Boston ICE agents had to arrest a Brazilian illegal immigrant charged with rape and extortion twice because of sanctuary policies in the state of Massachusetts.

An ICE statement published last week said that Boston Enforcement and Removal Operations officials arrested 29-year-old Agnaldo Moreira da Cruz, for the second time in December.

This came after officials in Barnstable County, in Massachusetts’ Cape Cod, twice ignored ICE detainer requests against Moreira da Cruz.

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According to the ICE statement, the Barnstable County Superior Court not only ignored their detainer requests but also violated the terms of their own agreement by refusing to return Moreira da Cruz to ICE, after obtaining him through a “writ of habeas corpus.”

Moreira da Cruz was originally arrested in August 2023 by police in Yarmouth. He was arraigned in December 2023 and held at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility, which is run by the Barnstable Sheriff’s Office, until he was released on June 18, 2024, despite there being an ICE detainer against him. 

ICE tracked down and arrested Moreira da Cruz several months later on Oct. 16 and, after receiving a habeas corpus request, had to again turn him over to the Barnstable Superior Court on Nov. 27. The court then ignored the ICE detainer and released him on Dec. 5.

Moreira da Cruz is charged with a series of violent felonies, including rape and extortion with threat of injury.

BLUE STATE GOV CHANGES TUNE AFTER VOWING TO FIGHT TRUMP DEPORTATION EFFORTS, NOW HOPES HE FIXES BORDER

“This is not someone you want to release into the community, but twice now our detainers have been ignored,” said ICE. “These decisions have repeatedly put the citizens of Massachusetts at risk of being victimized by an alleged dangerous offender.”

Asked why the ICE detainer was not honored, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Trial Court sent Fox News Digital a copy of the policy followed by the court, which is based on a precedent set by a 2017 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling called “Lunn vs. Commonwealth.”

The policy stipulates that Trial Court employees “do not have authority to detain an individual based solely” on ICE detainers and those immigrants subject to these requests “shall be processed and handled in the same way that all other individuals coming before the court are processed and handled.”

The policy also states that no court officer or employee may “call or otherwise initiate communication with any ICE official” to notify them that an immigrant is in court custody and that “no ICE official shall be permitted to take an individual into custody pursuant to a civil immigration detainer in a courtroom.”

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Barnstable Sheriff Donna Buckley told Fox News Digital that Lunn vs. Commonwealth makes it so that “it is unlawful for state and local law enforcement agencies to arrest or detain people solely on the basis of an ICE detainer, beyond the time that the individual would otherwise be entitled to be released from State custody.”

“The Massachusetts sheriffs operate within the scope and parameters of federal, state and local laws and regulations,” said Buckley. “As such, the sheriffs are bound to follow the law of the Commonwealth, and therefore cannot hold an individual based on an ICE detention request alone, if that incarcerated individual is not subject to separate judicially issued detention orders.”

“The sheriffs do not make the law. The sheriffs enforce the law,” she added.

DEM GOVERNOR THREATENS TO USE ‘EVERY TOOL’ TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST TRUMP-ERA DEPORTATIONS

Meanwhile, Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and law and policy expert at the Center for Immigration Studies, told Fox News Digital, though the Massachusetts courts have the final say in instances such as this, “it’s important to note that’s not necessarily the final word.”

“Immigration is the ultimate federal issue,” said Arthur. “When states interpose themselves in that process, they’re really getting into an area in which they have no expertise based upon anecdote and speculation.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

He noted that states and localities receive billions of dollars in federal funding every year, which can be made dependent on complying with federal immigration authorities.

“On the one hand, they’re demanding money from the federal government, and on the other hand, they’re telling the federal government that they won’t assist them in a key government duty,” he said. “Congress can always place any conditions that they want on funding, and this is a reasonable condition for them to put in place.”

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Arthur said that he anticipates the Trump administration and incoming border czar Tom Homan will move quickly to push Congress to put such stipulations in place.

“The biggest issue with this is that it places ICE enforcement and removal officers in great danger because, rather than taking custody of a criminal in a secure location, a local jail or a state prison, they have to actually go out on the street. They have to find that person at their house, and that puts their lives at danger,” he explained. “It’s also important to note this is a community safety issue.”

“If we really want to keep our streets safe,” he went on, “the best way to do that is to take the criminals off the street. And really, that’s what should be happening, and I anticipate you will see a movement, particularly under a second Trump administration, to make that happen.”

Despite the actions by Barnstable County officials, Moreira da Cruz is currently in ICE custody, pending immigration and criminal proceedings.

