Nearly 20 states sue HHS over declaration to restrict gender transition treatment for minors
A group of 19 Democrat-led states and Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over a declaration that aims to restrict gender transition treatment for minors. The lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; its secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; and its inspector general comes after the declaration issued last week described treatments such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy and gender surgeries as unsafe and ineffective for children experiencing gender dysphoria. The declaration also warned doctors they could be excluded from federal health programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, if they provide these treatments to minors. The move seeks to build on President Donald Trump’s executive order in January calling on HHS to protect children from “chemical and surgical mutilation.” HHS UNLEASHES SWEEPING CRACKDOWN ON CHILD ‘SEX-REJECTING PROCEDURES,’ THREATENS HOSPITAL, MEDICAID FUNDING “We are taking six decisive actions guided by gold standard science and the week one executive order from President Trump to protect children from chemical and surgical mutilation,” Kennedy said during a press conference last week. HHS has also proposed new rules designed to further block gender transition treatment for minors, although the lawsuit does not address the rules, which have yet to be finalized. The states’ lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Eugene, Oregon, argues that the declaration is inaccurate and unlawful and urges the court to prevent it from being enforced. “Secretary Kennedy cannot unilaterally change medical standards by posting a document online, and no one should lose access to medically necessary health care because their federal government tried to interfere in decisions that belong in doctors’ offices,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led the lawsuit, said in a statement. The lawsuit claims the declaration attempts to pressure providers into ending gender transition treatment for young people and circumvent legal requirements for policy changes. The complaint said federal law requires the public be given notice and an opportunity to comment before substantively amending health policy and that neither of these were done before the declaration was released. The declaration based its conclusions on a peer-reviewed report that the department conducted earlier this year that called for more reliance on behavioral therapy rather than broad gender transition treatment for minors with gender dysphoria. The report raised questions about standards for the treatment of transgender children issued by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and brought concerns that youths may be too young to give consent to life-changing treatments that could result in future infertility. Major medical groups and physicians who treat transgender children have criticized the report as inaccurate. HHS also announced last week two proposed federal rules — one to cut off federal Medicaid and Medicare funding from hospitals that offer gender transition treatment to children and another to block federal Medicaid money from being used for these procedures. HOUSE APPROVES MTG-SPONSORED BILL TO CRIMINALIZE GENDER TRANSITION TREATMENT FOR MINORS The proposals have not yet been made final and are not legally binding because they must go through a lengthy rulemaking process and public comment before they can be enforced. Several major medical providers have already pulled back on gender transition treatment for youths since Trump returned to office, even those in Democrat-led states where the procedures are legal under state law. Medicaid programs in just under half of states currently cover gender transition treatment. At least 27 states have adopted laws restricting or banning the treatment, and the Supreme Court’s decision this year upholding Tennessee’s ban likely means other state laws will remain in place. Democrat attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, Washington state and Washington, D.C., as well as Pennsylvania’s Democrat governor, joined James in the lawsuit. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump takes NORAD Santa calls with children, praises ‘clean, beautiful coal’ and ‘high-IQ’ person
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump spoke with several children on Christmas Eve as Santa Claus made his rounds across the globe, praising “clean, beautiful coal” and referring to one child as a “high-IQ person.” The pair joined the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Santa Tracker hotline from Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, where they fielded calls from kids about what they hoped St. Nick would bring them for Christmas. One child spoke to Trump about wanting a Kindle, the e-reader designed and marketed by Amazon. INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS CARD TRADITION – FROM COOLIDGE TO TRUMP “That’s pretty good. You must be a high-IQ person. We need more high-IQ people in the country,” he replied. One 8-year-old North Carolina girl asked if Santa would be upset if she didn’t leave him cookies. “I think he won’t get mad, but I think he’ll be very disappointed,” said Trump. “Santa tends to be a little on the cherubic side.” Trump asked one child in Kansas for a Christmas wish. “Um, not coal,” the child replied. MELANIA TRUMP GIVES UPLIFTING MESSAGE ABOUT SANTA TO YOUNG KIDS AT HOSPITAL “Not coal. No, you don’t want coal. You mean clean, beautiful coal. I had to do that, I’m sorry,” Trump said. “No, coal is clean and beautiful. Please remember that at all costs,” he added. “But you don’t want clean, beautiful coal, right? What would you like?” Trump has frequently referred to coal as “clean” and “beautiful” in an effort to boost its use. During a call with a child in Oklahoma, he said he was fond of the state, which he won in the 2024 presidential election. “Santa loves you. Santa loves Oklahoma like I do. You know, Oklahoma was very good to me in the election. So, I love Oklahoma. Don’t ever leave Oklahoma, OK?” he said. During the same call, Trump talked about tracking Santa. “We track Santa all over the world. … We want to make sure that he’s not infiltrated — that we’re not infiltrating into our country a bad Santa,” he said. “We found that Santa is Good!”
