2021 Afghan remarks haunt GOP lawmaker’s Senate bid after DC Guard shooting
Republican Kentucky lawmaker Andy Barr’s 2021 claim that the U.S. had an “obligation” to welcome Afghans after the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal is resurfacing and complicating his high-stakes 2026 Senate campaign after the footage went viral. “We have failed in our obligation to help many of these Afghans who risked their lives and, in many cases, died for the cause of their own country in assistance to the United States, and we owe them to help them get into our country with these visas, and the P1 and P2 visas as well,” Barr said in a 2021 interview with Kentucky Educational Television of Afghans. “And I voted for these special immigrant visas because it would send a terrible message to our allies around the world that we’re going to abandon you if you help us in your time of need.” Many Afghans worked as interpreters, cultural advisors and offered other assistance to the U.S. during the Afghan war. Dozens of Republican lawmakers and leaders supported welcoming Afghan allies amid the withdrawal, while simultaneously stressing the need to vet the refugees, including then-former President Donald Trump. Barr’s 2026 Republican Senate opponent, Nate Morris, slammed him as having “blood on his hands” for his comments and previous support of a bill broadening special visas for Afghan refugees. STATE DEPARTMENT ‘IMMEDIATELY’ HALTS ALL AFGHAN PASSPORT VISAS FOLLOWING DEADLY NATIONAL GUARD ATTACK But Barr’s campaign hit back against the criticisms in a comment to Fox News Digital, underscoring he did not vote for Biden’s Afghan resettlement program and that he wholeheartedly supports Trump’s immigration policies. “Andy Barr voted against Biden’s Afghan resettlement program,” the spokesperson said. “Andy Barr supports President Trump’s common sense border security plan — deporting all illegals and reforming our legal immigration system.” Footage of Barr’s interview has spread like wildfire on social media. It’s racked up millions of views following the horrific shooting in Washington, D.C., the day before Thanksgiving when two National Guard members were shot, leaving one soldier critically injured and leaving Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom dead. Authorities identified Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, as the suspect in the shooting, which unfolded just blocks from the White House. Lakanwal entered the U.S. legally in 2021 under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome, a program that evacuated and resettled Afghan refugees as the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. He reportedly worked with various U.S. government entities, including the CIA, as a member of a partner force in Afghanistan, Fox Digital previously reported. Other refugees who entered the nation under Operation Allies Welcome have been arrested for suspected terrorist ties. The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that ICE arrested a suspected ISIS-K Afghan terrorist, marking the third “Afghan national terrorist arrested in recent days.” Barr came under fierce scrutiny online recently as his 2021 comments spread. “WTF!???” Donald Trump Jr. posted to X on Black Friday. “Andy Barr voted to flood America with unvetted Afghans while our borders were wide open. Now we see the results. This blood is on establishment RINOs (Republican in name only) like Barr who sided with Biden & McConnell over America First,” another conservative account posted. Others pointed to the remarks as evidence that Barr should not be elected to the Senate during the 2026 midterms. Barr is among a handful of Republicans running to replace retiring Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell. Some Barr critics rallied around Morris, the CEO of Kentucky-based company Morris Industries, as the conservative candidate to replace McConnell. “Compare Barr to Nate Morris who is calling for an immigration moratorium and there’s literally no comparison,” Turning Point USA spokesman and executive producer of “The Charlie Kirk Show” Andrew Kolvet posted to X. “That’s why Charlie went out of his way to endorse @NateMorris. Our number one mission must be to save America, not destroy it through unfettered mass migration.” VANCE’S PAST WARNINGS REIGNITE AFTER AFGHAN NATIONAL NAMED AS SUSPECT IN DC GUARD SHOOTING Morris said, “Barr knows that he has been exposed for his role helping Biden bring these dangerous Afghan refugees to America and so now he’s trying to pretend that it never happened, but we’ve all seen the video footage. Just like Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell, Andy Barr has blood on his hands.” Barr’s campaign hit back at Morris’ remarks in comments to Fox Digital Wednesday, including highlighting that the lawmaker did not vote for an Afghan resettlement program under the Biden administration. “Nate Morris is spiraling and lying again,” a Barr campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Andy stands with Trump 100% on immigration; Nate Morris does not. If Nate Morris doesn’t support President Trump’s policies 100%, he can’t be trusted to vote with him in the U.S. Senate.” Barr voted against H.R. 5305 in September 2021, which provided more than $6 billion to resettle Afghan refugees, beyond people who assisted the U.S. during the war. He was among 192 Republicans who supported the Averting Loss of Life and Injury by Expediting SIVs Act of 2021, which expedited the special immigrant visa process for Afghan nationals who worked with the U.S. government or NATO in Afghanistan and increased the number of available special immigrant visas to 8,000. The bill passed the House, but did not become law. President Joe Biden instead signed a spending bill that added 8,000 Afghan special immigration visas and eased some of its rules. On Aug. 29, 2021, the Biden administration launched Operation Allies Welcome, a Department of Homeland Security led-project to “support vulnerable Afghans, including those who worked alongside us in Afghanistan for the past two decades, as they safely resettle in the United States.” Trump dropped the hammer on the visa program shortly after the recent D.C. shooting that took place at the end of November. