GOP accuses Democrats of ‘fabricating’ Trump-Epstein link with selective document leaks, internal memo shows
FIRST ON FOX: The GOP majority on the House Oversight Committee is at war with their Democratic counterparts over what they say is a false narrative being crafted about President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. Republican committee staff authored a new talking points memo sent to GOP lawmakers on Tuesday morning that is aimed at discounting Democrats’ recent leaks of information on Epstein, accusing them of releasing information on a selective basis to paint a picture that is not there. “Throughout the Oversight Committee’s review of the federal government’s handling of the Epstein and Maxwell criminal investigations, Democrats have demonstrated a sustained pattern of misconduct — misrepresenting witness testimony, selectively leaking cherry-picked documents, and manipulating emails and images — to fabricate yet another politically motivated hoax targeting President Trump,” the memo, obtained by Fox News Digital, said. “As a result, nothing Democrats post or leak on this matter can be taken at face value.” HOUSE REPUBLICANS SAY DEMS TWISTING EPSTEIN PROBE TO SMEAR TRUMP IN NEW MEMO The memo also encourages Oversight Republicans to take aim at “Legacy Media,” which it says “uncritically amplified these falsehoods, acting as a willing conduit rather than performing basic due diligence.” “This reckless combination of partisan distortion and media malpractice undermines the Committee’s work, misleads the public, and distracts from the serious responsibility of ensuring accountability, transparency, and justice for the American people,” the memo said. What had initially begun as a bipartisan investigation quickly devolved into partisan infighting. WHITE HOUSE SLAMS DEMS’ ‘BAD-FAITH’ EPSTEIN DOC RELEASE AS DEMAND FOR FILES INTENSIFIES Democrats have argued that Republicans are using the probe to give Trump cover, while the GOP said the left is distorting facts to create a false narrative that Trump participated in Epstein’s crimes. The pair were known to have a close friendship decades ago but had a falling out in the early 2000s before accusations of sexual contact with minors first surfaced. To date, the president has denied involvement — and not been implicated — in any of Epstein’s crimes. Among the memo’s highlights are Oversight Democrats releasing three emails sent to the committee by Epstein’s estate which appear to suggest that Trump “knew about” various illicit activities of Epstein’s, including one which refers to him as “that dog that hasn’t barked.” EX-PRINCE ANDREW APPEARS IN PHOTO RELEASED BY JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S ESTATE, SHARED BY HOUSE DEMOCRATS Republicans said they selectively released three emails out of a tranche of 20,000 pages of documents at the time. “When CNN questioned the redactions, Democrat Committee members falsely claimed Republicans were responsible. After Republicans released more than 20,000 pages, Democrats then claimed this transparency was intended to ‘disorient’ and ‘distract’ from their fabricated narrative,” the memo said. In a later release of photos from Epstein’s estate, Republicans accused Democrats of having “censored adult women’s faces to smear President Trump.” For example, one of the photos censored, they said, “shows President Trump standing next to adult Hawaiian Tropic women models.” Democrats have not always mentioned Trump directly in their releases, but he has been a regular feature of the emails and photos they have made public. “It is time to end this White House cover-up and bring justice to the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and his powerful friends,” Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the committee, said in a statement on one of the releases. “These disturbing photos raise even more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world. We will not rest until the American people get the truth. The Department of Justice must release all the files, NOW.” Meanwhile, the Trump administration is facing a Dec. 19 deadline to release its files related to Epstein, pursuant to a near-unanimous vote in the House and a unanimous vote in the Senate. Fox News Digital reached out to Oversight Committee Democrats for a response to the memo.
