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Year: 2026

Democrats vow to vote ‘every single day’ to expel fellow Dem from Congress if she wins midterm

Democrats vow to vote ‘every single day’ to expel fellow Dem from Congress if she wins midterm

Two Democratic lawmakers are threatening to force repeated votes to expel a fellow Democrat from Congress if Texas voters send her to Washington this November.  Reps. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., say they will force repeated votes to remove Texas Democrat Maureen Galindo from the House over comments calling for the jailing of “American Zionists.” Galindo, a sex therapist running in a Republican-leaning district, has not backed away from a campaign proposal to turn a local ICE processing center into a “prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking.” She also claimed in a social media post that many Zionists — broadly defined as those who support the Jewish people’s right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland — are pedophiles who should be castrated.  “I don’t care if she gets sent here. I will vote to expel her and force a vote to expel her every single day,” Moskowitz told Fox News Digital in an interview. FETTERMAN WARNS DEMOCRATS MUST CONFRONT ‘RISING ANTISEMITISM PROBLEM’ AFTER CLASHES OUTSIDE NYC SYNAGOGUES “My grandmother was part of the Kindertransport out of Germany. Her parents were killed in Auschwitz. My kids are never going to concentration camps,” he added. The Galindo campaign did not respond to a request for comment.  Galindo’s flurry of antisemitic comments comes as she is vying in a May 26 runoff election after winning the most votes in the Democratic primary for the San Antonio-based district. Republicans redrew the district lines earlier this year to boost the GOP’s chances of flipping the seat, though Democrats could still make the race competitive. She has accused her runoff opponent, Johnny Garcia, a sheriff’s deputy in Bexar County, of being paid by “Zionist terrorism and trafficking.” “When Maureen gets into Congress, she’ll write legislation so that all Zionism and support of Zionism is undoubtedly Anti-Semitic, since it’s Zionists harming the Semites,” Galindo’s campaign wrote on social media last week. Moskowitz said Democrats should do whatever they can to ensure Galindo does not get that chance. FOX NEWS ‘ANTISEMITISM EXPOSED’ NEWSLETTER: WHO IS HASAN PIKER, AND WHY CAN’T DEMOCRATS CONDEMN HIM? “The Democratic Party can’t get to power because we’ve expanded our tent so big to include this sort of insane behavior,” the Florida lawmaker told Fox News Digital. “It’s gone from the super extreme side to now almost mainstream,” he continued, referring to antisemitism. “We’ve crossed the Rubicon with the stuff.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Galindo’s comments are “disqualifying” and accused GOP groups of seeking to prop up her candidacy. “Texans will not be fooled and will reject her at the ballot box next week,” Jeffries said in a joint statement with Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chairwoman Suzan DelBene, D-Wash. Both Moskowitz and Gottheimer suggested Galindo’s comments reflect a broader rise in antisemitism in the political sphere. “Both parties: There should be zero tolerance for antisemitic-driven hatred that we’re seeing right now,” Gottheimer told Fox News, adding that Republicans should uniformly condemn podcaster Candace Owens, who frequently traffics in antisemitic conspiracy theories. Gottheimer penned an op-ed in The New York Times earlier in May criticizing some members of his party for cozying up to the far-left streamer, Hasan Piker.  Piker has doubled down on his claim that Hamas is “a thousand times better” than Israel, referred to some Orthodox Jews as “inbred,” and downplayed the sexual violence that occurred during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, among other controversial statements. Still, Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Summer Lee, D-Pa., and Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed are among the prominent Democrats who have chosen to associate themselves with Piker. Asked whether Democrats are doing enough to combat antisemitism within the party, Moskowitz did not hesitate to respond. “No. We are not doing enough,” he said.