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that officials are “actively re-examining” all the Afghan nationals who entered the U.S. during the Biden administration. More than 76,000 Afghans were evacuated and processed into the country, Fox News Digital previously reported. Barr published a statement denouncing
Florida CFO rolls out new push to block illegal immigrants from tapping state systems: ‘Lives have been lost’
Florida’s chief financial officer announced a slate of legislative priorities to discourage illegal immigrants from settling in the state – a strategy that rarely makes headlines as most states focus on criminal justice laws versus financial policies. Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia, who previously represented Hernando and Citrus counties in the state Senate, said Florida has already taken sweeping actions to blunt illegal immigrants from utilizing programs in Florida but that there are still many openings in law that would allow them to benefit if the state ever trends to the left again. “Illegal immigration has scourged our communities. Too many lives have been lost, and too many people have been hurt as a result of illegal immigration,” Ingoglia said late Wednesday. He specifically cited the case of an Indian illegal immigrant with a California commercial driver’s license (CDL) who allegedly killed a carload of people on Florida’s Turnpike earlier this year. Ingoglia said the state’s actions thus far to blunt illegal immigrant truckers and those who are illiterate in English is a good start, but there is much more to be done. ICE AND FLORIDA ARREST 230 CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS IN 10-DAY OPERATION “Florida has led the nation in fighting back against the mess that the Biden administration created, but we must keep our foot on the gas and continue to disincentivize illegal aliens from coming to our state,” he said. “I am proud to announce my anti-illegal immigration legislative priorities, and I look forward to working with the legislature and the Governor to get these proposals passed.” Ingoglia said 26 illegal immigrants were arrested on charges that fall under the financial services banner that his agency oversees, including four people nabbed on insurance fraud offenses, collectively totaling $800,000. DESANTIS TAPS FLORIDA’S ‘MOST CONSERVATIVE SENATOR’ FOR STATE CFO Ingoglia’s package included proposals to bar free down-payment assistance for illegal immigrants, arguing that similar programs in New York and California have burdened taxpayers and incentivized unlawful immigration. He said the practice is not allowed in Florida as a policy of the current DeSantis government, but that “you never know what the future of the state of Florida is going to look like.” Ingoglia also launched an effort to prohibit illegal immigrants from receiving any licenses sanctioned by his office, formally the Florida Department of Financial Services, and suggested that revocation of any current licenses found could be on the table. 146 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCK DRIVERS ARRESTED IN INDIANA CRACKDOWN, AS NOEM SAYS, ‘YOUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED’ Referencing the fatal St. Lucie County truck crash, Ingoglia said he will also push to require CDL final exams to be administered only in English and to remove illegal immigrants as “covered employees” under workers’ compensation statutes. For insurance companies who have illegal immigrants among their policyholders in Florida, Ingoglia’s plan would also require the insurers to accept fault if such a person is involved in an auto accident. Ingoglia was joined in his efforts by several lawmakers who are backing his plan, naming state Rep. Kiyan Michael, R-Duval, and Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers. NOEM WARNS 18-WHEELERS BECOMING ‘WEAPONS’ AS NEWSOM, SANCTUARY STATES LICENSE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS “I know firsthand the tragedies that have resulted from rampant illegal immigration,” Michael said in a statement. “In Florida, we have leaders who are not afraid to take a stand and do what is right to protect the law-abiding citizens of Florida.” St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick also voiced support, saying the effects of the illegal immigration crisis are “far-reaching” and that Tallahassee must continue to “take steps to protect the citizens of our state.” Martin added that every Florida town has felt repercussions of illegal immigration and that Ingoglia’s plan would rightly protect law-abiding businesses. Ingoglia succeeded now-Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., in the row office – as the latter was elected to fill the seat of the departed Matt Gaetz in the panhandle’s deep-red district.
