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Year: 2026

Trump’s new DHS pick is an illegal immigration hawk who’s ‘all about the mission’: expert

Trump’s new DHS pick is an illegal immigration hawk who’s ‘all about the mission’: expert

Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin, President Donald Trump’s new pick to lead the embattled Department of Homeland Security, is a supporter of strict immigration enforcement who, in the last year, has proven invaluable in getting key pieces of the president’s agenda across the finish line. A first-term senator who identifies as Native American, Mullin is a self-described “bull in a China cabinet” who was instrumental in the Senate’s passage of the Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Lora Ries, a border security and immigration expert at the Heritage Foundation, predicted to Fox News Digital that Mullin will have a focused leadership approach as head of DHS. “It won’t be about him. It’s about the mission, and it’s about carrying out the president’s agenda to maintain a secure border but also mass deportations,” she said. Shortly after news of his appointment broke, Mullin called it a “big surprise” but said he is “excited” to take on the role. TRUMP NAMES MARKWAYNE MULLIN NEW DHS SECRETARY, REPORTEDLY UNHAPPY WITH KRISTI NOEM’S TESTIMONY “The president and I have a really good relationship; we talk all the time anyway. I wasn’t, to be quite honest with you, expecting the call today. But it’s super exciting,” he told reporters outside the Capitol. He said his focus as DHS secretary will be to “keep the homeland secure.” “Nothing is going to prevent me from doing my job,” he continued. “I’m going to enforce the policies and the laws that Congress has passed, and we’re going to protect the homeland.” Ries said Mullin’s appointment signals Trump doubling down on his agenda of maintaining a secure border. Ries also said she does not expect the transition from outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem to Mullin to disrupt the agency’s enforcement operations.   “We can’t waste any time, given we’re concerned with sleeper cells from Iran and other locations, terrorist threats that Joe Biden let into the country,” she added. SCHUMER, DEMS HOLD FIRM ON DHS FUNDING DESPITE NOEM’S BOMBSHELL OUSTING At 48 years old, Mullin is a husband and father of six. He has served in the Senate for just over three years, entering office in January 2023. Before that, he served in the House of Representatives for about 10 years. Mullin serves as the chair of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee. He does not serve on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the panel that he will soon sit before during his confirmation process. He is also a member of Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s leadership team and proved a decisive asset in extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts last year. It was, however, the relationships he built in the lower chamber that made him a de facto liaison with his former House colleagues. That role began when former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., with whom Mullin was close friends, was in leadership and has continued under House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.  That role as liaison, which Mullin previously told Fox News Digital he never wanted, made him an invaluable asset last year when Republicans were trying to pass Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” Mullin had already become a member of Thune’s whip team and offered to help bridge the policy gap between House Republicans and Senate Republicans to ensure the legislation was passed. Both chambers were going back and forth on the bill, which Mullin told Fox News Digital last year wasn’t necessarily “a good indication that we were butting heads.”  “Everybody was very passionate about this,” Mullin said. “I mean, they’ve been working for a long time. We looked at it as maybe a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us to be able to get this done.” ILLEGAL’S DRAGGING OF ICE AGENT SHOWS THE EXACT DANGER THE OFFICER WHO SHOT RENEE GOOD FEARED, EXPERT SAYS On Mullin’s website, he states, “We are a nation of laws, and those laws must be upheld. “We must ensure our immigration laws are enforced, bring back the Remain in Mexico policy, finish building the wall, and end the liberal incentives that are fueling the worst border crisis in American history.” Mullin has harshly criticized Democrats for moving to defund DHS, saying, “If we defund the Department of Homeland Security, they do a lot more than arrest illegals. You walk through the airport, they’re providing security. The Department of Homeland Security is there for a reason. … They protect us from threats at home and abroad, around the United States and across the world.” After the lapse in DHS funding, Mullin slammed the Democrats for “political theater,” saying he was focused on restoring the funding. When asked if there were any lessons Mullin had learned from Noem’s tumultuous tenure atop the agency, he noted that he and Noem were close friends, but he had not yet had time to call her yet after receiving the news. “Our families are friends. She was tasked to do a very difficult job. And I think she has, she has performed the best she can do,” Mullin said. “Is there always lessons that can be learned? You know, listen, my wife and I, we have, over the years, we have been fortunate enough to purchase companies and grow our companies, and every day there’s something you can do better,” he continued. “And, so, I think there’s, there’s an opportunity to build off successes, and there’s also opportunities to build off things that maybe didn’t go quite as planned.” Mullin said he and Trump are “great friends,” and “I look forward to working for him on his Cabinet. Of course, we still have this whole thing called confirmation, and we’re going to get started on that right away.”

