tables on the rampant human trafficking in Colorado.

“The attorney general’s office has the ability to use the statewide grand jury to investigate those crimes and then also prosecute those crimes and hold people accountable,” he said.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

He believes the upcoming midterm election in Colorado, including his race for attorney general, will be “pivotal.”

“We need to have a better, stronger and more effective posture from our Colorado Attorney General’s Office to combat criminal activity that is, frankly, affecting the entire state of Colorado,” he said.

Sen. John Cornyn’s reversal on scrapping the Senate filibuster is sparking backlash among some supporters of the 60-vote rule, with one leading proponent, former Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., accusing the Texas Republican of ditching his longstanding position for political expediency. 

“When I was a U.S. Senator, there was not another person more committed to keeping the filibuster than Senator John Cornyn,” Manchin wrote in a scathing social media post Thursday. “He understood the incredible political pressure I faced from my former party to get rid of the filibuster and give Democrats complete power — and at the time, he understood why neither party should take our country past this point of no return.”

“These extreme election-year politics that put party power over everything else are why Americans are sick and tired of the duopoly of the two-party system of Democrats and Republicans,” Manchin added.

Cornyn, who is locked in a heated run-off election to win a fifth Senate term, called on Republicans in an op-ed Wednesday to consider ditching the filibuster Wednesday to pass a Trump-backed election bill. The measure, known as the (Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility) SAVE Act, is facing an uphill battle in the Senate due to expected unanimous opposition from Democrats. Under Senate rules, most legislation is subject to a 60-vote threshold to cut off debate and move on to final passage.

The editorial was a notable shift for the Texas Republican, who previously defended the merits of the filibuster.

“For many years, I believed that if the U.S. Senate scrapped the filibuster, Texas and our nation would stand to lose more than we would gain,” Cornyn wrote. “But when the reality on the ground changes, leaders must take stock and adapt.”

Cornyn is currently vying in a two-man race against State Attorney General Ken Paxton, R-Texas, during which President Donald Trump’s endorsement could prove decisive. The president has repeatedly called on Senate Republicans to abolish the 60-vote requirement or pursue a rarely-tried talking filibuster and send the SAVE America Act to his desk. Paxton has previously come out in support of ending the Senate filibuster.

TRUMP, THUNE CLASH ON VOTER ID ULTIMATUM AS GOP REMAINS DIVIDED ON PATH FORWARD

Manchin, a former Democrat-turned-Independent who passed on running for re-election in 2024, alleged that Cornyn personally reached out to him after he defeated Democrats’ gambit to nix the 60-vote rule under former President Joe Biden.

In early 2022, Manchin supplied the critical vote alongside former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Republicans to tank a Democratic-led effort to abolish the filibuster and pass so-called voting rights legislation.

“It’s deeply disappointing to see that Senator Cornyn is now willing to scrap the very rule he once praised and personally thanked me for defending,” Manchin wrote.

At that time, Cornyn urged Democrats to preserve the filibuster while Republicans were serving in the minority.

“Power is fleeting and at some point the shoe will always be on the other foot,” Cornyn said in a floor speech. “Liberal activists may like the idea of nuking the filibuster today, but they’ll soon find themselves ruing the day their party broke the Senate.”

COLLINS BOOSTS REPUBLICAN VOTER ID EFFORT, BUT WON’T SCRAP FILIBUSTER

Cornyn denied Manchin’s account Thursday. He has also argued that his reversal on the Senate filibuster was not aimed at winning Trump’s endorsement. 

“There’s no Joe Manchins left in the Democratic Party and no Kyrsten Sinemas …this is an entirely different circumstance, dealing with Democrats who will not negotiate or consider anything that President Trump or Republicans want,” the Texas Republican told reporters. “We can either accept that or we can fight back, and I think we should fight back.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who has come under significant pressure from Trump and conservative influencers to pass the SAVE America Act, indicated Wednesday that the filibuster is here to stay regardless of Cornyn’s pleas.