California lawmakers, on Monday, postponed a special legislation session scheduled for Tuesday to “Trump-proof” the Gold State ahead of President-elect Trump’s inauguration, due to wildfires devastating the Los Angeles region.

A member of the California Assembly budget office told Fox News Digital the hearing was postponed because of the fires, adding that the chairman of the committee, Assembly Member Jesse Gabriel, is unable to attend the session because he represents areas devastated by the wild infernos.

When asked when the session would be rescheduled before Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20, the budget office said the new date is still “up in the air.”

While the session has been postponed, lawmakers, on Friday, adjusted the legislation.

‘IS NOW THE RIGHT TIME…TO FIGHT DONALD TRUMP?’: CA HOUSE SPEAKER DODGES FIERY QUESTIONING FROM REPORTER

KCRA in Sacramento reported that the lawmakers added a proposal for a new website to track anticipated lawsuits between the state and the Trump administration, additional rules surrounding the use of an additional $25 million for the California Department of Justice to fight the legal battles, and a proposal for $25 million in grants for legal services and immigration support. The proposals were added to the special session bills, ABX1-1 and ABX1-2.

The news comes just days after a reporter with KCRA pressed the Democratic speaker of the California Assembly, Robert Rivas, if it were the right time to have a legislative session on allocating money to fight Trump in a way that lawmakers could already do without having a special session.

Rivas deflected the question, saying he was there to address the wildfires.

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“This is a historic, historic wildfire,” he told the reporter. “This is, this is a historic event. These wildfires, as I mentioned, are going to be, quite possibly, some of the worst wildfires and disasters in the state and national history.”

But the reporter pressed on, saying, “while this wildfire is happening, and while people are trying to understand what’s going on and are worried about disaster relief, worried about the ability to get homeowners insurance, your chamber gaveled into a special legislative session to prepare for Donald Trump in a way that you are already able to do without a special legislative session. So again, is now the right time for that?”

Again, Rivas focused on wildfire recovery and did not directly answer the reporter’s question.

‘DEVASTATING’: CALIFORNIA HAD RECORD RAINFALL LAST YEAR, BUT LACKED INFRASTRUCTURE TO STORE IT

Rivas’ office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for additional information about the postponement of the special session.

Shortly after Trump’s electoral victory, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a special legislative session to bolster the state’s legal fund in the case of attacks from the Trump administration. Trump hit back at Newsom after the announcement, saying on his Truth Social account, “He is using the term ‘Trump-Proof’ as a way of stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done to ‘Make California Great Again,’ but I just overwhelmingly won the Election.”

Between 2017 and 2021, California’s Department of Justice led 122 lawsuits against Trump administration policies, spending $42 million on litigation. Newsom’s office said in one case, the federal government was ordered to reimburse California nearly $60 million in public safety grants.

While California filed over 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration, Trump lobbed only four major lawsuits against the state. In 2018, Trump’s DOJ filed a lawsuit over three California sanctuary state laws that restricted cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. That same year, Trump sued California for its state-level net neutrality law.

Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.

Leaders at the southern border are telling Fox News Digital that despite rumors of a sudden rush, illegal immigration numbers are down, and their communities are beginning to regain a sense of “normalcy” ahead of President-elect Trump’s second inauguration this month.

Sheriff Brad Coe of Kinney County, Texas, whose community sits between Eagle Pass and Del Rio, told Fox News Digital that “the pendulum has gone from total chaos and has swung back to where it’s more peaceful and everybody’s a little more relaxed.”

Illegal border crossings in Coe’s area soared during the Biden administration, reaching 480,000 in 2022. The city of Eagle Pass, which has a population of just about 28,000, became the center of a legal battle between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and federal authorities as the state attempted to crack down on the record-level border crossings.   

INCOMING BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN VISITS EAGLE PASS, TEXAS: THERE WILL BE A ‘MASS DEPORTATION’

Under the Biden administration’s lax border policies, Coe said people in his county had to deal with huge financial losses and a constant sense of danger and uncertainty. He also said there was a dramatic increase in dangerous law enforcement pursuits in his county.

“In a career, a law enforcement officer might have 10 or 15 good pursuits after a 25- or 30-year career. [In] 2023, one of my deputies was involved in 54 pursuits in one year,” he said. “That same year we did 255 pursuits. So, it’s gone from one or two pursuits a year to 250 pursuits a year… So, yes, it was total chaos.”

But now, with Trump retaking power on Jan. 20, Coe said he is “very optimistic” about the future.

Why the optimism? Coe said: “It’s the change in attitude coming from the administration, plus the change in the attitude of the American people because they’re tired [of the border crisis].”

