Thune blasts Jeffries, Schumer as ‘afraid of their shadows’ as DHS funding fight heats up
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., doesn’t have confidence that top congressional Democrats want to fix Homeland Security funding as Congress gears up for tense negotiations in the coming days. With the partial four-day government shutdown now over, Democrats and Republicans are readying to relitigate the controversial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bill, which threatened to completely derail a previous bipartisan funding deal. And with nine days on the clock to figure out a way forward, Thune doesn’t believe that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., or Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are prepared to actually reach a bipartisan deal on the bill. SHUTDOWN AVERTED FOR NOW, BUT SENATE WARNS DHS FIGHT COULD TRIGGER ANOTHER IN DAYS When asked if he viewed Jeffries, who rebelled against Schumer’s funding deal with President Donald Trump, as a good-faith partner in the coming back-and-forth, Thune said, “He’s just not.” “He and, for that matter, Leader Schumer, both are afraid of their shadows, and they’re getting a lot of rollback and pressure from their left,” Thune said. “So, I don’t think they want to — particularly in [Jeffries’] case, I don’t think he wants to make a deal at all.” TRUMP UNDERCUTS GOP PUSH TO ATTACH SAVE ACT TO SHUTDOWN BILL AS CONSERVATIVES THREATEN MUTINY Schumer on Tuesday said that Democrats would have a proposal ready for Republicans to review that same day, but Thune noted that no such list had been handed over to his side of the aisle. There may still be lingering discourse between the top Democratic leaders, too, after Jeffries turned his back on the Trump-Schumer funding deal. However, both met on Tuesday night, and Schumer affirmed that they were on the same page. HOUSE DEMOCRATS MUTINY SCHUMER’S DEAL WITH WHITE HOUSE, THREATENING LONGER SHUTDOWN Meanwhile, DHS is currently operating under a two-week continuing resolution (CR) that maintains previous funding levels until Congress can pass legislation to fully fund it. But Thune and other Republicans believe that the truncated time period just isn’t long enough to actually hash out a deal. And it’s an open question whether Congress will again need to temporarily extend the funding patch, or allow the agency to shut down. Compounding frustrations among Republicans is that the original DHS bill was the product of bipartisan negotiations and included several guardrails and reporting requirements targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that would limit or block funding if they weren’t met. “I think they want to litigate, have the issue as a political issue,” Thune said. “Whether or not there’s a solution remains to be seen, but at least what they’re saying publicly suggests that that’s not their objective.”
Jill Biden’s 2019 memoir described being ‘devastated’ by divorce from Bill Stevenson, now charged with murder
In her 2019 book, “Where the Light Enters,” former first lady Jill Biden described her feeling of devastation that her first marriage ended in divorce. William “Bill” Stevenson, who currently faces a murder charge in connection with the death of his wife Linda Stevenson, is Jill Biden’s ex-husband, reports indicate. “My parents loved each other until they left this earth,” Jill noted in her book, according to People. “Even in their old age, they were playful and affectionate. They loved faithfully and unconditionally. Marriage, for them, meant forever. And I knew, deeply, unquestioningly, that was what I would have as well. So, when my marriage fell apart, I was lost. I watched, devastated, as it slipped from my fingers before I could even figure out how to hold on.” JILL BIDEN’S EX-HUSBAND CHARGED WITH MURDER IN DEATH OF WIFE “I’m not sure if I knew anyone who was divorced back then,” she noted, according to the report. “The very idea horrified me. It meant failure, and in my still-young life, I had never failed at anything serious.” “I felt ugly and inadequate; I was embarrassed and ashamed,” she explained, according to the outlet. “In a single devastating year, I went from thinking I had it all to feeling shattered and alone. I questioned if I would ever find love, if I would ever have a family of my own. How could I give my heart to someone again? How could I again risk this humiliation, this hurt? And how could I figure out who, exactly, I was?” BIDEN NEARLY INVISIBLE IN OWN CHRISTMAS FAMILY PHOTO AS HUNTER TAKES CENTER STAGE But her second marriage worked out — Jill and Joe Biden married in 1977 and remain together nearly five decades later. The New Castle County Police Department announced Tuesday that detectives from the Division’s Criminal Investigations Unit, in coordination with the Delaware Department of Justice, presented the case to a grand jury on Monday following “an extensive weeks-long investigation into the death of 64-year-old Linda Stevenson.” DEMS ‘LOSE CREDIBILITY’ WHEN THEY ‘STAY SILENT’ ON THIS, ARGUES FORMER JILL BIDEN CHIEF SPOKESPERSON “As a result, an indictment was returned by the New Castle County Superior Court charging 77-year-old William Stevenson with Murder in the First Degree,” the department noted.
