Trump snubs Canada by withdrawing country’s invite to join ‘most prestigious Board of Leaders ever’
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Canada was no longer welcome to his newly established Board of Peace. In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump rescinded Canada’s invitation, informing Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that his country could no longer join the “most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled.” “Dear Prime Minister Carney: Please let this Letter serve to represent that the Board of Peace is withdrawing its invitation to you regarding Canada’s joining, what will be, the most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled, at any time,” Trump wrote. Trump unveiled the board during a speech and signing ceremony Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, with leaders from Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Central and Southeast Asia joining him on stage. TRUMP FLOATS ‘BOARD OF PEACE’ TO REPLACE UN, SIGNALS MAJOR GLOBAL POWER SHIFT The president’s rebuff came after he said Wednesday that the United States should control Greenland to build a large-scale “Golden Dome” missile defense system, which he said would also protect Canada, which he argued depends on U.S. security. “We’re building a Golden Dome that’s going to, just by its very nature, going to be defending Canada. Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way. They should be grateful also,” Trump said during the forum in Davos. “But they’re not. I watched your prime minister yesterday. He wasn’t so grateful. They should be grateful to us, Canada. Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements,” he said, referring to remarks Carney made earlier this week. US TRADE REP SHRUGS OFF WORLD LEADERS’ SWIPES AT TRUMP AMID DAVOS BACKLASH While Carney did not mention Trump by name, he warned in his remarks that the rules-based international order is breaking down as “great powers” increasingly wield economic and security leverage to coerce allies. The prime minister argued that “middle powers” like Canada must heed the “wake-up call” that compliance does not guarantee safety, urging instead a strategy focused on diversification, collective action and respect for sovereignty. Trump said he will chair the new peace board, which will also feature senior political, diplomatic and business figures, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and billionaire Marc Rowan. The president has invited Russia, Belarus, France, Germany, Vietnam, Finland, Ukraine, Ireland, Greece, Israel and China, to join the board. Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.
Newly minted Virginia AG who fantasized about opponent’s family dying roasted over glaring typo
Newly sworn-in Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones drew swift online mockery Thursday after his office released a statement referring to him as “Attoney General,” an error that critics seized on as emblematic of his first major move in office. The error appeared in a graphic accompanying Jones’ announcement defending Virginia’s in-state tuition law for undocumented students. Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, Jones’ predecessor, struck a lighter tone in a post that quickly gained traction online. “Go easy folks,” Miyares wrote on X with a screengrab of the faux-pas circled in red. “Perhaps someone on the staff was just saying ‘Hey, Tony’ in a Jersey accent?” JAY JONES OVERCOMES MOUNTING SCANDALS TO DEFEAT JASON MIYARES FOR VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL The Virginia GOP offered a sharper jab, saying it “took him a whole day to fix this,” suggesting the mistake lingered longer than it should have. The Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) mocked both Jones’ error and the timing of the correction. “Jay Jones is struggling,” RNLA posted. “This time he moved so quickly to change the letterhead from his last embarrassment that he forgot how to spell his new title.” SPANBERGER TAKES SWIPE AT TRUMP ADMIN, SAYS VIRGINIANS WORRIED ABOUT ‘RECKLESSNESS COMING OUT OF WASHINGTON’ National Review senior editor Jim Geraghty argued the typo barely registered compared to Jones’ broader record. “The thing is, misspelling ‘attorney’ probably isn’t even in the worst 200 things that Jay Jones has ever sent electronically,” Geraghty quipped. Other users leaned into sarcasm, including one account that joked Jones was “the Valedictorian of the Quality Learing Center.” A newly updated post now sits on Jones’ official government X page, the graphic’s typo scrubbed. Jones began his term under heightened scrutiny after facing backlash on the campaign trail over resurfaced text messages where he fantasized about the death of political opponent House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his children. Despite the controversy, Jones was elected in what was considered a blue wave election last November alongside Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger. The misspelling appeared to overshadow Jones’ announcement that he was moving to defend Virginia’s in-state tuition law, framing the decision as resistance to the Trump administration. “On day one, I promised Virginians I would fight back against the Trump Administration’s attacks on our Commonwealth, our institutions of higher education, and most importantly – our students,” Jones said in the release. “Virginians deserve leaders who will put them first, and that’s exactly what my office will continue to do.” Critics argued the optics of the typo undercut Jones’ message, with the error quickly becoming an easy target amid a contentious fight over in-state tuition and immigration policy. When reached by Fox News Digital, Jones’ office did not acknowledge the typo. “In his first week in office, Attorney General Jay Jones has gotten to work protecting the Commonwealth from Donald Trump’s actions that would raise costs on Virginia families and defending Virginians’ rights from the Trump administration’s attacks,” a spokesperson for the Attorney General wrote in an email to Fox News Digital. “He has acted quickly to block overreach and stand up for the people of Virginia. Attorney General Jones is already scoring wins on affordability and accountability while delivering real results for the Commonwealth.”
