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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem heads into a second straight day of high-stakes Capitol Hill combat Wednesday, this time facing House Democrats eager to press her on ICE arrests, warrantless operations and the Trump administration’s mass deportation push — all as a partial shutdown clouds her agency.

After sparring with Senate Democrats over DACA arrests and Election Day enforcement, Noem now enters a House Judiciary hearing stacked with vocal critics, from Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md. to Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas., setting up another marathon session over immigration enforcement and executive power.

Noem caught heat from both sides during a Senate hearing Tuesday, when most Republicans praised her work correcting what they view as former President Joe Biden’s failed border policies. But Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and the entirety of the Democratic side of the dais emphatically confronted her during their questioning time.

In Wednesday’s hearing, Noem is expected to go up against House Judiciary Committee ranking member Raskin early, as the Maryland Democrat has previously pressed for more oversight of Noem and DHS, including rescission of policies allowing warrantless operations.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who is likely the committee’s top progressive, has previously called for stricter oversight of DHS and has criticized Noem’s management of ICE as it carries out immigration enforcement operations in cities including Minneapolis and New Orleans.

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., will also have a turn to question Noem. Her district in Delaware County was once a reliable Republican stronghold that elected a former Pennsylvania House speaker and leaned toward Trump in 2016. But it has since shifted and sided consistently with Democrats in recent elections.

Scanlon’s district has also featured numerous anti-ICE protests in visible areas such as the major intersection of Baltimore Pike and PA-320 last year, where throngs amassed to wave signs in the county’s commercial hub.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, who is fighting a tough Senate primary Tuesday night, will question Noem near the end of Wednesday’s session.

Noem will also take questions from Rep. Henry “Hank” Johnson, D-Ga., and Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., both of whom clashed with Attorney General Pam Bondi just days ago.

NOEM SLAMS DEMS BLOCKING DHS FUNDING BILL CITING TSA, FEMA, COAST GUARD: ‘I HOPE THEY COME TO THEIR SENSES’

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Rep. Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., have both been critical of ICE’s activities, as Garcia previously slammed Noem for her agency’s conduct during enforcement operations in his heavily Hispanic district in Chicago.

Noem is expected to have a less confrontational time answering questions from Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and his caucus, which includes border-state Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Kevin Kiley, Tom McClintock and Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

The wild card in committee hearings is typically Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who has been criticized by the “MAGA” right for being insufficiently supportive of some of the administration’s policies.

Other members of note on the 44-member panel include Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., and Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis.

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On Tuesday, Noem clashed with ranking member Richard Durbin, D-Ill., over arrests of DACA recipients and questioned why Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Alex Padilla, D-Calif., were concerned about ICE being dispatched near polling places on Election Day.

Noem appeared to ask both men whether their concern had anything to do with the idea of illegal immigrants voting in federal elections, which is illegal.

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House Oversight Committee Republicans are readying to confront Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison at a high-stakes hearing on welfare fraud Wednesday morning.

“While Governor Walz hesitated, taxpayers lost billions. Attorney General Ellison has likewise claimed his office was aggressively holding fraudsters accountable, but when his statements were tested against the record, they fell apart,” Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., will say, according to prepared opening remarks obtained by Fox News Digital.

“We have spoken with over thirty whistleblowers, many of them current employees and Democrats, who say they were ignored, retaliated against, and even surveilled for raising concerns. Instead of protecting the whistleblowers, the Walz administration protected the system that enabled fraud.”

Hours before the hearing kicked off, the committee released a 53-page report that accused both Walz and Ellison of knowing about the fraud allegations far earlier than previously thought.

“While the Committee continues to review documents and meet with whistleblowers, it is evident that Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison knew about the fraud in federal programs administered by the State of Minnesota much earlier than they told the American people,” the report said.

“Transcribed interviews with current and former public officials from the State of Minnesota have confirmed that Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison would have been aware of fraud in the [Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)] and high-risk Medicaid programs administered by DHS as early as spring 2019 and fraud in [state food aid] programs administered by [the Minnesota Department of Education] as early as April 2020.”

Both Walz and Ellison previously pushed back on any accusations that they knowingly allowed fraud in Minnesota’s social programs, and have accused Republicans of politicizing the situation.

TREASURY SECRETARY ANNOUNCES CASH REWARDS FOR MINNESOTA FRAUD WHISTLEBLOWERS

The high-profile hearing is the culmination of a months-long probe by the House Oversight Committee targeting allegations of fraud in Minnesota.

The panel previously interviewed current and former officials within the state’s government, including those focused on food aid. 

Federal prosecutors in Minnesota have charged multiple people with stealing more than $240 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program through the Minnesota-based nonprofit Feeding Our Future. However, the probe has since widened to multiple state-run programs being investigated for potential fraud. Childcare providers receiving state funding, mainly within the Somali community, are also under scrutiny.

WALZ SLAMS TRUMP ADMIN FOR TEMPORARILY HALTING MEDICAID FUNDING TO MINNESOTA: ‘CAMPAIGN OF RETRIBUTION’

And the committee’s report accused the state’s progressive leadership of ignoring evidence of fraud in a bid to appease the Somali community in Minneapolis.

“The Committee has found that Minnesota lacked adequate oversight efforts to verify that taxpayer dollars were being used appropriately and could have stopped the flow of money to fraudsters at any time but chose not to for fear of political retribution from the politically active Somali community,” the report said.

“Further legislative efforts at the federal level are necessary to prevent this massive waste, fraud, and abuse of federal dollars from ever happening again.”

In his opening statement, Comer will call the scandal “one of the most extensive breakdowns of oversight this Committee has ever examined.”

“Billions of taxpayer dollars were stolen from social services programs while warnings piled up, whistleblowers spoke out, and state officials chose delay and denial over action,” he will say. 

“Federal prosecutors estimate that as much as $9 billion may have been stolen from just fourteen Medicaid programs administered by the State of Minnesota. As our investigation has shown, it happened because state leadership failed, repeatedly, to intervene. What we’ve uncovered in Minnesota is not a paperwork error or a few bad actors slipping through the cracks. It is a sustained failure of leadership.”

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Meanwhile, Democrats on the committee have accused Comer of trying to distract from the fallout of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis — including the killing of two U.S. citizens by federal agents.

“I encourage folks to watch those videos and see what’s happened for themselves. And I’m hopeful that this committee investigates this incident and that we have full accountability,” Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said during a previous hearing on Minnesota fraud.

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President Donald Trump on Tuesday insisted Israel did not pressure him to conduct joint military strikes on Iran, claiming that he believed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “was going to attack first.”

Days after the regime leaders were killed and war erupted in Iran, Trump addressed the decision to conduct a joint U.S.-Israel attack on the country, explaining he “might have forced Israel’s hand.”

“I might have forced their hand,” Trump said from the White House Oval Office on Tuesday. “You see, we were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they were going to attack first. … If we didn’t do it, they were going to attack first. I felt strongly about that. … So, if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand.”

Although sources previously told Fox News the timeline of the attack was moved up to seize an opportunity to strike regime leaders in downtown Tehran, Trump said both the U.S. and Israel were ready.

“We’ve had a very, very powerful impact because virtually everything they have has been knocked out,” the president said. “Now, their missile count is going way down. Amazingly, they’re hitting countries that were, let’s call them neutral … I think they were surprised. I was surprised, I think. Now those countries are all fighting against them and fighting strongly against them.”

Trump’s comments came after Democrats criticized his decision to launch strikes with Israel in Iran without congressional approval.

Administration officials said they provided congressional notification to the “Gang of Eight,” a bipartisan group of top congressional intelligence leaders, ahead of the strikes, but Congress did not hold a vote to approve them.

