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Trump blasts Sen Bill Cassidy as ‘disloyal disaster,’ pushes challenger Julia Letlow in Louisiana GOP primary

Sat, 16 May 2026 09:48:02 -0400

President Donald Trump bashed Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-LA, who is running for reelection, in a Saturday morning Truth Social Post, calling him a "sleazebag" and "a terrible guy."

Trump originally endorsed Cassidy's primary challenger, Rep. Julia Letlow, R-LA, in January, and re-upped his support for her in his Saturday message.

"Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is a disloyal disaster. His entire past campaign for the Senate was about ‘TRUMP,’ how he’s with me all the way, and then, after winning, he turned around and voted to IMPEACH me for something that has now proven to be total bull----," Trump wrote.

"He knew that at the time, but didn’t care. Bill Cassidy is a sleazebag, a terrible guy, who is BAD FOR LOUISIANA. Now he’s going to get CLOBBERED, hopefully, in today’s BIG election, by two great people!!! VOTE TODAY FOR JULIA L. She Is a winner who will NEVER let you down. I LOVE LOUISIANA, won it all three times, and got the most votes in its history, by far (A record!!!), despite its big time and ‘storied,’ political past. THE ELECTION IS TODAY — please get out and VOTE!!!" Trump wrote.

He added, "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

"VOTE TODAY FOR JULIA L. She Is a winner who will NEVER let you down," Trump wrote.

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

How Democratic leadership sank $40 million meant to defend key seats on a gamble that backfired

Sat, 16 May 2026 10:00:29 -0400

Democrats, already lagging behind Republicans in midterm campaign fundraising, relied heavily on a House Democratic-aligned dark-money group in an attempt to redraw Virginia’s congressional map in their favor, campaign finance records show.

Before voters cast their ballots in Virginia’s April redistricting referendum, the 10 wealthiest Republican-aligned political committees had close to twice as much cash on hand as their Democratic counterparts, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Despite this, Democratic-aligned groups poured more than $64 million into their attempt to net four congressional seats by redrawing Virginia’s congressional map, a bet that ultimately failed to pay off after the Virginia Supreme Court invalidated the redistricting process due to a procedural constitutional violation.

"House Democratic candidates are pulling in massive fundraising hauls, outraising their GOP opponents last quarter, and the DCCC just had its best quarter of fundraising for the cycle," Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Viet Shelton told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

DARK MONEY FLOODS VIRGINIA AHEAD OF REDISTRICTING VOTE THAT COULD HAND DEMOCRATS HOUSE EDGE

"While Republicans brag about their billionaire backers, Democrats are focused on building support amongst the people - and by every measure, we are poised to take back the majority and make Hakeem Jeffries the next Speaker of the People’s House," Shelton added.

Of the total Democratic spending on the Virginia redistricting election, roughly $40 million in contributions came from House Majority Forward, a Democratic-aligned 501(c)(4) nonprofit affiliated with House Majority PAC, the super PAC backing House Democrats.

Some Democratic strategists have argued the political environment remains favorable, but party insiders have warned that the GOP’s cash advantage could blunt those gains.

"I don’t think it has broken through, the level of money that Donald Trump and Republicans are sitting on as it compares to Democrats," Mike Smith, who leads House Majority Forward and the affiliated House Majority PAC, told NOTUS in April. "I don’t think there’s a comprehensive understanding of both the level of disparity and what that could mean in terms of us being able to win the House."

Smith did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

At the end of March, the 10 biggest Republican political committees had nearly $1 billion in cash on hand, compared to the approximately $550 million held by their 10 richest Democratic counterparts, per FEC data. The wealthiest GOP committees included President Donald Trump’s MAGA Inc. and the Senate Leadership Fund, which is affiliated with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. Democrats, meanwhile, were led by the Soros family’s Democracy PACs and the Senate Majority PAC.

"So-called ‘Leader’ Hakeem Jeffries lit well north of $55 million on fire chasing illegal redistricting fantasies, only to fall flat on his face in spectacular fashion," National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Marinella told Fox News Digital. "National Democrats are already drowning in a massive cash deficit against Republicans while the NRCC and our battle-tested candidates continue shattering fundraising records and building momentum for 2026."

The "well north of $55 million" Marinella referred to included the $17 million House Majority PAC spent on the successful redistricting effort in California.

Aside from the financial role the Democrat-aligned committee played in Virginia's redistricting effort, the House minority leader was a leading surrogate for the campaign. He delivered speeches in favor of redistricting, characterizing the effort as a response to GOP map changes and raising the stakes by declaring Virginia the "crown jewel" of a national battle over congressional maps.

REPUBLICAN FUNDRAISING OUTPACES DEMOCRATS BY NEARLY DOUBLE, JUNE NUMBERS SHOW

"Jeffries is proving he’s no Nancy Pelosi, and Democrats are getting an expensive lesson in the difference between media hype and actual leadership," Marinella continued.

Pelosi was one of her party's most prolific fundraisers, raising over $1 billion for the party between her appointment as House Minority Whip in 2002 and her resignation from Democratic leadership in 2022, according to CBS News. Sources have told the New York Post that Pelosi retains considerable influence over the operations of House Democrats, which has allegedly irritated Jeffries.

"Speaker Emerita Pelosi is exceptionally proud of Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his masterful strategy to fight fire with fire on the path to retaking the House in November," a spokesman for the former speaker told Fox News Digital.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries', D-N.Y, office did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

House Majority Forward has historically been one of the primary sources of funds for the House Majority PAC, a major Democratic committee affiliated with Democrat leaders, that itself is one of the top sources of cash for congressional Democrats, according to FEC filings. House Majority Forward and House Majority PAC are sister organizations.

"HMF's support matched the $40 million Republicans invested in the recent redistricting election, and once again their pro-war, costs-raising, toxic agenda was soundly rejected by Virginians," House Majority Forward communications director CJ Warnke told Fox News Digital. "No amount of GOP money will prevent Leader Hakeem Jeffries from becoming the next Speaker of the House."

LEFT-WING BILLIONAIRES BANKROLL DEM SUPER PAC PLOTTING TO WIN BACK WORKING-CLASS VOTERS: 'THIS IS A PRIORITY'

House Majority Forward is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that is not required to publicly disclose its donors. Its contributions allow money from undisclosed donors to move into the political process through publicly reported donations to House Majority PAC.

While Republicans are financially dominant across major committees, Democrats have built considerable leads at the campaign level in some key congressional races.

Democratic candidates have raised more than their GOP opponents in closely watched Senate races in Georgia, Alaska, Ohio, Michigan and Maine, according to campaign finance data analyzed by NPR. Thirteen Republicans running in hotly contested House races have been out raised by Democratic challengers, compared to just four Democrats defending competitive seats who were out raised, Roll Call reported.

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Republican members of Congress in toss-up seats, however, raised more on average than Democrats defending similarly competitive seats during the first three months of 2026, according to campaign finance records.

"Republicans are being rewarded with endless big, dark, special interest money from the billionaires they gave a tax break after cutting trillions from Americans’ health care in their Big, Ugly Bill," the Pelosi spokesman continued. "Democrats may not have unlimited resources from billionaires, but we will have enough grassroots support to organize and win a resounding victory to elect Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker of the House."

Exiled Muslim scholar warns far-left–Islamist alliance behind anti-Israel protests echoes Iran’s rise

Sat, 16 May 2026 09:02:23 -0400

A Muslim scholar who was forced to flee Egypt after criticizing Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks is warning America’s far left that its alliance with Islamist extremism could end the same way Iran’s did in 1979 — with an Islamic regime seizing power after partnering with leftist factions.

Dalia Ziada, a Middle East scholar and Washington, D.C.-based coordinator at the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, later relocated to the United States and said she is now seeing similar and troubling dynamics take shape here.

Her warning comes as a global network of anti-Israel activist groups is mobilizing coordinated "Nakba 78" protests across the United States and around the world this weekend, with organizers using the anniversary of Israel’s founding to stage demonstrations that critics say challenge the Jewish state’s legitimacy, and, in some cases, call for its dismantling

"For five or seven years now, we have been seeing some kind of a ‘sinful marriage’ between the radical left and the radical Islamism, the groups that hate Western liberal democracies and desire to destroy them," she told Fox News Digital.

SCATHING REPORT CALLS ON US TO LABEL ISLAMIST GROUP INFILTRATING ALL ASPECTS OF AMERICAN LIFE AS TERRORIST ORG

Ziada said Islamist movements, including groups tied to the Muslim Brotherhood, have for years sought to use the Palestinian cause as a way to mobilize support and build alliances with other activist movements in the West, a phenomenon some analysts have described as a "red–green alliance.

She also argued that Islamist movements have increasingly targeted Jewish communities in the West, which she described as a "pillar" supporting liberal democratic systems.

"They agree on one thing, that they need to destroy the West as we know it today and replace it with something else. For the radicalists, they want to replace it with the Marxist system. For the Islamists, they want to replace it with an Islamist system, which they think is the ideal system," she said.

Global protest network

A Fox News Digital investigation found that approximately 425 organizations — including communist groups, Muslim advocacy organizations and anti-Israel activist coalitions — are operating within a coordinated transnational protest network with a combined funding footprint of roughly $1 billion in annual revenues.

The groups have organized an estimated 736 events across 39 countries this weekend.

Ziada said the alliance reflects what she described as a shared hostility toward Western liberal democracies and has intensified in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.

She argued the war in Gaza has provided what she described as a "moral umbrella" for the movement.

"They used that to give themselves some moral legitimacy to go on and accelerate the process of destroying the West," she said.

Lessons from Iran

Ziada pointed to the 1979 Iranian Revolution as a cautionary example.

"We saw this exactly happening in Iran in the 1970s. The Islamists used the left because the legitimacy of the left is stronger, because they don't come from a religious background," she said. "They allied the communists there, made them believe that we all are going to change Iran and make it a better place. And how it ended in 1979, the Islamic Revolution happened. The Islamists took over the country and the first group they sacrificed … was the communists, the leftists in Iran."

Ziada warned that similar dynamics could emerge in the United States if ideological alliances continue to deepen, arguing that movements built around shared opposition can fracture once power shifts.

She said that while the groups involved may appear aligned in the short term, their long-term goals are fundamentally incompatible — a pattern she said has played out repeatedly in the Middle East.

She said such alliances are often temporary, warning that once power is secured, more extreme factions tend to dominate.

ASRA NOMANI: I WATCHED HATE CONSUME DEMOCRATS' 'NON-VIOLENT' #NOKINGS RALLIES

She said the protests themselves are expected to follow a familiar pattern of anti-Israel demonstrations that she described as "very well organized worldwide."

"I don’t think this time it would be any different in the general sense of demonizing Israel, trying to blame Israel for everything," she said.

Ziada said protesters are likely to frame Israel using terms such as "apartheid" and "genocide," language she argued points to a broader, coordinated alignment of groups operating with similar messaging and goals.

Ziada said the term "Nakba," meaning "catastrophe," has been reframed over time, arguing it was originally used in part to criticize Arab leaders for rejecting a proposed Palestinian state — a context she said is largely absent from modern protests.

"I wouldn't say it's kind of a bureau… but they all agree on one thing, which is destroying the United States or weakening the Western world," she said.

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Ziada said she has already seen the consequences of such alliances firsthand in the Middle East.

"I have seen my native Egypt being destroyed by these groups, by these people, and I’ve seen the entire Middle East actually falling under this. And I don’t want to see the United States, the country that has given me my education, has given my career, has given me a refuge when these radicals tried to kill me — I don’t want to see being destroyed by the same bad guys."

