A federal judge in San Francisco blocked the Trump administration from withholding federal funds from “sanctuary” jurisdictions, claiming doing so would be unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick – who was nominated to the Northern District of California bench by former President Barack Obama – said that Trump’s executive orders instructing Attorney General Pam Bondi and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to withhold federal funds from “sanctuary” cities and counties that do not cooperate with federal immigration law would violate the Constitution’s separation of powers principles and the Spending Clause. 

The judge said Trump’s orders – titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion” and “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders” –  also violate the Fifth Amendment “to the extent they are unconstitutionally vague and violate due process.” Trump’s directives “also violate the Tenth Amendment because they impose coercive condition intended to commandeer local officials into enforcing federal immigration practices and law,” Orrick wrote.

FEDERAL JUDGE ALLEGES ‘WILLFUL AND BAD FAITH REFUSAL’ TO COMPLY IN ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION CASE

Most of the plaintiffs are jurisdiction in California. They are the city and county of San Francisco, Santa Clara County, Monterey County and the cities of Oakland, Emeryville, San Jose, San Diego, Sacramento and Santa Cruz. 

Portland, Oregon; New Haven, Connecticut; Minneapolis and St. Paul, both of Minnesota; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and King County – where Seattle is located in Washington state – are also in the lawsuit. 

“The Cities and Counties have also demonstrated a likelihood of irreparable harm,” the judge said. “The threat to withhold funding causes them irreparable injury in the form of budgetary uncertainty, deprivation of constitutional rights, and undermining trust between the Cities and Counties and the communities they serve.” 

TRUMP-APPOINTED JUDGE ORDERS ADMINISTRATION TO RETURN SECOND DEPORTED MIGRANT

In granting the “sanctuary” jurisdictions a preliminary injunction, Orrick wrote that “defendants and their officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and any other persons who are in active concert or participation with them ARE HEREBY RESTRAINED AND ENJOINED from directly or indirectly taking any action to withhold, freeze, or condition federal funds.” 

The judge ordered the Trump administration to provide written notice of the court order to all federal departments and agencies by Monday, April 28.

“The written notice shall instruct those agencies that they may not take steps to withhold from, freeze, or condition funds to the Cities and Counties,” Orrick wrote. 

Orrick already found a similar executive order issued by Trump in 2017 to be unconstitutional, and the judge said so are the two new directives issued at the start of Trump’s second term. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

A second U.S. judge in Maryland ordered the Trump administration to return another man who was deported from the U.S. to El Salvador last month under the Alien Enemies Act – the latest case in a high-profile legal battle playing out in federal courts across the country.

U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, a Trump appointee, on Wednesday ruled that the Trump administration violated a settlement agreement DHS reached last year with a group of young asylum seekers when it deported a 20-year-old man, referred to in court filings as “Cristian,” to El Salvador last month.

He was part of a group of migrants who had entered the U.S. illegally as unaccompanied children and who later filed asylum claims to remain in the U.S.

DHS agreed in the settlement that it would refrain from deporting any of the individuals in the class until their asylum claims could be fully adjudicated by a U.S. court.

Gallagher ruled that the government breached that agreement when it deported Cristian, a member of the class, and ordered that they return him to the U.S. 

News of the case and settlement in question was first reported by ABC News. 

FEDERAL JUDGE JAMES BOASBERG FINDS PROBABLE CAUSE TO HOLD TRUMP IN CONTEMPT OVER DEPORTATION FLIGHTS

Gallagher stressed in her ruling that, unlike other court challenges to Trump’s deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, this one centers on a “breach of contract” by the government. 

Her ruling also alluded to the deportation of Abrego Garcia, an alleged MS-13 member living in Maryland who was deported to El Salvador last month. U.S. officials have resisted court orders to facilitate his return to the U.S.

In response to this, Gallagher specifically tasked the Trump administration in her ruling with “making a good faith request to the government of El Salvador and to release Cristian to U.S. custody for transport back to the United States to await the adjudication of his asylum application on the merits by USCIS.”

The Trump administration, meanwhile, told the court it had determined that Cristian was eligible for removal under the Alien Enemies Act because he had been arrested and convicted for cocaine possession earlier this year.

They told the court that his designation as an “alien enemy pursuant to the AEA results in him ceasing to be a member” of the class that had negotiated a settlement. 

JUDGES V TRUMP: HERE ARE THE KEY COURT BATTLES HALTING THE WHITE HOUSE AGENDA

That agreement did not appear to hold water with Gallagher, who ordered the government not to remove any other members of the class until their asylum claims are properly adjudicated.

“Therefore, under the plain terms of the Settlement Agreement and fundamental tenets of contract law, removal from the United States of a Class Member, including but not limited to Cristian, without a final determination on the merits by USCIS on the Class Member’s pending asylum application violates the Settlement Agreement,” Gallagher said.

She also granted a temporary restraining order to another member of the class, an 18-year-old referred to as Javier, whom counsel for the group said was in “imminent danger” of being deported earlier this month, as ABC reported. 

Gallagher agreed that Javier was covered by the settlement with the government and blocked his removal from the U.S.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth may have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan — but now he’s facing another battle: this time on his home turf at the Pentagon.

Controversy has plagued Hegseth since Trump first nominated him to serve as the secretary of defense, from sexual assault and drinking allegations, to two Signal chat debacles, and an op-ed suggesting that Hegseth may be on the way out. 

The new Signal controversy, along with the op-ed, are only the latest blows in what the Trump administration claims are sustained effort against Hegseth as defense secretary, dating back to his nomination. 

Scrutiny has heightened after a Sunday New York Times report said that Hegseth shared information about a March military airstrike against the Houthis in a Signal messaging app group chat that also included his wife, brother and personal lawyer.  

That incident follows a similar episode in March, when the Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was added to a Signal group chat alongside Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and others, to discuss the same attack on the Houthis. 

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH REBUFFS NEW GROUP CHAT ALLEGATIONS AS ATTEMPT TO ‘SABOTAGE’ TRUMP’S AGENDA 

While the White House continues to back Hegseth, a series of Democratic coalitions and multiple lawmakers are calling for Hegseth’s resignation. 

Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., is urging for the Pentagon’s inspector general to launch an investigation into the recent Signal chat allegations.  

“Since he was nominated, I have warned that Mr. Hegseth lacks the experience, competence, and character to run the Department of Defense. In light of the ongoing chaos, dysfunction, and mass firings under Mr. Hegseth’s leadership, it seems that those objections were well-founded,” Reed said in a Sunday statement. “Accountability starts at the top, and I have grave concerns about Secretary Hegseth’s ability to maintain the trust and confidence of U.S. service members.”

Meanwhile, Vance told reporters Wednesday that he believed Hegseth is doing a “great job.” 

In response to a video post on X of Vance issuing the remarks, the Pentaton’s Rapid Response Team replied: “We will not be stopped. We will not be deterred.”

While the secretaries of defense historically have received bipartisan support in the Senate, the upper chamber did not issue broad backing for Hegseth’s nomination. 

The Senate confirmed Hegseth along party lines in January, with all 47 Democrats opposing his nomination. 

Every senator except for Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., voted to confirm Trump’s first secretary of defense in 2017, retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis. Likewise, the Senate voted in 2019 by a 90–8 margin to confirm Trump’s second secretary of defense, Mark Esper. 

HEGSETH SHARED DETAILS OF YEMEN STRIKES IN SECOND SIGNAL CHAT: REPORT

Hegseth first came under fire as sexual assault allegations emerged leading up to his confirmation. For example, he told lawmakers in written responses during his confirmation process that he had paid $50,000 as part of a settlement payment to a woman who had accused him of sexual assault in 2017. The police report on the incident says a woman had alleged that Hegseth sexually assaulted her in a hotel room, confiscated her phone and blocked the door. 

Hegseth told lawmakers that he had been “falsely accused” by the woman. 

Hegseth also faced allegations of alcohol misuse during the confirmation process. In response, Hegseth told lawmakers that he is not a “perfect person,” but said he was the subject of a “coordinated smear campaign orchestrated in the media.”

Controversy has not left Hegseth since the Senate confirmed him in January, however. 

Hegseth’s role in the original Signal chat that included the Atlantic editor-in-chief, Goldberg, emerged in the spotlight in March following an initial report. Even so, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz’s team was responsible for creating the chat. 

Hegseth has said that no “war plans” were discussed in both the initial Signal chat with Goldberg, and the one with his wife. Additionally, he said that all discussions conducted over Signal were unclassified.

“I said repeatedly, nobody is texting war plans,” Hegseth told Fox News Tuesday. “I look at war plans every day. What was shared over Signal then and now, however you characterize it, was informal, unclassified coordinations, for media coordinations and other things. That’s what I’ve said from the beginning.”

Staff firings at the Pentagon have also shined a light on Hegseth’s leadership. 

John Ullyot, a former senior communications official for the Pentagon who stepped down from his post in April under Hegseth, wrote that the abrupt Friday firings of three of Hegseth’s “most loyal” advisors were alarming and “baffling.” Hegseth’s aide Dan Caldwell, his deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary, Colin Carroll, were all ousted. 