California GOP rep makes re-election decision after considering running in Texas: source
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif, will not run in Texas and has chosen to remain in the Golden State to run in the newly gerrymandered 48th Congressional District, Fox News has learned. A source familiar with the matter told Fox News that Issa’s friends and congressional colleagues asked him to consider running in Texas after Prop. 50 passed in California, but the Republican has decided to fight it out in California and expects to have President Donald Trump’s full support. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Issa confirmed his decision to run in California despite his district being significantly reshaped toward a Democratic advantage. “I’m thrilled to set the record straight and here’s the truth: Texas House members and residents of that state did ask if I would consider running there following Gavin Newsom’s historically corrupt gerrymander,” Issa said. “I appreciate the opportunity, but California is my home. I told them I’m going to stay in Congress, and I don’t need to go to Texas for that.” GOP REP WEIGHS BOLTING CALIFORNIA FOR TEXAS SEAT AS DUELING REDISTRICTING WARS UPEND 2026 MAP: REPORT “I believe the people of Southern California in San Diego County and Riverside County who elected me so many times will, regardless of registration, consider my record in full and allow me to continue serving them,” he added. “I can hold this seat, I’m not quitting on California, and neither should anyone else.” Issa currently represents California’s 48th Congressional District — but the lines of the district will temporarily shift in several future contests because voters passed Proposition 50 last month. During a radio interview on Wednesday’s episode of “The Mark Davis Show,” Issa indicated that he had considered the possibility of running in Texas’s 32nd Congressional District. The lawmaker noted that he was slated to meet with Trump on Wednesday. GOP LAWMAKER FLIPS SCRIPT ON NEWSOM, BASS BY DEFINING ANTI-ICE RIOTS WITH 1 WORD Issa said during the interview that he needs to go where he can be most useful. The Texas legislature and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott greenlit redistricting plans in the Lone Star State, but those plans have been sidelined because a federal court enjoined the state from using the new map in the 2026 elections. FEDERAL JUDGES BLOCK TEXAS FROM USING REDRAWN CONGRESSIONAL MAP CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Republicans currently hold the House majority and will be aiming to maintain their grip on power in 2026, a task that could prove more difficult since Trump won’t be on the ballot like he was in the 2024 elections.
Former world leader thanks Trump for pardon: ‘You changed my life’
Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández thanked President Donald Trump for pardoning him, writing on social media that he was “wrongfully convicted.” “My profound gratitude goes to President @realDonaldTrump for having the courage to defend justice at a moment when a weaponized system refused to acknowledge the truth. You reviewed the facts, recognized the injustice, and acted with conviction. You changed my life, sir, and I will never forget it,” Hernández wrote on X in his first remarks since he was released by the Bureau of Prisons. “I was set up by the Biden Harris administration and the deep state through a rigged trial. There was no real evidence, only the accusations of criminals who sought revenge. Yet the truth of my innocence prevailed,” he said in part. Hernández was sentenced to 45 years in prison in June 2024 for conspiring to distribute more than 400 tons of cocaine and for related firearms offenses. FORMER HONDURAN PRESIDENT RELEASED FROM US PRISON AFTER TRUMP PARDON Former Attorney General Merrick Garland said the ex-two-term president used his power to support one of the largest and most violent drug trafficking conspiracies in the world. “Hernández received millions of dollars of drug money from some of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking organizations in Honduras, Mexico, and elsewhere, and used those bribes to fuel his rise in Honduran politics,” the Department of Justice said. DHS TERMINATES TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR AROUND 76K HONDURAN, NICARAGUAN MIGRANTS Hernández’s brother, Juan Antonio Hernández Alvarado, was also convicted in October 2019 and sentenced to life in prison. Trump said he pardoned the former Honduran leader because “a lot of people in Honduras” asked him to, adding he feels “very good about it.” “Well, he was the president, and they had some drugs being sold in their country, and because he was the president, they went after him – that was a Biden horrible witch hunt,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. Several GOP lawmakers criticized the pardon amid the White House’s targeting of alleged drug boats off the coast of Venezuela. TRUMP ANNOUNCES PARDON FOR DEMOCRATIC REP HENRY CUELLAR Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., criticized the decision to pardon Hernández, saying it made little sense to free him while the U.S. continues to pursue Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on federal narco-terrorism charges. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., also criticized the move in an interview on CNN, saying he couldn’t understand how the U.S. could “threaten a potential land war against a thug and a narco-terrorist who plays like he’s the president of Venezuela, and then go easy on someone whose investigation that led to an indictment started in the Trump administration.”
