US attorney and Senate Dem spar in dueling letters demanding records preservation: ‘I will not be intimidated’
After U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz issued a letter ordering Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., to preserve materials pertaining to the lawmaker’s alleged “intent to deny citizens of their core constitutional rights,” the senator responded in kind by ordering Reitz to preserve materials pertaining to the decision to issue his letter. “In recent weeks, you have threatened citizens for associating themselves with the President and other public officials,” Reitz claimed in his letter to Blumenthal Wednesday. A footnote points to an October Blumenthal press release about the senator issuing letters demanding information from individuals and the heads of companies that the Washington Post indicated had committed donations for the construction of President Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom project. “It is also extraordinary for an elected official to intimidate citizens for engaging in philanthropic practices that will benefit our nation for generations. The American people are entitled to freely associate without elected officials terrorizing them with aggressive, harassing government action,” Reitz wrote. TOP DEM ON COMMITTEE FIRES BACK AFTER WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL WARNS AGAINST OVERREACH AMID INVESTIGATION THREATS “I therefore write to formally give you notice of your obligation to preserve all documents, communications, and other electronically stored information relevant to your intent to deprive citizens of their core constitutional rights in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 241 and 242. “You are obligated to preserve all potentially relevant evidence related to your efforts to suppress associational activities for philanthropic projects throughout the nation’s capital,” the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas demanded. Blumenthal, the ranking member on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, fired back in a letter to Reitz also dated Nov. 11. “I am aware of your letter, posted to X today, which purports to initiate an investigation into me for conducting a congressional inquiry. This is just the latest in a series of unlawful actions on the part of the Trump Administration attempting to intimidate Members of Congress for engaging in constitutionally protected activity. Your implied threat of an investigation is baseless,” the senator wrote. ‘LAWYER UP’: DEMS IMMEDIATELY PUT TRUMP ON NOTICE AMID REPUBLICANS’ MIDTERM BLOODBATH “As incoming Chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, I will not be intimidated. I will work on behalf of the American people to vigorously pursue investigations into this Administration’s misuse of taxpayer dollars and any corporate entity that has enabled its boundless corruption,” Blumenthal continued. “The public deserves to know the terms under which dozens of American companies were persuaded to donate millions of dollars to the President’s vanity projects, and whether lawsuits were dismissed, contracts were awarded, or regulations went unenforced in exchange for that money. “The public deserves transparency about whether the White House and the corporations it cajoled extracted favors at the expense of American taxpayers. Not only are these appropriate subjects for congressional oversight, but such inquiries are among the constitutional duties that Members of Congress must undertake to become informed about matters on which legislation may be necessary.” Then in a tit-for-tat, the senator ordered Reitz to retain all materials related to the decision to issue his letter. RO KHANNA REJECTS WARNINGS THAT TRUMP ADMIN INVESTIGATIONS COULD DERAIL DEMOCRATS’ AFFORDABILITY AGENDA “Since you appear to have evidence of the Trump Administration’s efforts to protect corporate donors and Administration officials from legitimate oversight, I accordingly direct you to preserve all records and correspondence, including all communications with the White House or senior officials at the Department of Justice, related to the decision to draft and post your letter,” Blumenthal wrote. The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment Thursday.
