Unearthed photo of Swalwell meeting with top CCP official raises alarm bells: ‘Very disturbing’
FIRST ON FOX: A previously unreported 2013 Facebook post by China’s San Francisco consulate shows then-freshman Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., touting “great potential” for U.S.-China cooperation during a meeting with a senior CCP diplomat, which came during the same time period when Swalwell was allegedly targeted by Chinese espionage efforts. The 2013 photo, which was unearthed by Fox News Digital and “liked” by Christine “Fang Fang” Fang, a Chinese national who was suspected of being a Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) operative and who was reportedly working closely with Swalwell’s campaign helping with fundraising, showed Swalwell posing with Song Ru’an. At the time of the photo, Ru’an was the Deputy Consul General at China’s Bay Area consulate in San Francisco. He would subsequently be tapped to serve as the Deputy Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in Hong Kong until at least 2021. “The United States and China have a lot in common and the two economies are highly complementary. There are great potential for the two countries to cooperate,” Swalwell said at the meeting according to the picture’s caption posted by the Chinese consulate. “I will work actively to promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and I’m looking forward to visiting China in the near future.” SWALWELL PROMISES IF ELECTED GOVERNOR, FORMER ICE AGENTS WOULD BE ‘UN-HIRABLE’ IN CALIFORNIA The unearthed photo comes a couple of weeks after Fox News Digital reported on a California-based law partner for a Beijing law firm donating thousands of dollars to Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign. Like Keliang “Clay” Zhu, Ru’an has a history of supporting interests contrary to American priorities. Ru’an served as one of China’s leading officials in Hong Kong between 2015 and 2021, and was a vocal critic of a 2019 U.S. Human Rights and Democracy Act aimed at protecting Hong Kongers from China’s authoritarian crackdown on its dissidents that only a single Republican member of Congress voted against. Ru’an blasted the bill at the time as the “the epitome of hegemony” and warned it went against American interests, according to the South China Morning Post. Ru’an also reportedly slammed the moves as a “negative and disgraceful role” the U.S. was playing in China’s domestic issues. Ru’an emerged as a central figure in Hong Kong during China’s national security crackdown there that began boiling over in 2020, 2021 and subsequent years. According to the Hong Kong Journalists Association, Ru’an told foreign media outlets to “inject positive energy” into coverage about new extradition laws China was imposing on Hong Kong in 2019. Multiple briefings from both previous and subsequent years showed similar efforts by Ru’an to “guide” media coverage in favor of China. In 2018, he met with members of the American media to discuss how the “One Country, Two Systems” framework between Hong Kong and China is vital to U.S.-China trade relations. SWALWELL GOVERNOR BID HIT WITH RESIDENCY QUESTIONS AFTER COURT FILING ALLEGES HE DOESN’T LIVE IN CALIFORNIA Prior to Ru’an’s work on behalf of the Chinese government in Hong Kong, while serving as Deputy Consulate General at China’s San Francisco consulate, public reports said Ru’an and other consular officials sent letters and traveled to Oregon in an attempt to prevent the creation of a mural highlighting China’s human rights abuses against Tibetan people. Prior to working in San Francisco, Ru’an held multiple CCP roles back in China, including at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Swalwell’s team declined to provide any comment for this story. The San Francisco Chinese Consulate did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. “It’s bad enough that certain California special interests are pushing redistributionist tax policies straight out of a communist manifesto. Now one of the state’s leading gubernatorial candidates has been caught cozying up to the Communist Chinese Party again,” GOP strategist Colin Reed said. “California’s next governor needs to have the intelligence, judgment and character to stand up to the CCP, especially when it comes to empowering American innovators with a common sense regulatory environment that allows them to grow.” “I know first hand what it’s like to live under a communist regime. One-party rule by an authoritarian Communist Party: that’s not theoretical for me, and for years I have expressed my disgust at the establishment strategy of ‘engaging’ with the communist regime in China in the hope that this would one day move them towards freedom and democracy,” Republican California gubernatorial candidate and Former Fox News host Steve Hilton told Fox News Digital. “These people never give up power voluntarily and they are always on the look-out for the ‘useful idiots’ and gullible stooges who they can target with their influence operations. Seems like they found the perfect mark in Eric Swalwell, and it’s somewhat alarming that the poor judgment is still being repeated, as we learned with the recent revelations about CCP-linked donations to his campaign,” he added. EX–NEW YORK STATE OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF SPYING FOR CHINA CALLED HOCHUL ‘MORE OBEDIENT’ THAN CUOMO, TRIAL REVEALS Swalwell served on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) when news broke of his ties to Fang Fang, who “liked” the photo posted in 2013 of Swalwell and Ru’an. Swalwell’s role on the influential intel committee was one that dealt with sensitive national security matters other members of Congress are not privy to. Now, he is asking voters to elevate him to governor of a state at the center of U.S.-China trade and tech. Earlier that same year, Swalwell attended an event hosted by the California State University, East Bay Chinese Student Association, a group that was led by Fang Fang, to celebrate the Chinese New Year. U.S. officials have repeatedly warned that Beijing uses diplomats and influence networks like the United Front to cultivate relationships with American politicians, making even routine-looking interactions politically combustible when they involve a lawmaker already shadowed by foreign-influence scrutiny. “Swalwell met Fang Fang when he was on the city council. He continued a long relationship with