Fox News Poll: Socialism gaining ground among voters

Fox News Poll: Socialism gaining ground among voters

Socialism is gaining ground with voters, as half say capitalism is not working and a growing number are open to a shift toward socialism. The latest Fox News survey, released Thursday, finds a record 38% think it would be a good thing for the United States to move away from capitalism and in the direction of socialism — up from 32% in 2022, the last time the question was asked. In 2010, a low of 18% backed socialism. FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS GIVE POOR MARKS TO ECONOMY, CONGRESS AND TRUMP Very liberal voters (66%) and Democrats under age 45 (66%) are those most likely to think moving to socialism would be good.  More than half of all Democrats (55%), Black voters (55%), and those under age 30 (53%) also favor moving away from capitalism. Still, a majority of 61% think it’s a bad thing to move toward socialism, including large majorities of Republicans (78%), conservatives (75%), men over age 45 (75%), and voters ages 65 and up (75%). The shift may be tied to divided views on capitalism itself. Voters are split over whether capitalism in the United States is working well: 51% say it’s working very or somewhat well, while nearly as many, 49%, say it’s working not very or not at all well. FOX NEWS POLL: VIEWS ARE DIVIDED ON US ACTION AGAINST IRAN Plus, equal shares say capitalism is working “very” well and “not at all” well (18% each). The biggest supporters of capitalism are Republican men (87% working very/somewhat well), MAGA supporters (85%), and Republicans ages 45+ (81%). In contrast, very liberal voters (79% working not very/not at all well), Democratic women (79%), and Democrats under age 45 (72%) are those most likely to give it poor marks. These findings seem to suggest frustration with the current system more than a clear preference for expanded government. When it comes to whether they would like the government to “lend me a hand” or “leave me alone” voters are again split: 48% opt for a hand up, while 51% prefer to be left alone — a 3 percentage-point edge for “leave me alone.” The last three times this question was asked, voters preferred a helping hand: by 7 points in 2025, 3 points in 2024, and 9 points in 2022. Before 2020, voters generally preferred to be left alone by wide margins. More than half of women, Black voters, Hispanic voters, voters under 30, households making less than $50,000, and Democrats would like a boost. More than half of men, White voters, those ages 65+, households with income $50,000 or more, and Republicans want to be left alone. CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE The survey finds a record high 48% of Democrats say, “leave me alone,” up from 39% in July 2025 and a low of 18% in August 2021. The overall shift back toward wanting to be left alone by the government comes as 43% have a positive view of their financial situation, up a touch since November when 40% were positive. Conducted February 28-March 2, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,004 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (104) and cellphones (642) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (258). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data.

Fox News Poll: Disapproval of ICE on the rise

Fox News Poll: Disapproval of ICE on the rise

An increasing number of voters disapprove of the job the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or ICE, is doing, with nearly half wanting Congress to reduce its funding. That’s according to a new Fox News poll conducted before President Trump announced on Thursday that he will nominate Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to replace Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem. The survey finds nearly 6 in 10 voters disapprove of ICE’s performance, while about 4 in 10 approve. This is the highest disapproval rating recorded, up 7 points since last fall and 17 points since the question was first asked in 2018. FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS GIVE POOR MARKS TO ECONOMY, CONGRESS AND TRUMP Nearly twice as many voters strongly disapprove as strongly approve. The increase in disapproval can mostly be attributed to voters under age 30 (+17 points more disapproving than in September), independents (+13), men (+11) and Democrats (+8). “This isn’t a complicated story,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who helps run the Fox News Poll with Democratic counterpart Chris Anderson. “ICE’s tactics in Minneapolis, along with negative news coverage, have caused a sharp drop in approval, especially among independents and members of the out-party.” Meanwhile, large majorities of MAGA supporters (94% approve), very conservative voters (87% approve) and Republicans (83%) back ICE. When asked about funding the agency, nearly half (46%) said reduce it. The other half wants to increase funding (20%), keep at current levels (18%) or fund at current levels but with new restrictions (16%). FOX NEWS POLL: VIEWS ARE DIVIDED ON US ACTION AGAINST IRAN Majorities of Democrats (77%) and independents (59%) want to defund ICE while Republicans would prefer to at least keep it at its current level (37%) if not increase it (43%). Today, voters are slightly more likely to feel the Trump administration’s immigration policies have made the U.S. safer (42% safer vs. 37% less safe) than they did last June, when they were split on the matter (39% each). Overall, 2 in 10 say the policies don’t make a difference to safety. But when looking at immigration from an economic lens, more voters think the administration’s policies are hurting the economy (49%) than helping it (33%). Two in 10 (17%) say they haven’t had an effect on the economy. Majorities of Republicans are more likely to say the immigration policies have made the U.S. safer (82%) and helped the economy (66%), while it’s the opposite for Democrats (62% less safe, 83% hurt). A majority of independents think the economy is being hurt (57%) but are more divided on safety: 27% safer, 40% less safe, 33% no difference. Views on what to do about illegal immigration remain nuanced. Two-thirds favor allowing illegal immigrants who have jobs in the U.S. to stay and apply for legal status (67% favor, 33% oppose). On the other hand, 6 in 10 favor deporting immigrants who are here illegally back to their home countries (59% favor, 40% oppose).  Among voters favoring deportation, 53% would support immigrants who live here illegally but have jobs to stay and apply for legal status. Majorities of Hispanic voters favor allowing illegal immigrants with jobs to stay (74% favor), disagree with deportations (56% oppose) and disapprove of ICE (58%). CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE Big picture, border security and immigration remain President Trump’s best issues. Border security continues to be his only net positive job rating with 52% approving and 48% disapproving. While his handling of immigration stands at 47% approve and 53% disapprove, it is a slight improvement since the last recording in January when it was 45-55%. The president’s ratings on other issues remain underwater: jobs (43% approve, 56% disapprove), taxes (40-59%), foreign policy (40-60%), economy (38-61%), healthcare (38-61%), tariffs (36-63%), and cost of living (32-67%). Conducted Feb. 28 to March 2, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,004 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (104) and cellphones (642) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (258). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data.

What is Indian connection to Iranian ship attacked off Sri Lanka by US Navy?

What is Indian connection to Iranian ship attacked off Sri Lanka by US Navy?

The recent US attack on Iran’s IRIS Dena warship in the Indian Ocean is a significant development, marking a major naval incident in the region since World War II. The warship was hit while returning from the Indian Fleet Review and Exercise MILAN in Vishakhapatnam, February 2026. The attack has resulted in 87 deaths, with survivors being treated in Sri Lanka, and two Iranian warships seeking refuge in Colombo.