Rep. Tony Gonzales, forced into runoff, admits to affair with aide who died by suicide
“I’ve asked God to forgive me, which he has,” the San Antonio Republican told a conservative radio host the day after he was forced into a primary runoff.
Trump says he will soon endorse in runoff between John Cornyn and Ken Paxton
The president also said he would call on whomever he does not endorse to drop out of the race — though he did not specify whether he would back Cornyn or Paxton.
With Trump endorsement looming, Cornyn and Paxton prepare for “knife fight” in Senate runoff
The president could scramble the traditional assumptions about a runoff if he carries out his promise to make an endorsement “soon” and urge whoever he snubs to drop out.
ICE moving toward closing El Paso detention camp, report says
The Washington Post reported that a document was distributed to ICE staff indicating the agency was drafting a letter to potentially terminate the facility’s $1.2 billion contract.
Camp Mystic can’t alter flood-damaged area while civil suit proceeds, judge rules
Cabins, grounds and other buildings hit by the July 4 flood on the Guadalupe River cannot be renovated or removed, according to the order.
Court documents reveal domestic violence history of Austin shooting suspect
A court-documented history of family violence didn’t bar the suspected West Sixth Street attack suspect from owning guns under Texas law.
Top Trump ally Steve Daines exits Montana Senate race, plans to retire
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., will not seek re-election, opting to leave the Senate just minutes before Wednesday’s filing deadline in the Treasure State, three sources confirmed to Fox News Digital. Montana’s senior senator is serving his second term and was widely expected to secure a third in Big Sky Country, where President Donald Trump won by nearly 20 points in 2024. He previously served two terms in the House before making the leap to the upper chamber. Daines played a key role during that election cycle as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, helping Republicans regain a majority in the upper chamber. He also backed Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., in a grueling race against former Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, helping the GOP secure unified control of Washington. TRUMP CABINET ALUM RYAN ZINKE JOINS MASS EXODUS OF LAWMAKERS LEAVING CONGRESS The lawmaker said in a video statement that after “much careful thought, I’ve decided not to seek re-election.” He thanked his wife, Cindy, and noted that, for the last 13 years, she “has selflessly dropped me off at the airport at 5 a.m. on most Mondays for that commute back to D.C. “And, together, Cindy and I look forward to the next chapter, like cherishing moments with seven grandchildren, spending a bit more time in Montana and continuing to make a difference.” With Daines set to leave the Senate, Republicans will now look to hold the seat. Montana’s primary election is scheduled for June 2. REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS’ EARLY RETIREMENT RUMORS SEND SHOCK WAVES THROUGH HOUSE GOP Montana U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme filed just minutes before Daines withdrew from the race, according to the Montana secretary of state. Earlier Wednesday, former University of Montana President Seth Bodnar entered the race as an independent. Trump wasted no time lauding Daines and swiftly backing Alme in a post on Truth Social. “Steve Daines, of Montana, is one of our truly Great United States Senators,” Trump said. “He honorably served for 12 years in the Senate, and 2 in the House of Representatives. He did a job like few others are capable of doing but, sadly for our Country, Steve’s Term is up, and he has decided to leave the Senate and, ‘pass the torch’ to Kurt Alme, my TRUMP 45 and TRUMP 47 U.S. Attorney.” OPERATION EPIC FURY SURVIVES SENATE CHALLENGE AS REPUBLICANS CLOSE RANKS BEHIND TRUMP Three Democrats are also running on the opposite side of the primary field: Alani Bankhead, Reilly Neill and Michael Blackwolf. A spokesperson for the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, told Fox News Digital in a statement that “Republicans’ midterm prospects are so bleak in 2026 that yet another senator is running for the hills.” “Steve Daines is joining more and more of his colleagues in deciding to throw in the towel rather than defend their toxic record,” it said. “This news is the latest flashing warning sign to all GOP senators: Your jobs are not safe, retire or lose.” Daines’ departure comes after Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., announced he plans to retire from the House. Zinke cited several undisclosed surgeries stemming from injuries he suffered as a Navy SEAL. “My judgment and experience tell me it is better for Montana and America to have full-time representation in Congress than run the risk of uncertain absence and missed votes,” Zinke said. His open primary has already attracted several Montana Republicans, including Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen and conservative radio host Aaron Flint, who swiftly earned the endorsements of Zinke and Trump.