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The Trump administration has argued the U.S. was facing an “imminent threat,” prompting military action.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was not going to “sit there and absorb a blow” from Iran, while War Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation was not a “so-called regime change war” or an open-ended conflict like that in Iraq.

Trump said he believes regardless of whether the U.S. took part in the strikes on Iran, Democrats would have been unhappy with his decision.

IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS ‘DIDN’T PASS THE SMELL TEST’ BEFORE TRUMP LAUNCHED STRIKES, SAYS VANCE

“If I didn’t do this, guys like [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer who — losers, the Democrats [are] losers — … would say, ‘well, you should have done this.’ In other words, if I did it, it’s no good. If I didn’t do it, they would have said the opposite, ‘that you should have done this.’”

He added he has “never had more compliments” on presidential action he has taken, noting “people felt that something had to be done.”

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“We [might] have a little high oil prices for a little while, but as soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, I believe lower than even before,” Trump said.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.

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U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, is claiming Republicans tried to rig her primary race against moderate Texas State Rep. James Talarico, District-50, on Tuesday after the state’s Supreme Court ruled in an emergency decision against her campaign’s request to give voters from Dallas County an extension to sort out confusion about Republican-led changes to polling locations. 

On Tuesday, Republicans and Democrats did not hold joint primaries, leading to polling location restrictions that Democrats, like Crockett, claimed were disenfranchising voters. 

Crockett’s claims came after the Texas Supreme Court knocked down a lower judge’s ruling to keep polling places open longer, mandating that any votes cast after the initial closing time be separated. Democrats pushed for polling locations to be open longer amid polling location restrictions that resulted from Republicans and Democrats not holding joint primaries.

“Knowing that Dallas County is a big dump of votes, we, in my opinion, will not know the election results overall tonight,” Crockett told supporters who gathered to celebrate her potential victory.

“So, that’s my news, is that we’re not going to have election results tonight, in my opinion, based upon what specifically is taking place in Dallas County. Unfortunately, this is what Republicans like to do. And, so, they specifically targeted Dallas County, and I think we all know why.” 

The Texas High Court’s decision to undo a lower court’s ruling from earlier in the night that had given voters in Dallas County until 9:00 p.m. to cast their ballot instructed tabulators to disregard votes that came in after 7:00 p.m.

“I can tell you now that people have been disenfranchised,” Crockett told supporters at a campaign event on Tuesday evening as the courts’ back-and-forth played out. “In my opinion, we will not know the election results overall tonight.”

JASMINE CROCKETT UNDER FIRE AFTER REPORTEDLY HAVING ARMED GUARDS REMOVE ‘WHITE GIRL’ REPORTER FROM RALLY

Voters ran into confusion on Tuesday evening amid the decision of certain counties — including Dallas — to separate out the locations where voters could cast ballots for Republican and Democrat primaries.

Under Texas law, party leaders can object to conducting their primaries together, at the same locations and through the same equipment. For Tuesday’s primaries, counties like Houston decided to forgo joint primaries to protect against crossover voting, fearing that holding Republican and Democratic elections at the same locations could invite sabotage.

Meanwhile, voters in Texas can also participate in any primary without party registration due to it hosting open primaries.

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“They specifically targeted Dallas County, and I think we all know why,” Crockett said Tuesday night. 

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AUSTIN, TEXAS – James Talarico, a Democratic state lawmaker from Texas with a surging national profile, defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a nationally known politician, progressive firebrand, and vocal critic and foil of President Donald Trump, to win the Democratic Senate primary in Texas, according to the Associated Press.

Talarico, 36, will now try to become the first Democrat in nearly four decades to win a Senate election in Texas, as he faces off against the winner of a bruising Republican primary runoff between longtime incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

This year’s Senate showdown in Texas is one of a handful across the country that could determine if Republicans hold their majority in the chamber in the midterm elections. The GOP currently controls the chamber 53-47.

In the final weeks leading up to Tuesday’s Democratic primary, race became a key factor in the showdown between Talarico, a former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian who is considered a rising star among Democrats, and Crockett, a civil rights attorney first elected to Congress in 2022.

Talarico, who is White, was accused a month ago by an influencer of calling former Rep. Colin Allred, a former rival for the 2026 Senate nomination, a “mediocre Black man.” 

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Morgan Thompson, the influencer who goes by the username @morga_tt on TikTok, in a social media post claimed Talarico told her in a private conversation that he had “signed up to run against a mediocre Black man, not a formidable, intelligent, Black woman.”

Pushing back against Thompson’s characterization of their conversation, Talarico said in a statement, “In my praise of Congresswoman Crockett, I described Congressman Allred’s method of campaigning as mediocre — but his life and service are not. I would never attack him on the basis of race.”

Allred, responding in a social media video on Monday, said: “James, if you want to compliment Black women, just do it. Just do it. Don’t do it while also tearing down a Black man.”

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The 44-year-old Crockett, who is Black, said in a statement that Allred “drew a line in the sand.”

“He made it clear that he did not take allegations of an attack on him as simply another day in the neighborhood, but more importantly, his post wasn’t about himself,” Crockett, who was endorsed by Allred, said. “It was a moment that he decided to stand for all people who have been targeted and talked about in a demeaning way as our country continues to be divided.”

A couple of weeks later, Crockett claimed that a Talarico-aligned super PAC had darkened her skin tone in an ad and said it was “straight up racist.”

She also argued late last month that talk that she wasn’t electable statewide was a “dog whistle” that was “tearing down a Black woman,” and that she was the “most qualified” candidate.

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Talarico, who was first elected to the Texas House in 2018 by flipping a red district in northeast Austin and surrounding suburbs, highlighted his ability to win over Republican voters. And he questioned whether Crockett could run a competitive general election campaign.

While dramatically outraising and outspending Crockett the past two months, Talarico cast himself as the underdog in the primary battle against the better-known congresswoman.

Talarico, who speaks openly about his faith and how it shapes his progressive policy agenda, last year started garnering national attention through a slew of social media appearances that went viral. Also boosting his profile were his TikTok videos, which have grabbed millions of views, and his appearance last July on Joe Rogan’s top-rated podcast.

Rogan suggested during the interview that Talarico should run for president.

A month later, Talarico was a regular on the cable news networks, conducting dozens of national media interviews, as he and dozens of his fellow Democrats in the Texas House fled the state for weeks, to delay the eventual Trump-led redistricting push in Texas to create up to five more right-leaning congressional seats

Talarico launched his Senate campaign a month later, in September.

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Last month, Talarcio grabbed even more national attention when his appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” was bumped off broadcast TV and instead appeared on YouTube. Colbert accused his network, CBS, of blocking the interview by citing guidelines from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The controversy appeared to boost Talarico, with his campaign saying they hauled in $2.5 million in fundraising in the 24 hours “following his censored” interview.

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Four-term Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, lost his Republican primary battle on Tuesday to Steve Toth, a state representative and businessman, following years of turmoil between Crenshaw and the MAGA faction of the Republican Party that questioned Crenshaw’s loyalty to Trump.

The 2nd Congressional District primary that ended Tuesday with Toth beating out Crenshaw drew a sharp line within the Republican Party. Crenshaw was not formally endorsed by President Donald Trump or Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, endorsed Toth after he reportedly got into a tiff with Crenshaw at the airport over whether the senator was working against the representative’s reelection.

Ahead of the Tuesday primary, Toth positioned himself as the more loyal conservative, comparing Crenshaw to a “version of Liz Cheney,” who, when in Congress, found herself frequently at odds with Trump before exiting public office.

