Pritzker seeks sympathy from Pope Leo over Trump’s Chicago immigration ‘blitz’
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker was granted an audience with fellow Illini Pope Leo XIV, where the two exchanged gifts and discussed their collective criticisms of President Donald Trump’s “Operation Midway Blitz” ICE enforcement mission. “Pope Leo XIV’s message of hope, compassion, unity and peace resonates with Illinoisans of all faiths and traditions,” Pritzker said in a statement after the meeting, which was set up with the help of Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich. Pritzker and Leo reportedly discussed their reservations about the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations in Illinois and Chicago, specifically, with the governor saying that the pope agreed with his feeling of pride that “the people of Chicago stood up against the oppression that’s been brought on immigrants.” Pritzker told Chicago’s NBC affiliate that the pope has strong feelings about ICE’s activities and that the pontiff wanted to hear Pritzker’s views and asked questions about the state of Midway Blitz. TRUMP OFFICIALS SLAM BLUE STATE GOVERNOR FOR IGNORING CHAOTIC ANTI-ICE ‘RIOTERS’ DISRUPTING OPERATION Leo was reportedly heartened when told the operation appeared to be winding down in Chicago, according to Pritzker’s comments. Earlier this month, a group of U.S. bishops released a statement supported by Leo that criticized some of ICE’s operations – including mass deportations – and spoke of public fears about the missions. Released from Baltimore, the statement – endorsed by a vote of 216-5 with three clergy abstaining – read in part that bishops are “bound to our people by ties of communion and compassion in Our Lord Jesus Christ [and] are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement.” BORDER PATROL CHIEF FIRES BACK AFTER PRITZKER CALLS FEDERAL OPERATIONS ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL INVASION’ Leo had also called into question whether people who oppose abortion but agree with the “inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States” can be considered “pro-life.” “If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that. There are courts; there’s a system of justice,” he told the Italian press at the time, adding that leaders should look for ways to treat people with dignity while enforcing the law. But, he added that every nation has its own right to determine immigration procedures and laws. POPE LEO XIV STRONGLY SUPPORTS US BISHOPS’ CONDEMNATION OF TRUMP IMMIGRATION RAIDS: ‘EXTREMELY DISRESPECTFUL’ “No one has said that the United States should have open borders,” Leo, born Robert Prevost, said. Pritzker said of his audience that “you could feel [the pope’s] humanity.” “It was a special moment, even for this Jewish boy,” he said. The governor also invited Leo to visit Chicago and presented him with a case of “Da Pope” beer from local Illinois brewery, Burning Bush. “We’ll put that in the fridge,” the pope quipped as he smiled at the gift. The last papal visit to Chicago was in 1979 when John Paul II held an audience at Grant Park, according to Capitol News Illinois.
86 Dems vote with Republicans to condemn socialism in wake of Mamdani’s mayoral victory
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted in favor of a resolution condemning socialism Friday morning, with several Democrats crossing the aisle to rebuke “socialist policies” in the U.S. following Zohran Mamdani’s recent election as the mayor-elect of New York City. Eighty-six Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the measure in a 285-98 vote. Two members, Rep. Deborah Ross, D-Pa., and Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Ore., voted present. Notably, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. — who endorsed Mamdani just days before the mayoral election — also voted in favor of the measure. The resolution, introduced by Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., highlights a list of the economic system’s failures and serves as a rebuke of political forces inching toward more socialist platforms. Among other items, it asserts that socialism has led to famine and mass murder under the Cuban Castro regime, the Chinese rule of Mao Zedong, the ongoing Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro and others. “Resolved by the House of Representatives that Congress denounces socialism in all its forms and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States,” the text reads. SOCIALIST WAVE GOES COAST-TO-COAST AS HISTORIC WINS SHAKE UP THE 2025 MAYORAL ELECTIONS While the resolution itself isn’t binding, the congressional rebuke comes as socialism — and its political momentum — have taken up a larger share of the national spotlight in recent months. Progressive candidates like Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and others have continued to push for an increased government role in public services like healthcare and education. That’s dovetailed with new champions of progressive policies like Mamdani, a self-described socialist. The resolution also comes as Mamdani is set to meet with President Donald Trump on Friday. