Republicans eye Iowa Senate supermajority in Tuesday special election
Democrats’ last sliver of leverage in Iowa’s Senate is on the line Tuesday, with Republicans poised to seize a supermajority that would let GOP leaders govern with little resistance. IOWA’S POLICE CHIEF’S SON AMONG NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS KILLED IN SYRIA ISIS TERRORIST ATTACK Renee Hardman, the Democratic candidate, will face off against Republican Lucas Loftin in a race for Iowa Senate District 16 to fill the seat of the late Sen. Claire Celsi, who died of undisclosed medical complications in October. Celsi, a Democrat, had held a seat in Iowa’s Senate since 2019. With control of two-thirds of the chamber, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds could more easily push through her appointments to state agencies. Without it, she requires the help of at least one Democrat to confirm her nominations. TOP GOP SENATOR STEPS UP EFFORTS TO PROTECT REPUBLICAN MAJORITY IN 2026 MIDTERMS That lone vote provides Democrats with a rare level of power in the Hawkeye State. Democrats, now in danger of losing their foothold in the Senate, also find themselves dwarfed in the state’s House of Representatives, where Republicans hold 66 of the chamber’s 100 seats. Democrats, meanwhile, hold just 33. There’s one vacancy in the chamber. At the federal level, Republicans hold all four of Iowa’s districts in the House of Representatives and both U.S. Senate seats. Notably, Democrats will likely try to wage a competitive Senate race to replace retiring Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, in 2026. DEM HOUSE CANDIDATE’S LUXURIOUS LIFESTYLE CLASHES WITH ‘WORKING-CLASS’ CAMPAIGN MESSAGE Democrats narrowly escaped a Republican supermajority back in another special election in August. Tuesday will mark Iowa’s sixth special election of the year. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 30.
Deal-making clemency: Inside Trump’s most disputed pardons of 2025
President Donald Trump granted clemency this year to a range of figures he viewed as victims of an unfair justice system. Some were tied to his newfound interest in cryptocurrency or shared in his 2020 election grievances, while another was simply brought up during a round of golf. While presidents of both parties have long used their pardon power in controversial ways, Trump’s clemency activity in 2025 stood out for its volume and for the deal-making style that has been a defining feature of his approach to power. What follows is a list of some of the president’s most controversial pardons in 2025. The day Trump took office, he issued mass clemency to nearly all his supporters who had been convicted of federal offenses related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Trump said at the time they had been “treated very unfair” by prosecutors and the courts. Roughly 1,600 people faced charges over the Capitol attack, and the Department of Justice secured guilty pleas or convictions for more than 1,200 of them, according to federal data. About 200 pleaded guilty to felonies that included assaulting officers, and more than 200 others were convicted in trials of offenses that included attacking law enforcement. Trump singled out 14 of the defendants, some of whom received prison sentences that stretched beyond a decade, and commuted their sentences instead of pardoning them. They included numerous Oath Keepers and Proud Boys leaders. BOASBERG REVERSES COURSE ON JAN. 6 DEFENDANTS PARDONED BY TRUMP The president also directed the DOJ to drop pending cases for all the remaining defendants. The grand act of clemency wiped out one of the DOJ’s largest and most resource-intensive law enforcement operations in history. Cases were brought throughout all four years of the Biden administration. The founder and former CEO of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency platform, was convicted of anti-money laundering violations and received a full pardon in October 2025. The pardon came one week after Donald Trump Jr. introduced a lobbyist for Zhao to Trump while on stage at Charlie Kirk’s memorial. Critics observed that Binance has boosted the Trump family’s cryptocurrency company, but a lawyer denied any business reasons for the pardon, instead telling The Wall Street Journal Zhao was “pardoned for justice.” The former U.S. representative who