Sheriffs would be required to cooperate with immigration agents under bill approved by Senate
Senate Bill 8 would require sheriffs in urban counties to enter into 287g agreements with ICE, which can then train deputies and jailers on how to identify and apprehend undocumented immigrants.
Bill requiring voters to show proof of citizenship clears Texas Senate
Senate Bill 16 would create new barriers for voters and new burdens for election officials.
Former DeSantis official defeats Dem for Matt Gaetz’s House seat
Republican Jimmy Patronis, the former Florida chief financial officer under Gov. Ron DeSantis, fended off his Democrat opponent and successfully won the race to succeed former Rep. Matt Gaetz in Florida’s special election on Tuesday. President Donald Trump notably carried the district by 37 points in the 2024 election. The 1st Congressional District special election, in addition to the one in the 6th District to replace U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, are being viewed by some as early referendums for Trump’s second term. HAWLEY OFFICIALLY A YES ON DR. OZ AFTER SECURING COMMITMENTS ON TRANSGENDER, ABORTION ISSUES Trump voiced his support for Patronis on Tuesday morning, urging people to vote. “Jimmy Patronis, Chief Financial Officer and Fire Marshall for the Great State of Florida, is running an incredible Campaign for Congress in Florida’s 1st Congressional District!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “A fourth generation Floridian from the beautiful Panhandle, and owner of an iconic seafood restaurant, Jimmy has been a wonderful friend to me, and to MAGA. As your next Congressman, Jimmy will fight hard alongside of me to Grow our Economy, Cut Taxes, Secure our Border, Stop Migrant Crime, Strengthen our Brave Military/Vets, Restore American Energy DOMINANCE, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.” ‘BLINDSIDED’: HOW STEFANIK’S TRUMP NOMINATION AS UN AMBASSADOR IMPLODED “Florida, Election Day is TODAY. GET OUT AND VOTE FOR JIMMY PATRONIS. Jimmy has my Complete and Total Endorsement — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!,” Trump added. The Republicans had an advantage in Patronis’ race, but Valimont managed to significantly outraise her opponent, which flashed some warning signs. HOW TRUMP-BLOCKING JUDGES MANAGED TO GET PAST SENATE JUDICIARY HAWKS Her fundraising topped the Republican’s by a nearly five-to-one margin. Gaetz resigned from the House of Representatives last year after Trump revealed his plan to nominate him to be attorney general. However, it became clear that the controversial House Republican had an uphill battle to get support from GOP senators. JOSH HAWLEY BELIEVES HIS BILL CAN STOP ‘RESISTANCE’ JUDGES FROM ‘PROVOKING A CRISIS’ Just days after Trump’s announcement, and after a number of meetings in the Senate, Gaetz officially withdrew from consideration. Pam Bondi was then nominated by Trump for the role and ultimately confirmed as attorney general.
GOP state senator wins Florida special election, extends GOP House majority
Trump-endorsed Republican state Sen. Randy Fine emerged victorious in one-of-two special elections in the Sunshine State on Tuesday night. Fine will be taking over former Congressman Mike Waltz’s seat in Florida’s 6th Congressional District, after Waltz vacated the seat to become President Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor. Fine outlasted Democrat Josh Weil, a public school employee and political newcomer who raised nearly 10 times more than Fine. Florida’s sixth district, located on the Sunshine State’s Atlantic coast from Daytona Beach to just south of Saint Augustine and inland to the outskirts of Ocala, was carried overwhelmingly by former GOP congressman Waltz in 2024. President Trump also won the 6th Congressional District in 2024 by a significant margin – 30 points. SCOOP: TRUMP ALLY DONALDS SHOWCASES CAMPAIGN CASH SURGE SINCE ANNOUNCING FLORIDA GOVERNOR RUN The Republican’s victory came in the closest election for Florida’s sixth district since 2018, when former Congressman Waltz beat out his Democrat opponent by13 points. Each subsequent election, Waltz won at least 60% of the vote. Tuesday’s unusually close race, widely seen as a referendum on President Trump’s first few months in office, carries implications for the broader battle for power in Congress. There were fears that a loss in both, or either, of Florida’s Tuesday special elections would deal a significant blow to the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, which has dwindled since Trump plucked numerous Republican House members, such as Waltz, to join his cabinet. CORY BOOKER STAFFER ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY CARRYING PISTOL WITHOUT LICENSE AT CAPITOL Amid these concerns, GOP New York Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination to be Trump’s Ambassador to the United Nations was pulled. Weil’s ability to drum up a campaign war chest worth nearly $10 million, dwarfed Fine’s which held a little under $1 million. However, in the final week before Tuesday’s election, outside Republican-aligned groups doled out around $1 million for advertising in an attempt to help boost Fine. Tuesday’s victory notches one more seat in the House for Republicans, expanding their slim five-vote majority by one more. Following Tuesday’s victory President Trump took to social media to congratulate Fine and Fine thanked the President for his support.