Afghan evacuees with child-fondling, terror arrests swept up in DHS crackdown after botched vetting exposed
EXCLUSIVE: Afghan evacuees with rap sheets that include convictions for sexual battery and lewd acts with a minor and arrests for alleged child-fondling and terror-group support were among the “worst of the worst” recently swept up by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. DHS released the list days after one former Afghan evacuee allegedly shot two West Virginia National Guard members, killing one, and another was charged in a Newark, Del., terror plot. The agency says the arrests reveal explosive failures in the 2021 vetting system that rushed evacuees into the country after Kabul fell. Biden administration officials insisted their 2021 Operation Allies Welcome vetting was sound, but a senior DHS official said the president’s “trust without verification” approach to evacuee backgrounds helped drive the recent surge in attacks and plots. “Under Secretary Noem, DHS has been going full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and criminal illegal aliens that came in through Biden’s fraudulent parole programs,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. “When Joe Biden let 190,000 Afghan nationals in, they didn’t do criminal background checks, vet social media, someone just vouched for them, and they took the words as truth.” BONDI WARNS OF VETTING FAILURES AFTER ‘FRIGHTENING’ ARREST OF AFGHAN NATIONAL FOR BOMB THREATS IN TEXAS DHS has captured sexual predators, terror suspects, pedophiles and other violent “unvetted” foreigners in their persistent daily work of executing President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement orders, the agency added in a statement. Not all of the arrests have involved Afghan evacuees. ICE arrests have included Iraqi “criminal illegal alien” Ziaulhaq Faqiri, who entered the U.S. as a “special immigrant Iraqi employee” during former President Joe Biden’s term. Faqiri’s criminal history includes convictions for “carnal abuse” and sexual assault. PATEL BLASTS BIDEN’S ‘EMBLEMATIC FAILURE’ AFTER AFGHAN NATIONAL CHARGED IN GUARD SHOOTING But many arrests have involved those who came to America in the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. One of the evacuees from Operation Allies Refuge – the mass exodus upon the immediate fall of Kabul often involving third-party countries, versus “Allies Welcome,” the process that utilized domestic military bases as housing – was arrested recently as a “criminal alien” residing in the U.S. Qesmat Din Zafran was apprehended around the fourth anniversary of the 2021 Afghan withdrawal and has convictions for lewd and lascivious acts with a minor. Other recent captures include the October arrest of Operation Allies Refuge participant Mansour Walizada, who has convictions for sexual battery and an arrest for child fondling, according to DHS. ALLEGED DC SHOOTER ENTERED US UNDER AFGHAN RESETTLEMENT PUSH MAYORKAS VOWED WOULD BE DONE ‘SWIFTLY AND SAFELY’ Mohammad Tabesh Rasoli was recently arrested by ICE, which found him to have a conviction for hit-and-run. The case involved Rasoli seriously injuring a pedestrian he struck while driving 50 miles per hour, the agency said. Iowa authorities honored a request to transfer another Afghanistan evacuee: Javid Ghamgeen. Ghamgheen had been convicted of two meth-possession counts, as well as burglary and assault on a public officer. DC NATIONAL GUARD SHOOTING SUSPECT FORMALLY CHARGED Two others arrested after coming to the U.S. following the American withdrawal were Asirullah Khalid-Khan and Said Mohammad Tanai. Tanai had a prior conviction for assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, while Khalid-Khan’s record included sexual assault and kidnapping. In yet another incident, an Afghan evacuee was arrested in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley on allegations he provided support to the Khorosan Group, also known as ISIS-K. USCIS HALTS ‘ALL ASYLUM DECISIONS’ AFTER DC SHOOTING OF NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS Jaan Shah Safi was arrested on Wednesday in Waynesboro – just outside Staunton. DHS officials said Safi’s father is currently a commander of an Afghan militia group. Safi was brought to Philadelphia about one week after the Afghanistan evacuation commenced and applied for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) – but saw it terminated by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem earlier this year. NATIONAL GUARD KILLING REIGNITES IMMIGRATION WAR IN CONGRESS AS REPUBLICANS DEMAND SWEEPING REFORMS Officials said Safi was the third Afghan terror suspect arrested in “recent days” who was brought to the U.S. during the Biden-era operations. Meanwhile, a