Trump speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on range of issues including Russia-Ukraine war
President Donald Trump said he spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping Wednesday to discuss a range of issues, including the war between Ukraine and Russia, while stressing that their relationship “is an extremely good one” that will bring “many positive results” in the coming years. The president and Xi also discussed Trump’s upcoming trip to Beijing in April, which he said he “very much” looks forward to. “I have just completed an excellent telephone conversation with President Xi, of China. It was a long and thorough call, where many important subjects were discussed, including Trade, Military, the April trip that I will be making to China (which I very much look forward to!), Taiwan, the War between Russia/Ukraine, the current situation with Iran, the purchase of Oil and Gas by China from the United States, the consideration by China of the purchase of additional Agricultural products including lifting the Soybean count to 20 Million Tons for the current season (They have committed to 25 Million Tons for next season!), Airplane engine deliveries, and numerous other subjects, all very positive!” Trump posted to his Truth Social. TRUMP WARNS UK IT’S ‘VERY DANGEROUS’ TO DO BUSINESS WITH CHINA AFTER STARMER’S BEIJING MEETING “The relationship with China, and my personal relationship with President Xi, is an extremely good one, and we both realize how important it is to keep it that way,” he continued. “I believe that there will be many positive results achieved over the next three years of my Presidency having to do with President Xi, and the People’s Republic of China.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The president’s call with Xi comes on the same day the Chinese president announced that he had a separate conversation Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Trump’s Iran threats face ‘Obama red line’ test as White House pivots to diplomacy
For weeks, President Donald Trump has promised the Iranian people that “help is on the way” while positioning a massive U.S. naval armada within striking distance of Iran’s coast. But as the White House pivots toward a diplomatic summit in Istanbul Friday, analysts warn the president may face a growing credibility test if threats are not followed by action. By threatening “speed and fury” against a regime accused of killing thousands of protesters, Trump has drawn a red line — one that analysts say echoes President Barack Obama’s 2013 warning over Syria’s use of chemical weapons. Obama ultimately chose diplomacy over military strikes, a decision critics said weakened U.S. credibility and emboldened adversaries, while supporters argued it avoided a broader war and succeeded in removing large portions of Syria’s chemical arsenal. Trump now faces a similar debate as he weighs whether to enforce his own warnings against Iran. Trump’s envoys are set to meet Friday in Istanbul with Iranian officials to press for an end to Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, curbs on ballistic missiles and a halt to support for proxy groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah — terms Tehran has shown little public sign of accepting. Trump has also demanded an end to the regime’s violent crackdown on protesters. But signs of strain are already emerging around the talks. Iran is now seeking a change in venue to Friday’s meeting — wanting it to be held in Oman, according to a source familiar with the request — raising questions about whether the summit will proceed as scheduled or produce substantive progress. TRUMP CREDITS HALTED IRAN EXECUTIONS FOR HOLDING OFF MILITARY STRIKES Tensions on the ground have continued to rise even as diplomacy is pursued. This week, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces shot down an Iranian drone after it aggressively approached the USS Abraham Lincoln while the aircraft carrier was operating in international waters in the Arabian Sea. CENTCOM said the drone ignored de-escalatory measures before an F-35C fighter jet downed it in self-defense. No U.S. personnel were injured. Hours later, Iranian naval forces harassed a U.S.