RNC eyes ‘America First’ midterm convention to boost Trump, GOP ahead of critical elections
FIRST ON FOX — The Republican National Committee (RNC) is taking a big step toward holding its first-ever midterm convention. The RNC on Thursday advanced a change to the party’s rules that would allow Chairman Joe Gruters “to convene a special ceremonial convention outside a presidential election cycle,” according to a memo shared first with Fox News Digital. National political conventions, where party delegates from around the country formally nominate their party’s presidential candidates, normally take place during presidential election years. But with Republicans aiming to protect their narrow control of the Senate and their razor-thin House majority in this year’s elections, President Donald Trump announced in September that the GOP would hold a convention ahead of the midterms “in order to show the great things we have done” since recapturing the White House. SHOWDOWN FOR THE HOUSE: DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS BRACE FOR HIGH-STAKES MIDTERM CLASH The new memo highlights “the possibility of an America First midterm convention-style gathering aligned with President Trump’s vision for energizing the party this fall.” The party in power, in this case the Republicans, normally faces stiff political headwinds in the midterms. And the hope among Trump and top Republicans is that a midterm convention would give the GOP a high-profile platform to showcase the president’s record and their congressional candidates running in the midterms. The RNC’s rules are based on holding a convention every four years. The proposed rule change will allow the RNC to hold a midterm convention. If adopted, the rule states that the convention must be called at least 60 days in advance, and no business would be conducted during the gathering. RNC CHAIR BETS ON ‘SECRET WEAPON’ TO DEFY MIDTERM HISTORY, PROTECT GOP MAJORITIES The proposed change was adopted Thursday evening by the RNC’s Rules Committee during the party’s winter meeting in Santa Barbara, California. It’s unclear if the full RNC membership will vote on the rule change when it gathers Friday at the confab’s general session. If the rule isn’t adopted by the full RNC, it’s expected to be approved at the party’s spring meeting. Gruters, in a statement to Fox News Digital, highlighted that the RNC’s winter meeting “shows how completely united Republicans are behind President Trump and our efforts to win the midterms. The RNC has been aggressively focused on expanding our war chest, turning out voters and protecting the ballot in this fall’s elections. We’re building the operation needed to protect our majorities and give President Trump a full four-year term with a Republican Congress.” Details on the date and location of the midterm convention will come at a later date and will likely be announced by the president. But a Republican source told Fox News Digital it’s probable the convention would be held at the same time as the RNC’s summer meeting, which typically occurs in August. The rival Democratic National Committee (DNC) may also hold a midterm convention. Sources confirmed to Fox News Digital last summer that DNC chair Ken Martin and other party leaders were quietly pushing the idea of a convention ahead of the midterms. Democrats held a handful of midterm conventions in the 1970s and 1980s.