Legal expert unleashes on Spanberger’s new executive order targeting ICE: ‘Political theater’

Legal expert unleashes on Spanberger’s new executive order targeting ICE: ‘Political theater’

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger is directing state employees to demand proof of legal authority from federal immigration agents operating on state property, prompting pushback from a legal expert. Specifically, in an executive order signed on Tuesday, Spanberger is asking state employees to get federal agents to produce a valid warrant on “property of the Commonwealth” and instructs them to “not permit” federal agents from using those areas as staging or processing locations. The order would include polling sites. Spanberger’s move continues Democratic efforts to test the boundaries between state and federal power, exploring what roadblocks they can legally create to taper Trump’s immigration crackdown methods. SPANBERGER REFUSES TO HONOR ICE DETAINER IN MURDER CASE, ESCALATING SHOWDOWN WITH TRUMP DHS Hans von Spakovsky, a constitutional scholar with Advancing American Freedom, believes Spanberger’s order is for show, and that she knows it’s an overreaching attempt to create requirements for agencies she has no power over. “This is political theater,” Spakovsky said. “First of all, no warrant is required under federal immigration law to detain individuals.” “And it is a completely unnecessary provision. There’s actually a provision in federal law that bans an officer of the Army or Navy or any other person in the civil service of the U.S. to be at polling places unless they’re there to cast a vote,” Spakovsky added. He pointed to restrictions under 18 U.S.C. 592. Spanberger first announced her executive order on Monday when she was asked about concerns over how Trump might use federal agents in upcoming elections. “How concerned are you that he will send either the military or the National Guard or even ICE to polling places, and what can you do, if anything, to stop him?” Spanberger was asked at an event hosted by MS Now. SLOTKIN PRESSES DHS PICK ON ICE AT POLLS, SAYS SHE CAN’T TRUST TRUMP TO ALLOW ‘FREE AND FAIR’ ELECTION “The reality is, throughout history, we have seen efforts at intimidating voters. My worry is we will continue to see those heightened,” Spanberger replied. “I’ll be issuing guidance across public spaces, including polling places, of how Virginia state employees can react to federal agents who might be appearing at a location where the worry is that they’re principally there to intimidate or scare people,” Spanberger said. Notably, Spanberger vetoed a separate bill that would have outright banned ICE from making detentions in hospitals, schools, courthouses and polling places without a judicial warrant or subpoena, stating that such a ban would likely invite a legal challenge. “I veto House Bill 650, which would create unavoidable legal liability for security personnel and local law enforcement officers when assessing federal immigration enforcement activities in certain protected areas,” Spanberger wrote. Spanberger’s new executive order follows on the heels of states like New York and California that have pushed more direct state-level attempts to restrict federal immigration activity. In New York, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is asking lawmakers to pass legislation that would ban ICE from entering schools, libraries, polling locations and homes without a judicial warrant. Massachusetts tried something similar. There, Gov. Maura Healey asked lawmakers in January to consider legislation that would keep ICE from entering courthouses, schools, childcare programs, hospitals and churches. CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE PASSES BILL PROHIBITING LAW ENFORCEMENT FROM WEARING FACE MASKS TO SHIELD IDENTITIES Those state-level requirements lack the power to bind federal agencies or their operations. Homeland Secretary Markwayne Mullin slammed Spanberger’s executive order on Wednesday in a statement to Fox News Digital. “No surprise: Governor Spanberger continues to put illegal alien criminals over her own constituents,” Mullin said.

