Conservative firebrand launches ‘TruckSafe Tipline’ to report illegal drivers amid spike in highway deaths
Amid heightened concern over highway deaths involving illegal immigrant drivers, conservative firebrand Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., is launching a “TruckSafe Tipline” to enable truckers to share concerns about illegals on U.S. roads. “Indiana is the Crossroads of America and Hoosiers are getting killed because drivers who shouldn’t be here in the first place are behind the wheel,” Banks said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. Through the online portal, which is already live, concerned citizens are able to share information about carriers they believe are employing or contracting with drivers who are not legally in the United States, not authorized to drive a truck, or who cannot meet required English-language safety standards. A spokesperson for Banks’ office told Fox News Digital that reports submitted to the TruckSafe Tipline will be reviewed by the senator’s staff and shared with the U.S. Department of Transportation and its Office of Inspector General. SANCTUARY STATES NEED CRACKDOWN AS AMERICANS PAY PRICE FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKERS: GOP LAWMAKER “If you’re driving a truck on our roads, you need to be legal, you need to be able to read traffic signs, and you need to follow the law,” said Banks. “The TruckSafe Tipline gives people on the ground a way to speak up when they see carriers cutting corners and putting lives at risk.” In an X post, Banks addressed truckers directly, writing, “If you’re a trucker or work in the industry and see something unsafe or know of shady carriers hiring illegals, I want to hear from you.” This comes shortly after a driver of a semi-truck at the center of a multi-vehicle crash that left four dead in Indiana was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Indiana State Police said the fatal crash happened Tuesday around 4 p.m. in the area of State Road 67 and County Road 550 East in Jay County, where the truck collided with a van. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News that the driver, Bekzhan Beishekeev, is a Kyrgyzstani national who entered the U.S. via the Biden-era CBP One cell phone app on Dec. 19, 2024, at the Nogales, Ariz., port of entry, and he was released into the U.S. via parole by the Biden administration. GOP FIREBRAND URGES TRUMP AGENCIES TO CLAW BACK MASSIVE TAXPAYER BENEFITS PAID OUT TO IMMIGRANTS Beishekeev, 30, was reportedly driving on SR 67 in Indiana when he didn’t stop for another slowed semi-truck, swerving instead into oncoming traffic and crashing head-on into a van, killing four people, several of whom were reportedly Amish. Banks’ office remarked that “this was not the first fatal accident caused by an illegal truck driver on Indiana’s roads.” The office pointed to the death of Indiana National Guardsman Terry Frye last November in a crash that involved a Georgian national who entered the country illegally in 2022. Just a month before that, Borko Stankovic, an illegal alien from Serbia and Montenegro, caused a multi-car accident that killed a 54-year-old. Despite being in the United States illegally since 2011, the Stankovic owned two trucking companies that received over $36,000 in COVID-19 relief funding. In October, Fox News Digital reported on Illinois-based trucking executive Mike Kucharski, co-owner and vice president of JKC Trucking, blowing the whistle on illegal alien commercial drivers not only endangering American roads but also “killing the trucking business.” CORNYN PUSHES ‘ZERO MERCY’ LAW TO DEPORT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONVICTED OF DEADLY DRUNK DRIVING Kucharski explained further that, though a heavily regulated industry, illegal alien truck drivers can exploit a “loophole” in the system by obtaining non-domiciled commercial drivers’ licenses from sanctuary states. They are then able to outcompete legitimate trucking businesses by charging lower prices, leading to the demise of many American small businesses in the industry. “American truck drivers are patriots and vital to our country. No one is more outraged about what’s happening than them,” Banks wrote in another X post, adding, “Shady trucking companies that hire illegals, put lives at risk, and undercut American drivers’ wages are the problem. We must hold them accountable!” U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also chimed in on X, writing, “[Sen. Banks] is absolutely right! Too many lives have been lost and this must stop.” “We will crack down on these shady trucking companies and get to the bottom of the crash that killed four members of the Amish community in Indiana,” he said, noting, “Stay tuned for more to come on this.”
