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Supreme Court Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Brett Kavanaugh had a dispute over the high court’s approach to its emergency docket in a rare, candid discussion during an event Monday night.

Jackson, a Biden appointee, signaled that the high court’s willingness to side with President Donald Trump most of the time when it comes to the emergency docket, sometimes known as the “shadow docket,” was a “problem.” The liberal justice is one of three, and all have frequently sided against Trump in emergency decisions, which have often broken 6-3 in favor of the president.

“The administration is making new policy … and then insisting the new policy take effect immediately, before the challenge is decided,” Jackson said, according to reports from The Associated Press and NBC News. “This uptick in the court’s willingness to get involved in cases on the emergency docket is a real unfortunate problem.”

SUPREME COURT’S EMERGENCY DOCKET DELIVERS TRUMP STRING OF WINS AS FINAL TESTS LOOM

Jackson said: “It’s not serving the court or this country well.”

Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee, countered that the Supreme Court’s approach to emergency requests was not unique to the Trump administration and that the high court handled the Biden administration the same way despite there being fewer interim requests under the former president.

Kavanaugh said presidents “push the envelope” more with executive orders because Congress is passing less legislation.

“Some are lawful, some are not,” Kavanaugh said, later adding, “None of us enjoy this.”

The pair spoke in a courtroom during an annual lecture honoring the late Judge Thomas Flannery of the U.S. District Court of Washington, D.C., while several federal judges, including high-profile ones like Judge James Boasberg, looked on.

Jackson’s criticism is not new; she has been perhaps the most vocal dissenter in emergency docket cases.

In August, she lambasted the Supreme Court majority for “lawmaking” from the bench in a dissent to an emergency decision to temporarily allow the National Institutes of Health’s cancellation of about $738 million in grant money.

“This is Calvinball jurisprudence with a twist. Calvinball has only one rule: There are no fixed rules. We seem to have two: that one, and this Administration always wins,” Jackson wrote.

The Trump administration has faced hundreds of lawsuits and adverse rulings in the lower courts, and the Department of Justice’s solicitor general’s office, which represents the government before the Supreme Court, often does not elevate cases to that level.

JACKSON’S SCATHING DISSENT LEVELS PARTISAN CHARGE AT COLLEAGUES AFTER HIGH-PROFILE RULING

Such emergency requests allow the government to bypass the lengthy court process, involving extensive briefings and oral arguments, to seek immediate relief in the face of restraining orders and injunctions in the lower courts.

The Trump administration has brought about 30 emergency applications to the Supreme Court and secured victories about 80% of the time, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

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Through the emergency docket, the Supreme Court has greenlit Trump’s mass firings and curtailed nationwide injunctions. The high court has also cleared the way for deportations and immigration stops viewed as controversial by critics of the administration. The justices have also found that the government can, for now, discharge transgender service members from the military.

But Trump has not won out all the time by taking this route. The justices required the administration to give more notice to alleged illegal immigrants being deported under the Alien Enemies Act and agreed with a lower court that the president improperly federalized the National Guard as part of his immigration crackdown in Chicago.

President Donald Trump, who rode promises of affordability back to the White House, is now confronting Iran-driven volatility that’s undermining that message as fuel costs rise nationwide — and putting fresh pressure on Republicans heading into the midterms.

With the Iran conflict rattling oil markets and raising fears of supply disruptions, gas prices are climbing again, squeezing Americans already worn down by inflation.

This week, oil prices surged past $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022 as fallout from the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran continued to roil global markets and investors priced in the risk of tighter supply. 

With oil higher, gasoline and diesel prices are rising fast.

TRAVEL IS ABOUT TO GET MORE EXPENSIVE AS IRAN CONFLICT SPARKS JET FUEL CRUNCH

The national average gas price climbed to $3.53 per gallon, up 59 cents over the past week, according to GasBuddy. Diesel prices also jumped, with the national average up 97 cents to $4.72 per gallon.

With control of Congress at stake, uneven gas price spikes are becoming a new midterm flashpoint, especially in hard-hit battleground states. 

The steepest week-over-week increases were in Indiana (up 58 cents), Florida (up 57 cents), Michigan (up 55 cents), Ohio (up 54 cents), and California (up 51 cents).

The lowest average prices were in Kansas ($2.90), Oklahoma ($2.95) and Arkansas ($2.98), while the highest were in California ($5.14), Washington ($4.58), and Hawaii ($4.33) — a regional divide that could sharpen midterm attacks over energy costs and inflation.

THE UNLIKELY TOOL TRUMP IS EYEING TO TACKLE RISING OIL PRICES AMID THE IRAN CONFLICT

That kind of pocketbook pressure is exactly what Democrats have been eager to exploit. Last fall, Democrats leaned heavily on affordability themes in state and local elections, and it paid off.

In places like Virginia, New York and New Jersey, where voters have been squeezed by high housing costs and utility bills, Democratic candidates seized on Trump’s early economic moves, including his trade policy, to argue that his policies were worsening the affordability crisis rather than easing it.

They promised to rein in energy costs, expand affordable housing and protect middle-class wages, a message that resonated with voters.

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With the ongoing conflict driving gasoline prices higher, the White House is weighing steps to protect shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz and keep prices from climbing further. That waterway is critical to global energy supply.

The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage between Iran and Oman, carries roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day and about one-fifth of the global supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG). 

When conflict flares in the region, even the threat of disruption can rattle markets because so much of the world’s energy moves through that single corridor.

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Asked about the risk of disruptions, Trump said Monday evening he would keep the route open and threatened retaliation if Iran tried to interfere.

“I will not allow a terrorist regime to hold the world hostage and attempt to stop the globe’s oil supply. And if Iran does anything to do that, they’ll get hit at a much, much harder level,” Trump said during a press conference in Florida.

“In the long run, oil supplies will be dramatically more secure without the threat of Iranian ships, drones, missiles,” he added.

One week into the war with Iran, U.S. officials say American and Israeli forces are moving toward “complete control” of Iranian airspace — clearing the way for deeper strikes, a broader target list and a conflict that appears to be expanding rather than winding down.

In briefings this week, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine described what they called near-uncontested airspace over key corridors, a shift that allows sustained bombing operations deep inside Iran. 

“We are winning with an overwhelming and unrelenting focus on our objectives,” Hegseth said in a press briefing Tuesday morning. 

AFTER THE STRIKES, HOW WOULD THE US SECURE IRAN’S ENRICHED URANIUM?

Caine said U.S. forces have now struck more than 5,000 targets in the first 10 days of operations, including dozens of deeply buried missile launchers hit with 2,000-pound penetrating bombs.

The message from Washington is one of overwhelming military advantage. 

But the broader picture, rising oil prices, expanding drone warfare, strikes on energy and civilian infrastructure, and regional spillover touching NATO territory, suggests a conflict that is growing in scope even as U.S. officials project confidence in its trajectory.

Leadership hardens in Tehran

Amid the intensifying conflict, Iran’s Assembly of Experts has selected Mojtaba Khamenei — son of the recently deceased Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — as the country’s new supreme leader, consolidating authority within the clerical establishment and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps at a pivotal moment.

The succession, only the second since the 1979 revolution, signals continuity rather than recalibration in Iran’s posture. Mojtaba Khamenei had long been viewed as a potential successor and is closely aligned with hard-line factions inside Iran’s security apparatus.

President Donald Trump criticized the selection, saying the leadership change would not alter U.S. objectives and suggesting it reflects the same entrenched power structure Washington has sought to weaken. The administration has made clear that military operations will continue regardless of who occupies the supreme leader’s office.

Rather than opening a diplomatic off-ramp, the transition appears to reinforce the likelihood of a prolonged confrontation.

‘Uncontested airspace’

Hegseth said Tuesday that the U.S. and Israel had achieved “total air dominance” over Iran and were “winning decisively with brutal efficiency.” 

“That doesn’t mean they won’t be able to project,” Hegseth said. “It doesn’t mean our air defenders still don’t have to defend. They do. But that is strong evidence of degradation.” 

“Most of their higher-end surface-to-air missile systems are not factors at this point in time,” Caine said. 

“Fighters are moving deeper with relative impunity,” he added, noting there is “always some risk.”

Adm. Brad Cooper, head of the U.S. military’s Central Command, also reported that Iranian ballistic missile launches had dropped by roughly 90% from the opening days of the conflict, while drone attacks had fallen by more than 80%, attributing the decline to sustained strikes on launchers and infrastructure.

Still, officials have cautioned that air superiority does not mean every threat can be stopped. Iranian missiles and drones continue to be launched, and some have required interception across the region.

A shift in munitions and message

Hegseth said the campaign is transitioning from expensive standoff weapons like Tomahawk cruise missiles to 500-, 1,000- and 2,000-pound precision gravity bombs — a shift he said reflects confidence that Iranian surface-to-air missile systems have been suppressed in key areas.

He described the U.S. stockpile of such bombs as “nearly unlimited” and warned that Washington’s timeline “is ours and ours alone to control.”

The emphasis on gravity bombs is more than rhetorical. It signals a move toward sustained, high-tempo operations designed not only to hit active threats but to degrade Iran’s ability to regenerate its missile force.

US SIGNALS READINESS TO ESCORT TANKERS THROUGH HORMUZ AS TRAFFIC THINS, BUT NO MISSION HAS BEEN LAUNCHED

Drones redefine the fight

Even as missile launches decline, unmanned systems remain central to the war.