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said he believes socialism is incompatible with the American ideal of freedom. He applauded the resolution on Friday morning. “It always leads to a destruction of liberties for people,” Donalds said of socialism. DEMOCRATS DID START THE FIRE OF SOCIALISM. NOW, THEY ARE AFRAID IT WILL BURN THEM He noted that socialism requires a top-down structure of authority to manage the distribution of resources. That, he believes, is a trait shared by other forms of oppressive government. “We have a responsibility to defend the American core of capitalism, free markets and liberty [against] socialism, democratic socialism, communism, authoritarianism, fascism,” Donalds said. While increasingly progressive wings of the Democratic Party have enjoyed momentum in recent months at a time when the party has struggled to unite behind a cohesive brand, not all Democrat lawmakers view socialism’s emergence as something the party should embrace. Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., one of the members who voted for the disapproval resolution on Friday, has opposed overtly socialist platforms, urging his Democrat colleagues to return to a more centrist path. REPUBLICANS PUSH TO MAKE MAMDANI THE NEW FACE OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY “I talk about being a new kind of old-fashioned Democrat and giving policy prescriptions about what we need to do to address people’s concerns about the economy and affordability and the cost of living and wages,” Suozzi wrote on X earlier this month. “The answer is not the populism of Donald Trump or Zohran Mamdani — it’s about giving specific policy prescriptions.”
Trump flips Dems’ ‘affordability’ script, turning buzzword into MAGA material as Mamdani visit looms
“Affordability” was the hot-button word on the 2025 campaign trail, as Democrats separated themselves from the Biden-era economy and lobbed attacks on President Donald Trump for current cost of living woes. And on Friday, the main champion of the “affordability” platform in the 2025 election cycle, socialist New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, will travel to the White House for his first meeting with Trump. The socialist candidate, who was relatively unknown until his primary defeat against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, hammered home during his campaign that his policies would ease New Yorkers’ notoriously high housing prices, cut food costs and bring down the cost of living overall — including by hiking taxes on the wealthy and corporations to bridge the financial gap. LIZ PEEK: WHY EVERY ‘AFFORDABLE’ PROMISE FROM DEMOCRATS ENDS UP COSTING YOU MORE “I know that for tens of thousands of New Yorkers, this meeting is between two very different candidates who they voted for, for the same reason,” Mamdani said Thursday about his meeting with Trump. “They wanted a leader who would take on the cost-of-living crisis. That makes it impossible for working people to afford living in this city.” A winning economic strategy is nothing new to the president, however, considering his first administration and 2024 election platform focused on pulling the U.S. out of an economic hole. And Trump is making moves to lay claim over the word “affordability” while taking shots at the Biden administration’s record on prices. “The word is affordable and affordable. It should be our word, not theirs,” Trump said Monday evening during McDonald’s Impact Summit 2025 in Washington. “Because the Democrats got up in affordability, the front of it. And they don’t say that they had the worst inflation in history, the highest energy prices in history. Everything was the worst. What? The great ad is lying. They say affordability. This stuff was all much more expensive.” The White House told Fox News Digital Tuesday that Democrats don’t have “a leg to stand on” with the economy following the Biden administration, which saw inflation spike to the highest levels in nearly 40 years, while arguing Trump has focused on real-life deals that translate to American jobs and lower costs since his first day back in office. To the White House, Fox Digital learned, Democrats touting the word “affordability” is simultaneously an act of “desperation” following their 2024 losses, as well as “meaningless” as there’s a “difference between talking about a problem and then actually doing something about it.” Fox News Digital took a look back at how “affordability” grew in prominence as a top campaign platform in 2025 among Democrats, and Trump’s history of employing variations of the word “affordable” in his political efforts. “Make America Affordable Again” was touted at points by the 2024 Trump campaign, while the president signed an executive order under his first administration related to “affordable housing,” and the White House celebrating in 2020 that Trump was improving “the affordability and accessibility of life-saving prescription drugs.” “We will target everything from car affordability to housing affordability