Harris labeled 'institutional arsonist' for plan to fundamentally transform SCOTUS and Electoral College

Sat, 16 May 2026 09:00:56 -0400

Former Vice President Kamala Harris faced swift Republican backlash after calling on Democrats to consider expanding the Supreme Court and gutting the Electoral College the next time they are in power.

"Let’s invite ideas, for example, that are about Supreme Court reform, including the notion of expanding the court," Harris said on a call with the left-wing nonprofit Emerge. "Let’s invite a discussion about how do we push for statehood for Puerto Rico and D.C.; how are we thinking about the Electoral College."

"We've got to neutralize this red state cheating," she continued. "There's a brutality at play on the other side, and a ruthlessness. And we need to play to win."

Harris’ plea for "bold" reforms came after Democrats suffered two major setbacks in the redistricting wars, as both parties scramble to draw new congressional seats ahead of November's midterm elections.

HARRIS' 'NO BAD IDEA BRAINSTORM' FOR DEMS INCLUDES PACKING SCOTUS, ELIMINATING ELECTORAL COLLEGE

In late April, the Supreme Court moved to curb the use of race in the drawing of electoral districts, effectively gutting Black-majority districts held by Democrats across the South. Democrats were dealt another blow at the Virginia Supreme Court earlier in May when a Democratic-friendly gerrymander was struck down over a procedural concern.

"What they have done with this decision, by saying that the politics of redistricting is okay, is they are back-dooring racism through politics," Harris also said on the call. "What they are doing is intentionally about trying to suppress the voice of the people."

The 2024 presidential candidate’s ideas drew a sharp rebuke from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who accused Democrats of being "institutional arsonists."

"It's a dangerous thing, a dangerous gambit," the speaker said. "You don't just blow up the system when you lose."

"For the former vice president of the United States and a candidate for president to suggest that you should pack the Supreme Court or destroy these institutions because they lost is I just think outrageous," he added.

LIZ PEEK: WHAT KAMALA HARRIS BUZZ IS TELLING US. READ BETWEEN THE LINES, AMERICA

Conservative Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., also criticized Harris’ comments, calling them "totally insane" in an interview with Fox News.

"That's why we can't let her become president," he said. "People … rejected her before; they'll reject her again."

Not all Democrats are in agreement with Harris.

"I think that's putting the cart before the horse," Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., told Fox News. "Right now I'm focusing on lowering costs, health care, ending a runaway war that's costing Americans tens of billions of dollars. Those are the things that my constituents are talking to me about."

Harris’ calls for Democratic retaliation come as Republicans are emerging as the clear winners in the redistricting battle ahead of the midterms. The GOP could pick up more than a dozen seats after a bevy of GOP-led states have drawn new congressional maps while Democratic gains have so far been limited to California and Utah.

Earlier in May, Tennessee carved up its lone Black-majority district, represented for decades by a white Democrat, allowing Republicans to pick up a seat that had long eluded them.

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Louisiana and South Carolina are conducting similar efforts to erase several Democratic-held seats following the Supreme Court’s ruling.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has vowed to respond with his own gerrymander push in a swath of blue and purple states, including New York, New Jersey, Colorado and Oregon. But those states are not likely to move forward with new maps until 2028, making it a moot point ahead of November.

Inside the teen takeovers threatening to explode this summer as cities remain on edge: 'Very worried'

Sat, 16 May 2026 09:00:47 -0400

A wave of social media-fueled teen takeovers in cities from Chicago to Washington, D.C., is putting officials on alert for a potentially volatile summer as experts warn the large youth gatherings could strain police, fuel violence and threaten recent public-safety gains.

"It usually increases during the summer," Zack Smith, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital of crime trends. "I think anyone who has looked at crime data and some kind of criminological studies recognized that that will increase and I think that is something that the city should be very worried about."

The warning comes after a wave of spring incidents across the country, where large teen crowds organized or amplified online have led to arrests, fights, weapons charges and emergency curfew debates.

"So many of these incidents are fueled by two things: social media and boredom. That’s it," Amy Swearer, a senior legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom, told Fox News Digital.

GOP SENATOR TARGETS DC 'YOUTH OFFENDER' LAW AS TRUMP DEMANDS TOUGHER SENTENCES FOR VIOLENT TEENS

"There is potential for this to escalate, and to really damage some really good progress that we’ve made in cutting back on that post-COVID violent crime spike," Swearer added. Violent crime surged nationally during the pandemic, with homicides rising sharply in 2020 as cities were also rocked by protests and riots following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Social media has contributed to "under-the-radar" meetups, Swearer said, explaining that many teens are working to boost their "clout" online with outrageous videos.

"There are massive accounts that are just dedicated to showing the chaos and the carnage and the street takeover events, where it’s almost like a social media clout thing," she said.

Teen takeovers continue to spread nationwide

A Chicago teen takeover erupted Wednesday night when a car rammed a police cruiser as teen mobs cheered and filmed. In a similar incident last week, 22 people were arrested, ages 12 to 21, in Tampa, Florida, after a "teen takeover" at Curtis Hixon Park erupted into fights and disruptions, resulting in charges of affray, drug possession, resisting arrest and unlawful weapon possession.

In March, about 200 teens swarmed D.C.’s Navy Yard, where fights broke out and a 15-year-old was arrested after allegedly firing a gun, days after a temporary curfew was imposed. Nearly a dozen more juveniles were arrested a month later after street brawls in Southwest D.C., prompting a push to extend emergency powers. A large crowd returned to Navy Yard a week later, where police reported no major incidents or arrests.

The D.C. Council approved a long-term youth curfew earlier in May in an 8-5 vote after weeks of debate. The legislation still needs the mayor’s signature and congressional review before taking effect.

PROGRESSIVE PROSECUTORS LIT THE FUSE, AND TEEN MOBS ARE THE EXPLOSION

Chicago was also hit with more chaos in March and April. Hundreds of teens flooded streets, filled intersections and broke out into fights, resulting in multiple arrests and curfew violations.

Mayor Brandon Johnson warned parents about the "teen trends" following the incidents, saying they "are dangerous and can often turn violent." Johnson avoided using the term "takeover."

Struggles among teens, like poverty and mental health, could be fueling the "chaos," Swearer said.

"There’s a huge overlap between juvenile delinquency and poverty and mental health issues, and even delinquencies from school, truancy," she said.

Despite those broader challenges, she said the takeovers are not justified.

"None of that is an excuse for allowing this type of large-scale chaotic disruption in this planned way," she said.

Authorities have made multiple arrests nationwide this year tied to the meetups, with several in the nation’s capital. President Trump, who campaigned on lowering crime and has warned criminals will face prosecution, has carried that message into efforts such as the Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force.

Takeovers in Trump's backyard

The incidents have also created a political and public-safety test in Trump’s backyard, where the president has made D.C. crime a signature issue and deployed federal muscle to back it up.

Trump’s Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force has made more than 10,000 arrests and recovered more than 1,000 illegal firearms since its launch, but the continued teen takeovers show how juvenile disorder remains a stubborn challenge even amid the broader crackdown.

WHITE HOUSE LAUNCHES FEDERAL SECURITY BLITZ AS PRESIDENT VOWS TO END DC 'CRIME PLAGUE'

However, the concern over an escalation in teen takeovers persists.

The White House told Fox News Digital that the administration is ready to tackle potential rising crime "head on" when asked about concerns the teen takeover trends could spike in the warm summer months.

"President Trump’s Safe and Beautiful Task Force has yielded tremendous results in a very short period of time – driving down crime rates in all categories and making the city safer for residents and visitors alike," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. "As new law enforcement challenges arise, the Task Force remains committed to addressing them head on."

CHICAGO TEEN TAKEOVER MOB RAMS POLICE CRUISER BACKWARD, SWARMS CAR AS ONLOOKERS CHEER: VIDEO

Pressure mounts over juvenile crime response

The D.C. incidents have revived a broader fight over juvenile accountability in the capital.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced Friday that parents who let kids take part in violent D.C. teen takeovers could now face fines and up to six months in jail under the city’s curfew law.

"As we grapple with this problem, there is one area that hasn’t been discussed," Pirro said. "Parent involvement has been a noted gap in any discussion, and I am here to say, as the United States attorney in the District of Columbia, that ends today."

"If the evidence shows the parent knew or should have known, permitted or failed to prevent participation, we’re gonna charge them," she added.

She criticized the city’s response to teen takeovers in April, saying the disorder falls largely outside her office’s jurisdiction because most juvenile cases in D.C. are handled by the local attorney general.

"These alleged social gatherings turn into criminal chaos," Pirro told Fox & Friends. "Families are affected by it, businesses end up being shuttered, there’s violence that occurs."

The U.S. Attorney’s Office generally handles adult felonies and only a narrower set of serious juvenile cases charged as adult matters, including certain violent crimes involving 16- and 17-year-olds.

"Since I have been here, my mission has been to change the law to make some of the young punks criminally responsible for what they're doing," Pirro told Navy Yard residents at an Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting in March.

Smith said the D.C. attorney general’s office, led by Brian Schwalb, has repeatedly mishandled juvenile prosecutions.

"This narrow slice of crime that’s committed by juvenile offenders, primary responsibility lies to prosecute those offenders with the D.C. attorney general’s office, and frankly, he’s just not doing his job right now," he said.

DC CURFEW ENDS AS TEEN TAKEOVER FEARS CLOCK IN – CITY BRACES FOR CHAOS AMID SPRING BREAK MAYHEM

The Department of Justice, Pirro's office, and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"You can put more officers on the street, you can put more National Guard members on the streets, and they can arrest individuals who break the law, but if those juvenile offenders are not being held accountable at the end of the day, they recognize that there are no real consequences," Smith said.

He said teens who don’t fear punishment are more likely to commit crimes.

"Too many juveniles, particularly juvenile offenders in the District, recognize that there is a lack of consequences for their violent actions," he said.

A small group of repeat offenders may actually be driving the crime, and authorities already know who many of them are, Swearer said.

"Juvenile crime tracks the same way as adult crime," she said. "It’s driven predominantly by a small number of repeat, almost incorrigible offenders who are well known to the criminal justice system."

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She said leaders can address these problems, but whether they’re willing to act is unclear.

"In many respects, we saw that this was a willpower issue," she said. "Did we have the power to actually do something about this?"

Senators agree to forgo shutdown paychecks — but many won't feel the pain

Sat, 16 May 2026 08:00:06 -0400

Senators will now go without pay during future government shutdowns, but for many, they don’t need the paycheck.

The Senate unanimously agreed to forgo their paychecks during future shutdowns, with the money being withheld until a deal is struck to reopen the government. But much of the upper chamber is populated with lawmakers who are already wealthy before their time in office.

"There are some members who are very independently wealthy that their congressional paycheck is a rounding error to their investments," Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital. "Fine, I’m not pejorative of that at all. But we need to actually end government shutdowns."

SENATORS AGREE TO GO WITHOUT PAY DURING SHUTDOWNS AFTER HISTORIC CLOSURES LEFT WORKERS UNPAID

In the last year, Congress has been unable to keep the government open twice. The first time for 43 days, and the most recent for 76 days.

Republicans worry that before the midterm elections, and before the rule change becomes official, that Senate Democrats may again try to shutter the government to gain a political edge. They hope that the rule change, pushed by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., is at least enough to convince some lawmakers not to do it.

However, nearly three-quarters of the Senate are millionaires, according to an analysis of financial disclosure data reviewed by Fox News Digital and first reported by NOTUS, meaning the fear of missing a paycheck may not be enough to quell the desire to score political points.