was found to be a serial fabulist after his congressional run had his seven-year prison sentence commuted in October 2025. Santos pleaded guilty to federal fraud and identity-theft charges, admitting to using campaign funds to buy luxury products and pay off his credit card debt. Fellow Long Island Republicans who had previously called for his resignation reacted angrily to the commutation, with Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., calling it “not justice” and unfair to the people Santos defrauded. HONDURAS ISSUES WARRANT FOR FORMER PRESIDENT PARDONED BY TRUMP Trump said Santos, who became an outspoken supporter of the president prior to receiving the pardon, was mistreated in jail. Santos “has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated,” Trump said. Leiweke, a sports executive, was charged by the Trump DOJ’s Antitrust Division with rigging a bid to build an arena at the University of Texas. The DOJ accused Leiweke of violating the Sherman Act by gypping the university and taxpayers out of a fair bidding process to benefit his own company. Former Rep. Trey Gowdy, who represented Leiweke, persuaded Trump to grant his client the pardon after a round of golf at Mar-a-Lago, The Wall Street Journal first reported. Trump issued a heavily criticized pardon to Hernandez, the former president of Honduras, who had been convicted in a U.S. federal court on drug-trafficking and firearms charges and sentenced to 45 years in prison for helping cocaine traffickers move hundreds of tons of narcotics into the U.S. Trump’s pardon, granted in December, freed Hernandez from prison in West Virginia just days before Honduras’s presidential election. Honduras responded by issuing a warrant for Hernandez’s arrest. Trump claimed Hernandez had been unfairly prosecuted by the Biden administration. Critics observed that Trump has pushed legal boundaries to carry out one of his top agenda items, cracking down on drug trafficking, and that Hernandez’s release was counterproductive to that mission. Todd and Julie Chrisley, reality TV stars from “Chrisley Knows Best,” were convicted in 2022 of bank fraud and tax evasion and both serving prison sentences when Trump pardoned them in May. Trump cited “pretty harsh treatment” as his reason for the clemency. Their daughter, Savannah, endorsed Trump during the Republican National Committee convention ahead of the 2024 election. The daughter revealed in December she is stepping into a cohost role on “The View.” Incidentally, Savannah Chrisley’s future cohosts had slammed her parents’ pardon as unethical. NEW MOTION SEEKS COLORADO CLERK TINA PETERS’ RELEASE, CHALLENGING STATE AFTER TRUMP PARDON “If you are a reality star with a lot of money, and a tax cheat, and you commit fraud, then that’s good. We’re going to give you a pardon,” anti-Trump host Joy Behar had said. Trump granted a full pardon to Archer, who was convicted in a federal fraud case, in March 2025. Archer was a longtime business partner of Hunter Biden but became an ally to House Republicans as they investigated the Bidens for what they said were corrupt foreign business dealings. The Democratic congressman from Texas and his wife were pardoned after the Biden DOJ brought federal bribery charges against them. Trump claimed they were unfairly targeted because Henry Cuellar, a moderate who represented a battleground district in South Texas, supported more border security than many of his Democratic colleagues. However, when Cuellar filed for reelection as a Democrat after Trump’s pardon, the president said he was displeased. “Such a lack of LOYALTY,” Trump wrote on social media. “Oh well, next time, no more Mr. Nice guy!” Trump announced in December that he pardoned Tina Peters, the former Mesa County, Colorado, elections clerk who was serving a 9-year state prison sentence for orchestrating a data-breach scheme to
House GOP whip urges citizenship revocations tied to Minnesota fraud schemes