‘It’s absurd’: DHS shutdown bears down on US as lawmakers jet off to Europe
The government entered a partial shutdown at midnight Friday after Congress failed to reach a funding deal — and some lawmakers’ decision to attend an international gathering in Europe this weekend is drawing criticism from colleagues on both sides of the aisle. “It’s absurd, I hope the American people are paying attention,” Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital. The deadline to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by the end of the week came with a built-in complication: members of both chambers were scheduled to attend the annual Munich Security Conference, with many set to depart by day’s end Thursday. GOVERNMENT TO SHUT DOWN AT MIDNIGHT AFTER DEMS, WHITE HOUSE FAIL TO STRIKE DHS DEAL Without a deal in place, Congress left Washington, D.C., on Thursday after the Senate failed to pass both a full-year funding bill for DHS and a temporary, two-week funding extension. At midnight Friday — with several lawmakers already in Germany — DHS shut down. Both Republican leaders warned members to be prepared to return if a deal was reached. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., gave senators 24 hours’ notice to return, while House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., allowed a 48-hour window. Despite the conference being scheduled months in advance, some lawmakers said leaving Washington — or even the country — during an active funding standoff sent the wrong message. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., blamed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., arguing that Democrats blocked Republican-led efforts to prevent a partial DHS shutdown. DHS SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS WITHOUT PAY, WHAT HAPPENS TO AIRPORTS AND DISASTER RESPONSE “Schumer’s what’s deciding this,” Scott told Fox News Digital. “I mean, he’s deciding that he’s more interested in people going to Munich than he is in funding DHS.” Several lawmakers from both chambers are attending the conference, participating in side discussions and panels during the annual forum, where heads of state and top decision-makers gather to debate international security policy. Members of the House expressed frustration that senators would leave amid stalled negotiations between Senate Democrats and the White House. “The Senate started out a week ago saying, ‘I don’t think anybody should leave town,’” Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., told Fox News Digital. “Now they’re doing the Munich thing. At least [the House] sent a bill over … not a great pride moment for the federal government, is it?” Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., led a bipartisan delegation of 11 senators to the conference. When asked whether the shutdown would affect his travel plans, Whitehouse said, “I hope not.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who was scheduled to participate in a panel with Graham titled “The State of Russia,” according to the conference agenda, said lawmakers should have resolved outstanding issues before leaving town. “I’m not delighted with Republican resistance and unresponsiveness, but it’s on them at this point,” Blumenthal said. House rules prohibit official congressional delegations, also known as CODELs, during a shutdown. Still, several House members made the trip to Bavaria. At least a handful of House Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., attended the conference. DEMS DIG IN, GUARANTEE SHUTDOWN WITH BLOCK OF DHS FUNDING House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla., said during a hearing on the impact of a DHS shutdown that it would be “unconscionable if Congress leaves and does not solve the problem.” “I’m sure Munich is a great place. I’ve been there many times. The beer is outstanding,” Cole said. “But we don’t need to go to a defense conference someplace in Europe when we’re not taking care of the defense of the United States of America.” Lawmakers are expected to continue negotiations throughout the weekend while many are abroad. Senate Democrats have signaled they may present a counteroffer to the White House but have not finalized a proposal. If an agreement is reached, it would still take time to draft the legislative text and bring the measure to the Senate floor. Even so, some lawmakers argued that stepping away from negotiations — whether returning home or traveling overseas — was the wrong move. “I’ve been pretty outspoken to say we need to stay as long as we have to be here to be able to get things resolved so we don’t ever have a shutdown,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital. “That’s the easiest way to resolve it is to say ‘no one walks away from the table,’” he added. “We stay at the table.” Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., told Fox News Digital the situation reflects poorly on GOP leadership’s handling of funding priorities, though he acknowledged the significance of the international conference. “There’s a certain irony that we would not be here to fund essential services of our government, but we have enough time and energy to go to the Munich Security Conference, which admittedly is a very important international gathering,” Morelle said. “But I think it says a lot about the lack of leadership…we can’t do the fundamentals of this job.”
Cal State prof warns scrapping SAT in name of ‘inclusivity’ is leaving students unprepared
A California economics professor is sounding the alarm on the “deficits in learning” she is seeing in the classroom, arguing that the decision to scrap standardized testing in the name of “inclusivity” is actually a disservice to the students it claims to help. Cal State Long Beach professor Andrea Mays told Fox News Digital that the current cohort of college students, many of whom spent their formative middle school years in online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, are arriving on campus unprepared for basic coursework. Mays spoke to Fox News Digital about the state’s university system’s decision to scrap the SAT as a requirement for college admission as playing a large role in that and that it has led to students coming to college unprepared and dropping out at higher rates. Mays says the drop rate is up “phenomenally” and that chairs of other departments tell her it’s widespread, with 25% of students dropping classes, with math being a key area where students are coming in underprepared. GOT A SCOOP ON CAMPUS? SEND US A TIP HERE “I teach a class that is offered for non-economics majors,” Mays explained. “I could put on an index card exactly what math is required for my class, it’s not calculus, and they are struggling with it, they’re embarrassed, they’re demoralized, they come into my classroom, and they say, or into my office hours, and they say, I never learned this stuff, I don’t know how to calculate a percentage change.” “I can show them, but those are the students who are actually coming to me and asking me for help. There are lots of other students who are just too embarrassed even to do that, and who just end up dropping the class.” Mays, who recently penned an opinion piece in the Orange County Register with the headline “Bring back the SAT at CSU — or admit we are failing our own students,” says that the explanation she has gotten for the CSU system dropping the SAT is that “we want to be inclusive.” “I am definitely for inclusivity on our campus,” Mays said. “We have a very diverse campus here. But I think it’s fraud to tell people that what we’re doing is so