From Obama award to Minnesota op: Why Trump tapped Tom Homan for on-the-ground crackdown
Minneapolis is the Trump administration’s latest immigration flashpoint — and a familiar figure is on the ground, taking command of the federal operation after two fatal shootings and days of agitators sparking heightened protests in the Twin Cities. Border Czar Tom Homan, a career law enforcement official with more than four decades in immigration enforcement, has worked under both Republican and Democratic administrations — including formal recognition during the Obama era. Allies say that résumé undercuts any claims he’s a partisan operator and makes him an ideal choice to take the lead in Minneapolis. “Tom Homan is a decorated career law enforcement professional whose service has spanned multiple presidential administrations, both Republican and Democratic. He is a no-nonsense American patriot who is dedicated to making his country better. So I have every bit of confidence that Tom is the right person for the job,” America First Legal president Gene Hamilton said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “People know exactly who they are dealing with when they deal with Tom Homan. He’s a known entity,” Hamilton continued. BEHIND THE SCENES: TRUMP AND WHITE HOUSE RALLY BEHIND NOEM AS ‘RADICALS’ DEMAND OUSTER Hamilton worked on immigration policy during Trump’s first term and alongside Homan, and he told Fox News Digital that Homan is the right fit to oversee the Minnesota operation because of his law-and-order approach and record across administrations. Hamilton is now president of America First Legal, after previously working as Trump’s deputy White House counsel during the first half of 2025. Homan was deployed to the Gopher State on Monday, effectively replacing Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, and is reporting directly to President Donald Trump as he takes the helm of the administration’s immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities. His leadership over the operation follows a pair of high-profile shootings involving federal law enforcement that left two Americans dead, and Democrats calling the deaths “murder” while pointing to ICE as a modern-day “Gestapo.” “Tom Homan is a patriot with decades of experience effectively protecting American communities and deporting criminal illegal aliens,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said when asked about Homan taking the helm of the mission. WHY TRUMP SENDING TOM HOMAN TO MINNESOTA IS A STROKE OF ABSOLUTE GENIUS A White House official told Fox News Digital amid the Minnesota leadership shakeup that the administration “has not wavered” from its mission to arrest and deport illegal immigrants, with one official saying that Trump wanted to prevent further violence and work with state and local leaders to remove public safety threats. Democrats have slammed the broader ICE crackdown as heavy-handed, calling for investigations and tighter restrictions on enforcement tactics after agitators Renee Good and Alex Pretti were fatally shot by law enforcement this month. Senate Democrat Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has echoed that criticism, calling what’s unfolding in Minnesota “appalling” and pressing for new oversight and guardrails on ICE’s conduct as the Trump administration insists the mission remains unchanged and focused on law and order. “The Trump Administration will never waver in standing up for law and order and protecting the American people,” Jackson added in her comment on Homan. Homan launched his federal law enforcement career in 1984 as a Border Patrol agent with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which was abolished after 9/11 and replaced with the Department of Homeland Security. His rise through the ranks of federal law enforcement included former President Barack Obama tapping him to lead ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in 2013. Hamilton continued that Homan is not a partisan actor, but focused on delivering lawful deportation results – as he’s done for a Democrat administration. “Tom Homan’s mission is not partisan. It’s not political,” Hamilton continued in his comments on Homan. “The only people who are making it political are the officials in Minnesota who have turned this into a rallying cry for agitators, who are more committed to rioting and impeding federal law enforcement in the streets of Minneapolis than, quite frankly, anything we’ve seen In recent history.” Chad Wolf, acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security during President Trump’s first term, authored an op-ed for Fox News Digital that described Trump tapping Homan to oversee the operation as a “stroke of absolute genius.” “Homan is not a political firebrand looking for headlines. He is a career law enforcement professional, with over 30 years of experience at ICE and U.S. Border Patrol, who understands the operational realities of immigration enforcement,” Wolf wrote. “Sending him to Minnesota is not about provocation; it is about restoring coherence to a situation that has grown dangerously fragmented.” DHS data show deportations surged under Obama, including a record 438,421 removals in fiscal year 2013, fueling a “deporter in chief” label activists used to describe the 44th president. In 2016, Obama awarded Homan the Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Service, an honor recognizing leaders who produce “sustained extraordinary results.” “Thomas Homan deports people. And he’s really good at it,” the Washington Post wrote in an article at the time reporting on the