The No. 2 Republican in the House of Representatives believes it’s time to deport Somalis who participated in expansive fraud in Minnesota – even if they hold citizenship. “I have three words regarding Somalis who have committed fraud against American taxpayers: Send them home,” Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., said in a press release Monday evening. LOEFFLER: VAST NETWORK OF SOMALI NONPROFITS RIPPED OFF MINNESOTA’S WELFARE STATE “If they’re here illegally, deport them immediately; if they’re naturalized citizens, revoke their citizenship and deport them quickly thereafter. If we need to change the law to do that, I will.” Emmer’s statement comes after recent revelations that fraud schemes targeting government benefit programs in the North Star State may have robbed taxpayers of up to $9 billion. In recent months, investigators have uncovered sweeping fraud schemes masquerading as daycare centers, medical providers and food assistance programs, siphoning millions in government funds by fabricating services or inflating the number of people they claimed to serve. According to Emmer, 90% of the people charged with fraud have a Somali background. “Our nation will not tolerate those who take advantage of our charity and refuse to assimilate into our culture,” Emmer said. STATE OFFICIALS AND DAYCARE MANAGER PUSH BACK ON VIRAL VIDEO FRAUD ALLEGATIONS IN MINNESOTA While federal and congressional investigations continue to work through numerous schemes, one of the more troubling questions about the fraud is about where the money could end up. City Journal, a national magazine, first reported that some of those funds could have gone to Al-Shabaab – an Islamic terror group with ties to al Qaeda. While the group also operates out of Kenya and Ethiopia, Al-Shabaab is primarily concentrated in Somalia. “If any naturalized Somalis had undisclosed ties to terrorist organizations like Al-Shabaab, I want to see their citizenship revoked and their a–es sent back immediately. Same goes for anyone who is found to have committed marriage fraud during the immigration process,” Emmer said. Under current law, U.S. citizens born into the country may not have their citizenship revoked as a penalty for crimes they commit. Naturalized citizens can have their status revoked, but only in a handful of scenarios. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, naturalized immigrants can only have their citizenship revoked if they misrepresented their record in the application, such as hiding criminal histories or using a fake identity. UNEARTHED SURVEILLANCE EXPOSES HOW PARENTS WERE ALLEGEDLY INVOLVED IN MINNESOTA’S DAYCARE FRAUD SCHEME Earlier this month, the Supreme Court announced it would review the constitutionality of an executive order from President Donald Trump that aims to exclude children born to parents with temporary or unlawful status from U.S. citizenship. The court will hear that case in spring 2026.
Minnesota Dem Senate candidate faces call from opponent to apologize over viral ‘pandering’ hijab video
Minnesota Republican senatorial candidate David Hann is calling on one of his potential Democratic opponents to apologize after a video of her wearing a hijab and supporting the Somali community amidst a massive fraud scandal went viral on social media. “It’s emblematic of the way she and other Democrat politicians in Minnesota have behaved over the past decade or so. They’re very political,” said former Minnesota state Sen. David Hann, who is running for Senate in the Republican primary, of Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s video wearing a hijab and defending the Somali community amid a massive fraud scandal that has rocked Minnesota over the past several years. “They just are pandering to political constituencies, and they’re not doing the job that they were elected to do.” In the video, which was widely criticized by conservatives on social media last week, Flanagan can be seen donning a hijab while talking to Somali constituents. MINNESOTA GOP LAWMAKERS CITE CONSTITUTION IN CALL FOR WALZ TO RESIGN OVER FRAUD CRISIS “Salam alaikum,” Flanagan says in the video giving an Arabic greeting before saying, “The Somali community is part of the fabric of the state of Minnesota.” “I am here shopping today and just encouraging other folks to show up, support our Somali businesses, support our immigrant neighbors, and I know that things are scary right now,” Flanagan added in the video that was aired on Somali TV. “Being part of Minnesota and growing up here, the Somali community has always been a part of my Minnesota,” Flanagan added, while telling residents to “show up and support our Somali businesses and our immigrant neighbors.” “We’ve got your back,” Flanagan said. Flanagan, who has not spoken out in