Trump admin defends White House ballroom as national security matter
The Trump administration argued in a court filing on Monday that pausing construction on the new White House ballroom would undermine national security, citing a Secret Service declaration warning that halting work would leave the site unable to meet “safety and security requirements” needed to protect the president. The declaration says the White House’s East Wing, demolished in October and now undergoing below-grade work, cannot be left unfinished without compromising essential security measures. “Accordingly, any pause in construction, even temporarily, would leave the contractor’s obligation unfulfilled in this regard and consequently hamper the Secret Service’s ability to meet its statutory obligations and protective mission,” reads the filing in part. The government’s memorandum was in response to a lawsuit filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit that says it advocates for preserving historic sites of national importance and protecting the public’s role in that process. WALZ REPEATS DEBUNKED CLAIM THAT TRUMP CONSIDERS WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM ‘TOP PRIORITY’ The National Trust lawsuit targets key government officials responsible for overseeing the White House grounds and the agencies managing the construction project, including the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior. It argues that pausing the Trump administration’s ballroom project is essential to prevent irreversible changes while the required oversight and public involvement procedures are carried out. “Submitting the project to the National Capital Planning Commission for review protects the iconic historic features of the White House campus as it evolves. Inviting comments from the American people signals respect and helps ensure a lasting legacy that befits a government of the people, by the people, for the people,” said Carol Quillen, the president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. TRUMP UNVEILS VISION FOR EISENHOWER EXECUTIVE OFFICE BUILDING MAKEOVER The White House announced President Donald Trump’s plans in July to move forward with a 90,000-square-foot state ballroom that would cost an estimated $200 million. That figure has now risen to at least $300 million, and while the project is backed by some private donors, Trump has also insisted it will be funded “100% by me and some friends of mine.” In its filing, the administration emphasized that key regulatory reviews are forthcoming, saying it plans to submit draft architectural drawings and materials to the National Capital Planning Commission and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts in the coming weeks. The government argued the lawsuit is premature because above-grade construction is not scheduled to begin until April 2026. The National Trust, however, counters that the scale of the project makes early intervention necessary. In its lawsuit, the group argues that the 90,000-square-foot addition would dwarf the Executive Residence and permanently upset the classical balance of the White House’s design. The complaint also cites an October statement from the Society of Architectural Historians, which warned that the proposed ballroom would represent the most significant exterior change to the building in more than 80 years.
House GOP tensions erupt as Republicans turn on each other heading into year’s end
Tensions are boiling within the House GOP as lawmakers are set to begin their final legislative week of 2025. More than a dozen House Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital over the last week gave different answers on where tensions lie, with frustrations directed toward Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., the White House, their Senate counterparts and even each other. Most of the issues they discussed were varied as well, but several people acknowledged concerns over whether there could be any defining legislative issues Republicans could coalesce around in 2026 to follow up on their signature achievement with the “one big, beautiful bill” last summer. “Right now, we don’t have a focused agenda that we’re moving towards like we did with the one big, beautiful bill,” one House GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital. “That brought all of our energy together in a focused manner.” HOUSE GOP SPLITS OVER OBAMACARE FIX AS COSTS POISED TO SPIKE FOR MILLIONS Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., said he was not frustrated with any one leader in Congress specifically, but lamented that the institution did not better allow House Republicans to tackle the issues in front of them. “The problem is, because of the nature of the beast, we’re always fighting against the next big emergency, right? So, instead of being proactive and doing good solutions — I mean, healthcare. Healthcare has been the number one expense for families for a decade,” McCormick said. He said Republicans “did nothing” on healthcare when they first came to power earlier this year and were now left “in this position” where they were scrambling for a solution to the looming health insurance premium hikes early next year. House Republicans unveiled a bill aimed at lowering healthcare costs on Friday evening, but it’s unclear as of now if it has enough support to pass. Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital broadly, “I’m always gonna want to see more action. My job isn’t to come here and be satisfied.” But he said of House GOP leadership, “When you’re in charge you get more blame and more praise than you probably deserve, but it’s gonna take the whole conference to come together, remembering what brought us here.” CONGRESS MELTS DOWN: MEMBERS UNLEASH PERSONAL ATTACKS AFTER WEEKS OF SHUTDOWN DRAMA Still, a fair share of GOP lawmakers have directed their anger at Johnson in recent weeks. “I think there’s a lot of concerns about the way things have been handled the last several months, starting with leadership, let this redistricting war break out, which is gonna upend the districts of dozens of our members. And then the fact we just weren’t here for two months,” Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., told Fox News Digital. “And then the way that the House is really not in the driver’s seat on a lot of the key issues around here — I think all of that is pretty frustrating to a swath of the conference.” Others are frustrated at Johnson over more personal issues. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital she believed Johnson was blocking her efforts to build a National Women’s Museum, an effort she said had President Donald Trump’s support. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: HOUSE EXODUS THREATENS JOHNSON’S GRIP ON POWER AS OVER 40 MEMBERS HEAD FOR EXIT “It’s been stalled by the speaker, in committee, despite having 165 sponsors from both parties,” Malliotakis said. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., meanwhile, was angered last week by the way Johnson handled the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). “We’re getting shoved, and we just have to eat it, or, you know, vote against increasing pay to our military service members. It’s a very unfortunate situation to be in, that the speaker keeps putting us in,” Steube said. “I think getting Trump’s signature piece of legislation through is excellent, and everybody should be commended for that, because that was just a huge accomplishment, and it’ll do great things for the country next year. Now that we’ve gotten over that … now you’re kind of, like, what can we do next?” MIKE JOHNSON SAYS HOUSE GOP WORKING FULL STEAM AHEAD ON TRUMP’S ‘AFFORDABILITY AGENDA’ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has notably been one of Johnson’s loudest critics and recently become a political enemy of Trump’s as well. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who Johnson promoted to House GOP leadership chairwoman after the White House took her out of the running for ambassador to the United Nations, publicly accused Johnson of kowtowing to Democrats over a provision in the NDAA before walking the anger back when she won that battle. And Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., recently wrote a scathing op-ed in The New York Times, where she wrote, “Here’s a hard truth Republicans don’t want to hear: Nancy Pelosi was a more effective House speaker than any Republican this century.” “Speaker Mike Johnson is better than his predecessor. But the frustrations of being a rank-and-file House member are compounded as certain individuals or groups remain marginalized within the party, getting little say,” Mace wrote. Mace told Fox News Digital she had spoken with Johnson the same week the op-ed was published. While she declined to go into detail about their private conversation, Mace said she did not feel heard by the speaker. A second House Republican who spoke with Fox News Digital anonymously said, when asked if there was wider frustration with Johnson, “Yeah, I would say so. Especially rank-and-file people.” DEMOCRATS SEE MANDATE AFTER 2025 WINS — REPUBLICANS SAY IT’S A MIRAGE But three others accused those criticizing Johnson publicly of doing so for their own personal gain. A senior House Republican said those complaining were “people whose modus operandi is about showing their opposition for their own purposes.” A fourth House Republican said, “Some people have been frustrated, but we have some people who are in Congress now that care more about their own personal headlines when they’re running for other offices or whatever, so they’re trying to push things out.” Meanwhile, Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill.,
Pentagon launches full command investigation into Sen. Mark Kelly over ‘serious misconduct’ allegations
The Office of the Secretary of War on Monday escalated its preliminary review of Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., to a full command investigation, according to a report. The investigation into Kelly for “serious allegations of misconduct” has intensified, according to a Pentagon official, first reported by Punchbowl News, with a new probe in conjunction with the Department of War’s Office of the General Counsel. The department previously announced it had launched a formal review into allegations of misconduct against Kelly over a video calling on service members to “refuse illegal orders.” KELLY SHRUGS OFF TRUMP COURT-MARTIAL THREAT, SAYS GROWING UP IN TONY SOPRANO’S HOMETOWN MADE HIM ‘RESILIENT’ A War Department official confirmed to Fox News Digital that the Office of the Secretary of War is “escalating the preliminary review of Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Ret.), to an official Command Investigation.” “Retired Captain Kelly is currently under investigation for serious allegations of misconduct,” the official said. “Further official comments will be limited to preserve the integrity of the proceedings.” HEGSETH RIPS MARK KELLY’S POST ABOUT HIS SERVICE: ‘YOU CAN’T EVEN DISPLAY YOUR UNIFORM CORRECTLY’ Kelly said in a statement that “it should send a shiver down the spine of every patriotic American that the president and secretary of defense would abuse their power to come after me or anyone this way.” “It wasn’t enough for Donald Trump to say I should be hanged,” he continued. “It wasn’t enough for Pete Hegseth to threaten me with a court martial. Now they are threatening everything I fought and served for across twenty-five years in the U.S. Navy—all because I repeated something every service member is taught.” Kelly added that he will “keep doing my job representing Arizona.” “If Trump and Hegseth think this will stop me from doing what I’ve done every day of my adult life—fighting for this country—then they’ve got the wrong guy. Tomorrow, and the next day, I will keep doing my job representing Arizona.” Fox News Digital has reached out Kelly’s office for comment.