SENATE WEIGHS NEW, PAINFUL LEVERAGE TACTIC AS FEARS OF ANOTHER GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN GROW

"It certainly doesn't stop future shutdowns," Lankford said. "It just says, ‘Hey, people are not being paid, we're not being paid either.’"

Others were more optimistic that by installing the new guardrails on themselves, it could open the door to future legislation that may take shutdowns off the table entirely — like Lankford’s bill that would automatically extend government funding on a temporary, two-week basis if lawmakers miss the mark.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, who is one of the wealthier members of the Senate, believed that the success of Kennedy’s resolution could open the valve to his legislation that would dock members’ pay during shutdowns.

"It's about brick by brick, rebuilding confidence in the institution," Moreno told Fox News Digital.

GOP CAN'T AGREE ON KEY PART OF TRUMP'S HOUSING AFFORDABILITY PUSH AS INFIGHTING CONTINUES

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., another of the Senate’s wealthiest members, contended that lawmakers shouldn’t hold federal workers "hostage based on what we’re doing."

Over the past several months, hundreds of thousands of federal employees went without pay. And in the case of workers under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), they went without paychecks twice.

"Hopefully it’ll get people to focus on getting [appropriations] done, because, you know, we don’t have a process to get this stuff done," Scott told Fox News Digital.

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Meanwhile, Kennedy, who successfully pushed Senate Republican leadership to put the bill on the floor, viewed its success as progress.

But it’s not as far as he wanted to go.

"Look, if I were king for a day, I would pass a bill that doesn't suspend member pay, it forfeits member pay during a shutdown," Kennedy told Fox News Digital. "And I will also include in the bill a prohibition against members leaving Washington while we're in a shutdown. But I don't have the votes to do that. So I'm doing as much as I can."

Hunter Biden resurfaces in LA, reacts to questions about Biden tapes, UFO files

Sat, 16 May 2026 06:00:40 -0400

EXCLUSIVE: Hunter Biden was spotted by paparazzi in West Los Angeles this week, where the former first son briefly reacted to questions about ongoing litigation surrounding former President Joe Biden’s interview tapes and alleged government UFO files.

"Hunter, what do you think of the DOJ when they release your father's interview tapes from the biography that he did?" a reporter asked as he approached Biden near Wilshire Boulevard.

"What are you talking about?" Hunter Biden said.

BIDEN SEEKS TO BLOCK DOJ RELEASE OF 2017 AUDIO, COURT FILING SAYS

The exchange comes amid ongoing litigation seeking the release of audio tied to former President Joe Biden’s classified-documents probe, which fueled scrutiny over the elder Biden’s memory and fitness while in office.

The probe examined Joe Biden’s handling and discussion of classified material during conversations with ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer. Special Counsel Rob Hur said the author had deleted the files, but the Justice Department was able to recover them.

BIDEN INTERVIEW AUDIO REVEALS WHO BROUGHT UP BEAU'S DEATH — AND IT WASN'T HUR

The conservative watchdog Oversight Project sued the DOJ seeking release of audio recordings from Joe Biden’s interviews with special counsel Robert Hur. Biden has denied wrongdoing and said he cooperated fully with the probe.

"I don’t know, man — I hadn’t heard that one," Hunter Biden later said.

ASHLEY BIDEN SLAMS REPORTING ABOUT HER DAD'S MENTAL ACUITY AS 'DISRESPECTFUL AND UNTRUE'

The reporter also asked about the recently released UFO Files.

"It’s crazy right?" Hunter Biden replied, but did not elaborate.

Hunter Biden was also one of several recent individuals whose Secret Service protection was rescinded by the Trump administration.

TRUMP REVOKES SECURITY CLEARANCES OF FORMER OPPONENTS KAMALA HARRIS, HILLARY CLINTON

Trump announced in March 2025 that Hunter Biden and his half-sister Ashley Blazer Biden — child of Jill and Joe — would cease to have such protection.

The president criticized the fact that Hunter had "as many as 18 people" on his USSS detail.

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Hunter Biden’s appearance marked a rare public sighting for the former first son, who has largely stayed out of public view in recent months.

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Bishop Barron to address 'true threat to democracy' at Trump prayer event

Sat, 16 May 2026 06:00:09 -0400

EXCLUSIVE: At President Donald Trump’s "Rededicate 250" prayer event on the National Mall this weekend, Bishop Robert Barron will address the "marginalization of God" and religion in society, which he said he considers a "true threat to democracy."

Rededicate 250 is a major prayer event set for Sunday as a way of "rededicating" the nation as "One Nation Under God" ahead of America’s 250th anniversary. The event, which is being organized by the Trump-aligned "Freedom 250" nonprofit, is expected to include the president, White House Cabinet members and major faith leaders.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Barron, perhaps America’s most well-known and beloved Catholic bishop, revealed that his address at the event will emphasize his belief that "if you marginalize and privatize religion, democracy is in danger."

"God is essential to the very foundations of American democracy," he asserted. "There's a lot of talk today about the threats to democracy, that is a true threat to democracy, the marginalization of God."

TRUMP LAUNCHES MASSIVE ‘FREEDOM 250’ PUSH TO IGNITE AMERICA’S 250TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

Barron explained that many of the societal ills seen today are due to this cultural separation from God.

"Take God out of the equation, what are you left with? Radical self-choice. Welcome to wokeism. Welcome to the culture of self-invention. ‘I make myself up, values is up to me, my gender, it's up to the whole structure of my life, it's my choice,’" he said. "That’s deadly to our democracy."

"Religion belongs to the very fabric of our democracy, that's the theme of my talk," he said.

Barron said he will begin his speech by invoking Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

"We know from the early written versions [that] Lincoln didn't have the phrase ‘under God’ when he said that this nation might have a new birth of freedom. But when he delivered the speech, he said this nation ‘Under God might have a new birth of freedom.’ So, what prompted Lincoln, as he was giving the Gettysburg Address, to add that phrase?" he said. "You could say, ‘Oh, it's just a little pious declaration.’ No, no, no, I think that's born of a very, very deep and correct intuition, America is a nation that's conditioned by these great values, moral values, spiritual values that come finally from God."

Barron argued that one of America’s most foundational ideas — that all men are created equal — is a novel concept made possible only by Christianity.

"We're not equal in any way. Look at the classical political philosophers; they would never affirm the equality of all people. We're not equal in intelligence or moral virtue or beauty or courage or anything. We're radically unequal. So where does this come from?" he asked. "Why would you go from we're not equal at all to it’s ‘self-evident that we're equal’? And the answer is in that little word, ‘created,’ that ‘all men are created equal.’ So, despite all our differences, we are all equally children of God and then endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights."

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This second concept of all possessing inalienable rights, Barron argued, is a uniquely Christian idea imbued in America’s values.

"No one in the classical world believed that. Aristotle didn't, Plato didn't. Cicero didn't, none of them," he explained. "Look in societies more recent that don't believe in God. Go to Soviet Russia, go to communist China, everyone has rights? No way."

"Where do they come from?" he said. "Well, Jefferson gives away the game. They're endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. Take the creator out of the equation, rights will go out in a minute. So, Lincoln's intuition to say that this nation under God would have a new birth of freedom, God is essential to the very foundations of American democracy. If you marginalize and privatize religion, democracy is in danger."

Barron said he will also address the nature of freedom itself.

"It’s a very modern sense of freedom that it means spontaneous choice, I'm free if I could just do whatever I want,’" he said. "But see, the founding fathers were trained both biblically and classically; they did not understand freedom that way."

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"Freedom is more like this, it's an ordering of desire toward the good, so as to make the achievement of the good first possible and then effortless."

He pointed to mastering a new language or the piano as examples.

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"Think of the way you become a free speaker of a language, not by talking any old way you want, but rather internalizing the laws of the language. How do you become a free player with the piano? Not by doing whatever you want, but by internalizing the structure of music."

"That's the kind of freedom we're talking about," he said. "It’s the moral freedom to become the person you're meant to be, that you can now effortlessly achieve the good, that this nation under God might have a new birth of freedom."

After Indiana purge, Trump sets sights on Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy

Sat, 16 May 2026 05:00:43 -0400

BATON ROUGE, La. — After taking out five Indiana state senators who opposed his push for congressional redistricting, President Donald Trump's next target is Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.

Cassidy, who five and a half years ago voted to convict Trump in his impeachment trial, is fighting for his political life in a competitive race against two major challengers, including one backed by the president, in Saturday's GOP Senate primary in the solidly red southern state.

The president on Saturday morning took aim at Cassidy, arguing the senator is "a disloyal disaster" and "a sleazebag, a terrible guy, who is BAD FOR LOUISIANA."

Trump and his allies, including Republican Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana, are backing GOP Rep. Julia Letlow in the Senate primary. Also in the race is former Rep. John Fleming, who is the state treasurer. If no candidate cracks 50% of the primary vote, the top two finishers will face off for the nomination in a June 27 runoff election.

The primary is the latest test of Trump's endorsements in GOP nomination races and of the president's immense grip over the Republican Party.

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After cruising to re-election six years ago, Cassidy was one of only seven Senate Republicans who voted in early 2021 to convict Trump after he was impeached by the House for his role in the violent Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters who aimed to upend congressional certification of former President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. Trump was acquitted by the Senate.

But since the start of Trump's second term, Cassidy has been supportive of the president's agenda and his nominees, including voting to approve Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

But Kennedy and his Make America Healthy Again movement are out for revenge.

That's because Cassidy, a doctor, has been a skeptic of Kennedy's push to reform the nation's health policies, including Kennedy's efforts to cut back on vaccine recommendations.

And Kennedy allies blamed Cassidy, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, for helping sink the surgeon general nomination of Casey Means, a close Kennedy ally and top MAHA advocate, after Cassidy did not bring it to a committee vote.

Meanwhile, Trump has blasted the senator as a "very disloyal person."

And on the eve of the primary, the president took to social media to praise Letlow as a "Highly Respected America First Congresswoman."

Making Cassidy's climb to renomination even tougher, Louisiana will now run separate party primaries in the Senate race, which replaces a system where all candidates appeared in one single jungle primary. That guarantees a more conservative and pro-Trump electorate for the GOP nomination.

Cassidy is highlighting his record over two terms in the Senate in delivering for Louisiana, which is one of the nation's poorest states. And he's showcased his support for Louisiana's large oil and gas industry, which accounts for roughly 15% of the state's workforce.

"When people ask things such as, can you work with President Trump, I point out that he has signed into law four bills that I wrote or negotiated," the senator said in a primary eve interview with Fox News Digital. "We continue to work together, by the way."

And Cassidy touted that he's "a conservative senator who delivers."

In trying to avert becoming the first elected Republican senator in nearly a decade and a half to be ousted in a primary, Cassidy and an allied super PAC have dished out more than $20 million on ads, according to AdImpact, a national ad tracking firm. That total is more than Letlow and Fleming, combined, have spent.

Some of those ads have knocked Letlow over her past support for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs during her tenure at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Cassidy argued that Republican voters are "concerned about her shifting position on DEI. She was all in for DEI."

LETLOW EXPLAINS HER PAST SUPPORT FOR DIVERSITY PROGRAMS

Defending her record, Letlow explained in a Fox News Digital interview on Friday that "back in 2020 whenever DEI was introduced to us, we had no idea what it was back then, and I quickly witnessed it. I was in higher education at the time. I quickly witnessed the left completely hijack it, turn it into this Marxist leftist indoctrination of our children. And so, when I got to Congress for the last five years, I've been fighting against it.