WATCH: Socialist agitators lose it when cameras turn on them
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Far-left activists from the network funded by communist tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham can dish it out, but they can’t take it. For years, CodePink activists, easily recognizable in hot pink T-shirts, have heckled lawmakers and officials in public settings with a tactic called “bird dogging,” cornering targets, peppering them with hostile questions, like “Why do you support baby killers?” and shaming them on social media with tactics that amount to humiliation rituals. On Veterans Day, the agitators found themselves on the other side of the lens, and they didn’t like it. For six hours on Wednesday, Fox News Digital followed members of CodePink, BreakThrough News, the People’s Forum, the Party for Socialism and Liberation and allied groups in the Singham network through the halls of Congress during a lobbying event organizers called the “Taxpayer Uprising.” But when the cameras turned on them, they angrily refused to answer questions and covered the camera lens, one time with a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf and another time with a backpack designed with the pattern of a watermelon, a symbol adopted by the Palestinian movement. Then, they responded with smears and ad hominem attacks. Finally, they published their footage of the confrontations, turning their objections to being filmed into content for their followers. One follower congratulated them on their success deploying “psychic militancy.” LAWMAKERS THROW OUT ‘TROJAN HORSE’ ACTIVISTS THEY SAY ARE ENGAGED IN AMERICAN SUBVERSION The day began just before 10 a.m. inside the Rayburn House Office Building, where activists in pink CodePink T-shirts and keffiyehs walked into a breakfast gathering of the U.S. House Bagel Caucus. At 9:59 a.m., they surrounded Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., and pointed their cameras at him. Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink, wore a shirt emblazoned with the message “NO WAR ON IRAN” and pressed him on Section 219 of the National Defense Authorization Act, which she called a “merging” of the U.S. and Israeli militaries. “It is not a merging of the militaries,” Goldman said. “It is a collaboration on technology that we depend on Israel for, and they depend on us for, and it is for our own national security.” He asked the activists whether they supported Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hamas and Hezbollah. “We’re not funding them. We’re funding Israel,” Benjamin replied. When the liberal congressman called the situation in Gaza “absolutely horrific” and said he wished Hamas would allow in the aid Israel was trying to send, the group members groaned in unison. CodePink activist Tighe Barry, Benjamin’s husband, in a pink shirt and pink hat, yelled at him: “You’re a real congressman and you just made that statement?” “That was a horrific lie that you just said,” Barry shouted at him. “As a sitting congressman, I take deep offense at that.” “Alright, here we are. We’re enjoying the Bagel Caucus here,” Goldman said before walking away. “Thank you for talking. Take care of yourself.” HOW CODEPINK CO-FOUNDER MEDEA BENJAMIN’S FAMILY FOUNDATION BECAME A MAJOR FUNDER OF LEFT-WING ACTIVIST GROUPS CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin moved through the building wearing a backpack designed with the pattern of a keffiyeh, the checkered scarf that has become a symbol of the pro-Palestinian movement. At 10:06 a.m., the group shuffled to the Rayburn cafeteria, where organizers had set up tables numbered by lobbying group. Pink signs reading “TAXPAYER UPRISING” and “WAR IS NOT GREEN” sat on the tables. Confrontations began within minutes. “No, no. Hey, out of here,” a CodePink volunteer told the reporter at about 10:09 a.m. Asked for an interview, Barry turned to his fellow activists and balked, saying, “Why would I?” AS SINGHAM FACES FEDERAL PROBE, WIFE MARCHES IN ANTI-ISRAEL PROTEST LED BY GROUPS HE FUNDED A woman at the check-in table asked the reporter to “move your camera away.” Another activist used a keffiyeh to block the camera’s view, and a Muslim woman in a headscarf put her hand over the lens. At about 10:12 a.m., a activist hoisted a pink backpack printed with watermelons in front of the Fox News Digital camera. A young man in a keffiyeh, with a name tag that read “Finn,” then planted himself in front of the camera and moved with it as it tried to pan around him. “Is this what you do in your free time, is like, wander around?” he taunted. Melissa Garriga, CodePink’s media contact, refused to answer any questions, priding herself to the team on refusing to answer emailed requests for comment from Fox News Digitai. Asked a question by the reporter standing right in front of her, she cupped her hand behind her ear and said, “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you. Can you speak