DOJ discovers more than 1M potential Epstein records, further delaying file release
The Department of Justice said Wednesday it may have more than a million more documents related to the late Jeffrey Epstein that it needs to review and that the process could take weeks to complete. The DOJ said two of its components, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, had just handed over the missing tranche of files, days after the Epstein Files Transparency Act deadline had passed. “We have lawyers working around the clock to review and make the legally required redactions to protect victims, and we will release the documents as soon as possible,” the DOJ wrote in a statement on social media. EPSTEIN FILE DROP INCLUDES ‘UNTRUE AND SENSATIONALIST CLAIMS’ ABOUT TRUMP, DOJ SAYS The “mass volume of material” could “take a few more weeks” to review, the DOJ said. “The Department will continue to fully comply with federal law and President Trump’s direction to release the files,” the department wrote. The DOJ has been sharing on a public website since Friday tens of thousands of pages of files related to Epstein’s and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking cases as part of its obligation under the transparency bill. President Donald Trump signed the bill into law Nov. 19, giving the DOJ 30 days to review and release all unclassified material related to the cases. The file rollout has stirred controversy as critics have blasted the DOJ for what they say are excessive redactions and the law’s lapsed deadline Friday. Initially, the DOJ said it would miss the deadline by a couple of weeks, but Wednesday’s announcement signals that might extend further into the new year than the administration had anticipated. SCHUMER ACCUSES DOJ OF BREAKING THE LAW OVER REDACTED EPSTEIN FILES Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on “Meet the Press” Sunday there was “well-settled law” that supported the DOJ missing the bill’s deadline because of a need to meet other legal requirements, like redacting victim-identifying information. The transparency bill required the DOJ to withhold information about victims and material that could jeopardize open investigations or litigation. Officials could also leave out information “in the interest of national defense or foreign policy,” the bill said. The bill also explicitly directed the DOJ to keep visible any details that could be damaging to high-profile and politically connected people.
Pentagon to send 350 National Guard troops to New Orleans as violent crime surges ahead of major events
The Pentagon is deploying 350 National Guard troops in New Orleans through Mardi Gras in an effort to curb crime in the city. The troops will support federal authorities, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, enforcing federal law and helping to counter high rates of violent crime in New Orleans and other metropolitan areas in Louisiana, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Tuesday. “Operating under Governor Landry’s command and control, this mission will directly enhance the safety of Louisiana’s residents and the enforcement of federal laws, reaffirming the Department of Defense’s commitment to supporting our interagency partners and the safety and security of our nation,” he said. DHS LAUNCHING MASSIVE IMMIGRATION OPERATION IN LOUISIANA, MISSISSIPPI: ‘SWAMP SWEEP’ The soldiers will remain in the city through Feb. 28 and will assist with security in the French Quarter for New Year’s Eve, the Sugar Bowl and Mardi Gras events, Fox 8 Live reported. “We know how to make cities safe, and the National Guard complements cities that are experiencing high crime,” Landry said during an appearance on “The Will Cain Show.” “Look at what the president has done in Washington, D.C. When he wanted to send the National Guard into Washington, D.C., Louisiana was one of the first to raise its hand and say our troops will go there and help. And the city is so much better.” TRUMP’S WEEK SHAPED BY CRIME AGENDA, POTENTIAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT TO CHICAGO National Guard members serving in Washington, D.C., are expected to return to Louisiana, the news outlet reported. “Our Louisiana National Guardsmen are highly trained professionals. Many of them supported law enforcement efforts in Washington, D.C., and are ready to support our home state,” Maj. Gen. Thomas Friloux, the adjutant general of Louisiana, told Fox 8 Live. “We’ve mobilized multiple times this year to support efforts in New Orleans and are ready to do so again for the next two months.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the office of New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and the Louisiana National Guard. New Orleans has reported 97 murders this year as of Nov. 1. In September, Landry asked President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troops to Louisiana amid concerns about crime. In early 2025, a U.S. Army veteran driving a pickup truck bearing the flag of the Islamic State group slammed into New Year’s revelers before being shot and killed by police.