And she charged that the criticism of her from Cassidy and Fleming over DEI is "all baseless attacks, desperate attacks."

Letlow won her congressional seat in 2021, after her husband, Luke Letlow, died six days after being sworn into the U.S. House after his 2020 election victory for the seat she now holds.

She was backed by Trump even before she entered the race.

"Not only did he encourage me to get into this race, but also to have his complete and total endorsement has been, wow, the honor of a lifetime," Letlow said.

Letlow has taken aim at Cassidy for his bipartisan efforts in the Senate, including his vote for the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law that was a signature domestic achievement for then-President Joe Biden.

Asked about her criticism, Cassidy said the "people want someone who can deliver for Louisiana. The Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act has brought $13.5 billion to Louisiana for roads and bridges and high-speed internet, and along the way creating a lot of good paying jobs. My opponent opposed that bill."

Fleming, who served as a White House deputy chief of staff during Trump’s first term, has argued that he's the most conservative candidate in the GOP Senate primary.

'They see me clearly MAGA," Fleming told Fox News Digital, as he referred to Louisiana Republicans. "I served in his entire first administration at various capacities. I was one of the first congressmen that endorsed him in 2016."

Fleming claimed that Letlow is "not the prototype for a Trump endorsement. She's much more like a Democrat."

And Fleming, apparently, has become a threat to Letlow, as a super PAC supporting the congresswoman started to run ads attacking him.

But Trump's endorsement in the nomination race weighs heavily in a state he carried by 22 points in his 2024 election victory.

"It's the most powerful endorsement in the world," Letlow said, adding that Louisiana Republicans "are huge fans of the president."

And the Louisiana primary comes a week and a half after Indiana's primary, where Trump-backed challengers ousted five state senators who had defied the president over his redistricting push.

The political world was closely watching Indiana's primary because it was the first of a series of major tests this month of Trump's endorsement power in GOP nomination showdowns, and the president cleared his first hurdle with ease.

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Voters in Louisiana will also cast ballots in primary contests for State Supreme Court, Public Service Commission and state school board, along with five proposed state constitutional amendments.

But the primaries for the U.S. House seats were postponed by Landry after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state's current congressional district map.

Republican state senators in Louisiana on Thursday advanced a plan to eliminate one of the state's two majority-Black congressional seats ahead of the midterms. Louisiana's state House will likely vote on the map next week. The U.S. House primaries are being postponed until November.

Red-state auditor reports 'explosion' of fraud tips as he targets state employees 'racking up' taxpayer waste

Sat, 16 May 2026 05:00:40 -0400

Nebraska’s top auditor says fraud complaints are surging as waste, fraud, and abuse dominate the national conversation, telling Fox News Digital that his own crackdown has uncovered alleged misuse of taxpayer resources inside state government.

"It’s just extraordinary the explosion of phone calls and allegations and emails and so forth that are pouring into my office," Nebraska State Auditor Mike Foley said as the fraud crackdown have become a national news story and the Trump administration, led by Vice President JD Vance, unleashed a task force to root out fraud.

"And as the media focuses on this more and more, it just makes the phone ring all the more, which is fine. We’re happy to receive those calls and try to filter through them and find out which ones are the most legitimate ones for us to pursue. But it’s clearly on the rise."

Foley, speaking with Fox News Digital from the State Financial Officers Foundation conference in Clearwater, Florida, is sounding the alarm specifically on what he says is an issue with taxpayer money being wasted or possibly defrauded by state workers, which he has made efforts to crack down on.

"Many of our state vehicles are now equipped with a GPS tracker," Foley explained. "We can see precisely where these state vehicles are really going during work hours and they're going to liquor stores. They're going into health appointments that the employee might have. They're on personal errands all across the state, and it's racking up a lot of expense for the taxpayers in a very improper way."

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Foley’s office reviewed GPS data from 45 state fleet vehicles and found employees allegedly using them for "trips to retail outlets, restaurants, medical facilities, residences of relatives, commuting home without permission and other private errands," the Nebraska Examiner reported last year.

Foley put out a press release last year documenting how he uncovered what he described as a "disturbing uptick" in alleged financial improprieties across local governments statewide, detailing eight recent investigations involving suspected misuse of public money, questionable reimbursements and possible fraud.

"I can cite so many examples of contractors that are over billing or double-billing the state, all kinds of state employee infractions of using state vehicles and state assets improperly, having contractors bill us for hours which we know they did not work, having state employees billed us for time served when we know that they were at a different place of employment, public school districts that are milking public school funds for all kinds of extravagances and so forth, but at the end of the day, the tone has to be set at the top."

At the top, Foley’s efforts on waste, fraud, and abuse have led him to a situation that he describes as "uncomfortable," which has put him at odds with Nebraska’s Republican Gov. Jim Pillen.

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Foley has been involved in a highly publicized debate with Pillen, arguing that the governor improperly awarded a no-bid state contract worth roughly $2 million to a consultant with ties to the governor. Nebraska law generally requires public bidding for contracts over $50,000 and says the administration wrongly claimed there was an "emergency" to bypass that process.

"There was no emergency and later now they're claiming that she brought in hundreds of millions of dollars in grant awards," Foley said. "The truth is those grant award applications were filed by other people, other contractors before she was even on the job. So this is a very, very serious abuse and it sets the tone in the wrong way. For other people in the state government who can say the governor can do that, I can do it too. And that's wrong."

Pillen’s administration has denied wrongdoing, maintaining the contract was justified because of the need to quickly pursue economic development opportunities and federal funding.

"The contract was done the right way and is bringing hundreds of millions of dollars of value to Nebraska, which otherwise would have been wasted in California," Pillen spokesperson Laura Strimple told Fox News Digital. "Auditor Foley disagrees and he is entitled to his opinion."

Foley has referred the matter to law enforcement for further review, saying his office’s role is limited to conducting audits and highlighting potential violations.

"I’m not the most popular person in state government," Foley jokingly told Fox News Digital, but said "we must" track expenditures in order to safeguard taxpayer funds.

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"Nebraska regrettably is a high-tax state and people know that, and they're fed up with these high taxes, and they know that money is not being spent properly in so many instances, and they are relying on me and my office to catch this kind of thing, and we're doing a good job," Foley said.

"There needs to be consequences when we find these kinds of abuses, and there are. Many people are losing their jobs because they've abused the trust of having access to a credit card or other assets of the government, or there could be even further legal complications and infractions and jail sentences even. We've put a number of people behind bars because of abuse and stealing of public funds."

Senator John Kennedy introduces America to ‘Margaret,’ his elliptical trainer named after Thatcher

Fri, 15 May 2026 22:02:08 -0400

Margaret Thatcher once ran Britain. John Kennedy’s "Margaret" mostly runs him into the ground.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., is going viral after posting a tongue-in-cheek workout video introducing followers to "Margaret" — his elliptical trainer named after former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher — while wearing a red bandanna and speaking directly to the camera from his Louisiana carport.

"Hey X, I have somebody I’d like you to meet," Kennedy says at the start of the minute-long video posted to social media Friday.

"This is Margaret. Margaret is my elliptical trainer. I named Margaret after Margaret Thatcher because both kick butt and take names."

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Kennedy goes on to explain that "Margaret" lives outside under the carport for three reasons: the machine is too heavy to move, his wife "won’t let" him bring it inside and because he enjoys getting in a workout during Louisiana summers.

The Senator said he enjoys working outside during Louisiana summers, a detail that drew disbelief from many viewers familiar with the state’s famously brutal heat and humidity.

"As you can see, Margaret, my elliptical trainer, is out here under my carport in Louisiana," Kennedy says. "After Margaret kicks my butt, I look for air conditioning."

The surreal, self-aware clip quickly drew thousands of reactions online, with users roasting Kennedy’s bandanna look while also praising the senator’s everyman personality.

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"You are rocking the dadgum crap outta that bandana," one user wrote. "I thought you were representing the Bloods for a minute. Tell Margaret I think she’s cute but evil."

Others praised Kennedy’s personality and down-home delivery style.

"You are a gem to us normal folk Mr. Kennedy. Live long and prosper!" one supporter posted.

"Senator Kennedy is that kind of Southerner that makes you feel you're sitting on the front porch having some bit of common sense enlighten you in that poetic Southern way," another wrote.

The Louisiana Republican has long cultivated a folksy, humorous public image that often breaks through online with colorful one-liners and unconventional social media moments.

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Kennedy ended the video with a line that only added to the internet’s fascination.

"My work here is done," he said. "And I can see myself out."

Colorado governor commutes Tina Peters' sentence as Trump posts ‘FREE TINA!’

Fri, 15 May 2026 19:07:57 -0400

Democrat Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday commuted the sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters — the former election clerk convicted in connection with a 2021 voting equipment breach case that became a flashpoint in the election integrity fight — drawing immediate backlash from Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and praise from President Donald Trump, who posted "FREE TINA!" on Truth Social.

Polis announced clemency for 44 individuals Friday, including 35 pardons and nine commutations, according to the governor’s office. Peters was among those granted a commutation reducing her prison sentence and granting parole effective June 1, 2026.

"The Clemency power is a serious responsibility, and not one that I take lightly," Polis said in a statement announcing the clemency actions.

"This power has the ability to change lives - help grant a second chance for someone who has made grave mistakes - and it comes with great consideration, and sometimes even controversy," he added.

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The move immediately prompted a blistering response from Griswold, who accused Polis of legitimizing "the election denial movement."

"This clemency grant to Tina Peters is an affront to our democracy, the people of Colorado, and election officials across the country," Griswold said in a statement Friday.

"The Governor’s actions today will validate and embolden the election denial movement, and leave a dark, dangerous imprint on American democracy for years to come," she added.

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According to the executive order signed Friday, Peters’ sentence was commuted from 8 years and 3 months to 4 years and 4.5 months. The order grants her parole effective June 1, 2026, with conditions to be set by the Colorado Parole Board.

"Tina M. Peters be and hereby is granted a limited commutation such that her total sentence, inclusive of time in County Jail and the Department of Corrections, is commuted to 4 years and 4.5 months, and that she is granted parole effective June 1, 2026," the order states.

The executive order also explicitly noted that the clemency action "shall not in any way affect the underlying criminal conviction."

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Polis wrote in the order that "the constitutional and statutory conditions for granting this clemency petition have been satisfied, and granting this commutation is in the interest of justice."

According to the executive order, Peters was convicted in 2024 of three counts of attempt to influence a public servant, along with conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation - cause liability, official misconduct, violation of duty elections and failure to comply with secretary of state requirements.

She had been sentenced to 8 years and 3 months in Department of Corrections custody, along with 6 months in county jail. Her mandatory release date had previously been listed in 2033, while her estimated parole eligibility date had been in 2028.

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Griswold’s office said Peters’ actions stemmed from a 2021 breach involving Mesa County voting equipment.

"In 2021, then-Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters compromised her county’s voting equipment trying to prove conspiracies," Griswold’s office said in a release Friday.

The office said Griswold responded by decertifying the county’s voting equipment, working with Mesa County commissioners to remove Peters from election oversight and appointing a former Republican secretary of state to oversee the election process.

Griswold’s office also said Peters’ actions cost Mesa County "nearly one million dollars in replacement equipment."

The secretary of state’s office noted that on April 2, 2026, the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld Peters’ convictions while ordering that she be re-sentenced by the district court.

Trump weighed in on the commutation Friday afternoon with a brief Truth Social post reading simply: "FREE TINA!"

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Peters became a nationally known figure among 2020 election skeptics following the Mesa County voting equipment breach controversy and subsequent criminal prosecution.