GOP senators tangle with Noem during heated hearing on her handling of deportation surge
Department of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem faced heat from Republican senators during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, including criticism about her leadership during the Trump administration’s deportation surge. One GOP senator compared her past animal killings to decisions she has made as DHS secretary. Outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., both got into testy exchanges with Noem Tuesday during a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) oversight hearing with lawmakers. Tillis likened Noem’s decisions as a farmer and dog owner to what he described as Noem’s disastrous leadership amid Trump’s border crackdown. DHS DEFENDS AD BLITZ AMID SENATE SCRUTINY, SAYS CAMPAIGN DROVE 2.2M SELF-DEPORTATIONS AND SAVED TAXPAYERS $39B Kennedy got into a back-and-forth with Noem over her decision to describe Renee Good and Alex Pretti as domestic terrorists in the early days after they were killed and her subsequent reasoning for doing so. “Those are bad decisions made in the heat of the moment. Not unlike what happened up in Minneapolis,” Tillis said, comparing Noem’s time as an animal owner to her leadership as Secretary of DHS. Noem came under fire in the Spring of 2024 when reporting based on an advanced copy of her memoir, “No Going Back,” described an incident of her killing her family dog Cricket and a separate incident during which she killed a goat. Noem explained that the dog had proven itself “untrainable” after several violent attacks and described the decision to eventually shoot the dog. “I hated that dog,” Noem recalled, according to The Guardian and other media reports that covered the pre-released copy of Noem’s book at the time. “[Cricket was] dangerous to anyone she came in contact with. “It was not a pleasant job,” Noem added, “but it had to be done. And after it was over, I realized another unpleasant job needed to be done.” Noem then went on to describe slaughtering the goat that she described as “nasty and mean,” adding it smelled “disgusting, musky, rancid” and complained that it “loved to chase” her children. The reporting on Noem’s memoir prompted a group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill to start a Dog Lovers Caucus, and Noem’s memoir excerpt led to criticism against her from animal rights groups and other critics. “You decided to kill that dog because you would not invest in the appropriate time and training, and then you have the audacity to go into a book and say it’s a leadership lesson about tough choices. It’s in your book. We could play it if we had time,” Thillis said during his heated comments about Noem’s leadership, which also included criticism about her approach to the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA). “And you killed a goat because you said it was behaving badly. You are a farmer. You don’t castrate a goat. They behave badly. You should have probably done that before, but my point is, those are bad decisions made in the heat of the moment. Not unlike what happened up in Minneapolis.” In addition to getting hounded by Tillis, Noem also got into a testy exchange with GOP Sen. Kennedy, who signaled concern over who she was taking direction from during her tenure running DHS. ‘YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!’: PROTESTER DRAGGED FROM KRISTI NOEM’S SENATE HEARING “At the time you said [what Renee Good and Alex Pretti engaged in] were acts of domestic terrorism,” Kennedy told Noem, who said that was the initial assessment of what the pair’s actions “appeared” to be. Noem attempted to interject that the assessment came at a time when there was a lot of information circulating about the Trump administration’s deportation efforts in Minneapolis, but Kennedy stood firm and continued with his line of questioning. “As I’ve said previously in this hearing is that …,” Noem began before Kennedy cut her off. “Did you say that? I think it’s been widely reported. Did you say that?” he asked. Noem continued to try and explain the reasoning for the domestic terrorism label,until Kennedy interjected. “I think it’s safe to say you got some pushback on that,” Kennedy said, adding he did not want to make a judgment on the fairness of it but wanted to point it out. “Yes,” Noem agreed, before Kennedy got to the root of his question. “What got my attention was that you blamed those statements on Mr. Stephen Miller at the White House, did you not?” he asked. Noem fervently denied the accusation, arguing the claim was from an anonymous source that could not be trusted. “Where you’re seeing that is in a news article of anonymous sources, and anonymous sources say a lot of things, but I’ve never said that at all,” Noem claimed. Kennedy shot back that she “said on the record” that “everything I’ve done, I’ve done at the direction of the president and Stephen.” Kennedy then provided an exact date on which Noem made the remark. DEMOCRATS ACCUSE ICE OF TARGETING DREAMERS WHILE DHS HIGHLIGHTS GANG MEMBERS, CHILD RAPISTS ARRESTED THIS WEEK “Do you think it was fair to blame Mr. Miller for your words?” Kennedy asked. Noem dismissed the question again and continued to contest the legitimacy of the claim she made such statements, adding she “did not” blame Miller for her decision to call Good and Pretti domestic terrorists. “You’re reading from a newspaper article with anonymous sources,” she said. “Are you denying that you said that?” Kennedy asked. “Sir, I am not going to speak to that situation that is relayed on anonymous sources,” Noem said again. The report in question was a January article from Axios, which wrote that the “episode illustrates the confusion that gripped the administration after the Saturday shooting death of Minnesota protester Alex Pretti. And it shows the influence of Miller, Trump’s close and longest-serving political adviser whose dominion in the White House far exceeds his title.” “They’re quoting you on the record saying it’s Stephen’s fault,” Kennedy replied before the committee chairman gaveled that the senator’s time
