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JD Vance warns blue state officials could face prison over billion-dollar fraud epidemic

Sat, 16 May 2026 13:57:06 -0400

Vice President JD Vance predicted federal investigators will uncover criminal wrongdoing tied to alleged taxpayer-funded welfare fraud in states including California.

Vance told Fox News' Kayleigh McEnany the administration’s anti-fraud task force is looking into whether government officials enabled the alleged scams. He warned that anyone who covered up the abuse "ought to go to prison."

"I guarantee there's [going to] be some criminal wrongdoing that we're [going to] find, because there's so much wrongdoing, somebody had to know what they were doing," Vance said in an exclusive interview on "Saturday in America."

Vance was named chair of an anti-fraud task force focused on rooting out alleged fraud in states including California and Minnesota. On Wednesday, the vice president, alongside Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, announced the administration would defer $1.3 billion in federal Medicaid funding to California due to oversight concerns.

JD VANCE ANNOUNCES MULTI-STATE FRAUD TASK FORCE IN WAKE OF MINNESOTA SCANDAL

Vance said the federal government has shut down fraudulent hospice centers and issued 22 subpoenas tied to an alleged fraud ring in Minneapolis. The task force also announced a six-month freeze on new Medicare enrollments for hospice and home care providers.

Now, he says, state officials who knew about fraud and failed to act should face consequences.

"When I hear about a report that says to the governor, 'Here's all this fraud,' and he doesn't do anything about it, I ask myself, 'Was anybody engaged in criminal wrongdoing? Was anybody in his office engaged in criminal wrongdoing?'" Vance said.

MINNESOTA FRAUD COMMITTEE CHAIR CLAIMS WALZ 'TURNED A BLIND EYE' TO FRAUD WARNINGS FOR YEARS

"I am [going to] promise the American people we're going to look into that stuff, we're [going to] investigate it, and we're [going to] take it seriously," Vance added. "Because if there was criminal wrongdoing, then people ought to go to prison for it."

A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office fired back at Vance’s comments, telling Fox News Digital that California has long been working to root out fraud.

"Tackling fraud is nothing new to California – which is why Governor Newsom implemented a moratorium on all new hospice provider licenses back in 2022, to root out fraud while preventing bad actors from entering the system. We’re glad to see the Trump administration follow California’s lead on this after weeks of us calling for them to do the same," a spokesperson for the governor said.

"California welcomes federal partnership in fraud prevention. If the Trump administration wants to focus on internal criminal wrongdoing, they don’t need to look very far – pardoning criminal cronies and letting bad actors skate has been a flagship of the president’s administration, so long as these individuals donate or vote for him," the spokesperson added.

LOUISIANA SENATE PRIMARY HEATS UP AS CASSIDY ACCUSES LETLOW OF PELOSI-STYLE STOCK TRADING, DEI SUPPORT

In posts on X, Newsom’s office also said the governor has acknowledged fraud concerns and previously expressed willingness to work with federal officials to combat them. In a separate response to Vance on X regarding an alleged fraud operation in the Los Angeles area, Newsom wrote:

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"The Trump Administration — home to the biggest fraudsters on Earth — is trying to blame California for issues with THEIR federal programs. Glad to see the Feds finally taking seriously the fraud in the programs they themselves manage...only 15 months after Trump took office."

On Wednesday, Vance said the task force is sending letters requiring states to show they are actively combating Medicaid fraud.

"If they do not aggressively prosecute Medicaid fraud, we are going to turn off the money that goes to these anti-fraud units," Vance warned.

ActBlue CEO faces June 10 grilling after fundraising powerhouse allegedly misled Congress on foreign donations

Sat, 16 May 2026 13:00:18 -0400

FIRST ON FOX: The embattled head of a Democratic fundraising behemoth is headed for a congressional grilling next month over allegations of fraudulent donations on its platform.

ActBlue’s CEO Regina Wallace-Jones will testify in a public hearing before the House Administration Committee on June 10, a committee spokesman told Fox News Digital.

Wallace-Jones’ agreement to testify comes as ActBlue faces mounting scrutiny over whether it misled Congress regarding foreign donations on its payment processing platform.

"Ms. Wallace-Jones allegedly misled our committee at the outset of our investigation into ActBlue’s fraud prevention standards," House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., said in a statement. "It’s past time we set the record straight and got answers for the American people. I look forward to hearing her testify."

DEM FUNDRAISING GIANT ACTBLUE ROCKED BY ALLEGATIONS IT MISLED CONGRESS ABOUT FOREIGN DONATIONS

The statement referenced an explosive report in The New York Times earlier this year that said ActBlue’s then-outside counsel warned Wallace-Jones in 2023 the group may have misrepresented facts to Steil’s committee about its vetting of potentially illegal foreign donations.

Under U.S. law, foreign nationals who are not lawful permanent residents are generally prohibited from donating to candidates seeking federal office or political action committees.

Steil previously requested that Wallace-Jones testify before his committee on May 19. The invitation was met with outrage from ActBlue’s lawyers, who dismissed the committee action as a "partisan attack."

But Republicans have pointed to documents that ActBlue has allegedly withheld in response to subpoenas issued in 2025, which Steil has characterized as "deliberately incomplete."

All five current or former ActBlue employees who appeared in depositions with the committee invoked their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination a combined 146 times, according to an interim staff report released in April by House Republicans.

TEXAS AG PAXTON SUES DEM FUNDRAISING PLATFORM ACTBLUE, ALLEGING 'FRAUDULENT AND FOREIGN DONATIONS'

The House Administration Committee has been probing ActBlue’s fraud prevention safeguards since 2023, when Steil's panel investigated the group's failure to require credit card verification value (CVV) when processing payments.

