Alexandra Glorioso joins our joint investigative unit with ProPublica
A state government reporter at the Miami Herald, Glorioso was part of the team that reported Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration orchestrated the transfer of $10 million in public funds to a foundation spearheaded by his wife.
UT System, community colleges complying with Texas’ DEI ban, auditors find
The state’s spot review found Texas public colleges were not using diversity, equity and inclusion efforts on campuses.
Trump administration to force foreigners in the U.S. to apply for a green card abroad
The surprise change is the latest step by White House to make legal immigration more difficult for foreigners already in the U.S. and for those hoping to come here.
Military families demand DOJ distribute nearly $800M from French cement company found guilty of bribing ISIS
In November 2017, Chief Petty Officer Kenton Stacy was injured in Raqqa, Syria while clearing the second floor of a hospital that ISIS had booby trapped with explosives. Now a quadriplegic, Stacy, his wife Lindsey, and their 4 children are part of a lawsuit brought by military families against the French cement company, Lafarge, recently found guilty by a French Court of paying millions of dollars in bribes to ISIS to keep their factory open in ISIS-controlled territory in Syria. “I mean, they were essentially funneling money to fund terrorists and ISIS and all these heinous crimes and evil acts,” Lindsey Stacy told Fox News while standing by the side of her husband, the former Navy Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialist, who just had another surgery to deal with injuries sustained in Syria 9 years ago. “It’s very overwhelming, Kenton struggles mentally and physically with his own battles and the kids and I. We have our own struggles,” she continued. “It’s hard to juggle, especially when our oldest son has cerebral palsy, and he requires his own 24-7 care.” SENATORS CALL ON BIDEN TO BRIEF UPPER CHAMBER ON EFFORTS TO RETURN AUSTIN TICE FROM SYRIA President Trump praised Stacy’s service to the nation in his 2018 State of the Union Address to Congress. Army Staff Sergeant Justin Peck bounded into a booby-trapped building to rescue Kenton and then gave him more than 2 hours of CPR while medics worked to save his life. “Kenton Stacy would have died if not for Justin’s selfless love for a fellow warrior. Tonight, Kenton is recovering in Texas. Raqqa is liberated.…All of America salutes you.” In a landmark ruling in April, a French court convicted Lafarge, the world’s largest cement manufacturer, of providing material support to a terror group and sentenced its former CEO to 6 years in prison. Eight former Lafarge employees were found guilty. Lafarge is appealing. The company acknowledged the court’s finding describing the issue as a “legacy matter,” which was “in flagrant violation of Lafarge’s Code of Conduct.” Nearly 1,000 plaintiffs, most of them military families, are part of earlier litigation in the Eastern District of New York. “They were killed in Syria by a gruesome terrorist organization that was funded in part by Lafarge. And that’s not an allegation. That is undisputed fact. Lafarge pled guilty to doing that in 2022.” Todd Toral, the lawyer from Jenner & Block, is representing Stacy and about 25 other families. Toral, who is also a US Marine, is seeking compensation for those families from the $777 million Lafarge paid to the Justice Department as part of the settlement. The DOJ has had that money since Oct 2022. “I think the ruling by the court in France is significant generally, because it’s the first time in many, many years that a corporation, and not just the corporation, but executives at a corporation have been held to account for their misconduct in aiding terrorism,” Toral said in an interview with Fox. In order to operate in ISIS-controlled areas of Syria, Lafarge paid more than $6.5 million to ISIS from 2013–2014 through its Syrian subsidiary to keep production facilities running. The cement produced at its factory in Jalabiya, a factory which was bought for $680 million months before the Syrian uprising began in 2011, was also used for tunnels and bunkers, which helped the terrorist group. The lawsuit is significant because it marks the first time a company has faced U.S. charges for supporting a terrorist group. DOJ ACCELERATES SETTLEMENT OFFERS IN CAMP LEJEUNE WATER CONTAMINATION CASES In October 2022, Lafarge settled with the DOJ before the French ruling, paying more than $777 million into an asset forfeiture fund currently controlled by the DOJ, funds which are supposed to compensate victims of the ISIS attacks, many of them American Gold Star families, like Hailey Dayton, whose father was the first American killed by ISIS in Syria on Thanksgiving Day 2016. “I was 