Ilhan Omar lashes out at ‘sick’ Republicans for investigating her alleged marriage to brother
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., called those concerned about whether she married her brother “sick” after the far-left lawmaker was approached by Fox News Digital about border czar Tom Homan, signaling that federal officials have started digging into records pertaining to the matter. Homan said last week that records and files related to Omar’s potential immigration fraud were being pulled and looked at after President Donald Trump revived the years-old scandal amid an ongoing debate over the Somali Medicaid fraud scandal taking place in Omar’s state of Minnesota. While Homan suggested that fraud likely took place, he also signaled that the crime’s statute of limitations could present a problem when it comes to prosecuting Omar for any potential violations. “Any response to what [Homan] is saying? And the public?” Fox News Digital asked Omar as she was walking through the halls of Congress. “I have no response because I don’t know what they’ll be investigating,” Omar shot back. ILHAN OMAR CLAIMS ICE PULED OVER HER SON DURING ‘RACIAL PROFILING’ SWEEP AMID TRUMP’S CRACKDOWN IN MINNESOTA “So you don’t think they would find anything?” she was asked. “Absolutely not,” Omar responded. “Why do you think they keep bringing this up?” Omar was then asked before she walked onto an elevator and out of sight. “Because they’re sick!” she exclaimed. But, according to a top Senate Republican, if the allegations against Omar – that she married her brother to enter the U.S. – were true, she’d be breaking several laws. “If this is true, then Omar faces criminal liability under three different statutes,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. REP OMAR’S GOP CHALLENGER UNLOADS ON HER ROLE IN MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL Cruz has argued that Omar could have committed federal marriage fraud, which makes knowingly entering into a marriage to evade immigration laws illegal, and could result in up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and deportation. Omar was born in Somalia and came to the U.S. in 1995 after her family was granted asylum. She became a naturalized citizen in 2000. In 2002, Omar entered a religious marriage with Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi, while, in 2009, she legally married Ahmed Elmi, a British citizen, despite maintaining her religious union with Hirsi and continuing to have children with him. Omar and Elmi separated in 2011 and did not legally divorce until 2017, according to reports. In 2020, Omar married political consultant Tim Mynett. In addition to marriage fraud, Cruz said Omar could also be breaking Minnesota’s state incest law, a felony in the state punishable by jail time up to 10 years. Cruz also indicated Omar could be liable for tax fraud, specifically if joint tax returns were filed while she was not legally married, a violation that could lead to a $100,000 fine and up to three years in prison.
DHS arrests ‘worst of the worst’ illegal migrants, including murderers and pedophiles, in weekend operation
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed a list of 17 illegal migrants who were previously convicted of an array of charges, including murder and sexual exploitation of a minor, who were arrested over the weekend and are currently being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). DHS released the names as part of their “worst of the worst” campaign which exposes illegal migrants who have been convicted of serious felonies and crimes. “While Americans were at Christmas parties and celebrating the first night of Hanukkah, the patriotic heroes of ICE law enforcement were selflessly risking their lives to arrest the worst of the worst,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital in a statement. “This weekend, ICE arrested murderers, pedophiles, and drug traffickers. This holiday season, Americans can rejoice these monsters are out of their neighborhoods.” Some convictions included second-degree murder by Thai Lor, an illegal migrant from Thailand, sexual exploitation of a minor by Benevenuto Walter Lopez-Alonzo, an illegal migrant from Guatemala, lewd act with a child under 14 years old by Yovanny Dominguez-Herrera, an illegal migrant from Mexico, money laundering by Chi Ying, an illegal migrant from China, and pimping a minor over 16-year-old by Patricia Judith Diaz-Angel, an illegal migrant from Guatemala, DHS said. DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN CLAIMS TRUMP’S ICE IS ‘PRIMARILY GOING AFTER INNOCENT PEOPLE, INCLUDING US CITIZENS’ All 17 illegal migrants were convicted of their respective crimes while residing in the United States. The arrests come just days after the agency announced it had arrested over 10,000 illegal migrants in Los Angeles despite “violent rioters who assaulted our law enforcement, threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at them, and attempted to obstruct lawful arrests of criminal illegal aliens,” as reported by Fox News Digital. Immigration officers and agents were met by rioters across Los Angeles over the summer, and many Democrats have been staunchly critical of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and the Trump administration’s approach to deporting illegal migrants. DHS SWEEPS TWIN CITIES, ARRESTS 400 AS FEDS BLAST WALZ FOR ‘FAILING TO PROTECT MINNESOTA’ Noem and the Trump administration have stood firm in their campaign commitment to return the millions of migrants who crossed the border under President Joe Biden back to their home countries. “Follow the law and you’ll find opportunity. If you break it, you’ll find consequences,” Noem said in a recent DHS advertisement. DHS has not held back from boasting about the capture of dangerous illegal migrants, and even recently created an arrest database available to the public. The agency announced a “worst of the worst” website, which was launched last week, to provide details about convicted violent criminals and pedophiles that are living in the United States illegally.