-flagged, U.S.-crewed commercial tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to CENTCOM. Iranian gunboats and a surveillance drone repeatedly threatened to board the vessel before the guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul intervened and escorted the tanker to safety. CENTCOM warned that continued Iranian harassment in international waters increases the risk of miscalculation and regional destabilization. Despite weeks of delay, foreign policy analysts say the pause does not mean military action has been taken off the table. TRUMP SAYS IRAN ALREADY HAS US TERMS AS MILITARY STRIKE CLOCK TICKS “If you just look at force movements and the president’s past statements of policy, you would have to bet on the likelihood that military action remains something that is coming,” Rich Goldberg, a former Trump National Security Council official now at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. “I don’t think the window is closed,” said Michael Makovsky, president of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. “If the president doesn’t do something militarily, it would damage his credibility.” The standoff is reviving comparisons to Obama’s 2013 decision not to carry out military strikes in Syria after warning that the use of chemical weapons would cross a U.S. “red line.” The moment became a touchstone in debates over American deterrence. The Syria episode remains a touchstone in Washington’s red-line debates. Critics argued Obama’s decision not to strike emboldened adversaries, while supporters said diplomacy prevented war — a divide resurfacing as Trump weighs his next move. “They have challenged the president now to try to turn him into Obama in 2013 in Syria, rather than Donald Trump in 2025 in Iran,” Goldberg said. Fox News Digital has reached out to Obama’s office for comment. Trump has publicly encouraged Iranian protesters to continue their demonstrations, telling them in early January to “KEEP PROTESTING” and promising that “HELP IS ON ITS WAY.” U.S. officials, however, have previously said the pause reflects caution rather than retreat, pointing to concerns about retaliation against American forces and uncertainty over who would lead Iran if the regime were significantly weakened. Trump himself raised those questions in January, publicly casting doubt on whether any opposition figure could realistically govern after decades in exile. “As for the president, he remains committed to always pursuing diplomacy first,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday. “But in order for diplomacy to work, of course, it takes two to tango, you need a willing partner to engage.” “The president has always a range of options on the table, and that includes the use of military force,” she added. TRUMP SAYS GULF ALLIES KEPT IN DARK AS US NEGOTIATES WITH IRAN: ‘CANT’ TELL THEM THE PLAN’ Some analysts reject the premise that the administration has meaningfully slowed its military posture. “I don’t think they’ve paused action,” said Gregg Roman, executive director of the Middle East Forum. “The more assets that the president deploys to the theater gives the U.S. more maneuvering room, rather than less.” Roman pointed to continued U.S. force movements into the region, arguing the buildup signals preparation rather than restraint. “That’s not the behavior of a country backing away from military options,” he said. Fox News’ Aishah Hashnie contributed to this report.