Iran has leaned heavily on drones — including Shahed-style loitering munitions — to strike energy facilities, pressure U.S. bases and disrupt shipping near the Strait of Hormuz. Compared to ballistic missiles, drones are cheaper and easier to deploy in volume, allowing Tehran to sustain pressure despite losses elsewhere.

In response, the United States has deployed a Ukraine-tested counter-drone interceptor system to the region. Ukrainian specialists, drawing on experience defending against Iranian-designed drones used in the Russia-Ukraine war, are assisting in strengthening base protection.

The drone fight underscores a key dynamic: while U.S. forces may dominate the skies, lower-cost unmanned systems can still impose risk and strain air defenses.

Energy at risk

The Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil and major liquefied natural gas shipments transit — has become one of the most consequential flashpoints of the war.

Drone attacks and Iranian threats sharply have reduced commercial traffic, driving up insurance costs and forcing some vessels to reroute. Oil prices have climbed above $100 per barrel amid fears that disruptions could persist.

Israeli strikes on Iranian oil facilities, and Iran’s retaliatory targeting of regional energy infrastructure, signal that energy assets are now active targets. Reports of strikes affecting water and desalination plants further suggest the war is expanding beyond strictly military sites.

If instability in Hormuz stretches for weeks, analysts warn, global energy markets could tighten quickly, translating into higher gasoline prices and renewed inflation pressure in the United States.

Trump warned Monday that Iran will be hit “20 times harder” than it already has if it threatens ships in the Strait. 

NATO proximity and regional backlash

The war has edged closer to NATO territory. Two Iranian ballistic missiles were intercepted near Turkish airspace, raising the risk of broader alliance involvement.

Iran has also struck Azerbaijan, drawing sharp condemnation from Baku and angering Turkey, Azerbaijan’s closest ally. Notably, Iran has not seen a unified regional bloc mobilize in its defense, highlighting its relative diplomatic isolation even as it escalates militarily.

Industrial mobilization

Despite Hegseth’s assertion that certain offensive munitions are plentiful, sustaining air and missile defense operations is resource-intensive, and inventories of high-end interceptors were already under strain before the conflict began.

Iran has attempted to degrade radar systems tied to platforms such as THAAD and Patriot batteries. While U.S. commanders say launch rates have declined sharply, interceptors are expensive and produced in limited quantities.

Trump convened major defense contractors last week to press for accelerated production of interceptors and related systems. Expanding output could require congressional funding if the campaign continues at its current pace.

The battlefield now extends beyond launch sites and into supply chains.

Rising casualties

The Pentagon has confirmed seven U.S. service members have been killed and eight seriously injured in Iranian strikes.

In Iran, the U.S. claims over 50 top Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, have been taken out. Iran claims more than 1,000 people have been killed in the strikes and approximately 175 people, including many schoolchildren, were killed in an attack on a girls’ elementary school in Minab. 

No group has claimed responsibility, and investigations are ongoing.

The incident has intensified scrutiny over civilian protection as the conflict widens.

No quick off-ramp

A little more than one week in, the trajectory points toward expansion rather than containment.

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U.S. officials project confidence in air dominance and sustained strike capacity. Iranian leadership has consolidated under a hard-line successor. Energy markets are volatile. Drone warfare continues to test defenses. The conflict has brushed NATO territory and struck civilian infrastructure.

The central question is how far the conflict will spread, and whether military momentum can outpace the economic and geopolitical costs mounting across the region.

Two Democratic sanctuary-state governors signaled they won’t let Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem quietly shift into her new diplomatic role after a year of turbulent immigration enforcement operations in their states.

President Donald Trump announced his intention to replace Noem with Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and transition her into a new role as special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, becoming part of a coalition of Latin American countries the president announced Saturday that will collaborate on drug cartel crime interdiction.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker posted a video statement addressing Noem following the departure announcement, telling her “don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

“Here’s your legacy: Corruption and chaos. Parents and children tear-gassed. Moms and nurses, U.S. citizens getting shot in the face. Now that you’re gone, don’t think you get to just walk away,” Pritzker said.

BORDER CZAR HOMAN MEETS WITH MINNESOTA OFFICIALS FOLLOWING IMMIGRATION OPERATION TENSIONS

“I guarantee you, you will still be held accountable.”

When asked for more specifics on what his comment meant and whether it presaged future investigations or hearings in Springfield to which Noem would be subpoenaed, Pritzker’s office shared a fuller statement with Fox News Digital that alluded to such consequences.

“From excessive uses of force near homes, schools, and hospitals to tear-gassing entire neighborhoods, Kristi Noem oversaw the use of military-style tactics against our own citizens and neighbors,” Pritzker said in a statement.

“It is long past time she steps down from her role, but we cannot ever let that excuse her from justice or accountability. Illinois will continue demanding answers and exposing the unacceptable conduct harming Americans that happened on her watch,” the Hyatt Hotels heir added.

The document went on to say that Pritzker launched the Illinois Accountability Commission earlier this year to keep public records of federal law enforcement conduct in the Land of Lincoln and to recommend corrective actions to “hold the federal government accountable.”

Pritzker requested that the new commission specifically examine the impact of Noem’s and other Trump administration officials’ conduct and decisions surrounding Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago.

SCHUMER WEAPONIZES MULLIN NOMINATION TO DEMAND DHS OVERHAUL, SAYS ‘ROT’ GOES BEYOND NOEM

He also expressly cited three key moments from Noem’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing — including fellow Illini Richard Durbin’s line of questioning surrounding the secretary branding certain U.S.-citizen agitators “domestic terrorists.”

He further flagged pointed questions from Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., about the shooting of her dog and a multimillion-dollar ad contract that reportedly infuriated Trump.

Fox News Digital reached out to Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Oak Brook, for any information regarding potential hearings but did not ultimately receive any confirmation by press time.

The Pritzker-appointed chairman of the commission, a retired Northern District of Illinois federal judge originally put on the bench by President Bill Clinton, appeared to embrace the new role.

“My three decades of legal experience has always shown that the statements and related actions of parties show motive and intent. This situation is no different,” Judge Ruben Castillo said in a statement.

However, a DHS spokesperson threw cold water on Pritzker’s panel, in comments to Fox News Digital late Monday.

“What Governor Pritzker is trying to do is unlawful, and he knows it. Federal officials acting in the course of their duties are immune from liability under state law,” the spokesperson said.

“Politicians are laying blame at the feet of law enforcement instead of looking in the mirror at how they have fueled the hatred and violent attacks we are seeing against federal law enforcement officers.”

The spokesperson said most Americans find ICE agents heroic, in contrast to the liberal billionaire’s view.

They also shared with Fox News Digital a slew of recent captures of illegal immigrants with criminal convictions that would not be off the streets if officials in Springfield had their way.

Alfonso Batalla-Garcia, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico convicted of homicide, sex assault, kidnapping, and kidnapping an adult to sexually assault, was recently captured by ICE, the spokesperson said.

Another detained Mexican national, Leonardo Ignot-Osto, had a prior conviction for abducting a child.

A third — Luis Chavez — was found to be a member of the Latin Kings gang and had convictions for battery and gun charges.

Angkham Souvongkham, a criminal illegal alien from Laos, was picked up with a lengthy rap sheet including domestic violence, assault, larceny, burglary, weapon offenses, and terroristic threats.

Meanwhile, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz separately warned Noem she may need a ticket to St. Paul in the near future as well.

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Walz told former Obama press secretary Jennifer Psaki last week on MS NOW that “there needs to be” accountability for Noem.

“I think that that’s one of our founding principles, that no one’s above the law, and they’re accountable,” Walz said.

“I would just say at this time that former Secretary Noem should probably get used to spending more time in Minnesota, because I have a pretty good feeling in the future she may be doing that because we have got to get accountability.”

Walz demanded that senators stall Mullin’s confirmation until Minnesota officials are allowed to collaborate in investigations into the agent-involved shooting deaths of anti-enforcement agitators Alex Pretti and Renee Good.

“Don’t vote for anything until they let us be part of the investigation into these murders,” he said, addressing senators, according to the Hill.

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

President Donald Trump said he is “not happy” with Iran’s choice of a new supreme leader but that early results from Operation Epic Fury have been “way beyond expectation.”

Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was installed as the next supreme leader.

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“I don’t believe he can live in peace,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Some House Republicans are getting worried over the prospect of colleagues quiet-quitting after losing their primary races as election season heats up, threatening to whittle down the GOP’s already perilously slim majority.

House Republicans will likely only be able to lose two votes on any party-line measure after a special election in a deep-red Georgia district this week. 

Some told Fox News Digital they’re worried, however, that their colleagues could begin missing key votes before the end of their terms if their ambitions for higher office do not go as planned.

“It’s a real problem,” one House Republican who was granted anonymity to speak candidly told Fox News Digital. “Is one of them going to be gone for his runoff? Will another not come back at all because he’s mad? Is another one not going to come back because he lost?”

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Asked if such absences could translate to Republicans losing a functional majority in the House, that GOP lawmaker said, “We could, that’s why everybody’s nervous about it.”

In the Lone Star State alone, two House Republicans are guaranteed not to be returning next year after last week’s primaries. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, lost his bid to unseat Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who is headed for a runoff with state Attorney General Ken Paxton. And Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, faced an upset against a primary challenger running to his right, conservative state lawmaker Steve Toth.