up?” Asked again, she responded, “I still can’t hear you. You’re gonna have to talk a little louder. Sorry.” Then, again: “Can you please speak up?” Asked about Singham’s funding of CodePink, Garriga waved her hand across the lens. “I don’t have to respond to you,” she said. At 10:14 a.m., Garriga put her hand fully over the camera: “Just buzz off,” she said. The activist with the “Finn” name tag returned and held a gray jacket over the lens, then a canvas tote bag, then a keffiyeh, one after another. Minutes later, a red-haired woman in a keffiyeh waved her hands in front of the camera. Shortly after 10:20 a.m., CodePink co-founders Jodie Evans and Benjamin took charge of the room. Evans married Singham in 2017 when he sold his company, Thoughtworks, for an estimated $785 million. He used some of those proceeds to pump $285 million into a network of nonprofits that have been pro-China and pro-communist. Several of their leaders hit the halls of Congress on Wednesday. “Alright, everybody, we want to start our program,” Evans said at 10:22 a.m. Benjamin urged them to confront lawmakers wherever they found them. “Remember, they work for us. They’re not better than us. They are public servants,” she said. “And so if you see them, try to engage them.” She told the
Biden judge rejects DOJ bid to halt probe of prosecutors in botched ICE protest case
A federal judge investigating whether prosecutors misled her court in the “Broadview Six” case against anti-ICE protesters canceled a hearing requested by the Justice Department to clarify her authority to conduct the inquiry. U.S. District Judge April Perry, a Biden appointee, has ordered four federal prosecutors, including Chicago’s U.S. attorney, to testify under oath as she considers possible sanctions or criminal contempt proceedings. “Ultimately, the Government’s professed lack of clarity about the Court’s inherent authority to ask lawyers who have made misstatements to or misled the Court to explain their actions is immaterial,” Perry wrote Wednesday, canceling the Nov. 17 hearing. The Justice Department dropped the criminal case against the six protesters in May amid allegations of misconduct involving former federal prosecutor Sheri Mecklenburg, who later resigned. But Perry’s investigation into the prosecutors’ conduct has continued. DOJ MOVES TO BOOT FEDERAL JUDGES FROM IMMIGRATION CASES OVER NYT INTERVIEW Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, the Justice Department’s third-ranking official, argued in a filing that requiring prosecutors to testify would put them in a “Catch-22.” “They can testify and risk prosecution, or they can assert their rights under the Fifth Amendment and risk antagonizing the court, while it may also be considering non-contempt sanctions,” Woodward wrote. Perry rejected the government’s argument, writing that “the Government does not represent at least 3/4 of the individuals who have been asked to testify, two of whom have expressed their willingness to do so.” Perry has ordered U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros and three assistant U.S. attorneys in the Northern District of Illinois — William Hogan, Matthew Skiba and Andres Almendarez — to testify under oath Monday about possible misconduct in grand jury proceedings involving the protesters. “There is no indication on the docket that the Government represents the fourth individual,” Perry wrote, referring to Boutros. The testimony is expected to address prosecutors’ knowledge of possible grand jury misconduct, the accuracy of their statements to the court, why grand jury transcripts were redacted and whether officials outside the U.S. Attorney’s Office received information about the investigation. Perry could use the testimony to determine whether sanctions or criminal contempt proceedings are warranted. DOJ MOVES TO BOOT TWO FEDERAL JUDGES FROM IMMIGRATION CASES OVER REMARKS TO MEDIA: ‘EXTRAORDINARILY IMPRUDENT’ The canceled hearing follows a separate dispute over communications the Justice Department has declined to disclose to Perry. On Monday, Woodward argued in a motion that certain communications involving federal prosecutors were privileged and should not be disclosed. The Justice Department also submitted a privilege log identifying the withheld communications and the grounds for withholding them. Perry rejected the submission Tuesday, finding it “noncompliant” because the government had redacted information identifying numerous senders and recipients in lengthy email chains. She also questioned the Justice Department’s response to her request for an email sent to Boutros containing an expedited transcript of the Oct. 9, 2025, grand jury session, when jurors first declined to return an indictment. The PDF, the judge said, lacked metadata that could help establish whether Boutros had read the email. Prosecutors were given until Thursday to address her concerns. The inquiry began May 20, when Perry ordered prosecutors involved in redacting grand jury transcripts to appear in court and questioned them during a sealed hearing the following day. ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS CLASH WITH AGENTS OUTSIDE NEW JERSEY DETENTION CENTER AS GOV SHERRILL DENIED ENTRY In October, Perry requested communications between federal prosecutors and outside officials concerning investigative and charging decisions in the case, finding that “several aspects of this prosecution were very flawed.” The inquiry stems from a grand jury’s refusal to return an indictment on Oct. 9, 2025, and again during a subsequent session convened by Boutros, when two jurors were excused over concerns about their impartiality. Those jurors later returned for a third session on Oct. 23, when the grand jury indicted the protesters on a felony conspiracy charge. According to court records, grand jury transcripts initially provided to Perry in April contained redactions that concealed evidence of possible misconduct, including allegations of improper “vouching” for the government’s case by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg during an Oct. 9, 2025, grand jury presentation. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Six protesters, including former Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, faced federal charges stemming from a Sept. 26, 2025, confrontation outside an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois. Prosecutors alleged that the demonstrators surrounded a federal immigration agent’s vehicle to prevent him from entering the facility. Members of the crowd allegedly struck the vehicle, damaging a side mirror and windshield wiper, although prosecutors did not identify any of the six defendants as personally responsible. The other defendants were Oak Park village trustee Brian Straw, Chicago Democratic Committeeman Michael Rabbitt, Abughazaleh campaign staffer Andre Martin, former Cook County Board candidate Catherine Sharp and musician Joselyn Walsh.
AOC taps power player who helped Bernie Sanders defy the odds as major 2028 decision looms
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is tapping a key player behind Bernie Sanders’ presidential fundraising operation as speculation swirls over whether the left-wing Democrat could launch her own White House bid in 2028. Ocasio-Cortez split with her longtime digital fundraising firm, Middle Seat, Axios reported Thursday, citing three sources familiar with the matter. She has now tapped Aisle 518 Strategies, the firm led by Democratic strategist Tim Tagaris, who helped drive Sanders’ record-breaking online fundraising operations during his 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, according to Axios. The move comes as some progressive groups are calling for Ocasio-Cortez to jump into the White House race in 2028. There has also been mounting speculation that she could seek the Senate seat held by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in 2028, potentially setting up a Democratic primary showdown if Schumer seeks re-election. AOC CAMPAIGN MEMO FRAMES GROWTH FROM PROGRESSIVE FIREBRAND TO NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY FORCE Ocasio-Cortez’s office declined to comment to Fox News Digital on Thursday. Middle Seat and Aisle 518 Strategies each did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests seeking comment. Sanders’ 2016 fundraising operation capitalized on major campaign moments and attacks from establishment Democrats to generate surges in small-dollar donations, helping propel the relatively obscure Vermont senator into an unexpectedly competitive primary battle against Hillary Clinton, Politico reported at the time. “Internet fundraising is about taking potential energy and converting it into kinetic energy, and nobody has done that better than Bernie Sanders,” veteran Democratic operative Ari Rabin-Havt told Politico back in 2016. “Tim [Tagaris] and his team are maximizing that. Their emails are superior.” Sanders’ office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Sanders’ campaign raised $34.5 million in the final three months of 2019, according to the AP. He went on to briefly emerge as the Democratic front-runner in early 2020 before Joe Biden consolidated support and secured the nomination. AOC OPENS UP ABOUT RACE, GENDER IN WEIGHING POSSIBLE 2028 WHITE HOUSE BID Ocasio-Cortez previously parted ways with her longtime campaign manager and creative director earlier in 2026, and also recruited a few former aides, according to Axios. “I know there is a lot of speculation about what I will decide to do in 2028,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a recent fundraising email. “I get asked about it nearly every interview and event.” Still, Ocasio-Cortez told The Washington Sun in an interview published Wednesday that she plans to deliberate privately about her political future. “I probably will not be sharing anything publicly for a little while,” she told The Sun.