“The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership,” Ullyot wrote in a Sunday op-ed for Politico. 

“Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account. Given that, it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.”

Support for Hegseth is also cracking within Trump’s own party. For example, Rep. Don Bacon, a former Air Force general who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, told Politico on Monday that Hegseth is an “amateur person” and that he doesn’t believe that Hegseth has the experience to lead the Pentagon. These concerns started from the “get-go,” said Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska. 

NPR reported on Monday that the White House was eying a new secretary of defense. The story was based on one anonymous U.S. official who was not authorized to speak to the media. 

Meanwhile, the White House has pushed back on allegations that it is eyeing a replacement for Hegseth. 

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“He is bringing monumental change to the Pentagon, and there’s a lot of people in the city who reject monumental change, and I think, frankly, that’s why we’ve seen a smear campaign against the Secretary of Defense since the moment that President Trump announced his nomination before the United States Senate,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday. 

“Let me reiterate: The president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth and the change that he is bringing to the Pentagon, and the results that he’s achieved thus far speak for themselves,” Leavitt said. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to review a lower court’s ruling that temporarily blocked its ban on transgender troops in the military. 

In a filing on Thursday, the Justice Department requested that the high court stop the lower court’s injunction and allow the military to disqualify from service “individuals who have gender dysphoria or have undergone medical interventions for gender dysphoria.” 

“Absent a stay, the district court’s universal injunction will remain in place for the duration of further review in the Ninth Circuit and in this Court – a period far too long for the military to be forced to maintain a policy that it has determined, in its professional judgment, to be contrary to military readiness and the Nation’s interests,” lawyers for the Trump administration argued. 

At issue is President Donald Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order requiring the Defense Department to update its guidance regarding “trans-identifying medical standards for military service” and to “rescind guidance inconsistent with military readiness.” 

HEGSETH SAYS HE’S SIGNING MEMO ON COMBAT ARMS STANDARDS FOR MEN AND WOMEN

U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle issued a preliminary injunction in March, barring the administration from identifying and removing transgender service members while the case proceeds. 

The administration appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, but a three-judge panel rejected its request to stay the injunction.

The administration argued in court filings that the policy “furthers the government’s important interests in military readiness, unit cohesion, good order and discipline, and avoiding disproportionate costs.”

However, the Ninth Circuit declined to grant an administrative stay, which would have let the government enforce the ban while the legal challenge moved forward.

“The Department of Justice has vigorously defended President Trump’s executive actions, including the Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness Executive Order, and will continue to do so,” a Justice Department official told Fox News Digital at the time. 

The policy has faced multiple legal challenges, including a high-profile lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C.

FEDERAL COURT WARNS PENTAGON NOT TO ACT AGAINST TRANSGENDER SERVICE MEMBERS DURING APPEAL

On March 27, a three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals paused a lower court’s order blocking the ban. The panel emphasized that the stay “should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits” of the case.

The panel also said it reserved the right to lift the stay if the military was found to have taken adverse action against transgender service members.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes on March 26 denied the administration’s motion to dissolve her earlier injunction blocking the Pentagon’s transgender troop ban. The decision came two days before the ban was set to go into effect on March 28. 

TRUMP’S TRANSGENDER MILITARY BAN DEALT LEGAL BLOW AFTER APPEALS COURT RULING

Reyes had asked the government to push its original March implementation deadline, saying she wanted to allow more time for the appeals process. 

She also said she had previously allowed plenty of time to appeal her earlier opinion blocking the ban from going into effect. 

“I don’t want to jam up the D.C. Circuit. That’s my main concern here,” Reyes said during the March 21 hearing. “My chambers worked incredibly hard to get out an opinion on time.”

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report. 

The so-called “Biden effect” appears to be a factor in congressional longevity after Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin announced he would not seek re-election after nearly four decades in Congress.

In 2024, President Joe Biden was politically pushed out after a disastrous debate performance against President Donald Trump in favor of his decades-younger deputy, Kamala Harris.

Since then, several senators – mostly Democrats – and many above private-sector retirement age, have announced their retirement.

“This is fallout from the ‘Biden Effect,'” said Rutgers University political scientist Ross Baker. “It contaminated old Democrats.”

Durbin, 80, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., 78, Tina Smith, D-Wis., 67, Gary Peters, D-Mich., 66, as well as Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., 83, all announced their exit in 2025.

Prior to Biden’s infamous debate, several 2024-cycle Democrats – now-former Sens. Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, 81, Tom Carper of Delaware, 78, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, 74, and Democrat-turned-independent Joe Manchin of West Virginia, 77 – all declared their exits.

SCHUMER SINKS AOC SOARS IN NEW POLL AS LIBERAL VOTERS DEMAND HARDER LINE ON TRUMP

Durbin’s seat has already been targeted by up-and-coming Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, 20 years his junior – who announced a bid shortly after he announced his retirement.

Of the members still seated in Congress, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., 74, is potentially facing a heated primary in 2028 from the likes of progressive star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 35.

After Schumer faced intense backlash from his own party for ultimately supporting the GOP’s government funding bill earlier this month, Ocasio-Cortez’s name returned to the discussion as a young upstart potentially taking out the old guard.

MCCONNELL FREEZES AGAIN DURING KENTUCKY PRESS CONFERENCE

Schumer saw his worst polling within the Empire State in 20 years, according to a Siena College survey, with the Brooklynite 10 points underwater following the funding bill debacle.

Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez’s favorables are 47-33 in New York, up about 10 points from 2021.

A renewed push for older Democrats to pass the torch came when DNC vice chair David Hogg launched a project to recruit and bankroll primary opponents for older Democratic incumbents.

“Today’s party politics has an unwritten rule – if you win a seat, it’s yours for life. No one serious in your party will challenge you. That is a culture that we have to break,” Hogg, 25, wrote on his political website, Leaders We Deserve.

The oldest member of Congress – Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, at 91 – is the rare example of a lawmaker who has not been in the retirement discussion due to the “Biden effect” or any other phenomenon.

On the left, the same appeared to be true for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who – though older than Biden – was contrasted with him on an energy and cognitive level throughout the campaign season.

Sanders has signaled he may seek to serve a fourth term in 2030, when he will be 89, according to the Burlington Free Press. “Friends of Bernie Sanders” has already been listed on a Federal Election Commission filing for the 2030 sweeps.

McConnell, the former Republican leader, has stepped aside from leadership and was replaced by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., nearly 20 years younger.

During a 2024 press availability, McConnell appeared to freeze up while speaking, though staffers later suggested he was fine. He has also announced his retirement after 40 years in the Senate.

Rep. Andy Barr, 51, and former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, 39, jumped into the fray to succeed the octogenarian Republican.

Of the oldest sitting senators not yet mentioned, Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, will be 82 by his 2026 potential re-election bid. Fox News Digital reached out for comment from the Gem State senator.

On the flip side, even some of the youngest Senate Democrats are seeing their re-election prospects heavily challenged.

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., is facing potential Republican challengers in what is now a swing state. 

While none have declared their candidacy, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene – who would have the stated backing of President Donald Trump – as well as Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter and Gov. Brian Kemp are all said to be formidable potential rivals, according to several reports.

Fox News Digital reached out to a representative for Biden for comment on the moniker “the Biden effect.”

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: A powerful House Committee is demanding information from DeepSeek on what U.S. data it used to train the AI model as members accuse the company of being in the pocket of the Chinese government.

In announcing a new probe into DeepSeek, House Energy and Commerce committee members penned a letter expressing concern that companies like it “harvest Americans’ personal and proprietary information and introduce new data security vulnerabilities into the U.S. economy.”

“DeepSeek admits to sending Americans’ personal information to servers in China, where it is undoubtedly accessed by officials connected to the Chinese Communist Party,” Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., said in a statement. “We are concerned that this close relationship with agents having close connections to our primary adversary jeopardizes our data and our national security.”

The company’s privacy policy states that it collects user data and stores it “in secure servers located in the People’s Republic of China.” That data entails all questions or chats sent to DeepSeek’s AI model and the answers provided.

DEEPSEEK FALLOUT: GOP SEN JOSH HAWLEY SEEKS TO CUT OFF ALL US-CHINA COLLABORATION ON AI DEVELOPMENT

A growing number of states – New York, Texas and Virginia – have banned DeepSeek from government devices. 

It’s reminiscent of the arc of TikTok, where Chinese-owned ByteDance’s video-sharing platform became widely popular in the U.S. before growing skepticism of its data-sharing with the CCP. Now, the app is banned on government devices and may soon be banned entirely in the U.S. 

Several countries, including Canada, Australia, South Korea, Taiwan and Italy, have already blocked DeepSeek due to security risks. 

South Korea in February accused DeepSeek of sharing user data with ByteDance.

The letter expressed concern about how Chinese companies access U.S. technology to advance AI development. Reports have suggested that DeepSeek trained its R1 model by “distilling” outputs from American competitors. 