Neither has indicated they will be skipping House votes for the remainder of the term due to those losses, but Hunt’s attendance record has already generated frustration among his colleagues.

Aside from them, there are 18 other House Republicans currently vying for different positions in upcoming primaries and general elections.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., a high-ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, told Fox News Digital that he too was worried about GOP attendance as election season heats up.

“Our margins are as razor-thin as they can possibly be, so we need everybody to show up,” he said. “So yeah, that could potentially be an issue. I hope it isn’t.”

Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital, “I think it’s a concern.”

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“I hope that they recognize the moment. There’s still a lot of lane left in this Congress, and people have put their faith in their elected representatives to get the job done. So they need to be here,” Fry said.

But the election season starting up is not the first time this Congress — or even this year — that worries about the GOP’s margins have flared up.

For example, a small group of Republicans was able to join with Democrats to successfully force a vote on extending expired Obamacare subsidies that the GOP largely opposed. And just last month, President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy faced a public setback when a similarly small number of GOP lawmakers voted with Democrats to rebuke it.

REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN ACCUSED OF AFFAIR WITH LATE AIDE TO FACE RUNOFF ELECTION

Neither of those measures will likely be taken up in the Republican-held Senate, but it’s a testament to the slim margins Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is presiding over.

And aside from the legislative setbacks seen earlier this year, the sudden, tragic death of one House Republican and abrupt resignation of another have served to further whittle down the conference’s numbers.

Car accidents and other health problems have also at times forced the House to amend its schedule. It’s prompted House GOP leaders to warn their lawmakers to be as cautious as possible when outside of Washington.

“The margins are really, really close. A few of us were in a car the other day, driving … if that became an accident, that would have tipped the scale,” Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., told Fox News Digital back in January. “It’s a big deal to change power outside of a normal election cycle.”

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House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told reporters last week that attendance is “always a concern” but was optimistic about navigating through it.

“We’ve had elections along the way, and yet we’re still able to move our agenda,” Scalise said. “We track people that have surgeries, tell us in advance, and we work around that. But at the end of the day, we’ve been able to move President Trump’s agenda and our agenda, and get the things done for the American people that we ran on.”

It’s Primary Day in Republican-dominated Mississippi, where House and Senate nomination contests are being held in the Deep South state.

But a special congressional election 200 miles to the east in battleground Georgia to fill a vacant GOP-held congressional seat will likely grab much more national attention Tuesday.

The race is to fill the seat in Georgia’s solidly red 14th Congressional District — in the northwest part of the state — left vacant when MAGA firebrand Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene stepped down at the beginning of January. Greene quit Congress with a year left in her term, after a very public falling out with President Donald Trump.

And the special election is being held as Republicans cling to a razor-thin 218–214 majority in the House. The GOP cannot afford any surprises and allow the Democrats to pull an upset in the special election, in a district Trump carried by a whopping 37 points in his 2024 presidential victory.

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Twenty-two candidates initially filed to run for the vacant seat, but that number is down to a still crowded field of 17 contenders, after a handful bowed out of the contest.

All candidates, regardless of party affiliation, are on the same ballot. And If no candidate tops 50% of the vote in the primary, the top two contenders will advance to a runoff April 7.

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLL SAYS ABOUT WHICH PARTY HAS THE MIDTERM EDGE

Trump is backing Clay Fuller, one of the 12 Republican candidates in the race. 

Trump teamed up with Fuller, the district attorney for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit, during a stop in the district last month. Speaking ahead of the president at an event in Rome, Georgia, Fuller described himself as a “MAGA warrior.

Also running is former state Sen. Colton Moore, a vocal Trump supporter who enjoys plenty of support from the far right.

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Among the three Democrats running for the seat is retired Army Brigadier Gen. Shaw Harris, the Democratic nominee who lost to Greene in 2024. With $4.3 million raised, Harris is the fundraising champion among all 17 candidates.

While Fuller is considered the favorite thanks to Trump’s endorsement, with just three Democrats in the race, Harris has a shot of securing one of the two runoff spots no candidate tops the 50% threshold in the primary.

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In Mississippi, Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith faces a GOP primary challenge — as she seeks a second full six-year term — from physician and novelist Sarah Adlakha.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi’s longest-serving current member of Congress and the only Democrat in the delegation, faces two primary challengers as he seeks an 18th two-year term in the House.

Virginia counties and several independent cities are pushing back against an April special election that could reshape nearly every Republican-held congressional district in the state before voters next head to the polls.

If approved, the referendum would trigger a mid-cycle redrawing of the state’s congressional map, potentially altering the balance of power in Virginia’s U.S. House delegation. If rejected, the existing map would remain in place and ongoing legal challenges surrounding the measure could be rendered moot.

In Patrick County — named for “Give me liberty or give me death,” Gov. Patrick Henry — local officials have mounted an early formal challenge to the vote, backed by lawmakers and attorneys from across the state. The county passed a resolution delaying early voting until just days before the April 21 election, as the redistricting amendment continues to be tested in court in Tazewell County.

Patrick County and others argue that the Virginia Constitution requires at least 90 days to pass before early voting can begin on a ballot measure. They claim Democrats improperly used a 2024 special legislative session — which was never formally closed — to fast-track the redistricting amendment onto the November ballot.

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Following Patrick’s lead, officials in Campbell, Charlotte, Spotsylvania, Prince George, Scott, Washington, Floyd and Roanoke counties, along with the independent city of Lynchburg, are considering, pursuing or voting on similar measures, according to Del. Wren Williams, who is also an attorney and who told Fox News Digital he is both politically and legally laser-focused on the situation.

Williams, who represents Patrick, Floyd and Carroll counties and the independent city of Galax in Virginia’s deep-red, mountainous southwest, said that from an apolitical perspective, the resolutions boil down to fiscal responsibility.

“Who would vote against ‘restoring fairness’? That is where I think [Democrats] have overstepped and overplayed their hand. When I was a young attorney, an older attorney told me one time, pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered,” he said in an exclusive interview.

Patrick County will spend about $15,000 to hold a special election, and the ongoing legal uncertainty and political gamesmanship over the issue in Richmond do not create a stable environment for municipalities to expend such resources, he said.

Tazewell County Judge Jack Hurley Jr. ruled in favor of Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, in the GOP’s procedural challenge, declaring the redistricting amendment “void ab initio,” or invalid from the start.

The commonwealth appealed, and the Virginia Supreme Court ruled the referendum could stand while it reviews the case. Separately, the RNC has sued the Virginia Department of Elections again via Tazewell, and Hurley again blocked the election on grounds that Virginia Democrats’ ballot question language of “[vote yes to] restore fairness” is misleading.

RNC SUES TO STOP DEMOCRATS’ VIRGINIA REDISTRICTING PUSH

Senate President L. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, has repeatedly claimed the referendum’s mantle, responding in often profane ways to critics, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who took issue with the 10-1 Democratic bent of the new map.

“You all started it and we f[—]ing finished it,” Lucas said in response to Cruz calling it an abuse of power and affront to democracy.

Williams said that from both a fiscal and legal perspective, with all of the above going on, counties like his own are in the right.

The effort was publicly backed by Virginia Beach attorney Tim Anderson, a former state legislator, until the state Supreme Court threw a legal wrench in the works late last week.

Anderson has posted numerous video comments and documents on his social media, including a draft resolution for counties to use.

Rockingham County, which surrounds Harrisonburg, put forward a similarly crafted resolution last week wherein officials stated, “congressional redistricting has significant consequences for the ability of communities to elect representatives who understand and are familiar with their values, priorities and regional needs.”

However, after a Lynchburg judge reportedly ruled he could not intervene in the election process because the gears were already in motion, Anderson, who represented Lynchburg officials, told the Virginia Cardinal News he is not appealing and has pivoted to suggesting all critical counties move forward with the election.

In a video message on Thursday, Anderson warned that given the new ruling, all counties must now follow the Supreme Court.

THIS CRUCIAL STATE IS THE LATEST BATTLEGROUND IN REDISTRICTING WAR BETWEEN TRUMP AND DEMOCRATS

“If you are a local official… in a jurisdiction that entered a resolution that said you’re not going to do the elections, you need to reverse immediately. The Virginia Supreme Court has made its decision, you are bound by it,” he said.

“Go early vote. There’s nothing else to do other than to vote. If we lose, there are a ton of legal arguments that can be made [then],” Anderson added, further suggesting he will again be a part of any postmortem arguments.

Over just a few days, yards signs pleading with fellow Virginians to vote “NO” have cropped up all around, in places like Amherst, Stephenson, Buena Vista and beyond.

Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., whose district runs from the West Virginia line at Roanoke to Botetourt County north of Roanoke, echoed those proponents’ concerns in comments to Fox News Digital.

Cline said his current district would be split into five pieces, many of which would originate in culturally disparate Arlington, saying it strips the singular voice in Washington from Virginia’s top agricultural region.

Another wrinkle was thrown in Wednesday when the Virginia Supreme Court stayed Hurley’s ruling regarding the election moving forward and said it will allow it to proceed while making clear it is not issuing a ruling on the merits of the case, which it maintains will come a few days after the election, according to the Virginia Scope.

“It is the process, not the outcome, of this effort that we may ultimately have to address. Issuing an injunction to keep Virginians from the polls is not the proper way to make this decision,” the court ruled, according to the Scope.