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He believes the Trump administration will listen to border communities and allow Customs and Border Protection authorities to do their job.

“One of the things that they need to do is A, contact the border sheriffs, the border police chiefs and everybody in border communities to find out what’s going on, keep tabs on that,” he said. “But what the federal government needs to [also] do is let the Border Patrol agents and the ICE agents do their job. Don’t rein them in and say we’re only going to accept these people, we’re only going to deport these people, give them the full range of authority that they have and let them run them with it.”  

“The president-elect is taking a very serious stand on this,” he said, adding that “he’s got the right people in the right place to handle this” and the effect is already showing in his community.

“You can see it in the people in town, you see it among the deputies, the personnel working for the county, et cetera, et cetera. It’s like OK, we’re finally back to where we can actually relax,” he explained. “We don’t have to bring our kids in every time we hear sirens and gather up the kids when we hear the helicopters fly by. We’ve gotten back some kind of normalcy.”

SIGNIFICANT MAJORITY BELIEVE TRUMP WILL ‘CONTROL ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION’: POLL

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, Mayor Douglas Nicholls of Yuma, a town of just under 101,000 residents on the Arizona-Mexico border, told Fox News Digital things are also returning to normal.

Like the Del Rio sector, Yuma also saw a historic surge in illegal immigration under the Biden administration, with over 310,000 crossing in 2022, three times the population of the city. Now, Nicholls said the number of migrants coming across in the Yuma area has fallen to around 50 per day, which he said is fully contained by Border Patrol.

Nicholls said he is optimistic that his city will receive at least the same level of support from the new administration that it did during Trump’s first term.

“Within two weeks [of the first Trump term], the president invited me to the White House. We sat down in the Oval Office with the [Homeland Security] secretary and the three of us had a conversation for about half an hour. I walked out of that meeting with resources and weeks later, we had the ‘Remain in Mexico’ program that dramatically changed the nature of crossers along the border,” said Nicholls, adding that “essentially in about 3 to 5 months… the situation I was concerned about was pretty much put to rest.”

SECRET DRUG TUNNEL FOUND NEAR BORDER WALL IN ARIZONA

“So, I really anticipate that same level of engagement,” he explained, adding that he will soon be reaching out and “testing the waters” to make sure Yuma has strong communications with the president and his staff.

“The Yuma area is a vibrant, growing community. It’s got great partnerships across the border, throughout the nation, throughout the world and those things are really what we’re focused on are, the growth opportunities, the ability to take our community to the next level, provide more opportunity for our residents, and really just having that more robust economic environment and flourishing.”

Back in Del Rio, Police Chief Frank Ramirez told Fox News Digital that he is also “definitely hopeful.”

He said that although the current level of illegal immigration is “not as bad as it has been in the past,” city police continue to have to deal with a considerable amount of human smuggling and cartel activity. This continues to take a toll on both the Del Rio Police Department’s resources and officers. 

TEXAS LAWMAKERS SOUND THE ALARM ON IMMIGRATION CRISIS IN DEL RIO: THE PROBLEM WILL ‘SPIRAL OUT OF CONTROL’

He said officers in Del Rio are honored to be the “first line of defense,” helping to keep criminal illegal immigrants from getting farther into the country.

“If we can get somebody that doesn’t need to be in the rest of the states here, it’s a double win push, and it’s something that we take very seriously over here, and we enjoy doing,” he said.

Nevertheless, because of these difficulties and the fact that Del Rio is a smaller city that cannot compete with larger city salaries, Ramirez said his department is struggling with recruitment and retention. He said that besides closing the border, communities like his need additional federal funding to compensate officers doing double duty fighting normal crime and illegal migrant crime.

“It’s made it a little bit difficult on us because we’re still trying to take care of the regular problems of the city and, on top of that, take care of immigration issues,” he explained. “Every day you’re rolling the dice. Who’s coming through? Who’s made it across? Are they coming to our city first? And what are they looking for? Are they coming to do something to somebody? Take something from somebody or are they just passing through?”

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“So, the key thing that we really need and the thing that we’re kind of looking for is with the grants that would give us salary assistance, something like that would really help the border towns so that we could be competitive with some of the bigger agencies and be able to retain and keep some of these officers over here,” he said.  

“This town is terrific. It’s got great people in it, and I truly mean that when I say it,” he went on. “So, wanting to keep the city safe is really important to me. It’s something personal.”

“Any assistance we can get would be appreciated from any administration. I don’t know what the plans are, but [we are] definitely hopeful and hoping for maybe a little bit more support,” he concluded with a smile.