CHINA’S DEEPSEEK AI STARTUP RELEASES NEW MODEL IN RIVALRY WITH OPENAI

Guthrie requested DeepSeek offer the committee a description of the types and sources of data used to train its AI models, including any U.S. proprietary or personal information, and confirm whether data collected by DeepSeek is shared with any Chinese state entity.

The letter also requests details on how the AI system is trained and whether any steps are taken to influence the system output to align with the CCP’s political goals.

The letter requests a response by May 8. 

DeepSeek sent shockwaves across Silicon Valley and the rest of the U.S. as the company appears to be nearly matching the capabilities of chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, but at a fraction of the development cost.

The Energy and Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over AI and data privacy. Last year’s legislation that forced TikTok to divest from ByteDance, or face a ban in the U.S., originated with the committee. Trump has extended TikTok’s deadline twice, buying more time to work out a deal to keep the app operating in the U.S. 

In April, the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party released a report finding that DeepSeek both funneled American data to China and manipulated the results it offers to align with CCP propaganda. 

A Democratic mayor fed up with the way homelessness has proliferated in his state has proposed a bold new solution for his city: jailing homeless people who refuse housing services three times.

“There’s an extremely vulnerable subset of folks who refuse those options, no matter how nicely designed they are,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan told Fox News Digital in an interview Wednesday. “That speaks to me of a persistent challenge we face with addiction and mental illness on our streets, and we’ve sort of built a system that biases toward helping those who want help, while turning a blind eye to those who are trapped in a cycle of addiction. And the reality is it’s deadly. We’re sentencing people to die on the streets.”

The move comes as California Gov. Gavin Newsom placed the onus on local governments last year to get homeless encampments in some of the state’s most populous cities cleaned up. In San Jose alone, roughly 6,000 people are homeless, a stark contrast to the city’s image as the heart of Silicon Valley’s tech boom.

NEW LAW CLAMPS DOWN ON HOMELESS AS BLUE CITY ADVOCATE ADMITS THE ‘FRUSTRATION’ IS JUSTIFIED

Mahan offered the proposal last month after observing how homeless people in his town have avoided the housing services offered as well as talking with recovery groups to find out what most commonly breaks the cycle of addiction.

A new study from the University of California San Francisco’s Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative (BHHI) last month found that approximately 37% of California’s homeless population are regular illicit drug users. The study also found that 48% have complex behavioral health needs, encompassing regular drug use, heavy drinking, hallucinations or recent psychiatric hospitalization. Additionally, 66% reported experiencing mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, hallucinations or cognitive difficulties.

“I think the appropriate response is to say, you’ve got to, at a minimum, come indoors,” Mahan said. “Camping can’t be a choice when we’re offering housing. And if you’re so caught in the throes of addiction that you can’t say yes to interim housing or dignified shelter, we need to create accountability.”

Mahan said “it’s the threat of consequence, it’s the intervention, it’s disrupting the pattern” that actually propels people who “are most susceptible to addiction to break out of that cycle.”

NEWSOM MAKES GENERIC $24 NARCAN AVAILABLE AFTER PRO-DRUG POLICIES PUSH ‘SAFE’ USE

While Mahan’s proposal is a departure from the progressive flank of his party, a poll from Politico and UC Berkeley’s Citrin Center this month indicates that 37% of voters, including political experts, support arresting homeless people if they refuse shelter. As the San Francisco Chronicle has reported, San Francisco and Sacramento are thus seeing an uptick in homeless people being arrested over illegal encampments in the wake of City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, where the Supreme Court ruled municipalities have the power to make public camping illegal.

State lawmakers this session are also considering a bill brought forth by Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, a Los Angeles County Democrat, which would ban measures that result in criminal penalties for refusing housing.

But to Mahan, who campaigned on reducing homelessness before taking office in 2023, it’s not a “partisan issue.” 

“I’m just interested in figuring out what works,” he said. “And clearly, what we’re doing on homelessness in California is not working. We’re about… nearly half of the nation’s unsheltered population, so the status quo is failing, and the sooner we acknowledge that the status quo on homelessness in California is failing, the sooner we will embrace solutions that work to get people indoors and connected to services.”

​California’s “Housing First” model, adopted statewide in 2016, prioritizes providing permanent housing to homeless individuals without preconditions such as sobriety or participation in treatment programs as prerequisites. Critics of the policy argue that offering housing without mandatory treatments has only made the problem worse and more expensive, as some estimates of building a single unit reach up to $1.2 million in cities like San Francisco. 

SCOOP: NEWSOM ASKS WORLD LEADERS TO EXEMPT CALIFORNIA EXPORTS FROM RETALIATORY TARIFFS

Of that policy, Mahan said, “We have to meet people where they are.” 

“The insight we have taken from housing first, that I think is very much worth preserving, is that we’ve designed these interim housing communities to be low barrier. We allow people to bring their pets, their partner, their belongings. We do not have a strict sobriety requirement, though I do believe that sober living environments absolutely should be an option and one that the public sector invests in.”

New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli invested in Chinese companies, including an organization that owns U.S. farmland and companies with ties to the Chinese military and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a Fox News Digital review of financial disclosures found. 

New Jersey state Sens. Doug Steinhardt and Michael Testa sponsored a bill in 2023 that would restrict “all ownership of agricultural land in state by foreign governments and persons.” Ciattarelli told New Jersey voters at a town hall on Thursday that he would sign the bill into law if elected. 

“No foreign entities should be able to buy our farmland,” Ciattarelli said.

While Ciattarelli said, as governor, he would advocate in the New Jersey legislature against foreign entities owning U.S. farmland, financial disclosures from 2015, 2016 and 2021 revealed the New Jersey Republican’s investments in WH Group, a Chinese company that acquired about 146,000 acres of U.S. farmland when they bought Smithfield Foods for approximately $4.7 billion in 2013. 

MOVEMENT TO BAN CHINESE FARMLAND PURCHASES NEAR MILITARY BASES GAINS STEAM IN THE SENATE

Ciattarelli disclosed his 2021 investments in WH Group during his second unsuccessful campaign for New Jersey governor. Ciattarelli was the Republican nominee for governor in 2021 but ultimately lost to incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., who is term-limited this year. 

GOP CANDIDATE RIPS BLUE STATE DIRECTIVE MEDDLING IN POLICE FORCE’S COOPERATION WITH ICE: ‘HANDCUFFED’

“I would hope that counties that have open space funds would beat foreign entities to the farmland and make sure it stays preserved as open space. Until we can sign a law into place, we should know the intentions of any foreign entity when it starts buying up our land,” Ciattarelli said Thursday. 

The Smithfield Foods CEO confirmed in March 2025 that WH Group, the largest pork company in the world, has seen ownership of U.S. farmland down about 40% in the past two years, from a high of about 145,000 acres to about 85,000 acres. 

As a businessman, Ciattarelli has a long and diverse portfolio of investments. In addition to WH Group, Ciattarelli has disclosed investments in Chinese companies that include China National Offshore Oil Corporation Limited, Ping An Insurance, China Lodging Group Limited, China Mobile Limited, Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited, NetEase, Inc., and China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited. 

Ciattarelli’s financial disclosures filed April 3, 2025, revealed he has since divested from these Chinese companies. When reached by Fox News Digital for comment, his campaign declined to explain why he had divested. 

One of those companies, the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), was added in 2021 to the Entity List by the Department of Commerce, which restricts trade, for threatening national security “by helping China intimidate neighbors in the South China Sea.”

In 2024, the Department of Defense identified China Mobile as one of several “Chinese Military Companies Operating in the United States.” Trump signed an executive order in 2020, restricting U.S. investments that finance the “People’s Republic of China’s military-industrial complex,” which included China Mobile. 

The New York Times also reported in 2018 on the Chinese Communist Party’s increased control and influence at Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited. Sinopec is one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world and a state-owned enterprise run by the Chinese government. 

A campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Ciattarelli’s financial advisor manages his investment portfolio. 

“This is old news – literally from years-old filings that have been public for a long time,” Chris Russell, a spokesperson for Ciattarelli’s campaign, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “In fact, four years ago, one of Jack’s opponents tried to attack him on this, and it fell completely flat. That his current opponents are recycling these same lame attacks proves how desperate they are to breathe life into their dead campaigns. The truth is that, just like millions of other New Jerseyans, Jack allows his professional financial advisor to manage his investment portfolio. Voters understand how that works.”

Ciattarelli launched his third consecutive Republican gubernatorial campaign in April 2024. He is a businessman and entrepreneur who held local offices on the Raritan Borough Council, the Somerset County Freeholder Board and in the New Jersey State Assembly.

His Republican primary challengers include conservative media commentator Bill Spadea, State Sen. Jon Bramnick, former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac and a contractor from Burlington County, Justin Barbera. The New Jersey primary will be on June 10. 

President Donald Trump demanded that Russian President Vladimir Putin halt strikes on Kyiv, Ukraine, as Washington continues its efforts to broker a peace deal.

“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5,000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the peace deal DONE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The Thursday attack on Ukraine killed at least nine and injured at least 70, including children, Ukraine said.