Unearthed video shows Dem candidate supporting ‘reallocation’ of police funding to social service programs
A Democrat running for Congress in one of the most competitive seats in the country once said she would combat systematic racism by redirecting law enforcement funding when asked if she would “defund the police” in 2020. “I support the reallocation of funding to programs that would allow people to live their best lives,” JoAnna Mendoza, a Marine veteran, told the Arizona Clean Elections Commission and Arizona Capitol Times at a town hall event. “Such as social service programs. Such as housing, public education, healthcare, ensuring that we are addressing economic stability and environmental safety.” TENNESSEE CANDIDATE REFUSES TO DISAVOW ANTI-POLICE, ANTI-NASHVILLE COMMENTS AHEAD OF TUESDAY ELECTION Mendoza, who is running to represent Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, denied ever supporting defunding the police, according to her campaign. “Jo Mendoza has been on the record for years that police need MORE resources to do their jobs – not less – including body cameras and training. And she has repeatedly stated that she does not support defunding the police,” Mendoza’s campaign said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Any other assertion is categorically false, a lie and a political smear from D.C. hacks hoping to save Juan Ciscomani from an early retirement,” the campaign said, referring to the GOP incumbent Mendoza is running against. Mendoza did not clarify what she had meant by the 2020 statement. However, her campaign pointed to other comments she made in 2020. “I do not support defunding the police. Police officers are being asked to do too much. They’re being asked to address issues because of the lack of resources in our communities,” Mendoza said in another virtual event that year. The Republican National Committee slammed Mendoza in a statement to Fox News Digital. “There’s no way for JoAnna Mendoza to spin her extreme anti-police views, and Arizonans will know that she sides with dangerous criminals over them,” Nick Poche, a spokesperson for the RNC, told Fox News Digital. The “defund the police” platform, which at the time was championed by several progressive Democrats, has aged poorly, leading Republicans and Democrats to view mere mentions of the phrase as a political liability in 2026. The movement first burst onto the scene through the outrage after the death of George Floyd, a Black Minnesota resident who died after a police arrest in which an officer pinned him to the ground by placing a knee on his neck for an extended period. His death sparked an uproar in cities across the country over racism in law enforcement and whether police in America could do more to avoid violence during arrests. DEMOCRATS WORRY ‘ABOLISH ICE’ SLOGAN WILL BACKFIRE POLITICALLY LIKE ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ DID Although the outrage over Floyd eventually subsided, many of the calls to divert resources away from police persisted as a Democratic platform, leading some cities like Minneapolis and Austin, Texas, to reduce their police budgets. However, the movement began to draw ire from Democrats who feared the party had taken a stance that could be considered at odds with community safety and worsen their odds at the ballot box. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., the House Majority Whip under U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in 2021, said the phrase was “cutting the throats of the party.” “We keep making that mistake. This foolishness about you got to be this progressive or that progressive,” Clyburn said. TENNESSEE CANDIDATE BLASTS DEM OPPONENT’S ‘UNACCEPTABLE’ TWEETS CALLING TO DISSOLVE NASHVILLE POLICE Other Democratic strategists, such as James Carville, have also condemned the platform. Carville called the slogan “the three stupidest words in the English language” in interviews in 2024 and went as far as suggesting the slogan could have led to the loss of Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid against Donald Trump. “We could never wash off the stench of it,” Carville added. TLAIB-BACKED SENATE CANDIDATE IN THE HOT SEAT AFTER DELETING ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS Mendoza faces a tough race in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District. Ciscomani, the seat’s current incumbent, narrowly won election in 2024 in a 50%-47.5% victory over Democrat challenger Kirsten Engel. The district is listed among the Cook Political Report’s most competitive races in 2026, earning one of the 18 seats with a “toss-up” designation. Poche believes Mendoza’s previous comments have just made her bid against Ciscomani harder. “If the Democrats think a defund-the-police radical can beat him, they’re just plain stupid,” Poche said.