"Given ActBlue’s demonstrated history of misleading Congress, there is considerable reason to believe that ActBlue may have deliberately withheld this responsive material to impede our investigation," Steil and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote in a letter to Wallace-Jones in April.

In the letter, the senior Republicans also directed ActBlue to produce a trove of documents related to its vetting of political contributions from abroad.

Wallace-Jones has denied making false statements to Congress. The group’s lawyers have previously characterized the investigation as politically motivated and contended that ActBlue has been forthright with the committee.

Amid the GOP scrutiny, ActBlue has experienced a wave of resignations from senior legal and compliance staff.

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The June hearing notice immediately follows the House Administration Committee advancing legislation to crack down on fraudulent political donations, including illegal contributions from foreigners. The campaign finance measure cleared Steil’s panel unanimously on Thursday.

"It's a positive sign that people are beginning to take this risk and this threat seriously," the Wisconsin Republican told Spectrum News.

Trump holds 'all the cards' after high-stakes summit with China, says Victor Davis Hanson

Sat, 16 May 2026 12:03:05 -0400

President Donald Trump holds "all the cards" in negotiations with Beijing, according to Hoover Institution senior fellow Victor Davis Hanson.

Hanson argued Friday that America’s energy dominance, economy and artificial intelligence growth allow Trump to negotiate from a position of strength.

"All the data show that the cards are in Donald Trump's hands," Hanson said on "The Ingraham Angle." "He can be [as] magnanimous as he wants, but he has all the cards in his hand, and they don't have any."

Trump left China Friday after a two-day summit, his first visit to the country since November 2017. The two world leaders were originally set to meet at the end of March, but the outbreak of fighting in Iran pushed the meeting back.

TRUMP HEADS TO CHINA WITH THE UPPER HAND — AND XI KNOWS IT

Hanson also pointed to factors like China’s declining birth rate, its massive dependence on foreign oil and the United States' success in keeping Beijing's influence out of the Western Hemisphere as clear indicators that Trump has the upper hand.

"China is not [going to] be a player. And if it is a player, it's [going to] be with the permission of the United States," Hanson said.

He compared modern concerns over China to past global regimes, including former American anxieties over the Soviet Union and Japan.

"China is just the latest phase that we're all supposed to be upset about, but it's [going to] meet the same fate vis-a-vis us that these other so-called superpowers experience[d]," Hanson said.

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

Trump expressed optimism about trade progress made during the trip, saying aboard Air Force One, "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."

The president also said China offered to help move negotiations with Iran along.

LOUISIANA SENATE PRIMARY HEATS UP AS CASSIDY ACCUSES LETLOW OF PELOSI-STYLE STOCK TRADING, DEI SUPPORT

Major topics, however, appear to have been left unfinished, including Taiwan and the release of political prisoner and Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai.

When pressed on the potential arms package for Taiwan, Trump said he does not want to see fighting break out with China.

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"Nothing's changed. I will say this: I'm not looking to have somebody go independent," Trump told Fox News’s Bret Baier. "And, you know, we're supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I'm not looking for that. I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down."

But Hanson argued Trump would not abandon support for Taiwan in exchange for China’s help with Iran negotiations.

"They want stuff from us, and we don't need stuff from them," he said. "And he's not [going to] sell out Taiwan for help in Iran when he doesn't need their help."

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."

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."

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.

VIRGINIA GOP LEADER BLASTS ‘POWER-HUNGRY’ JEFFRIES AS DEMS MOUNT ‘INSANE’ GAMBIT TO OVERPOWER HIGH COURT

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.

VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS’ $70M REDISTRICTING GAMBLE BACKFIRES AFTER COURT DEFEAT, IGNITES BLAME GAME

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.

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."

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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."

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.

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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.

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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.

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.

WATCH: Soros prosecutor’s hearing devolves into angry chaos over illegal immigrant rape case: 'Be quiet!'

Fri, 15 May 2026 13:20:50 -0400

A House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing devolved into chaos Thursday as a North Carolina lawmaker demanded Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephen Descano "be quiet" while the prosecutor was reamed out over cases including the alleged rape of a 4-year-old girl by an illegal Guatemalan national.

Descano and Sheriff Stacey Ann Kincaid, a fellow Democrat accused of lax enforcement involving illegal immigrant suspects, sparred with lawmakers during the hearing as many invoked the prosecutor’s written policy and campaign pledge to account for immigration-related "consequences" in prosecutorial discretion decisions.

Descano, however, objected to characterizations of the policy from Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., and later Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, who both lit into the Soros-backed attorney in charge of prosecuting crimes in Virginia’s largest municipality.

Knott asked Descano if he believes he prosecutes cases in a way that defends the people of Fairfax and erupted at the attorney when he answered in the affirmative.

HOUSE PANEL SUMMONS SOROS-BACKED FAIRFAX PROSECUTOR OVER RELEASES TIED TO VIOLENT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CASES

"When we prosecute… we are constrained by the evidence. We're constrained by the law. And I will tell you, Congressman, you know, I think what is happening here with the number of cases that we're talking about --," Descano began before Knott became angry.

Knott recounted the case of Honduran national Hyrum Baquedano-Rodriguez – who was "caught-and-released" by an immigration judge in Eloy, Arizona, during the Biden administration – and who was later accused in a graphic case involving the 4-year-old Annandale girl.

Knott noted how the girl’s mother woke up to the child screaming and appearing bruised on her buttocks and torso as the suspect "dropped" the girl and fled in what the lawmaker characterized as a potential attempted abduction.