to insurance costs to supply chain issues,” Trump said from the campaign trail in North Carolina in 2024, The New York Times reported. The president, however, has largely steered clear of the word “affordability” in his public remarks and social media posts, instead focusing his language around tariffs and paying off the national debt, increasing the U.S. job market, onshoring companies that moved overseas and hitting back at the inflation woes that spiraled under the Biden administration and continue to loom over the Trump economy. The White House pointed to a bevy of deals Trump has made since his return to the Oval Office that underscore his focus on affordability for the American people: cutting regulations to unleash American energy to lower fuel and other costs, multiple deals to lower drug prices and attracting business to set up shop on U.S. soil to promote American jobs. The White House said that it is in the midst of “cleaning up” the woes left behind by the Biden administration, with an official telling Fox News Digital: “They got us in this mess in the first place.” Voters casting ballots for Democrats in the name of affordability “is like hiring the arsonists to put out the fire,” former Republican Kentucky Congressman and 2026 Senate candidate Andy Barr remarked to Fox News Digital. “Complete Democrat control of Washington brought us the highest inflation in decades,” he said. “President Trump and Republicans already delivered the lowest gas prices in years, the largest tax cut in history, and will keep fighting to Make America Great Again.” Just on Tuesday, the White House hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, where he announced that Saudi Arabia was increasing its planned investment into the U.S. economy to nearly $1 trillion, up from $600 billion in May. The deal translates to Americans directly benefiting, with the White House pointing to GE Vernova, an energy equipment manufacturing company, as it celebrates the investment and its impact on American jobs. SETTING THE STAGE: WHAT THE 2025 ELECTIONS SIGNAL FOR NEXT YEAR’S MIDTERM SHOWDOWNS David Broomwell, who oversees three GE Vernova factories, said during the Oval Office meeting Tuesday, “If you look at the landscape for GE Vernova investment, over $750 million in the U.S. focused on true manufacture, bring jobs here stateside. We’re looking at tripling the output of our Greenville, South Carolina facility where we make the gas turbines that are supporting U.S. needs as well as the Saudi Arabia needs. So real jobs, $300 million in gas investment, resulting in over 500 pieces of new equipment being installed in the Greenville, South Carolina facility. That translates into roughly 1,800 jobs across the board for GE Vernova.” IT’S NOT JUST THE ECONOMY — THIS IS HOW DEMOCRATS BEAT THE GOP ACROSS THE COUNTRY Just more than a year ago, economic anxiety under the Biden administration came to a vigorous boil and the election was thrown
As ICE readies ‘Swamp Sweep,’ Mississippi pledges to aid — not block — federal crackdown
EXCLUSIVE: Mississippi’s top law enforcement officer said the Magnolia State will welcome ICE agents with open arms compared to their clashes with public officials in California, Illinois and North Carolina – as reports surfaced of an upcoming “Swamp Sweep.” The Department of Homeland Security is preparing to send 250 border agents to areas in Mississippi and Louisiana for a two-month crackdown, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch told Fox News Digital on Thursday that her office is proud to have been the first in the state to sign on as a formal ICE law enforcement partner. “We look forward to working with Secretary Noem and the president to protect our communities and strengthen our efforts to combat human trafficking, drug cartels, and violent crime,” Fitch said. ALABAMA CONDUCTS FIRST STATE-FEDERAL CHECKPOINT OPERATIONS WITH ICE, DETAINING OVER 20 PEOPLE “Together, we will make Mississippi – and our entire nation – safer than ever before.” Another top Mississippi official, U.S. Rep. Michael Guest, chairs the House Homeland Security Subcommittee for Border Security and Enforcement. Guest’s district runs close to New Orleans, spanning diagonally from Starkville – home of Mississippi State University – down to McComb, just north of the New Orleans metro, where the operation will reportedly have a key focus. DHS ‘BLITZES’ CHICAGOLAND, NETTING ‘MANY ARRESTS’ AS NOEM ONSITE FOR IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN “The men and women of ICE and CBP have been tasked with enforcing the law and working to remove the 15 million illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States,” Guest told Fox News Digital. Guest praised ICE for successfully removing unlawfully present people charged and convicted of serious crimes, including offenses against children and suspects who pose a danger to local communities. “I am confident that Operation ‘Swamp Sweep’ will have the same success as other operations across our nation,” Guest said. 250 BORDER AGENTS TO DEPLOY TO LOUISIANA FOR ‘SWAMP SWEEP,’ REPORT SAYS “This will