A committee of the California legislature has indefinitely postponed its planned first hearing in a special session called to “Trump-proof” the state and bolster its legal defense in case of attacks from the incoming administration.

KCRA first reported that the Assembly Budget Committee’s Tuesday hearing, is now off the docket.

The committee’s chairman, Democratic Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, represents one of the districts impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires and is currently under evacuation orders. Democrats were previously hoping to have legislation passed by Inauguration Day.

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State lawmakers also made changes to legislation connected to former President Trump on Friday as the Los Angeles wildfires continue to ravage the region. They suggested creating a website to track lawsuits between California and the Trump administration, set guidelines for using $25 million in extra funding for the state Department of Justice’s legal battles, and proposed $25 million in grants for immigration services.

“This Special Session funding agreement cements California’s readiness to serve as a bulwark against Trump’s extremist agenda. During the last Trump Administration, California successfully defended reproductive freedoms, attacks on our immigrant communities, LGBTQ civil rights, and threats to our environment, from the unlawful assault launched by the Trump Administration,” Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener said in a press release. 

‘IS NOW THE RIGHT TIME … TO FIGHT DONALD TRUMP?’: CA HOUSE SPEAKER DODGES FIERY QUESTIONING FROM REPORTER

Shortly after Trump’s electoral victory, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a special legislative session to bolster the state’s legal fund in case of attacks from the Trump administration. 

Trump hit back at Newsom after the announcement, saying on his Truth Social account, “He is using the term ‘Trump-Proof’ as a way of stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done to ‘Make California Great Again,’ but I just overwhelmingly won the Election.”

Between 2017 and 2021, California’s Department of Justice filed 122 lawsuits against Trump administration policies, spending $42 million. In one case, the federal government was ordered to repay California nearly $60 million in public safety grants, according to Newsom’s office.

‘DEVASTATING’: CALIFORNIA HAD RECORD RAINFALL LAST YEAR, BUT LACKED INFRASTRUCTURE TO STORE IT

While California filed over 100 lawsuits, Trump’s administration only brought four major lawsuits against the state. In 2018, the Trump DOJ sued over three sanctuary state laws limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and over California’s state-level net neutrality law.

In 2019, Trump also filed a lawsuit against California’s vehicle emissions standards, attempting to revoke California’s ability to set its own emissions rules. The Trump administration also sued California over its controversial independent contractor law, AB 5, in 2020. 

Fox News Digital did not hear back from Newsom’s office for comment by press deadline.

Democratic New York Sen. Chuck Schumer celebrated a 100-year-old Holocaust survivor living on Long Island on Monday, gifting her with a flag that flew over the U.S. Capitol in her honor, as well as bestowing her with a special Senate floor recognition as a New York “hometown hero,” Fox News Digital learned. 

“I am proud to honor a living legend right here on Long Island today, and that is Pina Frassineti Wax,” Schumer said Monday, according to a press release provided to Fox Digital. “Pina is whip smart, energetic and going strong—but she also remembers the horrors of the Holocaust, and having seen it all, Pina has dedicated her life to teaching, loving and learning.”

“The number of Americans who are both 100-years-old, and also survived the Holocaust, is not a high number, so knowing that a living legend is right on Long Island should give Pina’s family, friends, neighbors and all New Yorkers an amazing life story to celebrate,” Schumer continued. 

Pina Frassineti Wax, 100, is originally from Rome, Italy, and survived the Holocaust before settling in Long Island’s hamlet of Baldwin. Schumer gifted Frassineti Wax a flag that flew in her honor at the Capitol, and announced she will also receive a Senate floor recognition later Monday commemorating her “living legend status on Long Island.”

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“As a centenarian, and going—Pina, born in Rome, Italy, has witnessed a century of profound change in the world, from the devastating losses of the Holocaust to the remarkable advancements in human rights, democracy, and peace, always advocating for truth, justice, and remembrance,” Schumer said while presenting the Holocaust survivor with the flag that flew in her honor. 

The New York senator explained that before Frassineti Wax fled Europe for America, she and her family hid in a Catholic convent to escape the Nazis. 

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: IT ‘NEVER OCCURRED’ TO ME I’D HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT MY GRANDCHILDREN

“Pina has not only survived, but she has thrived—from the Jewish ghetto in Rome to the promise of America and her community on Long Island. Pina’s history includes the loss of family in Dachau. Pina remembers well, having to hide with her mother and brother in a Catholic convent to escape the Nazis,” Schumer said. 