Inside ‘MELANIA’: The unprecedented access behind Melania Trump’s first film
EXCLUSIVE: From the music, to the cinematography, to the lighting, the marketing and beyond, first lady Melania Trump has planned “every element” of her upcoming first film, “MELANIA,” with her agent and exclusive senior advisor telling Fox News Digital that her involvement in bringing her vision to life has been “unparalleled.” “MELANIA,” a 104-minute film, is set to hit the big screen globally Jan. 30, appearing in theaters across North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and more. TRUMP, FIRST LADY SET FOR WASHINGTON TRUMP–KENNEDY CENTER PREMIERE OF ‘MELANIA’ AHEAD OF GLOBAL RELEASE But the night before, on Jan. 29, premiere events will be hosted across the nation, as Amazon brings the film to theaters. Fox News Digital has learned that President Donald Trump and the first lady will attend the premiere event at the newly renamed Trump–Kennedy Center in Washington Jan. 29. Premiere events also will be held in New York; Phoenix; Salt Lake City; Chicago; Miami; San Diego; Nashville, Tennessee; Orlando, Florida; Orange County, California; San Francisco/Palo Alto; Minneapolis; Philadelphia; Denver; Detroit; Kansas City, Missouri; Boston; Austin, Texas; Houston; Las Vegas; Dallas; and Los Angeles. Fox News Digital has learned that Amazon executives will attend premiere events for the film. Marc Beckman, the first lady’s agent and exclusive senior advisor — and her right-hand-man — told Fox News Digital that the first lady has been hands-on from day one. “The first lady’s involvement and her participation in this film is unparalleled,” Beckman said. “She is fully committed from ideation of the concept itself to the creative direction across all touchpoints.” “As everyone knows, the first lady is a very visual person — she is best in class when it comes to style and design,” Beckman said. “She had the idea of getting into the film industry for many, many years.” Beckman said that from the get-go, the first lady’s idea was “to create a very rich, cinematic experience unlike anything that has been created before. This is not a documentary. This is a film.” “It is to give her fans, and Americans, and people around the world the opportunity to look into the life of a first lady who has been very, very private,” he explained. The film will give the audience a look into the first lady’s business, her philanthropic efforts and her family life, “all as she prepares to be the first lady of the United States again.” “She brings the audience into certain moments — interacting with her husband; the U.S. Secret Service for security; geopolitical moments; moments with world leaders; and — of course, for those who want it — there is tons of fashion here.” Beckman added: “I call it a fashion explosion. Vogue can’t keep up with the first lady’s fashion. She is undeniably the most fashionable first lady in history.” “She brings the audience into incredible meetings that no one has ever seen before of a first lady and a president of the United States going into office — this is unprecedented access that all Americans, and people all over the world, would love to see.” Beckman said that the film, on one hand, is about Melania Trump. “But on the other hand, it is about what a first lady of the United States has to do to get her family ready, on the personal side, to retake the office, on a professional side,” he said. Beckman detailed the original negotiations he led with major companies like Amazon, who ultimately bought the rights, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount, Netflix and Disney. EXCLUSIVE: FIRST LOOK AT ‘MELANIA’ FILM Fox News Digital has learned that Disney sought to obtain the exclusive rights to the film, as well as Netflix and Paramount. Amazon and MGM had the highest bid, purchasing the license for the film for $40 million — the largest documentary deal in history. Beckman stressed that he negotiated the deal on behalf of the first lady while dealing with “all the studios directly.” “Effectively, we created a bidding war,” he said. “I was able to have a very competitive bidding process between best-in-class companies.” Beckman said the decision to select Amazon was “not only for their financial offer, but because they had the most impressive team for what the first lady wanted to create — a quality film in theaters, and later, the docuseries.” “The docuseries will allow the first lady to unpack these stories in a much bigger, detailed way,” he said. As for the deal, Beckman said it was structured in a way that made “both sides very enthusiastic.” “Amazon has been incredible,” he said. “They have been so great and so committed to the first lady and the success of this film. We’re very grateful.” The film is directed by Brett Ratner, director of the “Rush Hour” film series, who worked hand-in-hand with Melania Trump to bring her vision to life. “Brett Ratner has been amazed — he says it is as if Mrs. Trump has been working in Hollywood for her whole life — she’s a natural,” Beckman explained. “She has been involved in setting the tone with regard to, not just the concept, but lighting and filming.” Post-production, the first lady was very hands-on alongside the director with editing, color-correcting and hand-selecting all the songs for the film. “Beyond that, the first lady is also involved in the developing of all of the marketing elements,” Beckman said, noting that she built the trailer with the director and the Amazon team, commercials, and the ad and print campaign as well. Meanwhile, the first lady’s team tapped famous fashion photographer Ellen von Unwerth for the photography of the film. “This is something the fashion industry will not expect,” Beckman said. Ellen is at the top of her game — a modern legend. Unwerth works on some of the biggest fashion campaigns for Chanel, Dior and more. She has been featured in Vanity Fair and Vogue. “They worked together years ago on a campaign and, for obvious reasons, we
Trump calls for investigation into Ilhan Omar’s wealth, says it should start ‘NOW’
President Donald Trump on Thursday called for an investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., alleging in a social media post that the lawmaker is worth “over $30 Million Dollars” and questioning how such wealth could have been accumulated while serving in public office. “Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is worth over $30 Million Dollars,” Trump wrote. “There is no way such wealth could have been accumulated, legally, while being paid the salary of a politician.” Trump said Omar “should be investigated for Financial and Political Crimes, and that investigation should start, NOW!” TRUMP RIPS ‘CROOKED’ ILHAN OMAR AS HOUSE RAMPS UP INVESTIGATION INTO EXPLODING NET WORTH The comments were posted to Truth Social Thursday, and the post quickly drew thousands of reactions on the platform. Omar, a Somalia-born Democrat who represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, is the subject of a House Oversight Committee investigation into her and husband Tim Mynett’s finances, though no formal charges have been filed against her. ILHAN OMAR VOWS ‘NOT TO GIVE ICE A SINGLE CENT’ IN HEATED CONGRESSIONAL FUNDING FIGHT Her net worth allegedly skyrocketed nearly $30 million in just one year, according to financial disclosures released last week. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has previously said his panel is seeking answers on Omar and Mynett through congressional oversight. Omar is expected to attend an “ICE Out of Minnesota” protest Friday in Minneapolis. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and Rep. Ilhan Omar’s office for comment. Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this reporting.