award. “Homan is the Washington bureaucrat in charge of rounding up, detaining and kicking illegal immigrants out of the country,” the article continued. “As Americans fight over whether the next president should build a wall on the Mexico border to keep migrants out or protect millions of them from deportation, Homan is actually hunting undocumented immigrants down right now, setting strategy for 8,000 officers on the front lines.” DAVID MARCUS: SPURNING TRUMP MEANS MAYOR JACOB FREY OWNS MINNEAPOLIS MESS Fast-forward to that campaign cycle electing Trump to his first term, Homan was again tapped to help tackle immigration for the Republican president’s administration, serving as the acting director in 2017 and 2018. Now, the border czar is vowing he won’t leave the Twin Cities “until the problem is gone.” Homan publicly suggested that ICE could pull back from direct action in the community if local leaders allow federal agents access to jails to take custody of removable immigrants in a controlled setting, a proposal
House GOP majority on the brink as all-Democrat Texas special congressional election underway
Republicans are clinging to a razor-thin 218-213 House majority. And the GOP’s margin will shrink even further after a special congressional election this weekend to fill the seat in a Democrat-dominated district which has been vacant for nearly a year. That’s because the two candidates in Saturday’s runoff election in Texas’ 18th Congressional District are both Democrats. Voters in the district, which is anchored by downtown Houston and surrounding areas, head to the polls to choose a successor to fill the seat left vacant when Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner died last March. Sylvester, a former longtime state lawmaker, served two terms as Houston mayor before winning election to Congress in 2024, succeeding the late longtime Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee. DEMOCRATIC TAKEOVER FEARS SOAR AS HOUSE REPUBLICANS CLING TO FRAGILE MAJORITY Democrats Christian Menefee, a former attorney for Houston’s Harris County, and former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards are facing off in the special election. They were the top two finishers in a field of 16 candidates that faced off in an initial election in November. While Texas has redrawn its congressional maps for the 2026 midterms, as part of the high-stakes redistricting battle between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats, the special election will use the state’s current district lines. CASH SURGE: HOUSE GOP SPOTLIGHTS RECORD FUNDRAISING AHEAD OF MIDTERM CLASH The winner of the special election will give the Democrats one additional House member, giving Republican leadership further headaches. “They’d better be here,” House Speaker Mike Johnson recently said of his members. “I told everybody, and not in jest, I said, no adventure sports, no risk-taking, take your vitamins. Stay healthy and be here.” And House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s office confirmed it is advising members that “outside of life-and-death circumstances,” they expect Republican lawmakers to be on Capitol Hill. Three other special congressional elections are on tap this year. Eleven candidates are running in the Feb. 5 Democratic Party primary in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District. The seat was left vacant after now New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill stepped down after winning November’s gubernatorial election in the Garden State. The winner of the Democratic primary will face off with Randolph Mayor Joe Hathaway, the only Republican to file for the special election, which will be held on April 16. The suburban district in northern New Jersey leans to the left, with Sherrill winning re-election in 2024 by 15 points, the same margin she carried the district in November’s gubernatorial showdown. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: HOUSE EXODUS THREATENS JOHNSON’S GRIP ON POWER AS OVER 40 MEMBERS HEAD FOR EXIT But then-Vice President Kamala Harris won the district by just eight points in the 2024 presidential election, giving the GOP some hopes of possibly flipping the seat. A whopping 22 candidates, including 17 Republicans, are running in a special election in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, in the race to succeed former GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. The MAGA firebrand and one-time top Trump House ally four weeks ago stepped down from Congress a year before her term ended. According to Georgia state law, all the candidates will run on the same ballot. If no contender tops 50% of the vote, a runoff election between the top two finishers will take place on April 7. The district in northwestern Georgia is solidly Republican, with Greene winning re-election in 2024 by nearly 30 points and Trump carrying the district by 37 points. Primary Day in California for the 2026 elections is scheduled for June 2, and this year it will also include a primary for the special election in the state’s 1st Congressional District, in the race to fill a seat left vacant following the recent unexpected death of Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa. The general election will be held on Aug. 4. The district, in northeastern California, is solidly Republican. Similar to Texas, California is also altering its congressional maps as part of the redistricting wars, but the special election will be held under the current district lines. The White House and congressional Republicans criticized the decision by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to not hold a special election to fill LaMalfa’s seat until August, six months after the late congressman’s death. But Democrats similarly complained about Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas not scheduling the special election to fill Turner’s seat until eight months after the late lawmaker died. Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this story.