Friday’s clemency order immediately deepened political divisions surrounding one of the highest-profile criminal prosecutions in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Supreme Court deals blow to Virginia Democrats in fight over state court election map ruling

Fri, 15 May 2026 19:03:25 -0400

Virginia Democrats suffered a major legal defeat after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in a high-stakes redistricting dispute, leaving intact a Virginia Supreme Court ruling that invalidated a voter-approved congressional map overhaul.

The justices denied state Democrats’ emergency request to block the Virginia high court’s decision, which found the amendment process violated the state constitution because lawmakers advanced the proposal after early voting had already begun in the required intervening election cycle.

SCOTUS acted in a brief unsigned order and no justice publicly dissented.

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled May 8 in a 4-3 decision that the procedural defect "incurably taints the resulting referendum vote," effectively killing Democrats’ effort to redraw congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterms.

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Democrats had pursued the revised map as part of a broader national fight over mid-decade redistricting ahead of the 2026 elections, where control of the House is expected to again hinge on a few competitive seats.

Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the chamber.

The Democratic-backed proposal was designed to make multiple Republican-held Virginia congressional seats more competitive and was approved by voters in an April 21 special election by a 51.7% to 48.3% margin.

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The Virginia redistricting map was approved by voters in an April special election after the Virginia Supreme Court allowed the referendum to proceed amid an ongoing legal challenge over the process lawmakers used to place it on the ballot.

Virginia Democrats had argued the state court improperly overrode the will of voters who approved the amendment and claimed the ruling relied on an overly broad interpretation of election law by counting the start of early voting as part of the election itself.

In their emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, Democratic lawmakers said the Virginia ruling had "deprived voters, candidates and the Commonwealth of their right to the lawfully enacted congressional districts."

Democrat Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger blasted the ruling in a post on X after SCOTUS declined to intervene.

"The Supreme Court of the United States has now joined the Supreme Court of Virginia in choosing to nullify an election and the votes of more than three million Virginians," Spanberger wrote.

"These Virginians made their voices heard — casting their ballots in good faith to push back against a President who said he’s 'entitled' to more seats in Congress before voters go to the polls.

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"As Governor, I will make sure voters know when and how to cast their votes this year," she added. "Because our votes are how we choose the representation we deserve."

The case comes as both parties escalate efforts nationwide to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms, with Republicans and Democrats battling over district lines in several states.

Navy veteran Rocky Rochford seeks to turn Tampa Bay red, unseat 20-year House incumbent

Fri, 15 May 2026 18:42:47 -0400

Navy veteran Rocky Rochford served his country for 33 years, holding the title of commodore. Now, he's on a mission to flip Tampa Bay from blue to red, in the midst of a spirited campaign to unseat 20-year incumbent Kathy Castor in Florida's 14th congressional district.

Rochford recently sat down to discuss his campaign with Fox News Digital.

"So in 20 years, Kathy Castor has been the author of two bills that became law. And both of those were to rename post offices. So I would say that Kathy Castor has been ineffective. She hasn't really helped Tampa Bay in the ways that matter the most. Affordability is probably the biggest thing on everyone's kitchen table list of discussion points. Gasoline, groceries, electricity, insurance. I mean, the list goes on and on and on."

Rochford emphasizes that his leadership experience has prepared him to be ready to represent the people of Tampa Bay from day one.

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"So it's about leadership. I have spent my entire adult life…33 years in the Navy, four years at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. I got to go back to the age of 18 for the first time before I was actually part of the military. So, it's been entrenched in my being, it is in my soul, I'm very strong in my faith.

And I believe that we need someone who is not only going to bring leadership to the process, but is going to bring their faith to the process up in D.C., and be part of the solution. People who are anti the other side, whether it doesn't matter what side you're sitting on, when they are against the other side to the point where they won't even talk to them, that's problematic. We're not gonna get anything accomplished, we're not going to get anything done. And that's exactly what's happening up in DC right now, we see a lot of that."

Children's rights is an issue at the forefront of Rochford's campaign.

"I have three major bills that are the highlight of what I've been working on. And the first is my children's bill of rights. I do believe that children are the future, and they need to be protected far better than they're being protected now. So the laws that govern children are written amongst 11 different government agencies. Those agencies don't overlap and they don't talk to each other. This bill is designed to create a shield, an organization that oversees all of those laws.

"This covers everything from AI for kids, online predators, and it provides new penalties with teeth. This is we're going to get after those folks. The predators have been exploiting four different avenues on children across state lines. I'm going to close every one of those doors. Parental rights, no boys in girls sports. I mean, this bill covers adoption. It covers foster care, egg donor, IVF. It is complete."

Rochford argues that foreign influence plays a large role in shaping electoral outcomes, and particularly singles out China-based political donor and activist Neville Roy Singham.

"There's a lot folks who have nothing to do with the United States…that are influencing our elections, they're influencing the people…We know that Neville Singham, who's a U.S. citizen living in Shanghai, is taking money from the CCP to disrupt America from the inside. China calls this the smokeless war, and it really is and and they're not the only ones.

"Iran is doing the same thing, we know North Korea is involved, Russia so there's a lot of influence happening in here that are that are causing wreaking havoc but we as a society need to see beyond that. We are one America, and I'm America first. I'm American first before politics, America first before party."

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Florida's 14th district is hardly politically monolithic, and Rochford emphasizes that he seeks to represent the entire district, not merely Republicans.

"I'm about listening. So I'm here to not only listen to the right, I'm here to listen to the center, and I'm here to listen the left. Because if we can't come together and find the commonalities that will make us a better country, then we are doomed as a country. So we must support what we're all after, which is a great America, a great society that takes care of its own and helps around the world."

He views energy policy and independence as the foundation of affordability for American workers and families.

"So I've been talking about affordability for some time. To me, the foundation of affordability for just about everything runs off of energy. The price of oil drives the price of gas, which is in our trucks, in our trains, in our airplanes, in ships. And so we need to get control. And so one of the bills that I have drafted will propose that…we first have to become energy independent. We're the largest producer of energy in the world. So our people should be benefiting from it, not hurting from it."

Among the most important policy issues for Rochford is the national debt, which he has spent a great deal of time researching. He has a plan that would retire America's national debt by the 2060s:

"We don't want to leave a legacy of debt to our children and grandchildren. So I had go back 40 years to try to figure out where this all started, and where we went off the tracks. And I now understand the entire policy. Balancing the budget is only treating a symptom. It does not treat the disease. So the disease is Congress, I'm sorry, but it's true.

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"Every bit of money that comes in that's extra from Congress goes into the general pool and they spend it. And all of the great ideas that have been used in the past, because I studied them all in the past on how to get after the national debt, balance the budget, the things that'll help us get there. They were only policy, they were never law. So this suite of bills is law and it has teeth. And so the very first bill will design, it will create a trust and it is the American National Debt Trust. And when the money goes in there, it cannot come out and it cannot be spent by Congress in any other way. So if we enacted [my legislation] it would still take us to the 2060s to retire the national debt, but if we do nothing, and we're on the path of doing nothing, in 10 years the national debt will be $61 trillion."

Florida's primary election is August 18.

Minnesota Medicaid operator’s bankruptcy-to-riches rise crashes into fraud probe

Fri, 15 May 2026 18:00:54 -0400

A Minnesota Medicaid-funded home care operator who once touted his climb from bankruptcy to multimillion-dollar businesses is under investigation by state officials over allegations that his companies failed to provide services they were paid to deliver to vulnerable clients.

Arnold Kubei, who came to the United States in 2007 as an asylee from Cameroon, went bankrupt in 2014 after a failed investment in a gas station, according to an interview he gave to a local media outlet in 2022. By 2021, however, Kubei was running a pair of home care businesses that he told the outlet had brought in a total of $3.7 million that year.

Now, the Minnesota Department of Human Services has suspended Kubei’s license to provide home and community-based services as it investigates allegations that he was failing to render the services the state was paying him to provide.

Kubei’s companies were expected to help find community-based housing for the disabled, former convicts, nursing home residents, and other people who have difficulty finding permanent housing.

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The Minnesota Department of Human Services determined Kubei’s businesses presented an "imminent risk of harm to persons served" due to their failure to provide certain services.

Letters from the department sent in late April state that Kubei’s businesses were failing to ensure that their patients were adequately medicated, seriously injured patients lacked a contact to reach for assistance and some patients struggling with addiction relapsed "due to the lack of staff supervision to maintain their sobriety." Kubei was also allegedly failing generally to provide patients with services "in response to identified needs as specified in their support plans."

"The license holder and controlling individual are the subjects of a pending administrative investigation and pending administrative action related to fraud against Minnesota’s Medicaid program," a letter from the Minnesota Department of Human Services to Kubei reads.

Home Sweet Home Minnesota alone has received nearly $3.2 million in taxpayer-funded payments since 2024, according to Alpha News’ review of Minnesota’s transparency database.

"People use fraud, fraud, fraud everywhere, to attack us with it," Kubei told a local news outlet in April after his license was suspended. "We are not the guys. We are not the guys. We are the guys who want to collaborate with the Department of Human Services."

"This is damaging of my reputation in this community. This is targeting. This is bullying," he continued.

YOUTUBER TO TESTIFY BEFORE CONGRESS ON MINNESOTA'S MASSIVE $9B FRAUD NETWORK INVESTIGATION

After getting the businesses off the ground, Kubei reportedly appeared for an interview on the YouTube channel "Immigrant Money" detailing how he "went from bankruptcy to multimillions in just five years," according to Alpha News.

The video, which included footage of Kubei drinking champagne inside his home, was made private on the account before Fox News Digital could review it. Footage of the interview has since surfaced on other social media platforms, including X.

MINNESOTA’S FRAUD SCANDAL WAS ‘SHOCKINGLY EASY’ TO PULL OFF, IS LIKELY WORSE THAN REPORTED: EX PROSECUTOR

Kubei’s interview was preceded by a jingle, singing: "Immigrant money, immigrant money, I came from overseas and now I got the money."

"I urge you to come to my summit for me to teach you how these things are supposed to be done," Kubei said in the interview, per Alpha News. "I figured it out."

Fraud in Minnesota has become a national flashpoint, with Republicans alleging that state oversight failures combined with norms in some immigrant communities have exacerbated the problem. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson claimed in December 2025 that the amount of fraud in the state’s Medicaid programs likely exceeds $9 billion since 2018.

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He has appealed his license suspension and is seeking to restore state-funded payments to his businesses.

Kubei did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Friday.

Trump hits dramatic milestone in massive departure from Biden border plan: 'What a difference'

Fri, 15 May 2026 17:43:26 -0400

The Trump administration marked a full year of "zero releases" at the southern border on Friday, a milestone officials touted as evidence that the president has effectively ended the catch-and-release policies that defined the Biden-era border crisis.

"Zero releases" refers to U.S. border patrol not releasing illegal border crossers into the U.S. interior after apprehension. It does not mean zero illegal crossings or zero apprehensions.

In a news release announcing the decline in releases at the southern border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) pointed to broader enforcement statistics showing illegal crossings and apprehensions at levels officials said have not been seen in more than three decades. CBP said Border Patrol recorded 8,943 southwestern border apprehensions in April, 94% lower than the Biden administration’s monthly average, 96% below the December 2023 peak during Biden’s tenure and fewer than the number apprehended in just three days in April 2024.

"The days of catch and release are over," said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. "We are enforcing the nation’s laws and sending illegal aliens back to their home countries."