Trump expressed hope on Easter that Russia and Ukraine could reach a deal this week, saying that once an agreement is reached, they would be able to “start to do big business with the United States of America…”

On April 11, in another Truth Social post, Trump urged Russia “to get moving” toward ending the war, lamenting that “too many people are dying” in a war that he described as “senseless.”

TRUMP INSISTS UKRAINE-RUSSIA PEACE DEAL IS CLOSE, BUT MISTRUST IN PUTIN LEAVES EXPERTS SKEPTICAL

Trump administration officials claimed they had productive talks with Putin, but they have yet to secure a deal that would end the war that has been raging since Russia’s February 2022 invasion. Recently, several members of the administration suggested that the U.S. could end its efforts to secure a peace deal if Ukraine and Russia do not start making significant moves toward ending the war.

Vice President JD Vance appeared to issue an ultimatum to Ukraine and Russia on Wednesday: make a deal or risk the U.S. walking away.

“We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say yes or for the U.S. to walk away from this process. We’ve engaged in an extraordinary amount of diplomacy, of on-the-ground work,” Vance told reporters.

TRUMP SAYS ‘INFLAMMATORY’ ZELENSKYY STATEMENT ON CRIMEA PROLONGS WAR WITH RUSSIA

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters something similar on April 18, when he said that the president was nearing “a point where he’s going to say, well, we’re done.”

Trump also criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for making an “inflammatory” statement that the U.S. president said was “very harmful” to peace efforts. Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would not recognize Russian control of Crimea, which was taken in 2014. Trump downplayed Zelenskyy’s red line, saying it was “not even up for discussion.”

In the Truth Social post from Wednesday, Trump appeared to allude to his infamous clash with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, calling the Ukrainian leader “the man with no cards to play.” This echoed Trump’s remarks during the tense February meeting in which he said that Zelenskyy didn’t “have the cards” to make major demands in peace talks.

FIRST ON FOX: Members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), one of the largest and most politically active unions in the country, contacted local California police with a plan to get arrested on purpose during a scheduled protest outside the office of GOP Rep. Young Kim, Fox News Digital has learned.

A source familiar told Fox News Digital that SEIU informed the Anaheim Police Department about a protest held Tuesday, in which they wanted to be arrested during a staged “civil-disobedience type of event.” The protesters planned to block the office entryway to prompt an arrest by police officers. 

Following conversations with law enforcement, the source said SEIU decided to go “in a different direction,” by holding a rally outside the office with “small civil disobedience toward the end,” like blocking a driver outside Kim’s office to get cited by police. 

“Sorry, I have no information on that,” an Anaheim Police Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital when reached for comment. 

FLORIDA PROTESTER SCREAMS AT REP. BYRON DONALDS DURING TENSE TOWN HALL

When reached by Fox News Digital for comment, a spokesperson did not confirm or deny that SEIU called the cops on itself.

“I’m glad our action got your attention! You may have missed the real news today, which is that the lives of people with disabilities are at stake,” the spokesperson said while including information about the “devastating effects cutting Medi-Cal would have on Rep. Kim’s constituents who live with disabilities.”

‘CHAOS AND CONFUSION’: HOW DEMOCRATS INFILTRATED ‘THUNDEROUS’ GOP TOWN HALLS

About 1,000 people gathered outside Kim’s office on Tuesday in a peaceful protest where no one was arrested, ABC 7 Eyewitness News reported.

At one point, roughly a dozen people blocked a driveway near the building. Police instructed them to move and when they refused they were marched to another parking lot and cited with tickets for blocking a roadway, the outlet reported. 

Protests outside representatives’ offices and at their town halls have erupted during President Donald Trump’s second term, as massive layoffs and spending cuts led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have triggered outrage among Democrats across the country. 

SEIU has been at the forefront of those protests nationwide, advocating for workers’ rights and protecting Americans’ access to healthcare. The protest outside Kim’s office was about protecting Medicaid as Democrats have been sounding the alarm about potential threats to the program since Trump’s November victory. 

“The GOP budget would gut $880 BILLION from Medicaid – the biggest cut in U.S. history – just to hand $7 TRILLION to billionaires. This will hurt working families, seniors, kids, veterans & people with disabilities,” SEIU posted on Friday. 

While Democrats have said there is no way to preserve Medicaid given Trump’s ambitious tax cuts included in his “big, beautiful bill,” Republicans have maintained that Trump will not cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits. 

Kim, whom the SEIU protesters were targeting with their staged arrests, joined 12 House Republicans in a letter to House leadership opposing any budget resolution that would make cuts to Medicaid services. Her office is also shutting down the implication that congressional Republicans are hiding from their constituents. 

“I had a productive meeting with many of these local healthcare advocates last week and will continue to make clear to House leadership and my constituents that any budget resolution that cuts vital Medicaid services for the most vulnerable citizens in our community will not receive my vote. My door is always open,” Kim told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

“Rep. Kim recently wrote to House leadership to make clear once again that any budget resolution that cuts vital Medicaid services for the most vulnerable citizens in our community will not receive her vote. She appreciates the work of these advocates on healthcare issues. She is committed to protecting and strengthening our healthcare system, including vital Medicaid services for our most vulnerable, and has worked across the aisle to expand access to care for her constituents,” a spokesperson for Kim added in a statement. 

Kim’s spokesperson said the California congresswoman was “recently ranked the most effective federal lawmaker from California” and emphasized her efficiency and bipartisan leadership in Congress. 

Progressive protest groups organized disruptions at Republican-held town halls and local legislative offices earlier this year, effectively shutting them down. Some lawmakers, including Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., reported safety concerns following threats of violence. Many Republicans opted for tele-town halls as a result, citing productivity in a controlled environment. 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the former vice presidential candidate, has joined a growing number of Democrats hosting town halls in Republican-held congressional districts, following reports that the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) told congressional Republicans to stop holding in-person town hall meetings after protesters began disrupting them earlier this year. 

Chicago residents spoke out Tuesday after reports indicated Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is heavily weighing a potential presidential run.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that the billionaire heir to the Hyatt hotel empire is considering making a bid for the Democratic nomination in the next presidential election, citing sources from former Barack Obama advisors to local leaders.

Residents agreed it seemed Illinois’ 43rd governor would make a play for the Oval Office.

But the 60-year-old governor’s reputation among some constituents indicates the billionaire may face backlash from residents that could bleed into the national conversation.

CRIME VENEZUELAN MIGRANT ARRESTED IN SANCTUARY CITY FOR 6TH TIME IN 13 MONTHS DAYS AFTER PROSECUTORS DROP CHARGES

While crime, homelessness and a number of issues have plagued the city of Chicago and surrounding areas in the state, Pritzker’s sanctuary policies, paired with the influx of migrants during the Biden administration, were a key theme among residents. 

“A sanctuary city governor who provides more support to migrants than poor Illinois residents in need,” founder of Chicago Community Roundtable and Chicago resident Cata Truss told Fox News Digital. “Do we really want him representing this country?”

Chicago, a sanctuary city, became a landing point when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bussed thousands of illegal migrants to the Illinois city after millions poured in at the southern border, and the cost of harboring noncitizens fell to the locals. A February audit by GOP lawmakers in the state unveiled that Illinois taxpayers have shelled out a staggering $1.6 billion to fund healthcare programs for illegal migrants since 2020.

DEMOCRATS’ IDENTITY CRISIS: YOUTH REVOLT ROCKS PARTY AFTER TRUMP COMEBACK

Pritzker has been called to testify before a May 15 House Oversight Committee hearing to address the shortcomings of the sanctuary state, as first reported by Fox News Digital. 

Though a major issue, immigration policy was not the only concern residents took up with the potential presidential candidate. 

“His policies put women and children at risk,” Chicago resident Patricia “P Rae” Easley told Fox News Digital. “He passed a law that states that little girls can get abortions without their parents’ consent, which gives abusers more power and made Illinois the abortion capital of the world.”

“[Illinois] has the highest taxes in America, and people are fleeing the state like a sinking ship,” Easley added. 

There was also worry among residents that the governor may sideline the challenges Illinois faces should his focus be concentrated on running for higher office. 

CONGRESSWOMAN MARY MILLER CALLS FOR FEDERAL INVESTIGATIONS INTO ILLINOIS OVER TRANS ATHLETES IN GIRLS’ SPORTS

“I think the sentiment of a lot of people in Illinois and especially Chicago would be that [a presidential run] is very unfortunate,” Chicago pastor Corey Brooks told Fox News Digital. “We have so many issues that need to be focused on, so many problems that need to be focused on. The last thing we need is a governor who’s running for president.”

When asked if Pritzker had a shot at the White House, Brooks said there was “no chance to win.” 

A Pritzker run wouldn’t only shake up the Democrats’ struggle to pin down a presidential candidate, it would also leave the door open for Republicans to have a shot at gaining momentum at the state level. 

Longtime U.S. Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin announced his retirement Tuesday, and with that seat now on the market, an open governor role would shake things up even further. Richard Porter, a former Illinois RNC Committee member and Chicago resident, told Fox News Digital this era could be Republicans’ chance to “break through.”