“She would face great trauma and worry during the Holocaust, but she never gave up. Her loving husband, Mario Wax, was also a Jewish Italian. Mario joined the U.S. Army, being awarded a Bronze Star. They shared forty-four wonderful years together.”

SUNNY HOSTIN LIKENS JANUARY 6 RIOT TO THE HOLOCAUST, SAYS WE CAN ‘NEVER FORGET’

Schumer’s announcement comes just ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27. 

“Pina’s milestone year—her hundredth—serves as a remarkable testament to her perseverance and triumph during one of the darkest chapters of human history, emerging from the horrors of the Holocaust with an unwavering commitment to survival, and rebuilding, while ensuring that the atrocities committed are never forgotten,” Schumer continued. 

Frassineti Wax was joined by members of her family, as well as Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman on Monday. 

The recognition comes as the war in Israel continues since October of 2023. New York was rocked by antisemitic protests in response to the war last year, including agitators and student protesters flooding college campuses, notably at Columbia University. 

In her State of the State address Tuesday, New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to lay out her “Cap & Invest” anti-pollution program that critics warn will cause gasoline and utility costs to soar in the already fossil-fuel-averse state.

The plan seeks to reduce emissions by levying companies for their greenhouse gas outputs and investing that money into initiatives like retrofitting buildings to run on green electric power.

A “cap” refers to the limit of greenhouse gas emissions that is imposed by a state. The “cap” is often projected to decrease each year in order to meet climate change prevention goals.

The state then can set up an auction to let energy companies bid on pollution-weight-based “allowances” – the proceeds from which can be invested by the government in “green” initiatives, according to New York Focus.

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New York drivers could see more pain at the pump from such a proposal, according to critics like the nonpartisan group Upstate United, which advocates for boosting upstate New York’s economy. 

The AAA average gas price in New York sits at $3.14/gallon – comparable to most of the surrounding states except Pennsylvania – which usually remains higher than the rest of the Northeast due to its nationally-third-highest gas tax.

A Hochul spokesman told the New York Post that the governor is “focused on lowering the cost of living, putting money back in New Yorkers’ pockets with refunds, tax credits and more.”

Since Democrats took the executive reins from term-limited GOP Gov. George Pataki in 2007 and have held them without interruption, the Empire State has progressively restricted energy exploration in the state. 

The trend began with Gov. David Paterson’s 2010 “timeout” on hydraulic fracturing for natural gas that effectively remains to this day. 

The “Marcellus Shale” range is named for a town in New York – but any fracking activity since that time has occurred on the Pennsylvania end of the deposits.

State Sen. Tom O’Mara, R-Elmira, represents a district that sits on part of the Marcellus oil shale formation that remains untouchable under state policy.

Natural gas wells dot the countryside in neighboring Bradford and Tioga counties just to the south in Pennsylvania, but the landscape is clear of any signs of exploration to those traversing NY-17 through New York’s Southern Tier only a few miles away.

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On Monday, O’Mara criticized what he called the latest “radical climate mandate” to be handed down:

“Gov. Hochul and the Albany Democrats are going to keep talking about addressing New York’s affordability crisis. But it’s clear that their actions like Cap and Invest, more aptly called ‘Cap and Tax’… will only keep driving this state into the ground economically,” he said.

In 2014, O’Mara slammed New York’s original decision to ban fracking in his area, saying it “eviscerates the hope of so many Southern Tier farmers, landowners, businesses and potential jobs in the natural gas industry.”

Hochul’s cap-and-tax plan, he said, will only increase the cost of doing business in New York and drive more families and employers out of the state while exacerbating the affordability crisis.

The plan shows the governor is out of touch with New Yorkers, Assembly Minority Leader William Barclay told Fox News Digital.

“The last thing we need is more unworkable environmental policy from Albany that drives costs up and drives residents away. Democrats constantly lecture us about the need for Cap and Invest and other misguided energy policy, but when people are paying more at the pump and can’t afford their heating bills, who benefits?” asked Barclay, R-Oneida.

“It’s our responsibility to make sure New Yorkers have reliable, affordable energy sources – not force consumers to subsidize the green dreams of the liberal environmental lobby.” 

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In 2021, then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo successfully shuttered the massive 2,000MW Indian Point nuclear power generation plant on the Hudson River opposite Haverstraw.

Cuomo cited safety concerns at the time and said “it does not belong… in close proximity to the most densely-populated area in the country.” Critics responded that that area cited – New York City – relied heavily on the power it generated and complained of increased utility bills.

A 2019 law commits New York to net-zero emissions by 2050, according to The New York Times.