White House baby boom in full bloom as Usha Vance, top Trump aides announce pregnancies
The White House is experiencing a baby boom. At least three women with close ties to the White House are pregnant, including second lady Usha Vance, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Katie Miller, who is married to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. The Vances announced Tuesday that they are expecting their fourth child in July. The couple share three children together: Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel. “Usha and the baby are doing well, and we are all looking forward to welcoming him in late July,” the Vances wrote in a statement shared on social media. VICE PRESIDENT JD VANCE DECLARES MARRIAGE TO WIFE USHA ‘IS AS STRONG AS IT’S EVER BEEN’ “During this exciting and hectic time, we are particularly grateful for the military doctors who take excellent care of our family and for the staff members who do so much to ensure that we can serve the country while enjoying a wonderful life with our children,” they said. The Vances have been married since 2014, and met while they were students at Yale Law School. Leavitt announced Dec. 26, 2025, that she and her husband Nick were expecting their second child, who is due in May. Leavitt and her husband welcomed their first child, Niko, in July 2024. VANCE UNLEASHES PROFANITY-LACED TWO-WORD MESSAGE FOR CRITICS OF HIS WIFE USHA “My husband and I are thrilled to grow our family and can’t wait to watch our son become a big brother,” Leavitt told Fox News Digital. “My heart is overflowing with gratitude to God for the blessing of motherhood, which I truly believe is the closest thing to Heaven on Earth.” Leavitt told Fox News Digital in December 2025 that she is “extremely grateful to President Trump and our amazing Chief of Staff Susie Wiles for their support, and for fostering a pro-family environment in the White House.” “Nearly all of my West Wing colleagues have babies and young children, so we all really support one another as we tackle raising our families while working for the greatest president ever,” Leavitt said. FORMER DOGE ADVISER KATIE MILLER LAUNCHES NEW PODCAST AIMED AT BUSY MOMS Leavitt is the first press secretary to be pregnant, and is remaining press secretary, according to a senior White House official. Likewise, Katie Miller, a conservative podcast host, and Stephen Miller shared a joint Instagram post Dec. 31, 2025, celebrating the new year and depicting Katie Miller holding her baby bump. The couple shares three children: Mackenzie, Jackson and Hudson. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Fox News’ Brooke Singman and Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
Republicans narrowly reject efforts to handcuff Trump’s war powers in Venezuela
A majority of House Republicans banded together on Thursday to defeat a bipartisan war powers resolution that could have restricted President Donald Trump from taking future military action in Venezuela. The House GOP managed to defeat the measure with its razor-thin majority in a victory for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and the White House. The resolution failed in a 215-215 vote, falling short of securing a majority needed to succeed. Only two Republicans, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., voted in favor of the package. RAND PAUL BREAKS WITH TRUMP ON VENEZUELA, CALLS ACTION ‘WAR’ AS SENATE PREPARES CONSTITUTIONAL SHOWDOWN Speaker Johnson held the vote for over 20 minutes, buying Republicans time to vote against the resolution. Eventually one Republican latecomer, Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Tx., arrived at the chamber, breaking the stalemate and dooming the measure. “Close the vote!” Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., yelled as Republicans struggled to solidify their opposition. “This is serious s—!” The bill was sponsored by Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. The resolution directs Trump to remove troops deployed to Venezuela and mirrors a similar effort in the Senate aimed at restricting the administration from taking future military action in the country. Administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, say there are currently no U.S. armed forces in Venezuela, although Trump has ordered a naval blockade off the country’s coast. The White House sharply rebuked the legislation when asked by Fox News Digital on Thursday. “It’s a shame that these members of Congress want to usurp the authority of the commander in chief to take vital actions to strengthen our national security and stop drugs and criminals from entering our homeland,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said. Ahead of Thursday’s vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he expected Republicans would stick together to defeat the resolution. LOOMING WAR POWERS SENATE VOTE RAMPS UP PRESSURE ON HAWLEY AFTER MAGA BACKLASH “I don’t think we will have any breaks on that,” Johnson told Fox News Digital that morning. “We are the last great superpower, and we have to allow the president