“The entire statewide slate on the Democratic side will be up for grabs, and that creates opportunities for Republicans to break through by riding the growing wave of disgust over failed Democrat policies in Chicago and the state,” Porter told Fox.

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“Illinois is a center-right state with the most extreme gerrymander in the nation. Republicans have a better shot running for statewide offices because that extreme Democrat gerrymandering isn’t in play,” Porter added. “Durbin is the first domino to fall. More to come – and we will be ready for the break.”

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

FIRST ON FOX: Amid Harvard’s battle with the Trump administration, which has already pulled billions in federal funding from the university and floated taking even more, fiscal watchdog OpenTheBooks decided to take a peek at how much money the top-tier Ivy League school actually stands to lose.

Harvard has received at least $4.4 billion in federal funding through grants, contracts, sub-grants and subcontracts since the first Trump administration in 2017, the watchdog found through open-source analysis of government spending records and other publicly available data. Meanwhile, based on these numbers, Harvard collected more in federal grants and contracts than they stood to gain through tuition, room and board in any given year.

OpenTheBooks also unearthed that Harvard’s $53.2 billion endowment has grown by $14 billion, or $2 billion annually, since 2018. In total, the top-tier Ivy League school has more than $7 million per undergraduate student, the watchdog’s report indicated. 

TRUMP FROZE FUNDING FOR HARVARD. MONEY TO THESE UNIVERSITIES MAY ALSO BE ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK

The analysis of Harvard’s finances from OpenTheBooks comes as the institution is suing the Trump administration over the freezing of its federal funds. 

After refusing to comply with President Trump’s executive directives on antisemitism, DEI, viewpoint diversity and more, the Trump administration pulled $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year government contracts. The Trump administration has indicated the potential for further cuts as well if the school does not fold to the president’s demands, and is also considering stripping Harvard’s tax-exempt status. 

TRUMP SIGNS EDUCATION-FOCUSED EXECUTIVE ORDERS ON AI, SCHOOL DISCIPLINE, ACCREDITATION, FOREIGN GIFTS AND MORE  

Harvard’s lawsuit against the Trump administration sets up a fight over higher education autonomy, with the university alleging in its suits against multiple federal agencies that the Trump administration’s demands infringe on the school’s right to educate and learn free of government coercion. 

Harvard University did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on this story.

“America’s university system is still the envy of the world and maintaining that advantage is a matter of national security,” OpenTheBooks CEO John Hart told Fox News Digital. “Harvard can lead the way in that process by rejecting totalitarian progressive fundamentalism and reviving America’s commitment to classical liberalism, true free speech, true science over ‘the science’ and rigorous, open debate.”

GREGG JARRETT: AMERICAN TAXPAYERS ‘SHOULDN’T PAY’ FOR HARVARD’S INDOCTRINATION, ANTISEMITISM

In addition to Harvard’s failure to comply with the president’s executive orders, the Trump administration also accused Harvard of failing to report large foreign donations, as required by law, and has opened an investigation into the matter. On Wednesday, the president signed an executive order threatening to cut off federal funding from colleges and universities that fail to disclose their sources of foreign money.

Using data that Harvard has reported to the government pertaining to its foreign donations, OpenTheBooks found that, since 2017, Harvard has accepted at least $1.1 billion in gifts or contracts from foreign sources. 

The top countries contributing to Harvard are England and China, which have each given over $100 billion to Harvard over the last eight years. Per federal law, universities are required to report payments that exceed $250,000 from foreign sources.

EVEN BEFORE TRUMP’S ENGAGEMENT, HARVARD UNDERSTOOD IT HAD A REAL PROBLEM ON THE ANTISEMITISM SIDE, EXPERT SAYS 

“As a private university, they’re free to pursue any topic they like – as long as their campus stays within the confines of the Constitution – but that doesn’t automatically entitle them to our tax money,” Hart added in his comments to Fox News Digital about the Ivy League school’s finances. 

“Harvard can revive its commitment to academic freedom by explaining why it’s receiving millions from China, and potentially Iran proxies, and why it’s spending tax dollars on far-Left research and race-based identity politics.”

Alex Soros, the son of notorious billionaire George Soros and chair of the Open Society Foundations, took aim at a left-wing climate group, saying: “All they do is talk about Palestine.”

In an interview with New York Magazine in which he detailed his plans to fund efforts to foil the Trump administration’s agenda, Soros expressed his frustration with the leftist environmentalist group “Sunrise Movement,” which is heavily funded by Soros-backed organizations.

“What the hell did they do, by the way?” Soros, who is Jewish, complained. “We gave them money, and now all they do is talk about Palestine. It’s ridiculous.”

During the 2020 election season, Sunrise Movement, whose website says it wants to “force the government to end the era of fossil fuel elites,” received nearly a third of its funding from the Soros-backed Democracy PAC and Sixteen-Thirty Fund, totaling $750,000.

MUSK CLAIMS GEORGE SOROS, LINKEDIN CO-FOUNDER REID HOFFMAN ARE FUNDING ‘PROTESTS’ AGAINST TESLA

Shortly after receiving these funds, Sunrise stepped into a massive controversy sparked by its Washington, D.C., chapter posting an antisemitic statement in which it vowed to boycott any events co-sponsored by “Zionist” Jewish groups.

In an October 2021 statement on “future coalition spaces with Zionist organizations,” Sunrise DC said it was declining to participate in a D.C. statehood rally specifically because of the inclusion of the Jewish Council on Public Affairs, the National Council of Jewish Women and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, which it said “are all in alignment with and in support of Zionism and the State of Israel.”

Sunrise DC called Israel a “colonial project” that “treats all Palestinians, as well as Black and brown Jewish-Israelis, as second-class citizens.” The group went on to ask the event organizers to remove the Jewish groups from participation, saying that the D.C. statehood movement is “incompatible with Zionism.”

The statement was quickly slammed as blatantly antisemitic.

FORMER BIDEN OFFICIAL ‘PLEASED’ TRUMP ADMIN TACKLING ANTISEMITISM

One user named Blake Flayton, a Jewish podcaster, called out the group, commenting, “You are intentionally pushing Jewish people outside of your movement.”

“You are associating Jews in the United States with the actions of Israel,” added Flayton. “This is antisemitic. You are antisemites.”

In a follow-up post published several days later, Sunrise DC apologized for singling out the three Jewish organizations while not mentioning other groups associated with the event “with similar positions.” The group doubled down on its stance against Zionism, calling it an “ideology that has led to Palestinians being violently pushed out of their homes since 1948.”

The group said it was “committed to learning and growing as we continue to stand against Zionism, antisemitism, anti-Palestinian racism, and all other forms of oppression.”

ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS BREAK RECORD FOR 4TH STRAIGHT YEAR, ADL FINDS

This post was also widely panned as antisemitic, with one user named Joel Petlin commenting that Sunrise was “trying to get out of a hole they dug for themselves by digging it deeper.”

“*We apologize for singling out 3 Jewish organizations when we should’ve singled out everyone who doesn’t hate Israel* is not actually an apology. It’s just doubling down on Antisemitism,” said Petlin.

This past October, Sunrise Movement published a long Instagram post railing against Israel, saying, “Climate justice means freedom for Palestinians.”

“Why? Because Israel’s ongoing oppression of Palestinians means they will suffer some of the most devastating impacts of climate change, and Israel’s constant bombing harms the climate, ultimately harming us all,” Sunrise Movement continued. “While committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, the Israeli military – which is backed and armed by the US – has released more carbon emissions than 20 of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations combined.

Democrats and left-wing leaders have long called criticisms of George Soros, who is a Hungarian-born Jew, antisemitic attacks. However, the Soros family’s funding of progressive anti-Israel agitators across the country, including those who mobilized at New York City’s Columbia University, has raised eyebrows as well.

Fox News Digital previously reported on Israel’s minister of diaspora affairs and social equality, Amichai Chikli, saying that Alex is a mirror image of his father’s anti-Israel agenda.

CAIR PANELIST ACCUSES TRUMP ADMIN OF USING AI AND ANTISEMITISM AGAINST FREE SPEECH

When asked if Alex will continue to fund anti-Israel entities that bash the Jewish state, Chikli said it “looks like the son is a replica of his father. We have no expectation that his son will be a big Zionist.”

Chikli noted that the Soros foundation “gives money to radical small Palestinian organizations in Israel that describe Israel as a colonial state and a moral sin.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to Open Society Foundations and the Sunrise Movement for comment, but neither responded in time for publication.

Benjamin Weinthal and Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

A federal judge on Wednesday gave the Justice Department another week to provide information on its efforts to return deported illegal migrant and suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the U.S.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis granted the Justice Department a seven-day stay until April 30 to provide testimony and documents related to a case which has drawn a sharp wedge between Democrats and Republicans. 

Drew Ensign, a deputy assistant attorney general, filed a sealed motion requesting the stay, with lawyers for Abrego Garcia filing a response in opposition to the government’s motion to halt the order. It was under seal in the Maryland federal court.

Xinis didn’t explain her legal reasoning but wrote that it was made “with the agreement of the parties.”

WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BLUNTLY SHOWS WHERE PARTIES STAND ON IMMIGRATION AMID ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION

The administration was also seeking relief from having to file daily updates, but Xinis’ stay did not make any changes to that requirement.

The Wednesday evening order came just one day after Xinis blasted the administration’s lawyers in a written filing for ignoring her orders in refusing to provide the daily status updates on the case, saying that they had been acting in “bad faith” by obstructing the legal process.

“That ends now,” said Xinis, who was nominated to the bench by former President Barack Obama.

“For weeks, defendants have sought refuge behind vague and unsubstantiated assertions of privilege, using them as a shield to obstruct discovery and evade compliance with this Court’s orders,” Xinis wrote in an eight-page order. “Defendants have known, at least since last week, that this court requires specific legal and factual showings to support any claim of privilege. Yet they have continued to rely on boilerplate assertions.”

She gave the administration until 6 p.m. Wednesday to provide daily status updates.

The U.S. has claimed that much of the information is protected because it involves state secrets, government deliberations and attorney client privilege. But Xinis has rejected the argument and demanded that the Trump administration provide specific justifications for each claim of privileged information.

Abrego Garcia, 29, was deported last month by the Trump administration, which says he is an MS-13 gang member who also violently beat his wife. President Donald Trump has declared MS-13 a terrorist organization and is looking to deport all members of the violent gang.

Trump displayed a picture of Abrego Garcia’s hand last week, showing what the president said were gang tattoos. Abrego Garcia was also pulled over on Dec. 1, 2022, by a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper and was suspected of participating in human smuggling as he had eight individuals in the SUV with no luggage. Abrego Garcia has never been charged with a crime. 

Abrego Garcia, whose attorneys deny that he is a member of the gang, was deported to the El Salvadoran megaprison “Terrorism Confinement Center” (CECOT) last month, and officials acknowledged in court his deportation was an administrative error. However, now some top Trump officials say he was correctly removed and contend he’s a member of the notorious MS-13 gang. 

He had been living in Maryland with his wife and children.

The Justice Department unveiled documents last week detailing domestic violence allegations that Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez, made where she accused him of beating her.

DEPORTED ‘MARYLAND MAN’ CHAMPIONED BY DEMS WAS PULLED OVER DRIVING CAR BELONGING TO HUMAN SMUGGLER

Both a federal district court and the U.S. Supreme Court have ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” his release and return to the U.S. for proper deportation proceedings.

Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. illegally in 2011 and was issued a deportation order in 2019. Two previous judges found he was likely affiliated with MS-13.

One immigration judge in 2019 found that Garcia had not sufficiently refuted evidence of MS-13 affiliation and was thus removable to anywhere other than El Salvador because of a threat from a rival gang. This is called a withholding order.

The Supreme Court acknowledges that Abrego Garcia was subject to a 2019 withholding order forbidding his removal to El Salvador and that the removal to El Salvador was “therefore illegal.” The court stressed that the government must facilitate his release from custody in El Salvador and treat his case as if he were never deported.

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said last week that when Trump declared the violent gang a terrorist organization, Abrego Garcia was no longer eligible for any form of immigration relief in the United States.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said Abrego Garcia would not be allowed back into the U.S. unless El Salvador were to decide otherwise. “He is not coming back to our country.” 

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The case has made national headlines and drawn a wedge between Democrats and Republicans.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s, D-Md., flew to El Salvador last week to meet with Abrego Garcia in an attempt to spur his return to the U.S. Van Hollen’s trip, which he said was paid for by the taxpayers, was followed by another group of Democratic lawmakers traveling to the Central American nation to advocate for his return. That party included Reps. Robert Garcia of California, Maxwell Frost of Florida, Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, and Maxine Dexter of Oregon.

Fox News’ Greg Wehner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is continuing to advocate for the destruction of Iran’s nuclear program.

“Waste that s—,” the lawmaker declared to the Washington Free Beacon. “You’re never going to be able to negotiate with that kind of regime that has been destabilizing the region for decades already, and now we have an incredible window, I believe, to do that, to strike and destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities.”

“Years ago, I completely understood why Trump withdrew from the Obama deal. Today, I can’t understand why Trump would negotiate with this diseased regime. The negotiations should be comprised of 30,000-pound bombs and the IDF,” Fetterman noted, according to the outlet. The IDF is the Israel Defense Forces.

US CONFIRMS THIRD ROUND OF NUCLEAR TALKS WITH IRAN AFTER ‘VERY GOOD PROGRESS’

Fox News Digital reached out to Fetterman’s office to request a comment from the senator on Thursday morning but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

The lawmaker, who is a staunch supporter of Israel, had already been calling for the elimination of Iran’s nuclear program.

Fetterman declared last week in a post on X, “The only purpose of Iran’s nuclear program is to create weapons. We can’t allow that or negotiate with this regime. Provide our comprehensive military support and whatever else Israel requires to destroy Iran’s capabilities.”

NUCLEAR WATCHDOG URGES ‘TRUST BUT VERIFY’ THAT IRAN ENGAGES IN GOOD-FAITH NEGOTIATIONS

President Donald Trump noted earlier this week that he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I’ve just spoken to Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, relative to numerous subjects including Trade, Iran, etc. The call went very well – We are on the same side of every issue,” Trump said in a Tuesday post on Truth Social.

JOHN FETTERMAN AND LINDSEY GRAHAM ADVOCATE FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM

Fetterman declared in part of an X post in January, “Whatever remains of Iran’s nuclear program needs to be destroyed and I fully support efforts to do so.”

In the years immediately following 9/11, Republican lawmakers successfully drafted and passed REAL ID legislation that was promoted as a tool to prevent a similar act of terror from unfolding again. 

Twenty years after President George W. Bush signed the legislation into law, it is set to take effect next month as the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) looks to bolster national security while also further cracking down on crime and illegal immigration in the U.S. 

Americans will need to obtain a REAL ID, which is a federally-compliant driver’s license or other identification that meets higher standards than state-issued licenses, in order to easily travel by air, DHS explains on its website. Only legal U.S. citizens or residents can obtain an identification card, while valid U.S. passports can also still be used instead of a REAL ID for domestic air travel. 

Ahead of the law taking effect on May 7, Fox News Digital took a look back on what top Republicans in 2005 had to say about the legislation and its passage — including the 9/11 Commission’s support of heightening standards for government-issued IDs. 

BLUE STATES RALLIED FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TO OBTAIN DRIVER’S LICENSES AHEAD OF TRUMP’S REAL ID CRACKDOWN

Former Wisconsin Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, while serving as House Judiciary Committee chair, introduced the REAL ID Act of 2005 in January of that year as an additional security measure to prevent “terrorist entry” to the U.S. 

Terrorists behind the 9/11 attacks used phony driver’s licenses to enroll in flight classes and board the planes on Sept. 11, 2001, according to the 9/11 Commission’s report. Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley’s office has previously reported that “18 of the 19 hijackers had acquired some form of fraudulent ID, including 30 driver’s licenses from various states.” 

HOUSE REPUBLICAN’S BILL WOULD RIP FEDERAL FUNDS FROM STATES THAT GIVE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS DRIVER’S LICENSES

The REAL ID Act of 2005 passed both chambers of Congress in May of that year, with Bush signing it into law on May 11, 2005. The House passed the legislation by a 368-58 vote, while the Senate unanimously passed it. 

The legislation received widespread support from lawmakers, most notably Republicans, who controlled both chambers of Congress and the White House at the time. This was after the 9/11 Commission recommended the government set standards for forms of government-issued identification, such as driver’s licenses. 

“The federal government should set standards for the issuance of birth certificates and sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses,” the commissioners wrote in their report, which was published in 2004. “Fraud in identification documents is no longer just a problem of theft. At many entry points to vulnerable facilities, including gates for boarding aircraft, sources of identification are the last opportunity to ensure that people are who they say they are and to check whether they are terrorists.”

PANDEMIC, PRICE TAGS AND PRIVACY CONCERNS: WHY IT TOOK 20 YEARS TO IMPLEMENT REAL ID

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States — better known as the 9/11 Commission — was established in 2002 to investigate the terror attacks on Sept. 11, including how to prevent such a tragedy in the future. The commission dissolved in 2004 after publishing its final report that year. 

The Bush administration was also supportive of the legislation ahead of its passage, arguing it would further protect the country against acts of terror.

“The Administration strongly supports House passage of H.R. 418, to strengthen the ability of the United States to protect against terrorist entry into and activities within the United States. In particular, the legislation tightens procedures for non-citizen entry into and presence in the United States, facilitates the building of physical barriers where appropriate to protect U.S. borders, and facilitates the strengthening by the States of the standards for the security and integrity of drivers’ licenses,” a Bush administration statement published on Feb. 9, 2005 stated. 

Sensenbrenner celebrated that the REAL ID Act would prevent terrorists from “hiding in plain sight” while on U.S. soil. 

‘MASS SURVEILLANCE’: CONSERVATIVES SOUND ALARM OVER TRUMP ADMIN’S REAL ID ROLLOUT

“By targeting terrorist travel, the REAL ID will assist in our War on Terror efforts to disrupt terrorist operations and help secure our borders,” Sensenbrenner said in a statement following its passage in Congress. 