NSC confirms Mike Waltz and staff used Gmail for government communication
The National Security Council (NSC) has clarified reporting about National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and his staffers using personal Gmail accounts for government communications. A report published by the Washington Post on Tuesday claimed that one of Waltz’s senior aides used Gmail “for highly technical conversations with colleagues at other government agencies involving sensitive military positions and powerful weapons systems relating to an ongoing conflict,” according to the piece. “While the NSC official used his Gmail account, his interagency colleagues used government-issued accounts, headers from the email correspondence show,” the Post reported. The piece comes a week after Waltz took responsibility for one of his staffers accidentally adding The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a sensitive Signal chat with other officials, including Vice President JD Vance. TRUMP ADMIN REVIEWING BILLIONS IN GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS, GRANTS FOR HARVARD AMID ANTISEMITISM ALLEGATIONS NSC spokesperson Brian Hughes told Fox News on Tuesday that the Post report was an attempt “to distract the American people from President Trump’s successful national security agenda that’s protecting our nation.” “Let me reiterate, NSA Waltz received emails and calendar invites from legacy contacts on his personal email and cc’d government accounts for anything since January 20th to ensure compliance with records retention, and he has never sent classified material over his personal email account or any unsecured platform,” Hughes said. Hughes said that he could not verify the Post’s report about the senior NSC official because the journalist “refused to share any part of the document reported.” TRUMP ANNOUNCES PLAN TO CHOP DOWN MAGNOLIA TREE PURPORTEDLY PLANTED BY ANDREW JACKSON: ‘MUST COME TO AN END’ “Any correspondence containing classified material must only be sent through secure channels and all NSC staff are informed of this,” the official said. “It is also made clear to NSC personnel that any non-government correspondence must be captured and retained for record compliance.” Speaking to a room full of reporters last week, President Donald Trump said he believes Waltz is “doing his best,” and did not fault him for the Signal leak. “I don’t think he should apologize,” the president said. “I think he’s doing his best. It’s equipment and technology that’s not perfect.” “And, probably, he won’t be using it again, at least not in the very near future,” Trump continued.
Republicans seek to block the reappointment of UN official accused of antisemitism
The House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) is demanding that the United Nations not reappoint Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., who chairs the committee, is leading the charge to oppose Albanese. In a letter to U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) President Jürg Lauber, the committee accuses Albanese of failing to uphold the council’s code of conduct. They also condemn Albanese for comments she made about Israel in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks. “Albanese unapologetically uses her position as a UN Special Rapporteur to purvey and attempt to legitimize antisemitic tropes, while serving as a Hamas apologist,” the committee wrote in its letter. “In her malicious fixation, she has even called for Israel to be removed from the United Nations while likening Israel to apartheid South Africa.” HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL BLOCKS WATCHDOG CHIEF FROM CRITICIZING UN OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF ANTISEMITISM The committee not only criticized Albanese but also slammed the UNHRC, saying its leaders “allowed antisemitism and anti-Americanism to thrive within, with a seeming unwillingness to hold the most egregious violators of human rights to account.” “Francesca Albanese is an unabashed anti-Israel activist who has consistently done the bidding of Hamas terrorists responsible for the heinous October 7th attacks. Her appointment is a disgrace to the U.N. It’s time for the U.N. to claw back the integrity and accountability it has surrendered,” Mast told Fox News Digital. U.N. Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer lauded the “much needed” action from Congress. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Neuer said that Albanese’s reappointment would be “unlawful” and called for “consequences” from the U.S. if she visits the country. “Francesca Albanese openly supports Hamas, spreads antisemitic tropes, and tramples the U.N.’s own Code of Conduct. Under the U.N.’s own rules, the president of the Human Rights Council is now duty-bound to convey to the plenary this and other substantial objections that have been submitted, and for the delegates to formally consider Albanese’s many violations. And yet every indication is that the 47-member body — with the EU’s complicity — is instead barreling ahead with Albanese’s reappointment,” Neuer said in a statement to Fox News Digital. Albanese, who was appointed special rapporteur in 2022, has been condemned by the governments of multiple countries and faced accusations of antisemitism. Her response to French President Emmanuel Macron calling the Oct. 7 attacks “the largest antisemitic massacre of our century” sparked backlash from France, the U.S. and Germany. The U.S. slammed Albanese for her “history of using antisemitic tropes,” and said her comments were “justifying, dismissing [and] denying the antisemitic undertones of Hamas’ October 7 attack are unacceptable [and] antisemitic.” The French Mission to the U.N. condemned Albanese’s response in a post on X. According to the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) translation, the post read: “The October 7 massacre is the largest antisemitic massacre of the 21st century. To deny it is wrong. To seem to justify it, by bringing in the name of the United Nations, is a shame.” This was just a few months after the mission condemned her “hate speech and antisemitism.” Germany retweeted France’s statement and said, “To justify the horrific terror attacks of 7/10 & deny their antisemitic nature is appalling. Making such statements in a UN capacity is a disgrace and goes against everything the United Nations stands for.” The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Zeldin to visit border where ‘disgusting Mexican sewage’ is harming US environment
Lee Zeldin, who heads the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), on Tuesday said she plans to visit the California-Mexico border to address issues pertaining to the “disgusting Mexican sewage” flowing into the United States. Zeldin will assess the toxic waste and sewage runoff from the Tijuana River, which has resulted in beach closures in San Diego County. ‘I’ll be visiting the California-Mexico border in the coming weeks where disgusting Mexican sewage is harming our precious environment in the United States,” Zeldin wrote on X. “Permanent solutions must be urgently implemented by Mexico to end decades of their filthy sewage flowing into the U.S. TRUMP STILL NEEDS CONGRESS’ HELP WITH PLAN TO ABOLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT Fox News Digital has reached out to the EPA. The issue of untreated sewage flowing from Tijuana, Mexico, into San Diego’s beaches was exacerbated earlier this year, when, in January, the Hollister Wastewater Pump Station, which transfers sewage from Tijuana to the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, malfunctioned and spilled approximately 30,000 gallons of sewage into the river. San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who has raised the issue in the past, said he looks forward to Zeldin’s visit. In an X post last month, Desmond called it “one of the biggest environmental and public health crises.” “This isn’t just a nuisance — it’s a danger. Our Navy SEALs train just north of this toxic mess,” Desmond wrote. “Local families are exposed to contaminated water. Tourism suffers. And, yet, the State of California continues to look the other way. Many politicians have made promises — but delivered nothing. That ends now.” He said Mexico has failed to fix the problem and the U.S. has failed to hold the Mexican government accountable. In 2018, a broken sewage pipe in Mexico resulted in millions of gallons of sewage spilling into the Tijuana River, and eventually, the Pacific Ocean. Around 12 miles of beach from the border northward had to be closed at the time. Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.
Legislation creating statewide emergency communication system advances in Texas House
The legislation was written after the state’s largest wildfire scorched more than 1 million acres in the Panhandle last year.