Alito rips Supreme Court majority as ‘unwise’ for blocking Trump’s National Guard plan
Justice Samuel Alito criticized the Supreme Court’s majority in a sharp dissent Tuesday after the high court decided 6–3 to temporarily block President Donald Trump from deploying the National Guard in Chicago. Alito said the high court’s majority made “unwise” and “imprudent” determinations to reach its decision. The majority also did not give enough deference to Trump after the president found that agitators were hindering immigration officers and other federal personnel from doing their jobs in Chicago and that the National Guard needed to step in to help. “Whatever one may think about the current administration’s enforcement of the immigration laws or the way ICE has conducted its operations, the protection of federal officers from potentially lethal attacks should not be thwarted,” Alito wrote. WHERE THE TRUMP ADMIN’S COURT FIGHT OVER DC NATIONAL GUARD STANDS IN WAKE OF SHOOTING The lawsuit stemmed from Trump invoking a rarely used federal law to federalize about 300 members of the National Guard and deploy them to protect federal personnel and buildings. The Trump administration argued that protesters were obstructing, assaulting and threatening ICE officers, and the National Guard was needed because Illinois’ resistant Democratic leaders and local law enforcement were not adequately addressing the matter, the administration said. Illinois sued, and the lower courts blocked the National Guard’s deployment, finding that Trump had not satisfied criteria in the law that said the president could only use the reserved forces when he was “unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States.” The Supreme Court’s decision upheld that finding while the case proceeds through the courts. The Supreme Court’s majority said in an unsigned order that “regular forces” meant the U.S. military, not ICE or other civilian law enforcement officers. The majority said that since Trump had not identified any justification for using the regular military for domestic purposes in Chicago, there was no way to exhaust that option before using the National Guard. JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT IN LOS ANGELES Alito, who was joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, objected, saying the majority prematurely raised and accepted an “eleventh-hour argument” about the meaning of “regular forces.” Justice Neil Gorsuch issued a separate dissent. The majority also took issue with the statute’s language about executing laws, saying that if the National Guard soldiers were simply protecting federal officers, that would not amount to executing laws. And, if the National Guard were executing laws, that could violate the Posse Comitatus Act, which says the military cannot generally act as a domestic police force unless Congress authorizes it to, the majority said. Alito, an appointee of President George W. Bush, said he found it “puzzling” that the majority thought the Posse Comitatus Act was so relevant, saying the president could use the military for a “range of domestic purposes.” The Constitution allows the president to use the military to respond to war, insurrection or “other serious emergency,” Alito wrote. The conservative justice also warned of broader implications of the majority’s decision, as Trump has attempted to deploy the National Guard in other cities as part of a crackdown on immigration enforcement and street crime. The president has also been met with legal pushback in California and Portland, Oregon, but the Chicago case was the furthest along in the court system. Requiring Trump to exhaust the use of other military forces before using the National Guard would lead to “outlandish results,” Alito said. “Under the Court’s interpretation, National Guard members could arrest and process aliens who are subject to deportation, but they would lack statutory authorization to perform purely protective functions,” Alito wrote. “Our country has traditionally been wary of using soldiers as domestic police, but it has been comfortable with their use for purely protective purposes.” Illinois had argued that ICE protests were mostly peaceful and that local law enforcement had the unrest under control. The state would suffer irreversible harm if the courts did not block Trump from using the National Guard, state attorneys argued. “The planned deployment would infringe on Illinois’s sovereign interests in regulating and overseeing its own law enforcement activities,” the attorneys wrote, adding that Illinois’ “sovereign right to commit its law enforcement resources where it sees fit is the type of ‘intangible and unquantifiable interest’ that courts recognize as irreparable.”