Mideast-born student at Biden’s alma mater was arrested in Delaware on Wednesday after police conducted a traffic stop near Newport. Police encountered 25-year-old University of Delaware student Luqmaan Khan with a Glock handgun, multiple magazines, a ballistic-armored plate and a notebook that included handwritten descriptions of how the weapons could be used in an attack. The book also included the name of a University of Delaware police officer, the layout of a university building and the words “UD Police Department.” Pakistan’s foreign office disputed reports Thursday that Khan was of “Pakistani-origin,” with spokesman Tahir Andrabi telling Arab News that Islamabad’s investigation of the situation found Khan to instead be an Afghan national who fled to Pakistan with his family as a refugee. Biden graduated from UDel in 1965 with a double-major in history and political science before heading to Syracuse for law school. Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Walz bears ‘full responsibility’ for $1B fraud scandal, GOP challenger Demuth declares
As the House Oversight Committee opens an investigation into Gov. Tim Walz’s role in what federal prosecutors have described as the largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the country, Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth told Fox News Digital it’s just the “tip of the iceberg.” In a crowded Republican primary of candidates hoping to unseat Walz, one of Demuth’s core campaign promises is to eliminate the fraud she said has “exploded” under Walz’s administration. The governor bears “full responsibility” for the roughly $1 billion in fraud uncovered so far, Demuth said in an exclusive interview. “This is probably the tip of the iceberg,” Demuth said, adding: “This falls squarely on his shoulders. He’s the governor of the state and needs to take full responsibility.” The scandal rocking the North Star State stems from allegations that a Minnesota nonprofit and its associates defrauded federal child-nutrition programs for hundreds of millions of dollars in COVID-19 aid — a failure Walz’s Republican challengers have described as a breakdown in systemic oversight. COMER TARGETS WALZ IN NEW HOUSE INVESTIGATION, CITING NEARLY $1B IN ALLEGED MINNESOTA FRAUD “There has been that lack of accountability and lack of oversight that’s been needed,” Demuth said. “The governor has chosen the commissioners, put them into place, and there needed to be an accountability where he or his office were overseeing the work done by the commissioners in every agency.” “That is not what we’re finding, to the best of my knowledge. Now, if that oversight was going on and this continued under his watch, knowing that it was going on, that’s even more concerning,” she added. MINNESOTA GOVERNMENT WORKERS BLAME WALZ FOR ‘MASSIVE FRAUD’ AMID ALLEGATIONS AGAINST SOMALI COMMUNITY Federal prosecutors said about $300 million in taxpayer funds that were allocated to feed low-income children through COVID-era nutrition programs was diverted through the Minnesota nonprofit Feeding Our Future. As of late November, at least 78 defendants have been charged in what has widely been considered the largest pandemic relief fraud scheme in the U.S. While the Feeding Our Future scandal spans the COVID-19 pandemic, Demuth said she heard concerns about fraud in the childcare assistance program in 2017 and 2018 before she even served in the legislature. “This has been bubbling,” Demuth said before adding, “When I think about someone leading the state, regardless of how it happened, the fact that it has continued on this far, and I don’t think we’re done yet. I think this is probably the tip of the iceberg, and I’ve heard others say that also.” House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has claimed that “because of Governor Walz’s negligence, criminals — including Somali terrorists — stole nearly $1 billion from the program while children suffered.” He is leading the probe into Walz’s role in the Feeding Our Future scandal. When asked about the accusations that Walz was more worried about losing political points than accountability against groups tied to Somali Minnesotans, Demuth told Fox News Digital: “Fraud in any way is wrong, no matter where it occurs, who is committing the acts of fraud. That is wrong. But to not handle the investigations or to not handle things and investigate things further because of a fear of some type of accusation is not leadership.” While Demuth cautioned against “[demonizing] an entire community,” she said fraud in any community cannot be allowed to continue. “To ignore things or not handle it because you are afraid of how that would be perceived, I think the worst thing is knowing that our tax dollars from the