result in locating, arresting, and deporting criminal illegal aliens who are residing in Mississippi.” Rep. Trent Kelly, R-Miss. – who represents Memphis’ southern suburbs as well as Elvis Presley’s hometown of Tupelo – told Fox News Digital he also supports ICE’s mission. “I am in favor of getting any criminal illegal immigrant off the streets,” Kelly said. DHS ARRESTS CHICAGO’S ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ AMID SURGE IN DOMESTIC TERROR ATTACKS “And I support law enforcement in their efforts to keep our communities safe.” When asked about the “Swamp Sweep” mission, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said her agency does not discuss future or potential operations. “Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country,” she said. In prior ICE operations, DHS was buffeted by official and legal roadblocks tossed in their way by local leaders. California officials condemned President Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard, while Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson reportedly conceived “No ICE” zones and compared Trump’s government to the Confederacy. Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves did not respond to requests for comment on “Swamp Sweep.” Fox News Digital also reached out to Mississippi’s most prominent Democrat and Trump critic, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Hinds County, but he did not respond to a request for comment. Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mamdani struggles to explain how he’ll fund free buses
Throughout his campaign, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani promised free bus rides for people in the Big Apple — but now that he’s won the election, he faces the practical problem of securing the funding to realize such a policy, and it’s unclear whether he’ll ever be able to fulfill his pledge. PIX11’s Dan Mannarino pressed Mamdani about how he plans to secure the money for the proposal if New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is not in favor of raising taxes. Mamdani opined that the “clearest ways” to obtain the money would be by increasing the state’s corporate tax or through personal income tax on people who earn more than $1 million per year. But he added that “the most important fact is that we fund it, not the question of how we do it, but that we do it.” AOC SOUNDS OFF ON TRUMP-MAMDANI MEETING AS NYC’S MAYOR-ELECT PREPARES TO TAKE OFFICE Mamdani’s campaign has laid out proposals including “Raising the top state Corporate Tax rate to 11.5 percent” and “Adding a 2 percent New York City Income Tax for anyone making more than $1 million a year.” The self-described democratic socialist trumpeted his free bus policy as a key plank of his Big Apple mayoral campaign. NYC MAYOR-ELECT MAMDANI ASKS SUPPORTERS FOR $4M TO FUND TRANSITION, VOWS NO WEALTHY DONORS But when Mannarino asked Hochul earlier this year whether she’d support tax hikes, Gov. Kathy Hochul slapped down the idea, saying that she’s “not raising taxes on people at a time when affordability is the big issue.” NY GOVERNOR POURS COLD WATER ON MAMDANI FREE BUS PLAN “Free buses are an investment in our people and our economy — helping workers, small businesses, and every New Yorker who deserves a more connected city,” Mamdani said in a Thursday post on X.
Republicans get serious on housing crisis with high-profile conservative influencer leading the charge
FIRST ON FOX: Conservative influencer Benny Johnson is leading a new initiative to “Make Housing Great Again” amid concerns that Millennials and Gen Z are being pushed out of homeownership by rising costs, stagnant wages and regulatory burdens. The new initiative, which is being announced Friday, will be led by the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) with help from Johnson, who will be the initiative’s co-chair and national spokesperson, serving as the voice of the initiative. Johnson will also help lead a business advisory council related to making housing more affordable. “Benny has 4 million followers. He is, you know, so influential. He’s been talking about this a lot on his own social media platforms, and so he is the perfect person to help deliver the policies,” Ashley Hayek, AFPI’s executive vice president and co-chair of the initiative, told Fox News Digital. “He has young children. I have young children. And for us, we are both very fired up about this issue.” I WORKED WITH CHARLIE KIRK FOR MORE THAN A DECADE. AMERICA LOST A FUTURE PRESIDENT Hayek pointed out that advocating for policy is, at least in part, a messaging war, and Johnson’s ability to articulate himself well will help with that. Additionally, he has the attention of many young people, who Hayek noted often aren’t aware of the tools out there to help them buy a home. Greg Sindelar, AFPI’s interim president, added that the current culture in the United States “too often diminishes traditional aspirations,” like homeownership and building a family, which has taken a toll on younger generations. Even Democrats tend to agree. Former Democrat congressman and ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post in August explaining how the increased difficulty of homeownership is depressing young men, particularly due to the fact that buying a home is often seen as such a pivotal part of achieving the American Dream. “Rising costs, stagnant wages, regulatory burdens, and a culture that too often diminishes traditional aspirations have left millions feeling directionless and forgotten,” Sindelar said. “AFPI is committed to reversing this trend by advancing meaningful, actionable policy solutions rooted in the principles of the America First movement.” BIPARTISAN PLAN AIMS TO MAKE THE AMERICAN DREAM AFFORDABLE AGAIN FOR MILLIONS OF FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS The new initiative, announced Friday, laid out a list of policy proposals it plans to advance across government of all levels. Among those proposals is a push to eliminate capital gains taxes on first home sales as long as they reinvest in another home within the following five years. This proposal is aimed at mirroring the spirit of President Donald Trump’s “Opportunity Zones” aimed at accelerating wealth and economic development for low-income communities. “Homes are too expensive and totally out of reach for young people. The slow death of the American Dream is happening before our eyes. It is a generational betrayal and we must reverse this trend by Making Housing Great Again,” Johnson told Fox News Digital. “Today, the average age of a first-time homebuyer in America is 40 years old. That is well past the optimal age for marriage and family creation. The battle for homeownership is a battle for our cultural and civilizational survival. We need more young people to get married and start families and that cannot happen without a culture of homeownership. We must deliver on this promise for our young people. The American Dream hangs in the balance.” Another proposal includes a push for the creation of “Home Savings Accounts” similar to a Health Savings Account (HSA) that allows individuals to contribute pre-tax dollars to pay for their healthcare needs. One proposal also includes a plan to reduce regulations and increase incentives across states and localities that have restricted the development of new housing supply. One example they point to is “green building standards,” which the initiative says bloats costs for builders. By getting rid of these regulations, they say that it will dramatically reduce the cost for builders, who will then in turn be able to increase supply. Other proposals include measures to stop predatory lending to young people, while promoting innovative housing like tiny homes. Tax-focused proposals are in the mix as well, such as a “Family Formation Mortgage Credit,” aimed at making family formation and homeownership financially synergistic. It will give families that marry and have a child within five years a $10,000 reduction on their mortgage through a refundable tax credit. The initiative will also push to double the child-tax credit for households filing their taxes jointly and own a home, or are planning to own one.
Unearthed FEC records expose Katie Porter’s hypocrisy after she fumes at ‘new billionaire’ joining race
After billionaire activist Tom Steyer entered the California gubernatorial race Wednesday, former Congresswoman Katie Porter, who is also running for governor, blasted him despite previously taking thousands of dollars from him when she was in Congress. Porter said Steyer was entering the race claiming to fight “the very industries he got rich helping grow,” to which the former member of Congress said: “I call bulls—.” Meanwhile, FEC filings show Porter, who is claiming to fight Steyer, received more than $16,000 between her House campaigns and failed Senate campaign. “Katie Porter is the ultimate hypocrite and all she’s done in this race is step on one rake after another,” a longtime Democratic strategist, who has worked with campaigns across the country, told Fox News Digital. “This is easily the most disastrous race a Democrat has been running in 2026, which is why Porter is a real liability at the top of the ticket and why Democrats are looking around for alternatives.” TOM STEYER MOUNTS CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL BID, JOINING CROWD OF CANDIDATES JOCKEYING TO SUCCEED NEWSOM The Porter campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment on this story. Steyer, who once financed his own unsuccessful presidential bid in 2020, announced plans to enter the California gubernatorial race this week. The billionaire anti-Trump activist pledged to make life more affordable for working-class Americans and take on corporate interests in an announcement advertisement alerting people of his candidacy. Steyer specifically said he would take on the oil and tobacco industries in particular, which he touted a record of doing in the past as well. “A new billionaire in our race claims he’ll fight the very industries he got rich helping grow — fossil fuel companies, tobacco, and private immigration detention facilities — at great cost to Californians,” Porter