response to the viral investigation from journalist Nick Shirley highlighting the alleged fraud problem in Minnesota, faced criticism over the video from those who accused her of downplaying the scandal. MEDIA ‘COMPLICITY’ BLAMED AS FEDS SAY MINNESOTA FRAUD CRISIS COULD REACH $9B: ‘SHOWN THEIR TRUE COLORS’ “This is what political performance looks like — symbolism over accountability — while billions in taxpayer dollars vanish,” Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham posted on X. “Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan wears hijab in solidarity with Somalis as feds probe multibillion-dollar fraud scandal.” Hann told Fox News Digital that Flanagan should apologize for and retract the video. “They did not do their duty out of concern that they would offend a political constituency,” Hann said. “So they haven’t done anything to take responsibility for what the public expects them to do. So yes, she should apologize.” “She certainly should not be sent to Washington to oversee federal dollars being spent. But it’s emblematic of the way Democrats have governed in this state. They like to posture, they like to tell people how compassionate they are. They tell us our high taxes are helping people, but they really haven’t demonstrated a concern for helping people. They’re more interested in just spending.” Fox News Digital has extensively reported in recent weeks on the Minnesota fraud scandal, including concerns that the fear of being called “racist” helped provide cover for the fraud, which primarily occurred within the state’s Somali community. LAWMAKERS PROBE SBA LOANS LINKED TO MINNESOTA’S $9B FRAUD SCANDAL: ‘RECKLESS DECISION MAKING’ “The Somali voting block is significant in the Minneapolis area, of course, and they’re concerned about that,” Hann told Fox News Digital. “And yes, I’ve seen those reports as well, that there were concerns about how this would appear. Most of the fraud was conducted by Somalis who put up these shell companies and looted the public treasury and I think the Democrats were concerned that if they went after that, they would appear to be picking on the Somali community when, in fact, they needed to enforce the law.” “I think every community wants to see the laws enforced and people in Minnesota want to see laws enforced. And this is why this is so terrible. They are just failing to do the duty that they were elected to do.” The lieutenant governor, who has been in office since 2019, is challenging two other Democratic candidates in the Senate primary race to fill the seat of outgoing Democratic Sen. Tina Smith. Former Democratic presidential candidate and current Sen. Amy Klobuchar serves as the other senator from the state. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Flanagan spokesperson Alexandra Fetissoff said the focus should be on the Trump administration’s efforts to deport illegal immigrants in Minnesota. “While the Lt. Governor was showing her support for small businesses and communities being terrorized by ICE, she was handed a scarf by a friend and briefly wore it out of respect,” Fetissoff said. “The real outrage should not be a scarf, but masked men throwing American citizens into vans and violating the constitution.” Flanagan’s team also clarified that while many on social media have claimed she said Somalis “built” Minnesota, “she does not say that in the video.” Last week, Fox News Digital first reported on legislation introduced by GOP Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks named after Tim Walz that is aimed at addressing future fraud like what has occurred in Minnesota and could total as much as $9 billion, according to federal prosecutors. If elected to the Senate, Hann told Fox News Digital he would push for more “safeguards.” “But I think we should also be looking at, how can we reform the whole welfare establishment?” Hann explained. “Are there better ways to help people? We should be more concerned about trying to make sure people’s lives are improved, rather than just spending money. It seems to me that the Waltz administration has been focused on just handing out money, Democrats in Washington just hand out the money and no accountability and no attempt to figure out the effectiveness of the programs that we have, we need to take a hard look at that.” Fox News Digital’s Preston Mizell contributed to this report.