DC police accused of manipulating crime stats as federal probe finds thousands of misclassified cases
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said Monday that a months-long federal investigation uncovered widespread misclassification of crime reports by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), making crime statistics across Washington, D.C. “artificially lower.” Pirro said the findings were based on a review of nearly 6,000 reports and interviews with more than 50 witnesses, showing that D.C.’s crime numbers were significantly understated. “It is evident that a significant number of reports had been misclassified, making crime appear artificially lower than it was,” Pirro said in a statement. Pirro said MPD’s conduct “does not rise to the level of a criminal charge,” but added that it is up the department to “take steps to internally address these underlying issues.” PIRRO TEARS INTO PRITZKER AFTER DEADLY WEEKEND IN CHICAGO: ‘HE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF HIMSELF’ Pirro’s office began investigating reports of deflated crime statistics last August, as President Donald Trump initiated a federal crime crackdown in the district. Trump issued an executive order addressing the “epidemic of crime” in the nation’s capital and deployed federal law enforcement personnel, including the National Guard. “The uncovering of these manipulated crime statistics makes clear that President Trump has reduced crime even more than originally thought, since crimes were actually higher than reported,” Pirro stated. “His crime fighting efforts have delivered even more safety to the people of the District.” TRUMP SAYS CHICAGO CRIME HAS FALLEN DRAMATICALLY DESPITE ‘EXTRAORDINARY RESISTANCE’ FROM LOCAL DEMOCRATS The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment and further information on its investigation into the MPD. Pirro’s statement came after the House Oversight Committee released an interim report on Sunday claiming that outgoing MPD Chief Pamela Smith, who announced her resignation on Dec. 8, oversaw an unprecedented system of intervention in crime reporting. The Republican-led committee alleges that Smith pressured commanders to lower classifications of crime and retaliated against those who reported spikes, according to the congressional report. MPD did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.