posted on X after Steyer announced his run. “I call bulls—.” Attached to Porter’s post was also a screenshot of a news headline from The Sacramento Bee that reads: “Tom Steyer, starring in TV ads for tobacco tax hike, invested in tobacco companies.” People commenting on Porter’s post highlighted her financial support she has received from Steyer in the past. Between 2018 and 2023, Porter received at least $16,100 from him, a Fox News Digital review found. CALIFORNIA PARENTS CONVICTED OF STABBING, DECAPITATING 2 CHILDREN AND FORCING OTHER KIDS TO SEE BODIES For Steyer, his wealth will likely be a target for his opponents. “Tom Steyer tried to buy the presidency — and he failed,” Betty Yee, a former state controller who is running in the Democratic Primary for governor, said following Steyer’s announcement. “The California governorship is not going to be his consolation prize.” Porter, meanwhile, has faced criticism on the campaign trail for her attitude towards staffers and the media. She faced criticism last month after abruptly walking away from a CBS interview after lashing out at the reporter interviewing her. “What do you say to the 40% of CA voters who you’ll need in order to win, who voted for Trump?” Porter was asked by CBS California’s Julie Watts during a segment on the controversial redistricting effort launched by Democrats in the state. “How would I need them in order to win, ma’am?” Porter responded. DID CALIFORNIA MISMANAGE THE DEADLY PALISADES FIRE? “Well, unless you think you’re going to get 60% of the vote,” the reporter, asking about the voter breakdown of Democrats and Republicans in the state, said before Porter started laughing. Porter then went back and forth with the reporter, arguing about whether she needs to court and win over Trump voters, particularly if she’s running head-to-head against another Democrat. “So you don’t need them to win,” Watts asked Porter. “I feel like this is unnecessarily argumentative,” Porter said, prompting the reporter to point out that she had asked the same question to the other candidates in the race and they answered it. “I don’t want to keep doing this, I’m going to call it,” Porter said. When Watts reminded Porter that every candidate had answered the question, Porter said, “I don’t care.” Meanwhile, Porter has also faced repeated criticism about how she allegedly treats staffers. In just a span of a single week, three videos went viral of Porter berating her staff. The race for California governor is a crowded one, with big names like former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. Former Vice President Kamala Harris was reportedly planning on getting involved but ultimately backed away. Lesser known candidates include state schools Superintendent Tony Thurmond, former Controller Betty Yee and former Assemblyman Ian Calderon.
Swastikas, nooses and Confederate flags designated Coast Guard ‘hate symbols’ after uproar
Facing backlash over recent policy wording, the Coast Guard moved Thursday to make one thing clear: “hate symbols” such as swastikas and nooses remain forbidden in the service. The Coast Guard announced a new order aimed at combating “misinformation” late Thursday, after the service previously issued guidance earlier in November to no longer refer to displays of swastikas and nooses as a “hate incident.” “Divisive or hate symbols and flags are prohibited,” the Coast Guard said in its latest policy. “These symbols and flags include, but are not limited to, the following: a noose, a swastika, and any symbols or flags co-opted or adopted by hate-based groups as representations of supremacy, racial or religious intolerance, anti-semitism, or any other improper bias.” ‘OPTICAL ILLUSION’ SWASTIKA FLAGS DISTRIBUTED TO MULTIPLE CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES PROMPT INVESTIGATION: SOURCES “This is not an updated policy but a new policy to combat any misinformation and double down that the U.S. Coast Guard forbids these symbols,” the Coast Guard also said in a news release late Thursday. The change came after the Coast Guard faced scrutiny from lawmakers and advocacy groups for a new policy it rolled out earlier in November. While the service previously identified displays of swastikas, nooses, Confederate flags and other supremacist or antisemitic symbols as a “potential hate incident,” the guidance issued earlier in November labeled them as “potentially divisive symbols and flags.” The change was first reported by The Washington Post. Following media reports about the change, Coast Guard claimed earlier Thursday that it remained committed to barring the symbols from the service and penalizing those who display them. Additionally, it said that it still considered the symbols “extremist imagery.” “The claims that the U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses or other extremist imagery as prohibited symbols are categorically false,” Adm. Kevin Lunday, acting commandant of the Coast Guard, said in a Thursday statement to Fox News Digital. “These symbols have been and remain prohibited in the Coast Guard per policy.” “Any display, use or