15 when my dad was killed,” Hailey Dayton told Fox from her home in Florida. “I saw six guys in Navy white step out of the van. I got so excited because I thought my dad came back to surprise us. I remember opening the door, huge smile on my face, and I was looking at the men, trying to find my dad and I didn’t find, I didn’t see him, but instead I saw six guys with tears in their eyes.” The Biden Justice Department denied requests to distribute the Lafarge funds while the case was still pending before a French Court. Lafarge was found guilty by that court in April. In February, Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., pressed then-Attorney General Pam Bondi on when the DOJ planned to release the funds to the families. “In February 2025, my colleagues and I sent you a letter urging the department to review the petitions for remission submitted by the families of those fallen service members, including several of my constituents. The previous administration ignored these victims and our requests and left their petitions unresolved,” Biggs asked Bondi during a Congressional hearing. “Congressman, we are aware of that and we’re committed to doing everything we can to support the victims and work with you. Thank you for that question,” Bondi replied. That was more than a year ago and the DOJ has still not distributed the compensation funds. Now the plaintiffs, most of them military families, say the decision to release the funds rests with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “I don’t know why. I don’t know why they’re ignoring us. To me, it feels like being a pawn. My dad, he went in when he was 19, he served 23 years,” Dayton, the Gol Star daughter of Chief Petty Officer Scott Dayton, said. “To the current Department of Justice, I would, say, make things right.” Lindsey Stacy, who says she and her family have difficulty making ends meet given Kenton Stacy’s severe injuries, added, “There’s a lot of families out there that could benefit
Way harder than it should be: Why Congress may balk on $1.7B compensation fund
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had never appeared before a congressional panel asking for money to run his department until Tuesday morning. And even though cabinet secretaries routinely make their budget requests to Congress, it appears that Blanche apparently didn’t even need to ask lawmakers for the most-controversial batch of federal funds in years. It was already approved. Somehow. Blanche’s Justice Department announced the creation of a billion compensation fund to pay people who Republicans say are victims of government weaponization. Who gets the money isn’t clear. And what’s murkier still is how the stash of cash came about. APOLOGIES AND CASH HEADED TO ALLEGED ‘WEAPONIZATION’ VICTIMS IN BILLION-DOLLAR TRUMP SETTLEMENT In short, President Donald Trump sued his own IRS for leaking his tax returns – along with the filings of several hundred other Americans. Then, Blanche’s own Department of Justice announced that the president essentially settled with himself. “Per the settlement, plaintiffs will receive a formal apology but no monetary payment or damages of any kind. They have agreed, in exchange for the creation of this fund, to drop their pending lawsuit with prejudice, and also withdraw two administrative claims, including for damages resulting from the unlawful raid of Mar-a-Lago and the Russia-collusion hoax,” read the DoJ statement. The fund is worth $1.776 billion. Get it? 1776. REPUBLICANS RECOIL AS TRUMP’S BILLION-DOLLAR DOJ ‘SLUSH FUND’ FOR ALLIES THREATENS ICE, BORDER PATROL PLAN So while the president couldn’t receive money from this fund, his political allies and donors could. All without congressional input. “I realize it’s a lot of money,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. “I want to understand where the money comes from. Do we find it in the budget? Do we have to borrow it? There’s just a lot of unanswered questions.” DAVID MARCUS: HE BARELY SURVIVED BIDEN LAWFARE, AND NOW HE DESERVES TO GET PAID “What I want to know is how the fund is created and what its purpose is,” said Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan. “And (I want to know) the legality of creating a fund that Congress hasn’t had anything to say about.” The government swept up the phone information of multiple Republican lawmakers after the January 6 riot as part of Operation Arctic Frost. That included the records of Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn. He defended the fund. ‘COMPLETE FAILURE’: GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CRISIS THREATENS CAPITOL HILL AS TRUMP PLANS POLICY OVERHAUL “What we ought to be talking about is the reasons for the compensation. Weaponization of government that took place under former President Joe Biden was an absolute