As early voting began Friday, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones issued a legal opinion opposing the counties’ efforts.

REDISTRICTING FIGHT ERUPTS AS MARYLAND DEMOCRATS MOVE TO REDRAW LONE GOP HOUSE SEAT

“Local governing bodies cannot use their own independent constitutional interpretations to justify interfering with state-mandated elections,” Jones said, according to the Staunton News-Leader.

Jones claimed the counties don’t have any authority to prevent “election officials from performing their statutory duties,” alleging state supremacy and arguing that any disruptive resolutions would have “no legal effect.”

Prior to Jones’ opinion, Williams told Fox News Digital he understands the “lawfare” at play, saying he’s worked with election-law suits in the past and spoke of a “catch-me-if-you-can” dynamic of courts denying or delaying decisions until the situation is mooted so that they don’t actually have to issue a final ruling.

“If [the redistricting amendment] passes, they’re going to say, ‘the majority has spoken.’ And so that is my concern…” he said.

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Looking ahead, Williams noted many of the critical counties are holding their next board meetings in the coming days, and suggested the fight may not be over just yet.

A Republican source told Fox News Digital that Democrats “bet the farm” on the redistricting amendment and that “if it fails on the notice requirement, so do their other three amendments,” including the map redraw.

FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans are pressing the Trump administration for answers over whether China is exploiting U.S. birthright citizenship and visa programs in a U.S. territory to secure long-term influence inside the United States.

In a letter sent Monday to outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., and 32 other GOP members raise concerns that so-called “birth tourism” and visa-waiver policies in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands could be leveraged by Chinese nationals in ways that present national security risks.

Noem will leave her position at Homeland Security at the end of the month.

“American citizenship is a sacred trust — not a loophole to be exploited,” Roy said. “When foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party can leverage birth tourism and visa-less programs to gain influence within our borders, we must restore integrity to our immigration system and defend the sovereignty of our Republic.” 

Tiffany argued that “Communist China has exploited ‘birth tourism’ by sending women to the Northern Mariana Islands solely to give birth and secure U.S. citizenship for their children,” adding that “it is time to close this loophole, end the abuse, and protect our national security.”

TRUMP SAYS SUPREME COURT RULING AGAINST BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ORDER WOULD BENEFIT CHINA

The Northern Mariana Islands is a U.S. territory in the Pacific, and like births in any U.S. state, children born there are granted American citizenship under the 14th Amendment, even though the territory operates under certain distinct immigration rules.

The lawmakers cite reports estimating that between 750,000 and 1.5 million Chinese nationals have obtained U.S. citizenship through birthright policies and birth tourism, though federal agencies have not publicly confirmed those figures. 

In their letter, Roy and Tiffany ask the Departments of Homeland Security, State and Interior to provide data on how many children have been born since 2009 to at least one Chinese national parent, how many have reached voting age and how many are registered to vote in the United States. 

They also ask whether any such individuals have documented ties to the Chinese Communist Party and request entry figures for Chinese nationals under Northern Mariana-specific immigration programs. 

Under the 14th Amendment, individuals born on U.S. soil are generally granted citizenship at birth. The debate has centered on whether foreign nationals travel to the United States specifically to give birth so their children will obtain citizenship — a practice commonly referred to as birth tourism.

Federal prosecutors in recent years have brought criminal cases against operators of birth tourism businesses, particularly in California, where organizers were convicted of visa fraud and conspiracy for helping foreign nationals misrepresent their travel intentions in order to give birth in the United States.

The Northern Mariana Islands long have operated under distinct immigration frameworks. In 2009, the Obama administration implemented a categorical parole program allowing certain Chinese nationals to enter without obtaining a traditional U.S. tourist visa. The Biden administration in 2024 finalized a rule creating the Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program (EVS-TAP) for the Northern Mariana Islands, which allows certain Chinese nationals to enter the territory visa-free for short stays.

The lawmakers argue those policies created incentives for birth tourism in Saipan, the capital of the islands, pointing to reports that births to foreign visitors increased sharply after the 2009 changes.

NOEM BACKS SAVE AMERICA ACT, SLAMS ‘RADICAL LEFT’ OPPOSITION TO VOTER IDS AND PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP

They warn that once U.S.-born children turn 21, they can petition for lawful permanent resident status for their parents, potentially opening additional immigration pathways.

While the letter raises concerns that such individuals could eventually participate in U.S. elections, it does not cite evidence that large numbers are currently registered to vote or that the Chinese government has directed birth tourism as a coordinated strategy.

The Departments of Homeland Security and Interior did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. The State Department referred back to Homeland Security. 

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The letter comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing, with U.S. officials repeatedly warning about Chinese influence operations, intellectual property theft and espionage efforts targeting American institutions.

Roy and Tiffany urged the administration to end any parole or visa-waiver programs extended to Chinese nationals in the Northern Mariana Islands and to provide a full accounting of the scope of birth tourism involving Chinese nationals.

The Chinese embassy could not immediately be reached for comment. 

The top Senate Democrat wants President Donald Trump to tap the nation’s oil stockpile as fuel prices skyrocket, years after blocking his attempt to replenish the supply when prices were low.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called on Trump to unleash reserve barrels of oil from America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) as oil prices spike amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Schumer argued in a statement that the reserve “exists for moments exactly like this.”

TRUMP’S ENERGY DOMINANCE REWRITES THE STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE AFTER BIDEN DRAWDOWNS

“When wars and global crises disrupt energy markets, the United States has the ability to act, but President Trump and his administration are refusing to do so,” Schumer said. “Trump should release oil from the SPR now to stabilize markets, bring prices down, and stop the price shock that American families are already feeling thanks to his reckless war.”

During his first term, Trump wanted to use about $3 billion from a colossal COVID-19 stimulus package making its way through Congress to fill the reserve, but the move was promptly rejected by Schumer and congressional Democrats, who panned it as a “bailout” for the oil industry.

The price per barrel at the time was roughly $29, according to WTI Crude Oil. Now, oil has eclipsed $110 per barrel over the weekend for the first time since 2022.

Though the SPR has capacity for over 700 million barrels of crude oil, the reserve currently has far less.

TANKERS TO RESUME NORMAL MOVEMENT IN MIDDLE EAST IN ‘A FEW WEEKS’ AT WORST, ENERGY SEC SAYS, ENDING OIL SURGE

That’s because under former President Joe Biden, it was tapped twice — once to relieve soaring fuel prices as the nation still grappled with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, and another time to combat increased energy costs at the onset of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

At the end of Biden’s term, the reserve had about 415 million barrels of crude on hand, according to data from the Department of Energy. Schumer supported both instances when Biden opened the nation’s oil reserves but, years prior, blocked Trump from building up the stockpile toward the end of his first term.

“Senator Schumer championed Joe Biden’s Green New Scam, which raised energy costs, threatened our national security, and stifled American energy independence,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital in a statement. “President Trump has been unleashing American energy dominance since day one, and now, American oil and gas production is at record highs.” 

GAS PRICES COULD JUMP AS MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS THREATEN GLOBAL OIL SUPPLY

Schumer lauded Biden’s first move to tap into the SPR in 2021, arguing that it provided “much-needed temporary relief at the pump.”

“Of course, the only long-term solution to rising gas prices is to continue our march to eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels and create a robust green energy economy,” he said at the time.

And toward the end of Biden’s presidency, his administration did buy back barrels of oil to refill the reserves, which Schumer did not object to. 

Fast-forward, and the price per barrel of oil has launched into the stratosphere since Trump’s Operation Epic Fury and Iran’s response to put the Strait of Hormuz — a key route ferrying barrels around the globe — into a chokehold.

For now, the administration has no public plans to tap into the reserve as Americans undergo sticker shock at the pump.

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Energy Secretary Chris Wright argued that the best way to lower prices was to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by neutralizing Iran’s ability to target oil tankers.

Wright told Fox News over the weekend that the disruption would last for “weeks, certainly not months.”

“We believe this is a small price to pay to get to a world where energy prices will return back to where they were,” Wright said. “Iran will finally be defanged, and now you can see more investment, more free flow of trade, and less ability to threaten energy supplies.”

An Obama-appointed federal judge’s attempt to rein in immigration enforcement in Chicago backfired after a federal appeals court ruled she overstepped her authority and “effectively established the district court as the supervisor of all Executive Branch activity in the city of Chicago.”

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit tossed out Judge Sara Ellis’ preliminary injunction and dismissed the appeal in a sharply worded 2-1 decision.

The panel, comprising two Trump appointees and a Reagan appointee, said the lower court’s injunction was “overbroad” and “constitutionally suspect.” It faulted the judge for applying the order not just to specific officers but “the entire Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, as well as anyone acting in concert with them.”

Ellis had issued a lengthy 233-page opinion explaining why she granted the class-wide preliminary injunction against Homeland Security and Justice Department authorities carrying out immigration enforcement in Chicago. Her order followed a string of clashes between protesters and agents during Operation Midway Blitz, the effort launched last year by the Trump administration to crack down on illegal immigration and street crime in Chicago.

JUDGE THAT ORDERED RELEASE OF 600 CHICAGO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SLAMMED BY DHS AS ACTIVIST PUTTING LIVES AT RISK

Ellis justified the injunction by saying it was not novel and that it only ordered federal agents to follow current DHS policies regarding use of force and body-worn cameras.