Shutdown averted for now, but Senate warns DHS fight could trigger another in days
As the House crushed Republican resistance to a Trump-backed funding package to end the latest partial government shutdown, lawmakers in the upper chamber weren’t confident that Congress could avoid being in the same position in the coming weeks. President Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., brokered the deal to end the shutdown last week. That funding truce included a move to sideline the controversial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill in favor of a short-term extension to keep the agency open. The House’s passage of the package, which funds 11 out of 12 government agencies under Congress’ purview, sets the stage for tense negotiations between the White House and Senate Democrats over reforms to DHS. END OF GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IN SIGHT AS SPEAKER JOHNSON OVERCOMES GOP REVOLT But several Senate Republicans are questioning whether two weeks, which had shrunk to just nine days as of Wednesday, would be enough time to avert another partial shutdown — this time only for DHS. “I think it’s gonna be very difficult to get the funding bill done for DHS in two weeks,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. Scott was one of a handful of Republicans in the upper chamber that rejected the compromise plan and the underlying original package because of bloated spending on earmarks and concerns that Senate Democrats would effectively try to kneecap Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations across the country. “We’re going to be in a worse spot,” Scott said. “I mean… all their earmarks got done, and then now they’re going to want to, you know, they want to [get] busy de-fanging and defunding ICE.” Congressional Democrats wanted to relitigate the bipartisan DHS bill after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis. The demand forced Trump to intervene and thrust the government into a partial shutdown on Friday. While the funding deal made it across his desk, it won’t get Congress out of the jam it’s in, given the short amount of time lawmakers have to negotiate the bill, which is consistently the most difficult spending bill to pass year in and year out. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., noted that once negotiations began, Congress had a “very short timeframe in which to do this, which I am against.” TRUMP UNDERCUTS GOP PUSH TO ATTACH SAVE ACT TO SHUTDOWN BILL AS CONSERVATIVES THREATEN MUTINY “But the Democrats insisted on, you know, a two-week window, which, again, I don’t understand the rationale for that,” Thune said. “Anybody who knows this place knows that’s an impossibility.” Some Senate Democrats did not want to weigh in on a hypothetical scenario just days away, but Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., contended that because of the events in Minnesota, “there should be some motivation across the aisle to do something on, you know, all these issues.” “I mean, I think [DHS Secretary] Kristi Noem should be fired, leadership needs to be changed at ICE, their budget needs to be the right size,” Kelly said. “We got to get them looking like normal police officers.” Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, struck a more positive tone. TRUMP, SCHUMER REACH GOVERNMENT FUNDING DEAL, SACRIFICE DHS SPENDING BILL IN THE PROCESS She told Fox News Digital that Congress would be in a much better position, considering that lawmakers will have passed 11 out of the 12 bills needed to fund the federal government. “We’ll now start the negotiations on DHS, and I hope we’ll be successful, but I don’t see how you can compare where we are today,” Collins said. Thune believed that Noem’s announcement that ICE agents in Minneapolis would begin wearing body-worn cameras could act as a sweetener for Democrats. There is already $20 million baked into the current bipartisan DHS funding bill for body cameras. Schumer rejected that olive branch from Noem, arguing that it didn’t come nearly close enough to the portfolio of reforms Democrats wanted for the agency. And he reaffirmed that Senate Democrats wanted actual legislative action on DHS reforms, not an executive order. “We know how whimsical Donald Trump is,” Schumer said. “He’ll say one thing one day and retract it the next. Same with Secretary Noem.” “So, we don’t trust some executive order, some pronouncement from some Cabinet secretary. We need it enshrined into law.” When asked if lawmakers would need to turn to another short-term funding patch, Schumer argued that “if Leader Thune negotiates in good faith, we can get it done. We expect to present to the Republicans a very serious, detailed proposal very shortly.” But Thune has said for several days that it would be the White House in the driver’s seat, and ultimately it would be Trump who could broker a new deal. “But at some points, obviously it has to be the White House engaged in the conversation with the Senate Democrats, and that’s how that thing’s gonna land,” Thune said.