DHS defends McLaughlin against allegations husband’s company profited millions from ad contracts: ‘Baseless’
EXCLUSIVE: Newly obtained financial statements shed light on claims that former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin’s husband’s company made millions from a DHS advertising campaign. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem faced intense questioning during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, and Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., specifically called out the agency for contracting a public relations firm headed by McLaughlin’s husband, Benjamin Yoho. “I have personally reviewed the allegations against Ms. McLaughlin, and I find them to be baseless,” DHS General Counsel James Percival told Fox News Digital. “Nothing illegal or unethical occurred with respect to these contracts. Ms. McLaughlin was not involved in selecting any subcontractors. “She is, however, a superstar in the public affairs world, so I am not surprised that she married a successful businessman whose services were attractive to these outside firms.” DHS DEFENDS AD BLITZ AMID SENATE SCRUTINY, SAYS CAMPAIGN DROVE 2.2M SELF-DEPORTATIONS AND SAVED TAXPAYERS $39B Kennedy alleged that Yoho’s firm, The Strategy Group, “got most of the money” out of what the Louisiana Republican senator says was $220 million in “television advertisements that feature [Noem] prominently.” “I’m sorry,” Kennedy said. “Safe America Media was a company formed 11 days before you picked them. And that the Strategy Group got most of the money. And the head of that is married to your former spokesperson.” “It’s just hard for me to believe knowing the president as I do, that you said, ‘Mr. President, here’s some ads I’ve cut, and I’m going to spend $220 million running them,’ that he would have agreed to that,” Kennedy explained. “I don’t think Russ Vought at OMB [Office of Management and Budget] would have agreed to that.” ‘YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!’: PROTESTER DRAGGED FROM KRISTI NOEM’S SENATE HEARING The Strategy Group is a conservative advertising agency for which Yoho serves as CEO. Figures obtained by Fox News Digital show a slightly lesser total advertising expenditure of approximately $185 million, with a total of roughly $146.5 million going to a campaign called “Save America.” However, of the total that went to “Save America,” roughly $348,000 went to production costs, while the remaining $142 million went to “media buys.” Sources at DHS say that media buys are the cost of actually buying the ads themselves, whether purchased from social media or for a TV ad. Kennedy also alleged that the bidding process for the contracts never took place and that Safe America Media’s recent founding was a cause for concern and collusion between McLaughlin and her husband’s business. WATCH THE MOST VIRAL MOMENTS AS KRISTI NOEM’S HEARING GOES OFF THE RAILS “Yes they did,” Noem responded during the hearing. “They went out to a competitive bid, and career officials at the department chose who would do those advertising commercials.” The Strategy Group posted to X Tuesday that it never had a contract with the department. While it did receive several hundred thousand dollars for production costs associated with the advertising campaigns, The Strategy Group never made millions. “The Strategy Group has never had a contract with DHS,” the post said. “We had a subcontract with Safe America [Media] for limited production services. Safe America paid us $226,137.17 total for 5 film shoots, 45 produced video advertisements and 6 produced radio advertisements. DHS SPOKESWOMAN TRICIA MCLAUGHLIN TO LEAVE TRUMP ADMIN, SOURCE CONFIRMS “If you’re going to try to question our integrity, bring actual evidence — we did,” the post concluded. Because these ads were purchased using public funds, all contract totals are publicly available. Lauren Bis, who took up the role of assistant secretary once McLaughlin left office, told Fox News Digital Tuesday that scrutiny from Republicans and Democrats over the advertising spending was unjustified because the campaigns resulted in “the most successful ad campaign in U.S. history.” “Sanctuary politicians are attacking this ad campaign because it has been successful in CLOSING our borders and getting more than 2.2 million illegal aliens to LEAVE the U.S.,” Bis said. “The DHS domestic and international ad campaign was the most successful ad campaign in U.S. history. The results speak for themselves: 2.2 million illegal aliens self-deported, and we now have the most secure border in American history.” KRISTI NOEM TO FACE SENATE GRILLING OVER MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTINGS AS DHS SHUTDOWN HITS WEEK 3 Bis also compared the cost of arresting and deporting an illegal migrant to that of the minimal cost of an illegal migrant self-deporting. The department says the advertising campaign played a key role in marketing self-deportation. A spokesperson at DHS also told Fox News Digital that contractors decide who they hire, fulfilling the terms of a contract, not the department itself. “By law, DHS cannot and does not determine, control or weigh in on who contractors hire or use to fulfill the terms of the contract,” a DHS spokesperson told Fox. “Those decisions are made by the contractor alone. We have only become aware of these companies because of this inquiry and did not hire those companies.” The spokesperson also noted that McLaughlin “recused herself” from interactions with subcontractors to avoid “any perceived appearance of impropriety.” “Upon hearing who the subcontractors were for production of the ad, Ms. McLaughlin recused herself from any interaction or engagement with any subcontractors to avoid any perceived appearance of impropriety,” the spokesperson continued. “DHS Office of Public Affairs is the program officer. Ms. McLaughlin oversees the DHS Office of Public Affairs, which is simply the vehicle for this contract.” McLaughlin told Fox News Digital the criticism of her and her family by senators at the hearing is a matter of public manipulation. “This is yet another example of politicians intentionally trying to dupe and manipulate the public to try to manufacture division and anger,” McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. “The ad spend and contracts are a matter of public record, and the process was done by the book. “These politicians would rather smear private citizens and American small businesses than do any basic research.”