that we can be inclusive when really what we’re doing is we’re allowing people to enter that we know are really going to have a difficult time of it. They have no idea.” ‘NATION’S REPORT CARD’ SHOWS ALARMING DECLINE IN SCIENCE, MATH AND READING SCORES In recent years, several activist groups have railed against the SAT and standardized testing in general, including the nation’s largest teachers union, and Fox News Digital asked Mays if that narrative is behind the CSU decision not to require the SAT. “That might be a little bit of the implication there without saying so, I’m not an expert in the recent changes in the SAT, others have done that work looking at whether you can change questions so that groups that don’t do well on certain questions, can do better on other types of questions,” Mays said. “There’s definitely room for discussion about what kind of a standard, is it the ACT? Is it the SAT or something? The problem is that high schools are heterogeneous,” Mays said. “Not all high schools are excellent even if they say they are. And so you’ll get students who get As in algebra two, and then they come into my class and they can’t calculate a percentage change. They can’t find the intersection between two straight lines, both of which are seventh and eighth grade math requirements. So that students are getting passed on from high school into a four-year university is a disservice to them. They get here thinking they’re wonderful and finding out that they are at the bottom of the ability distribution for math and English.” Acting Chancellor Steve Relyea stated in 2022 that when the decision to remove the SAT and ACT was made, the goal was to “level the playing field” and provide “greater access.” The decision followed a year-long study by the Admission Advisory Council, which found that the tests provided “negligible additional value” in predicting student success compared to high school GPA. SCATHING REPORT REVEALS ANTIFA-LINKED ORG PASSING OUT MATERIAL TO K-12 STUDENTS: ‘POLITICAL REVOLUTION’ The system officially moved to “multi-factored admission criteria,” focusing on GPA in specific high school courses, extracurriculars, and socio-economic factors. “Access without readiness is not opportunity,” Mays wrote in her article. “It is a disservice. If CSU is serious about student success, affordability, and equity, it must be willing to measure preparedness — and act on what it finds.” Mays added, “Pretending preparation gaps do not exist is not equity.” Mays told Fox News Digital that California’s robust and effective community college system is a tool ready to be utilized as an “alternative” for students who are coming out of high school, many who lost years of learning during COVID, and not prepared for college. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Go into the community system and take the lowest level English class you can so that you can write a sentence, you can write a paragraph, you could make an argument,” Mays said. “Take a basic math class that will transfer onto a four-year university and learn how to do the basic math that perhaps you didn’t learn when you were in middle school online.” The California State University System did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. “There’s no reason not to use an SAT as a filter to let students know whether they’re prepared for college-level work or not,” Mays told Fox News Digital.
Here’s how the DHS shutdown could impact the lives of everyday Americans
The federal government has entered its third partial shutdown of the last half-year after Congress failed to reach an agreement on all 12 of its annual spending bills. Unlike past shutdowns, however, this one just affects the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It comes after Democrats walked away from a bipartisan deal to fund the department amid uproar over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. And while some 97% of the federal government has been funded at this point, a DHS shutdown will still have effects on everyday Americans — effects that will become more apparent the longer the standoff continues. DHS SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS WITHOUT PAY, WHAT HAPPENS TO AIRPORTS AND DISASTER RESPONSE Disruptions to the TSA, whose agents are responsible for security checks at nearly 440 airports across the country, could perhaps be the most impactful part of the partial shutdown to Americans’ everyday lives. Acting Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill told lawmakers at a hearing on Wednesday that around 95% of TSA employees — roughly 61,000 people — are deemed essential and will be forced to work without pay in the event of a shutdown. “We heard reports of officers sleeping in their cars at airports to save money on gas, selling their blood and plasma, and taking on second jobs to make ends meet,” she said of the last shutdown. But it would take some time before TSA funding could translate to delays. TSA agents, like other essential federal workers, received back pay once the shutdown was over. Those who did not miss shifts also got a $10,000 bonus for added relief. FETTERMAN BUCKS DEMOCRATS, SAYS PARTY PUT POLITICS OVER COUNTRY IN DHS SHUTDOWN STANDOFF TSA paychecks due to be issued on March 3 could see agents getting reduced pay depending on the length of the shutdown. Agents would not be at risk of missing a full paycheck until March 17. If that happens, however, Americans could see delays or even cancellations at the country’s busiest airports as TSA agents are forced to call out of work and get second jobs to make ends meet. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is one of the largest and most critical recipients of federal funding under DHS. Associate Administrator of the Office of Response and Recovery Gregg Phillips told lawmakers on Wednesday that FEMA has enough funds to continue disaster response through a shutdown in the immediate future, but that its budget would be strained in the event of an unforeseen “catastrophic disaster.” That means Americans hit by an unexpected natural disaster during the shutdown could see delayed federal reimbursement for their homes and small businesses. Others who have already lived through a natural disaster in the last year but still have not received their checks — FEMA is currently working through a backlog worth billions of dollars — could see that relief delayed even further during the shutdown. “In the 45 days I’ve been here … we have spent $3 billion in 45 days on 5,000 projects,” Phillips said. “We’re going as fast as we can. We’re committed to reducing the backlog. I can’t go any faster than we actually are. And if this lapses, that’s going to stop.” American business owners who rely on certain types of worker visas could see processing times extended during a DHS shutdown. That’s because United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) programs are run under DHS and are responsible for processing most immigration applications as well as temporary visas. The majority of those programs are funded by fees and are largely untouched. However, areas like e-Verify, the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program, Conrad 30 J-1 doctors, and non-minister religious workers all rely on funding appropriated by Congress, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association. USCIS could allow employers to use alternate processes if e-Verify is disrupted during a shutdown, but it’s not clear how much time it would add to business owners’ day-to-day responsibilities to learn a new route for that paperwork.