Conservative group blasts LinkedIn for removing pro-ICE post, labeling it ‘hateful’
A conservative advocacy group is slamming the social media platform LinkedIn and conservatives online are threatening to ditch the site after the group’s post supporting President Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown was temporarily removed in what the company called an error. “.@DHSgov is carrying out the essential task of keeping our country safe,” State Freedom Caucus Network posted on Jan. 27 on multiple platforms including X and LinkedIn. “Biden let over 10M illegal aliens enter our states, many being violent criminals and pedophiles. Every state must ensure collaboration with ICE and CBP to remove them. Our caucuses are on the frontlines leading their states to support @POTUS’s mission to keep Americans safe!” On Thursday, SFCN revealed a screenshot showing that while the post was allowed by X, it was flagged as “hateful speech” by LinkedIn and removed. TIKTOK ‘MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUE’ SPARKS CENSORSHIP CLAIMS FROM DEMOCRATS NEWSOM, MURPHY “Apparently protecting children is ‘hate,’ but letting actual predators roam free is fine,” SFCN wrote. “@elonmusk doesn’t censor us, but @LinkedIn does! We’ll be deleting our account as a result.” Conservatives on social media quickly began calling out the social media company, co-founded by liberal megadonor Reid Hoffman before he sold the company to Microsoft, where he currently sits on the board. 2010 OBAMA CLIP GOES VIRAL WHERE HE DEFENDS DEPORTATIONS, EVEN OF THOSE ‘JUST TRYING TO EARN A LIVING’ “Everyone delete LinkedIn,” Townhall columnist Dustin Grage posted on X. “Just a garbage woke platform that provides little value.” “How is wanting pedos off the streets hateful?? ?? Why are you censoring Conservatives?? @LinkedIn,” conservative influencer account LibsofTikTok posted on X. “DELETE YOUR LINKEDIN ACCOUNT.” A LinkedIn spokesperson pushed back, telling Fox News Digital: “This was removed in error, and we quickly corrected it.” Andrew Roth, president of the State Freedom Caucus Network, told Fox News Digital he received a “removal notice” via email and after the situation was posted on LibsofTikTok, he received another email saying the removal was an error. “Initially, your post was removed for going against our policies,” Roth was told by LinkedIn. “As part of our review, we now find that your post doesn’t go against our policies and apologize for the mistake.” Roth told Fox News Digital, “Yeah, right.” “I guess wokeism is still alive and well, but we will continue to fight it. First step is to not engage on the LinkedIn platform ever again. Second step is to tell the world what they did.” Conservatives have long decried censorship and perceived bias on social media platforms and although the post was reinstated within a few hours of being taken down, Daniel Cochrane, Heritage Foundation Senior Research Associate at the Center for Technology and the Human Person, told Fox News Digital the situation represents the “predictable model” that Big Tech platforms often operate under. “Censor first and then ask for forgiveness later,” Cochrane said. “While platforms nearly always claim a ‘mistake’ or ‘miscommunication’ content moderation systems and processes operate in a black box,” Cochrane added. “The opaque nature of these systems leads to a dearth of accountability.” Cochrane went on to say that even if platforms aren’t “explicitly targeting” a specific group or message, “liberal biases” can often be “baked into their algorithmic moderation systems disproportionately flag and demote conservative voices.” “Without greater accountability, the status quo of arbitrary censorship is a feature of Big Tech platforms, not a bug.”