AOC’s luxury spending binge in Puerto Rico reignites questions about ‘socialist’ brand: ‘Peak hypocrisy’
After dropping nearly $50,000 in Puerto Rico on luxury hotels, upscale dining and a venue rental where musical artist Bad Bunny was performing earlier this year, critics of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are questioning whether her socialist persona is more branding than belief considering she is living like the elitists she claims to fight. “This is not new for her, she’s a hypocrite,” former White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, said of the revelations about AOC’s campaign spending. “Remember the dress that she wore to that famous MET Gala, where it said ‘Tax The Rich’ – it wasn’t exactly ‘off the rack,’ if you will, it was a designer dress made for her.” Spicer slammed AOC and her other “squad” lawmakers who he argued love to rally against capitalism, but certainly don’t mind benefiting from it. “These people know no bounds. They love to tell everyone what they should do about their carbon footprint, and then they fly private. They love to talk about the excesses of the rich and then they benefit from it, they trade stocks, they get rich in Congress. I’ve pretty much had it with these guys, but at the end of the day it’s great they are being called out on it because the hypocrisy knows no bounds.” DEM HOUSE CANDIDATE’S LUXURIOUS LIFESTYLE CLASHES WITH ‘WORKING-CLASS’ CAMPAIGN MESSAGE Last week, Fox News Digital revealed that in AOC’s latest campaign filings she spent nearly $50,000 in Puerto Rico, around the same time she was known to have traveled there and attended a Bad Bunny concert. Videos that emerged on social media from the August trip show AOC visiting a housing development to rail against gentrification, while other footage from social media showed her dancing in what appears to be box seats at a Bad Bunny concert on Aug. 10 alongside Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y. Between August and September, Bad Bunny held a 31-show “Residency” tour at the popular “El Choli” Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, which was attended by a slew of celebrities like LeBron James, Iggy Azalea, Penelope Cruz and Austin Butler, among others. Meanwhile, a campaign finance report from the third quarter, which records campaign expenses for members of Congress between July 1 and Sept. 30, shows that AOC’s campaign spent over $15,000 at two luxury hotels in San Juan, where Bad Bunny was holding his “Residency” tour. The campaign also spent over $10,500 on meals and catering services, the filings show. FAR-LEFT FIREBRAND ‘REFUSED’ TO PAY HIGH-END CONDO PAYMENTS DESPITE SPENDING SPREE ON LUXURY HOTELS “AOC wouldn’t be a proper socialist if she wasn’t irresponsibly spending someone else’s money,” GOP political strategist Matt Gorman said. “Whether Mamdani, or her, these people claim to advocate for the working people, yet don’t mind treating themselves to the spoils of other people’s money.” “AOC rails nonstop against ‘the rich,’ yet drops tens of thousands in campaign cash on luxury hotels, upscale catering, and elite venues on a Puerto Rico trip,” GOP Florida congressional hopeful Michael Carbonara said in response to AOC’s campaign spending uncovered by Fox News Digital. “Socialism for you, first-class living for her. The hypocrisy writes itself.” Meanwhile, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) called the move “peak hypocrisy from a walking scam.”
Ex-Trump DHS official sounds alarm over national security threat within critical US industry
President Donald Trump’s former Secretary of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, is sounding the alarm about China infiltrating America’s healthcare systems. Concern about China’s ability to infiltrate United States technology was underscored by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed last week between four state attorneys general and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, aimed at ramping up protections against Chinese infiltration of communications equipment and services utilized by the United States. On Monday, the Protecting America Initiative (PAI), a conservative nonprofit aimed at fighting the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts “to sabotage America,” launched a campaign to highlight the nation’s vulnerability to China as it relates to medical technology. Earlier this year, both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) both warned of a “backdoor” in a popular brand of patient monitoring devices. CISA found the so-called backdoor allowed the device to download remote files and send them to an IP address associated with a Chinese university. All schools in China operate under a law requiring them to support national intelligence work when called upon. CHINESE DOCTOR ACCUSED OF ATTEMPTING TO SMUGGLE CANCER RESEARCH FROM US TO CHINA “Americans rely on their doctors who take an oath to keep us safe, and first, do no harm. But when critical medical devices are made by Chinese companies, that puts our safety at risk. Chinese medical devices open the door for the CCP to access sensitive health data. President Trump and his administration always put America First and will safeguard our patients and our privacy from Beijing’s infiltration,” PAI Senior Advisor Chad Wolf told Fox News Digital. “It’s time to remove Chinese medical devices from U.S. hospitals and close the data backdoor, because patient privacy and national security are non‑negotiable.” In June, Florida’s Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier took legal action against the Chinese medical device manufacturers probed by the FDA and CISA, accusing the company of selling “compromised” medical devices that allegedly include a “backdoor” that bad actors can manipulate. In addition to patient data and privacy concerns, Uthmeier was also concerned about the medical device manufacturer, and those distributing its products, selling patient health monitors as approved by the FDA and other international standards, even though they were not. CONGRESS UNVEILS $900B DEFENSE BILL TARGETING CHINA WITH TECH BANS, INVESTMENT CRACKDOWN, US TROOP PAY RAISE China’s expanding presence in American medical supply chains has also been a concern among experts. “China’s growing role within the U.S. medical device supply chains is largely due to the combination of Beijing’s industrial policy and the shifting landscape of American healthcare,” the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C. focusing on foreign affairs and national security, wrote in an October report. “The National Institute of Health (NIH) estimated that in 2019, 9.2 percent of U.S.-imported pharmaceuticals and medical equipment came from China — a percentage that ‘likely understates’ American reliance on China for medical products, NIH warned,” the report continues. “This understatement is in part due to the complex nature of medical supply chains — China is both a supplier of raw materials used in medical products and the final point of assembly for goods bound for the United States, obscuring its reach into the American medical system. This percentage also does not account for the value-add or criticality of these goods, particularly those related to biodefense and managing long-term acute health issues.” FDD claims that China has “exploited” the United State’s “reliance” on it by selling and exporting deliberately compromised technology, leading to doctors “unwittingly and unwillingly” playing “Russian roulette with patient treatment plans.”