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Knott said Fairfax County Police obtained a warrant based on evidence of attempted murder, rape, robbery or arson, which he said carries a maximum penalty of 20 years, while intent to defile a youth carried a maximum life sentence.

"Once it was handed over to your office, inexplicably so, you immediately reduced the burglary offense to a misdemeanor, which capped the sentence at 12 months. You then reduced the abduction charge to an offense that was a lower degree and capped the sentence at 10 years."

"A disgusting, perverted individual preying on children that you dismissed the case — As the father of two young girls. One of them's five. That is as shameful as anything I have seen," Knott said as Descano became angry as well:

"Please don't talk to me like I don't care about people in my community," he said, before Knott responded, calling him a "coward."

Knott, himself a former Raleigh-area prosecutor, lit into Descano over the added fact that a "liberal" judge appointed by then-Gov. Mark Warner — now a top Democratic senator — rejected Descano’s plea deal.

"This was not a right-wing judge," Knott fumed as Descano attempted multiple times to interject while tensions rose.

"Overwhelming evidence," Knott said — "Can we talk about the evidence — I know it and you don’t," Descano cut in.

"Quit talking!" Knott hollered. "He yanked a four-year-old girl out of her bed with the intent to harm her. And you wanted to give her a cap of two years?"

"Sir," Descano attempted.

GUATEMALAN MAN CHARGED WITH CHILD PORN POSSESSION RELEASED BY FAIRFAX COUNTY DESPITE ICE DETAINER, DHS SAYS

"[Let] me ask Mr. Miyares about this," Knott said as he turned to the former Virginia Republican attorney general seated to Descano’s right, while Descano continued trying to plead his case to the Carolinian.

"Be quiet!" Knott said as he asked Miyares what happens to a suspect after a case dismissal. "He walks free," Miyares said.

Things did not improve for the Fairfax Democrat when Chairman Thomas McClintock, R-Calif., gave Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, the floor next – as Gill lit into Descano over a written policy that "prosecutors shall consider the collateral immigration consequences of the specific crimes the defendant is charged with and the detrimental impact the deportation removal has on the families and communities."

Originally, Descano defended against critiques by saying an earlier reference to the policy was part of a campaign pledge, while Gill pressed him further on the issue.

Gill asked about the case of Guatemalan national Jose Cortez-Mendez, accused of "carnal knowledge" of a teenager, which Descano said essentially meant sexual contact under Virginia terminology.

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"[A]n illegal alien who raped an underage American: Your office reduced those charges to a misdemeanor charge of consensual sex with a child 15 years and older. You offered him a 90-day suspended jail sentence, is that correct?"

"How did you weigh the defendant’s immigration status," Gill added, with Descano replying that he was not the lead prosecutor in that case – which the lawmaker noted meant his office still was involved.

In the case of Baquedano-Rodriguez, ICE Washington Field Office Removal Operations Director Russell Hott said his agency was eventually able to arrest the suspect after Descano’s failed case resulted in his release.

"Every one of his convictions represents another one of our neighbors that Baquedano-Rodriguez has victimized. ICE Washington, D.C. will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing criminal alien offenders from our Washington, D.C. and Virginia communities," Hott said in a statement.

Murkowski vs Trump: Senator sides with Democrats on Iran after series of breaks with president

Fri, 15 May 2026 12:25:48 -0400

The Senate was two votes away from taking a step toward handcuffing President Donald Trump's war authorities in Iran this week.

It’s the closest Senate Democrats have come to trying to reassert Congress’ authority on the matter, and was nearly successful thanks to one Senate Republican known for an independent streak: Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

That vote, in particular, came after Congress had sprinted past the 60-day deadline to either authorize or halt Trump’s war. Murkowski argued that she hoped the administration would give more clarity on next steps, but so far hadn’t received such information.

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"So I felt that it was now time to advance a discharge so that we can discuss our responsibilities through the War Powers Act," Murkowski said. "So it's — we're in a different place than we were last time we voted on this."

Many of her votes for or against any given piece of legislation are determined by a simple principle: how will this vote affect Alaska?

"Senator Murkowski approaches every decision thoughtfully, always asking what is best for Alaska," Joseph Plesha, a spokesperson for Murkowski, told Fox News Digital. "When she believes a policy advances those priorities, she supports it, regardless of party or politics."

That style of decision-making was on full display last year, when Murkowski cast the deciding vote for the president’s "big, beautiful bill," his most significant legislative accomplishment of his second term to date.

But at the time, Murkowski described the decision as "agonizing," and one that she came to only after securing a spate of wins for Alaska.

"I had to look on balance, because the people in my state are the ones that I put first," Murkowski said. "We do not have a perfect bill by any stretch of the imagination. My hope is that the House is going to look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet."

Murkowski had hoped that the Senate and House would go into conference to iron out a better product, but that never came. After the upper chamber advanced the package, the House passed it several hours later to adhere to Trump’s July 4 deadline.

SENATE PASSES TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' AFTER MARATHON VOTE-A-RAMA

Just a few weeks later, she bucked Trump and Republicans on a package designed to claw back billions in funding to public broadcasting and "woke" international aid programs.

Murkowski, an appropriator, argued that instead of legislating, "what we're getting now is a direction from the White House and being told, ‘This is the priority we want you to execute on it. We'll be back with you with another round.’"

"I don't accept that," she said at the time.

She also went against Trump’s actions in Venezuela earlier this year, joining Democrats on a successful procedural vote that was ultimately later struck down after a heavy lobbying campaign from the White House and top Trump officials flipped key votes against the war powers resolution.