TRUMP ADMIN RELEASES SHOCKINGLY LOW NUMBER OF ILLEGAL ALIENS COMPARED TO BIDEN YEARS: 'UNPRECEDENTED'

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, told Fox News Digital that the administration’s claim of "zero releases" from Border Patrol custody "does appear true," but noted that the figure does not capture migrants transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and later released on bond, parole, medical or humanitarian grounds, or after winning their cases.

"What a difference," CBP Commissioner Rodney S. Scott said. "The U.S. Border Patrol released zero illegal aliens into our country again this month, unlike April 2024 when more than 68,000 were released under President Biden. Every minute of every day President Trump’s border security policies are making every American safer."

DHS said the April daily average of 298 apprehensions was lower than a single hour during the height of the Biden-era surge, when officials said Border Patrol was averaging 336 apprehensions per hour in December 2023. CBP also said total encounters so far this fiscal year, 215,876, are 13% lower than the total recorded in April 2024 alone.

Beyond illegal crossings, CBP highlighted drug and trade enforcement numbers, noting that nationwide seizures of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and marijuana by weight increased 60% from April 2024. The agency said it seized 463 pounds of fentanyl in April and has seized 61% more drugs so far this fiscal year than during the same period in FY 2024.

US DRUG OVERDOSE DEATHS PLUMMET 20% AS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CRACKS DOWN ON SOUTHERN BORDER

"The specific claim of catch and release is in reference to the practice involving Border Patrol releasing migrants directly from Border Patrol custody," Reichlin-Melnick clarified when speaking to Fox News Digital. "Some people are still crossing the border, and then eventually being released. It’s just that they’re not being released directly from the Border Patrol."

Reichlin-Melnick acknowledged that Trump’s hardline immigration approach has produced results at the border, saying apprehensions are "down significantly" and that "the hardened tactics against migrants has produced results." But he argued the administration’s policies have gone too far by effectively shutting off access to asylum at the southern border.

"The Trump administration has sent the message to the world that the United States is no longer a place where people can seek safety," Reichlin-Melnick said.

Reichlin-Melnick agreed the asylum system had long needed major reform, including more asylum officers, more immigration judges and changes to screening standards. But, he said the goal should not be to end access to the system altogether, something he suggested the Trump administration has effectively done.

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"I think most Americans believe we should be a place where people can find safety," he said, invoking Ronald Reagan’s image of America as a "shining city on a hill." "I don’t think the answer was to shut it off completely."

DHS officials, however, have argued the dramatic decline in border crossings shows the administration’s policies are working after years of record-setting illegal immigration under Biden.

Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Joe Biden, but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Dem Senate candidate pushing water affordability agenda racked up unpaid bills on $1.28M home

Fri, 15 May 2026 14:04:54 -0400

Democrat Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow accrued nearly a year's worth of unpaid utility charges on her million-dollar home while campaigning on affordability.

Until Friday, McMorrow and her husband, former Gawker executive Ray Wert, had not paid water or sewer charges on their home in Royal Oak, Mich., since June 2025, according to records reviewed by Fox News Digital. The property had accrued $3,000.37 in unpaid bills and late fees.

The debt was paid shortly after Fox News Digital reached out for comment.

"The bills in question have been paid," the spokesperson said. "We respect the commitment to covering anything other than the fact that every single American’s bills – from gas to groceries to electricity – are going way up because of Donald Trump and his enablers like Mike Rogers."

DEM SENATE HOPEFUL RIPPED FOR TRASHING MIDDLE AMERICA IN UNEARTHED SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS: 'TICKS ME OFF'

McMorrow, a state legislator vying for the Democratic nomination in one of the country’s top Senate races, has repeatedly fallen behind on payments in recent years.

Records show the couple has been fined 10 times totaling more than $400 in late fees for nonpayment since late 2021, when they purchased a $1.28 million home in the Detroit suburb. A report in the Detroit Metro Times that year described the property — with a pool and outside courtyard — as a home "to marvel at."

McMorrow and Wert also let overdue water bills pile up on the home in the latter half of 2024, when they went five months without making a payment. When the couple finally paid $917 in January 2025, records showed an unpaid balance of $45 in late fees.

Royal Oak Township sends water bills quarterly and assesses a 5% late fee on unpaid balances. If McMorrow had failed to pay the balance by June 1, another 5% penalty would have been added, according to a billing notice.

Under Royal Oak policy, unpaid water and sewer bills can eventually be added to the couple’s property tax bill and prolonged nonpayment can result in water shutoff.

The delinquent payments come as recent disclosures show McMorrow and her husband may be millionaires.

She estimated her net worth between $588,041 and $1.87 million last year, Michigan Advance reported. Up to $1.15 million was reported under her name or as a joint asset with her husband, according to a financial disclosure filed last year.

McMorrow earned $101,554 from her state senator salary, according to the filing. She also reported just over $106,000 in royalties.

BLUE STATE DEM CANDIDATE WHO MADE 'AFFORDABILITY' A KEY ISSUE IN CAMPAIGN RIPPED FOR CHARGING $13 FOR WATER

While McMorrow and her husband were falling behind on payments, she championed "affordability" legislation that would end water shutoffs for not paying city bills.

McMorrow cosponsored a measure last year that would cap water bills for qualifying low-income residents and offer debt forgiveness for overdue balances. The program would be funded through a regular surcharge on most Michigan water customers.

She has also backed the Human Right to Water Act, which would recognize access to affordable drinking water as a right and direct the state government to develop "affordability criteria."

In a March 2021 Facebook post, she advocated for legislation that would "end water shutoffs."

"Let’s be clear, access to water is a human right, even when there’s not a pandemic," she wrote.

The late utility payments come as McMorrow is running in a combative three-way Democratic primary to succeed Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who is retiring.

The swing seat is a must-win race for Democrats hoping to retake Senate control, but Republicans also view the contest as a top flip opportunity. Former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., cleared the field last year with President Donald Trump’s backing while the Democratic candidates continue to duke it out ahead of the August primary.

McMorrow is campaigning on a progressive platform that includes calling on the wealthy to pay their "fair share" in taxes. Democrat Sen. Bernie Sanders-backed Abdul El-Sayed is running to her left, and Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., a candidate with support from the party’s establishment swing, has espoused more centrist views.

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Progressive Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., have endorsed McMorrow’s campaign.

She recently faced scrutiny for deleting thousands of old social media posts prior to her Senate campaign launch that denigrated "Middle America" and associated Trump and his base with Nazi Germany. CNN first reported on the trove of since-deleted posts.

The Senate hopeful largely defended her posts in an interview with the network, arguing she "tweeted normal things like a normal person."

Trump admin launches 'summer surge' of feds to make DC safest city in America ahead of 250th anniversary

Fri, 15 May 2026 17:08:10 -0400

The D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force is launching a massive "summer surge" of federal law enforcement to ensure Washington, D.C., is the safest city in America ahead of the nation’s 250th Independence Day celebrations.

During a news conference Friday, leaders touted the Trump administration's success in driving down violent crime in the city since the D.C. task force launched last year.

The joint law enforcement operation has resulted in nearly 13,000 arrests, the seizure of more than 1,400 illegal guns, the apprehension of 32 murder suspects, and the recovery of 23 missing children.

Due to the aggressive enforcement efforts, overall crime in D.C. has plummeted 26%, with homicides dropping nearly 50% and carjackings down 60%. The U.S. Attorney's Office added it has secured more than 7,000 convictions over the past year.

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Officials said a focal point of the summer surge will be crushing the "teen takeovers" that have terrorized D.C. neighborhoods and shut down local businesses.

Blasting the D.C. Council for "refusing to deal with the problem," U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced a zero-tolerance policy that shifts the legal burden onto the parents of delinquent youth.

Starting immediately, federal prosecutors will charge parents under a D.C. statute for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Parents who drop their kids off, fail to supervise them or allow them to skip school to participate in the chaos will face fines, court-mandated classes and up to six months in jail.

DC US ATTORNEY SAYS ‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’ AS YOUTH CRIME PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON NATION’S CAPITAL

"Law-abiding taxpayers should no longer have to pay for parental neglect," Pirro said. "Parents, do your jobs or we will do ours. In the end, taxpayers will no longer subsidize the chaos caused by parental neglect."

Noting that the task force is "coming for perfection," officials said multiple federal agencies will flood the district with personnel and advanced technology to root out remaining criminal networks.

A formal request has been made for an additional 1,500 National Guardsmen to deploy to D.C., bringing the total troop presence to 5,000.

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The task force will also deploy high-visibility patrols, drones, tactical K-9 units and helicopters to curb crime.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said it will ramp up resources to target out-of-state drug trafficking cartels, arguing that drug dealers should be "treated like terrorists."

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said it will increase operations to seize illegal firearms being trafficked into the city from Maryland and Virginia.

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Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) will double its special agents on the streets to target identity theft and those who fraudulently obtain housing without paying rent.

In a stark warning to anyone planning political violence in the capital, Pirro said offenders will face "the full wrath of the law," announcing her office filed notice to seek the death penalty against Elias Rodriguez, 31, the suspect accused of murdering two young Israeli embassy staff members at the Capitol Jewish Museum on May 21, 2025.

FAA unveils new air traffic controller hiring plan after chief warned system was ‘chronically understaffed’

Fri, 15 May 2026 16:53:51 -0400

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) unveiled an aggressive new workforce overhaul on Friday aimed at tackling chronic staffing shortages, excessive overtime and aging technology across the nation’s air traffic control system.

The newly released 2026-2028 Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan calls for hiring thousands of new controllers, modernizing scheduling systems and replacing aging infrastructure across the National Airspace System.

The plan comes months after FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford warned lawmakers that air traffic control towers would "never" reach full staffing levels if the agency continued operating under its current structure.

"We’ll never catch up," Bedford said during a December congressional hearing. "The system is designed to be chronically understaffed."

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The overhaul also comes amid heightened scrutiny of aviation safety following a series of airport disruptions, delays and close-call incidents that have raised fresh questions about whether the nation’s air traffic control infrastructure is keeping pace with growing travel demand.

"This forward-thinking plan delivers on President Donald J. Trump’s promise to provide the American flying public with a world-class air traffic control system, and that starts with highly trained, professional air traffic controllers," Bedford said in a statement.

"We can’t continue to operate the same way and expect better results," he added. "We’re changing how we hire, train and schedule our controller workforce — and providing them with the state-of-the-art tools they need to succeed."

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The FAA said the plan identifies a full staffing target of 12,563 certified professional controllers based on forecast demand. As of April 2026, the agency said roughly 11,000 certified professional controllers were deployed across more than 300 air traffic facilities.

The agency also has an additional 4,000 controllers in the training pipeline, including about 1,000 who were previously fully certified but are now training at new facilities, according to the plan.

Rebuilding the workforce will take time. The FAA said it can take more than two years to fully certify a new-hire controller depending on the complexity of the facility where they are assigned.

FAA SCRAMBLES TO HIRE 8,900 AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS BY 2028 AS SHORTAGE REACHES CRISIS LEVELS

The agency plans to hire 2,200 new air traffic controllers in fiscal year 2026, 2,300 in fiscal year 2027 and 2,400 in fiscal year 2028 while expanding partnerships with colleges, universities and technical schools.

The workforce plan also acknowledges the strain excessive overtime has placed on controllers.

"Use of a limited amount of overtime is a reasonable means of addressing unexpected variances of work demands," the plan states. "However, the levels reached in FY 2023 – FY 2025 far exceed any reasonable use of mandatory overtime."

"Chronic use of overtime leads to fatigue, controller burnout and ultimately loss of retention," the report says.

The plan also notes that workforce scheduling and controller timekeeping are still handled manually by local facility managers.