“In other words, the Court’s order should break no new ground, and indeed it tracks similar orders entered in other crowd control cases across the country,” Ellis said.

The appeals court had previously paused her injunction, warning that its “practical effect” was “to enjoin all law enforcement officers within the Executive Branch.”

The order, the panel said, required federal officers to submit “all current and future internal guidance, policies, and directives” for judicial review, which the appellate court said improperly intruded on the separation of powers.

The panel reiterated that point when vacating Ellis’ injunction, saying that “federal courts do not exercise general oversight of the Executive Branch” and that the district court “likely abused its discretion by issuing such a sweeping injunction.”

FEDERAL JUDGE RESTRICTS ICE AGENTS AMID ONGOING MINNEAPOLIS AREA PROTESTS

The panel’s order came after the plaintiffs, who included groups of protesters and journalists, had also already moved to dismiss their own lawsuit, saying that Operation Midway Blitz had largely ended. The panel said it felt it was still necessary to address Ellis’ order to prevent it from “spawning any legal consequences.”

Judge Frank Easterbrook, the Reagan appointee on the panel, dissented, arguing that only the appeal should have been dismissed since both sides had asked for that.

The majority, however, said that also throwing out the injunction was “the best way to wipe the slate clean” in what it called an “extraordinary case.”

Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor, said the appellate court “delivered a haymaker” to Ellis.

In a statement, Attorney General Pam Bondi called the 7th Circuit’s decision a “huge legal win.”

“President Trump is trying to protect American citizens while local elected officials REFUSE to do so. [DOJ] attorneys were proud to argue this case,” Bondi said. “We will continue fighting and WINNING for the President’s law-and-order agenda.”

Former longtime federal prosecutor Bill Shipley said on X the panel effectively told Ellis, “You don’t get to run DHS and DOJ.”

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Still, some critics found the 7th Circuit’s ruling excessive and commended Ellis for being thorough.

“Ellis was one of the only judges who did anything about the series of escalating abuses from CBP,” CATO Institute’s David Bier wrote on X. “She investigated and found numerous instances of perjury, constitutional violations, and other crimes. This unnecessary lecture from the 7th circuit amounts to: stop it.”

PALM BEACH, Fla. — National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) chair Sen. Tim Scott says he remains “incredibly optimistic” the GOP can not only hold but expand its current 53–47 majority in the fall 2026 midterm elections.

But as Republicans battle stiff political headwinds as the party in power in the nation’s capital traditionally loses seats in the midterms, and as the GOP faces a rough political climate fueled by economic concerns amid persistent inflation and President Donald Trump‘s underwater approval ratings, Scott isn’t sugar-coating things.

“There’s no doubt the climate has gotten more and more difficult by the day, it seems like at times,” Scott said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital at an annual economic conference in Florida hosted by the Club for Growth, an influential and politically potent conservative political group that pushes for fiscal responsibility.

Scott in early February gave fellow GOP senators some straight talk about the party’s chances in the midterm elections, when he briefed his colleagues at a closed-door meeting, according to sources in the room.

STRATEGY SESSION: TRUMP TEAM HUDDLES ON MIDTERM MESSAGING 

The NRSC chair told Fox News Digital in December 2025 that in the battle for the majority, “54 is clearly within our grasp right now, but with a little bit of luck, 55 is on our side.”

Asked again in his Fox News Digital interview Saturday, Scott said, “I think we have a possibility of more than 53 seats.”

MAJORITY AT RISK? — THESE SIX GOP HELD SENATE SEATS MOST AT JEAPARDY

“The good news is we have a president who made promises, he’s been keeping those promises, and we have been able to recruit the highest quality candidates anyone could want in every single battleground state,” Scott said. 

Highlighting seats the GOP’s aiming to flip, Scott pointed to Georgia, where Republicans view first-term Sen. Jon Ossoff as the most vulnerable Democrat seeking re-election in 2026. He also spotlighted open Democratic-held seats in battleground Michigan, swing state New Hampshire and blue-leaning Minnesota.

GOP CALLS TRUMP ITS ‘SECRET WEAPON’ — BUT POLLS SHOW WARNING SIGNS HEADING INTO MIDTERMS

Scott said he’s “incredibly optimistic, not only about holding the majority, but still expanding the majority through Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire and even Minnesota, we have a strong candidate.”

The candidate he was referring to in Minnesota is former NBC Sports reporter turned conservative activist and commentator Michele Tafoya.

But Democrats are targeting Maine, where longtime GOP Sen. Susan Collins is running for re-election in the blue-leaning northern New England state, and battleground North Carolina, where Republicans are defending an open seat in the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis.

Democrats are also trying to flip GOP-held Senate seats in Texas, Ohio, Alaska and Iowa, which are all red states.

“Voters are sick and tired of Trump and Senate Republicans’ toxic agenda raising prices and threatening their health care,” the rival Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) emphasized in a social media post. “Voters across the country are ready to send Senate Republicans packing this November.”

PAXTON SAYS HE’S STAYING IN THE RACE EVEN IF TRUMP BACKS CORNYN

In Texas, the NRSC is backing longtime GOP Sen. John Cornyn, who is now facing off with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a MAGA firebrand, in a costly and combustible primary runoff.

Trump said in early March, following the primary election where no candidate in the crowded Republican field cracked 50% to win the nomination, that he would soon make an endorsement.

The NRSC and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who is also backing Cornyn, are concerned that a Paxton victory could give the Democrats a path to flipping the red seat, thanks to the state attorney general’s political baggage, including a plethora of past scandals and a current messy divorce.

“The one thing we know about John Cornyn is he will win Texas. If you want to have the clearest path of victory, John Cornyn is your guy,” Scott said. “President Trump is the only person that can make that a reality immediately through this runoff process.”

Scott said “we hope and pray” that Trump will endorse Cornyn. But he added: “The president is going to do what the president is going to do. I won’t pretend to influence his final decision, but I will say, I’m certainly praying for John Cornyn to be our our nominee.”

TRUMP ARGUES GAS PRICES SPIKE IS TEMPORARY

Oil prices have shot up in the week and a half since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, instantly resulting in higher costs for gasoline across America. That’s a major concern for Republicans in a midterm election cycle where the economy, and specifically affordability, is the top concern of voters.

“I think the economy will continue to get better month over month,” an optimistic Scott predicted. “I think the rest of this year we’ll see unfolding good information, good facts about why the American people should focus on the Republican Party and keep us in the majority.”

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And with the annual tax filing deadline just more than a month away, Scott touted the numerous tax cuts kicking in this year in the GOP’s sweeping “big, beautiful bill,” which Trump signed into law in summer 2025. 

Scott touted “a bigger tax return for millions of Americans, that’s great news. The more they see more money in their pockets, and the more they attribute it to the Republican Party, the better we’re going to do this election season.”

Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., questioned a State Department official last week over Biden-era grants for DEI programs around the world amid her claim that former President Joe Biden’s administration was “trying to make the maps more gay.”

Sarah Rogers, the State Department’s undersecretary for public diplomacy, was testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in a hearing titled: “Advancing National Security Through Public Diplomacy.”

“Can you tell me what is queering the map?” asked Mast, who serves as chair of the committee.

HHS GIVES CALIFORNIA DEADLINE TO OVERHAUL FEDERALLY-FUNDED SEX ED PROGRAM ‘INDOCTRINATING’ KIDS

“So I think we were trying to make the maps more gay,” said Rogers, referencing Biden administration efforts.

“Literally? How do you make a map more gay? Or gay at all?” Mast replied.

“I don’t know,” admitted Rogers. “Since the age of cartography, we’ve had pretty good maps, but maybe they weren’t gay enough. I also took critical theory in college, and I think sometimes people use ‘queer’ as a verb. I do understand that the maps we were trying to make gay were, I think, of Czechia and Slovakia. So maybe those countries asked for it. I doubt it, but I don’t know.”

FEDERAL COURT REJECTS CHALLENGE TO OKLAHOMA LAW BANNING GENDER TRANSITION TREATMENT FOR MINORS

Mast noted that lawmakers have “real things” to work on in Congress, like the “imminent threat of Iran.”

“It is embarrassing that we have to talk about the fact that things like this were funded non-binary and transfranophones, linguistic attitudes and ideologies toward inclusive French in Montreal, Canada,” he said. 

Other grants were for a DEI flash mob in Kyrgyzstan, a diversity roadshow in India, diversity and inclusion programs in Luxembourg, Spain, New Zealand, Canada, and Malaysia, teaching trans and intersex leaders in India,” said Mast. 

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“We would absolutely love to know the individuals specifically who were busy writing these grants, because they have no business receiving another paycheck from the people of the United States of America,” he concluded. 

Passage of the SAVE Act is of paramount importance to President Trump and many congressional Republicans.

In his State of the Union speech, the president implored lawmakers “to approve the SAVE America Act to stop illegal aliens and other unpermitted persons from voting in our sacred American elections.”

The House approved the plan to require proof of citizenship to vote last month, 218-213. But, as is often the case, the hurdle is the Senate. Specifically the Senate filibuster.

So some Republicans are trying to save the SAVE Act.

TRUMP PUSHES CONGRESS TO PASS SAVE ACT DURING STATE OF THE UNION; NO MEDDLING WITH TARIFFS

It’s important to note that President Trump never called for the Senate to alter the filibuster in his State of the Union address. But in a post last week on Truth Social, President Trump declared that “The Republicans MUST DO, with PASSION, and at the expense of everything else, THE SAVE AMERICA ACT.”