the authority to use what is his under the Constitution,” Johnson said, referring to Trump’s role as commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces. “I don’t think we need to get in the way of that.” The McGovern-Massie resolution comes after Trump ordered the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month in what the administration has framed as a narrowly tailored law enforcement operation. The White House contends that the U.S. has simply detained an alleged criminal. Maduro and his wife were indicted in a New York court for allegedly facilitating drug trafficking in the U.S. “The entire Trump administration coordinated to execute the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, who headed a major narco-trafficking foreign terrorist organization and was a fugitive of American justice,” Kelly said. Democrats like McGovern have pushed back on the GOP’s portrayal, raising concerns that the U.S. may carry out more military operations in Venezuela. But the bipartisan House duo’s resolution was slightly different from a similar piece of legislation by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., also dealing with Trump’s power in Venezuela. The House version would require the Trump administration to remove any U.S. forces in the region, despite officials telling lawmakers that there were no boots on the ground in the country following the surprise strikes and capture of Maduro. The likelihood that Massie and McGovern’s resolution would survive in the Senate is made more difficult given that lawmakers in the upper chamber already killed Kaine’s push to require congressional authorization for any future military activities in the region. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: REPUBLICANS SEEK EXIT FROM VENEZUELA WAR POWERS DEBATE AFTER RECENTLY VOTING FOR IT Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., flipped their votes to kill the resolution after assurances and guarantees from administration officials, most notably Rubio, that there were no boots on the ground in the country. Still, Rubio is set to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee next week to lay out the administration’s plan in the region. His appearance also comes amid uncertainty about Trump’s plans with Greenland. Rubio already teased that plan after one of several classified briefings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. For now, the administration is considering a three-pronged plan in the region focused on stabilization, recovery and transition.
Patel reveals bizarre ‘self-awarded’ trophy former FBI officials made to celebrate Trump probe
FBI Director Kash Patel shared a picture of what he said was a “self-awarded” trophy made by former FBI officials to celebrate Operation Arctic Frost, an investigation launched after the 2020 election targeting President Donald Trump and his allies. The bizarre metallic-colored, 3D-printed award featured “AF” with a lightening bolt and dollar sign printed along its body and a raised map of the U.S. on its base, which also included miniature buildings and infrastructure. “CR-15” was printed along the base. CR-15 is a now-disbanded FBI unit that served as a public corruption squad. “People ask why I said the old FBI was a diseased temple,” Patel wrote on X. “This is what corruption looks like when it thinks no one is watching. “I disbanded CR-15 and removed the corrupt actors involved,” he continued. “So when legacy media cries that President Trump’s FBI fired people and made sweeping changes, I have one response: You’re damn right we did.” FBI FIRES AGENTS, DISMANTLES CORRUPTION SQUAD AFTER PROBE UNVEILS MONITORING OF GOP SENATORS, PATEL SAYS Patel made his comments as Republican lawmakers continue to raise alarms about the FBI’s Arctic Frost probe, which later fed into former special counsel Jack Smith’s work. JACK SMITH MEETING WITH THEN-FBI DIRECTOR WRAY RECORDED AS ‘SIGNIFICANT CASE NOTIFICATION’ IN J6 PROBE In October, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., unveiled 197 subpoenas they said the Biden-era FBI used to seek testimony and documents from hundreds of Republicans and GOP entities. Johnson called the subpoena list “nothing short of a Biden administration enemies list,” arguing Arctic Frost was used to improperly investigate the Republican political apparatus. BIDEN DOJ SUBPOENAED JIM JORDAN’S PHONE RECORDS COVERING MORE THAN TWO YEARS Smith, whose team used Arctic Frost in mounting charges tied to the 2020 election that were later dismissed after Trump’s victory in 2024, has defended his work and appeared on Capitol Hill to face questions from the House Judiciary Committee. Republicans have criticized Smith for seeking gag orders against Trump during his presidential campaign; fast-tracking court proceedings; subpoenaing records and phone data of Trump-aligned individuals and entities, including members of Congress; and approving $20,000 in payments to an FBI confidential human source to gather intelligence on Trump, a source told Fox News Digital. Fox News Digital’s Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.