“Senator Cornyn is one of 53 Republican senators, and the opposition to nuking the filibuster runs very, very deep in our conference,” Thune told reporters.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Manchin has continued to sing the filibuster’s praises in his retirement, arguing that the 60-vote threshold protects the minority party and forces legislation to be bipartisan.

“The filibuster — the soul of the Senate — has preserved the Senate’s role for nearly 250 years as the institution that cools passions, protects minority voices, and demands consensus,” Manchin said. “America was built on institutions designed to resist political convenience, not surrender to it.”

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

Senate Republicans are accusing Senate Democrats of trying to rip apart the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) piece by piece after again blocking a bid to reopen the agency.

Little has changed in the stalemate over the last 27 days of the partial shutdown, and communication breakdowns are dominating what could be opportunities for negotiations.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus are still demanding stringent reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while Senate Republicans are dug in against their top demands.

‘YOU CAN CRY ABOUT IT’: TEMPERS FLARE IN SENATE AS DHS SHUTDOWN DEBATE ERUPTS, STALEMATE DIGS DEEPER

Throughout the day, Senate Democrats tried to offer individual bills to fund pieces and parts of DHS. A fired-up Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., accused Senate Democrats of trying to rip the agency apart at a moment it was designed for, as the war in Iran has spurred threats of retaliation in the U.S. by sleeper cells.

“And that’s at a time when our homeland is under attack, all warning lights are flashing red, and they want to peel apart, piece by piece, the Department of Homeland Security, the comprehensive department of our government to protect the American people, because they want to stand with illegal immigrant criminals,” Barrasso said.

Schumer declared that Senate Democrats would continue to provide piecemeal funding bills to reopen certain portions of the agency, like the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), while negotiations continued.

Both sides are far apart from finding a compromise, as many lawmakers have acknowledged in the ongoing fight to reopen the agency, but Democrats believe that carving out ICE funding could be a palatable option for Republicans, given that immigration operations were funded with President Donald Trump’s “One 
Big, Beautiful Bill.”

KATIE BRITT BLASTS DEMOCRATS FOR PLAYING ‘POLITICAL GAMES’ WITH SHUTDOWN AMID AIRPORT CHAOS

“We don’t have to tie that disagreement up and use people at the airports and American citizens as hostages,” Schumer said.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., argued that doing so would effectively return Congress to the “defund the police” era and drew a sharp red line against any kind of carveout proposal from Senate Democrats.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who has offered a DHS funding bill without ICE or Customs and Border Patrol, told Fox News Digital that criticism was “not true.”

“It was funded by the [‘One Big, Beautiful Bill,’] and we have told them they’re not going to fund ICE until there are reforms to ICE,” Murray said. “We have made that clear. We put them out there, and they are pretending to just ignore that.”

KRISTI NOEM’S FIRING FAILS TO SWAY DEMOCRATS AS DHS SHUTDOWN DRAGS ON

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., shot back that Republicans have tried on several occasions to temporarily fund the agency with short-term, two-week continuing resolutions (CRs) that Democrats have blocked.

“I assume the Democrat leader is aware of the fact that we have tried repeatedly to fund everything temporarily to allow the negotiations over the ICE budget to continue,” Thune said.

While several attempts from both sides were made to either fund the agency in chunks or reopen it temporarily, each was blocked.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., who tried to force a vote on a standalone funding bill for TSA as lines at airports around the country swell while security agents go without pay, told Fox News Digital that Republicans’ move to block her bill showed they “don’t care about their constituents, the traveling public, and the folks who work there who are not part of this discussion or this argument.”

“It says the Republican priorities are just for Donald Trump and no one else,” Rosen said.

Pentagon officials on Tuesday told legislators during a closed-door briefing that they estimated that the cost of the Iran war was more than $11.3 billion during the initial six days of the conflict, the New York Times reported, citing three unnamed individuals familiar with the briefing.

That estimate did not encompass many expenses tied to the effort, such as buildup of military assets and personnel prior to the first strikes, the outlet added.

Other reports indicate that the briefing involved senators.