‘Fiction’: House Republican campaign chair dismisses Democrats’ expanding GOP target map
EXCLUSIVE – Emboldened congressional Democrats are expanding their battleground map for this year’s midterm elections, when Republicans will be defending their razor-thin majority in the House. But the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) chairman, Rep. Richard Hudson, isn’t buying it. “I mean, I’ve read fiction my whole life, and I recognize it when I see it,” Hudson said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. Republicans currently control the House 218-214, with two right-tilting districts and one left-leaning seat currently vacant. Democrats need a net gain of just three seats in the midterms to win back the majority for the first time in four years. HOUSE DEMOCRATS ON OFFENSE: EXPAND GOP TARGET LIST The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) this week added five more offensive opportunities in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, South Carolina and Virginia to their list of what they consider are vulnerable Republican-held House districts. That brings the total number of districts Democrats are hoping to flip to 44. The DCCC notes that all five of the new districts they’re adding to their list of “offensive targets” were carried by President Donald Trump by 13 points or fewer in the 2024 elections. FOX NEWS POLL: AN EARLY LOOK AT THE 2026 MIDTERMS “Democrats are on offense, and our map reflects the fact that everyday Americans are tired of Republicans’ broken promises and ready for change in Congress,” DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene emphasized earlier this week. And DCCC Spokesperson Viet Shelton told Fox News Digital, “In a political environment where Democrats are overperforming by more than 17 points in congressional special elections, it’s pretty clear we’re poised to re-take the majority. Momentum and the American people are on our side while Republicans are running scared.” Asked about the DCCC’s move, Hudson scoffed. “They’ve got to have a list they can present to their donors,” he said as he pointed to the DCCC. “But it’s not realistic. I mean, if you look at the map, there are very few seats up for grabs, and the majority of those seats are held by Democrats, but they’re seats that Donald Trump has carried or came very close….if you look at the seats that we’ll be competing for this fall. They’re all favoring Republicans.” The House GOP campaign chair added, “If you look at the map, it’s a Republican map. We just got to go out and win those races.” The move by the DCCC comes as Democrats are energized, despite the party’s polling woes. Democrats, thanks to their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation, scored decisive victories in the 2025 elections and have won or over performed in a slew of scheduled and special ballot box contests since Trump returned to the White House over a year ago. GOP CALLS TRUMP ITS ‘SECRET WEAPON’ — BUT POLLS SHOW WARNING SIGNS HEADING INTO MIDTERMS Republicans, meanwhile, are facing traditional political headwinds in which the party in power in the nation’s capital normally suffers setbacks in the midterm elections. And the GOP is also dealing with Trump’s continued underwater approval ratings. The latest national surveys, including the most recent Fox News poll, indicate the Democrats ahead of the Republicans by mid-single digits in the so-called generic ballot question, which asks respondents whether they’d back the Democratic or GOP candidate in their congressional district without offering specific candidate names. Asked about the polls, Hudson said, “We almost never lead in the generic ballot. But a single digit generic ballot, we do very well.” And the House GOP campaign chair added he remains “very bullish.” Cost of living concerns helped boost Trump and Republicans to sweeping victories in 2024, but affordability and overall economic concerns may work against them this year. While the latest AP/NORC national poll indicated the GOP with a slight advantage over Democrats on handling the economy, a bunch of surveys, including the latest Fox News poll, indicate many Americans feel things are worse off than they were a year ago and remain pessimistic about the economy. But on Friday the latest government numbers indicated that inflation eased during January. And Hudson says the economy is still a winning issue for Republicans. CASH SURGE: HOUSE GOP SMASHES FUNDRAISING RECORDS AS REPUBLICANS GEAR UP TO DEFEND SLIM MAJORITY Pointing to the numerous tax cuts kicking in this year in the GOP’s sweeping One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump signed into law last summer, Hudson touted “we put policies in place that are going to bring prosperity to the American people, and they’re starting to feel it.” “And as we move into tax season…folks who work overtime, folks who work for tips, they’re going to see a lot more money in their pocket thanks to no tax on tips, no tax on overtime,” he added. The GOP is also dealing with a low propensity issue: MAGA voters who don’t always go to the polls when Trump’s name isn’t on the ballot. “Our voters tend to be more working-class voters, and you have to put in extra effort to get them to the polls,” Hudson said. “We know that’s our challenge. President Trump knows that’s the challenge, and he’s committed to helping us.” Pointing to the NRCC’s annual fundraising gala, which Trump will once again headline this year, Hudson said this dinner will be a great kickoff for this year. We raised a whole lot of money with President Trump last year. We plan to raise a lot of money in March with President Trump, and then he’s going to get out on the campaign trail and help us turn out those voters and make that case.” Asked about midterm election predictions, Hudson shied away from giving any hard numbers. “Not going to give you a number, but we’re going to hold the majority,” he predicted. “President Trump was elected with a very specific agenda. We delivered almost his entire domestic agenda, and we’re going to go back to the voters and say promises made, promises kept, and they’re going to keep this
Government shutdown hits DHS after Democrats blow up bipartisan funding deal over immigration uproar