Nationally, “Cap & Trade” first entered the American lexicon during the 2008 presidential campaign, when then-Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., wooed environmentalists with the idea of taxing entities that release greenhouse gases and affect the atmosphere.

FIRST ON FOX: Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has selected four top Republican allies to be part of his unofficial cabinet as he looks to make his own impression on the upper chamber after taking the mantle from longtime GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., 

The new Republican leader has tapped Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Steve Daines, R-Mont., Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, to advise him in his new role and sit in on key leadership meetings. 

McConnell had his own group of personally selected senators that joined him for meetings. At times, that included Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Katie Britt, R-Ala., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Deb Fischer, R-Neb.

SCHUMER DIRECTS DEMS TO TO PUT PRESSURE ON TRUMP NOMINEES AHEAD OF CONFIRMATION HEARINGS

Weekly leadership meetings are also routinely attended by elected leaders in the conference, such as Senate President Pro-Tempore Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Senate Republican Conference Chairman Cotton, Senate Republican Policy Committee Chairwoman Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Republican Conference Vice Chair James Lankford, R-Okla., and National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C.

Each of the members of Thune’s new informal team brings their own style and priorities along with them. 

Blackburn brings with her the advantage of her ties to President-elect Trump and his sphere of influence. The Tennessee Republican has her finger on the pulse of the “Make America Great Again” movement and, in this capacity, can help keep the leadership team be as plugged in as possible. 

She can also attempt to bridge any gaps between the group of conservative Republicans that clashed with McConnell, namely Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, as Blackburn has aligned with them on several issues. 

In a statement, Blackburn told Fox News Digital, “My role helping Leader Thune will be to move forward the President’s nominees and ensure we are championing the President’s agenda in the Senate to Make America Great Again.” 

SENATE GOP TEES UP CONFIRMATION HEARING BLITZ IN EFFORT TO MEET AMBITIOUS TRUMP TARGETS

Fresh off of a stint as chairman of the NRSC, during which he helped elect a Republican Senate majority, Daines will also bring to the table his great relationship with Trump and the team he’s bringing with him to the White House. The senator also sits on the finance committee, which will be front and center during the tax debate that Trump has made one of his top priorities. Republicans are planning to extend key provisions from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as they are set to expire this year. Daines will be a key medium between the committee and leadership and they work to accomplish Trump’s agenda. 

Also sitting on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), the Montana Republican brings key knowledge of the intersection of policy and politics, as Trump and the GOP set out to accomplish as much as they can in the first 100 days of his administration—including action on several global issues. 

“Senate Republicans are ready to get to work enacting President Trump’s agenda of a secure border, lower taxes, safe cities, lower prices, affordable gas, an end to reckless spending and strong national security. I look forward to working with Leader Thune and the rest of our colleagues to deliver these wins to the American people,” Daines said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

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Mullin has made himself invaluable to his colleagues as a key link between Trump, the House of Representatives and the Senate. He was the first senator to publicly endorse Thune for the leader role, and he previously was part of his deputy whip team. His solid relationship with Trump is expected to help guide relations between the chamber and the incoming president. Notably, Mullin was one of Trump’s 2024 campaign surrogates, traveling with both the president-elect and Vice President-elect JD Vance, as well as assisting Republican Senate candidates across the country. 

“It’s an honor to be included at Senator Thune’s leadership table,” Mullin told Fox News Digital in a statement. “From border security and slashing regulations to funding our military and extending tax relief, Leader Thune is the right person to lead the Senate effort to implement President Donald J. Trump’s America First agenda. I’m proud to be in this fight with him. As the Leader often says, ‘if someone else is in a better position to take the shot, you always make the extra pass.’ That’s how we intend to govern this majority. It’s all hands on deck to deliver for the American people, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve.”

‘DELAYING AND OBSTRUCTING’: TOP SENATE REPUBLICAN HITS BACK AS DEM CALLS FOUL ON TRUMP CONFIRMATION HEARINGS

As a 22-year veteran senator and a former leadership member, Cornyn brings crucial experience to Thune’s leadership team. The Texas senator is a member of the all-important budget committee and is expected to make passing a budget and reining in federal spending one of his priorities in this capacity. He’s also a member of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) caucus, which will help facilitate the new advisory board announced by Trump. DOGE will be led by billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Now at the helm of the Senate, House and presidency, Republicans have their best shot in years to dictate spending levels. 

In recent floor remarks, Cornyn outlined his priorities for this Congress. “We have an opportunity to pass huge wins for President Trump and more specifically, for the American people, and that comes first through the budget reconciliation process. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” he emphasized. 

Cornyn concluded, “We have a lot of work to do, but this is an incredible opportunity that I trust we will not squander.”