Senate advances $901B defense bill as Congress races into year-end legislative sprint
The Senate advanced the annual defense policy bill on an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote on Monday, teeing up final passage later in the week. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2026 is one of the must-pass legislative packages that Congress deals with on an annual basis, and it unlocked billions of dollars in funding for the Pentagon and several other defense-related items. Lawmakers pushed the colossal authorization package through a key procedural hurdle on a 76-20 vote. Senators will get their chance to tweak the package with several amendment votes in the coming days. SENATE ADVANCES 2026 DEFENSE BILL AFTER WEEKS OF DELAY AS SHUTDOWN DRAGS ON The roughly $901 billion package, which is about $8 billion over what President Donald Trump requested earlier this year, typically acts as a bookend for Congress, capping off the year as one of the few must-pass items on the docket. And, given that there is no government funding deadline to contend with, the NDAA is getting primetime treatment in the Senate. Still, there are myriad items that lawmakers hope to tackle before leaving until the new year, including a fix to expiring Obamacare subsidies, confirming nearly 100 of Trump’s nominees, and a potential five-bill funding package that, if passed, would go a long way toward warding off the specter of another government shutdown come Jan. 30. Scattered throughout the colossal package’s roughly 3,000 pages are several provisions dealing with decades-old war authorities, strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, Ukraine, lifting sanctions, and Washington, D.C.’s, airspace. This year’s NDAA would scrap the 1991 and 2002 authorizations of use of military force (AUMFs) for the Gulf War and Iraq War, respectively. Lawmakers have found rare bipartisan middle ground in their desire to nix the AUMFs, which have been used by previous administrations to engage in conflicts in the Middle East for decades. CONGRESS MOVES TO BLOCK PENTAGON FROM CUTTING US TROOPS IN EUROPE AND SOUTH KOREA Then there is a policy that includes several requirements to fulfill the Pentagon’s travel budget, one of which would force the agency to hand over all unedited footage from the Trump administration’s strikes against alleged drug boats. It’s a pointed provision that underscores the bipartisan concern from Congress over the administration’s handling of the strikes, particularly in the wake of a double-tap strike on Sept. 2 that has seen several lawmakers demand more transparency and access to the footage. There is also a provision that has stirred up controversy among Senate Republicans and Democrats alike that would roll back some safety standards in the Washington, D.C., airspace. It comes on the heels of the collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and passenger jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport earlier this year. CONGRESS RACES AGAINST 3-WEEK DEADLINE TO TACKLE MASSIVE YEAR-END LEGISLATIVE AGENDA Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chair Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the top ranking Democrat on the panel, are pushing to have the provision stripped with their own amendment, which would codify the safety tweaks made after the midair collision. Cruz said alongside family members of the victims of the crash, which killed 67, that the provision didn’t go through the ordinary clearances.” “Normally, when you’re adding a provision to the NDAA that impacts aviation, you would request clearance from the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee,” Cruz said. “No clearance was requested. We discovered this provision when the final version of the bill dropped out of the House and it was passed.” There are also several provisions that deal with Ukraine, including an extension of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which would authorize $400 million each year to buy weapons from U.S. defense companies. There’s a provision that would prevent the U.S. from quietly cutting off intelligence support to the country by requiring at least 48-hours notice detailing why, how long it would last and the impact on Ukraine. There’s also a provision that would beef up reporting requirements for all foreign aid flowing to Ukraine from the U.S. and other allies supporting the country in its conflict with Russia.