The third government shutdown in under half a year has officially begun just after midnight on Saturday after Democrats and Republicans spent recent weeks battling over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Just one area of government has been left without federal funding as of midnight — the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Congress has completed roughly 97% of its yearly government spending responsibilities, but a deal on DHS has proved elusive after Democrats walked away from an initial bipartisan plan released last month. Now DHS, the third-largest Cabinet agency with nearly 272,000 employees, will see key areas of operation limited or paused altogether. Some 90% of DHS workers will continue on the job during the funding lapse, many without pay, according to the department’s Sept. 2025 government shutdown plan. Established in 2003 after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, DHS has jurisdiction over a wide array of agencies and offices. That includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Secret Service, among others. DHS SHUTDOWN LOOMS AS JOHNSON NAVIGATES GOP DIVIDE OVER STOPGAP SOLUTIONS Among those working without pay will be some 64,000 TSA agents and 56,000 active-duty, reserve, and civilian Coast Guard personnel. Those people and others are expected to receive back pay when the shutdown is over. But as of Friday afternoon, it does not appear the two parties are any closer to an agreement despite the Trump White House sending a potential compromise offer on Wednesday night. “It’s our expectation that we will respond to the unserious offer that Republicans have made that clearly omits things that need to happen,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said during a press conference. “There are a variety of different areas where clearly the administration has fallen short of doing things that make things better for the American people. Until that happens, unfortunately, it appears that Donald Trump and the Republicans have decided to shut down other parts of the Department of Homeland Security.” NOEM SLAMS DEMS BLOCKING DHS FUNDING BILL CITING TSA, FEMA, COAST GUARD: ‘I HOPE THEY COME TO THEIR SENSES’ Democrats blew up bipartisan negotiations over DHS funding last month after federal law enforcement agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis during anti-ICE demonstrations there. They are now demanding significant reforms to rein in ICE and CBP, many of which Republicans in Congress have long panned as non-starters, including banning ICE agents from wearing masks and requiring them to obtain judicial warrants before pursuing suspected illegal immigrants. What happens next will be up to Senate Democrats and the White House, who are expected to continue negotiating through the weekend and into next week if need be. SCHUMER, JEFFRIES MEND RIFT, PRESENT UNITED FRONT ON DHS REFORMS AS DEADLINE NEARS Both sides have traded proposals and legislative text on a compromise DHS funding bill, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus remained steadfast in their position that the GOP’s offer didn’t go far enough. Meanwhile, the majority of House and Senate lawmakers left Washington on Thursday and are not currently expected to return until Feb. 23. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that he would give lawmakers 24 hours’ notice to return to Washington, D.C., should there be a breakthrough, and remained optimistic that there was a path forward despite Democrats’ blockade. “Every iteration of this gets a step closer, because I think the White House is giving more and more ground on some of these key issues,” Thune said. “But so far, they’re not getting any kind of response to Democrats, even allowing us to continue this, allowing [the] government to stay open.” But Democrats have reiterated several times that they believe their demands are simple. “Again, the only — the fundamental ask is that ICE abide by the same principles and policies of every other police force in the country, and if we can get there, then we can resolve the problem,” Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said. Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., gave House lawmakers his blessing to leave Washington with a 48 hours’ notice to return pending Senate action, two sources told Fox News Digital.
Schumer’s ‘E. coli’ burger photo resurfaces after another Dem’s grilling skills get torched: ‘What is that?’
Virginia’s new Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger is being widely mocked for a photo of her grilling, with many on social media expressing alarm and disgust over what appears to be some type of shredded meat over the fire. Spanberger, who ran as a moderate Democrat, has been criticized for enacting radical day one policies, including moving to end cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and restore diversity, equity and inclusion. But this week the primary criticism against her was over a photo she posted of herself smiling over a grill on Thursday with the caption, “Order up.” The post garnered immediate mockery, with many comparing it to the viral photo of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in which the senator could be seen smiling with several of what appeared to be uncooked burger patties, one of which already had cheese on it. Conservative commentator Greg Price reacted to the photo of Spanberger alongside images of Schumer, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe in front of grills, with the caption, “I hope Democrat politicians never stop doing photo ops behind a grill.” TOM HOMAN VOWS TO WORK AROUND NEW DEM VA GOV SPANBERGER’S EXECUTIVE ORDER ENDING ICE COOPERATION Though the new governor was wearing a black apron with the words, “Beef, it’s what’s for dinner,” her post was flooded with comments asking what the strange-looking meat on the grill truly was. “Ma’am, what is that?” reacted independent journalist Breanna Morello. Popular satire account Three Year Letterman commented, “How many neighborhood cats are missing” and “arrest her.” “Did you cut your meat with a weed wacker?” wrote Parker Thayer, a researcher at Capital Research Center. Heritage Foundation research fellow Jason Bedrick commented, “What you did to that meat violates the Geneva Convention.” Another user, conservative commentator David Freeman, simply reacted, “No thanks.” SPANBERGER TAKES SWIPE AT TRUMP ADMIN, SAYS VIRGINIANS WORRIED ABOUT ‘RECKLESSNESS COMING OUT OF WASHINGTON’ Beef supplier Merriwether Farms wrote, “Virginia is in trouble.” In 2024, Schumer took similar criticism over a Father’s Day post, which the New York Democrat eventually deleted, showing off his backyard grill. Our family has lived in an apartment building for all our years, but my daughter and her wife just bought a house with a backyard and for the first time we’re having a barbeque with hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill!” Schumer posted on X on Sunday. “Father’s Day Heaven!” VIRGINIA GOV. SPANBERGER CUTS TIES WITH ICE IN FEDERAL IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION The post was immediately criticized by conservatives accusing him of placing cheese on one of the burger patties prematurely and not knowing how to properly grill the burger. “Chuck is making an E. coli with cheese,” Cavalry founding partner Michael Duncan posted on X. Spanberger’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Rubio steps into Munich spotlight as Trump leans on him to carry Vance’s populist message abroad