disgrace,” said Hagerty. Blanche formerly served as President Trump’s personal legal counsel. Lawmakers argued that Blanche reverted to that role when he created the compensation fund out of the ether. “Mr. Attorney General, you are acting today like the president’s personal attorney. And that’s the whole problem,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS FACE BRUISING BATTLE TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN “You’re a very gifted lawyer. But from my perspective, you have very little faith to the Constitution and the people of America. And you’re the president’s consigliere,” piled on Sen. Jack Reed D-R.I. Lawmakers questioned who qualifies for compensation. “Will individuals who assaulted Capitol Hill police officers be eligible for this fund?” asked Van Hollen. DEMS DEMAND TRUMP RESUME CASH FLOW AS THEY FINALLY GET LEVERAGE IN RACE TO PREVENT SHUTDOWN “Anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they are a victim of weaponization,” replied Blanche. And that’s what concerned bipartisan lawmakers. The compensation conundrum instantly spilled over into a major bill, due to the hit the Senate floor. Congressional Republicans were trying to pass a bill to finally address funding for ICE and Border Patrol, once and for all. But they planned to bypass a Democratic filibuster using a special process called budget reconciliation. SENATE GOP LAUNCHES ALL-NIGHT VOTE-A-RAMA TO FUND ICE, BORDER PATROL THROUGH END OF TRUMP’S TERM The good thing about reconciliation is that you can pass a bill with 51 yeas and don’t need to clear the filibuster with 60 votes. The bad thing is that the reconciliation process entails what the Senate refers to as a “vote-a-rama.” This is where senators can offer practically any amendment on any subject in a drawn-out process which might consume an entire calendar day. Republicans freaked out that Democrats would force them to take controversial votes on the compensation fund. And frankly, many Republicans intended to author their own amendments to curb the fund – simultaneously inoculating themselves from blowback. That political brew was too much for Senate Republicans. DEMOCRATS’ LAST-MINUTE MOVE TO BLOCK GOP FUNDING PLAN SENDS LAWMAKERS HOME EARLY They summoned Blanche to Capitol Hill Thursday morning to explain the fund. The meeting didn’t go well. Fox is told that Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., were pointed in their comments to Blanche. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., popped into the Capitol’s Ohio Clock Corridor en route to the meeting. Tillis was in mid-conversation. All anyone could hear Tillis say was “And I’m not voting for it!” as he walked by. By early afternoon, Republican leaders scrapped the bill to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and sent everyone home for Memorial Day. It was the biggest legislative rebuke of President Trump’s second term. “I just don’t know how this puppy dog will work,” said Kennedy. “I think there were six or seven people who are going to vote no.” SENATE REPUBLICANS RACE TO FUND ICE, CBP WITHOUT DEMOCRATS AS SHUTDOWN DRAGS Yet Republicans were practically on the verge of finally ending the ICE and Border Patrol funding impasse. “The sole reason we are here today is because Democrats refused to fund law enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. The debate over funding for the president’s ballroom wasn’t exactly the foxtrot for Senate Republicans. But the compensation fund converted the reconciliation process into the samba. CONGRESS MELTS DOWN: MEMBERS UNLEASH PERSONAL ATTACKS AFTER
Trump announces highest civilian honor for 9/11 hero remembered as the ‘Man in the Red Bandana’
President Donald Trump announced during a rally in New York that he was posthumously awarding the nation’s highest civilian honor to Welles Remy Crowther, the 9/11 hero remembered as the “Man in the Red Bandana” after he repeatedly led victims to safety from the burning South Tower before dying in the terrorist attacks. Trump revealed the Presidential Medal of Freedom honor during a Rockland County stop on Friday with Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who had urged the president to recognize Crowther’s heroism ahead of the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11. Crowther, a 24-year-old equities trader who also worked as a volunteer firefighter, became a symbol of American courage after survivors recounted being guided through smoke and wreckage by a man wearing a red bandana over his face. “At the request of Bruce, and Mike, and some of the political — great political people we have, and we are approaching the 25th anniversary of September 11th, 2001, a dark day that will live in infamy. We are posthumously awarding Welles the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Trump