Toth, a Texas State Representative since 2019 who also owns a residential and commercial pool management company, received endorsements from the House Freedom Caucus, Turning Point USA, Sen. Cruz, Texas Right to Life, 21 Republican colleagues from the Texas state legislature and some high-profile local conservatives.

Meanwhile, Crenshaw received endorsements from Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, leader of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., the National Border Patrol Council, and the National Rifle Association, among others. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise also told media ahead of the primary that he “supported” Crenshaw, and that “hopefully he pulls it out.”   

Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL who lost his eye in combat and currently sits on the powerful House intelligence committee, fought back against the label that he was an insufficiently loyal MAGA Republican ahead of the primary.

“My relationship with Trump is good,” Crenshaw told the Houston Chronicle, which also endorsed the incumbent congressman, in advance of Tuesday’s primary. “I work very closely with his administration. I’m close with Pete Hegseth and John Ratcliffe and Kash Patel, because this is all within my scope too on the [House] Intelligence Committee. We work very closely together with the White House. You’d have to not pay attention to any of that to think I’m not ‘Trump’ enough.”

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In 2020, Crenshaw ran unopposed, then won about two-thirds of the vote in the following 2022 primary, according to Ballotpedia. But, in 2024, according to the database, Crenshaw’s popularity dipped significantly to around just 60% in the primary.

Just days ahead of Tuesday’s primary, reports surfaced of Crenshaw and Cruz getting into a tense exchange at the airport, during which Crenshaw allegedly accused Cruz of working against him in the House primary. According to reporting, Cruz responded: “If I’m working against you, you’re gonna know it.” 

Days later, he dropped his Toth endorsement, followed by a paid ad to get the word out.

“You deserve an unwavering fighter, a Republican who walks the walk,” Cruz says in the ad, which does not refer to Crenshaw.

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Crenshaw had a substantial fundraising advantage over his opponents, but also faced redistricting changes in his district that drew parts of Toth’s home district into the race.

Toth will take on Democratic nominee and investment banker Shaun Finnie, who ran unopposed in the primary, during November’s general election to be the next Representative of Texas’s 2nd Congressional District covering parts of the greater Houston and surrounding areas.

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Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley and former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper have secured the Republican and Democratic nominations respectively to succeed retiring Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.

Whatley, of Boone, and Cooper, of Nashville, were heavily favored to win their contests in a state that has been tough for Republicans at the gubernatorial level and for Democrats at the presidential level.

Cooper faced businessman Daryl Farrow and technology sector consultant Justin Dues — both prior candidates for U.S. House — along with Pastor Orrick Quick and several perennial candidates.

Whatley faced retired Navy JAG officer Don Brown, who previously ran for Congress against Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C. Another major GOP candidate was former Wake County school board candidate Michele Morrow.

Immigration has been a key issue in the race, as Whatley has hammered Cooper for repeatedly vetoing bills from Raleigh’s state legislative Republican majority that would have compelled local cooperation with ICE.

“If Roy Cooper had not vetoed legislation that would have forced sheriffs to honor the ICE detainers, then these people would not have been on the street,” Whatley said.

ICE, along with Tarheel State-native Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino, captured at least 120 illegal immigrants in Charlotte and the Triangle during operations last year.

“It’s unfortunate that the Trump administration has to go into a city like Charlotte and help to clean up the city. It would be great if the state and the local officials were to be as concerned for their citizens as they were for the illegal immigration advocates that they’re pushing,” Whatley added at the time.

Cooper vetoed at least three bills during his eight-year tenure dealing with ICE cooperation that were drafted by the GOP-majority legislature.

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In August 2019, Cooper vetoed a bill from current House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Lenoir, that would have required sheriffs to honor ICE detainers and hold suspects until they could be transferred to the feds.

Cooper reportedly said the bill was trying to use “fear to divide North Carolina,” but the effort eventually succeeded as part of a package expanding private-school vouchers.

Cooper has pushed back, with a spokesman telling Fox News Digital that sheriffs in Wake, Mecklenburg and Durham counties all opposed Republicans’ legislation – and backed his own move to veto them. Eight other sheriffs backed Cooper’s veto.

“Roy Cooper is the only candidate who spent his career prosecuting violent criminals and keeping thousands of them behind bars, and numerous North Carolina sheriffs spoke out against this legislation at the time because of a lack of resources; a problem that Washington, D.C. insider and Big Oil lobbyist Michael Whatley has made worse because of his support for cuts to local law enforcement,” the spokesman said.

The race sets up a high-stakes fall general election, where Whatley hopes to maintain Republicans’ grip on the seat, and a Cooper win could throw the Senate’s Republican majority into jeopardy.

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The last time a Democrat held a North Carolina U.S. Senate seat was from 2009–2015 with Sen. Kay Hagan, whom Tillis eventually defeated.

Before that, scandal-plagued vice presidential candidate John Edwards split the state’s representation with Republican Elizabeth Dole, the wife of 1996 GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole.

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AUSTIN, TEXAS – The expensive and contentious battle for the Republican Senate nomination in Texas is headed to a May runoff, after none of the three major candidates in the crowded field of contenders topped 50% of the vote in Tuesday’s primary election.

Longtime incumbent Sen. John Cornyn will face off with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton after they finished in the top two in the primary, with Rep. Wesley Hunt in third place, the Associated Press reports.

The winner will face off with either rising star state Rep. James Talarcio or progressive firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a vocal critic and foil of President Donald Trump, who were vying for the Democratic Senate nomination. Both are trying to become the first Democrat in nearly four decades to win a Senate election in right-leaning Texas.

This year’s Senate showdown in Texas is one of a handful across the country that could determine if Republicans hold their majority in the chamber in the midterm elections. The GOP currently controls the chamber 53-47.

The Cornyn campaign and aligned super PACs spent nearly $100 million to run ads attacking Paxton and Hunt, with the senator charging in the closing weeks of the primary campaign that Democrats will flip the seat in the general election if Paxton’s the GOP’s nominee.

Cornyn, his allies, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm of the Senate GOP, repeatedly pointed to the slew of scandals and legal problems that have battered Paxton over the past decade, as well as his ongoing messy divorce.

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“If I’m the nominee, I’ll help President Trump by making sure that we carry the five new congressional seats as well as maintain this Senate seat and will help him continue his agenda through the last two years of his term of office,” Cornyn touted in a Fox News Digital interview on Sunday.

And, he argued, “If the Democrats win, because we nominate a flawed candidate with incredible baggage like the attorney general, then that last two years of [Trump’s] agenda is jeopardized, as well as everybody down ballot that we need to continue to elect as Republicans.”

Speaking to reporters on primary night, Cornyn emphasized, “Over the next 12 weeks, Texas Republican primary voters will hear more about my record of delivering conservative victories in the United States Senate, and learn more about Ken’s indefensible personal behavior and failures in office.”

“Just like the primary, we have a plan to win the runoff, and we are in the process of executing it. Judgment day is coming for Ken Paxton,” Cornyn vowed.

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Paxton, a MAGA firebrand who grabbed significant national attention by filing lawsuits against the Obama and Biden administrations, pushed back, telling Fox News Digital on the eve of the primary that “I’m 3-0. I’ve won three statewide races.”

Pointing to public opinion polls suggesting he has the edge over Cornyn, Paxton argued, “it’s really easy for him to say that when he’s losing a primary, because he’s not delivered for the people of Texas, and he’s going to find out tomorrow what that means. He’s going to end up losing.”

“This idea that I can’t win a race is not true… there’s no evidence of what he’s saying is being true. As a matter of fact, the evidence is just the opposite,” Paxton added.