Activist groups at the time of its passage railed against the legislation as an attack on immigrants and promoting “post-9/11 xenophobia,” NBC News reported at the time. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Bush’s office for comment on the measure and his support for the legislation in 2005, but did not immediately receive a response. 

Twenty years later, the Trump administration’s DHS is implementing REAL IDs after decades of setbacks, including some states initially refusing to comply, and delays during the coronavirus pandemic. 

“Passed by Congress in 2005, the REAL ID Act enacted the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the Federal Government ‘set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses.’ The Act established minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards and prohibits certain federal agencies from accepting for official purposes licenses and identification cards from states that do not meet these standards,” DHS states on its website, alongside a countdown clock to May 7. 

A DHS memo exclusively obtained by Fox Digital on April 15 outlined that part of the motivation for the Trump administration to enforce the REAL ID law is to prevent those in the country illegally from flying — unless they are looking to self-deport on an international flight.

TOP TRUMP AGENCY REVEALS KEY REASON WHY REAL ID WILL BE ENFORCED

“Under Biden, illegal aliens used non-compliant IDs from sanctuary cities to board flights, but REAL ID’s higher security standards make it nearly impossible to forge legitimate documents, ensuring only verified travelers can fly,” the memo states. 

“This closes the gaping vulnerabilities Biden’s policies created, preventing criminals and potential terrorists from exploiting our aviation system, as seen during 9/11 when fraudulent IDs enabled attacks,” the memo continues. 

The agency emphasized that the measure prevents people in the country illegally from traveling within the U.S.

“DHS and TSA [Transportation Security Administration] are clear, the only place an illegal alien should be flying is home. Under Secretary Kristi Noem’s leadership, illegal aliens will be barred from domestic flights, with one exception: illegal aliens self-deporting on international flights will be allowed to board without a REAL ID, encouraging their exit from the U.S.,” it states.

The law has come under fire from some Republicans who say it bolsters the oversight “Big Brother” holds over the country, while Democrats, such as Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, have sounded the alarm that many Americans still lack access to REAL IDs. 

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“REAL IDs make identification harder to forge, thwarting criminals and terrorists. Eighty-one percent of air travelers hold REAL ID-compliant or acceptable IDs. DHS will continue to collaborate with state, local, and airport authorities to inform the public, facilitate compliance, curb wait times and prevent fraud,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital in a statement last week. 

Fox News Digital’s Cameron Arcand and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider the establishment of the nation’s first religious charter school next week, a case that could have key implications for school choice across the country.

A huge majority of states have implemented some form of school choice in recent years, but only a little more than a dozen have adopted programs that make private school choice universally available to K-12 students.

Here is the full list and a timeline of the school choice movement in recent years.

TENNESSEE AG OPTIMISTIC ABOUT SCOTUS CASE AFTER ‘RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY’ REVERSAL IN LOWER COURT

Alabama passed its CHOOSE Act in 2024, which establishes an education savings account (ESA) that will soon be open to all families in the state.

Arizona became the first state to offer universal school choice for all families in 2022, launching an $800 million program that gives parents $7,000 to put toward their children’s tuition.

Arkansas’s S.B. 294 established choice programs open to all students, regardless of income or disability status.

The accounts allow families to spend state money not just on tuition but also on other approved expenses, such as tutoring, online courses and instructional materials.

Florida’s H.B. 1, passed in 2023, established choice programs open to all students, regardless of income or disability status.

The accounts allow families to spend state money not just on tuition but also on other approved expenses, such as tutoring, online courses and instructional materials.

Idaho launched its first private school choice program through a refundable tax credit. Families can receive up to $5,000 per child for private educational expenses, with $7,500 available for students with disabilities. The program is capped at $50 million annually and prioritizes families earning up to 300% of the federal poverty level (about $96,450 for a family of four).

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Iowa’s H.F. 68, passed in 2023, established choice programs open to all students, regardless of income or disability status.

The accounts allow families to spend state money not just on tuition but also on other approved expenses, such as tutoring, online courses and instructional materials.

The Indiana Choice Scholarship Program grants a voucher to qualifying K-12 students that they can put toward private school tuition.

In order to qualify, students must be residents of Indiana and a member of a household that makes an “annual income of not more than 400% of the amount to qualify for the federal free and reduced price lunch program.”

Montana has two major school choice programs, but only one of them is universally available. The more restricted program is a standard ESA, but students must have special needs or have some other form of disability in order to qualify.

The more expansive program is a statewide tax credit scholarship program that “allows individuals and corporations to claim a 100% tax credit for contributions to approved Student Scholarship Organizations,” according to EdChoice.

The average scholarship value for participating students is $2,190.

North Carolina has a major voucher program that is available to all students across the state, but is limited by a budget cap.

Qualifying students will get an average voucher value of $5,701 to put toward private school tuition costs, transportation, equipment or other costs associated with attending school.

After baseline qualifications are met, vouchers are granted based on household income. 

Ohio’s school choice program awards $6,166 for grades K–8 and $8,408 for grades 9-12 to qualifying students.

Students must meet one of a series of qualifications in order to receive the award, and parents must submit their income information.

Like Montana, Oklahoma employs a tax credit system to allow for school choice in the state.

“The Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit provides parents of students in private school with a refundable tax credit ranging from a minimum of $5,000 up to a maximum of $7,500 per child to cover the cost of private school tuition and fees, or it provides parents of students in home school a refundable tax credit of $1,000 to cover the cost of unbundled educational expenses,” according to EdChoice.

Tennessee passed the Education Freedom Act of 2025, creating a universal ESA program. Families receive $7,000 per student, which must first be used for tuition but can also cover other educational expenses. The program starts with 20,000 scholarships, with half reserved for students from families earning up to 300% of the free and reduced-price lunch threshold and students with disabilities. If at least 75% of scholarships are awarded, the cap will rise to 25,000 students in 2026.

Utah’s H.B. 215, passed in 2023, established choice programs open to all students, regardless of income or disability status.

The accounts allow families to spend state money not just on tuition but also on other approved expenses, such as tutoring, online courses and instructional materials.

West Virginia employs an ESA program to allow universal school choice for private schools, and it also has “intra-district and inter-district public school choice via open enrollment,” according to EdChoice.

The ESA program grants an average of $4,299 toward private school tuition costs.

Wyoming passed HB 199 in 2025, expanding its ESA program by removing income restrictions and making it fully universal starting in 2025-26. Renamed the Steamboat Legacy Scholarship, the program will provide families with $7,000 and be funded through a $30 million appropriation. Participating students must be assessed on academic progress.

An aversion to tax increases has long been one of the Republican Party’s core pillars, but tradition was upended in recent weeks as discussions of a potential new millionaires’ tax hike hit Capitol Hill.

It’s baffled some members of the GOP’s old guard, though Republican operatives who spoke with Fox News Digital were less surprised. They said those conversations were largely ushered in by the party’s growing populist wing.

“I’m not sure if I’m surprised anymore, because the party has changed so much in just a short period of time. But it is noteworthy,” longtime GOP strategist Doug Heye told Fox News Digital. 

Heye recalled his time as a senior House leadership aide in 2012, when a Republican proposal for a uniform tax rate for people making under $1 million per year was blown up “by a rebellion within our own ranks” over raising taxes.

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“It all exploded in our faces,” he said. “And now this is what more and more of those Republicans who rejected the idea in 2012 want to do.”

Sources told Fox News Digital this month that the White House was socializing a plan among Republicans to create a new 40% tax bracket for people making more than $1 million.

Various reported plans floated among House Republicans included raising taxes on the ultra-wealthy to rates between 38% and 40%. 

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has been seeking to quash that this week, even posting a purported message from President Donald Trump himself on X that said, “If you can do without it, you’re probably better off trying to do so.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House on Wednesday morning for comment on Gingrich’s note, including the context of the message and why Trump described that he would “love” increasing taxes, but did not receive a reply.

The top income tax rate is currently about 37% on $609,351 in earnings for a single person or $731,201 for married couples. It was lowered from just over 39% by Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

“The politics are good for raising taxes on wealthy Americans,” said John Feehery, a partner at EFB Advocacy and veteran of House GOP leadership staff. “The downside is it does have an impact on economic growth. So if you want the cheap political score, that’s the way to go. On the other hand, if you want a solid economy where people are working, you want to be careful on how you do that.”

Asked if the discussions caught him off guard, Feehery said, “I’m not surprised by it because Trump is such a populist, and he has a lot of folks who are populist.”

He signaled the appeal of higher taxes for the wealthy was born from that shift.

“If you look at the constituencies, the biggest constituency, it’s really interesting because the parties have kind of changed,” he continued. “It used to be the country-club Republicans and working-class Democrats; now it’s working-class Republicans and country-club Democrats.”

Heye said when asked about the increase in tax hike talks, “I think it’s a mixture of Trump and populism.”

“Raising taxes used to be an anathema to Republicans, and you know, when George Bush did it after saying ‘Read my lips,’ that was the beginning of the end of his presidency,” Heye said. “That world just doesn’t exist anymore.”

