Omar’s new legislation targeting ICE sparks outrage when the internet sees what’s in it: ‘Un-American’
Conservatives are pushing back after Rep. Ilhan Omar. D-Minn., introduced legislation that would redirect over $100 billion in funds previously allocated to immigration enforcement and “invest it into communities across the country that have been impacted by the Department of Homeland Security’s heinous operations.” Omar explained in a press release Thursday that her Make ICE Pay Act is a response to “Operation Metro Surge” in Minnesota and that it would send nearly $140 billion of ICE and Border Patrol funding from Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act toward “local recovery efforts” from immigration enforcement that has taken place across the country. Omar says the funding will be used by local jurisdictions to provide economic relief and distribute money through the states to nonprofits, small businesses and other impacted entities to support schools, healthcare and psychological services, increased local-government expenses, investigations and memorialization efforts. The program would be administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, overseen by its inspector general and expire three years after its creation. “ICE has been tearing through our nation, devastating our neighborhoods, our cities, and our businesses,” Omar posted on X about the legislation. “Our communities deserve accountability. My Make ICE Pay Act will redirect ICE’s $140 billion budget to the communities they’ve hurt the most.” MINNESOTA’S ANTI-ICE AID FUND BECOMES LATEST CASUALTY OF STATE’S EMBARRASSING FRAUD PROBLEM While the bill’s future is bleak as long as Republicans control Congress and the White House, it was quickly blasted by conservatives as emblematic of an ideology that places more of an emphasis on protecting illegal immigrants than it does enforcing immigration law. “This bill is un-American,” Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., posted on X. “This bill defunds law enforcement and gives their funding to the communities harboring criminal illegal aliens. Democrats fight for everyone except the American people.” OMAR’S GOP CHALLENGER COMES OUT FIRING WITH VOW TO CLEAN UP ‘MESS’ IN DEEP BLUE DISTRICT: ‘PEOPLE ARE FED UP’ “The definition of America last,” conservative influencer account LibsofTikTok posted on X. “Denaturalize and deport.” “Defund ICE. Weaken the border. Then expect safer communities? That math isn’t mathing,” Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders posted on X. “Her entire existence is on crippling the United States,” Republican John Nagel, running against Omar in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District this November, posted on X. “She is anti-police and pro communism.” Fox News Digital reached out to Omar’s office for comment. White House border czar Tom Homan confirmed to Fox News last week that the Department of Homeland Security is looking into allegations involving Omar, but would not disclose details about what he described as an “ongoing criminal investigation.” Pressed on whether the federal government has evidence that Omar committed immigration or naturalization fraud, Homan declined to comment. When subsequently asked directly whether he was confirming an investigation involving Omar, Homan replied, “I’m confirming that ICE is, yeah — look, I said months ago that there’s something that’s been reported and needs to be looked at.” Omar has long been dogged by allegations that she married a man that critics allege is her brother as part of an immigration scheme. Omar has repeatedly denied the allegation, and the claim has not been proven in public records. In December, she dismissed the claims as “bigoted lies,” writing on social media that Trump was obsessed with her. Fox News Digital’s Max Bacall contributed to this report
GOP fiscal hawk sounds alarm on ‘out of control’ federal spending, saying ‘both parties have failed us’
With the U.S. national debt soaring above $40 trillion and the federal government engaging in massive deficit spending, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. — a fiscal hawk who says the situation is “out of control” and “both parties have failed us” — does not support President Donald Trump’s proposal to dole out $5,000 to every American adult if Republicans win both chambers of Congress during the midterms. The president floated the idea during a speech earlier this month at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, calling it “the Trump dividend.” Asked about the president’s proposal during an interview on Thursday, Paul told Fox News Digital that he is not in favor of giving away “dividends when there’s a deficit.” “We’re running $2 trillion dollars short,” he said, noting that he “can’t imagine giving out money when you’re running a deficit.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Friday. RAND PAUL CLASHES WITH FELLOW REPUBLICAN OVER AI ‘KILL SWITCH’ AS SENATE GRAPPLES WITH ‘TERMINATOR’ FEARS America’s soaring national debt has surpassed the staggering sum of $40 trillion and shows no signs of stopping. “And so, the debt is very important. So it’s not just important that it might bankrupt us or overwhelm us in some kinda crisis in the future,” Paul said, acknowledging that as “a possibility. But every day you’re being hurt by it because it’s stealing the value” of people’s earnings, he indicated. “So it is literally out of control,” Paul said. “And really both parties have failed us because both parties are afraid to tell the American public that some things they like from government would have to be reduced when we cut costs.” Paul has a plan that he says would balance the budget through a series of spending cuts over five years. GOP LAWMAKERS PUMP BRAKES ON TRUMP’S $5K CHECK PROMISE: ‘WHERE ARE YOU GETTING THE MONEY?’ “Now when I first introduced it, it was a 1% cut, or a one-penny plan, and you cut spending 1% a year for five years, and with economic growth increasing revenue, the lines cross at about five years,” balancing the budget, he explained. “Well, when COVID came along, both parties frankly started passin’ out money like drunken sailors and… the deficit ballooned. Now to balance the budget in five years it’s called the six-penny plan cuz it takes about a 6% cut. But it still shows you that we wouldn’t have to eliminate everything.” While the cuts under his proposal would not apply to Social Security, they would apply to Medicare, he indicated, though he suggested it could be possible “to cut Medicare 6% without cutting any health benefits,” saying that he thinks there is a lot of “waste and fraud in” the program. He also suggested that additional means testing could be used to achieve the Medicare spending cuts. Paul — who ran for president in 2016 but dropped out after placing fifth in the Iowa GOP presidential caucuses — is considering throwing his hat into the ring again. “I’d say we’re 50-50,” he said. “I do think that there should be a candidate on the Republican side, at least, who believes that international trade is good for our country and good for the economy, that believes in free markets, that isn’t a big believer in big government coming in and managing contracts and owning parts of countries, that isn’t a believer in giving out money we don’t have.” RAND PAUL SAYS HE’S ’50-50′ ON RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2028, ‘THINKING ABOUT IT’ Paul said he does not “want there to be a choice of four populists running for president,” noting that he wants there to be “at least one free-market candidate. I could be that, or maybe somebody else could be,” he said, indicating that he will decide after the midterm elections.
House GOP not done with ActBlue after bombshell internal memos raise foreign cash questions
FIRST ON FOX: House GOP investigators are warning that they are not done with ActBlue after a bombshell report fueled questions over whether the Democrat fundraising giant is accepting foreign cash and lying to Congress about it. “Whether it’s allowing fraudsters to steal taxpayer dollars or accepting illegal foreign donations through ActBlue, Democrats have proven themselves to be the party of fraud. Our investigation into ActBlue is far from over. We expect more documents and testimony in the weeks ahead,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital. ActBlue is a massive platform for campaigns to raise money that’s used by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and the Democratic leaders of the House and Senate, among others. Republican lawmakers have long accused the company of having lax verification standards for donors, something ActBlue has said it actively improved since the start of the GOP’s probe. But new findings, first reported by Fox News Digital, appear to show employees green-lighting donations despite some questions about where they came from. FAR-LEFT POLITICIANS STILL USING ACTBLUE AS 88-YEAR-OLD DISPUTES DONATING NEARLY $150,000 TO FUNDRAISING GIANT But the company maintains it did nothing wrong and signaled in comments to Fox News Digital that it has no plans to return any donations raised in the report. HOUSE DEM LASHES OUT AT GOP EFFORTS TO PROBE FOREIGN DONATIONS WITH STUNNING CLAIM ON MOTIVE Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital on Friday, “ActBlue’s own admissions raise serious questions about its fraud prevention practices, including a so-called passport verification process that did not actually verify or check entries against any government database. All options are on the table to ensure we get to the bottom of what is going on at ActBlue.” And a spokesperson for Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and the House Judiciary Committee confirmed to Fox News Digital that the panel “will continue aggressive oversight of ActBlue, including additional depositions.” All three committees have been responsible for investigating the left-wing fundraising giant. It’s not clear how much those depositions will yield, however. The Judiciary Committee revealed through a series of transcripts on Thursday that all 10 ActBlue employees and board members who appeared for closed-door depositions invoked the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering questions. That includes co-founder Matt DeBergalis, whose invocation was first reported by Fox News Digital. ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones similarly opted to plead the Fifth during a public hearing. The GOP report cited a letter by Wallace-Jones to Steil, which maintained that donations on the platform made by people with addresses outside the U.S. required a passport number for verification. But the Republicans’ report alleged that the verification “only ensures that the entered passport number contains a certain number of characters, not that it is a valid U.S. passport number,” rendering it an essentially meaningless step. TEXAS AG PAXTON SUES DEM FUNDRAISING PLATFORM ACTBLUE, ALLEGING ‘FRAUDULENT AND FOREIGN DONATIONS’ The report also included excerpts purporting to show ActBlue supervisors green-lighting donations despite “red flags,” including a memo lauding a donation as a “great accept,” but noting, “Donor sometimes has an IP in Hong Kong, but none of their other signals raise any eyebrows.” Another communication appears to show an ActBlue supervisor maintaining that a denied contribution “should have been accepted.” The rest of the memo stated, “It is a foreign contribution, but the name/email match, the IP/billing match, a full address with the correct country code, and there were previously accepted and successful contributions.” “The donor uses an Arkansas state code, which isn’t great, but [the] system can be wonky with requiring state codes for foreign donors,” the rest