Republicans, Democrats trade barbs in heated hearing on activist judges blocking Trump agenda
Democrats and Republicans repeatedly clashed on Tuesday during a lengthy hearing on what the GOP calls “activist judges” blocking President Donald Trump’s agenda. The House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittees on the Constitution and on courts held the joint hearing in preparation for a House-wide vote on legislation that would limit district judges’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions. That bill is currently stalled, however, after an unrelated fight on proxy voting paralyzed the House floor. During the hearing, Democrats repeatedly tried to press Republicans on the issue of judicial impeachments — something pushed by conservatives but that House GOP leaders have shown little appetite for pursuing. WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS? “Some guy I’ve never heard of, he, might be in Congress, introduced an impeachment resolution, and he’s not here,” Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said of an impeachment resolution targeting U.S. district Judge James Boasberg by Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas. “He hasn’t been here for at least the last hour, and every witness here is in agreement that we really shouldn’t be impeaching judges. I haven’t heard a single colleague on the other side say we should be impeaching judges.” Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who was co-chairing the hearing alongside Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, asked Swalwell to yield his time — but the California Democrat refused. “I don’t think they have anything to talk about with the bills, since they offered a similar bill, and even the solicitor general, as late as October of last year in the Biden administration, wanted exactly what we’re moving out of committee today,” Issa told Fox News Digital about Democrats’ ploy. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., compared conservatives’ push to impeach judges to House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry efforts into former President Joe Biden — which ultimately did not end in any such proceedings. “I guess we’re taking a page out of [House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer’s] playbook, we’re just doing fake impeachments,” Moskowitz told Fox News Digital. But Roy, who co-led the hearing with Issa, told Fox News Digital it was about “trying to make clear that you’ve got a handful of judges acting, clearly politically, to stop the administration from acting.” “It’s pretty clear that my Democratic colleagues prefer to defend the right of an MS-13 gang member, clearly here illegally, from being deported,” Roy said. ‘WOEFULLY INSUFFICIENT’: US JUDGE REAMS TRUMP ADMIN FOR DAYS-LATE DEPORTATION INFO But Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., another member of the committee, said at least one goal was to “raise the profile of the issue.” “Maybe the more headlines a hearing like this gets, it clearly sets it on the plate of Chief Justice Roberts, right, to take action and try to get control of the courts again,” he said. It’s not immediately clear when Issa’s bill will get a vote, after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced House floor activity was canceled for the rest of this week.
FBI to increase personnel in field offices to address violent crimes in Native American communities
The Trump administration will surge FBI resources across the country to address unsolved violent crimes in lands inhabited by Native American tribes, including crimes related to missing persons and the murders of indigenous persons. Under “Operation Not Forgotten,” the FBI will send 60 personnel to various parts of “Indian Country” over a six-month period where they will rotate in 90-day temporary assignments, the Justice Department announced Tuesday. The additional personnel will support FBI field offices in Albuquerque; Denver; Detroit; Jackson, Miss.; Minneapolis; Oklahoma City; Phoenix; Portland, Oreg.; Seattle; and Salt Lake City. TRIBES BLAST SOUTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR ‘S CLAIM THAT LEADERS ARE BENEFITTING FROM DRUG CARTELS The announcement came a day after the FBI field office in Albuquerque said a man admitted to killing an Indigenous artist following a November 2021 argument. DeAnna Autumn Leaf Suazo, a talented artist and the daughter of Native American artists Geraldine Tso, a Navajo artist, and David Gary Suazo, a Taos Pueblo painter, was killed by her boyfriend, Santiago Martinez, the FBI said. “Crime rates in American Indian and Alaska Native communities are unacceptably high,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “By surging FBI resources and collaborating closely with U.S. Attorneys and Tribal law enforcement to prosecute cases, the Department of Justice will help deliver the accountability that these communities deserve.” The FBI will work with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal law enforcement agencies, authorities said. Fox News Digital has reached out to the BIA. Crime continues to persist in Native American communities, the Justice Department said. Beginning in fiscal year 2025, the FBI’s Indian Country program had around 4,300 open investigations, including more than 900 death investigations, 1,000 for child abuse and more than 500 for domestic violence and sexual abuse. In a statement, FBI Director Kash Patel said his agency will “manhunt violent criminals on all lands.” In 2019, Trump signed an executive order during his first term establishing the Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. The order was aimed at addressing the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous people, particularly women and girls. Tuesday’s announcement will be the third iteration of Operation Not Forgotten, which has provided investigative support to over 500 cases in the past two years. The operations resulted in the recovery of 10 child victims, 52 arrests, and 25 indictments or judicial complaints.