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading the U.S. delegation to the high-profile Munich Security Conference — one year after Vice President JD Vance took the German stage in a speech that stunned many in Europe and became one of the defining moments of Trump’s early second term abroad. “President Trump has assembled the most talented team in history, including Vice President Vance and Secretary Rubio, who are working in lockstep to notch wins for the American people,” White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told Fox News Digital ahead of Rubio’s speech. “The President and his team have flexed their foreign policy prowess to end decades-long wars, secure peace in the Middle East, and restore American dominance in the Western Hemisphere. The entire administration is working together to restore peace through strength and put America First.” The Munich Security Conference is an annual high-level forum in Germany that draws hundreds of senior decision-makers — including heads of state, top ministers, military leaders and policy influencers — for closed-door and public talks on global security crises. VANCE, RUBIO CHEER ON TEAM USA WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY IN THEIR WINTER OLYMPICS OPENING WIN Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Gov. Gavin Newsom of California are among notable Democrats attending the conference, in addition to Rubio. Vance became one of the central figures at the 2025 Munich gathering after a widely publicized speech that drew heavy attention and applause from conservatives following the Biden administration. It also sparked backlash among some European officials who viewed his remarks as confrontational. Rubio’s attendance at the 2026 meeting follows a lengthy history of the State Department chief earning a series of different roles under the second administration, including acting national security advisor, secretary of state, acting archivist of the United States and acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Amid rising trans-Atlantic tension, the secretary of state issued a warning to Europe as he departed for his trip to Germany Thursday. VANCE, RUBIO GREET AMERICAN WINTER OLYMPIANS IN ITALY “The Old World is gone,” Rubio told reporters as he departed for Europe Thursday. “Frankly, the world I grew up in, and we live in a new era in geopolitics, and it’s going to require all of us to re-examine what that looks like and what our role is going to be.” President Donald Trump and his administration repeatedly have put Europe on notice for allegedly devolving into a culture of political correctness, speech policing, and a security system that heavily relies on U.S. funding and military might. Amid the rhetoric on Europe, the administration has continued to underscore the importance of U.S.-Europe relations, including Rubio on Thursday. “We’re very tightly linked together with Europe,” he told reporters. “Most people in this country can trace both, either their cultural or their personal heritage, back to Europe. So, we just have to talk about that.” Vance used his Munich Security Conference speech to deliver a blunt warning to Europe’s political class 2025, arguing the continent’s biggest danger is not Moscow or Beijing, but what he described as internal democratic decay that has festered due to political correctness and censorship. RUBIO WARNS NATO ALLIES US IS ‘NOT SIMPLY FOCUSED ON EUROPE,’ DOESN’T HAVE UNLIMITED RESOURCES He accused European governments and institutions of drifting toward censorship, citing policies he said police speech, curb religious expression and pressure online platforms. He also argued elites allegedly were trying to manage elections and debate by dismissing unwelcome outcomes and branding dissent as “misinformation” to sideline populists and blunt voter backlash. “What I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values — values shared with the United States of America,” Vance said in 2025 in the speech that left many European leaders stunned, according to reports at the time. Vance was also overseas this week, holding meetings with Armenia and Azerbaijan, including signing a peaceful nuclear cooperation with Armenia and a strategic partnership with Azerbaijan. That trip followed both Vance and Rubio joining a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni earlier in February in Italy, and Vance leading a delegation that included Rubio during the Olympics’ opening ceremony in Milan. A source familiar told Fox News Digital that there were never plans for the vice president to attend the 2026 conference in Munich. TRUMP HAILS RUBIO AS DIPLOMATIC MENTOR AS SECRETARY OF STATE’S POWER GROWS Vance’s foreign policy footprint became subject of political media scrutiny earlier in 2026 when the U.S. military successfully captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. Vance was not among high-profile U.S. leaders who joined Trump at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, resort to monitor the operation, unlike Rubio who was with the president. The VP’s office brushed off media alarm over his absence, citing that Trump and Vance limit the “frequency and duration” of time they spend together outside the White House due to “increased security concerns.” The vice president is by no means is expected to attend the Munich Security Conference each year, with former Vice President Mike Pence, for example, attending the conference twice under the first Trump administration, and former Vice President Kamala Harris attending three times under the Biden administration. Previous secretaries of state such as John Kerry, Antony Blinken and Clinton have attended and addressed the body in previous years. Vance additionally attended a separate Munich Security Conference event, the Leaders Conference, in Washington, D.C., in May 2025. Trump praised Vance’s 2025 speech as “brilliant” in a statement to reporters at the time, remarking that “they’re losing their wonderful right of freedom of speech” in Europe and that Vance made a strong case against much of Europe’s lax immigration polices. Since then, Trump’s team repeatedly has echoed the same critique in official channels, including a State Department push that has blasted European speech restrictions and targeted the European Union’s Digital Services Act as “Orwellian” censorship, alongside new visa restrictions aimed at foreign officials accused of censoring Americans online. Just