House Republicans sue to block Utah congressional map that favors Democrats
Two Republican members of Congress sued Utah’s top election official on Monday, seeking to block a court-ordered congressional map they argue was unlawfully imposed by a judge and tilts the state’s House delegation in favor of Democrats. Reps. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, and Burgess Owens, R-Utah, along with several other elected officials including county commissioners, filed a 31-page federal lawsuit challenging a redistricting plan known as “Map 1.” The plaintiffs argue the map violates the U.S. Constitution’s elections clause by bypassing the state legislature, which they say holds exclusive authority to draw congressional districts. They also contend that Judge Dianna Gibson violated the Constitution by rejecting congressional maps drawn by the Utah Legislature and imposing “Map 1,” a redistricting plan drafted by attorneys and experts for advocacy groups. BATTLEGROUND GOP LAWMAKER MOVES TO BLOCK WHAT HE CALLS DEMOCRATIC REDISTRICTING ‘POWER GRAB’ The plaintiffs said the redistricting plan had “never been introduced, debated, or voted upon by a single member of the Utah House or Senate.” JEFFRIES SAYS GOP ‘DONE EFF’D UP IN TEXAS,’ VOWS THEY WON’T WIN FIVE SEATS: ‘THEY CAN’T IGNORE IT’ “Map 1 was instead drafted by attorneys and expert witnesses for the League of Women Voters and Mormon Women for Ethical Government, private activist organizations that possess no lawmaking power under either the United States or Utah Constitutions,” the lawsuit reads in part. The plaintiffs are asking the court to convene a three-judge panel, invalidate “Map 1” and permanently block its implementation, a move that would prevent its use in the 2026 elections. They are also seeking to return redistricting authority to the Utah Legislature and, if lawmakers do not enact a new map, reinstate the state’s 2021 congressional districts. Republicans currently control all four of Utah’s seats in the U.S. House under district lines approved by lawmakers following the 2020 census, according to The Associated Press. The AP reported that Gibson found those districts ran afoul of voter-approved anti-gerrymandering standards and replaced them with a new map that largely keeps Salt Lake County, a Democratic stronghold, intact within a single district rather than dividing it among all four. “This lawsuit is not an effort to control political outcomes. It is not an attempt to advantage one party or disadvantage another,” Maloy, Owens and the other plaintiffs wrote in an op-ed for Deseret News. “It is not a referendum on whether districts should be competitive or compact or on how political balance ought to be measured. Those debates belong in the Legislature, where proposals can be introduced publicly, amended openly and resolved by representatives accountable to voters.” “We filed this federal lawsuit not because it was easy but because it was necessary. We seek no special treatment. We ask only that the U.S. Constitution be followed, that the Legislature be allowed to fulfill its lawful role under the federal Constitution and that Utahns retain their right to choose representatives through a process that is legitimate and accountable,” they added. “That is not radical. It is foundational. And it is worth defending.”
GOP must race for new ‘big, beautiful bill’ to slash costs before midterms, top House Republicans warn
FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans who are spearheading the charge of another “big, beautiful bill” say they only have a short window of time to pass a massive piece of legislation aimed at lowering costs for Americans across the board. “We need to see good movement within the month of February that puts us on a path to achieve this by late spring, early summer,” Republican Study Committee (RSC) Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. President Donald Trump led Republicans through passing the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act last year, sprawling legislation that made good on versions of several Trump campaign promises like reducing taxes on tipped and overtime wages, extending his 2017 tax cuts, and surging more money toward his immigration crackdown. The budget reconciliation process makes such a feat possible by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage to line up with the House’s own simple majority line, empowering the party holding the levers of power in Congress to pass sweeping fiscal changes to U.S. law. GOP UNVEILS PLAN TO CUT DEFICIT BY $1 TRILLION WITH SECOND ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ A large contingent of Republican lawmakers, including Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have said they want to use that process again sometime this year. Pfluger’s RSC, the largest caucus in the House GOP, released a framework last month with recommendations on a bill that would lower costs in areas like housing, healthcare and energy. Pfluger told Fox News Digital that affordability would likely be a “major driver” of another such GOP bill, but said he was still working on getting input from other areas of the House Republican Conference. “I’m sure that there will be refinement as we hear feedback from the different groups. But we do believe that it’s a solid framework. We believe that it’s a winning issue based on good policy,” Pfluger said. ‘ONE MORE’: SENATE REPUBLICANS EYE TACKLING ANOTHER RECONCILIATION BILL But both he and House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, have acknowledged they will need to work fast — particularly with the 2026 midterm elections coming in November. “I