promotion of such symbols, as always, will be thoroughly investigated and severely punished,” Lunday said. “The Coast Guard remains unwavering in its commitment to fostering a safe, respectful and professional workplace. Symbols such as swastikas, nooses and other extremist or racist imagery violate our core values and are treated with the seriousness they warrant under current policy.” Under the guidance released earlier in November, commanding officers and other leaders were instructed to inquire about public displays of other symbols identified as “potentially divisive,” and are granted the authority to direct or order the removal of those that negatively impact moral and mission readiness. HEGSETH, NOEM ON BOARD WITH ‘VITAL STEP’ TO CREATE COAST GUARD SECRETARY AMID TRUMP’S DRUG SMUGGLING CRACKDOWN The initial policy change also said it would completely eradicating the term “hate incident” and that incidents that were previously handled as a “potential hate incident” would not be processed as a harassment report. “Conduct previously handled as a potential hate incident, including those involving symbols widely identified with oppression or hatred, is processed as a report of harassment in cases with an identified aggrieved individual…The terminology ‘hate incident’ is no longer present in policy,” the initial guidance said. The Coast Guard did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on why it removed the term “hate incident” in the policy change. DHS RIPS HOUSTON HALLOWEEN DISPLAY DEPICTING HANGING OF ICE AGENTS, DEMANDS ‘SANCTUARY POLITICIANS’ STAND DOWN After the Post’s initial report on the update, the top Democrat on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington, said there is no room for debate over whether nooses or swastikas are hate symbols. “Lynching is a federal hate crime. The world defeated the Nazis in 1945. The debate on these symbols is over. They symbolize hate,” Larsen, whose committee has oversight authority over the Coast Guard, said in a statement Thursday. “Coast Guard: be better.” The Coast Guard is the only branch of the military to fall under the Department of Homeland Security, but has launched initiatives including Force Design 2028 to revamp its organizational structure, acquisitions, contracting and technology, among other changes, to align more closely with other services that fall under the purview of the Department of War. The Coast Guard initially said that it updated its harassment policy in alignment with orders from President Donald Trump and the Pentagon. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on the matter. However, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth instructed the Pentagon to conduct a review of its hazing and harassment policies in September. The Pentagon also has its own set of extremism guidelines, which effectively bans displaying Confederate flags or those with a swastika on them. Only preapproved flags, including state flags or military service flags, are permitted.
House Dem serving since 1993 announces she won’t seek re-election
Democratic Rep. Nydia Velázquez of New York — the first Puerto Rican woman ever elected to Congress — announced she will not seek re-election next year after more than three decades in office. “For more than three decades, I have had the privilege of a lifetime serving the people of New York City in the United States Congress. After much reflection, I have decided that this will be my last term in Congress. This was not an easy decision, but I believe that the time is right for me to move on and for a new generation of leaders to step forward,” she said in a statement. The long-serving lawmaker first took office in 1993 and has been a prominent member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus throughout her tenure. Velázquez used her announcement to criticize President Donald Trump’s administration, accusing it of “working to undermine civil rights and our democracy.” DEM REP. VELÁZQUEZ CALLS CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS ‘GENOCIDAL MANIAC’ ON HIS HOLIDAY Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment. “It has been a great honor to work with my colleague, friend, and fellow New Yorker, @NydiaVelazquez,” Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said in a post on X. “The first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress, Nydia ‘La Luchadora’ has been a progressive trailblazer and fighter for her district, the poor, and Puerto Rico.” ANOTHER HOUSE DEM DROPS OUT OF 2026 RAT RACE AS PARTY FACES GENERATIONAL RECKONING Velázquez and Nadler are both listed as members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “I know, most importantly, she will be a missed friend to progressive causes in the halls of Congress. Like her, I understand that there comes a time to pass the torch to the next generation to be the fighters in DC that we need,” Nadler noted in the post. DEMOCRATIC REP. JERRY NADLER WILL NOT SEEK REELECTION CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Nadler announced earlier this year that he will not pursue re-election in 2026.