told the Rockland County crowd, earning a resounding applause. FOX NATION, TUNNELS TO TOWERS EXPLORES HOW AMERICA’S PASTIME HELPED A GRIEVING NEW YORK HEAL AFTER 9/11 “It’s the highest award outside of the Congressional Medal of Honor — those are the two biggies and Welles has one of them. I just want to congratulate his great mother in doing a phenomenal job in raising that young man. Boy, what bravery, saved those people and became a legend in a sense, nobody else would have done what he did. So he’s going to be getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom.” The president subsequently brought up Welles’ mother, Alison Crowther, who addressed the pro-Trump crowd momentarily, describing the award bestowed on her son as a “huge honor.” “It’s such a beautiful thing that even 25 years later, Welles’ light still shines brightly,” she told the crowd, noting she has traveled the world telling her son’s story to places as far away as Jordan. Alison Crowther remarked that in these travels, when she tells children Welles’ story, “They’re tremendously moved and inspired … to be better people.” NEW 9/11 MUSEUM EXHIBIT AIMS TO CONNECT YOUNGER AMERICANS TO THE ATTACKS THROUGH POWERFUL ARTIFACTS Welles, an equities trader who worked on the 104th floor of the South Tower, was in his office when the first aircraft hit the North Tower that morning. He left his mother a voicemail shortly after the towers were struck, letting her know he was okay, but his body was later found amid the rubble. According to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Welles “made three trips to the sky lobby, saving as many people as he could, until the burning building collapsed,” with some reports indicating he saved up to 18 lives that day. As he did so, Welles covered his nose and mouth with a red bandana he kept at his desk. That red bandana is currently displayed at the 9/11 museum in New York City. The Tunnels to Towers Foundation, a nonprofit that supports first responders and their families, including those who became victims after 9/11, said Welles always kept a red bandana at his desk. The foundation recounted how, when he was asked why he always carried the red bandana, Welles replied: “With this red bandana, I’m going to change the world.” His father, the foundation said, told Welles to always carry a red bandana on him for “messy jobs.” “People can live 100 years and not have the compassion, the wherewithal to do what he did,” a survivor rescued by Crowther has said.
Sheridan Gorman’s parents say protecting children from failed immigration policies isn’t a one-party fight
The parents of Sheridan Gorman, the college freshman who was killed in Chicago earlier this year, appeared Friday at a New York rally hosted by President Donald Trump, where they demanded that leaders oppose sanctuary policies, saying the fight to protect children shouldn’t belong “to only one party.” Trump was at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York, when he introduced Gorman’s family. Jessica Gorman said her daughter’s life was “stolen” by someone who should have never been in the United States. “At every step the system had a chance to stop him. At every step, it failed. And my daughter paid for those failures with her life,” she said. “No mother should ever have to wonder if her child called out for her in her final moments. No mother should ever have to imagine her baby left alone and bleeding on the cold pavement, and no family should ever have to bury a child because public officials failed to put innocent American lives first.” CHICAGO MAYOR ASKED ABOUT CITY’S IMMIGRATION POLICIES AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ALLEGEDLY KILLED COLLEGE STUDENT Gorman, an 18-year-old Loyola University Chicago student, was shot and killed on March 19. She was walking along a lakefront pier at Tobey Prinz Beach with a group of friends when they encountered a masked man hiding behind a lighthouse structure. Jose Medina, 25, an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela, was arrested the following day and charged with first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Medina was released from custody months earlier despite an active Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer. DHS released a statement confirming that Medina was released from custody twice. In 2023, the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended the suspect before releasing him, according to DHS. Later that year, he was arrested and released again following a shoplifting arrest. “This is what failed policies have done to our family,” Tom Gorman said about his daughter’s death. “No family should have to become experts in immigration failures, release policies, warrants, sanctuary laws, and enforcement breakdowns because their daughter was killed by someone