"It is difficult to understand why no automation tools have been deployed to schedule our workforce or track time, attendance and functional work accomplished," the report states.

TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT DEPLOYING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO SPOT AIR TRAFFIC DANGERS, DUFFY SAYS

The FAA said improving average controller time on position from about four hours to more than five hours per eight-hour shift could increase effective workforce availability enough to meet current staffing targets.

The workforce plan also calls for replacing decades-old infrastructure with a fully digital system, expanding simulator-based training and using artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to better manage air traffic demand.

Lawmakers also raised concerns during Bedford’s December testimony about the age of some FAA systems, including reports that certain facilities still rely on floppy disks.

"When you’re still using floppy disks, that makes everybody less safe, that makes the agency less effective," Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., said during the hearing.

Rep. Laura Gillen, D-N.Y., also said she saw floppy disks still in use during a visit to the FAA’s terminal radar approach control facility on Long Island, which manages traffic into major New York-area airports.

Bedford told lawmakers the FAA had committed more than $6 billion of the $12.5 billion it received under Trump-backed legislation, including investments in telecommunications infrastructure and new radar surveillance systems.

SEAN DUFFY PROPOSES BIG PLANS TO UPGRADE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS, USE AI TO FIND ‘HOT SPOTS’

The new workforce plan says the FAA will replace "decades-old, unreliable, analog infrastructure" with a "fully digital network system," arguing that modern tools will improve reliability, reduce outages and give controllers a more stable working environment.

The FAA said the plan builds on its fiscal year 2025 hiring surge, when the agency hired 2,028 air traffic controller trainees, its highest total since 2008.

The agency also raised starting salaries for academy students by nearly 30% and implemented financial incentives for academy completion.

Still, the FAA said total workforce losses in fiscal year 2025 — including retirements, resignations, promotions, removals, training failures and academy attrition — totaled 1,460.

Nearly 400 retirement-eligible controllers were retained through a new bonus structure, according to the agency.

The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies previously found that about 30% of FAA facilities were staffed more than 10% below staffing targets, while another 30% were staffed 10% or more above targets.

The FAA said prior hiring disruptions, including sequestration, government shutdowns and the COVID-19 pandemic, had long-term effects on staffing levels, particularly at major facilities serving some of the nation’s largest airports.

Even with thousands of hires planned, FAA officials acknowledged the air traffic controller shortage will not be solved quickly.

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Between years-long training, retirements, staffing imbalances and modernization challenges, the agency’s own projections make clear the pressure on America’s air traffic control system is expected to continue even as air travel demand continues rising.

Fox News Digital's Ashley Carnahan contributed to this reporting.

Unlikely bipartisan Senate duo seeks to permanently ban ex-lawmakers from lobbying

Fri, 15 May 2026 15:05:00 -0400

A bipartisan Senate duo are pushing a proposal to permanently prohibit former lawmakers and elected officers of Congress from lobbying.

Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida and Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have teamed up on a measure called the "Banning Lobbying And Safeguarding Trust Act," or "BLAST Act."

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"When politicians use their time in public office to cash in after they leave government, the American people lose. Trust in our institutions is at an all-time low, and the revolving door between Capitol Hill and K Street is a big part of that. We need to restore the American people’s trust in their government, and that’s why I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan bill to put government clearly back on the side of the people," Scott said in a statement.

"Our founders never intended public service to become a training ground for a lifetime of lobbying. Senator Warren and I are working to end this practice once and for all," he added.

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The proposal for a permanent lobbying ban on lawmakers would go further than current law, according to Warren's office.

"Under current law, former members of Congress are allowed to lobby their former colleagues in Congress after a ‘cooling off’ period — one year for former members of the House of Representatives and two years for former senators," her office said.

WARREN PUSHED ‘FREE AND EASY’ IRS FILING SYSTEM, BUT DOCS REVEAL WHAT SHE USED INSTEAD

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"It’s simple: Members of Congress should spend their time in Washington serving the American people, not preparing to cash in big time with a cushy lobbying career after they leave office," Warren said in a statement. "It’s long past time to close the revolving door that’s corrupted our government and destroyed public trust in elected officials. This bipartisan bill is an important push to get that done."

Longtime Democratic Rep Steve Cohen announces end to re-election bid

Fri, 15 May 2026 11:34:54 -0400

Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee announced on Friday that he signed a document requesting not to be included on the ballot in Tennessee's 9th Congressional District.

The congressman described the district determined by "new lines" as "nothing like the 9th district that I've represented."

The Democratic primary in the district is scheduled to take place in August.

MIKE JOHNSON PREDICTS GOP COULD GAIN UP TO EIGHT SEATS IN MIDTERMS, DEFYING HISTORICAL TRENDS

Redistricting was approved in the state last week.

A press release from the Tennessee Secretary of State website states, "Candidates who previously qualified for 2026 congressional elections may run in the new district that has the same district number. Candidates who wish to change districts or withdraw may do so by filing a notarized statement with the State Division of Elections, attention Coordinator of Elections."

Cohen's office says the lawmaker's "majority-Black district was gerrymandered into three Republican-leaning districts by the state General Assembly last week."

ALABAMA REPUBLICANS PLOW FORWARD ON REDISTRICTING

Cohen is ending his re-election bid after more than 19 years in Congress — he took office in early 2007.

Speaking after his announcement on Friday, Cohen slammed President Donald Trump, describing the president as "the greatest threat to democracy," "decorum," as well as to "grace, that we've ever seen."

Cohen stated that he would not seek reelection in any of the three newly gerrymandered districts that now divide Memphis. He tied his departure to the current map and left the door open to return if that map is overturned.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House.

Georgia GOP gubernatorial hopeful vows to 'ban DEI' in state but his own nonprofit urged CEOs to invest in it

Fri, 15 May 2026 14:43:51 -0400

Rick Jackson, a Republican billionaire running for Georgia governor on a pledge to ban DEI in state government and public education, founded a nonprofit that promoted a 2021 workplace initiative urging Georgia CEOs to invest in DEI, measure progress, examine racial pay gaps, use race-conscious hiring practices and lead workplaces "with race in mind."

Jackson, the billionaire healthcare founder of Jackson Healthcare and its network of smaller companies, including Jackson Physician Search and Jackson Therapy Partners, has said he would be President Donald Trump's "favorite governor," modeled his campaign launch after the president's and said he has never met a Trump policy he doesn't like. Trump, meanwhile, has made ending DEI in the United States a key part of his second term, issuing an executive order shortly after he was inaugurated to remove it from public services, universities and beyond. His administration has also taken an aggressive stance against DEI in the courts.

In addition to his for-profit companies, Jackson is the founder and CEO of goBeyondProfit, a Georgia nonprofit. The philanthropic venture describes itself as a "no-cost resource for Georgia business leaders interested in evolving their corporate generosity efforts into a business strategy," and adds that Jackson has "long shared the belief that businesses can and should be a force for good in the world." In 2021, goBeyondProfit launched a DEI initiative focused on keeping "race in mind" in the workplace, which included a video series for CEOs to learn the "do's and don'ts" of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The "Telly Award-Winning video series" aimed at helping companies implement DEI initiatives remains active on the nonprofit's website.

One of the videos promoted critical race theorist Ibram X. Kendi's book "How To Be An Anti-Racist," which has been characterized by critics as a leading text of modern race-conscious ideology that rejects colorblindness and defends discrimination when used to achieve equity. The initiative also featured experts who argued "doing nothing" on DEI was "cringe worthy" and framed workplace race issues through slavery and Jim Crow.

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Among those experts was then-Jackson Healthcare DEI executive Matthew Harrison, who, in the DEI initiative's videos, touted how the share of "people of color" hired into new roles at Jackson Healthcare rose from 9% to 25% after the company implemented the diversity measures discussed in the initiative's instructional videos.

Jackson’s business orbit has a history of DEI-friendly messaging and efforts that could complicate one of his central campaign pitches: that he is the candidate best positioned to root out DEI and restore merit-based policies in Georgia. Jackson’s campaign platform says he would prohibit DEI programs in state government, public universities and classrooms, while his campaign messaging has vowed to "ban DEI insanity" and "criminalize reverse discrimination."

"We need to ban every bit of idiotic DEI insanity and criminalize reverse discrimination," he recently posted on social media.

Fox News Digital reached out to Jackson’s campaign, Jackson Healthcare and goBeyondProfit for comment, including questions about whether Jackson was aware of the "Race in Mind" initiative, whether he approved of the DEI materials at the time and how he squared the nonprofit’s past race-focused workplace efforts with his current anti-DEI campaign platform.

"Rick hires like the Georgia Bulldogs: only the best players hit the field, and he will prohibit reverse discrimination as governor," a Jackson campaign spokesperson said in response to Fox News Digital's questions.

The campaign added that "many of Georgia's most successful and conservative business leaders" have been "program ambassadors or members" at goBeyondProfit, citing Chick-fil-A's involvement and the involvement of Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus until his death.

In 2021, at the height of the social justice movement following the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and others, Jackson's goBeyondProfit launched "Leading a Thriving Workplace with Race in Mind," a DEI initiative that included a "Telly Award-Winning video series" aimed at helping CEOs navigate the "do’s and don’ts" of DEI and make "impactful changes" in their workplaces.

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The goBeyondProfit video series featured DEI experts, including Harrison, a former Jackson Healthcare executive, urging CEOs and their companies to invest in DEI, measure progress, examine racial pay gaps and use race-conscious hiring practices to increase workplace diversity.

In one video, Harrison described implementing a "Rooney Rule" hiring policy at Jackson Healthcare after he took over talent acquisition in 2019, saying the company increased the share of "people of color" hired into new roles from 9% to 25% within a year.

"Personally here at Jackson Healthcare, I took over leading talent acquisition here in June of 2019 and put that in place, and within a year, we saw our increase in the number of people of color that we hired into new roles. It went from 9% to 25% and that’s the only thing we changed," Harrison says.

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A separate speaker from the DEI video series discusses the importance of tying DEI metrics to employee evaluations, encourages "taking those proactive steps and being anti-racist" as discussed in Kendi's book that CEOs were encouraged to read, implored "employers do periodic pay equity reviews for their employees," and urged executives to financially invest in DEI work, saying companies needed to "put your money where your mouth is" on DEI efforts.

That same speaker framed workplace race issues through slavery and Jim Crow, saying slavery was "America’s first race-based economic system" and arguing that the "vestiges of slavery" still live on "even in the American workplace."

"Oddly, the American workplace is the one place where we should be having more of these conversations, but ironically, it’s the one place where we’re least likely to do," Harrison adds in one of the videos. Meanwhile, at another point in one of the videos, Harrison described how Jackson Healthcare started a "race series" using an outside vendor in order to prevent it from being viewed as "this HR mandate" by employees.

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A related goBeyondProfit blog post authored by Harrison and the other DEI expert from the video series encouraged executives to take an Implicit Association Test to measure subconscious biases and create a "Bias Breaker" list cataloguing their known biases, including those involving "gender, sexual orientation, race or skin color, weight, age, and the list goes on."

This revelation about the DEI past of Jackson's companies is not the first time the issue has come to haunt his campaign. Fox News Digital reported in March that Harrison, who wrote his thesis on "Colorism," said during a 2020 podcast interview that Jackson Healthcare and its leaders "get and see the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in our workforce." He even credited Jackson for inspiring "a learning experience about race during the interview. Meanwhile, Fox News Digital also reported last month that one of Jackson's companies focused on healthcare staffing produced numerous materials ridiculing Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

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The unearthed DEI efforts come as a brutal Georgia GOP gubernatorial primary nears its conclusion, with the election slated for next Tuesday, followed by the general election in November.