Famed filmmaker presses Democrats to put ‘citizen-led’ presidential primary first
NEWFIELDS, N.H. — Ken Burns, the esteemed filmmaker whose popular documentaries chronicle American history and culture, has a message for the Democratic Party. Burns is urging Democrats to restore his home state of New Hampshire as the lead-off primary in the Democratic National Committee‘s (DNC) 2028 presidential nominating calendar. New Hampshire had held the lead-off presidential primary for both Democrats and Republicans for a century, and while the GOP adhered to tradition in the last race for the White House, the DNC upended their calendar, placing South Carolina ahead of the Granite State. The move was an unwanted distraction for Democrats during the 2024 primaries, and the DNC is now starting to discuss which states will lead off its 2028 calendar, when the party aims to win back the White House in the race to succeed term-limited Republican President Donald Trump. WHITE HOUSE RACE UNDERWAY: WITH 2026 LOOMING, BOTH PARTIES ARE ALREADY PLAYING FOR 2028 Burns, who lives in the small southwestern New Hampshire town of Walpole, wrote a letter to the DNC’s Rules & Bylaws Committee, which oversees the party’s primary calendar, on the eve of that panel’s meeting in Puerto Rico to begin considering applications by New Hampshire and nearly a dozen states to hold an early primary in 2028. “I’m writing to you today both as a Granite Stater who has witnessed firsthand how New Hampshire’s First in the Nation Primary has helped move our democracy forward, and a historical filmmaker who, in this particularly challenging moment, is concerned for the future of our country and believes that New Hampshire’s citizen-led, First in the Nation primary remains indispensable for this moment,” Burns wrote in the letter, which was obtained by Fox News Digital. ‘ROCK STAR’ NEWSOM STEALS THE SHOW AT DNC SUMMIT AS DEMOCRATS HUNT FOR 2028 CONTENDER TO TAKE ON TRUMP In the letter, which was first reported by WMUR-TV in New Hampshire, Burns emphasized, “I know of no people better suited to help begin the journey to maintain true freedom, to re-light that sacred fire, than the people of the Live Free or Die State. That’s why we need New Hampshire’s citizen-led, First in the Nation Primary, where everyday people can be heard. For in the strength of everyday citizens, there is no better or equal hope in our world.” Longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley, who’s a member of the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee and is attending the meeting in Puerto Rico, told Fox News Digital that “Ken Burns is a beloved, internationally respected storyteller of America. Ken is trusted, he knows his stuff, he speaks with such clarity and authority that he gets people to sit up and listen.” “Ken makes a powerful statement in support of New Hampshire’s presidential primary that will resonate with my colleagues,” Buckley predicted. 2028 LOOMS LARGE: HARRIS, NEWSOM, PRITZKER CONVERGE AT HIGH-STAKES DEMOCRATIC PARTY SUMMIT National Democrats for years had knocked both Iowa — whose caucuses for 50 years led off the party’s nominating calendar until 2024 — and New Hampshire as unrepresentative of the party as a whole because the states have largely white populations with few major urban areas. Nevada and South Carolina, which in recent cycles voted third and fourth on the calendar, are much more diverse than either Iowa or New Hampshire. Nevada and South Carolina were added to the Democratic calendar two decades ago to increase the diversity of the early states’ electorate. But New Hampshire Democrats have long pushed back, saying the state’s rich tradition of grassroots, retail politics, its well-informed electorate, its high percentage of voter participation and its longtime status as a key general election swing state make it the perfect locale to hold the first-in-the-nation primary. After the DNC removed New Hampshire from the top of their 2024 calendar, putting the state second along with Nevada, the Granite State still moved to the head of the line. Adhering to a nearly half-century-old law that mandates the Granite State to hold the first presidential primary a week ahead of any similar contest, New Hampshire Secretary of State Dave Scanlan scheduled the Democratic and GOP presidential primary contests for Jan. 23, 2024. The Democratic contest, which was held before South Carolina and Nevada, ended up being an unsanctioned election, with the DNC banning the state’s delegates from attending that summer’s nominating convention. The DNC later made peace with New Hampshire, and reinstated their convention delegates. The Rules and Bylaws Committee isn’t expected to decide on the 2028 calendar until later this year. The rival Republican National Committee, as Fox News Digital first reported last week, at its winter meeting took the first formal step in keeping the GOP’s 2028 calendar the same, with the Iowa caucuses kicking off the nominating process followed by New Hampshire’s primary.