entire state have been wasted and lost in fraud. That is wrong for all Minnesotans,” she said. As Demuth vies for the Republican nomination to challenge Walz for his gubernatorial seat next year, she said her administration would immediately open an investigation, look into every agency, hold those responsible accountable and work to ensure it doesn’t happen again. According to Demuth’s campaign website, as governor, she would commit to ending “the culture of fraud and corruption in state government and demand accountability from state workers responsible for managing the state programs that have been abused by fraudsters.” “I will work with the legislature to pass a non-partisan Office of Inspector General who will be empowered to root out fraud in all parts of government, and be a partner for my administration in stopping fraud before it starts instead of waiting until the fraudsters have walked out the door with your money,” Demuth said on her website. Walz’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. NBC’s Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press” on Sunday asked Walz if he would take “responsibility” for failing to stop fraud in his state. “Well, certainly I take responsibility for putting people in jail,” Walz said. “Governors don’t get to just talk theoretically. We have to solve problems, and I will note, it’s not just Somalis. Minnesota is a generous state, Minnesota is a prosperous state, a well-run state, we are AAA bond-rated, but that attracts criminals. Those people are going to jail, and we are doing everything we can, but to demonize an entire community on the actions of a few, it’s lazy.” Demuth responded to those comments while speaking to Fox News Digital. “If we are a well-run state and prosperous and doing what we need to, this would be the last place criminals would come and try to do any type of criminal activity,” she said. Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
Reporter’s Notebook: House exodus threatens Johnson’s grip on power as over 40 members head for exit
Over 40 House members plan to exit Congress this year, posing risks to Speaker Mike Johnson’s narrow majority and reflecting a wider trend driven by safety worries, reduced civility and dwindling enthusiasm for the job. Recent cycles show similar churn: 36 members had exited by this point in 2023, 34 in 2021 and 46 in 2017. DEM REP MIKIE SHERRILL SKIPS 145 HOUSE VOTES AS NJ GOVERNOR’S RACE HEATS UP The House was inactive for nearly two months during the government shutdown. When lawmakers returned, they faced five efforts to rebuke or discipline colleagues. But frustration with leadership isn’t the only issue. JASMINE CROCKETT CALLS OUT MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE FOR RESIGNING FROM CONGRESS AMID TRUMP FEUD Surging threats to lawmakers, their families and aides have many questioning whether the job is worth it. History shows parties with more pre-election departures often lose seats and even the majority. Johnson, however, doubts more members will resign soon. SHOWDOWN FOR THE HOUSE: DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS BRACE FOR HIGH-STAKES MIDTERM CLASH “You have a duty here when you run for office, run for a two-year term, you know, you should stay and fulfill that,” said Johnson. Still, Fox News is told some disgruntled Republicans may leave early.
Who is Brian Cole Jr, the DC pipe bomb suspect?
The suspect who allegedly planted pipe bombs blocks from the U.S. Capitol on January 5, 2021, has been identified as Brian Cole Jr. of Woodbridge, Va., according to two sources briefed on the arrest. The sources say Cole, 30, is in FBI custody as of Thursday following roughly five years of investigation. The FBI arrested Cole in northern Virginia. Authorities have not released further details about the man, but one federal law enforcement source told Fox that the FBI is carrying out “court-enforced activity” at Cole’s residence. FBI ARRESTS SUSPECT IN DC PIPE BOMB CASE AFTER 5-YEAR INVESTIGATION Authorities discovered the two pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic National Committees’ headquarters around the same time that thousands of protesters a few blocks away began to storm the Capitol over the 2020 election results. FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR CLAIMS BUREAU ‘CLOSING IN’ ON SUSPECTS WHO PLANTED JAN. 6 PIPE BOMBS Neither bomb detonated, but authorities say both were viable and dangerous. Video footage released by the FBI showed the suspect placing the pipe bombs near the two headquarters more than 16 hours before law enforcement found them. The suspect was seen wearing a gray hoodie, Nike Air Max Speed Turf sneakers, a mask, glasses and gloves, but Cole’s identity had long been unknown.