Fetterman endorses prospect of potential future strikes to derail any Iranian nuclear ambitions
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., declared in a Monday post on X that he would support strikes to scuttle any Iranian nuclear weapons aspirations. “Iran can’t ever develop a nuclear weapon,” the senator asserted. Earlier this year, the U.S. took military action targeting the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear ambitions — and in his post on Monday, Fetterman noted that he supported that move and would support another attack against the regime in the future. “Fully supported the strike earlier this year. Fully support any future strikes to damage or destroy their nuclear ambitions,” Fetterman, an ardent and outspoken supporter of Israel, noted. JOHN FETTERMAN BREAKS WITH DEMOCRATS, SLAMS PARTY’S PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD STANCE AS ‘ABSOLUTE BETRAYAL’ President Donald Trump on Monday warned of future action if Iran seeks to rebuild its program. NETANYAHU SAYS TRUMP TO BECOME FIRST NON-ISRAELI TO RECEIVE ISRAEL PRIZE “Now I hear that Iran is trying to build up again. And if they are we’re gonna have to knock ’em down,” he said. “We’ll knock the hell out of ‘em. But hopefully that’s not happening. I heard Iran wants to make a deal. If they want to make a deal that’s much smarter.” MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE CRITICIZES TRUMP’S MEETINGS WITH ZELENSKYY, NETANYAHU: ‘CAN WE JUST DO AMERICA?’ Trump made the comments while standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, when the two leaders met in Florida on Monday.
Biden-era rental assistance included payments to dead tenants and noncitizens, new HUD report reveals
A report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently revealed billions in taxpayer funds that went to “questionable” rental assistance recipients under former President Joe Biden. The recipients included approximately 30,000 deceased tenants and thousands of potential non-citizens, according to a copy of HUD’s “Agency Financial Report” for fiscal year 2025 obtained by the New York Post. HUD officials told the Post that a “large concentration” of the funds went to New York, California and Washington, D.C., with deceased recipients getting funds in all 50 states. The department conducted an automation that compared a U.S. Treasury database to HUD’s records. The process uncovered 30,054 deceased tenants who were either actively enrolled in rental assistance programs or had received assistance after they passed, according to HUD’s report. The department found the possibly problematic payments through its own internal financial review and analytics, according to the report. SEC TURNER: HOMEOWNERSHIP IS MAKING A COMEBACK THANKS TO TRUMP, BUT THERE’S MORE TO COME “A massive abuse of taxpayer dollars not only occurred under President Biden’s watch, but was effectively incentivized by his administration’s failure to implement strong financial controls resulting in billions worth of potential improper payments,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in a statement provided to the Post. “HUD will continue investigating the shocking results and will take appropriate action to hold bad actors accountable,” he said. “Additionally, the Department is advancing efforts made under President Trump’s first administration to strengthen program integrity and ensure taxpayer-funded assistance serves the vulnerable communities it was intended for.” HUD CHIEF BLAMES ‘UNCHECKED ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION’ PRICING-OUT FAMILIES AMID NEW HOUSING REPORT In FY 2024, HUD distributed around $50 billion in federal rental assistance to non-federal entities, including $5.8 billion of what the report describes as “questionable payments.” HUD pointed the finger at the Biden administration for a directive “to push funding out the door with minimal oversight.” In the report, HUD alleges that the Biden administration failed to provide the department with the tools needed to verify whether entities were enforcing “the intricate rules governing rental assistance.” The report also noted that HUD’s rental assistance programs “placed substantial trust and responsibility” in the non-federal entities receiving the funds. HUD must now confirm whether fraud occurred and the extent of it before it can determine whether funding should be paused or revoked and if criminal referrals are necessary. “HUD is implementing processes and procedures to revoke or pause funding as part of its efforts to hold bad actors accountable,” an official told the Post. “Additionally, the Department could make criminal referrals and exercise other enforcement actions once it has confirmed fraud occurred.” Fox News Digital reached out to former HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge for comment.