would be embarrassed as a leader and as a conservative if our conference and Republicans in Washington won’t rally in these 10 or 11 months we have before November, where we still have this window of opportunity to strike,” Arrington said in a forthcoming episode of the RSC’s “Right to the Point” podcast, which Fox News Digital got an exclusive first look at. He said elsewhere in the podcast that Republicans “probably have a three-month window” to take meaningful action, lining up with Pfluger’s own prediction that action should happen by springtime. KENNEDY URGES GOP TO RESTART SPENDING BATTLE AMID SOARING COST OF LIVING, WARNS AGAINST WASTING MAJORITY Pfluger said he hoped to get the first key step done this month after sending instructions on what kind of cuts to enact to various House committees. But Republicans are currently dealing with a one-seat majority in the House until a special election to replace former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., takes place in March. That could get reduced back down in April after a special election for a blue-leaning seat to replace New Jersey’s new Gov. Mikie Sherrill. Republicans won’t get more breathing room until early August, when California holds a special election for the GOP-leaning seat that was held by the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif. Their first reconciliation bill notably passed with all but two House Republicans on board. “We have a path. We’ve dug that path, and we should just do it for the things that we can all agree on,” Arrington argued. He said a second bill “doesn’t have to be as big and comprehensive, it needs to be targeted on the things that were either left undone, things that fell out, that we should put back in… like not allowing tax dollars to go to transgender procedures and not allowing the fungible federal dollars to support states that use their state Medicaid dollars to fund illegals.” But it’s not yet clear that such policies could make it in or gain the support of moderate Republicans who are wary of an election cycle that’s expected to be an uphill climb for the GOP. Pfluger, however, told Fox News Digital that he hoped they could even get some Democratic support if the bill stayed focused on affordability measures. “I believe that we are going to produce something that is going to make it very difficult for Democrats to vote against,” he said. “I would hope that we would have something on the board that would get Democrat support in some cases.”
Homan announces drawdown of federal presence in Minnesota, hails ‘unprecedented cooperation’ from local police
White House border czar Tom Homan announced a drawdown of federal agents deployed to Minnesota on Wednesday, a change he said is made possible thanks to “unprecedented cooperation” from local law enforcement. Homan made the announcement during a Wednesday morning press conference in Minneapolis, saying 700 federal agents would be departing the Twin Cities. He added that the ultimate goal is a “complete drawdown” of federal presence. Homan highlighted meetings he had with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, urging them all to allow local jails to communicate with federal law enforcement about when they planned to release illegal immigrants being detained there. “We currently have an unprecedented number of counties communicating with us now and allowing ICE to take custody of illegal aliens before they hit the streets. Unprecedented cooperation,” Homan said Wednesday. “I’ll say it again: This is efficient, and it requires only one or two officers to assume custody of a criminal alien target, rather than eight or 10 officers going into the community and arresting that public safety threat.” MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR TO VISIT DC TO PUSH FOR END OF ‘UNLAWFUL ICE OPERATIONS’ AFTER TRUMP’S BLUNT WARNING Homan said the practice was safer for officers, the community and the migrants themselves. “Given this increase in unprecedented collaboration, and as a result of less need for law enforcement officers to do this work in a safer environment, I have announced immediately we will draw down 700 people effective today,” he said. SPRINGSTEEN TELLS ICE TO ‘GET THE F— OUT OF MINNEAPOLIS,’ SLAMS ‘GESTAPO’ TACTICS AT CONCERT Homan went on to note that federal authorities are not requiring jails to hold illegal migrants beyond their normal release time. “We’re not asking anyone to be an immigration officer,” he said. Walz expressed support for the drawdown soon after it was announced on Wednesday, but he said more needs to be done. “Today’s announcement is a step in the right direction, but we need a faster and larger drawdown of forces, state-led investigations into the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and an end to this campaign of retribution,” Walz wrote on X. Frey also described it as a “step in the right direction,” but he said it fell short of full “de-escalation.” President Donald Trump deployed Homan to the Twin Cities last week after federal agents shot and killed anti-ICE agitator Alex Pretti. He was the second protester to be killed by federal agents in Minneapolis last month. ‘MOB MENTALITY’ ENDANGERS OFFICERS AMID ANTI-ICE UNREST AND CHAOS IN MINNEAPOLIS, RETIRED COPS WARN U.S. Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino left Minnesota shortly after Homan’s arrival. Federal agents have met with stiff resistance in their operations across Minneapolis and St. Paul, with organized agitators harassing and obstructing law enforcement. Republicans on Capitol Hill have called for investigations into the funding streams behind the organized resistance.