of the message stated. ACTBLUE SUES TEXAS AG KEN PAXTON, ALLEGING POLITICAL RETALIATION OVER DEMOCRATS’ FUNDRAISING An ActBlue supervisor also allegedly said a contribution “set off a lot of” alarms, but argued the donor should be given the “benefit of the doubt.” Yet another appeared to show an ActBlue employee acknowledging that a donor using a Missouri billing address had “all signs point to this person being from Canada,” but that X (then Twitter) was used to confirm their identity. But despite the GOP’s accusations, the report’s evidence also appears to show ActBlue employees standing by the platform. An email from ActBlue employees shows they believe the company to be “the target of bad-faith political attacks at the hands of ill-intentioned operators.” ActBlue also previously told the committee “there is no evidence that foreign donations through online or small-dollar contributions are a problem in U.S. elections.” The communications excerpts were included in the report and not independently verified by Fox News Digital. It’s prompted a firestorm on the right, with House Republicans‘ campaign arm demanding that Democrats return donations made through ActBlue. “House Democrats cannot claim ignorance while continuing to rely on a fundraising platform facing serious allegations. The [National Republican Congressional Committee] officially calls on every House Democrat to cut ties with ActBlue and return any illegal contributions funneled to their campaigns through the platform,” spokesman Mike Marinella said. But when asked if ActBlue would return any donations, the company pointed Fox News Digital back to its statement on the House GOP report. “There’s nothing to see here. After we released findings of a third-party forensic analysis that completely undermined a central claim that they have made against ActBlue, Republicans are refusing to move on,” ActBlue said. “Instead, they are orchestrating another political stunt before rushing out of town weeks early to go campaign. This coordinated campaign against ActBlue isn’t about the facts, or legislating, it’s about Republicans’ efforts to silence organizations they believe threaten their agenda.”
GOP takes aim at Congress’ next ‘get filthy rich’ loophole after stock-trading ban
EXCLUSIVE: While the House successfully moved to rein in lawmakers’ stock trading, a California Republican is targeting what she says is another avenue for congressional self-enrichment, citing members whose wealth has multiplied over the years. Rep. Young Kim’s Stop Congressional Self-Enrichment Resolution comes after a successful GOP-led effort in July that imposed restrictions on stock purchases and requires several days’ notice before stock sales. It also comes as Americans across the political spectrum remain frustrated by many lawmakers’ rapidly growing wealth while in public office. “It could be earmarking a nonprofit organization where a member’s spouse sits on the board of directors or board of trustees, so it will indirectly benefit the family. Or it could earmark for a park at, let’s say, an apartment building that a member or member’s spouse or member’s children owns,” Kim told Fox News Digital. SENATE QUIETLY BANS LAWMAKERS FROM BETTING ON PREDICTION MARKETS “And with the federal funds that the member brings and build the park nearby or community center nearby, it could increase the property value and therefore indirectly benefiting the member and their family members. Maybe asking to build a road up to rural land the member owns.” Her new push would cover all material financial interests — direct or indirect — that benefit people beyond the lawmaker themselves. UNLIKELY BIPARTISAN SENATE DUO SEEKS TO PERMANENTLY BAN EX-LAWMAKERS FROM LOBBYING Current House rules require members requesting an earmark to certify that neither they nor their spouses have a financial interest in the recipient. Kim’s bill would extend that requirement to immediate family members and indirect financial interests, such as nearby property values. “The days of members thinking that ‘I can use the community project funding request or bringing the earmarks for my district and get filthy rich off of it’— those days are numbered.” WATCH: DEM CANDIDATE GRILLED ON STOCK TRADING AFTER BEING DUPED WITH SELFIE REQUEST “This is a good time because we see Americans are sick and tired of watching politicians getting filthy rich while average Americans are worrying about making ends meet and stretch every dollar that they earn.” Citing the “Bridge to Nowhere” project in Alaska’s Inside Passage in the early 2000s as a symbol of concerns over earmarks, Kim said the ensuing decade-long moratorium curbed abuse. Kim said safeguards put in place after the moratorium have helped, but argued members are still able to provide themselves with indirect benefits. She reiterated that she is not targeting any individuals. While there are now apps out there like the “Pelosi Stock Tracker” and others that let retail investors see which stocks are being bought or sold by which members, Kim said her effort does not target any one colleague. ‘SQUAD’ DEM DISMISSES FRAUD PROBE SPECULATION AFTER $29M NET-WORTH DROP “And, this is not in any way discouraging members to fight for their districts and bring in the appropriate taxpayer dollars for projects near their districts,” she said. “That is so important,” she said, pointing to funding she brought to Orange County to prevent and recover from recent wildfires, among other interests for her constituents. “That’s what we are sent to do, fight for our district, but not at the expense of, you know, enriching. I mean, not at the expense of hurting our very constituents that we are trying to support while we are lining our pockets, because there are too many career politicians in Washington looking out for no one but themselves.” Innumerable lawmakers have come under fire over the decades for their