who should not have been here and should not be free.” CHICAGO MAYOR JOHNSON UNVEILS ‘ABOLISH ICE’ SNOWPLOW DAYS AFTER STUDENT ALLEGEDLY MURDERED BY ILLEGAL MIGRANT Days after Gorman was killed, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a vocal Trump critic, unveiled a snowplow named “Abolish ICE,” infuriating the Gorman family. “When they’re naming trucks and laughing and joking several days after our daughter was murdered, we’re waiting in Chicago to claim her body,” Jessica Gorman told “The Story” at the time. “It was more than infuriating. I don’t have—the vitriol that I felt was overwhelming.” At Friday’s rally, Gorman’s father, Tom Gorman, thanked Trump and criticized leaders who oppose immigration enforcement. ANGEL PARENTS SLAM ILLINOIS SANCTUARY LAWS AFTER ‘PREVENTABLE’ TRAGEDY IN STUDENT’S DEATH “But I do not understand why this is a fight that belongs to only one party,” he said. “Protecting our people is not politics. It is the first responsibility of government.” Many Democrats have expressed opposition to Trump’s deportation policies and targeting of undocumented immigrants, despite many suspects having been accused of or convicted of committing violent crimes while in the U.S. Gorman’s death has taken a tool on her family, but Friday’s rally comforted her sister, Madelon Gorman. “I have to say you are just so funny,” she said of Trump. “My family has laughed more, smiled more in the past hour than we have since March 19th,” she said.
DOJ vows to appeal after judge dismisses smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia as ‘vindictive’
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) vowed to appeal a federal judge’s decision Friday to dismiss human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who initially entered the U.S. illegally and allegedly had suspected ties to MS-13, slamming the ruling as “wrong and dangerous.” U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. on Friday threw out a two-count indictment in Tennessee against Abrego Garcia, ruling the DOJ’s actions amounted to “vindictive and selective prosecution” in violation of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. Abrego Garcia was facing charges after allegedly conspiring to smuggle roughly 600 illegal immigrants into the U.S. annually, between 2016 and 2025, according to a cooperating witness. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR ADMITS ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ TIMING IN ABREGO GARCIA SMUGGLING CASE CHARGES “Another activist judge has placed politics above public safety,” a DOJ spokesperson told Fox News. “The judge’s order is wrong and dangerous, and we will appeal.” The federal investigation was initially sparked by a November 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee and included suspected ties to the MS-13 gang and human trafficking. The case became a constitutional standoff after the executive branch deported Abrego Garcia to El Salvador in March 2025 due to an alleged “administrative error.” MARYLAND IMMIGRANT WRONGLY DEPORTED TO EL SALVADOR MUST RETURN TO US, SUPREME COURT RULES Abrego Garcia sued the government, and the judicial branch — ultimately backed by the Supreme Court — unanimously ordered his return be “facilitate[d]” to the U.S. Crenshaw, an Obama appointee, noted that just days after the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Department of Homeland Security suddenly reopened a closed investigation into Abrego Garcia’s 2022 traffic stop. TENNESSEE BODYCAM OF ‘MARYLAND MAN’ TRAFFIC STOP SHOWS TROOPERS’ HANDS TIED DESPITE SMUGGLING CLUES Top Justice Department officials, under the leadership of Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, then pushed for an indictment, according to court documents. In his 32-page memorandum opinion, Crenshaw determined the DOJ’s rapid pivot from closing the case to prosecuting Abrego Garcia was a direct retaliation for his successful civil lawsuit. Calling it an “abuse of prosecuting power,” the judge concluded “absent Abrego’s successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the Government would not have brought this prosecution.” As a result of the finding, Crenshaw formally dismissed the indictment and vacated Abrego Garcia’s conditions of release. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who flew to El Salvador in April 2025 to meet with Abrego Garcia after he was deported to the country’s “Terrorism Confinement Center” (CECOT) megaprison, hailed Friday’s decision. “Today, a federal judge made clear what we have long known: the Department of Justice was engaged in a vindictive prosecution against Kilmar Abrego Garcia,” Van Hollen said in a statment. “This decision is a strong repudiation of Trump’s lawless DOJ and a win for the Constitutional rights of everyone in our nation.”