Inside the White House Christmas card tradition – from Coolidge to Trump
Few White House traditions are quite as time-honored or cherished as the annual Christmas celebrations it hosts – which stretch back more than a century and transcend partisan politics, imbuing the president’s official residence with a feeling of continuity and warmth. But the sense of togetherness and cheer need not stop at the gates of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Like most families, U.S. presidents and first ladies have long used annual Christmas cards to share their holiday greeting to friends both near and far – communicating well-wishes, gratitude and, at times, subtle political statements. Here’s a look at how the tradition of the White House Christmas card began, and how it has evolved throughout the years. FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP DECORATES THE WHITE HOUSE FOR CHRISTMAS: ‘HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS’ Historians aren’t quite sure when presidents began sending out Christmas cards, though many acknowledge that the practice probably began in an unofficial capacity in the late 1800s, with the recipients likely limited to a smaller group. In fact, it was not until 1927 that President Calvin Coolidge wrote what would become the first “official” Christmas card to the American people. Coolidge, in response to multiple requests for a holiday greeting, penned a short, simple message, “Season’s Greetings,” by hand in the distinctive, elegant form of cursive he was known for. The missive was published by every major newspaper in the country, kicking off what would become a larger, more elaborate tradition that continues to this day. In the years that followed, the Christmas greetings took the form of individual cards, and the list of recipients grew longer and more expansive. Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon each sought to make it a more formal tradition, with Eisenhower adding Cabinet secretaries, members of Congress, and U.S. ambassadors overseas to the list of recipients. MELANIA TRUMP GIVES TOUR OF 2018 WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS DECOR Under Nixon, the cards were mass printed for the first time, and sent to a much broader audience – some 40,000 people – an undertaking that would have been unimaginable in Coolidge’s time, when the hand-printed “Season’s Greetings” message was drafted by hand with painstaking care and detail. Today, the Republican and Democratic national parties are responsible for printing the Christmas cards; as a result, the lists include (but are not limited to) party donors and campaign supporters, among others. WHITE HOUSE UNVEILS CHRISTMAS DECOR WITH ‘SPIRIT OF AMERICA’ THEME While neither party has released an official count of the cards it has sent out on behalf of recent presidents, the RNC is estimated to have printed some 1.5 million White House Christmas cards during George W. Bush’s presidency – a number that grew under Presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Trump in his first term and this year. Other technological advances allow even those without deep pockets to share in the Christmas joy. The White House social media accounts have embraced the rise of social media in recent years to share the official Christmas photos, expanding the reach and message of the commander in chief, and often the rest of his family. The White House accounts on Tuesday shared the official 2025 Christmas portrait of President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump. This year’s printed White House Christmas card expands on Melania Trump’s 2025 White House Christmas theme, “Home Is Where the Heart Is,” which she said was inspired by the “joys, challenges, and frequent motion derived from motherhood and business.” “This Christmas, let’s celebrate the love we hold within ourselves, and share it with the world around us,” she said in a statement announcing the theme. “After all, wherever we are, we can create a home filled with grace, radiance, and endless possibilities.”