New Jersey governor to launch portal for uploading videos of ICE tactics: ‘They have not been forthcoming’
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, announced that state officials will launch a portal allowing residents to upload photos and videos of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducting federal operations. Sherrill revealed the initiative during a Wednesday appearance on The Daily Show, Comedy Central’s nightly comedy news program. “If you see an ICE agent in the street, get your phone out, we want to know,” Sherrill said. “They have not been forthcoming,” the governor continued. “They will pick people up, they will not tell us who they are, they will not tell us if they’re here legally, they won’t check. They’ll pick up American citizens. They picked up a five-year-old child. We want documentation, and we are going to make sure we get it.” MARYLAND DEMOCRAT’S BILL SEEKS TO ‘DIGITALLY UNMASK’ ICE AGENTS AFTER FATAL MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING Sherill said her administration will soon be launching a portal so New Jersey residents “can upload all their cell phone videos and alert people” about local immigration operations. A spokesperson for the governor, Sean Higgins, said Sherill’s administration will release further details in the coming days. “Keeping New Jerseyans safe is Governor Sherrill’s top priority and, in the coming days, she and Acting Attorney General Davenport will announce additional actions to protect New Jerseyans from federal overreach,” Higgins said in a statement. Sherrill also said that her administration intends to provide information to educate New Jerseyans on their rights in the state. GOP LAWMAKER RENEWS OVERSIGHT HEARING REQUEST OF DHS AGENCIES FOLLOWING FATAL SHOOTING IN MINNEAPOLIS New York Attorney General Letitia James launched a similar portal in her state in October, saying state officials would review the videos and images uploaded to the portal to determine whether immigration agents violated the law. California officials also opened a portal last month for residents to report possible unlawful acts by ICE agents. Some grassroots groups across the country have also been warning community members of reports of ICE activity, so migrants can avoid the area. This comes after two killings of U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this month. Both shootings were recorded by bystanders and sparked unrest in Minnesota and across the country. Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7 in Minneapolis, and Border Patrol agents on Saturday fatally shot Alex Pretti while he was recording immigration enforcement operations in the same city. Pretti, an ICU nurse, appeared to be attempting to assist a woman agents had knocked down when he was sprayed with an irritant, pushed to the ground and beaten, according to video and witness accounts. An agent was later seen pulling Pretti’s lawfully owned firearm from his waistband before other agents fired several shots, killing him. Sherrill also compared ICE to secret police forces she observed in other countries when she served in the Navy. “We saw people in the street with masks and no insignia. So not accountable at all, hiding from the population – and we saw again and again an undermining of what law enforcement should do to keep people safe,” she said on Wednesday. Democrats in Congress and in various state legislatures have sought for months to adopt measures that would ban immigration agents from wearing masks to hide their identities, arguing that such legislation is needed to ensure transparency.