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani releases audit accusing federal immigration agents of misleading tactics
Findings from audits of six New York City agencies intended to ensure compliance with the city’s sanctuary laws found that federal immigration authorities use aggressive and deceptive tactics, the office of Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Friday. The audits and recommendations were part of Executive Order 13, which mandated a public safety audit for six specific city agencies: the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), the New York Police Department (NYPD), and the Departments of Correction (DOC), Probation (DOP), Health & Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), and Social Services (DSS). The order was issued by Mamdani upon taking office in an effort to fulfill a promise to protect the city’s immigrant communities. The 19-page executive summary details the interactions between the agencies and federal immigration authorities, as well as recommendations to close loopholes and blind spots in the city’s sanctuary policies. MAMDANI CLARIFIES NYC WON’T CHECK IMMIGRATION STATUS FOR UNIVERSAL CHILDCARE ENROLLEES “The findings and recommendations released today will strengthen City agencies’ protocols when interacting with federal authorities and ensure that all New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status, can safely access the City services they deserve,” said Faiza Ali, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, in a statement. Among the findings were that federal immigration authorities have intensified their targeting of city shelters, resulting in a sharp increase in detainer requests to the city’s Department of Correction and New York Police Department. The report also accused immigration authorities of using aggressive and misleading tactics. The NYPD received 3,672 requests for civil immigration detainers in 2025—a massive spike from just 99 requests the previous year. The NYPD did not transfer any individuals to ICE in response to these requests. MAMDANI VOWS NYPD WILL ‘NEVER’ GO BACK TO ADAMS-ERA COOPERATION WITH ICE ENFORCEMENT In June 2025, personnel with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) visited a shelter and initially falsely identified themselves as Fire Department officials, the report states. They only admitted they were with DHS after a city employee demanded identification. In April 2025, officers from several federal agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), DHS, the FBI, and the DEA visited shelters ten times, sometimes in plainclothes. They used tactics such as asking to conduct “wellness checks” on children in order to inquire about specific clients. In other instances, agents presented subpoenas or administrative warrants, which do not legally authorize access to shelters, though they did present legally binding judicial warrants on two occasions (leading to one arrest). In another instance, ICE agents entered a Department of Probation (DOP) building in Brooklyn and asked to use the bathroom, but then attempted to look through the facility’s sign-in book. Staff intercepted them, checked their identification, and escorted them out, the report said. MAMDANI DECLARES HE’S READY FOR ‘ANY CONSEQUENCE’ FOR STANDING AGAINST TRUMP’S FEDERAL IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT Mamdani has been a vocal opponent of ICE and the Trump administration’s immigration agenda. In a statement, he called the audit a “critical step towards strengthening compliance with our local laws and reinforcing New York City’s protections for immigrant communities.” “I am proud to share key findings and recommendations from the audit that will ensure that we are responding to the changing nature of federal immigration enforcement and protecting the rights of all New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status,” he said. In a statement to Fox News Digital, the White House urged leaders to cooperate with ICE. “ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities — local officials should work with them, not against them,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said. “Anyone doing otherwise is simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens. The Trump Administration will not waver on enforcing federal immigration law.” The recommendations in the report include:
Republicans get ‘aggressive’ in fight to win top cop spots in battleground states