Trump ousts judge-installed prosecutor; constitutional expert says Article II leaves no doubt
President Donald Trump has the constitutional authority to fire court-appointed U.S. attorneys, even if judges legally appointed them, according to former Justice Department official John Yoo, who said the Constitution gives the president broad removal power over executive branch officers. “Otherwise, you could have U.S. attorneys who are enforcing federal law differently than the president would, and it’s the president who all of us in the country elect and to whom the president is accountable,” Yoo told Fox News Digital in an interview. Trump exercised that power this week by terminating Donald Kinsella just hours after federal judges in the Northern District of New York voted to install him to fill the vacancy left by Trump appointee John Sarcone, whose temporary term had expired. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche revealed the move in a fiery social media post, declaring that judges “don’t pick” U.S. attorneys and thrusting the fight deeper into a constitutional dispute over who ultimately controls them. FEDERAL JUDGE DISQUALIFIES US ATTORNEY, TOSSES SUBPOENAS TARGETING NY AG LETITIA JAMES At the center of the most recent dispute is a law that allows federal courts to appoint temporary U.S. attorneys when a presidential nominee has not been confirmed by the Senate and an acting official’s term has expired. Blanche suggested the court’s move to fill a U.S. attorney vacancy was unconstitutional, a comment that comes as the DOJ appeals Judge Lorna Schofield’s decision last month to disqualify Sarcone over his expired tenure. But Yoo, a law professor at University of California, Berkeley, said both that the judges’ actions were legal due to a “quirk” in the law and that the president still has authority to fire Kinsella. “No matter how an executive officer is appointed … none of these positions under the Constitution have any specific way to remove the officers, and so the president can remove all officers in the executive branch, particularly all officers in the Justice Department,” Yoo said. Yoo said the Constitution lays out detailed processes for appointing U.S. attorneys but is “silent” on how they are removed. “It has elaborate procedures … about how you appoint them to office. It doesn’t actually discuss at all how you remove them from office,” Yoo said, referencing the complex federal vacancy laws that govern how interim and acting U.S. attorneys are appointed. He noted that existing law and Supreme Court precedent have long given the president the ultimate power to fire inferior officers in the executive branch, meaning an official like the attorney general cannot remove the appointees chosen by the courts, such as Kinsella, but Trump can. Kinsella did not respond to a request for comment on his termination. Under the law, U.S. attorneys are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. But if the Senate does not act, the president can install a temporary U.S. attorney for a limited period, typically 120 days. If that term expires without confirmation of a nominee, the law gives the district court’s judges the power to appoint a replacement to avoid a vacancy in the office. FORMER TRUMP LAWYER HALLIGAN DEFENDS US PROSECUTOR STATUS IN WAKE OF COMEY, JAMES DISMISSALS Trump, for his part, has struggled to secure Senate confirmations of his U.S. attorney nominees in blue states, where the upper chamber’s blue slip tradition has meant that home state senators must greenlight his nominees. His interim appointees in these states, including New York, California, Nevada, New Jersey and Virginia, have faced legal setbacks as federal judges have uniformly found that Trump cannot repeatedly reappoint the same person to consecutive temporary terms. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has ruled out approving any of Trump’s nominees in New York, for example. After Trump fired Kinsella, a veteran federal prosecutor, Schumer said in a statement the president wanted an unqualified “political loyalist” in office. “Everyone knows Trump only cares about one quality in a U.S. Attorney — complete political subservience,” Schumer said. In New Jersey, Trump quickly fired a court-appointed U.S. attorney after a lower court found Alina Habba’s temporary term had expired. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit upheld the lower court’s finding that Habba was unlawfully serving. In the Eastern District of Virginia, the top prosecutor’s role also remains in limbo as the DOJ appeals a judge’s decision to disqualify Lindsey Halligan, who brought high-profile indictments against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey. The judge tossed those cases, finding Halligan was improperly appointed. The Trump DOJ used a variety of loopholes in the law to install Sarcone, Habba, Halligan and others, and has argued in appeals that the judges disqualifying them — and replacing them with U.S. attorneys of the court’s choosing — were misreading the law. “It is important that a DOJ component is overseen by someone who has the support of the Executive Branch, and that a U.S. Attorney’s Office can continue to function even when there is no Senate-confirmed or interim U.S. Attorney,” DOJ attorneys wrote in court papers in Habba’s case. Yoo signaled that the courts were right to honor the statutory time constraints on acting and interm tenures, but he reiterated that Trump had sole removal power. From the founding, he said, officers who enforce federal law have been removable at will by the president under Article II of the Constitution and the take care clause, the duty to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” “Any subordinates who are carrying out federal law have to be accountable to him,” Yoo said. The DOJ has not at this stage elevated any of the U.S. attorney cases to the Supreme Court. Habba’s case is the furthest along, and a spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on whether the DOJ would appeal that decision.