House GOP leaders have publicly made clear that they’re opposed to raising taxes on anyone. But Republicans must find a way to pass Trump’s budget, including new tax policies eliminating duties on tipped and overtime wages, while meeting conservatives’ demand to cut at least $1.5 trillion in government spending to make up for it.

House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, R-Md., previously signaled that he is open to the idea if spending cuts can’t be reached by other means.

“What I’d like to do is, I’d actually like to find spending reductions elsewhere in the budget, but if we can’t get enough spending reductions, we’re going to have to pay for our tax cuts,” Harris told “Mornings with Maria” on FOX Business last week.

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“Before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the highest tax bracket was 39.6%; it was less than $1 million. Ideally, what we could do – again, if we can’t find spending reductions – we say, ‘OK, let’s restore that higher bracket, let’s set it at maybe $2 million income and above’ to help pay for the rest of the president’s agenda.”

Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., similarly floated raising the top tax bracket to 38.6%.

He later told Fox News Digital in a statement, “I believe we must help the president deliver on his promise of a tax and regulatory plan that supports pro-American economic and manufacturing growth, and delivers for the vast majority of Americans – while creating savings and promoting fiscal responsibility. Any adjustments in taxes to accomplish these goals should be considered.”

Both Meuser and Harris declined to provide more comment for this story.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who refers to the 2017 tax cuts as the “Trump-Pence tax cuts,” last week urged House Republicans to stand firm against raising taxes on the country’s top earners and to make the 2017 tax cuts permanent. 

One House GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital last week that reaction among their colleagues to possible tax hikes was “mixed.”

But a former Republican member was skeptical on Wednesday.

“Raising taxes is a short-term high, which ultimately does more harm than good,” the former House Republican said. “This strategy is contrary to conservative values.”

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Meanwhile, Marc Goldwein, senior policy director at the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said it was “healthy” that lawmakers are entertaining fiscal ideas outside their party norms.

He was wary about the push for a tax hike, however.

“I’m not a fan of doing things that look fiscally good at the same time that you’re doing things that actually are fiscally bad … on top of that, I don’t think raising tax rates is the best way to raise revenue,” Goldwein said. “But with those two things said, I think it is very healthy move that the GOP kind of is talking about that rates actually can go in both directions.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Gingrich for an interview for this story but did not receive a response.

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

A top Democrat refuted claims she ignored correspondence from a constituent whose son was abducted by Venezuela’s military while she was publicly advocating for Salvadoran deportee Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. — who, until Republicans retook the Senate, was third in line to the presidency — told Fox News Digital through a spokesperson on Monday they have no record of correspondence from Scott St. Clair asking for help for his imprisoned son.

“Our office has no record of an inquiry from the St. Clair family; however, our staff is ready and willing to help support the return of Joseph however possible,” the Murray spokesperson said, after Fox News Digital asked about comments from St. Clair to KTTH radio host Jason Rantz, wherein the father said he received “nothing” in response from Murray.

“We’ll be working to get in touch with the family directly,” the Murray spokesperson said, adding constituent service is a “top priority.”

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Joseph St. Clair, a four-tour Afghanistan War veteran from Hansville, Washington, first went missing in November while getting PTSD treatment in Colombia. 

In February, his father got a call from the Colombian consulate telling him neighboring Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro’s regime had taken him hostage.

As for her Abrego Garcia advocacy, her office said Murray “is also committed to protecting the fundamental right to due process in America — and will not shy away from condemning the Trump administration’s dangerous efforts to undermine the rule of law.”

On Thursday, Murray retweeted Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s, D-Md., photo with Abrego Garcia in El Salvador, writing, “We’re with you, Senator Van Hollen.”

“In America, we don’t send people to foreign prisons for life with no trial and no due process. We’ll keep fighting. This is about protecting our democracy,” she continued.

She also released a video saying the Trump administration “abruptly ripped Garcia off the streets.”

“They admitted that this deportation was a mistake. Now the president is trying to pretend that he has no power to bring him back from one of the most horrific prisons in the world. This is un-American. It is immoral. It is illegal. And it needs to stop,” Murray said.

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Rantz lambasted Murray’s tweet, saying that while she “pretends to care about an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, she’s ignoring the father of an American USAF vet who was kidnapped by the Maduro regime in Venezuela.”

Another Seattle figure, Discovery Institute’s Jonathan Choe, recounted Murray’s comments on Abrego Garcia, and then the plight of the St. Claires, remarking on X, “Make it make sense.” Several other people slammed the senator on X over the situation, while a hostage aid group reprinted part of Rantz’s report on the matter.

Scott St. Clair told Rantz that his son was held alongside several other Americans whom President Donald Trump envoy Ric Grenell was able to bring home during a Jan. 31 meeting with Maduro.

Joseph St. Clair’s military credentials originally drew the Venezuelans’ attention, his father said.

Another Trump envoy, Adam Boehler, reached out to the family to assist them, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio officially designated Joseph St. Clair “wrongfully detained.”

Rantz shared apparent screenshots of Scott St. Clair’s purported attempts to contact Murray, before “a senator from another state would agree to intervene.” That lawmaker turned out to be Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., to whom Fox News Digital reached out for comment.

Scott St. Clair appeared to reach out to Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., by email, and Murray via Twitter direct message on March 23 after Rubio officially designated his son captive.

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In one email from February shared with Rantz, Scott St. Clair wrote that “as a matter of record” he also sent a letter to Murray “via web form” and appeared to include text of the letter in a prior reply that was partially hidden.

He also shared a screenshot of his X direct message to Murray where he shared a “Bring Joe Home” graphic and the message: “I am a Washingtonian and need advocacy to secure the release of our son from captivity in Venezuela. I sent your office an email and received no reply.”

Scott St. Clair said he received some response from Cantwell but ultimately pivoted to Schmitt.

“We need all the help we can get. Congress needs to demand that Maduro release our citizens held hostage as political pawns,” he wrote to Murray, according to one screenshot viewed by Fox News Digital.

“We do not have our state’s backing from congressmen or senators,” Joseph’s mother Patty added in a Monday night interview on “Fox News @ Night.” “Thank God we do have some senators stepping up from other states to help us, but nothing at all from ours.”

“We would welcome [Murray’s] advocacy, yes, but I don’t think it’s coming,” Scott St. Clair added.

FIRST ON FOX: Longtime Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur is facing a new Republican challenger in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District in the form of Air Force veteran Alea Nadeem, who spoke exclusively to Fox News Digital about her campaign.

“This country saved me, I owe my life to this country,” Nadeem, a northwest Ohio native, told Fox News Digital, recounting her harrowing life story of being kidnapped by her father and taken to Iraq, where she lived under the rule of Saddam Hussein before the U.S. government worked to bring her back.

Nadeem joined the Air Force in response to the events of 9/11 and never planned on leaving the nonpartisan military world for politics until she spent time on Capitol Hill in recent years and realized that life for people in her district was not improving.

“I got to see firsthand all the things that were happening, and I’ve got to tell you, my hometown where I grew up was not better off,” Nadeem said. “I was seeing the policies that people were voting on, and especially the current person, Marcy Kaptur, who’s been here for almost 43 years. I didn’t think they were voting in a way that actually helped the way I grew up, blue-collar families.”

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Kaptur, who narrowly won re-election in 2024 by less than 1 percentage point, is widely considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the House. Her district will be home to one of the most highly watched races as Republicans attempt to hold a thin majority in the chamber.

Cook Political Report ranks the race as a “Democrat toss up” in a state that Trump carried by over 10 points.

Kaptur faced criticism during last year’s campaign for introducing only five bills that became law in 41 years.

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Nadeem told Fox News Digital that even people she talks to who “love” Kaptur agree that 22 terms in Congress is too much.

“It’s time to pass the torch,” Nadeem said. “One of the things that they’ve all said to me is they were really scared to pass a torch the last two times. They didn’t feel like they had a candidate who could really step into her shoes. And so I’ve heard, I call it kitchen table talk. They haven’t found somebody worthy to pass the torch to, but they also fully understand it’s time. Everyone has been like, it’s enough. We get it, 43 years. So I think they’re looking for the next guardian to be able to do that. Someone they can trust. And I’m really hoping to step into that.”

Nadeem spoke to Fox News Digital about the issues she plans to focus on during the campaign. At the top of the list are jobs and manufacturing.

“This is near and dear to my heart,” Nadeem said, adding that making sure “we’re not hollowing out the northwest and these blue-collar jobs” is her “number one priority.”

Nadeem said bringing fiscal responsibility to Washington, D.C., will be another priority.

“I looked at 1983, when Marcy Kaptur was in office, I think the debt was around, that the United States debt was around like $1.6 trillion, and now it’s $36 trillion,” Nadeem said. “So you can just see like, under Democratic leadership, we have not done better. So we need to get our fiscal house in order because I know people in northwest Ohio really rely on Social Security and Medicare. And I call those earned benefits. And if we can’t balance our checkbook, we can’t pay for those things. And so I do think people deserve that.”