Republican attorney general candidates are betting that crime, border security and public safety will drive voters to the polls in November as they position themselves as frontline fighters against Democratic policies on immigration and law enforcement. The Republican Attorneys General Association and its affiliated groups are launching an aggressive $11 million television offensive across key battleground states this fall, with initial ad purchases targeting attorney general races in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Georgia and Kansas. “I think we have learned that being aggressive is a good thing,” RAGA Chairman Austin Knudsen, who also serves as Montana attorney general, told Fox News Digital. “Being aggressive works.” Republicans say the effort reflects a broader push to put Democrats on defense over crime and public safety issues in some of the country’s most competitive statewide contests. END OF DEFUND POLICE ERA? CRIME, PROSECUTORIAL CRACKDOWN IN BLUE AND PURPLE STATES SIGNALS SHIFT, EXPERTS SAY “I don’t think there’s any question that the winning message for AG races around the country in 2026 is public safety,” Knudsen said. “Americans care about public safety, they care about law enforcement, they care about border security.” Knudsen argued attorney general races have become increasingly nationalized because they can quickly challenge federal policies through lawsuits and multistate legal coalitions. Republican attorneys general scored major victories against the Biden administration, including a successful challenge to Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan that ended with the Supreme Court striking down the program in Biden v. Nebraska. GOP attorney general coalitions also sued to block the administration’s revised SAVE repayment plan, winning court orders delaying parts of the program. Republican-led states also challenged Biden administration efforts to expand Title IX protections to include gender identity, turning attorney general offices into a major front in the nation’s culture wars. “Congress talks. Attorneys generals act,” Knudsen said. “When we see something bad coming out of Washington, D.C., we can quickly mobilize. We can file lawsuits.” REPUBLICAN AGS DOUBLE DOWN ON BIDEN ADMINISTRATION LAWSUITS AS PRESIDENT PREPARES TO LEAVE OFFICE The ad reservations build on a broader Republican expansion effort already underway. Iowa Republican Attorney General Brenna Bird’s campaign has already reserved more than $2 million in fall television advertising, while RAGA says it raised a record $29.3 million across affiliated entities in 2025. RAGA Executive Director Adam Piper said Republicans intend to capitalize on what they view as voter frustration over progressive criminal justice policies pushed by Democrats in battleground states. “RAGA has a good map in 2026 and will be on offense because the reality is voters prioritize public safety and prefer Republican AGs who fight crime and win at the courthouse over Democrat AGs who pander to criminals with cashless bail idiocracy,” Piper said in a statement. “These early TV reservations and direct candidate investments are merely a down payment on the resources RAGA will marshal this fall,” Piper added. “Democrats should understand that Republican AGs are not playing defense. We are taking the fight directly to them.” The GOP is making Michigan a centerpiece of that argument. Democrats there nominated Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit, whose office became the first in Michigan to stop seeking cash bail and announced it would no longer prosecute certain low-level drug offenses. TUDOR DIXON RETURNS TO MICHIGAN POLITICS WITH NEW PAC AIMED AT BOOSTING REPUBLICANS IN KEY BATTLEGROUND Michigan Republican attorney general candidate Doug Lloyd, the longtime Eaton County prosecutor, told Fox News Digital he believes public safety concerns cut across party lines in the battleground state. “People want to feel safe in their communities, and they’re not feeling that safe right now,” Lloyd said. “That’s an 80-20 issue.” Lloyd also accused Democratic prosecutors of selectively refusing to enforce laws, an issue Republicans increasingly plan to elevate nationally. “I believe that when you start making that statement that ‘I refuse to enforce the laws that our legislature has created and which are constitutional’, then you’re on the road to anarchy,” Lloyd told Fox News Digital. “We’ve seen how that’s gone for the last eight years and I believe that our citizens are actually tired of it.” In Georgia, Republicans are targeting Democratic attorney general nominee Tanya Miller over her vote against HB 1105, a post-Laken Riley immigration enforcement law requiring local officials to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Knudsen said Republicans learned important lessons during the Biden administration about how aggressively voters want attorneys general to challenge Democratic policies in court. “We’ve seen the fentanyl, cartel fentanyl and methamphetamine flood in from the southern border during Joe Biden and flood every state,” Knudsen said. Knudsen said Republicans learned important lessons during the Biden administration about how aggressively voters want attorneys general to confront Democratic policies in court. “People have figured out that attorney general’s races matter, I think we’ve gotten a lot more attention because of what we’ve been able to do,” Knudsen said. “As attorneys general, we can move quickly and our bread and butter is going to court. That’s what we do.” “So when we see something bad coming out of Washington, D.C. or something big on the national scale, we can quickly mobilize.” Fox News Digital has contacted the Democratic Attorneys General Association for comment.