On primary night, as he looked ahead to the runoff election, Paxton told supporters, “As we head into this runoff, we’re going to make the choice even clearer. While John Cornyn was cutting deals on gun control and amnesty, I was suing corrupt Joe Biden over 107 times.”

Paxton was boosted a few weeks ago by an endorsement from the political wing of Turning Point USA, the powerful grassroots conservative organization that was long steered by the late Charlie Kirk.

The GOP nomination battle was a two-person race until Hunt, a West Point graduate and military veteran who flew helicopters during his service and who represents a solidly red district in suburban Houston, announced his candidacy last autumn.

“I think there’s going to be a runoff, no matter what happens,” Cornyn predicted on Sunday.

Paxton, speaking to supporters on primary eve, touted that “if we go to a runoff, the odds get better for me,” as he pointed to what will likely be a smaller electorate for the May 26 runoff.

Hunt, in a Fox News Digital interview on the eve of the primary, argued that he’s “the best candidate to win the primary and win the general.”

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And pointing to the negative ads from Cornyn and his allies that have targeted him the past couple of weeks, Hunt said, “They have spent tens of millions of dollars against me in the state of Texas, which means that I must be doing the right thing, and I must be a threat. DC will not decide who will be the next senator from Texas. Texans will and that’s why I got in this race.”

Hunt fell far short of his goal.

But in his concession speech, Hunt teased, “This will not be the last time you see my name on a ballot. I can assure you. We’ve learned some valuable lessons, have some valuable knowledge.”

Trump, whose clout over the GOP remains immense, stayed neutral in the Republican primary race. All three candidates, who sought the president’s endorsement, were in attendance Friday as Trump held an event in Corpus Christi, Texas.

“They’re in a little race together,” Trump said of Cornyn and Paxton. “You know that, right? A little bit of a race. It’s going to be an interesting one, right? They’re both great people, too.”

Trump also complimented Hunt, and said that all three contenders were engaged in an “interesting election.”

While Trump stayed neutral, his top pollster, Tony Fabrizio, helped the Cornyn campaign. And veteran Republican strategist Chris LaCivita, who served as co-campaign manager of Trump’s 2024 White House bid, consulted for a top Cornyn-aligned super PAC.

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The big questions going forward as the runoff campaign gets underway are whether Trump will make an endorsement, and whether the major outside groups that supported Cornyn will continue to throw resources into the extended nomination battle.

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The Department of War on Monday identified four of the six U.S. Army Reserve soldiers killed in a March 1 drone attack in Kuwait while supporting Operation Epic Fury, and officials said the incident remains under investigation.

The soldiers were killed at the Port of Shuaiba during what officials described as an unmanned aircraft system attack. All were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines, Iowa, which provides logistical and operational support to U.S. forces overseas.

The fallen service members were identified as Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Lakeland, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa. Two additional soldiers killed in the attack have not yet been publicly identified.

Lt. Gen. Robert Harter, chief of Army Reserve and commanding general of U.S. Army Reserve Command, said the loss is deeply felt across the force.

“We honor our fallen Heroes who served fearlessly and selflessly in defense of our nation,” Harter said. “Their sacrifice, and the sacrifices of their families, will never be forgotten.”

Officials said the soldiers were supporting operations in the region when the drone strike occurred.

Khork enlisted in the National Guard in 2009 as a multiple launch rocket system/fire direction specialist before commissioning as a military police officer in the Army Reserve in 2014. He deployed to Saudi Arabia in 2018; Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in 2021; and Poland in 2024. His awards include the meritorious service medal, Army Commendation Medal and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with 10 Year Device and “M” Device.

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Amor joined the National Guard in 2005 as an automated logistics specialist and transferred to the Army Reserve the following year. She deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019 and earned multiple commendations, including the Army Commendation Medal and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” Device.

Tietjens entered the Army Reserve in 2006 as a wheeled vehicle mechanic and completed two deployments to Kuwait in 2009 and 2019. His decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Achievement Medal and the Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said on X he was heartbroken to learn of Tietjens’ death.

TRUMP SAYS US SANK 10 SHIPS IN IRAN STRIKE, ‘LAST, BEST CHANCE’ TO ACT

“A native of Bellevue, he dedicated his life to defending our country and protecting the freedoms we hold dear,” Bacon wrote. “No words can fully express the sorrow his family and friends are enduring during this unimaginable loss.

“Angie and I are praying for their healing and comfort in the days ahead. We also extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones of Capt. Cody Khork, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, and Sgt. Declan Coady,” he added. “These four soldiers are American heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice, and their courage and devotion to duty will never be forgotten.”

The youngest of the four identified soldiers, Coady enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023 as an Army information technology specialist and was posthumously promoted from specialist to sergeant. His awards include the National Defense Service Medal and the Overseas Service Ribbon.

US STRIKES MORE THAN 1,700 TARGETS IN IRAN DURING FIRST 72 HOURS OF OPERATION EPIC FURY

Iowa gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand also issued a statement.

“Iowa: please join me in praying for Declan Coady, a 20-year-old Army Reservist and Drake student, who was one of the lives lost among the escalating conflict in the Middle East,” the statement said. “Join me in also praying for his family and loved ones and for all the communities he was part of, and thanking him for his service and ultimate sacrifice.”

Maj. Gen. Todd Erskine, commanding general of the 79th Theater Sustainment Command, said the soldiers’ service reflected the highest ideals of the military.

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“To the families and teammates of these Cactus Nation Soldiers: you have my deepest sympathy and my respect,” Erskine said. “Our nation is kept safe by folks like these – brave men and women who put it all on the line every single day. They represent the heart of America. We will remember their names, their service, and their sacrifice.”

Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.

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New York Attorney General Letitia James is instructing a Manhattan hospital to resume offering gender-transition treatment to transgender youth after it ended such treatments last month over funding threats from the Trump administration.

NYU Langone’s decision to close its Transgender Youth Health Program violated the state’s anti-discrimination laws by “jeopardizing access to medically necessary healthcare for some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers,” James wrote in a Feb. 25 letter first made public this week.

James’ office threatened “further action” if the hospital does not immediately resume offering hormone therapies, puberty blockers and other treatment to transgender youth.

NYU Langone, one of the city’s largest hospital systems, said last month it would stop providing certain gender-transition treatments for patients under the age of 19.

“Given the recent departure of our medical director, coupled with the current regulatory environment, we made the difficult decision to discontinue our Transgender Youth Health Program,” NYU Langone spokesman Steve Ritea said in a statement at the time. “We are committed to helping patients in our care manage this change. This does not impact our pediatric mental health care programs, which will continue.”

The hospital ceased admitting new patients into its transgender youth program last year after President Donald Trump’s executive order entitled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” which aims to restrict gender-transition treatment for people under 19.

Referencing Trump’s order, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services later announced a proposal to cut federal Medicaid and Medicare funding to hospitals that provide these treatments to transgender youth.

But the Feb. 25 letter signed by the attorney general’s health care bureau chief, Darsana Srinivasan, said the proposal did not officially change federal law and did not impact a “medical institution’s existing duties and obligations under New York law.”

“The sudden discontinuation of medically necessary transgender healthcare can have severe, negative health outcomes,” Srinivasan wrote. “Accordingly, the Attorney General is extremely concerned by your institution’s decision to cease the provision of care to this vulnerable, minority population.”

LETITIA JAMES SUES HHS OVER TYING FEDERAL FUNDS TO TRANSGENDER POLICY

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The letter gives the hospital until March 11 to show its compliance, although it is unclear what steps would be taken if it fails to resume the treatments.