Schumer unveils Democrats’ Obamacare fix plan, likely dead in the water
Senate Democrats now have their plan to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies, but it’s unlikely that Senate Republicans will give it the green light. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., unveiled Democrats’ plan to prevent the subsidies from expiring by the end of this year on Thursday. Senate Democrats’ strategy, which mirrors the option on the table put forth by House Democrats, would extend the subsidies for three years with no tweaks or reforms. “I’m announcing that Senate Democrats will introduce legislation for a clean, three-year extension of the current [Obamacare] tax credits,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “This is the bill, a clean, three-year extension of [Obamacare] tax credits that Democrats will bring to the floor of the Senate for a vote next Thursday. And every single Democrat will support it.” BIPARTISAN DEAL ON OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES FADES AS REPUBLICANS PUSH HSA PLAN Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., guaranteed Senate Democrats a proposal of their choosing, but the hope in the upper chamber is that a bipartisan compromise would emerge in time for the vote next week, which is expected to come by Dec. 11. However, no such plan has materialized given a litany of issues both sides have with moving forward. Senate Republicans want reforms, like income caps and the inclusion of language that would prevent the enhanced subsidies from using taxpayer dollars to fund abortions, while Democrats, who are open to some reforms, largely want a clean extension of the subsidies as illustrated by Schumer’s plan. Schumer’s plan is also farther reaching than what Senate Democrats initially offered as the government shutdown still raged last month. At the time, the top Senate Democrat pitched a clean, one-year extension of the subsidies, which was universally panned by Senate Republicans, who demanded that healthcare would be considered only after the government reopened. CONGRESS RACES AGAINST 3-WEEK DEADLINE TO TACKLE MASSIVE YEAR-END LEGISLATIVE AGENDA Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., railed against the proposal, and charged that after shutting the government down for 43 days, Democrats had, “finally, after all this time, decided what they want.” He predicted that not enough Republicans would support the offer for it to advance. “It is a complete failure, and the best they can do is say three-year extension,” Barrasso said. “It’s not really a credible offer at all. That’s what the Democrats are talking about. I don’t, I cannot in any way, imagine supporting such a thing, because it just highlights the fact that they don’t have a solution for the problem they’ve created with the failure of Obamacare.” Then there is the factor of President Donald Trump, who has signaled that he is not open to just a simple extension of the subsidies, further adding to the futility of Democrats’ pitch. Whether Senate Republicans put forth their own plan also remains in the air. GOP WRESTLES WITH OBAMACARE FIX AS TRUMP LOOMS OVER SUBSIDY FIGHT Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, have been working on a Republican proposal, which likely largely centers on funneling the subsidy money into Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) rather than directly to insurance companies. The duo pitched ideas and proposals to Republicans during their weekly closed-door meeting on Tuesday, but no unified strategy emerged. Schumer argued that Democrats’ proposal would be the last shot the Republicans and Congress would have to prevent the subsidies from lapsing and stopping healthcare premiums from skyrocketing. “If Republicans block our bill, there’s no going back,” he said. “We won’t get another chance to halt these premium spikes before they kick in at the start of the New Year. Those insurance premiums in January will land like a hammer blow on the American people.”