Again, the president didn’t wade into questions about overcoming a filibuster. But “MUST DO” and “at the expense of everything else” is a pretty clear directive from the Commander in Chief.

That’s why there’s a big push by House Republicans and some GOP senators to alter the filibuster – or handle the filibuster differently in the Senate.

TRUMP VOWS BLOCK ON SIGNING NEW LAWS UNTIL SAVE AMERICA ACT PASSES SENATE

It’s rare for members of one body of Congress to tell the other how to execute their rules and procedures. But the strongest conservative advocates of the SAVE Act are now condemning Senate Republicans if they don’t do something drastic to change the filibuster to pass the SAVE Act.

Some Senate Republicans are ready to push for changes. Or, at the very least, advocate that Senate Republicans insist that Democrats conduct what they’re referring to as a “talking filibuster” and not hold up the legislation from the sidelines. It takes 60 votes to terminate a filibuster. The Senate does that by “invoking cloture.” The Senate first used the cloture provision to halt a filibuster on March 8, 1917. Prior to that vote, the only method to end a filibuster was exhaustion – meaning that senators finally just run out of gas and quit debating.

So let’s explore what a filibuster is and isn’t – and dive into what Republicans are talking about when they’re talking about a talking filibuster.

The Senate’s leading feature is unlimited debate. But ironically the “debate” which holds up most bills is not debate. It’s simply a group of 60 lawmakers signaling to their leaders offstage that they’ll stymie things. No one has to go to the floor to do anything. Opponents of a bill will require the majority tee up a cloture vote even if legislation has 60 yeas. Each cloture vote takes parts of three to four days to process. So that inherently slows down the process – and is a de facto filibuster.

But what about talking filibusters? Yes, senators sometimes take the floor and talk for a really long time. Hence, the “unlimited debate” provision in the Senate. Senators can generally speak as long as they want, unless there’s a time agreement, greenlit by all 100 members.

That’s why a “filibuster” is hard to define. You won’t find the word “filibuster” anywhere in the Senate’s rules. And since senators can just talk as long as they want, they might argue that suggesting they are “filibustering” is pejorative. They’re just exercising their Senate rights to speak on the floor.

However, a true filibuster is a delay. For instance, the record-breaking 25 hour and 8 minute speech last year by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., against the Trump administration was technically not a filibuster. Booker began his oratory on the evening of March 31, ending on the night of April 1. Once Booker concluded, the Senate voted to confirm Matt Whittaker as NATO Ambassador. The Senate was supposed to vote on the Whitaker nomination on April 1 anyway. So all Booker’s speech did was delay that confirmation vote by a few hours. But not much.

FETTERMAN EXPECTS DHS SHUTDOWN AMID PARTISAN FUNDING FEUD, BREAKS WITH DEMOCRATS ON VOTER ID

In 2013, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, held the floor for more than 21 hours, in his quest to defund Obamacare. But despite Cruz’s verbosity (and a recitation of “Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Suess), the Senate was already locked in to take a procedural vote around 1 pm the next day. That automatically ended Cruz’s speech. Thus, that truly wasn’t a filibuster either.

So, this brings us to the “talking” filibuster which actually gums up the Senate gearboxes. A talking filibuster is what most Americans think of, thanks to the iconic scenes with Jimmy Stewart in the Frank Capra classic, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.”

Most senators “filibuster” by forcing the Senate to take two cloture votes – spread out by days – to handle even the simplest of matters. That elongates the process by close to a week. But if advocates of a given bill have the votes to break the filibuster via cloture, the gig is up.

But what happens if a senator – or a group of senators – delays things with long speeches? That can only last for so long. And it could potentially truncate the Senate’s need to take ANY cloture vote, needing 60 yeas.

Republicans who advocate for passage of the SAVE Act believe they can get around cloture – and thus the need for 60 votes – by making opponents of the SAVE Act talk. And talk. And talk.

And once they’re done talking, the Senate can vote – up or down – on the SAVE Act. Passage requires a simple majority.

Senate Rule XIX (19) states that “no senator shall speak more than twice upon any one question in debate on the same legislative day.”

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

Easy enough, right? Two speeches per day. You speak twice on Monday, then you have to wait until Tuesday? Democrats would eventually run out of juice with 47 senators who caucus with their party.

But it’s not that simple. Note the part about two speeches per “question.”

Well, what’s a “question,” in Senate parlance? That could be the bill itself. It could be an amendment. It could be a motion. And just for the record, the Senate usually cycles through a “first degree” amendment and then a “second degree” amendment. So, if you’re scoring at home, that could be six (!) speeches per senator, per day, on any given “question.”

Questions?

But wait. There’s more.

Note that Rule XIX refers to a “legislative day.” A legislative day is not the same as a calendar day. One basic difference is if the Senate “adjourns” each night versus “recessing.” If the Senate “adjourns” its Monday session, then a new legislative day begins on Tuesday. However, the legislative day of “Monday” carries over to Tuesday if the Senate “recesses.”

It may be up to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., whether the Senate “adjourns” or “recesses.” The creation of a new “legislative day” inhibits the GOP effort.

Moreover, talking filibuster proponents could object to a request by Thune to adjourn. If the Senate votes to stay in session, that forces the legislative day of Monday to bleed over to Tuesday.

SCHUMER ONCE BLOCKED TRUMP’S MOVE TO FILL THE NATION’S OIL RESERVES, NOW HE WANTS THEM OPENED

Pro tip: watch to see if the adjournment vs. recess scenario unfolds. If a talking filibuster supporter tries to prevent the Senate from adjourning, that could signal whether the GOP has a shot at eventually passing the SAVE Act. If that test fails, the SAVE Act is likely dead in the water.

We haven’t even talked about a custom practiced by most Senate Majority Leaders to lock down the contours of a bill when they file cloture to end debate.

It’s a Senate custom to recognize the Senate Majority Leader first on the floor for debate. So Thune and his predecessors often “fill” what’s called the “amendment tree.” The amendment tree dictates how many amendments are in play at any one time. Think of the underlying bill as a “trunk.” A “branch” is for the first amendment. A “sprig” from that branch is the second amendment. Majority leaders often load up the amendment tree with “filler” amendments, not changing the subject of the bill. He then files cloture to break the filibuster.

That tactic curbs the universe of amendments. That blocks the other side from engineering controversial amendments to alter the bill. But if Thune doesn’t file cloture to end debate, then the Senate must consider amendment after amendment, repeatedly filling the tree and voting on those amendments. This scenario unfolds during a “talking” filibuster. Not when Thune is controlling the process by filing cloture and “filling the tree.”

This is why Thune is skeptical of a talking filibuster to pass the SAVE Act.

“This process is more complicated and risky than people are assuming at the moment,” said Thune.

In fact, the biggest “benefit” to filing cloture may not even be overcoming a filibuster, but blocking amendments via management of the tree. Republicans are bracing for amendments Democrats may offer.

“If you don’t think Democrats have a laundry list of amendments, talking about who won the 2020 election, talking about the Epstein files – if you don’t think they have a quiver full of these amendments that they’re ready to get Republican votes on the record, then I’ve got a bridge to sell you,” said George Washington University political science professor Casey Burgat.

Plus, forcing a talking filibuster for days precludes the Senate from passing a DHS funding bill. That’s to say nothing of confirming Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., as Homeland Security Secretary.

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That’s why there’s a reluctance by some Republicans to push the talking filibuster. And it could come at the expense of the SAVE Act – despite the president’s push.

President Donald Trump outlined five key items he believes will tip the upcoming midterm elections in the GOP’s favor — if Republicans can muscle them through Congress.

“No transgender mutilation surgery for our children,” Trump told an audience at the Republican Members’ Issues Conference. “Voter ID, citizenship [verification], mail-in ballots, we don’t want men playing in women’s sports.”

“It’s the best of Trump. Those are the best of Trump. This is the number one priority, it should be, for the House,” Trump said.

Trump’s exhortations to Republican lawmakers come as the GOP wages an uphill campaign to hang on to a controlling majority in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. He framed his legislative priorities as a way for Republicans to capitalize on popular demands within the GOP base that would increase their chances of preserving a Republican governing trifecta.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS PUSH ELECTION OVERHAUL WITH VOTER ID, MAIL-IN BALLOT CHANGES AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

Currently, Republicans hold just four more seats than Democrats in the House of Representatives.

The GOP holds six more than Democrats in the Senate.

To keep the numbers in their favor, Republicans will need to beat historical trends. In the vast majority of past cases, parties that capture the White House in presidential elections face blowback in the midterms. Notably, the last time a majority party gained seats in both chambers of Congress in the midterms came under the Bush administration in 2002, following devastating attacks on the World Trade Center.

REPUBLICANS, TRUMP RUN INTO SENATE ROADBLOCK ON VOTER ID BILL

Trump said he believes Republicans have a shot at bucking the trend come November if they focus on his list.

“It’ll guarantee the midterms,” Trump said of his legislative priorities.

Republicans have already taken strikes towards two of them through the SAVE America Act, a piece of legislation that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and cast a ballot. That bill cleared the House last month for a second time in the 119th Congress.