EXCLUSIVE – President-elect Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, was described as an “incredibly talented, battle-proven leader,” according to a copy of military evaluations obtained by Fox News Digital. 

Hegseth is set to face a Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, where lawmakers are expected to grill the 44-year-old Army National Guard veteran and former Fox News host on his ability to lead the Department of Defense. A leading critic of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the military, Hegseth has been under scrutiny in recent weeks over his qualifications.

Fox News obtained copies of past performance evaluations describing Hegseth’s “outstanding” leadership skills over the years of his military service, including deployments to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Hegseth deployed with the New Jersey National Guard to Guantánamo Bay, where he was leader of a 39-man Air Assault Infantry Rifle platoon capable of deploying anywhere within the world within 36 hours.

In an officer evaluation report covering April 2005 to January 2006, Hegseth received “outstanding performance” and was described as “an incredibly talented, battle-proven leader.” 

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“Having taken charge of his platoon mere days before deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, he effectively led his platoon through five months of combat,” the report read. “He planned and executed platoon operations ranging from air assault raids to the defense of a forward operating base (FOB).” 

During his tour as platoon leader, his evaluators said Hegseth ensured “that his platoon remained physically fit and mentally ready to meet the challenges of protracted missions in demanding conditions.” 

While serving at FOB Falcon, Iraq, Hegseth’s platoon “developed and fortified a platoon sector of the company defense and executed their portion of a continuous defense for three months while planning and executing additional offensive operations.” 

Under his leadership, the report detailed, Hegseth’s platoon “cleared areas around FOB Falcon suspected of insurgent activity and denied their use to the Anti-Iraqi Forces” and “also conducted an air assault, high-value target raid in which they captured an Al Qaeda in Iraq cell leader.” Hegseth and his troops moved north to Samarra, Iraq, where “he effectively transitioned his platoon to continuous offensive operations and conducted nine days of continuous combat outposts, nine days of patrolling and a deliberate cordon and search plus numerous time-sensitive missions,” the report read. 

“His performance as platoon leader has been solid. He is more than capable to operate independently, controlling not only his squads but also air support, indirect fire support and other external combat support assets,” his evaluators wrote. 

Expecting a fight during Tuesday’s confirmation process, several Republican lawmakers held a news conference on Capitol Hill Monday backing Hegseth.

Criticism against Hegseth included alleged mismanagement of veteran nonprofit funds and lack of recent military experience. He was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a GOP conference in 2017. He was never criminally charged but reportedly recognized paying his accuser an undisclosed sum over the allegations.

“I’m 110% behind Pete Hegseth,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said. “He will be ripped. He will be demeaned. He will be talked about. But we’re going to get him across the finish line.” 

“The last four years has been an absolute disaster for our military. Again, we have a lot of good people, a lot of good men and women that believe in the United States of America. But we got to go forward and we have to have a leader. It all starts with one person,” Tuberville added. “We don’t need a general from the Pentagon. We’ve tried that. We need a drill sergeant, somebody that’s been in two wars, somebody that understands camaraderie and team and work ethic and time, restraint and respect.” 

“I am strongly supporting Pete Hegseth for a couple of reasons. We have the most highly educated and powerful military in the history of the planet. And we haven’t won a war in 80 years,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., said.

In Iraq, Hegseth also served as an assistant civil military operations officer for a 660-man Air Assault Infantry Battalion. According to another report obtained by Fox News Digital, evaluators described him as “an absolutely outstanding officer,” who was “intelligent, mature and extremely gifted” and had become “a tremendous asset to his battillion and had contributed immensely to the BN’s performance during the past six months.” 

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The officer evaluation report went on to describe how Hegseth “led numerous patrols and civil affairs missions and provided exceptional support to the battalion, proving himself as a strong combat leader during Operation Iraqi Freedom.” His evaluators said he “developed relationships and trust with many of the local leaders of Samarra, Iraq,” allowing him “to help collect intelligence which led to the capture/killing of countless Al Qaeda and insurgent leaders.”  

“His performance as the battalion assistant civil-military operations officer has been superb,” the company executive officer wrote of Hegseth. “He is a proven combat leader who is calm under fire and leads from the front.” 

“Peter is physically and mentally tough, and demonstrates a level of maturity, poise, and confidence usually found in more senior officers,” the report went on. 

“Peter always accomplishes every mission to high standards with minimal guidance or supervision. He has unlimited potential,” the evaluator added. 

Hegseth similarly received glowing feedback when he later deployed to Afghanistan with the Minnesota Army National Guard, another officer evaluation report from 2012 showed. 