Several other hospitals across the country have also halted transgender youth treatments following Trump’s executive order and funding threats.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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President Donald Trump said New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has made “big progress” in embracing the Declaration of Independence during a meeting at the Oval Office, using the moment to spotlight what he described as a significant shift in tone.

“Zohran has come a long way embracing, of course, the Declaration of Independence while at The Oval Office – Big progress! President DJT,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump included a photo of Mamdani standing in front of the Declaration of Independence.

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

The post comes less than a week after Mamdani visited President Donald Trump at the White House for a previously unscheduled meeting, where the two discussed immigration and housing issues affecting New York City.

Afterward, Mamdani wrote that Trump told him Columbia University student Elaina Aghayeva, who he said had been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier that day, would be released.

“Just got off the phone with President Trump,” Mamdani wrote. “In our meeting earlier, I shared my concerns about Columbia student Elaina Aghayeva, who was detained by ICE this morning. He just informed me that she will be released imminently.”

MAMDANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP HAVE BEEN TEXTING AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK — AS UNLIKELY BROMANCE BLOSSOMS: SOURCES

Despite the public display of cordiality, Mamdani later criticized the U.S. military strikes on Iran that he said marked an escalation of conflict.

“Today’s military strikes on Iran – carried out by the United States and Israel – mark a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression,” Mamdani wrote. “Bombing cities. Killing civilians. Opening a new theater of war. Americans do not want this. They do not want another war in pursuit of regime change.”

TRUMP TELLS NYC MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI COLUMBIA STUDENT DETAINED BY ICE WILL BE RELEASED

He added that Americans prefer “relief from the affordability crisis” and addressed members of New York City’s Iranian community directly.

“You are part of the fabric of this city – you are our neighbors, small business owners, students, artists, workers, and community leaders,” Mamdani wrote. “You will be safe here.”

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The post drew criticism from conservatives on social media, who argued Mamdani’s response appeared sympathetic to Iran’s regime and noted his lack of public reaction to Iranian protesters killed in recent years.

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

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Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sparred with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown — a long-awaited hearing that comes as the agency has come under scrutiny in recent months for its hardliner immigration enforcement effort, and the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in January.

The department’s handling of the Minnesota unrest has placed Noem and ICE officers squarely in Democrats’ crosshairs in recent weeks, and has prompted Democrats — and two Senate Republicans — to call for Noem to resign. 

The hours-long hearing comes as the Senate remains deadlocked on a plan to fully fund DHS through September. Democrats in the chamber previously outlined a list of 10 demands they said immigration officers must meet before they would agree to pass the short-term funding measures. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, and others have criticized Noem for asking them to fully fund DHS despite the weeks that passed between the two ICE shootings in Minnesota and Noem’s testimony. She “expects us to rubber stamp her record-breaking budget in the meantime,” Durbin said previously.

Meanwhile, Republicans and Noem used the hearing Tuesday to warn of the knockdown effects the partial shutdown has had on the myriad federal departments and agencies housed under DHS’s sprawling umbrella — including the Secret Service, Transportation Security Administration, FEMA, and U.S. Coast Guard, among others. 

Here are the biggest moments from Tuesday’s hearing. 

‘Reckless’ and ‘unnecessary’: Noem blasts Senate Dems for DHS shutdown

Noem focused her ire during Tuesday’s hearing on Senate Democrats, whom she blamed for failing to keep DHS funded through September, even after the House passed a bipartisan, full-year funding bill. 

“Despite the House passing a bipartisan, bicameral, full-year DHS funding bill, it is Senate Democrats who have chosen not to fund the department and have held this department hostage,” Noem said Tuesday, going on to list critical national security efforts that could be hampered as the result of a protracted shutdown — including, but not limited to, issues of border security, immigration enforcement, aviation security, disaster response, cybersecurity, and the protection of critical infrastructure.

She also cited the impact the agency-wide shutdown has on DHS’s sprawling employees, which include some 22 federal departments and agencies housed under a single umbrella. 

“More than 100,000 dedicated DHS employees are once again being asked to work without pay for the third time in just five months, at a time when we produced the most secure border in history and removed nearly 3 million illegal aliens from our country,” she said. “Disrupting the department responsible for those gains is indefensible.”

DHS SECRETARY KRISTI NOEM ADDRESSES CALLS FOR HER FIRING, NEW ALEX PRETTI VIDEO

Durbin, Noem spar over criminal statistics, removals 

Earlier Tuesday, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., pressed Noem to explain what he said was DHS’s lack of compliance with federal court orders that have sought to block or pause some of the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration enforcement efforts and removals. “Sir, we ensure that we follow the law that applies to our department, and who we detain, and who we deport back to their home countries,” Noem told Durbin. 

Durbin followed up by referencing a statistic from Trump’s first term that found 85% of the migrants ICE arrested “had no violent criminal record.”

“Sir, when you talk about violent crimes, what you’re saying is the crimes that don’t matter, that you aren’t counting, are the ones that affect American families every single day,” Noem responded. “You’re not counting DUIs. You’re not counting embezzlement. You’re not counting theft. And you’re not counting the other crimes against people, and drug trafficking and proliferating that.”

” If you were counting crimes that these individual illegal aliens in this country have committed, it would be well over 65% to 70% of the individuals that are detained today have those crimes on their record,” Noem said. “Besides the crime of being in this country illegally.”

DEMOCRATS DEMANDING ICE REFORMS LOSE AIRPORT ESCORTS IN SHUTDOWN THEY TRIGGERED

Noem: DHS has no plans to deploy ICE officers to polling sites on Election Day

In one notable moment, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., pressed Noem on whether DHS planned to deploy ICE officers to polling sites on Election Day, echoing a view recently endorsed by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.   

Asked whether she would rule out deploying ICE or CBP agents to polling places during the upcoming November midterm elections, Noem responded that there are “no plans to have ICE officers at our polling locations.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Coons responded. “But would you rule it out? Would you say it will not happen?”

In response, Noem shot back: “Do you plan on illegal aliens voting in our elections?” in a moment that earned wide praise from conservative commentators on social media. 

Noem says Biden admin ‘paid’ for children to be trafficked to US

Noem also updated Grassley on the status of HHS’s Unaccompanied Children (UC) program, which under the Biden administration placed more than 11,000 migrant children with non-vetted sponsors to house the children who were not a parent or legal guardian, according to according to data shared by his office. Grassley’s office previously submitted multiple oversight requests to DHS on the program, citing concerns that it placed children with dangerous or unvetted sponsors, and and restricted sharing informtion with law enforcement. 

Grassley and the Trump-led DHS have alleged that the Biden administration turned a “blind eye” to children who needed proper supervision and care, and cited concerns over background check failures, a lack of documentation in some cases, and lax vetting procedures that allowed migrant children in the program to be “lost” or otherwise released to dangerous sponsors.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General released a report on the program last year, and which Noem appeared to reference during her testimony Tuesday.

Noem told lawmakers Tuesday that 450,000 children that entered the U.S. as “unaccompanied alien children” were “lost by the Biden administration and not tracked.” 

“We’ve located about 145,000 of them, and we’ve done that through the investigative work of our Homeland Security Investigations team,” Noem said. 

“The one thing that has been challenging is that, under the Biden administration, the government paid sponsors in HHS in order to host these children and those sponsors — many times we found instances where they trafficked these children themselves,” Noem continued. 

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“So under that administration, we not only had children that were in this country as a part of a program, the government was paying individuals that were knowingly trafficking them and abusing them,” Noem said. “That has stopped,” she added. “We have gone through and found these children, and put them back with their families when we have the opportunity to do so and with loved ones that will care for them.”