Democrats warn Trump greenlighting Nvidia AI chip sales could boost China’s military edge
Congressional Democrats are voicing alarm at the fact that the U.S. might soon begin selling cutting-edge chips to one of its greatest geopolitical adversaries. Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., joined by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., wrote a letter to Under Secretary for Industry and Security Jeffrey Kessler on Monday, demanding answers as to why the Trump administration had green-lit the sale of the H200 Chip to China. “The President directing you to approve licenses of the H200 falls within a deeply concerning pattern that undercuts our nation’s security,” the pair of Democrats wrote. TRUMP SAYS EVERY AI PLANT BEING BUILT IN US WILL BE SELF-SUSTAINING WITH THEIR OWN ELECTRICITY Meeks said the basis of his request is found in the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA), the 2018 law governing the federal government authority over technology-related exports. The ECRA states that the Department of Commerce must supply Congress with answers to concerns raised by the ranking member of the foreign affairs and armed services committees. “In ECRA, Congress stated the policy of the United States is ‘to restrict the export of items which would make a significant contribution to the military potential of any other country,’” Meeks wrote. “Approving licenses for items like NVIDIA’s H200 chips, which the Justice Department recently described as ‘integral to modern military applications,’ would be deeply at odds with the policy that Congress articulated in ECRA.” CHINA RACES AHEAD ON AI —TRUMP WARNS AMERICA CAN’T REGULATE ITSELF INTO DEFEAT The H200 chip, one of the world’s most advanced computational devices, is NVIDIA’s crème of the crop. It plays a key role in the processing needed for increasingly sophisticated AI. The company was first ordered to halt sales to China in 2022 under the Biden administration. “The [government] indicated that the new license requirement will address the risk that the covered products may be used in, or diverted to, a ‘military end use’ or ‘military end user’ in China,” the company said in a filing. Like Meeks, several lawmakers worry that allowing their sale to China will only further empower an adversary that has had no qualms weaponizing technology. In recent years, Congress has banned the use of Chinese-made Huawei devices for government employees and, last year, passed a law forcing the divestment of TikTok, fearing China’s far-reaching insight through the data collected by the popular social media app. To Meeks, the decision to resume sales of the H200 chip — to China and to other potential rivals — seems incongruent with that past wariness. “Just last month, you approved the export of tens of thousands of advanced AI chips, worth an estimated $1 billion, to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, despite significant concerns about these countries’ human rights records and their close relationships with the [People’s Republic of China],” Meeks wrote. KEVIN O’LEARY WARNS CHINA ‘KICKING OUR HEINIES’ IN AI RACE AS REGULATORY ROADBLOCKS STALL US While some Republicans share Meeks’ hesitation, others have said that the Trump administration’s reversal fits into a larger plan to ensure American competitiveness in future years. Meeks and Warren have requested answers from the administration about what factors led to the decision by Jan. 12, 2026.
Prominent Rhode Island Democrat caught on video telling officer, ‘You know who I am?’ during DUI stop
A prominent Rhode Island Democrat was captured on police bodycam video asking an officer, “You know who I am?” before her arrest during a recent traffic stop. Maria Bucci, 51, who is the chairwoman of the Democratic committee in Cranston – the second-largest city in the state – is now facing a misdemeanor DUI charge following a traffic stop on Dec. 18 in East Greenwich, according to media reports. “You know who I am right?” Bucci is heard telling an East Greenwich police officer just moments after he said he smelled alcohol in her breath and described her driving as erratic. “I don’t know who you are miss,” the officer responds, before adding, “You can start throwing out names and start doing out what you need to do, it’s not going to work with me, I’m telling you right now, I’m not the guy for that.” RHODE ISLAND PROSECUTOR IN VIRAL ARREST VIDEO PLACED ON UNPAID LEAVE The bodycam footage shows the officer trying to lead Bucci through a series of sobriety tests. Bucci, a former Cranston mayoral candidate, previously served on the City Council from 2004 to 2008 and also launched an unsuccessful bid for a Rhode Island House of Representatives seat last year, the Cranston Herald reported. At one point during the traffic stop, Bucci is heard saying, “Call my husband right now, and call the attorney general and everybody else in town, cause this is disgusting, God forbid I was a Black person, I’d be arrested.” WATCH: FOOTAGE SHOWS BLUE STATE PROSECUTOR WARNING OFFICERS THEY’LL ‘REGRET’ ARRESTING HER: ‘I’M AN AG!’ The officer eventually takes Bucci into custody. As she is placed in handcuffs, she says “you’re a d—” and looks towards the body camera. “Like I am not drinking, you’re a loser,” she adds. At the beginning of the video, Bucci told the officer she had a glass of wine and had attended a Christmas party. Bucci, who is expected to be arraigned on Jan. 5, was released on a $1,000 personal recognizance, according to WPRI. Bucci and the Rhode Island Democratic Party did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