A Senate Armed Services Committee staffer, who noted that he could only speak for the minority staff and Ranking Member Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., referred Fox News Digital to a March 10 letter that the senator sent to War Secretary Pete Hegseth, pressing for information about the costs of the war.

US DESTROYS AGING IRANIAN WARPLANES, VIDEO SHOWS

“Since the initial strikes on February 28, 2026, how much has the Department spent on these operations? How much are the daily costs of these operations? What are the costs to readiness? How much funding does the Department need to replenish munitions and aircraft combat losses?” Reed asked in part of the letter.

No comment was provided by the GOP side of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Fox News Digital also reached out to the Department of War and the House Armed Services Committee Republican communications office on Thursday.

The war-related outlays come as the ever-expanding U.S. national debt nears the $39 trillion mark.

And while President Donald Trump has been waging the costly war in conjunction with Israel, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, Americans have been seeing a significant surge in gas prices at home.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money. BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stoping [sic] an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World. I won’t ever let that happen!” Trump said in a Thursday Truth Social post.

A massive bipartisan swell advanced a Trump-backed affordable housing package out of the Senate on Thursday, but its fate in the House is up in the air.

The bill, renamed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act to incorporate a previous Senate housing bill that stalled last year, easily sailed through the upper chamber, given that many lawmakers support the wide-ranging slate of measures designed to increase the supply of affordable housing.

In its original form, the legislation was primarily intended to help first-time homebuyers and lower-income Americans enter the housing market or gain access to more affordable housing options.

BIPARTISAN HOUSING PUSH ADVANCES, BUT TRUMP-BACKED INVESTOR BAN FACES RESISTANCE

The Senate tweaked the legislation, adding a ban on institutional investors sought by President Donald Trump, who earlier this year signed an executive order barring the practice. During his State of the Union address last month, Trump urged Congress to codify the ban and said, “We want homes for people, not for corporations.”

That provision gave some heartburn, notably to Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and several industry groups, who warned that the way it was designed — forcing owners of 350 or more units to sell after seven years — would kneecap the build-to-rent market and harm the supply of rentals throughout the country.

That was not enough to slow the bill down in the Senate, but Trump’s declaration that he wouldn’t sign any bills unless the Senate passed voter ID legislation, along with House Republicans grumbling over changes to the bill, could spell trouble ahead.

Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., co-lead of the House’s version of the bill, told Fox News Digital, “It seems to me that there are outstanding concerns with the Senate’s housing bill as currently drafted.”

HOUSE PASSES BIPARTISAN HOUSING BILL AS TRUMP ZEROES IN ON AFFORDABILITY CRISIS

He echoed Schatz’s concern about the build-to-rent supply consequences and added that the bill was “intended to cut costs, but the Senate removed important bipartisan House provisions that would have slashed barriers to building more homes.”

“Their process is still ongoing, and I am holding out hope for some fixes, but time runs short,” Flood said. “Given the bill’s current state, I think a conference may be the most viable path forward.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he believes that once the bill makes it through the Senate, “the White House will be wanting to work with our House counterparts to try and get it passed over there and get it on the President’s desk.”

BIPARTISAN PLAN AIMS TO MAKE THE AMERICAN DREAM AFFORDABLE AGAIN FOR MILLIONS OF FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS

“We know we’ve added some things to the bill here in the Senate that were designed to make it more palatable to the House. I know there are other issues they would like to address in it, some of the banking issues too, but I think this is, by and large, a housing bill.”

“So, we think we have really put together a strong bill,” Thune continued. “It’s something that hasn’t been done in over a decade.”

It’s a product of negotiations between Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the chair of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., its top Democrat.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The pair argued that the changes made should make the legislation more palatable to their House counterparts.

“The package includes the vast majority of the Senate’s unanimously supported ROAD to Housing Act, incorporates bipartisan ideas from the House, and takes a good first step to rein in corporate landlords that are squeezing families out of homeownership,” Warren said earlier this month. “Congress should pass this package and continue working on further legislation to combat our nation’s housing crisis.”