Some states move to pick up the tab as Obamacare subsidies lapse
At least a dozen states are scrambling to limit health insurance premium hikes after Congress failed to renew enhanced Obamacare subsidies, leaving millions of Americans facing higher healthcare costs. States including California, Colorado, Maryland and New Mexico have approved or are considering temporary measures to help some residents afford coverage, but some officials across the country said the cost of replacing federal subsidies for millions of enrollees is beyond the reach of state budgets, according to Politico. “We can carry the cost for a little bit, but at some point, we will need Congress to act,” New Mexico House Speaker Javier Martínez told the outlet. New Mexico is so far the only state to fully replace the expired subsidies. Obamacare, officially known as the Affordable Care Act, was former President Barack Obama’s signature piece of legislation which expanded healthcare coverage to millions of Americans in 2010. Critics argue it forced people to buy insurance, raised costs for some consumers and significantly expanded the federal government’s role in healthcare. SPEAKER JOHNSON EKES OUT HEALTHCARE BILL VICTORY AFTER HOUSE GOP OBAMACARE REBELLION The looming expiration of the subsidies hung over negotiations during the longest-ever government shutdown in the fall, as Republicans and Democrats tried — and failed — to pass competing plans to extend or replace the enhanced tax credits. The lapse of the subsidies is expected to push millions of Americans out of the individual insurance market, increasing pressure on state Medicaid programs and hospitals already facing financial strain. State responses have varied widely, reflecting political divisions, fiscal constraints and differing views on the Affordable Care Act. According to Politico, California, which anticipated the subsidies would expire, is spending nearly $200 million to support roughly 300,000 lower-income residents, but officials warn that hundreds of thousands more could still lose coverage. COLLINS, MORENO UNVEIL OBAMACARE PLAN AS REPUBLICANS SEARCH FOR SOLUTION TO EXPIRING SUBSIDIES Some states are using regulatory maneuvers rather than direct funding to stretch remaining subsidies. Other states, including Georgia and Washington, say budget shortfalls or political opposition prevent them from acting. Most states have taken no action at all, including both Republican-led states that oppose the Affordable Care Act and some Democrat-led states that support it, according to Politico. A few lawmakers in Maine and other battlegrounds worry their efforts could disincentivize Congress from coming up with a federal solution. Earlier this month, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, held bipartisan confabs to hash out a framework for an Obamacare fix that could meet the desires of both sides of the aisle, but it has not been formally written into a bill that passed either chamber yet. Any fix would likely involve a short-term extension of subsidies paired with Republican demands for guardrails, such as income limits or cost controls. Fox News’ Alex Miller contributed to this report.
Inside the Trump-Musk split: How America’s most powerful bromance imploded into the biggest breakup of 2025
Back on Inauguration Day, few in Washington would have believed that the highly publicized friendship between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk would implode before the year’s end. No political partnership burned brighter or fizzled faster than Trump and Musk’s in 2025. What began as a joint crusade to cut federal spending through the newly minted Department of Government Efficiency quickly devolved into a public falling out that unfolded in a full-blown social media feud. As 2025 comes to a close, here’s a look back at the biggest political breakup of the year. MUSK, TRUMP COME TOGETHER AT CHARLIE KIRK MEMORIAL The 2024 presidential campaign was the driving force for the high-profile partnership that ensued. ‘GONE TOO FAR’: GOP LAWMAKERS RALLY AROUND TRUMP AFTER MUSK RAISES EPSTEIN ALLEGATIONS After the first Trump assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, Musk endorsed Trump in an X post. Musk went on to donate more than $200 million to Trump’s presidential campaign through his super PAC, America PAC. While the two appeared together for a virtual town hall that August, the X owner and Tesla CEO made his first public appearance with Trump on Oct. 5, as the soon-to-be president returned to Butler three months after the shooting and one month before Election Day. Musk was jumping for joy as he joined Trump on stage. After Trump won the 2024 presidential election, Musk was appointed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency. On stage in Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, after winning the election, Trump said of Musk, “A star is born!” Two weeks after the election, Trump and his family attended the SpaceX “Starship” launch with Musk. Trump made DOGE official on Inauguration Day by signing an executive order to cut waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government with a mandate to modernize “Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.” Musk joined fellow tech moguls Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg for Trump’s inauguration. As the Trump administration got settled, DOGE got to work pursuing Musk’s ambitious goal of cutting up to $2 trillion from the federal budget. As of October 2025, DOGE has saved approximately $214 billion through a combination of asset sales, contract or lease cancellations, fraud and improper payment deletions, grant cancellations, interest savings, programmatic changes, regulatory savings and workforce reductions, according to the DOGE website. When tens of thousands of federal workers were laid off, protests began erupting across the United States, rejecting Musk’s leadership and Trump’s sweeping, second-term agenda. Amid growing