House GOP campaign chair wants Trump ‘out there on the trail’ in midterm battle for majority
EXCLUSIVE: The chair of the House Republican campaign arm says the Democrats’ sweeping victories in this month’s 2025 elections are a “wake-up call” for GOP voters. And Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, who’s chairing the National Republican Congressional Committee for a second straight election cycle, said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital that he wants President Donald Trump “out there on the trail” in next year’s midterm elections, when the party defends its razor-thin House majority. Democrats won the only two races for governor this year, in New Jersey and Virginia, by double digits, and also scored big wins in ballot box showdowns in battlegrounds Georgia and Pennsylvania and left-tilting New York City and California. Plenty of Republicans have discounted the Democrats’ high-profile victories, since they mostly occurred in blue-leaning states, since they mostly occurred in blue-leaning states. KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE 2025 ELECTIONS Hudson noted the top elections took place in “Democrat states,” but added, “I think our big takeaway as Republicans is the Democrats were energized. They turned out at record levels. Republicans turned out in normal levels.” “I think there’s a wake-up call there to conservatives and Republicans who are happy with the direction of the country. They’re glad President Trump’s back in the White House. But if they want to keep this momentum going, they’ve got to show up and vote,” he emphasized. Many of Trump’s MAGA supporters are considered low-propensity voters, who head to the polls only when Trump is on the ballot. But Trump won’t be on the ballot in the 2026 midterms. SETTING THE STAGE: WHAT THE 2025 ELECTIONS SIGNAL FOR NEXT YEAR’S MIDTERM SHOWDOWNS Hudson, who noted that “House Republicans are very closely aligned with President Trump, and we’re supporting his agenda,” said that “we want him out there on the trail, campaigning with our candidates. I think he brings a lot of energy.” Pointing to “a lot of folks who don’t vote when he’s not on the ballot,” Hudson said, “I don’t need all of them to show up, but I need some of them. And so having President Trump out there will be a big benefit for us.” Those requests for the MAGA motivator are already coming in to the president’s political team. Matt Van Epps, the Republican nominee in next month’s special congressional election for a vacant GOP-held House seat in Tennessee, has asked for Trump to campaign in person with him ahead of the Dec. 2 election. Democrats were laser-focused on affordability on the 2025 campaign trail. Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said his party’s candidates met “voters at the kitchen table. . . . From New Jersey and Virginia and New York, to Georgia and beyond, Democrats ran campaigns relentlessly focused on costs and affordability.” And Martin emphasized the 2025 elections were a preview of things to come in next year’s midterms. “In ‘26, we’ll do it again. We’ll run a National Coordinated Campaign to win races up and down the ballot to provide a check on the out-of-control Trump administration and its Republican rubber stamps,” he argued. DEMOCRATS SEE MANDATE AFTER 2025 WINS — REPUBLICANS SAY IT’S A MIRAGE Hudson, pointing to former President Joe Biden, said “there are challenges out there with the economy, because Biden broke it, and House Republicans, working with President Trump, are going to fix it, and we’re working very hard to do that. “ “Certainly, we could always improve the way we communicate with our voters about it,” he added. “But we are laser focused on the issues that matter to them. You know, it’s the cost of things, it’s the security in their neighborhood, it’s a secure border. We are very focused on that, and we’ve delivered a lot of things that are going to make their lives better.” And looking ahead to next year, he added, “come tax season, a lot of families are going to be really happy to see they’ve got a lot more take-home pay, and that’s because of Donald Trump and House Republicans.” Hudson, in step with fellow Republicans, aimed to link Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a socialist who pushed a far-left platform on the campaign trail this year, to House Democrats who may face challenging re-elections next year. “The entire Democrat Party has shifted to the left. This is Mamdani’s party now,” Hudson charged. “And every single House Democrat needs to answer for his policies, and they need to let their constituents know, do they stand with Mamdani or not?” The power in power, which nowadays is clearly the Republicans, traditionally faces political headwinds in the midterm elections. And Hudson was interviewed as two new national polls indicated Democrats with the upper hand in the 2026 battle for the House majority. But Hudson said: “The only number I’m concerned about is three. We have three Republicans in seats Kamala Harris carried.” And he highlighted that Democrats have “thirteen sitting in seats Donald Trump won. They’ve got 21 more sitting in seats that Donald Trump barely lost. So there, there are only a few seats up for grabs this time, most of them are Democrat seats.”