7 House Democrats break with Jeffries to pass DHS funding despite ICE backlash
Seven Democrats voted with Republicans on Thursday to pass a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending bill, despite opposition from their own leadership over unmet demands for additional guardrails on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. The DHS bill will be bundled alongside three other spending bills, totaling a combined $1.2 trillion in federal spending. The entire package’s passing is a significant step toward averting a government shutdown come Jan. 30. Lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted on two separate packages on Thursday afternoon. One groups together three spending bills to fund the departments of War, Education, Labor, Transportation and Health and Human Services. The second is a standalone bill funding DHS, which includes ICE. ILHAN OMAR VOWS ‘NOT TO GIVE ICE A SINGLE CENT’ IN HEATED CONGRESSIONAL FUNDING FIGHT The DHS bill passed by a 220-207 vote with the help of seven Democrats. Only one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., voted in opposition. The larger package passed with much broader bipartisan support in a 341-88 vote, with 149 Democrats joining Republicans to pass it. Most Democrats bucked the DHS funding legislation after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and other top Democrats said they were opposed to the bill due to insufficient restrictions against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. With the legislation in the rearview mirror, the House advanced the last pieces of the puzzle needed to avoid a government shutdown by the end of the month. It’s also the first time in nearly 30 years that Congress has avoided funding the government through one massive spending bill known as an “omnibus” or through short-term incremental funding extensions called “continuing resolutions” (CRs). CONGRESS UNVEILS $1.2T SPENDING BILL AS PROGRESSIVE REVOLT BREWS OVER ICE FUNDING With the passage of Thursday’s package, lawmakers will have advanced four small bundles of two to three of their 12 annual appropriations bills. While some conservatives still called for the 12 bills to be passed as individual pieces of legislation, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., framed the GOP effort as a step toward returning Congress to the way the process is supposed to work on paper. “This is a big thing,” Johnson told Fox News Digital. “We will be making history this week, having moved 12 [appropriations] bills through the process. A lot of people thought it would be impossible. But we stuck to it, stuck together — it’s a big thing.” House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., echoed Johnson’s framing. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: PROGRESSIVES EYE SHUTDOWN LEVERAGE TO REIN IN ICE, VENEZUELA OPERATIONS “We aren’t here for just another stopgap temporary fix,” Cole said on the House floor. “We are here to finish the job by providing full-year funding. This measure is a product of sustained engagement and serious legislation.” If passed by the Senate, the bills will eliminate the possibility of a government shutdown for the remainder of FY 2026. Despite eventually drawing support from Democrats, the final DHS bill faced fierce opposition from most of the party. In their view, the bill failed to shore up safeguards against ICE abuses in the wake of a fatal confrontation between an ICE agent and a woman named Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. Good was shot and killed in her car and was accused by Republicans of impeding ICE operations just before her killing. “Kristi Noem and ICE are out of control. Taxpayer dollars are being misused to brutalize U.S. citizens, including the tragic killing of Renee Nicole Good. This extremism must end,” Jeffries said in a statement ahead of the vote. While the final bill does include some new safeguards — such as requiring ICE agents to adopt body cameras and to undergo additional training on how to interact with the public — Democrats said those measures fell woefully short. HOUSE PASSES NEARLY $180B FUNDING PACKAGE AFTER CONSERVATIVE REBELLION OVER MINNESOTA FRAUD FEARS “All the guardrails in the world don’t make sense if the administration isn’t going to follow the law and the language that we pass. Members have to take that into account,” Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., the No. 3 Democrat in the House, said. “Ultimately, members are going to vote [for] what’s in the best interest of their districts.” The Senate will move on the package next week, with the deadline to avert a partial government shutdown fast approaching at the end of this month. Senate Republicans and Democrats have reached a tenuous truce in the upper chamber after having just exited the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, with neither side inclined to once again shut the lights off in Washington, D.C. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the bulk of his caucus, contend that the best way to rein in some of the administration’s actions, particularly with Trump’s usage of ICE, was through the government funding process. But despite the four-bill package being constructed with a bipartisan touch, its passage in the upper chamber isn’t guaranteed. That’s because there is a cohort of Senate Democrats frustrated with the restrictions in the DHS funding bill who contend, like their colleagues in the House, that they do not go far enough. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Committee, signaled that he would not support the package once it comes to the Senate despite being a part of negotiations on the final product. He argued in a lengthy statement that the bill lacked “meaningful constraints on the growing lawlessness of ICE, and increases funding for detention over the last appropriations bill passed in 2024.” “Democrats have no obligation to support a bill that not only funds the dystopian scenes we are seeing in Minneapolis but will allow DHS to replicate that playbook of brutality in cities all over this country,” Murphy said.