Another Trump heavyweight revealed to be living on military base as Cabinet roster grows
Attorney General Todd Blanche has been living at a military installation in the Washington, D.C., area for months, joining a growing roster of senior Trump administration officials residing in military housing, three sources familiar with the arrangement confirmed to Fox News Digital. A source familiar with the arrangement did not elaborate on the reason for the move earlier this year. Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Justice for comment. Among the other top officials residing on military installations is Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who recently relocated amid reported threats linked to Iran. The living arrangements have placed senior civilian officials in housing traditionally associated with military leadership, amid security concerns ranging from reported threats tied to drug cartels to fears of Iranian retaliation. US EVACUATES 13 MILITARY AIRCRAFT FROM SECOND UK BASE AS NEW IRAN THREAT RAISES ALARM Blanche’s predecessor, Pam Bondi, also quietly relocated from her Washington apartment to military housing after law enforcement flagged threats tied to drug cartels, The New York Times reported in March. The Times also cited threats related to backlash over her handling of the Epstein files, although the Justice Department disputed that explanation. Iran has intensified efforts to target Americans, including current and former U.S. officials, as Bessent recently relocated to a military base amid threats linked to Tehran, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to Fox News Digital Wednesday. “After The Wall Street Journal published an article featuring an online photo that allowed the location of the secretary’s Georgetown home to be geo-located, security concerns began to increase, which have now forced the secretary to relocate to a military base for his safety. The news media has an obligation to act responsibly amid growing threats against public officials,” a different source familiar with the move told Fox News Digital Wednesday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have reportedly taken up residence at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., while White House chief of staff Stephen Miller and other administration officials have moved to military installations or protected government housing. SECRET SERVICE CHIEF SAYS THREATS AGAINST PROTECTEES UP 40%, CITES INTERNET AND MENTAL HEALTH The relocations have not all stemmed from the same threats. Some followed concerns about domestic political violence, while Bessent’s move comes amid reported threats linked to Iran. Fort McNair, a historic Army installation along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., has emerged as one of the military properties housing senior Trump administration officials. The installation, which dates to the late 1700s, is home to the National Defense University and traditionally provides residential quarters for senior military leaders. ARMY SECRETARY DAN DRISCOLL SUBMITS RESIGNATION TO TRUMP Fort McNair’s residential quarters are divided into two housing groups, according to a 2020 National Capital Planning Commission report, while a 2024 Army filing identifies 27 historic homes built before 1919 at the installation. The Army’s housing website lists 88 historic dwelling units across Fort McNair and nearby Fort Myer combined, without specifying how many are at each base. Other officials previously reported to have used military housing include former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll. The arrangements have involved different installations.