EXCLUSIVE: 17,500 illegal immigrants arrested under Laken Riley Act in Trump’s second term
EXCLUSIVE: More than 17,500 illegal immigrants in 2025 have been arrested for crimes requiring mandatory detention under the Laken Riley Act — the first law President Donald Trump signed in his second term. The act is named for Laken Riley, a Georgia college student murdered by a Venezuelan illegal immigrant who had been previously arrested and released before her death. The act mandates that illegal immigrants arrested — but not necessarily yet convicted — for several specific crimes must be held for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention and processing. DHS RIPS DEM-RUN COUNTY AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT MURDERER RELEASED: ‘BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS’ Qualifying crimes include theft-related offenses, DUI or DWI, and violent crimes including murder, rape, sexual abuse, assault on police and firearms infractions. Secretary Kristi Noem also announced Monday that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had concluded “Operation Angel’s Honor,” a two-week nationwide endeavor launched in Riley’s honor to strictly target Laken Riley Act offenders. That operation alone netted an average of dozens of criminal illegal immigrants per day. DHS TAKES VICTORY LAP AFTER ARRESTING OVER 10K ILLEGAL ALIENS IN DEEP BLUE CITY DESPITE VIOLENT RIOTS “In honor of Laken Riley, ICE launched Operation Angel’s Honor — in the last 2 weeks alone arresting more than 1,000 criminal illegal aliens under the authority of the Laken Riley Act,” Noem told Fox News Digital. Noem credited Trump for empowering her agency to go after millions of criminal illegal immigrants residing in the U.S., including those “unleashed” into the interior by previous administrations. “We can never bring Laken back, but we can do everything in our power to bring these heinous criminals to justice,” Noem said. DHS ARRESTS ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ ILLEGAL MIGRANTS, INCLUDING MURDERERS AND PEDOPHILES, IN WEEKEND OPERATION Some of the Laken Riley Act offenders captured during “Operation Angel’s Honor” include Sergio Luis Hernandez Gonzalez of Cuba, convicted on 17 counts of larceny, two counts of selling cocaine, along with vehicle theft and other offenses. Jersson Andrey Poveda Delgado of Colombia was convicted of assaulting a police officer, while Dominican national Yaser Garcia Ramirez netted a slew of charges, including conspiracy to manufacture and distribute heroin, domestic violence and obstruction of law enforcement. Another illegal immigrant, Santos Chim-Diego from Guatemala, had been convicted of resisting plus assault on an officer, DUI and child cruelty. An Iraqi national named Hamid Abdulimam Al Nassar was captured during Operation Angel’s Honor after he was convicted of procuring a prostitute who is a minor, several drug offenses, fraud, embezzlement and aggravated assault. Another criminal illegal immigrant, Nathaniel Sterling from Jamaica, was detained after convictions for carnal abuse, weapons possession and disorderly conduct. Mexican national Omar Barojas-Arenas’ recent arrest also fell under the Laken Riley Act, after he was convicted of kidnapping, while Jorby Joel Escuraina-Suarez from Venezuela was convicted of aggravated assault with a weapon. While DHS has called the Laken Riley Act’s enforcement a success, several critics have said the law forces deportation proceedings on people who may not pose safety risks — with some pointing to the law’s usage of arrest versus conviction as a pretext for the feds to take custody of a subject. “This bill does nothing to improve safety or fix our broken immigration system,” said Nayna Gupta, policy director for the American Immigration Council. “Under the guise of preventing violence, the bill forces immigration officers to indefinitely detain and deport non-citizens who pose no public safety risk, without access to basic due process,” she said in a statement after the law passed. “The bill also gives state attorneys general unprecedented power over immigration policy. The bill strips people of their basic rights and upends how the U.S. government enforces immigration law,” Gupta concluded.