Similar to her reasoning on the Iran war powers vote, Murkowski contended that while the administration argued that the Venezuelan government was complying after the capture of Nicolás Maduro, there had been "no meaningful end state" given by Trump officials.

REPUBLICANS FAIL TO ATTACH SAVE AMERICA ACT TO PARTY-LINE FUNDING PACKAGE

And on the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, Murkowski once again went against the president.

She teed up her resistance to the voter ID and citizenship verification legislation early, weeks before Republicans launched a campaign on the Senate floor to debate the doomed bill.

Murkowski noted that when congressional Democrats "attempted to advance sweeping election reform legislation in 2021, Republicans were unanimous in opposition because it would have federalized elections, something we have long opposed."

"Not only does the U.S. Constitution clearly provide states the authority to regulate the ‘times, places, and manner’ of holding federal elections, but one-size-fits-all mandates from Washington, D.C., seldom work in places like Alaska," she said.

Perhaps Murkowski's biggest break from Trump came as he was exiting office shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, riots on Capitol Hill.

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Murkowski was one of a handful of Republicans who voted to convict Trump.

"If months of lies, organizing a rally of supporters in an effort to thwart the work of Congress, encouraging a crowd to march on the Capitol, and then taking no meaningful action to stop the violence once it began is not worthy of impeachment, conviction, and disqualification from holding office in the United States, I cannot imagine what is," Murkowski said in a statement at the time.

Iowa Dem admits being ‘uncomfortable’ with whiteness as she seeks to flip competitive House seat

Fri, 15 May 2026 11:22:25 -0400

FIRST ON FOX — A Democrat running for Congress in Iowa admitted to feeling "uncomfortable" by the whiteness of her hometown in Minnesota after returning from a stay in New Mexico years ago.

Sarah Trone Garriott, 47, who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary for one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country, is coming under fire for her comments as she seeks to unseat incumbent Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa.

"Yeah, I remember the first time I came back to northern Minnesota to visit, and I was kind of shocked at how many white people there were," Trone Garriott recalled of the area of the U.S. where she grew up in a resurfaced podcast episode released nearly a decade ago.

"The feeling was very different. I was like ‘whoa,’ and again I was uncomfortable in a different way," she added.

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About 78% of Iowa’s third congressional district that Trone Garriott wants to represent in Congress is white, according to a breakdown by DataUSA.

Republicans argue the candidate's past and recent comments are out of step with the district’s demographics.

"Every time Sarah Trone Garriott's handlers let her loose, the wicked witch of woke finds a new way to insult Iowans," Zach Kraft, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, said.

"We haven't even reached the general election yet, and she has already managed to call nearly every person in the state racist, sexist, and bigoted," he added.

Trone Garriott’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on previous remarks. Nunn's campaign also did not respond when reached about his competitor's comments.

According to the Cook Political Report, Iowa's 3rd congressional district is among the 16 "toss-up" races in the 2026 midterms, with a slight R+2 lean.

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Nine years after Trone Garriott recorded the podcast interview, her comments highlight a wariness of homogeneity and underscore the candidate's belief that representation should be tied to demographics.

In a separate interview with the University of Iowa in 2022, Trone Garriott hinted at support for demographic mandates and quotas for positions within the government, like those she learned about after meeting with legislators from Kosovo.

"They actually have quotas, and I know that’s a dirty word for some people, but they have requirements of how many people from different ethnic backgrounds, religious minorities — and gender balance is part of their structure," Trone Garriott said of the Balkan nation.

"And so, there’s kind of a preference for those folks that are underrepresented to be in government. Which I think is really important to bring those voices out," she added.

IOWA POLL SHOWS DEMOCRATS IN POSITION TO FLIP 2 GOP HOUSE SEATS

Trone Garriott was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After earning her undergraduate degree in Duluth, Minnesota, she went on to obtain a Master of Theological Studies from the Harvard Divinity School, and a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

She worked as a volunteer with the anti-poverty program under AmeriCorps VISTA in New Mexico — where she was apparently awoken to the 'whiteness' of her Minnesotan hometown.

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Trone Garriott began her career as an ordained minister for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), spending time in ministry in Pennsylvania, Chicago, Virginia and finally Iowa.

From there, Trone Garriott embarked on a political career in the Iowa State Senate, where she has served since 2021. She announced a bid last year to unseat Rep. Nunn in the state’s third congressional district.

Trump warns Taiwan not to expect blank check from US military after intense Xi summit

Fri, 15 May 2026 10:55:16 -0400

President Donald Trump is putting Taiwan and China on notice, warning Taipei not to expect a blank check for American military backing if it triggers a war.

In a sit-down interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier airing tonight on "Special Report" at 6 p.m. ET, Trump detailed his face-to-face negotiations with Chinese President Xi Jinping and what they could mean for global security.

"Should the people of Taiwan feel more or less secure after your meetings with President Xi?" Baier asked the president directly.

"Neutral. This has been going on for years," Trump answered, noting that U.S. policy regarding Taiwan has not changed.

"Nothing's changed. I will say this: I'm not looking to have somebody go independent. And, you know, we're supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I'm not looking for that. I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down."

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Xi issued his own warnings about Taiwan, cautioning there could be future "clashes and even conflicts" with the U.S. over the island, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.

Trump declined to commit to whether he’d sign off on the long-delayed $14 billion U.S. arms package for Taiwan. While lawmakers pre-approved the package last year, the White House has not moved it forward.

When pressed about the arms package, Trump kept his options open.

"I may do it. I may not do it," he told Baier. "We’re not looking to have wars. If you kept it the way it is, I think China is [going to] be OK with that. But we're not looking to have somebody say, ‘Let's go independent because the United States is backing us.’"