Pentagon watchdog warns drone incursions require ‘immediate attention’ at US military bases
In December 2023, nearly three weeks of unidentified drones hovering over sensitive areas of Langley Air Force Base laid bare a problem U.S. officials were not prepared to handle: determining who was responsible for investigating the incursions — and who had authority to act. A new Pentagon Inspector General report indicates those same gaps in authority and coordination remain unresolved across much of the War Department, even as drone activity near U.S. military installations continues with striking frequency. The watchdog report warns that the Pentagon lacks clear, consistent policies governing counter-drone operations at domestic installations, leaving many bases unsure whether they are authorized to respond when drones appear overhead. The findings reinforce what defense officials and outside experts have cautioned for years: while the military can often detect drones, confusion over jurisdiction, approval processes and legal authority can delay — or prevent — action. The report warns that “immediate attention [is] required” to protect War Department assets from unmanned aircraft systems, citing unclear policies, conflicting guidance, and a lack of operational approval at many installations. Pentagon leadership last year established Joint Interagency Task Force 401 to better coordinate counter-drone efforts across the department, but the watchdog concluded the recommendation to consolidate policies and authorities remains unresolved. In December, the Department of War issued updated counter-UAS guidance intended to address longstanding confusion over authority and jurisdiction highlighted in previous drone incursions and oversight reviews. The Inspector General’s report reflects conditions prior to that update and does not assess the revised guidance. The revised policy expands commanders’ ability to assess and respond to unauthorized drone activity beyond installation fence lines, clarifies how “covered facilities or assets” can be designated based on risk, and improves interagency coordination and data-sharing with partners such as the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department. US PRISONS BATTLE EVOLVING DRONE TECHNOLOGY USED TO SMUGGLE CONTRABAND TO INMATES Michael Healander, CEO of Airspace Link, said the Inspector General’s findings reflect challenges he has seen while working with military bases and civilian authorities on drone airspace awareness. Airspace Link works with the FAA, municipalities and select military installations to track authorized drone activity, flag unidentified drones near bases, and improve coordination across civilian and government airspace. “When we read the document, we noticed these are issues that we’ve been starting to solve with some of these military bases,” Healander told Fox News Digital. “It’s that understanding of what are the rules and regulations per base — whose drones are whose — and really having that airspace awareness is an issue.” Healander said identifying whether a drone near a military installation is authorized, misrouted or potentially hostile is often less about detection technology and more about coordination in crowded domestic airspace. PENTAGON EXPLORING COUNTER-DRONE SYSTEMS TO PREVENT INCURSIONS OVER NATIONAL SECURITY FACILITIES “There are tools out there. The technologies are out there,” he said. “It’s just they don’t have the frameworks, and it seems to be different from base to base.” The Inspector General report found that the War Department has failed to provide clear, consistent guidance on which installations qualify as “covered assets” eligible for counter-drone protections, resulting in conflicting lists maintained across the department. In some cases, high-value bases conducting critical missions were excluded because their activities did not neatly fall into narrow mission categories defined in federal law. The watchdog concluded these policy gaps have left many installations unsure whether they are authorized to act during drone incursions. The scope of the issue is far from isolated. U.S. Northern Command head Gen. Gregory Guillot said during a roundtable last year that drone activity near War Department installations occurs almost daily. “We’re between one and two incursions per day” at War Department installations, Guillot told reporters. Healander said confusion often intensifies when drones appear outside a base’s perimeter, where military authority intersects with FAA-regulated airspace and local law enforcement jurisdictions. “What happens if there’s a drone outside the fence line?” he said. “Most military bases don’t have jurisdiction out there.” Modern drone identification tools — including systems that detect remote identification signals, radio frequencies, radar and optical tracking — can often determine where a drone originated and whether it is registered. But Healander said that without standardized rules governing who operates those systems and how information is shared, detection alone does not translate into timely decisions. “If you have those technologies together, you can start to see where the drone came from,” he said. “It’s just making sure that these bases have a framework to follow.” The Inspector General also found that the approval process required for installations to use counter-drone systems is fragmented and burdensome, with different military services following different procedures. In many cases, installations must procure and test systems before receiving authorization to use them — a hurdle that has led some bases to forgo seeking approval altogether, even after experiencing incursions. Healander said improving situational awareness and coordination will become increasingly urgent as civilian, commercial and public-safety drone operations expand near military installations, further complicating an already crowded low-altitude airspace environment. “Getting their house in order first — understanding who’s flying, where, and under what authority — is the starting point,” he said.