Here’s how the Cabinet Secretaries and their families celebrate the holidays
It’s never a dull moment in Washington during the holiday season — featuring multiple holiday celebrations at the White House itself for lawmakers and Cabinet secretaries. The White House has hosted Christmas parties dating back to 1800 when then-President John Adams and then-first lady Abigail Adams hosted several government officials and their families to celebrate on behalf of their granddaughter, Susanna Boylston Adams, according to the White House Historical Association. Now, government officials make their rounds to celebrate the season — both in their official capacity serving the government and privately with their families. For example, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent attended the White House Congressional Ball in December. First lady Melania Trump hosted the annual event at the White House for Republican and Democratic members of Congress. TRUMP AND FIRST LADY GO ALL BLACK FOR OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT PHOTO President Donald Trump also indicated that other Cabinet members also attended, claiming that “we’ve got them all sort of here” after singling out Rubio and Bessent. However, he refrained from identifying others because “they’re not names that are going to get huge applause from this very substantially Democrat audience.” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also kicked off the first-ever Christmas worship service at the Pentagon, featuring American evangelist Franklin Graham, and musicians Anne Wilson and Matthew West. Additionally, Hegseth’s wife, Jen, hosted a Christmas Tea Party for Gold Star families at the Pentagon. A Gold Star Family is the family of a service member who died during active-duty military service. MELANIA TRUMP GIVES UPLIFTING MESSAGE ABOUT SANTA TO YOUNG KIDS AT HOSPITAL Outside of official holiday events in Washington, the secretaries and their families enjoy their own holiday traditions as well. The White House shared a video Dec. 13 detailing how the secretaries and their families celebrate the holidays, with activities ranging from baking to holding a talent show. Jeanette Rubio, who is married to Secretary of State Rubio, said that their family attends midnight Mass together during Christmas. The couple shares four children together. “We, as a family, we go to midnight Mass, that’s something that’s very important to us,” Rubio said in the video. “We celebrate it together, because we want to keep what the purpose of Christmas is.” FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP DECORATES THE WHITE HOUSE FOR CHRISTMAS: ‘HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS’ Allison Lutnick, who is married to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, said that their favorite way to celebrate the holidays is lighting Hanukkah candles with their four children. “My favorite holiday tradition is lighting Hanukkah candles with my children,” Lutnick said in the video. “They’re approaching 30 now, so we don’t do chocolate dreidels or eight nights of gifts anymore though.” Kathryn Burgum, the wife of Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, said that their family celebrates Christmas by making a Norwegian flatbread called lefse. TINSEL, TRADITION AND MESSAGING: THE POLITICS BEHIND WHITE HOUSE HOLIDAY DECORATIONS “Our favorite holiday tradition is making lefse,” Burgum said in the video. “And some people don’t have any idea what that is, but that’s actually a Norwegian flatbread that’s a tradition around the holidays.” Cheryl Hines, who is married to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said that their family is large, which makes the holiday season extra fun. “We like to have a talent show,” Hines said in the video. “Not everybody is as talented as they wish they were, but that doesn’t stop us from singing at the top of our lungs or doing some crazy dance. We always have a really good time together.” Lisa Collins, who is married to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins, said their family enjoys decorating their Christmas tree with ornaments they’ve collected for nearly 40 years. “Our favorite holiday tradition is collecting Christmas ornaments, everywhere we’ve been in 37 years,” Collins said in the video. We “have a special tree for those places, and they’re all dated as a remembrance of where we’ve been, and how far we’ve come.”