China has claimed Taiwan as its own territory and opposed U.S. involvement in its affairs, including through weapons sales. The U.S. does not formally recognize Beijing’s claim over Taiwan but has unofficially supported the island through defense assistance.

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Trump later gave an update on the conflict with Iran, denying that his administration underestimated the difficulty of the mission and saying the U.S. is currently choosing not to escalate further.

"I didn't underestimate anything. We hit them unbelievably hard," Trump said. "Look, we left their bridges. We left their electricity capacity. We can knock that all out in two days. Two days."

MORNING GLORY: WILL XI FREE LAI?

"Vietnam lasted 19 years. Iraq was like 10 years. Korea was seven years. Another one was 14 years. Another one was 12 years. Another one was nine years. We're in there [Iran] for two and a half months," the president said.

He also addressed the potential for political prisoner Jimmy Lai, along with two other detainees, to be released from China. Lai is a Hong Kong media mogul and Catholic imprisoned for criticizing the Chinese government. Trump confirmed he asked Xi to consider releasing Lai.

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"It's under consideration. I will say that I brought up Jimmy Lai, and I would say the response to that was not positive," Trump said, noting he was not optimistic.

"He went through a whole thing and I said, ‘Well, we'd appreciate if you would release him. He's gotten old, and he's probably not feeling too well. It would be nice.’ And I did not feel optimistic. I have to be honest with you about that one. I did, I did feel optimistic about the second one that's now under consideration," Trump said.

Obama remains Dem headliner while president with most votes ever fades into background: 'It was all a dream'

Fri, 15 May 2026 10:24:32 -0400

President Barack Obama has been at the center of Democrats’ biggest political fights, from redistricting fights to last year’s gubernatorial races, while former President Joe Biden — despite winning more votes than any presidential candidate in history — has remained largely absent from many of the party’s biggest political battles since leaving office.

"We went through an election in Virginia that the Democrats invested a lot of money in, and we did not see Joe Biden once to the best of my recollection," Virginia GOP Chair Jeff Ryer told Fox News Digital, referring to Obama’s heavy campaigning for the Democrat-backed redistricting referendum later struck down by the Virginia Supreme Court. "We did, on the other hand, see Barack Obama on television ad after television ad, during the Democrats’ $80 million campaign, he was clearly the leader of it."

Biden’s absence from several major Democratic campaigns has fueled Republican claims that Democrats are quietly moving on from the former president.

"Joe Biden is becoming like the ninth season of ‘Dallas.’ It was all a dream," Ryer said, referring to the infamous retcon of CBS’ hit show "Dallas," in which the events of Season 9 were revealed to have never happened.

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For many Democratic strategists, Obama’s prominent role reflects a broader belief that he remains far more popular and politically valuable than Biden, even ten years after exiting public office.

"I think there's a lot of nostalgia for the Obama presidency," Democratic strategist Andrea Riccio told Fox News Digital. "I do think there's a once in a generation excitement around him that just hasn't been replicated by other presidents, so I can understand why he's sought after right now."

Riccio said Democrats are likely still reeling from their 2024 presidential election loss, and with the Democratic Party still lacking a clear leader, "Obama is one of the best surrogates" the party has at the moment.

Earlier this week, Obama traveled to Texas and met with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa and Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, who is gaining momentum in polls against Republican candidates Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Winning over Black voters in Texas will be crucial for Talarico, and strategists have said Obama could play a key role in boosting turnout this fall.

Fox News contributor and Democratic strategist Jessica Tarlov argued that Talarico likely would not campaign with Biden because "a lot of what he is" politically involves distancing himself from the Biden administration.

"He's been very open about mistakes that were made in the Biden administration, especially vis-à-vis immigration," Tarlov said. "He wants to represent Texas. So, obviously, the border is a really big deal there."

She added that Obama is just more popular than Biden.

"I think Biden will go where people want him to, and is taking much more of, like, the Nancy Pelosi approach, which is, 'if you want me, I'm there for you. If you don't, I totally get it,'" Tarlov said. "And Obama's, obviously, fielding requests for those that want him, and there are going to be lots of candidates that don't want Obama on the trail with him."

"But he makes a lot of sense for someone like James Talarico, especially because he's a millennial and kind of grew up on Obama," Tarlov continued.

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However, Tarlov did say she would have thought California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom would have asked Biden to join the campaign for his redistricting effort in California.

"Gavin Newsom is one of the most public defenders of the Biden record," Tarlov said. "So I think that he would have had Biden if that was possible."

Instead, Obama was the leading voice in Democrats' redistricting push in California and Virginia, appearing in several advertisements aimed at rallying voter support, while Biden has remained mum.

Amid the high-profile governors' races last November in Virginia and New Jersey, Obama spoke at rallies promoting now Democratic New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger. But Biden, who previously endorsed both women amid their prior congressional races, was nowhere to be seen on the campaign trail.

But Democratic strategist James Carville told Fox News Digital that Biden isn't as young as Obama and likely doesn't have the same level of energy. Last May, Biden was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer.

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While Biden may no longer be leading the Democratic Party’s biggest initiatives, he remains engaged. On May 1, he endorsed Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia's gubernatorial primary, and a few days later he endorsed his former aide Dan Koh in Massachusetts’ 6th Congressional District.

In April, Biden spoke at Delaware Democratic Party's annual First State Dinner, and in February he spoke at a South Carolina Democratic Party dinner to commemorate his six-year anniversary of winning the state's primary election, deemed pivotal in him winning the general election.