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Voters are divided on U.S. military action against Iran, even as a majority sees the country as a security risk.

A new Fox News national survey finds 61% think Iran poses “a real national security threat” to the United States. That view is similar to most previous Fox News surveys since 2006. The notable exception was when concern hit 73% last June, right before the U.S. military mission against Iranian nuclear facilities called Operation Midnight Hammer.

Even though a majority views Iran as a danger to the country, that concern does not translate into majority support for the current U.S. military action, as 50% approve and 50% disapprove. 

In addition, 51% think President Trump’s handling of Iran has made the U.S. less safe, up from 43% last July. Twenty-nine percent say he’s made the U.S. safer. By comparison, when the same question was asked about former President Biden in 2023, 50% said his handling of Iran had made the U.S. less safe, while 12% said safer. 

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Among Republicans, more than 8 in 10 approve of the current U.S. use of force, while only 6 in 10 say the president’s actions on Iran are making the U.S. safer. 

Nearly 8 in 10 Democrats disapprove of the U.S. strikes and think things are less safe because of Trump’s performance, while 6 in 10 or more independents think the same on both counts.

Among voters who have served in the military, 59% approve of the U.S. strikes on Iran (39% disapprove). Compared to voters overall, who say the U.S. is less safe by a wide margin, veterans are more closely divided on the question of whether Trump’s actions have made the country safer (37%) or less safe (44%).

In a joint effort with Israel, the United States started launching strikes on Iran on Saturday morning as part of a mission called “Operation Epic Fury.” All survey interviews were conducted after the bombings began, from Saturday through Monday. 

Trump’s job rating on foreign policy is underwater by 20 points, as 40% approve and 60% disapprove — including 21% of Republicans who disapprove.

Some 43% of voters approve of Trump’s overall job performance, while 57% disapprove. In January and December, it was 44% approve vs. 56% disapprove. 

Perceptions of how the United States is viewed abroad have improved slightly since the end of the Biden administration. While a majority of 56% say the country is less respected around the world than it was four years ago, that’s an improvement from 61% who said the same in 2024 under former President Biden. Meanwhile, 30% say the U.S. is more respected, up from 23% under Biden and 29% during Trump’s first term.

Two-thirds of voters are generally concerned that Trump’s use of executive orders and acting without Congressional approval may be permanently altering the country’s system of checks and balances. The results are nearly identical to when this same question was asked about Barack Obama during his presidency.

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The survey also revisited attitudes about last June’s U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. When asked to think back, voters are closely divided between saying those strikes were mostly successful (30%) and mostly a failure (31%), but the most common answer is it’s too soon to say (37%). That’s about the same as views in July 2025, immediately following the strikes.

Conducted February 28-March 2, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,004 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (104) and cellphones (642) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (258). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data.

Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.

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President Donald Trump argued that whether he carried out strikes against Iran wouldn’t have mattered to congressional Democrats. 

They would have criticized him either way.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus immediately ramped up criticism of Trump’s Operation Epic Fury when the Senate returned Monday, and the administration has not yet signaled a clear exit strategy.

Speaking from the Oval Office Tuesday, Trump said Democrats would have criticized any decision he made.

“If I didn’t do this, guys like Schumer who — losers, the Democrats, losers — guys like Schumer would say, ‘Well, you should have done this,’” Trump said. “In other words, if I did it, it’s no good. If I didn’t do it, they would have said the opposite, that you should have done this.”

Democrats are furious that Trump did not seek approval from Congress to carry out the strikes and are pushing a war powers resolution vote this week to handcuff further use of the military in Iran.

“Donald Trump has just launched America into a full-scale conflict against one of our most fervent adversaries,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “Without a plan, without an endgame and without authorization from Congress — or even a debate in full view of the American people.”

TRUMP SAYS US MISSION IN IRAN IS ‘AHEAD OF SCHEDULE,’ VOWS TO ‘EASILY PREVAIL’ OVER REGIME

The administration argued after a closed-door classified briefing with congressional leaders and high-ranking lawmakers that the strikes were carried out as a preemptive measure.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters after the briefing, “We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action.

“We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces,” Rubio said. “And we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.”

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But Democrats largely aren’t buying the administration’s argument. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, contended there wasn’t an imminent threat to the U.S. from Iran.

“It was a threat to Israel,” Warner said.

Senate Democrats plan to plow ahead with a war powers vote, likely Wednesday, led by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and backed by Schumer. Whether they can splinter off enough Republican support, as Kaine did earlier this year with his Venezuela war powers resolution, remains to be seen.

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Senators will receive a briefing from the administration on the strikes Tuesday, which could determine the fate of the push to rein in Trump’s war authorities. 

Trump argued that because Iran was “a purveyor of terror all over the world,” Operation Epic Fury was inevitable.

“It’s something that had to be done,” Trump said.

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EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security fired back at the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee following a dispute over the proportion of DACA recipients being picked up by the agency amid President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin, who is the longtime sponsor of the related DREAM Act in successive Congresses, lambasted Secretary Kristi Noem earlier Tuesday, demanding to know why so many beneficiaries of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program were being deported.

DHS also responded to an exchange Noem had with Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., over his concern that ICE or CBP agents would be dispatched to polling places in November. She responded by asking him whether Democrats have plans to facilitate illegal immigrant voting.

“Contrary to what Senators Dick Durbin and Alex Padilla said in Secretary Noem’s Senate hearing today, nearly 70% of illegal aliens arrested by ICE have criminal records,” Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital.

“Just yesterday, ICE arrested MS-13 gang members, child predators, and drug traffickers,” she said.

“These are the public safety threats we are removing from American communities every single day.”

During Noem’s exchange with Durbin, the retiring Democrat demanded to know why ICE arrested 261 DACA recipients in the past year and deported 86 of them.

He also criticized her for allowing her agency to deport a Mexican man living in Northridge, Illinois, whose daughter was dying of cancer.

“Finally, he [was] returned for a court hearing. His daughter lived to see that hearing where the court said he was treated unfairly by your agency. And she died three days later. I was at a memorial service. Is that really necessary? Was he a violent criminal?” Durbin asked.

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Noem replied that DHS enforces the laws as passed by Congress and that if an individual has a final order of removal, that is the proper procedure.

“If you don’t like the law, I would suggest you change the law,” she said.

Durbin also claimed 85% of the 400,000 illegal immigrants arrested by ICE had no violent criminal record beyond immigration offenses. Noem pointed out that reports citing that number earlier this year did not factor in several classifications of similarly serious crimes, such as drug trafficking, embezzlement and assault.

She said that when all were factored together, the true percentage was closer to 70%.

DHS followed up by providing Fox News Digital with an exclusive list of dangerous illegal immigrants arrested in the past day, implying that Democrats are not concerned with their rap sheets or victims.

In one case, Gasper Florentino, an illegal immigrant from Mexico and an MS-13 gang member, was convicted in Fairfax, Virginia, of aggravated sexual battery of a victim who was 13 to 14 years old and rape by force, threat or intimidation.

In Durbin’s Illinois, ICE arrested Juan Leonardo Alvarado-Gonzalez of Guatemala, who was convicted in Cook County of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child.

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Yancarlos Marte-Morel of the Dominican Republic was convicted of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl by a federal court in Massachusetts.

Back in Virginia, a Vietnamese national named Minh Tai Son Tran was arrested following convictions on three counts of burglary — forced entry to a residence.

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Trump administration Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will testify before the House Oversight Committee for its probe into Jeffrey Epstein.

Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., confirmed Lutnick’s appearance in a statement sent to Fox News Digital and other outlets on Tuesday.