discontent directed at Musk and DOGE, Tesla stocks began seeing a drop earlier this year. Meanwhile, Musk’s political involvement prompted push back from protesters. Tesla vehicles, charging stations and dealerships were targeted in a string of vandalism attacks. In a show of support for Musk, Trump turned the White House South Lawn into a Tesla showroom and bought a red Tesla Model S. “He’s built this great company, and he shouldn’t be penalized, because he’s a patriot,” Trump said. By May, Musk began paring back his hours leading the controversial agency. According to the Office of Government Ethics, “special government employees” like Musk can work for the federal government no more than 130 days a year, which in Musk’s case was May 30. On his last day at DOGE, Musk joined Trump in the Oval Office for a press conference celebrating the billionaire’s legacy. Soon after Musk left the White House, Trump and Musk had their “big, beautiful” breakup, fueled by congressional negotiations for Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk said in a post on June 3. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.” Trump’s megabill included tax cuts, green energy spending cuts and Medicaid reform, but fiscal conservatives, like Musk, argued it didn’t do enough to reduce the nation’s $38 trillion debt crisis. Trump told reporters he was “very disappointed” in Musk’s criticism of his marquee megabill. “Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore,” Trump said. Musk then fired back on X, arguing that, “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.” The Tesla CEO urged Trump to “keep the EV/solar incentives cuts in the bill.” After Musk fired off several posts on X, Trump started firing back on his own social media platform, writing on Truth Social that Musk was “wearing thin” and claiming that he asked Musk to leave the White House. “I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!” Trump said. The president then threatened to “terminate Elon’s Government Subsidies and Contracts.” Musk fired back with a “really big bomb,” accusing Trump of being “in the Epstein files.” “This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted. The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in response. Congress narrowly passed Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act by a self-imposed July 4 deadline. Ahead of its final passage, Musk renewed his criticism of the reconciliation bill on social media. In response, Trump threatened to use DOGE to investigate Musk’s government subsidies for his companies. Months later, Trump and Musk reunited to honor the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated during a Turing Point USA event in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10. Trump and Musk were spotted shaking hands at Kirk’s memorial service in a box at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. “For Charlie,” Musk later responded to the photo on X. Aboard Air Force
Eric Adams says Biden DOJ used ‘lawfare’ against him, compares treatment to Trump
Outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams argued that the Biden administration’s Justice Department engaged in “lawfare” against the former president’s political opponents, including himself on corruption allegations and President Donald Trump over issues such as mishandling classified documents. “I think what we have witnessed under President Biden’s Justice Department, Americans should never have to live through that again,” Adams said on Monday during an appearance on Fox News’ “The Story.” “You saw everyday Americans who fought for the education of their children being put on watch lists, I think that you saw what happened with Charlie Kirk, when you saw the raiding of President Trump’s home. Debates should have happened … I think that you’re seeing the clear indication that the Justice Department under the previous administration used lawfare to go after those who disagree with them,” he added. ERIC ADAMS WARNS NYC ‘NOT FINE’ AFTER MAMDANI’S WIN, SAYS IF HE WAS JEWISH HE’D BE WORRIED FOR HIS CHILDREN Asked if he felt as angry about the alleged weaponization of the DOJ before he was targeted, Adams said “personal experience allows us to see firsthand the abuse.” “I spent my entire life, not only as a police officer, but as a state senator and borough president fighting against injustices,” Adams said. “There’s a real history, a rich history, of me standing up and fighting what the criminal justice system should never be. Yes, that anger was there long before I was a target, but what I saw happen while I was the mayor is really deplorable, and we saw what happened to President Trump‘s family as well.” NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS’ INDICTMENT DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE “If you were to go back and look at my life story on criminal justice reform and not abuse, it goes back to being a young man who was abused at the hands of law enforcement,” he continued. “And so I’ve always been a clear voice, and it really personalized it of what I was fighting for years because I experienced the lawfare myself.” Adams was indicted in September 2024 on federal corruption charges related to bribery, wire fraud and accepting illegal foreign campaign contributions from Turkish officials and businessmen. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. The mayor has insisted that the case was politically motivated over his criticism of how the Biden administration handled illegal immigration, but prosecutors in the Southern District of New York said in court filings that the investigation began in September 2021, before Adams’ public criticism of the government’s immigration policies or his mayoral election win. The charges were dropped earlier this year at the request of the Trump administration. Adams is set to leave office at the turn of the new year, when Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will be sworn in.