A Biden insider shared with Fox News Digital that more is to come from the former president this election season.

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And the Republican National Committee is looking forward to Biden's growing involvement, according to an RNC spokesperson.

"It would be a gift to Republicans for Joe Biden to get involved in the midterms," Republican National Committee spokesperson Zach Kraft told Fox News Digital. "We will happily buy him a plane ticket to every swing state in the country."

Key China-Iran infrastructure exposes critical hole in Trump's war strategy

Fri, 15 May 2026 08:56:51 -0400

The U.S. is trying to choke off Iran’s economy at sea, but a growing China-linked rail corridor is giving Tehran a workaround that Washington cannot easily shut down without risking a wider conflict.

As freight traffic between China and Iran increases along an overland route beyond the reach of American warships, the dynamic is exposing a core limitation in the U.S. strategy: maritime pressure is powerful, but it doesn’t fully extend across Eurasia.

According to Bloomberg, cargo trains running from central China to Iran have jumped from roughly one per week before the blockade to one every three or four days, highlighting a growing alternative channel as Tehran looks to blunt maritime pressure.

The corridor runs through multiple sovereign countries, including Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, making it far more complex to disrupt than shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf.

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Directly targeting that overland network would risk widening the conflict and escalating tensions with Beijing, which has spent years investing in trade routes designed to bypass maritime choke points dominated by the U.S. Navy.

That combination of geography, diplomacy and escalation risk helps explain why Washington has focused overwhelmingly on maritime interdiction rather than attempting to shut down overland trade routes.

Experts say the rail corridor remains limited in its ability to offset Iran’s main oil exports.

"There’s no substitute for a very large crude carrier," Isaac Kardon, a senior fellow focused on Chinese strategy and maritime security, told Fox News Digital.

Kardon estimated that "maybe like 1% of the exports that Iran would typically be pushing out through Hormuz could go over land."

Max Meizlish, a former Treasury official focused on sanctions policy, similarly described the rail corridor as "a drop in the bucket compared to Iran’s traditional oil exports over maritime transit routes."

TRUMP WARNS CHINA OF 'STAGGERING' 50% TARIFF IF CAUGHT SUPPLYING MILITARY AID TO IRAN

Still, analysts warn the route carries strategic risks beyond its limited scale.

Meizlish said the rail network "provides a pathway for China to supply Iran with critical dual use goods or just military logistical infrastructure" beyond the reach of U.S. naval enforcement.

Kardon pointed to similar concerns, including the potential movement of "parts for drones" and "missile precursor chemicals."

Even so, Kardon emphasized the corridor cannot sustain large-scale economic or military flows.

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"It’s a flow question," he said. "Can you sustain the Iranian war-fighting effort solely with cargoes from China or from its other Eurasian neighbors? And I think the answer is really no."

Taken together, the rail corridor is not an economic lifeline for Iran, but it underscores a broader shift as China builds trade networks designed to blunt U.S. pressure at sea and test the limits of how far Washington is willing to go to enforce its strategy.

The White House and the Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment.

GOP can't agree on key part of Trump's housing affordability push as infighting continues

Fri, 15 May 2026 06:30:29 -0400

President Donald Trump is leaning on Congress to tee up an affordability win ahead of November’s midterm elections, but entrenched GOP disagreement on a sweeping housing proposal threatens to derail it.

Trump on Monday called on the House to swiftly approve Senate-passed legislation aimed at easing housing affordability that has languished in the lower chamber for several months. House Republicans, however, have balked at that request and are pitching a rival plan.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., teased earlier in the week that Republicans and Democrats would come together to bring a "bipartisan, bicameral bill to the president’s desk."

"I think everybody feels like it's important, so we're just working out some nuances," Johnson said.

TRUMP-BACKED AFFORDABLE HOUSING OVERHAUL CLEARS SENATE, WHILE HOUSE GOP RAISES RED FLAGS

Senior House lawmakers on Thursday unveiled a modified version of the Senate’s 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which is expected to receive a vote in the lower chamber as early as next week.

Any changes to the Senate’s proposal would force the upper chamber to consider the measure again, prolonging the timeline lawmakers can send legislation to Trump’s desk.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., one of the chief architects of the Senate’s bill, declined to say whether she was speaking with her counterparts in the House about tweaks to the bill, and argued that lawmakers were running out of time to do something.

"There’s a housing crisis out there," Warren said. "This bill can pass today if the House would just put it on the floor and vote on it. We need to get started, and if the House has more ideas than they'd like to add, start another bill."

Some GOP lawmakers are not sweating the wait.

"We cannot take the Senate bill to the floor," House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital in an interview earlier this week.

The political dynamics are much different in the Senate, however. And the housing bill passed with fewer than a dozen defectors in March — a rare feat in such a hyper-partisan Congress.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., argued that the easiest route to putting the legislation on Trump’s desk is passing the Senate’s version.

"It's been sitting over there for a while and the president’s weighed in on it. I think, you know, the White House made it clear, they would like to see the House pick up and pass the Senate bill," Thune said. "We’ve done what we can do. It's in the court of the House now."

The House product struck out a controversial provision taking aim at the build-to-rent market that drew the opposition of conservatives, who argued the language amounted to excessive government interference in the housing market.

The clause in the Senate’s proposal would have specifically required some developers to sell single-family homes built for the purpose of renting within seven years after construction. The build-to-rent industry and opponents of the provision argued their properties provide a more affordable option for some Americans priced out of the housing market and could imperil the supply of rentals across the country.

"We’ve got to make sure we do it in a right way that continues to keep free markets," Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, said, adding that the clause in the Senate bill could make it "impossible" for some people to access housing.