Trump unloads on ‘radical left’ as he stands by Kristi Noem amid immigration enforcement unrest
President Donald Trump offered renewed support for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem on Friday, saying she has done a “great job” amid ongoing nationwide immigration protests. In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump accused “radical left” activists of targeting Noem while touting what he described as historic gains in border security and public safety under his administration. “The Radical Left Lunatics, Insurrectionists, Agitators, and Thugs, are going after Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, because she is a woman, and has done a really GREAT JOB!” Trump wrote Friday evening. “The Border disaster that I inherited is fixed, the violent criminals that were allowed into our Country through Sleepy Joe’s ‘sick’ Open Border Policy, are largely gone, or being strongly sought for purposes of removal, and the Murder Rate in the USA just reached the lowest level in history, 125 years!” In a separate post, Trump praised border czar Tom Homan for doing a “FANTASTIC JOB” after sending him to Minneapolis this week to replace Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino. Trump has suggested Bovino did not adequately oversee the state’s immigration crackdown. MINNESOTA SHAKEUP SHIFTS LEADERSHIP NOT STRATEGY, WHITE HOUSE SAYS, PUSHING BACK ON ‘RETREAT’ CLAIM Trump’s comments come as Noem faces mounting criticism following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good during immigration enforcement operations by federal agents in Minneapolis. Several prominent Democrats have recently called for her removal as DHS secretary, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., along with other House Democrats, are threatening impeachment proceedings if Noem is not “fired immediately.” Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have also publicly urged her removal. GRAHAM PUSHES BACK ON TILLIS’ CRITICISM OF NOEM, MILLER FOR LABELING MAN KILLED BY BORDER PATROL A ‘TERRORIST’ On Friday, several University of Minnesota student groups led what they dubbed a “National Shutdown” in protest of federal immigration enforcement, with activists joining from across the country. Trump accused Democrats of using protests as a distraction from what he alleged were widespread financial crimes involving billions of dollars in public funds. “Republicans, don’t let these Crooked Democrats, who are stealing Billions of Dollars from Minnesota, and other Cities and States from all over the Country, push you around,” he wrote. “They are using this aggressive protest SCAM to obfuscate, camouflage, and hide their CRIMINAL ACTS of theft and insurrection. They should all be in jail.” FEDERAL COURT RULES NOEM TERMINATING TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR VENEZUELANS IN US WAS ILLEGAL The president’s latest message of support for Noem follows confirmation Tuesday that he has no plans to ask her to step down from her role. “Is Kristi Noem going to step down?” a reporter asked. “No,” Trump responded. Noem addressed calls for her ouster in an interview Thursday on “Hannity,” saying “radicals” were targeting her. “These radicals are attacking me, but I’m just doing my job. I’m following the law, enforcing the laws like President Trump promised that he would do to keep people safe in this country,” she said. Fox News Digital’s Nora Moriarty, Anders Hagstrom and Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.
Government shuts down again after Democrats revolt over DHS funding
The federal government is shutting down for the second time in six months after Congress failed to reach an agreement on the yearly budget in time. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is expected to notify federal agencies to begin shutdown preparations as early as just after midnight on Jan. 31 Unlike last time, however, the government is only entering a partial shutdown this weekend. That’s because Congress was able to pass legislation fully funding some areas — the Department of Agriculture, the legislative branch, and the Department of Justice, for instance — while a majority of federal spending is still not set. Senate Democrats walked away from a bipartisan deal to fully fund the federal government for the remainder of fiscal year FY 2026 amid fallout over President Donald Trump’s surge of federal law enforcement in Minneapolis. GRAHAM BLOCKS TRUMP-BACKED SPENDING PLAN, CALLS IT A ‘BAD DEAL’ AS SHUTDOWN NEARS Federal officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in the Midwest city during separate demonstrations against Trump’s immigration crackdown. In response, Democrats threatened to hold up a massive federal funding bill that also includes dollars for the departments of War, Labor, Health and Human Services, Transportation and others unless funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were stripped out. That means a prolonged shutdown could fuel airline delays, risk active duty troops missing paychecks, and even limit some Medicaid and Medicare services. Senate Democrats struck a new deal with the White House that would fund all but DHS through Sept. 30, which is the majority of federal spending. DHS would be kept running with a two-week extension of current spending levels to give Congress time to hash out a compromise that would include stricter guardrails on immigration enforcement agencies under the department’s purview. President Donald Trump lauded the funding truce, which he struck with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in a post on Truth Social. He urged Republicans to support it, and warned that the “only thing that can slow our Country down is another long and damaging Government Shutdown.” Still, it was a bitter pill for some Senate Republicans who were already frustrated with the underlying, original package. A handful were angered over the billions in earmarks attached to the legislation. And Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was enraged by the House’s inclusion of a provision that would allow senators to sue for up to $500,000 if their phone records were subpoenaed by former Special Counsel Jack Smith. DEMS’ DHS SHUTDOWN THREAT WOULD HIT FEMA, TSA WHILE IMMIGRATION FUNDING REMAINS INTACT “You jammed me, Speaker Johnson. I won’t forget this,” Graham said. “I got a lot of good friends in the House. If you think I’m going to give up on this, you really don’t know me.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was able to quell opposition and advance the modified package with the help of Senate Democrats. Though the deal passed through the Senate, it still must be taken up in the House. The House passed the original federal funding plan that Democrats walked away from in late January but must vote again after the Senate’s modifications. That means the duration of this shutdown will hinge on how long it takes House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to corral Republicans and Democrats around the legislation next week.