Its future is uncertain in the Senate, where Republicans would need the assistance of seven Democrats to overcome the 60-vote threshold to defeat a filibuster. Democrats, for their part, believe the legislation would disenfranchise voters who cannot readily provide documented proof of citizenship through a passport, REAL ID, or birth certificate. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. has promised a vote on the package despite its long odds. 

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Several members have introduced bills on transgender issues, although none of them have cleared either chamber.

“I’ve never been more confident that if we keep these promises and deliver on this popular agenda, the American people will stand with us in overwhelming numbers, just as they did in 2024,” Trump said.

FIRST ON FOX: Nearly 50 House Republicans are writing to President Donald Trump backing Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after Kristi Noem’s ouster.

The pragmatist GOP Main Street Caucus is taking a formal stance, endorsing Mullin on Monday, as well as backing a targeted crackdown on illegal immigrant criminals in the U.S.

It’s a rare formal statement by the House Republican group, led by both Chairman Mike Flood, R-Neb., and Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., and signed by 47 other GOP lawmakers.

“Senator Mullin has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to border security. His familiarity with the legislative process and his longstanding support for pro-America policies make him well-suited to lead DHS at this critical moment,” the letter said. “We are confident he will bring the focus and discipline necessary to further our shared priorities.”

FETTERMAN BACKS TRUMP’S DHS PICK MULLIN AS ‘NICE UPGRADE’ IN BREAK WITH DEMOCRATS

Trump tapped Mullin to lead the department last week while announcing that Noem would no longer serve in his Cabinet. He instead established a new role for her as special envoy at a new Trump-created initiative called Shield of the Americas.

The vast majority of Republican lawmakers immediately hailed Mullin’s nomination, particularly as criticism was steadily growing of Noem’s handling of DHS.

Among the most volatile chapters in her tenure occurred during Trump’s immigration operation in Minneapolis, which inspired bipartisan calls for restraint amid city-wide protests over the federal agent-involved killing of two U.S. citizens.

MULLIN PROMISES TO EARN DEM VOTES AS GOP COLLEAGUES POUNCE ON HIS SEAT

Trump responded to the uproar by upending federal leadership there, replacing Noem-empowered Greg Bovino of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) with border czar Tom Homan.

The Main Street Caucus letter revealed that more than two dozen lawmakers in the group met with Trump’s Homan last week while praising his handling of immigration enforcement across the country.

“As members of the Republican Main Street Caucus, a group of more than 85 House conservatives focused on governing and producing legislative results, we write to express our strong support for the work of Tom Homan and his efforts to strengthen our nation’s immigration enforcement in his role as White House Border Czar,” the letter said.

“Last week, approximately two dozen members of our caucus met with Mr. Homan to discuss the current state of immigration enforcement and the steps necessary to strengthen public safety while restoring confidence in federal immigration law.”

Among the agreed-upon initiatives, the letter said, was keeping Trump’s immigration crackdown focused on people who commit crimes within the U.S.

“First, enforcement efforts should remain focused on the worst criminal offenders. Prioritizing the removal of individuals who pose the greatest threats to public safety ensures that federal resources are used effectively while protecting American families and communities,” they wrote.

TEAMSTERS BOSS PRAISES MULLIN DHS NOMINATION DESPITE PAST HEATED HEARINGS

It’s a notable point given past criticism of DHS, from both sides of the aisle, about indiscriminate targeting of undocumented people in places like federal courthouses during routine immigration appointments.

They also called for the repeal of policies in sanctuary jurisdictions that “undermine public safety and hinder lawful immigration enforcement” and giving federal authorities “access to local jails before criminal aliens are released.”

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“Finally, we agreed there should be clear communication from ICE to the American people and to Congress regarding its success in deporting the worst criminal offenders—individuals with records of assault, battery, rape, DUI, and other serious crimes,” the letter said.

The lawmakers added that “Homan’s approach reflects those principles, and we believe his leadership will continue to strengthen the federal government’s ability to enforce immigration laws in a targeted and effective manner.”

The Department of Homeland Security on Monday blasted a federal judge’s order requiring it to immediately improve conditions at its ICE processing facility in Baltimore — including reducing the number of detainees held there at one time, and improving access to food, hygiene, and medical care — telling Fox News Digital that the court’s determination of any “subprime” conditions or overcrowding are “false.”

“Illegal aliens in custody are provided food, water, blankets, and hygiene products,” a spokesperson for DHS said Monday, alleging that ICE “has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens,” including access to “comprehensive” medical care.

The characterization comes hours after a federal judge in Maryland issued a preliminary injunction Monday ordering ICE to either drastically improve conditions at its Baltimore processing center or find a new facility to “humanely” and legally hold the migrants before transferring them to a longer-term detention center. 

BIDEN-APPOINTED FEDERAL JUDGE RULES TRUMP’S ‘THIRD COUNTRY’ DEPORTATION POLICY IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

U.S. District Judge Julie Rubin, a Biden appointee, sided with plaintiffs Monday in ruling that Baltimore’s holding center conditions are “unhygienic, unsanitary,” and ultimately, unconstitutional. 

Rubin used a 67-page preliminary injunction to carefully tick through a long list of egregious conditions alleged by lawyers for plaintiffs over the last 10 months, including allegations of squalid, unsanitary holding, severe overcrowding, and a lack of medical screening, access to medical care, and necessary treatment — which the judge noted could lead to liability issues, or “in the worst-case scenario, fatalities.”

“The debated issue here is not defendants’ legitimate governmental interest; it is that defendants apparently dispense with even rudimentary decent, humane treatment of civil detainees, and so too their constitutional rights as a result,” Rubin said in the preliminary injunction, which applies to all current and future detainees at the holding facility operated by Baltimore’s ICE Field Office. 

She sided with plaintiffs in ruling that the conditions in Baltimore are “unlawfully punitive” and reflect a “deliberate indifference to the health, safety, and medical needs” on behalf of the government, in violation of the Fifth Amendment and due process protections granted under the U.S. Constitution.

Rubin also rejected the notion that ICE detainees and illegal immigrants are not entitled to due process, citing the Supreme Court precedent under Zadvydas v. Davis, which holds that such protections apply to “all ‘persons’” within the U.S. “including [noncitizens], whether their presence here is lawful, unlawful, temporary, or permanent.” 

A DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital that migrants detained at the ICE holding center in Baltimore are granted “comprehensive” health care, including “medical, dental, and mental health services as available, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care,” and rejected claims made by plaintiffs and the judge.

“This is the best healthcare tha[t] many aliens have received in their entire lives,” the spokesperson added. 

Rubin, in the court order, does not appear to back that contention. 

 ‘BLANKIES,’ ICE TACTICS AND LUXURY JETS: TOP MOMENTS FROM NOEM’S HOUSE TESTIMONY

“This is not a case of a prisoner lacking access to a clean toilet for a period of days, nor is it a case where a pretrial detainee cannot shower and is not provided with hygiene items …” Rubin said in the preliminary injunction, which comes after one year of status hearings, amended complaints, and declarations provided to the court from Trump administration officials and others.

“Rather, the conditions here are compounded: civilly detained people are stuffed into unclean cells by the dozens, without basic hygiene essentials, while exposed to a virtually open unclean toilet (and those detained making use of same),” Rubin said.

“These conditions woefully fail to comport with ‘contemporary standards of decency,” she continued.

DHS also rejected claims of inadequate medical care, including complaints from plaintiffs’ lawyers and cited by the court in which individuals with serious medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, HIV, leukemia, and broken bones were denied medications or medical attention. 

Government records cited by the judge show that between February and September 2025, just eight out of 3,250 detainees held at the Baltimore ICE facility had been transported to a hospital for medical needs.

Rubin is not the first federal judge to order U.S. immigration officials to immediately improve conditions at ICE processing centers or “holding” centers across the country during Trump’s second presidential term. 

FEDERAL JUDGES IN NEW YORK AND TEXAS BLOCK TRUMP DEPORTATIONS AFTER SCOTUS RULING

In August, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan issued an emergency order requiring ICE to swiftly address allegations of filthy, overcrowded cells and prolonged stays at an ICE processing facility in New York City. The following month, he slapped ICE with a more lasting preliminary injunction seeking to codify those changes.

And in Minnesota, a federal judge last month issued a temporary restraining order requiring ICE to grant detainees at its Whipple Federal Building holding center access to counsel, attorney-client visits, and a 72-hour notice period before transferring detainees out of the state. 

The administration has not yet indicated whether it will appeal the judge’s ruling. Still, DHS officials sharply rejected the allegations of improper treatment, telling Fox News Digital that being in detention “is a choice.” 

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“We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home App,” they said, noting that the U.S. “is offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport,” as former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem noted during congressional testimony last week.

“If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return,” they added.

An Arizona state lawmaker revealed Monday that federal authorities subpoenaed him for records related to the 2020 election, marking the second publicly confirmed jurisdiction the Department of Justice is investigating over the matter.

Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen, a Republican, said in a social media post he received the subpoena for material related to the state Senate’s 2020 audit last week and complied with it.

“Late last week I received and complied with a federal grand jury subpoena for records relating to the Arizona State Senate’s 2020 audit of Maricopa County,” Petersen wrote. “The FBI has the records. Any other report is fake news.”

The request represents an expansion of a federal probe tied to 2020 after the DOJ initially targeted Fulton County, Georgia. The development also comes as President Donald Trump has grown increasingly outspoken about election security in the lead-up to the 2026 midterms, renewing his attention on disputes stemming from the last presidential race.