FOREIGNERS ARE SNAPPING UP US HOMES AND STEALING THE AMERICAN DREAM OUT FROM UNDER FAMILIES

The proposal, however, would also weaken a ban on large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes — a priority of the Trump administration.

The House’s rival housing bill notably preserves a ban on central bank digital currencies (CBDC) through 2030 that was included in the Senate’s legislation.

House conservatives raged at the Senate bill for stopping short of enacting a permanent CBDC ban — a top priority of GOP privacy hawks, who have sought to add the language to various legislative vehicles.

"It has to be permanent," Cloud said. "We've got to put the nail in the coffin on it."

House Financial Services Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., a co-author of the House’s rival housing package, said he shared Trump’s goal of expanding access to affordable homeownership in a statement Thursday.

"It cuts unnecessary barriers to new home construction, modernizes HUD programs, and allows banks to more freely deploy funding into their communities," Hill said regarding the lower chamber’s proposal. "We must get this right — and I am committed to working hard to do that."

Not everyone in the Senate is upset by the House’s decision to modify the bill.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., was one of the few lawmakers to vote against the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, and told Fox News Digital that housing affordability isn’t something that’s dictated by the federal government.

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"If you wanted to actually reduce housing costs, it's local governments who are gonna have to allow more houses to be built," Scott said.

The legislative standoff comes as a recent Fox News poll found that nearly 80% of voters said housing costs were a problem for them or their family. The same survey also found that Democrats hold a lead over Republicans on inflation and the economy.

This Midwestern state leads the nation in home foreclosures as US filings jump by 26%

Fri, 15 May 2026 06:00:58 -0400

Home foreclosures in the U.S. are up 26% from last year as inflation rates and rising costs are catching up with homeowners.

Indiana was hit hardest and logged one foreclosure filing for every 739 housing units in the first quarter of 2026, according to findings from property data firm ATTOM. This is nearly two-thirds higher than the nationwide rate of one in every 1,211 house facing foreclosure in that same period.

The latest data released in April shows that red states are being hit the hardest by the sweeping affordability crisis — and with the 2026 midterm elections approaching, economic woes are at the top of mind for many voters and policymakers.

WHITE HOUSE TEASES MAJOR HOUSING AFFORDABILITY PLAN AS PRICES SQUEEZE AMERICANS

The top three states with the worst foreclosure rates at the start of 2026 all voted for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. South Carolina came in second behind Indiana with one in every 743 properties with foreclosure filings in the first quarter of the year, and Florida was in third with one in every 750 housing units facing the same fate.

While foreclosure activity is on the rise across the U.S., it remains well below levels seen during the 2008 housing crisis. But that isn't stopping Democrats from pouncing on the issue, and using affordability, inflation and rising housing costs as their candidates' leading messaging ahead of the November elections.

A total of 118,727 U.S. properties had a foreclosure filing in the first quarter of 2026, up 6% from the previous quarter and 26% from a year ago.

Foreclosure filings came in for 45,921 properties for March alone, increasing 18% from February and 28% from March of last year.

THE PRICE OF BUILDING A HOME KEEPS CLIMBING — AND UNCERTAINTY ISN’T HELPING

Looking more closely at the data, more homes are entering the foreclosure process, a potential sign of future distress. A total of 82,631 properties started foreclosure processes in the first quarter of 2026, up 20% from the year prior, while lenders repossessed 14,020 properties, marking a 45% annual increase.

Blue states like Delaware and Illinois are also facing high foreclosure rates — showcasing that the issue crosses party lines. Among major metro areas, cities like Cleveland, Ohio; Jacksonville, Florida; and Indianapolis, Indiana ranked among the highest for foreclosure rates.

The revelation of spiking foreclosure rates comes as the U.S. grapples with a slew of housing challenges that have helped contribute to today’s crisis.

Against that backdrop, experts say rising mortgage rates, higher living costs and other homeownership expenses are putting increasing pressure on some homeowners, pushing up monthly payments and making it harder to keep up with housing costs.

THE TOP 3 REASONS HOUSING HAS BECOME SO UNAFFORDABLE IN THE US MARKET

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 6.37% for the week ending May 7, up from 5.98% in late February.

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Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM, said that while foreclosure levels remain below those seen during the housing crisis, the recent uptick suggests more homeowners may be coming under financial strain.

Taken together, the data points to a housing market that remains stable overall, even as affordability challenges persist for some homeowners.

US moving to indict former Cuban leader Raúl Castro: source

Thu, 14 May 2026 21:24:31 -0400

The United States is moving to indict Raúl Castro, the former Cuban president, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to Fox News Digital.

The potential charges against Castro, 94, come after CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Thursday with counterparts from Cuba’s Ministry of the Interior during a high-level visit to the island nation.

CBS News first reported on the potential charges.

CUBA SAYS CIA CHIEF RATCLIFFE MET WITH OFFICIALS IN HAVANA AMID US TENSIONS

Raúl Castro is the younger brother of longtime Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who died in 2016.

Castro is reportedly being indicted in connection with the downing of planes 30 years ago, U.S. officials familiar with the matter told CBS News.

The indictment, which would require approval from a grand jury, would center on Cuba’s deadly 1996 shootdown of planes operated by the humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue, according to the report.

During his meeting Thursday, Ratcliffe met with Cuban officials including Raulito Rodriguez Castro, Interior Minister Lazaro Alvarez Casas and the head of Cuban intelligence services in Havana to "personally deliver President Trump’s message that the United States is prepared to seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes."