Unearthed surveillance exposes how parents were allegedly involved in Minnesota’s daycare fraud scheme
As federal authorities investigate reports of massive fraud taking place in Minnesota daycares, an unearthed video from a 2018 fraud case shows parents and providers involved in a fraud scheme dating all the way back to 2015. The video, taken from a local Fox report from 2018, shows parents checking their children into a daycare center in Hennepin County, Minnesota, only to leave with their children minutes later. The video was taken from a surveillance camera as part of a case prosecuted by Hennepin County, according to the 2018 Fox 9 report. Under the scheme, low-income parents would sign in their children for daycare services so that providers could then claim reimbursement for services that were never truly provided, per Fox 9. The outlet said that, according to surveillance video, some days no families would show up, but that the daycares would claim reimbursements from the government nonetheless. The time stamp on the surveillance video shows March 2015. MAGNITUDE ‘CANNOT BE OVERSTATED’: FEDS SAY MINNESOTA FRAUD MAY BE MORE THAN $9B Another video in the broadcast showed a man handing an envelope to a parent with an alleged kickback payment for participation in the scheme. This comes amid widespread outrage over a viral video posted by Nick Shirley on Friday showing visits to multiple childcare centers in Minnesota, including one that allegedly received millions of dollars in state funding despite appearing largely inactive. The video has sparked widespread backlash, drawing criticism of Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz throughout the weekend from several high-profile figures, including Vice President JD Vance, Donald Trump Jr. and Elon Musk. LABOR SECRETARY ANNOUNCES ‘STRIKE TEAM’ GOING TO MINNESOTA TO INVESTIGATE RAMPANT FRAUD The White House on Sunday reposted an X post from Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who called the alleged fraud a “breathtaking failure.” At the time of the video’s release, Walz was already under heavy fire amid the scandal enveloping his administration that notably included at least $1 billion lost to alleged social services fraud largely tied to Minneapolis’ Somali community. Commenting on the resurfaced video, conservative strategist Greg Price wrote on X, “Somali fraudsters have been stealing from taxpayers for years and it’s clear that the entire Somali community is in on it.” HHS PROBES MINNESOTA’S USE OF BILLIONS IN FEDERAL SOCIAL SERVICE FUNDS AMID FRAUD CONCERNS: REPORT A TIMELINE OF THE ‘LARGEST COVID-19 FRAUD SCHEME’ IN THE UNITED STATES FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency has surged additional personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota as part of an ongoing effort to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.” Patel said Sunday that the bureau moved resources into the state before recent online attention intensified, pointing to the Feeding Our Future investigation, which uncovered a $250 million scheme that siphoned federal food aid intended for children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The case has already resulted in 78 indictments and 57 convictions, with prosecutors also charging defendants in a separate plot to bribe a juror with $120,000 in cash, Patel said, adding that the investigation remains ongoing. “The FBI believes this is just the tip of a very large iceberg. We will continue to follow the money and protect children, and this investigation very much remains ongoing,” he wrote on X. “Furthermore, many are also being referred to immigration officials for possible further denaturalization and deportation proceedings where eligible.”