FBI AGENTS SEARCH ELECTION HUB IN FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA

Petersen made the revelation after President Donald Trump shared a Just the News report about the subpoena on Truth Social, writing, “Great!!! FBI secretly seizes election records from Arizona’s largest county as voting probe expands.”

Multiple U.S. officials confirmed the election probe to Fox News, saying the DOJ is looking at a large tranche of Arizona data from 2020 and 2024.

The White House directed Fox News Digital to the FBI on Monday when asked for comment. The FBI declined to comment.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, an elected Democrat, said the new investigation was based on claims that courts and state investigators have proven wrong.

“What the Trump administration appears to be pursuing now is not a legitimate law enforcement inquiry,” Mayes said in a statement. “It is the weaponization of federal law enforcement in service of crackpots and lies.”

JUDGE DISMISSES 2020 ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE AGAINST TRUMP

The subpoena comes as the president increasingly focuses on election security ahead of the 2026 midterms, telling Congress in a social media post on Sunday that he will not sign any legislation into law until it passes the SAVE America Act.

The bill’s primary purpose is to require voters nationwide to show physical identification to prove citizenship to vote in federal elections. The version of the bill Trump is pushing would also ban mail-in ballots except for the military and in other extenuating circumstances.

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Maricopa, Arizona’s most populous county, was a hotbed for accusations of voter fraud in 2020. Fulton County, Georgia, faced similar accusations, with the DOJ launching a separate investigation into the 2020 election earlier this year. 

Trump lost Arizona in 2020 by about 0.3 percentage points. The president refused to concede, and his legal team brought a series of lawsuits alleging vote-counting irregularities, but none were successful.

Fox News’ David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s declaration that he won’t sign any new bills until the Senate passes voter ID legislation threatens to derail his own legislative priorities and sideline confirmation of the newest addition to his Cabinet. 

Trump wants Senate Republicans to ram the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act through the upper chamber with the talking filibuster, even at the cost of the Senate’s most valuable commodity: floor time.

“It must be done immediately. It supersedes everything else. MUST GO TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE. I, as President, will not sign other Bills until this is passed,” Trump said on Truth Social. 

SCHUMER ONCE BLOCKED TRUMP’S MOVE TO FILL THE NATION’S OIL RESERVES, NOW HE WANTS THEM OPENED

But that comes as the Senate is wrestling with reopening the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which entered its fourth week of being shut down. A White House official told Fox News Digital that Trump was “referring to other bills, not DHS funding.”

“If the Democrats do the right thing and pass funding for DHS, the president will, of course, fund the agency,” the official said. 

Trump’s edict and push for the Senate to turn to the talking filibuster has intensified the pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who has vowed to have a vote on the bill, but could not guarantee it would pass. 

When asked about the growing campaign from both Trump and social media to use the talking filibuster, Thune said, “A lot of that is, it’s in that kind of, you know, paid influencer ecosystem.” 

“But there’s a lot of support for it,” Thune said. “Like I said, we’re, I think, for the most part, not everybody, but there’s a lot of really strong support among Republican senators for the policy. But the process and how do you ultimately try and get a result is still unclear to me.” 

SCHUMER, DEMS HOLD FIRM ON DHS FUNDING DESPITE NOEM’S BOMBSHELL OUSTING

Republicans are also working to advance a massive affordable housing package that Trump backs, to consider a likely supplemental spending package to resupply munitions for the conflict with Iran, and go through the confirmation process for Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., the president’s latest pick to lead DHS.

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., noted that the top priority for the GOP right now is funding DHS.

“The Democrats have blocked that right now,” Barrasso told Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures.” “And the greatest threat to the American people today is terrorism.”

And while the SAVE America Act is supported by most Senate Republicans, it’s not an easy bill to pass in the upper chamber, given the hardline stance Senate Democrats have taken against it. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., reiterated that the bill is “Jim Crow 2.0. It would disenfranchise tens of millions of people.”

“If Trump is saying he won’t sign any bills until the SAVE Act is passed, then so be it: there will be total gridlock in the Senate,” Schumer said on X. “Senate Democrats will not help pass the SAVE Act under any circumstances.”

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

Turning to the talking filibuster is unlikely, too, because of a major fear among Republicans it would dominate floor time for hundreds of hours of debate. But another factor is that there may not be unity among Republicans to kill amendments put forth by Senate Democrats. 

Further complicating matters is which version of the SAVE America Act Trump wants. 

House Republicans advanced the SAVE America Act last month, which would require voter ID to vote, proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, mandate states to actively verify and remove noncitizens from voter rolls, expand information sharing with federal agencies, including DHS, to verify citizenship and create new criminal penalties for registering noncitizens to vote.

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But Trump asked Republicans to “GO FOR THE GOLD” with a bill to show voter ID and proof of citizenship, nix mail-in ballots except for military service members or people with illnesses, disabilities or travel issues, no men in women’s sports and “NO TRANSGENDER [MUTILATION] FOR CHILDREN!”

That version of the bill would again have to go through the House before making its way to the Senate. Whether it could survive either chamber is an open question. Thune acknowledged that Trump wanted a modified iteration of the bill, but still remained firm that the talking filibuster, or nuking the current filibuster, likely weren’t going to happen. 

“The one thing I’ve said all along is, and I’ve told him and others that I can’t guarantee an outcome. I can’t guarantee a result,” Thune said. “If the result is only achieved by nuking the legislative filibuster, we don’t have the votes to do that. And so that’s just not a realistic option. And I’ve made that clear to anybody who’s asked.”

Senate Republicans are accusing their Democratic counterparts of playing “political games” as the caucus appears ready to escalate the standoff over funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

There’s been little movement to reopen DHS during the weekslong partial shutdown, leading to outcry from Republicans over long wait times and missed flights at airports across the country. Some Democrats are threatening to continue their blockade of DHS funding unless serious action is taken to rein in President Donald Trump’s war powers in the Middle East. 

“We shouldn’t let Republicans debate other legislation until they bring a war authorization to the United States Senate,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told NOTUS on Monday.

Murphy, the top Democrat on the appropriations panel overseeing DHS funding, has helped lead his party’s push to withhold funding for the department absent sweeping reforms to immigration enforcement.

SENATE DEMS REFUSING TO BUDGE ON DHS FUNDING MAY CAUSE HEADACHE FOR WORLD CUP TRAVELERS

His new threat to freeze Senate business over Trump’s Iran strikes underscores that some Democrats are prepared to extend the funding fight despite mounting impacts on air travel. 

The Senate rejected a bipartisan resolution last week that would have narrowed Trump’s ability to launch future strikes on Iran. However, Murphy is signaling that Democrats’ attempts to limit the president’s power to wage war against Iran are just getting started. 

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., the chair of the Senate Homeland Security funding panel, scoffed at Murphy’s edict.

“The delay tactics we’re seeing from Democrats don’t change the fact that, because of their political games, lines at airports are growing, and the people tasked with keeping our homeland safe are being forced to do so without a paycheck,” Britt said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Britt, who Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., tapped to lead DHS negotiations with Senate Democrats, accused her counterparts of refusing to sit down with Republicans as the partial shutdown enters its fourth week. 

“I urge my Democratic colleagues to stop putting politics above people and do what’s right for the security of our nation,” she said. “That starts with having a conversation so that we can find a pathway forward.”

DHS SHUTDOWN TRIGGERS TSA ‘EMERGENCY MEASURES’ AS LAWMAKER WARNS AIRPORTS COULD FEEL ECONOMIC PAIN

Airports nationwide reported a spike in absences among Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees on Monday. Roughly 50,000 TSA personnel — who are employed by DHS — are reporting to work without pay after receiving just a fraction of their salaries last week. 

The agents will not receive another paycheck until the partial shutdown ends. 

The New Orleans airport on Monday advised passengers to arrive at least three hours before their flight, citing a shortage of TSA employees. Passengers traveling through the Houston airport system have also been urged to arrive four to five hours before their departure.

“The shutdown is having very real consequences, and hardworking federal aviation workers, the airline industry and our passengers are being used as a political football once again,” Chris Sununu, CEO of Airlines for America and former New Hampshire governor, said in a statement. “This is simply unacceptable and un-American.”

TSA employees were also forced to forgo pay during the record-breaking government shutdown in late 2025.

A majority of Democratic lawmakers in both chambers voted to continue the DHS shutdown last week despite new security concerns over Trump’s military operation in Iran. The bipartisan measure that Democrats overwhelmingly opposed would fund DHS through the remainder of the fiscal year.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has demanded that federal immigration officers stop wearing masks and obtain judicial warrants before entering homes and businesses, among other reforms, in order to unlock funding for the agency.

Senate Democrats and the White House have been negotiating, but a deal has yet to materialize. The last counteroffer from the administration came nearly two weeks ago but has so far not been accepted by congressional Democrats. 

Some Republicans hoped that Trump’s decision to tap Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to lead DHS could soften Democrats’ opposition, but the party has continued to take a hard line against funding the agency. Democrats had advocated for outgoing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s ouster as part of their numerous demands.

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A Democratic blockade of Senate business would jeopardize the passage of a bipartisan housing bill aimed at growing the supply of affordable homes, which is currently under consideration in the upper chamber. Trump-endorsed voter ID legislation would also be impacted, but Democrats were already expected to widely oppose the measure, known as the SAVE America Act.

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