Left-wing activists storming synagogue use knee pads, adult diaper to mock Dem congressman over ICE vote
Left-wing activists disrupted an event at a Jewish temple in New York this week while Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi was speaking, protesting his vote in favor of a government spending bill that included increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The demonstrators, affiliated with the activist group Climate Defiance, interrupted Suozzi on Wednesday night at the temple on Long Island, unleashing a barrage of crude theatrics and profane insults, according to the New York Post. “We confronted Congressman Tom Suozzi,” Climate Defiance posted to X. “He is one of seven Democrats casting the decisive votes to increase ICE funding by $10,000,000,000. Hideous, grotesque, fascist-loving coward, this man has blood on his hands. We will not forgive and we will not forget.” Video of the disruption, which has amassed millions of views online, shows activists heckling the congressman with props such as adult diapers and knee pads while mocking his support for additional funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the New York Post reported. AOC VOICES SUPPORT FOR ANTI-ICE SHUTDOWN, DECLINES TO PARTICIPATE One demonstrator taunted Suozzi by holding up an adult diaper and saying, “I know you voted to increase ICE funding, so I wanted to get something for you. This is an adult diaper for when you pee yourself in front of Donald Trump. You’re the type of leader we need right now. Someone who soils themselves when the fascists are at our door.” Another displayed knee pads saying, “I actually have some gifts — I have some kneepads for you — you can use these while you b— Donald Trump.” A third individual said, “As a Jewish man, I have never felt safer than when there is a masked Gestapo in the street, so thank you, Congressman Tom Suozzi, for funding ICE.” Comedian and activist Walter Masterson appeared to be thrown out of the temple during the disruption while attempting to read aloud the names of individuals he said had died in ICE-related incidents. DHS PUNCHES BACK AT MOULTON FOR ‘INCITING RIOTERS’ WITH ‘GROSS’ ICE REMARKS “Nine people were killed by ICE this month, and you’re throwing me out while I’m reading their names? How f—ing dare you!” Masterson shouted. Days after the vote, Suozzi publicly apologized for supporting the DHS spending package, which included roughly $10 billion in additional funding for ICE, Politico reported. The apology followed intense backlash from fellow Democrats and came after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents in Minnesota, according to the New York Post. LOOMING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN THREATENS SERVICE MEMBERS, FEMA, TSA AMID ICE IMPASSE “I failed to view the DHS funding vote as a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis,” Suozzi said in a statement. “I hear the anger from my constituents, and I take responsibility for that. I have long been critical of ICE’s unlawful behavior and I must do a better job demonstrating that.” Suozzi joined six other Democrats in crossing party lines to help Republicans narrowly pass the DHS funding measure in a 220–207 vote, Politico reported. Suozzi and Climate Defiance did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
US approves massive arms sales to Israel and Saudi Arabia for more than $15 billion amid Middle East tensions
The U.S. State Department late Friday announced it had approved two arms sales to Israel and Saudi Arabia worth $6.67 billion and $9 billion. The sales come as the Trump administration moves forward with its peacekeeping plan in Gaza and amid the threat of U.S. military strikes in Iran. Thirty Apache helicopters with rocket launchers make up the largest part of the sale to Israel, along with 3,250 light tactical vehicles, power packs for armored personnel carriers and a number of light utility helicopters. The State Department said the sale would “enhance Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats by improving its ability to defend Israel’s borders, vital infrastructure and population centers.” ISRAEL SET TO REOPEN GAZA’S RAFAH BORDER CROSSING WITH EGYPT FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE MAY 2024 “The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to U.S. national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability,” it said. Saudi Arabia will receive 730 Patriot missiles and related equipment that “will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a major non-NATO ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf Region,” the department said. “This enhanced capability will protect land forces of Saudi Arabia, the United States and local allies and will significantly improve Saudi Arabia’s contribution” to the integrated air and missile defense system in the region. On Thursday during a Cabinet meeting, President Donald Trump and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said they believe Hamas will disarm under a U.S.-backed Gaza ceasefire plan as it enters its second phase. But regional analysts have warned the terror group has no intention of disarming and could even block Trump’s Gaza plan altogether. “Hamas will do all the possible and creative maneuvers and manipulations in order to keep its power and influence in the Gaza Strip,” professor Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital. “The Israel Defense Forces are the only entity that can disarm Hamas.” Fox News’ Emma Bussey and the Associated Press contributed to this report.