“Secretary Lutnick has proactively agreed to appear voluntarily before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,” Comer said. “I commend his demonstrated commitment to transparency and appreciate his willingness to engage with the Committee. I look forward to his testimony.”

This story is breaking and will be updated.

The Supreme Court expressed skepticism Monday about the federal government’s law banning people with a “habitual use” of marijuana from legally possessing a firearm, a Second Amendment case that could test the limits of creating exceptions to gun ownership.

But in two hours of spirited oral arguments over “guns and ganja,” several justices — while seeing marijuana smokers as potentially less serious — expressed concern about allowing drug addicts and other illegal substance users who might pose a danger to society to have those weapons.

A narrow ruling appears likely and might apply only to the person at the center of the dispute and other regular marijuana users who would not pose a danger to society by having a weapon in their home.

At issue is whether the widespread use of cannabis in recent decades — where it is legal in some form in 40 states — makes criminalizing “mere possession” contingent on gun ownership.

The same law was applied to former President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, who was convicted under Section 922(g)(3), which bars any “unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” from possessing a firearm.

The current case involves a Texas man charged with a felony after FBI agents raided his home and found a handgun. The suspect admitted smoking marijuana every other day.

Several on the high court worried about the implications of giving federal prosecutors overly broad discretion to charge someone for being a “drug user.”  

“We don’t even know the quantity of how much he uses every other day. What if he took one [THC-laced] gummy bear with a medical prescription,” asked Justice Neil Gorsuch. “He had one to help him sleep every other day. Disarm him for life?”

“It’s the lawfulness,” said Justice Amy Coney Barrett. “With the marijuana, I just don’t see anything in the scheme that actually reflects Congress’s judgment that this makes someone more dangerous.”

But Chief Justice John Roberts said it was Congress that decided marijuana should be classified as a “controlled substance,” despite what other jurisdictions decide.

“There’s a broad range of determinations like that where we leave the question of its addictive difficulties and the consequences of that to a determination by the legislature with the Schedule 1, Schedule 3 [illegal drug classifications] and all that, and in each case, you don’t get to reweigh the legislative determination.”

The Supreme Court in 2022 expanded gun rights, requiring that modern laws have a strong basis in the country’s history and tradition. That precedent will be closely considered in the current appeal.

Among other things, it has been used to allow people to bring licensed, loaded handguns in public under so-called “concealed carry” laws.

But the conservative court has also upheld federal restrictions allowing those under domestic violence restraining orders to be disarmed.

Cannabis is illegal at the federal level, but President Trump signed an executive order to speed up the process of reclassifying it as a less dangerous substance.

The current administration has supported expanded gun rights, but in this case, it says mixing firearms and controlled substances justifies the current restrictions.

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“The Second Amendment does not prohibit the government from temporarily disarming habitual marijuana users while they persist in frequent use,” Justice Department attorney Sarah Harris told the court. “That tailored restriction easily fits within the historical tradition of disarming categories of people who present a special danger of misuse.”

The Facts

The case began in August 2022, when federal agents executed a search warrant at the Lewiston, Texas, home of Ali Danial Hemani as part of a broader criminal investigation.

He admitted keeping a Glock 9 mm pistol, which he purchased legally and kept securely in the home. Agents also found approximately 60 grams of marijuana and 4.7 grams of cocaine.

Based on these findings, federal prosecutors indicted Hemani — a dual U.S.-Pakistan citizen — for violating federal law that criminalizes firearm possession by those with “persistent” use of a controlled substance, although he was never accused of using the drugs while armed. The case centered on his habitual use of marijuana alone.

Hemani faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. A federal appeals court eventually dismissed the indictment, prompting a Justice Department petition to the high court.

His lawyers said Hemani was being unfairly targeted over gun possession because of unproven terrorist ties and a marijuana habit for which he was never prosecuted.

A major part of the courtroom public session dealt with how “drug user” should be properly defined and how it could be applied to both gun ownership and possession.

Several hypotheticals were raised about whether the federal gun restrictions could include the use of sleeping tablets, anabolic steroids and Adderall — an amphetamine used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy — and whether they could apply to drug users who are homeless or own cars.

The Arguments

Gorsuch suggested that linking historical laws passed at the country’s founding restricting gun use for habitual drunkards to today’s marijuana users was not applicable.

He used so-called “Founding Fathers” John Adams, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson as examples of heavy alcohol users.

“Thomas Jefferson said he wasn’t much a user of alcohol, he only had three or four glasses of wine a night, okay? Are they all habitual drunkards who would be properly disarmed for life under your theory?” Gorsuch asked the government lawyer.

“The government has not been able to define what a user is,” he added. “I mean, it has said at various points that it’s someone who’s used any illegal drug in the past year, right?”

Justice Samuel Alito pushed back, speaking for more than 15 minutes about the difficulty of using a case-by-case approach to prosecute a “drug addict” under this law.

“I struggle to figure out how these individualized determinations can be made in the context of a criminal prosecution,” said Alito. “The way in which criminal prosecutions are conducted makes this extremely difficult.”

“Suppose someone regularly takes a drug, and during the period when that person is taking the drug, that person is super dangerous,” Alito continued. “The Second Amendment would not permit Congress to say that’s too risky?”

The Hemani case has created unusual legal and political alliances. The National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America, along with the ACLU and Drug Policy Alliance, are separately supporting the defendant.

Backing the federal government is a coalition of 19 mostly Democratic-run states led by Illinois, along with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

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The Supreme Court earlier this term heard a challenge to a Hawaii law that prohibits carrying firearms on private property open to the public without the owner’s express permission.

The 6-3 conservative majority there appeared ready to strike down that and similar laws.

The current case is U.S. v. Hemani (24-1234). A ruling is due by early summer.

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Sir Isaac Newton postulated that for every action, there is always an equal and opposite reaction. It’s Newton’s Third Law of Motion and one of the most important rules in all of science.

And Newtonian physics can tell you a great deal about reactions in politics.

We don’t yet know the dimension or the impact of the war in Iran. But there will be a political reaction of great importance as we head toward the midterms. It’s just too early to understand how the war will go, what unexpected twists it may take and how its consequences might reverberate through the midterms.

How things unfold is unclear. But an event of this breadth and proportion always poses some political impact. And the war may chart the course for the midterms.

Let’s start with President Trump’s campaign promises that he was “America First” and would keep the U.S. out of foreign conflicts. Well, that’s out the window. And there’s already some friction with the MAGA base. They may bolt if they believe the President reneged on one of his key campaign promises.

But so far, most congressional Republicans are standing beside the president. A handful of congressional Republicans — including Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Warren Davidson, R-Ohio — agree with Democrats and assert that Trump must come to Congress before sending troops into harm’s way.

Not to downplay this, but it’s almost a “technical” argument. Yes, there are important questions about the Constitution, war powers and who has the right to “declare war.” But the war powers debate probably doesn’t resonate with a lot of voters. However, the decision to go to war when the president promised otherwise could pose potential problems for the president and congressional Republicans this fall. Voters who feel betrayed by the president could just stay home. Especially since it appears to fly in the face of the president’s campaign promise against starting wars.

Then there’s the body bag factor.

‘THE RIGHT THING’: PAXTON, CORNYN TRADE BLOWS IN TEXAS PRIMARY BUT UNITE FOR TRUMP’S IRAN STRIKES

Trump has been forthright, suggesting that there are possibilities of casualties. And there have already been some. He also doesn’t feel inhibited about a protracted war or even putting boots on the ground.