“Outstanding performance. CPT Pete Hegseth is the best CPT in this command (#1 of 12),” the report says. “Pete clearly rose to the top of his peer group through his exceptional leadership abilities, initiative, and dedication to mission accomplishment. Pete worked extremely hard to learn as much as he could about counterinsurgency operations, easily developing into one of my best COIN instructors. He always received high marks on the end-of-course critiques.” 

The report referenceed Hegseth’s “personal courage and selfless service” during an October 2011 attack. 

“Pete [led] a quick reaction force to assist with the recovery of casualties, ensuring the site was secure and the remains were all accounted for,” the report went on. 

The evaluator said Hegseth “should be given command as soon as possible and closely monitored to maximize his potential to career progression.” 

Hegseth received two Bronze Star Medals and two Army Commendation Medals, among other honors. He was praised for his work building out lesson courses and re-wiring the guidebook for the Counterinsurgency Training Center-Afghanistan, taking hours to do research, sometimes during off-hours, and training NATO students from multiple countries.

New York officials are considering imposing emissions restrictions on a popular grilling appliance as their latest climate crackdown, claiming that such regulations could prevent premature deaths.

The blue state’s Department of Environmental Protection proposed a new rule to establish emissions standards for under-fire commercial char broilers, a commonly used method of cooking meat that gives it a smokey taste. 

The proposed rule would force all New York City restaurants using under-fire char broilers installed after May 2016 to cut emissions from the appliance by 75%.

Additionally, under the rule, NYC restaurants that char-broil more than 875 pounds of meat per week would not be allowed to operate, with the exception that the business has an approved emissions control device.

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In the proposed rule, reviewed by Fox News Digital, officials claimed that such regulations on meat cooking appliances could prevent hundreds of deaths. 

The document cited a study by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on premature deaths attributed to particulate matter (PM) — solid particles like smoke or dust, released when cooking or burning fires.

“If all char broilers had control technology installed, the reduction in ambient PM concentrations could have prevented nearly 350 of these premature deaths each year,” the proposed rule reads.

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The study reportedly found that commercial char broilers released an estimated 1,400 tons of PM per year in New York’s five boroughs, which they concluded contributed to more than 12% of PM attributable premature deaths annually from 2005 to 2007. 

But restaurant owners are fuming at the potential regulation.

“The fact that this is even an issue is a nothingburger,” Alan Rosen, who owns Juniors in NYC, a restaurant that uses the charred meat method, told the New York Post.  

“People are getting knifed in the subway, and they’re worried about charbroilers? We’ve been doing this for almost 75 years. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”

In the proposed rule, the department acknowledges the difficulty in requiring New York City restaurants to undergo emissions tests.

“Demonstrating the 75% PM reduction presented a challenge for many restaurant owners who do not have an Environmental Protection Agency Method 5 certified emissions control device,” the proposal reads.

A public hearing on the proposed rule will be held on Jan. 29, 2025.

A man seen in a viral video being confronted and apprehended by Los Angeles residents, and who was eventually arrested by police with an alleged blowtorch, is an illegal immigrant from Mexico, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sources tell Fox News.

Los Angeles police took the man into custody after a group of local residents grabbed him near the Kenneth Fire, allegedly carrying a blowtorch, according to video from Fox 11 Los Angeles.

He is shown holding a torch head and a yellow fuel tank, before being tackled to the ground by at least five residents.

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ICE sources tell Fox that he is a Mexican illegal immigrant named Juan Manuel Sierra-Leyva. He is in custody due to a probation violation and has not been charged with arson. 

ICE intends to place a detainer request on him – a request that ICE be notified on any release so he can be transferred into their custody and potentially deported. However, they do not expect it to be honored as California is a “sanctuary” state that largely limits local and state law enforcement cooperation with the agency.

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A Los Angeles law enforcement source had previously told Fox News Digital that it’s not uncommon to find people have intentionally set wildfires.

“When you have wind conditions like this, it brings out the serial arsonists, who are sickos,” the source said. There is no confirmed connection between arson and any of the fires as of last week.

Illegal immigration has been a top political issue and the Trump administration is expected to launch a massive deportation operation once it takes office next week.

Some states have said they will cooperate with the operation, while other state and local officials say they will not, and could even actively resist those efforts.

Recently, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he wants to work with the incoming administration on deporting those who are violent criminals. But the Trump administration may have the hardest job in California, where there is not only a sanctuary state law in place but also efforts in local jurisdictions to go even further, forbidding ICE cooperation.

Fox News’ Michael Ruiz and Matt Finn contributed to this report.