Pence delivers scathing rebuke of Vance’s Iran war assessment, blames Trump policies for GOP losses
EXCLUSIVE – Former Vice President Mike Pence delivered a blistering assessment of Vice President JD Vance‘s midterm election postmortem that the war in Iran cost Republicans control of Congress, with the former vice president contending that Americans grew frustrated not because President Donald Trump launched the conflict, but because his administration failed to finish it. Pence, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, his first following the midterms, also blamed the Republicans’ midterm shellacking on the president’s economic policies, retreat from conservative principles and what he argued is an “air of corruption” surrounding the White House. Vance, in an assessment the morning after Election Day, wrote, “The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night.” The vice president also cited an unnamed pollster in his X post who said voters who had abandoned the GOP wanted the administration to end the conflict, address inflation and the cost of living, put America first and change its relationship with Israel. RUBIO’S DEFENSE OF TRUMP’S IRAN WAR DRAWS SHARP CONTRAST WITH VANCE’S MIDTERM BLAME Asked about Vance’s assessment, Pence said, “I disagree with the vice president about the reasons for the midterm election outcome.” “There’s no question that the war in Iran became a frustration for millions of Americans, but it wasn’t because President Trump started the war or took on Iran. It’s because we stopped short and didn’t finish it,” Pence said. “As Americans saw the politics of appeasement that the administration embraced, one negotiation after another, I think people became… frustrated with the lack of progress, frustrated with the price of fuel at the pump.” But the former vice president emphasized “the reasons for this midterm election were much more complex than gasoline prices or the war in Iran. So, I respectfully disagree with my successor in that regard.” Pence added that he has “great concerns about what I’ve heard coming out of the vice president’s office with regard to Israel.” ‘HE BLAMED THE JEWS’: GOP CONGRESSMAN LEVELS EXPLOSIVE ACCUSATION AGAINST JD VANCE OVER ELECTION POSTMORTEM “If the world knows nothing else, the world should know that America stands with Israel. Israel is our most cherished ally. It is the only democracy in the Arab world,” Pence a longtime strong supporter of Israel, emphasized. Pence said he’s “very troubled at the way that criticism of Israel on the left and on the right collapses too often into antisemitism and antisemitic rhetoric. There’s no place in America for antisemitism on the left or on the right and the people that are wringing their hands about U.S. support for Israel, I get the feeling sometimes they’re just using that as a thinly veiled excuse for their antisemitism.” A Vance ally, responding to Pence’s criticism, told Fox News Digital, “Former Vice President Pence had to retreat into the think tank world because his politics never developed past the Bush-era neocon warmongering that dragged us into the Middle East in the first place. He is laughably out of touch with how people feel in the real world.” Pence, who served as vice president in Trump’s first term, pointed to the president’s second term tariffs, the administration’s handling of abortion medication and the first family’s growing wealth as factors in the GOP’s electoral defeat, arguing that Republicans must return to traditional conservative principles to reclaim their congressional majorities. VANCE, CRUZ, DESANTIS DIAGNOSE GOP’S MIDTERM DISASTER AS 2028 BATTLE BEGINS While the high cost of living and the war in Iran were key issues in the midterms, the Fox News Voter Poll also highlighted that 55% of respondents said government corruption was a “crucial” factor in their vote for Congress, with another 36% saying it was a major factor. Pence argued that “I don’t think you can ignore the air of corruption that’s emerged around this administration, the self-dealing. The American people saw a First Family seeing their wealth increase by more than $3 billion including more than a billion dollars in cryptocurrency.” Asked by Fox Digital if he thought the president and his family had improperly profited from being in the White House, Pence answered, “I wouldn’t have any way of knowing and wouldn’t care to speculate.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment, but didn’t receive a response at the time this story was published. The former vice president, referring to the midterm results which saw the Democrats storm back to grab a large House majority, take control of the Senate, and win a majority of the nation’s governorships, said it “wasn’t just a rout, it was a reckoning.” “I believe our voters rejected President Trump’s redirection of our movement toward protectionist tariffs, toward policies of appeasement toward Russia and even Iran, toward marginalizing the right to life, and I think the era of corruption around the Trump administration was very concerning to millions of Americans, including our voters,” Pence claimed. “I don’t think the American people turned left. I think they were turned off, and that’s what explains the outcome of this election.” REPUBLICANS TURN ON TRUMP AFTER DEVASTATING MIDTERM LOSSES HAND DEMOCRATS CONTROL OF CONGRESS Looking forward, Pence said Republicans “now more than ever…need to recommit our party to the conservative principles that have defined our movement for more than 50 years.” “There’s no question that the direction the president has taken our party was roundly rejected by the voters,” he charged. “The key for success for the party and more importantly, the key for success for the country, is to return the Republican Party to advancing and advocating the conservative principles that have always made America strong and prosperous and free.”