ICE re-arrests two Venezuelan men after federal judge’s release order
Two Venezuelan nationals accused of assaulting a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during a chaotic Minneapolis arrest last month were ordered released by a federal judge this week, only for ICE to re-arrest them, according to court records cited by The Minnesota Star Tribune. Alfredo Alejandro Ajorna, 26, and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, 24, were released under court-ordered conditions Tuesday after a judge found they did not pose a heightened flight risk, the outlet reported. The men were re-detained by ICE almost immediately after the hearing and never left the courthouse before agents took them back into custody. The Tribune reported that attorneys for the men said ICE detained them “without explanation” shortly after the judge’s release order, prompting a habeas corpus petition filed late Tuesday. Minnesota Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz then barred ICE from removing the men from the state and ordered the federal government to explain its actions by Friday. CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ALLEGEDLY RAMS ICE VEHICLE IN MINNESOTA AS ATTACKS ON AGENTS SURGE “This re-detention is unconstitutional, and they should be immediately released,” attorney Brian Clark wrote in the emergency habeas petition, per the outlet. The pair were arrested after a Jan. 14 altercation that began when ICE agents attempted a targeted traffic stop in north Minneapolis, DHS said at the time. According to DHS, federal officers were attempting to arrest Sosa-Celis when he fled the scene in his vehicle, crashed into a parked car and ran on foot. DHS said the pursuing officer caught up with Sosa-Celis and attempted to take him into custody, at which point Sosa-Celis allegedly began to resist and violently assault the officer. As the two struggled on the ground, DHS said two individuals emerged from a nearby apartment and began striking the officer with a snow shovel and the handle of a broom. DHS said Sosa-Celis then broke free and allegedly struck the officer as well before the agent, fearing for his life, fired a defensive shot that struck Sosa-Celis in the leg. Despite being wounded, DHS said Sosa-Celis and the other two men retreated into the apartment and barricaded themselves inside. FEDERAL JUDGE BACKS AWAY FROM THREAT TO HOLD ICE LEADER IN CONTEMPT ICE ultimately arrested all three suspects and took them into custody, DHS said. The officer and Sosa-Celis were both hospitalized following the confrontation. The agency described the incident as an “attempted murder of federal law enforcement,” saying an ICE officer was ambushed and struck with a snow shovel and the handle of a broom before firing a defensive shot that struck Sosa-Celis in the leg. DHS publicly identified three Venezuelan nationals — Sosa-Celis, Ajorna and Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez-Ledezma — as the suspects who allegedly assaulted the ICE agent and were taken into federal custody after the Jan. 14 incident. The Tribune reported that the federal affidavit in the case makes no mention of Hernandez-Ledezma, and that he has not been charged with any federal crime. The newspaper said he is being held at a federal detention facility in Texas and that it could not independently verify his presence or involvement in the incident. Defense attorneys told the court that photographic evidence and witness statements raise questions about the timing and circumstances of the shooting, including allegedly suggesting the shot may have been fired after the suspects had gone inside a residence, according to the Tribune. Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.