Former White House envoy has warning for Trump on how not to get played by Iran

Former White House envoy has warning for Trump on how not to get played by Iran

Former Trump envoy Morgan Ortagus warned Wednesday that Iran may be using ongoing nuclear negotiations to “buy time” as President Donald Trump pauses planned military strikes and extends a fragile ceasefire to allow more room for diplomacy. Speaking with Fox News Digital at the Middle East Forum’s 2026 policy conference in Washington, Ortagus said Iran has long used drawn-out negotiations as a strategy to delay pressure while preserving leverage. “It’s the tactic of the regime to stall, to draw negotiations, to buy time,” Ortagus said of Iran. “I would encourage the president not to fall into the trap that the Iranians like to do … which is to drag things out to buy time.” Trump recently paused planned strikes and extended diplomatic talks with Iran following pressure from Gulf allies seeking more time for negotiations, even as the administration continues pressing Iran over its nuclear program and regional proxy network. GEN JACK KEANE ‘SKEPTICAL’ THAT IRAN CEASEFIRE WILL HOLD, WARNS TEHRAN WILL ‘DELAY AND OBFUSCATE’ Ortagus, who served as State Department spokeswoman during Trump’s first term and later worked on Middle East negotiations during his second administration, argued the White House now has more leverage than previous administrations in dealing with Iran. Critics of past Iran negotiations, including many Trump administration officials, have long argued Iran used diplomacy to prolong talks while continuing to advance aspects of its nuclear program. Trump withdrew from the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, in 2018, calling it a “disastrous” agreement that failed to permanently curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Ortagus said she remains confident in Trump’s negotiating approach and emphasized that the president ultimately has final authority over any military or diplomatic decisions. “I’m always hopeful in President Trump’s ability to give his negotiating team leverage,” Ortagus said. “I think this negotiating team has more leverage in their negotiations with Iran than any negotiating teams that preceded them.” PRESIDENT TRUMP’S NEGOTIATING TEAM PRAISED BY NUCLEAR EXPERTS FOR WALKING AWAY FROM PAKISTAN TALKS “The president has seriously degraded them in a way that no one has since the Islamic Republic’s founding,” she added. Iranian officials have rejected demands for “zero enrichment,” arguing Tehran has a sovereign right to maintain a civilian nuclear program under international law. Iranian leaders have also accused Washington of using military threats to pressure Tehran during negotiations. Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is intended for peaceful energy purposes, though Western governments and the International Atomic Energy Agency have raised concerns about Iran’s uranium enrichment levels and lack of transparency. The Iranian embassy could not immediately be reached for comment.  With the current Iran conflict, some America First conservatives have warned the administration risks deeper military entanglement in the Middle East and argue U.S. resources should instead focus on domestic priorities. Ortagus said the current Iran conflict is different from “forever wars” in the Middle East in years past.  “I think there’s an in-between,” she said. “A very careful, thoughtful use of force when necessary, always preferring to negotiate … but also being willing to use American firepower if necessary.” “I totally respect the office of the presidency and that he’s the one that has to make the final decisions on these,” she added. She described the ongoing Republican foreign policy debate as “healthy,” arguing the party is openly wrestling with how aggressively the U.S. should confront Iran and its regional proxies. The Iran negotiations come as the U.S. is also trying to stabilize the Israel-Lebanon front, where Hezbollah and Israeli forces have continued exchanging strikes despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire extension reached during talks in Washington last week.  The talks are aimed at stabilizing the Israel-Lebanon border and addressing Hezbollah’s armed presence in southern Lebanon. Ortagus, who previously led Israel-Lebanon negotiations, framed Hezbollah’s role in Lebanon as part of the broader challenge posed by Iran’s regional proxy network, which she argued must be addressed alongside Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. “The big dispute comes with Hezbollah, which is an Iranian proxy that has, of course, been a cancer to the state of Lebanon and has in many ways occupied that country,” Ortagus said. She argued the Lebanese and Israeli governments ultimately share an interest in avoiding a broader conflict, but said Hezbollah repeatedly undermines that possibility by operating independently of the Lebanese state. “The Lebanese government didn’t decide,” she said of the current conflict. “Hezbollah decided for the country of Lebanon.” Ortagus said she believes Israel and Lebanon could eventually move toward a more stable relationship if Hezbollah’s influence were diminished. US CHAMPIONS LEBANON’S RESPONSE TO HEZBOLLAH DISARMAMENT, HINTS AT ABRAHAM ACCORDS OPPORTUNITY “I actually think the goals for the Lebanese government and the Israeli government are very similar,” she said. “There’s not territorial claims from Israel into Lebanon,” Ortagus added. “The big dispute comes with Hezbollah.” Her comments echoed remarks delivered earlier in the evening by Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, who said Israel has “no territorial claims” in Lebanon and suggested the countries could eventually move toward broader normalization if Hezbollah were removed from the equation. But negotiations remain complicated by continued tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border. Lebanese officials have accused Israel of violating the ceasefire through ongoing military operations and troop presence in parts of southern Lebanon, while Israeli officials argue previous agreements failed because Hezbollah was allowed to rebuild and operate near the border unchecked. “There’s nothing stopping normalization,” Leiter said during his keynote address at the policy conference, “It would all be fine, but Hezbollah is holding Lebanon hostage.”