earmarking prowess. In one notable case, then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., faced criticism in 2006 over a $207 million earmark to build a parkway near property he owned. Amid the kerfuffle, an attorney for the leader pushed back on what he called a “libelous” allegation from a good-government group about it at the time. The attorney said criticizing Hastert for the project was akin to “complaining about a purchase in Alexandria based on renovations at the Capitol.” GOP LAWMAKER UNDER HOUSE ETHICS REVIEW BLASTS ‘BASELESS’ INVESTIGATION In 2023, the Boston Globe reported that earmarks secured by Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., benefited a health center in Boston where his wife was employed. Two million dollars went to the South Boston Community Health Center, and another $1 million went to a foundation where Lynch’s wife was an unpaid director. Fox News Digital reached out to Lynch for comment. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., previously secured earmarks totaling $3.5 million for George Mason University, where his wife had served as interim president and later as a professor. The earmarks “are in no way influenced by Secretary Holton,” a Kaine spokesperson told The Messenger news outlet at the time — referencing former Virginia Education Secretary Anne Holton. “Secretary Holton has no involvement in the [Congressionally Directed Spending] CDS process, and no involvement in the George Mason CDS requests,” the spokesperson added. “Senator Kaine and Secretary Holton have not discussed the requests.” SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER With the Senate next to take up stock trading prohibitions, Kim’s bill stands as a gap closer, she said, on a practice that has rare emphatic bipartisan support. Fox News Digital’s Aaron Kliegman contributed to this report.
Socialists are helping GOP campaigns heading into November
A new number inside the latest Fox News national poll could bolster Republican midterm messaging as they work to hold their fragile congressional majorities amid an extremely rough political climate in this autumn’s elections. The figure: 55% of registered voters hold an unfavorable view of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), while only three in 10 see the DSA in a positive light. The Fox News poll is the latest national survey to show that while the DSA has gained traction among Democrats, the group and the broader socialist movement in America face significant national skepticism. The figures appear to reinforce a key element in the GOP midterm playbook, which aims to turn what’s normally a referendum on the party in power into a choice election. WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLL SAYS ABOUT THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS Republicans, pointing to the surge this year by progressive and socialist candidates over centrist and establishment-backed rivals in the Democratic Party primaries, are painting all Democrats on the ballot this year as far-left radicals. President Donald Trump, at this month’s GOP midterm convention, argued that there is a “communist” takeover of the Democratic Party. “In state after state, the Democrat establishment has been overthrown and replaced by crazed lunatics and radicals. They call themselves Democrat socialists, but actually, they’re communists,” Trump said. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB House Speaker Mike Johnson recently told Fox News Digital, “This really is a contrast election between common sense candidates… and crazy, and that’s what the other side represents.” Veteran Republican strategist Erin Maguire said that the new poll numbers on the DSA shows “that Democrats continuing to lurch further and further to the left with their socialist base is not something Americans want.” “I do think it validates Republicans because Republicans are aiming to make this a choice election,” Maguire, a veteran of the 2020 Trump re-election campaign who later steered communications for conservative firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, told Fox News Digital. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Democrats disagree and say the midterms will be won or lost over inflation. “Republicans are facing record-low approval numbers and have no midterm message after spiking costs, raising gas prices, and driving up inflation,” Democratic National Committee Deputy Communications Director Kendall Witmer told Fox News Digital. But some moderate Democrats are concerned. “I think it’s a big problem,” Ty Strong said as he referred to the Republican midterm strategy. Strong, founder and president of the Moderate PAC, told Fox News the midterms “should be a much bigger wave, but I don’t think it’s going to be as big as it could have been if we didn’t have this DSA and attacks that Republicans are going to use.” WHO’S UP AND DOWN IN THE LATEST FOX NEWS MIDTERM ELECTION POWER RANKINGS He warned that the GOP playbook “absolutely could be effective.” But Shannon Jackson, a key consultant and adviser to progressive leader Rep. Ro Khanna of California, said that “Republicans are in a very tough spot right now.” Referring to the Republican strategy, Jackson argued, “I think they’re reaching for things. I think the DSA issue is something they’re trying to make something, but it is not.” “You can do these broad strokes of painting it as communist and things like that. They tried to do that for Bernie, and now he’s the most popular senator and politician in America,” added Jackson, a grassroots organizer best known for his leadership roles in Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns.
ICE officer shoots, injures man in Austin, officials say
The shooting in Austin, which injured Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, came more than two months after an ICE officer fatally shot a man in Houston.