Remember what happened during the first Gulf War as the U.S. and allies went after Iraq after it invaded Kuwait in 1991. Then-President George H.W. Bush studiously courted other nations during a multi-month buildup in the region and secured the blessing from Congress. That’s not to say there was support across the board. But Bush and those aligned with him on Capitol Hill made the case to voters. Granted, Bush lost re-election in 1992. But some months earlier, the public embraced the campaign. There was flag waving. There were patriotic marches. There was the legendary performance of the National Anthem by Whitney Houston at the Super Bowl.

The president’s approval rating spiked to a staggering 89% in the early days of the war. But it cratered to around 30% 17 months later because of the economy.

So let’s say the war goes well and casualties are limited. Congressional Republicans could ride the coattails of Trump. Republicans may even be able to put a few districts into their camp if a wave of patriotism sweeps over the country.

But watch out if this is a drawn-out campaign and casualties are high. Or, if Americans don’t understand why the U.S. is involved. So far, Trump has given a litany of reasons why the U.S. attacked Iran. Congressional Democrats don’t like the answers they are hearing.

Regime change is certainly good if you toss out dictators. But that means little to a day laborer who voted in Wisconsin and is struggling to make ends meet.

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Also, watch the price of gasoline. The Strait of Hormuz is the only shipping lane from the Persian Gulf to the open sea and a notorious choke point. The transport of oil through the Strait is already declining rapidly. Another commodity moved through the Strait is liquefied natural gas (LNG). It wasn’t that long ago that Democrats and voters were convinced that the 2026 midterms were going to be about affordability. Voters will balk if inflation sets in with fuel — to say nothing of the cost of goods and services because it’s more expensive to transport things.

There’s a risk that the war is a tipping point for the region and the Middle East devolves into chaos. Again, mayhem in the Middle East won’t matter much to a swing voter in northern Maine. But instability of that magnitude has the potential to shock markets, drive up prices and impact the availability of products on store shelves. And the risks are geometrically more complicated if China or Russia somehow get involved.

Then there is the biggest wild card: terrorism.

It’s possible that a heinous terrorist attack — especially on U.S. soil — could spur voters to rally ‘round the flag and actually help the GOP. Look at how President George W. Bush gained support after 9/11. And consider the fact that Republicans went against the historic norm and actually gained seats in the 2002 midterms. The party of the president usually loses an average of 27 House seats in the first midterm. 2002 was one of only three instances that the president’s party picked up seats in a modern midterm election.

That said, some voters may argue that the consequences and carnage of a terrorist attack wasn’t worth bombing Iran. So that has the potential to backfire on the president and congressional Republicans.

However, Democrats have some exposure to the terrorism issue. Democrats have refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for nearly three weeks as they demand changes to ICE. Fighting against ICE resonates with the Democratic base. But Democrats could be in trouble if there’s a major terrorist attack. That’s why House Republicans are forcing a vote this week to get Democrats on the record on a bill to fund DHS.

Yes, Republicans believe DHS should be fully operational. Especially now. But Republicans want voters to understand who blocked funding DHS as the U.S. enters a tumultuous period on the world stage and the war in Iran deepens. Continuing to oppose money for DHS could come back to haunt Democrats if, God forbid, there’s a major terrorist attack during the funding lapse. The ads for the midterms practically write themselves.

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, said Newton in his Third Law of Motion. We can’t yet calculate the equal pushback that’s likely coming as a consequence of the war in Iran in the fall midterms. But there will be something.

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But perhaps Newton’s First Law of Motion has even broader application to understanding the impact in the midterms. Newton wrote that an object at rest stays at rest. And an object in motion stays in motion.

Things were “at rest” with Iran until Trump started the war. And now the Iran issue is “in motion.” That makes it more challenging to stop it.

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EXCLUSIVE: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., is warning Democrats not to play politics with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) funding, particularly as the country is on high alert for any fallout from the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.

“Put the safety and security of the American people first and stop playing political games to appease the far-left base, especially at a time like this,” Scalise said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

The ongoing partial government shutdown centered on DHS, now in its 18th day, has taken on new significance in the wake of President Donald Trump’s military action in Iran.

Bipartisan deals have funded 97% of the federal government through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, but divisions between Democrats and Republicans over Trump’s immigration crackdown have prevented any such compromise on DHS.

House GOP leaders announced over the weekend that the chamber would vote this Thursday on a bipartisan DHS funding bill that passed in January in a bid to pressure Democrats to end the shutdown. 

That bill failed to advance in the Senate multiple times, with Democrats demanding new guardrails on immigration enforcement that Republicans have deemed nonstarters.

“We are on a higher level of alert, and this is not the time for Democrats to be playing games and shutting down the department that is focused on keeping Americans safe here at home,” Scalise said. “So we’re bringing this bill back up again to try to get them to come to their senses and open the Department of Homeland Security.”

The bill passed in a 220-207 vote in late January, with just seven Democrats crossing the aisle in support. All but one House Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., voted in favor.

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However, Scalise said “any responsible member of Congress” should vote for the legislation this time.

“The country is watching and expects members of Congress to take the safety of the American people at heart. And so I hope we get a much larger vote this time,” he said.

DHS is a wide-ranging department that was created in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

While it’s most recently grabbed headlines for actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), DHS is also responsible for a variety of national security-focused offices like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the U.S. Secret Service.

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Scalise pointed out that it’s also critical to keeping the U.S. safe during global events being hosted within its borders.

“We had a hearing last week on the World Cup, the people in charge of security for the World Cup were saying that they may have to start canceling some events,” he said. “And that was before Iran.”

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The findings of two new national polls conducted in the hours after President Donald Trump launched strikes on Iran are clear — only a minority of Americans approve of the operation and Democrats and Republicans don’t see eye to eye over the attacks.

Twenty-seven percent of those questioned in a Reuters/Ipsos national survey conducted Saturday and Sunday after the start of “Operation Epic Fury” by American and Israeli forces on Iran that resulted in the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said they approved of the strikes. 

A plurality, 43%, said they disapproved, with nearly three in 10 not sure.

There were similar findings in a CNN poll conducted by SSRS that was also in the field this past weekend.

Fifty-nine percent of Americans surveyed in the poll said they disapproved of the initial decision to strike Iran, with 41% giving a thumbs up.

As expected, there’s a wide divide between Democrats and Republicans.

Republicans questioned in the Reuters/Ipsos poll, by a 55%-32% margin, were supportive of the military action. The vast majority of Democrats, 73%, disapproved of the strikes, with only 7% saying they approved. A plurality of independents, 44%, disapproved of the military attack, with 19% supportive and nearly four in 10 unsure.

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The partisan gap was even wider in the CNN poll.

More than three quarters of Republican respondents, 77%, approved, compared to 32% of independents and 18% of Democrats.

According to the CNN poll, 83% of Republicans said Trump has a clear plan for handling the attacks on Iran, while 70% of independents and 88% of Democrats disagreed.

Overall, six in ten said they don’t think the president has a clear plan for dealing with the situation, and 62% said Trump should get congressional approval before any further military action.

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Both polls were conducted before the U.S. military announced on Sunday the first U.S. casualties in the operation — six service members killed.

The joint U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran is now in its fourth day as of Tuesday, with Trump saying the plan is ahead of schedule thanks to the early elimination of Iran’s top leaders.

Trump has said Iran is seeking talks with the U.S. as the military operations continue, but the president indicated he believes the opportunity for negotiations has passed.

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The U.S. has urged Americans to leave 14 countries across the Middle East as Iran’s counterattacks intensify. The U.S. State Department has also closed embassies in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, the Gulf Cooperation Council warned Iran it will take “all necessary measures,” including possible military action, in response to Tehran’s missile and drone attacks.