At times, the primary race has centered on which candidate can claim the mantle of President Donald Trump’s fiercest ally. Georgia Lt. Gov Burt Jones has Trump’s formal endorsement, and Trump recently warned voters during a tele-rally that while others were claiming his support, "I endorse a man named Burt Jones." Jones’ campaign has branded Jackson a "Never-Trumper" and a "fraud," often citing the fact he funded many of Trump's political opponents, like Jeb Bush, in the past.

Jackson, meanwhile, has tried to run as a Trump-style outsider, pledging to be "Trump’s favorite governor," donating $1 million to Trump's MAGA Inc. as he launched his campaign, modeling his campaign launch after Trump with a celebratory elevator descent, and telling local media he can't name a single White House policy from the Trump administration he doesn't like.

Jackson has blasted Jones as part of the political establishment, while likening Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, another one of his main primary opponents, to the Biblical character "Judas" for being disloyal to Trump during his efforts to contest the 2020 election.

Trump announces major new landmark project in DC's West Potomac Park honoring America's greatest heroes

Fri, 15 May 2026 14:41:59 -0400

President Donald Trump announced plans to build a National Garden of American Heroes in Washington, D.C.'s West Potomac Park in a Friday morning post on Truth Social.

"I am proud to announce the site of the NATIONAL GARDEN OF AMERICAN HEROES. This magnificent exhibition of statues will be located in West Potomac Park, which we are transforming into one of the World's most beautiful public spaces," Trump wrote.

"Right now, it is a totally BARREN field of Prime Waterfront Real Estate along our Mighty Potomac River. When finished, West Potomac Park will be a World Class Masterpiece with elegant Landscaping, and adorned with Beautiful Statues, and be yet another one of my great projects to make Washington, D.C., the Safest and Most Beautiful Capital in the World," Trump's post continued.

"The National Garden of American Heroes will feature the MOST BEAUTIFUL collection of statues of AMERICAN HEROES, featuring our Illustrious Founding Fathers, Military Warriors, Religious Leaders, Civil Rights Champions, World Class Athletes, Artists, Entertainers, and MORE. The people of America (and the World!) will come here to learn and be inspired by the 'Greats'. The National Garden of American Heroes is one more project we are undertaking to honor the 250th Birthday of the Greatest Nation on Earth, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!" Trump's post concluded.

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The post also included an aerial photo of West Potomac Park, the planned site for the project.

The project would build upon Trump's ongoing plans to significantly build legacy infrastructure in the nation's capital.

The White House ballroom project, which is currently underway, is the most high-profile example of Trump's D.C. buildout, but the president is also seeking approval for a number of other major projects.

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For upcoming celebrations of America's 250th birthday, Trump is renovating the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial, addressing leaks in the pool's structure and adding a blue liner to make the water more visually striking.

Trump said the project will cost under $2 million. "It's so important for our country," he said in a May 7 announcement.

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Trump is also seeking approval from Congress and the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) for a massive "Triumphal Arch" to be placed in front of the Arlington National Cemetery.

The massive undertaking would be 250 feet high, making it taller than any building in D.C., White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced in April.

Becerra's debate-stage beating: Rivals confront Dem California candidate over campaign scandal

Fri, 15 May 2026 14:23:08 -0400

Xavier Becerra was forced to fend off a barrage of attacks from rivals in the race for California governor after a pair of his former employees pleaded guilty in a campaign finance scandal the same day as the debate.

After two of Becerra's staffers pleaded guilty on Thursday to siphoning money from an inactive campaign account to supplement their salaries, questions emerged over whether the former Health and Human Services secretary knew about, or assisted in, the act — a clear breach of federal restrictions on using campaign funds for personal ends.

The guilty pleas complicate a tense political picture for Becerra, a Democratic frontrunner to replace outgoing California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Steve Hilton, a Republican frontrunner in the crowded field, said at Thursday’s debate that knowledge of the scheme should disqualify Becerra from pursuing the office any further.

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"Today we learned that he knew about illegal and improper payments from his campaign account to his former chief of staff," Hilton said.

"Honestly, it pains me to say because I like you personally, Xavier, but you shouldn’t be on this stage. You shouldn’t be in this race. You should be preparing your criminal defense," Hilton added.

Becerra has denied any wrongdoing, saying in a statement ahead of Thursday night's debate: "I did nothing wrong. Case closed."

The candidate's former chief of staff, Sean McCluskie, and California political strategist Dana Williamson pleaded guilty to stealing $225,000 from an out-of-use campaign account that Becerra used to previously pursue a state-level office.

According to prosecutors, McCluskie and Williamson withdrew payments in increments of $7,500 to $10,000 from Becerra’s war chest between 2022 and 2024.

FORMER GAVIN NEWSOM CHIEF OF STAFF CHARGED IN $225K FRAUD AND CORRUPTION SCHEME, DOJ SAYS

Under Federal Election Commission regulations, government employees are prohibited from using campaign funds for expenses unrelated to the election or official duties.

Becerra countered the attacks at Thursday's debate by pointing out he hadn’t been named in the case.

Fellow Democratic candidate Katie Porter, a former congresswoman, said that his defense isn’t proof of innocence.

"What the quote was, was that you had not been mentioned in the charging documents," Porter remarked.

"But as you know, that does not preclude, because you are also a trained attorney, you know that does not preclude an indictment from being issued against you," she went on. "We do not know what Dana Williamson said about your involvement, and the government will have the ability to reveal that later."

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In his role as HHS secretary, Becerra advised President Joe Biden during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2021 to 2025.

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He began his political career as deputy attorney general of California and served in the California State Assembly from 1990 to 1992. Becerra then held a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2017 before becaming California attorney general from 2017 to 2021 before being tapped to lead HHS.

The California primary will be held on June 2. The top two candidates will advance to a general election on Nov. 3.

Trump leaves China with breakthroughs — and unfinished business on Xi’s biggest fights

Fri, 15 May 2026 14:17:09 -0400

President Donald Trump returned from his high-stakes summit in China with President Xi Jinping touting trade progress and warmer ties, but several of the biggest pressure points in the U.S.-China relationship — from trade and Taiwan, to AI and human rights — appeared to end without firm public breakthroughs.

"We had a great stay. It was an amazing period of time. President Xi’s an incredible guy. We’ve made a lot of great trade deals," Trump said Friday aboard Air Force One while returning to the White House.

The trip gave Trump several economic talking points, including potential Chinese purchases of Boeing aircraft, U.S. soybeans and American energy, but public readouts and Trump's recent remarks show some major questions went unresolved.

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Taiwan

During the summit, Xi warned that mishandling the Taiwan issue could lead to "clashes and even conflicts" between the two countries.

Trump said "he heard [Xi] out" on Taiwan, adding, "He does not want to see a fight for independence because that would be a very strong confrontation."

There was no pledge from Beijing to reduce military pressure or any visible easing of the core Taiwan dispute.

TRUMP WARNS TAIWAN NOT TO EXPECT BLANK CHECK FROM US MILITARY AFTER INTENSE XI SUMMIT

Lawmakers have pressed Trump over Taiwan’s security and U.S. arms sales to the island, though Washington does not formally recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state and maintains a longstanding "One China" policy.

"We’ve had it for thousands of years. And then, at a certain period of time, they left that they were going to get it back. They had the Korean War. A lot of things happened and all this. But no, yeah — Taiwan, he feels very strongly. I made no commitment either way," Trump said, referring to Xi’s view of Taiwan and Beijing’s historical claim to the island.

A White House official said Trump is expected to decide soon whether to move forward with a new Taiwan arms package, pointing to his December 2025 approval of $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan and arguing that his record remains consistent with decades of U.S. policy.

The official also noted that Trump approved more Taiwan arms sales during his first term than any previous president, and said his first-year total in the second term exceeded the full amount approved during former President Biden’s four years in office.

TRUMP SPEAKS WITH CHINESE PRESIDENT XI, WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL CONFIRMS

Human Rights

The cases of jailed Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai and detained house-church pastor Ezra Jin loomed over the summit, with Trump saying Xi is "giving very serious consideration" to releasing Pastor Jin, though Lai’s future may be less certain.

"That’s a tougher one. I did bring it up. It’s a tough one for him. It’s a tough one," Trump said. "He said Jimmy Lai is a tough one for him to do. You know, he went through a lot — right and wrong, he went through a lot. So he told me that would be a tough one. He said he’s going to strongly consider the pastor."

Jin, also known as Ezra Jin Mingri, is a Chinese house church pastor whose family and advocates have urged Washington to press Beijing for his release. Lai is a British citizen, Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy activist who has been jailed under Hong Kong’s national security law.

The two are often linked in coverage focused on human rights, freedom of the press, and China’s crackdown on dissent.

Neither case appeared to produce a public release commitment before Trump departed Beijing.

Lai’s daughter, Claire, commended Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their "continuous commitment to freeing my father and securing his freedom" during an appearance on "The Brian Kilmeade Show" Friday.

"Of course, the dream was that he would fly back with my father this time, but I am still extremely confident that he is the president and this is the administration that will secure my father’s freedom," Lai said.

AI and Tech Race

China’s AI advances remain a major concern for U.S. policymakers and technology leaders as Washington weighs how to preserve its edge in advanced chips, computing power and export controls without accelerating Beijing’s push to build domestic alternatives.

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Trump said on Air Force One that discussions about chips did not come up.

U.S. officials said China continues to weigh whether to buy advanced U.S. chips or accelerate domestic alternatives, while Trump said the two sides discussed the possibility of AI guardrails.

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"As to whether the Chinese are going to buy [U.S. chips] or not, they’re making their own determinations," U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Friday on Bloomberg TV.

"They’re very committed to domestic production. They often see U.S. high tech as a threat to them. If we’re ahead of the game on AI chips, sometimes they feel that can stop their own growth," he added.

Trump said China may "want to try and develop their own" chips.

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Trade and tariffs

At the final meeting between the two leaders, Trump touted what he called "fantastic trade deals" during the summit.

Trump said China agreed to purchase 200 Boeing planes and expressed interest in buying as many as 750 once the first deliveries are completed.

While few details have been released regarding the specific agreements reached, Trump also said agricultural deals were pledged while at the same time stating tariffs were not discussed.

"The farmers are going to be very happy. They’re going to be buying billions of dollars of soybeans," Trump said.

The president added during a gaggle on Air Force One during his trip home that he and Xi did not discuss tariffs during the meetings, even though such duties have served as one of Trump’s central tools for pressuring Beijing on trade.

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"We didn't discuss tariffs - I mean they're paying tariffs. They're paying substantial tariffs," he said at one point.

The talks come as Trump’s tariff agenda faced a setback after a Supreme Court ruling limited his use of emergency powers to impose duties, which cut directly into one of his preferred tools for pressuring Beijing.

Trump also suggested an energy deal was close, saying China could begin buying oil from Texas, Louisiana and Alaska.

"They’re going to go to Texas. We’re going to start sending Chinese ships to Texas and to Louisiana and to Alaska. And I think that was another thing that was agreed to. That’s a big thing," Trump said.

Iran was an area where Trump could point to a clearer diplomatic win, saying Xi told him China would not provide military equipment to Tehran and that both leaders agreed Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon.

But broader concerns remain over Beijing’s economic support for Iran through oil purchases, dual-use exports and intermediary networks.

China remains a major buyer of Iranian crude despite U.S. sanctions.

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Trump said that Xi and his wife will visit the U.S. in September.