TRUMP TEASES US WILL BE 'TAKING OVER' CUBA 'ALMOST IMMEDIATELY' IN FLORIDA SPEECH

A CIA official told Fox News that Ratcliffe and Cuban officials discussed intelligence cooperation, economic stability and security issues, all against the backdrop that Cuba can no longer be a safe haven for adversaries in the Western Hemisphere.

Ratcliffe also stressed that the Trump administration was offering a genuine opportunity for cooperation and that Trump should be taken seriously, sources said.

Earlier this month, Trump joked during remarks at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches in Florida that the U.S. would be "taking over" Cuba "almost immediately."

DESANTIS REVEALS WHICH DICTATORSHIP SHOULD BE 'PUT OUT TO PASTURE' NEXT

"Cuba’s got problems. We’ll finish one first. I like to finish a job."

The Trump administration has recently expanded sanctions targeting countries and companies that do business with Cuba, particularly oil suppliers, increasing pressure on Havana amid fuel shortages and widespread power outages.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.

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

McMaster revives Trump-backed push to oust Biden kingmaker from Congress

Thu, 14 May 2026 19:55:19 -0400

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a top Trump ally and fellow Republican, announced Thursday that he is convening the state legislature in Columbia, South Carolina, starting Friday for a special session to "address the state budget and congressional districts" in his largely Republican state.

"I have issued an Executive Order calling the General Assembly back for an extra legislative session to address the state budget and congressional districts beginning Friday, May 15, at 11:00 AM," McMaster wrote on X.

The move comes amid intraparty Republican tensions over the Trump-backed effort to redraw the state’s congressional map — a push that could threaten the tenure of longtime Democratic Rep. James Clyburn, the man credited with reviving former President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign.

Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, and four other senators earlier this week joined Democrats to defeat a proposal that would have allowed the chamber to vote on redistricting after the South Carolina legislative session closed Thursday.

The roadblock came hours after President Donald Trump warned he is "watching closely" the redistricting effort. Trump's message came a week after five Indiana Republican state senators who in December helped sink congressional redistricting in the solidly red Midwestern state were ousted by Trump-backed challengers in GOP primaries.

Proponents of the South Carolina redraw hope that the new map will ultimately rid the state’s congressional delegation of its lone Democrat, while advising lawmakers to move the primary for House members to August.

SOUTH CAROLINA REPUBLICANS DEFY TRUMP, TANK REDISTRICTING, FOR NOW

Clyburn, the octogenarian Orangeburg, South Carolina, lawmaker considered a kingmaker in Palmetto State Democratic politics — and credited with reviving then-candidate Biden’s floundering campaign with his endorsement in 2020 — may not be long for Capitol Hill, as a redraw would almost certainly redistribute the state’s heavy Republican advantage across its seven districts.

Clyburn said he remains confident he can win re-election even under a new map.

"I don’t know why people think I could not get re-elected if they redistrict South Carolina," Clyburn said in a CNN interview. "I have a district that’s about 45 percent African American. I have no idea what the number will be after the legislature finishes, but whatever that number is, I will be running on my record and America’s promise."

Massey argued in a floor speech that following Trump’s lead on redistricting would run counter to the interests of the Palmetto State.

"South Carolina has always punched above their weight," Massey said. "Doing this will diminish that influence."

But he also acknowledged that he will likely face political payback from Trump and the president's allies.

TRUMP TARGETS RED STATE REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS IN PUSH FOR CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING

"There are likely consequences for me, personally, taking the position that I am right now," Massey said. "I’m comfortable with that. I may not like it, but I’m comfortable with it. ... My conscience is clear on this one."

The recent Callais decision at the Supreme Court — which eliminated Louisiana’s race-conscious map that provided for two largely minority-heavy Democratic strongholds — has already spurred action in Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi, and with Clyburn’s district itself reportedly the product of a George H.W. Bush Justice Department request regarding racial makeup, its days may be numbered.

The DOJ in 1992 recommended creating a majority-Black district in South Carolina, and Clyburn swiftly won the seat upon the retirement of fellow Democratic Rep. Robin Mooneyhan Tallon of Hemingway, according to a Government Printing Office publication on Black Americans in Congress.

Clyburn is also reportedly a relative of the previous Black South Carolina congressman, Republican George Washington Murray, who served in the 1890s.

The 85-year-old recently signed documents to make his run for re-election official, quipping that he is in good health and simply celebrating the 47th anniversary of his 39th birthday soon.

If redistricting fails and Clyburn is able to run again, he will join a growing list of octogenarian — and some nonagenarian — lawmakers who remain bullish about their political prospects.

The oldest sitting member is Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who is 92, while elderly lawmakers facing re-election in 2026 besides Clyburn include Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., who is 88, and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who is 87. Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, is 83 and running for re-election, which would make him 89 at the end of his next term.

Four of the leading South Carolina Republicans running for governor this year, Lt. Gov. Pam Evette, Attorney Gen. Alan Wilson, and Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, earlier this week criticized the redistricting setback in the state Senate.

On Thursday evening, Evette called McMaster's move "a critical step for President Trump and the people of South Carolina."

And Wilson said, "South Carolina has the opportunity to lead, and lawmakers should move quickly to pass new maps before the June primary."

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Alabama convened a special session earlier in May that House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, correctly predicted would force the courts to rule on the validity of a special-case redistricting referendum there.

Tennessee successfully redrew its map, which is likely to result in the ouster of longtime Shelby County Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen, while Mississippi hit a snag in its own efforts after Gov. Tate Reeves pumped the brakes on a Callais-spurred effort to boot former House Jan. 6 Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson in the Delta.

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 state holds its primary on Saturday, but the state's congressional primaries are being postponed until November.