Texas Dem Senate primary fractures over race rhetoric as ‘mediocre’ jab, ‘oppressor’ remarks ignite backlash
Heated racial rhetoric in Texas is flaring this primary season, as Democratic contenders lean into identity-focused messaging that Republicans say is divisive and a clinic in “wokeness at its worst.” Texas Democrats are heading into primary season with an intraparty fight that is increasingly spilling into race and identity. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who is running for the Senate, has suggested racism would be to blame if she loses, while former Rep. Colin Allred accused Crockett rival and Austin state Rep. James Talarico of calling him “a mediocre Black man” in a political spat affecting races in the Senate and House. “These disgusting comments are wokeness at its worst and the silence is deafening from Democrats,” RNC spokesman Zach Kraft said of the recent rhetoric out of Texas in recent months. SPEAKER JOHNSON LAUGHS OFF JASMINE CROCKETT SENATE BID: ‘ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED’ SHE IS RUNNING Crockett, who is running for the Senate to replace Republican Sen. John Cornyn, offered a fiery response. “You think I didn’t know I was a black woman when I woke up and decided that I was going to run for the U.S. Senate? You think I didn’t factor in and make sure we had enough room to account for that?” Racially focused flare-ups have broken out in recent weeks as Democrats eye high-profile races and try to energize blue voters in the red state. JASMINE CROCKETT CLAIMS ALLIES HAVE EXPRESSED CONCERN FOR HER SAFETY WHILE RUNNING FOR SENATE “Look no further than the Senate primary to see how the woke mind virus has spread like wildfire among the ranks of Texas Democrats. James Talarico spent last week apologizing for his ‘white privilege,’ and Jasmine Crockett is taking a page out of Kamala Harris‘ playbook by preemptively blaming racism and sexism for why she will lose,” Kraft told Fox News Digital. Just this month, Texas Democratic state Rep. Gene Wu, the minority leader of the Texas House, drew backlash over a resurfaced clip from a 2024 interview in which he described white Americans as “oppressors” of “non-whites.” “That there is a sense of, ‘America really just belongs to White people,’ that this was that a lot of people believe that God gave America to White people to rule, and that any time that immigrants, minorities make progress in this country, that that is seen as a slight against them,” Wu, of Houston, said in 2024 on “Define American” podcast with Antonio Vargas. Wu, who was born in Guangzhou, China, added that Latinos, Asians and Black Americans — “everybody” — are kept divided because powerful forces have spent time and money ensuring they do not unite. Instead, he argued, those groups are pushed to see each other as rivals even though they share the same oppressor, and he claimed the oppression “comes from one place.” “I always tell people the day the Latino, African-American, Asian and other communities realize that they are — that they share the same oppressor is the day we start winning, because we are the majority in this country now,” he continued. “We have the ability to take over this country and to do what is needed for everyone and to make things fair.” The clip set off swift condemnation from Texans as it circulated online, including Republican Sen. Ted Cruz saying, “The Democrat party is built on bigotry.” GOP SEIZES ON DEM CIVIL WAR AS PROGRESSIVES JUMP INTO KEY 2026 SENATE RACES: ‘THEY’RE IN SHAMBLES’ Allred recently told former DNC chairman Jaime Harrison of South Carolina on his podcast that Talarico made another disparaging comment about him in private while the former Tennessee Titans linebacker was still a candidate in the Senate race. Allred has since dropped out and is seeking a newly drawn 33rd Congressional District near Dallas. The current 33rd District in the Metroplex is represented by Democratic Rep. Marc Veasey. “He’s said some things to me that I don’t like. He said to me before he got into the race that he thought that he would be a better candidate because he doesn’t have a family, and that… he could spend more time campaigning,” Allred said. “As you know, Jaime, like I didn’t know my dad, so I’m like all about being a father to my two boys, right? I was like, no, no, no, I run because of my family.” A TikTok influencer named Morgan Thompson originally claimed Allred made the “mediocre Black man” comments, recounting the conversation from a Talarico rally in Plano. “James Talarico told me that he signed up to run against a mediocre Black man, not a formidable and intelligent Black woman,” Thompson said, adding she now supports Crockett. EX-SNL STAR BOWEN YANG, PODCAST CO-HOST WALK BACK COMMENTS CRITICIZING JASMINE CROCKETT’S SENATE CAMPAIGN Talarico released a statement soon after calling the situation a “mischaracterization of a private conversation” and said he was talking about Allred’s “method of campaigning,” not his life. “I would never attack him on the basis of race,” Talarico said. “As a Black man in America, Congressman Allred has had to work twice as hard to get where he is. I understand how my critique of the Congressman’s campaign could be interpreted given this country’s painful legacy of racism, and I care deeply about the impact my words have on others,” Talarico said, according to the Texas Tribune. Talarico recently announced that he raised $7.4 million in the first six weeks of the quarter in his contest against Crockett. He did not respond to a request for comment. Crockett’s campaign also did not respond to an inquiry left in its campaign inbox, which is separate from her official congressional office due to the Hatch Act. Fox News Digital’s Marc Tamasco contributed to this report.