Did a military lawyer witness the Venezuela ‘double tap’ boat strike? Experts say one should have
The Pentagon’s account of the September 2 “double tap” strike that killed two survivors of an initial attack on a suspected Venezuelan drug boat is coming under renewed scrutiny after ABC News reported that a military lawyer was present when Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley authorized the follow-on strike. The new detail raises a sharper legal question: if real-time legal counsel was available, what advice did the judge advocate general (JAG) provide when Bradley approved a second round of lethal force? Pentagon officials have framed the operation as a counterterrorism mission targeting members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua criminal network. Experts say that distinction matters because U.S. counterterrorism missions normally embed a JAG in the operations center to determine whether a target remains lawful — oversight not typical for routine maritime counter-narcotics patrols. Todd Huntley, a former Navy JAG officer at U.S. Special Operations Command, said the presence of a lawyer would fit that framework. “In normal maritime counter-narcotics operations, a JAG isn’t advising in real time because those missions rarely involve lethal force,” Huntley said. “But these strikes are being handled as counterterrorism strikes. The targets just happen to be on the water.” In those missions, he said, the JAG participates directly in the real-time targeting cycle. “The JAG works with intelligence and operations personnel to make sure the target is lawful, that the planned strike is lawful, and whether the commander has the authority to approve it or needs to send it higher.” He emphasized that commanders, not attorneys, ultimately make the call. “JAGs only advise. They can’t override the commander’s decision.” TRUMP ANNOUNCES US MILITARY CONDUCTED ‘LETHAL STRIKE’ ON VENEZUELAN DRUG BOAT IN CARIBBEAN The central legal dispute now turns on the condition of the survivors at the time of the second strike. According to ABC News, U.S. personnel believed the two men in the water may have been calling for help, potentially attempting to bring reinforcements. The Pentagon did not respond to Fox news digital’s requests for comment. Under the U.S. Law of War Manual, attacking persons rendered “helpless” due to “wounds, sickness or shipwreck” is explicitly prohibited and described as “dishonorable and inhumane.” Shipwrecked individuals are protected unless they resume hostile action or otherwise regain the capacity to pose an immediate threat. Calling for help does not automatically remove those protections. Legal experts say the key question is whether U.S. forces had credible evidence that the survivors were attempting to direct further hostilities — or whether they were simply clinging to debris and making distress calls. The Pentagon has said Bradley authorized the second strike that killed the two alleged traffickers, and that War Secretary Pete Hegseth was not involved in that decision. Officials say Hegseth monitored the first strike but did not view the footage of the follow-on strike. Rachel VanLandingham, a former Air Force JAG who advised on operations at U.S. Central Command, said she “would be surprised that there wasn’t a JAG” present if the administration viewed the mission as armed conflict. With ABC now reporting that a lawyer was in the room, she said attention shifts to what the operations center understood about the men’s status in the water. SPEC OPS CHIEF ORDERED DEADLY CARIBBEAN STRIKE ‘IN SELF-DEFENSE’ WITH HEGSETH’S SIGN-OFF, WHITE HOUSE SAYS But she cautioned that the presence of an attorney does not change the underlying legal standards. Shipwrecked personnel, she said, remain protected unless they take clear steps to rejoin the fight. “Whether a JAG was consulted is almost irrelevant here,” she said. “You don’t need a lawyer to know you can’t kill shipwrecked survivors. This is the classic example we use in professional military education of a clearly unlawful order.” “Even if they’re the worst criminals in the world, you don’t kill them once they’re helpless and clinging to the side of a boat,” she said. “Killing shipwrecked persons is a textbook war crime.” She also rejected the Pentagon’s claim that the survivors could have summoned additional boats. “The idea that survivors could have called for backup is absolutely irrelevant,” she said. “Unless they were actively shooting, they remained protected and could not be lawfully targeted.” Hegseth and Bradley have continued to defend the operation. Hegseth wrote on X that Bradley “is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support,” adding that he stands by Bradley’s decisions “on the September 2 mission and all others since.” President Trump has also repeatedly highlighted the strikes, releasing video of the second engagement on Truth Social and praising the campaign against what he calls “narcoterrorists.” With new reporting that a JAG was physically present, and with legal experts emphasizing that shipwrecked personnel retain protection unless they rejoin the fight, the unresolved issue is what specific intelligence the operations center relied upon when Bradley approved the second strike. Did the JAG conclude that the survivors had regained the capacity to pose an imminent threat? Did the attorney object? Did the operations team interpret the alleged call for help as an active step toward hostile action? Until the Pentagon releases a fuller accounting, the legality of the follow-on strike — and the role of the military lawyer who reportedly witnessed it — remains sharply contested.