US formally exits World Health Organization, locking in Trump’s break from global health body
The United States has formally completed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday. Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office in 2025 announcing the intention of the U.S. to withdraw from the WHO due to its mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic and a host of other issues the president took issue with, such as “onerous payments” that didn’t match contributions from other member states. A year later, nearly to the day, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of State announced that the withdrawal from the health organization is complete. The U.S. has been a member of the WHO since its establishment in 1948. The WHO is a specialized agency within the United Nations responsible for coordinating global public health efforts, including disease surveillance and outbreak response. FORMER BRITISH PM URGES TRUMP TO DISMANTLE UN, CITING INTERNATIONAL BODY’S ‘BAD DECISIONS’ At the heart of the withdrawal is the Trump administration’s dissatisfaction with the agency for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and its ties to China. “The WHO delayed declaring a global public health emergency and a pandemic during the early stages of COVID-19, costing the world critical weeks as the virus spread,” HHS said in a press release on the official withdrawal. “During that period, WHO leadership echoed and praised China’s response despite evidence of early underreporting, suppression of information and delays in confirming human-to-human transmission.” TRUMP FLOATS ‘BOARD OF PEACE’ TO REPLACE UN, SIGNALS MAJOR GLOBAL POWER SHIFT A senior HHS official stressed to the media during a call Thursday previewing the withdrawal that the U.S. will remain a global leader on public health following the change. The senior HHS official said that despite the U.S. funding up to 25% of the WHO’s operations, there has never been a U.S. director of the organization, while citing other nations that have provided far less funding to the organization. The U.S. is “walking away” from organizations that “fail the United States,” the official said, and is not walking away from “being a global health leader,” pointing to the Department of State inking multiyear bilateral agreements on Global Health Cooperation with dozens of countries in December 2025. The official said more updates on the agreements are forthcoming. Health and Human Services chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a fiery prerecorded speech for the World Health Assembly in May 2025, slamming the WHO for becoming “mired in bureaucratic bloat, entrenched paradigms, conflicts of interest and international power politics.” UN CHIEF ACCUSES US OF DITCHING INTERNATIONAL LAW AS TRUMP BLASTS GLOBAL BODIES “While the United States has provided the lion’s share of the organization’s funding historically, other countries such as China have exerted undue influence over its operations in ways that serve their own interests and not particularly the interests of the global public,” he said. “Not only has the WHO capitulated to political pressure from China, it’s also failed to maintain an organization characterized by transparency and fair governance,” he continued. “The WHO often acts like it has forgotten that its members must remain accountable to their own citizens and not to transnational or corporate interests.” Trump formally initiated a WHO withdrawal under his first administration in 2020, sparking sharp criticisms from Democrats who argue leaving the organization weakens global disease surveillance and leaves the United States less prepared to respond to future pandemics. Then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi described the withdrawal as “true senselessness” in 2020, arguing “millions of lives” were at risk. The withdrawal from the WHO comes as President Donald Trump is in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum, which has been underscored by Trump’s pressure on Europe to strike a deal for the U.S. to control Greenland.