Texas Democrats put DEI back on agenda after sweeping to power
Texas Democrats are opening their incoming state House majority with a push to clear the way for DEI offices and programs to return to public universities across the state — a move state Republicans are expected to block but that puts the culture-war issue front and center after massive Democratic Party gains in the state. HB 358 and SB 125 would repeal a 2023 law banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices and programs at public universities, but the bills face steep odds with Republicans still retaining control of the Texas Senate. Still, the effort signals Democrats’ broader intent to roll back one of the GOP’s signature education policies after campaigning heavily on the war in Iran, immigration and affordability. Even if the repeal effort fails, conservative policy experts in Texas warn that Democratic appointments to university governing boards could weaken enforcement of the state’s DEI restrictions without changing the law. “With Republicans in firm control of the Texas state Senate, it’s highly unlikely that any bill seeking to bring back the corrosive and wasteful higher ed DEI regime will make it to the Governor’s desk,” Chuck DeVore, chief national initiatives officer for the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), told Fox News Digital. “What will likely happen is that relabeled and disguised DEI programs and classes will make a comeback over the next four years as the Governor’s board of regents appointees gradually get a majority. We look forward to suing to ensure adherence to Texas law.” FEDERAL JUDGE KICKED OFF ‘BOTCH JOB’ ANTI-DEI CASE AFTER STUNNING APPEALS COURT REBUKE The 2023 anti-DEI law, signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, barred public universities from maintaining DEI offices or assigning employees or contractors to perform their duties. It also prohibited compelling or soliciting DEI statements from faculty or students, restricted certain preferences based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin and banned mandatory DEI training for students and employees. The law includes exceptions for academic instruction, scholarly research and registered student organizations. After the law took effect Jan. 1, 2024, UT Austin closed its Multicultural Engagement Center and discontinued its Monarch program, which provided advising, mental-health support and scholarships to illegal immigrants and other noncitizen students. The University of Houston System stopped requiring DEI statements in hiring and promotions, while UT Health San Antonio ended a faculty loan-repayment program for professors from “underrepresented backgrounds.” VP VANCE TOUTS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S DISMANTLING OF DEI At a May 2024 Texas Senate higher education subcommittee hearing, UT System Chancellor J.B. Milliken told lawmakers the system had closed 21 DEI offices, eliminated 311 full- and part-time positions focused on DEI and canceled 681 contracts, programs and training sessions. Critics have nevertheless accused some universities of preserving DEI initiatives under different names or organizational structures. Texas A&M University drew scrutiny after dissolving its Office for Diversity but transferring six of its eight employees to other campus positions. Former Vice President for Diversity Annie McGowan received a 10% raise, a new position and nine months of paid leave. Critics accused the university of preserving DEI operations under different titles. Texas A&M maintained that the office and its DEI-related duties had been eliminated and that the raises were unrelated to DEI. Kate Bierly, a higher education campaign director at TPPF, told Fox News Digital that Democrats could undermine Texas’ 2023 anti-DEI law without repealing it. She warned that newly appointed university regents could weaken enforcement through administrative inaction, potentially allowing prohibited practices to resume. She observed that numerous university regents’ terms expire Feb. 1, 2027, giving Democratic Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa an opportunity to nominate replacements who could influence how universities enforce the DEI ban. CONGRESS TO PUT AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION IN HOT SEAT OVER DEI RULES TIED TO LAW SCHOOL ACCREDITATION But Hinojosa would face another obstacle: Republican control of the Texas Senate, which must confirm university regent appointments. Bierly said the Texas Constitution allows certain unpaid gubernatorial appointees, including regents, to remain in office after their terms expire. Because the 90th Legislature convenes in January 2027, before the regents’ terms expire, she said incumbents could remain in place until the end of the 91st Legislature’s regular session in 2029 if their successors are not confirmed. “If the Senate declines to confirm nominees who would undermine the state’s DEI reforms, existing regents can continue serving rather than automatically surrendering their seats when their terms expire,” Bierly said. “This holdover period ends on the last day of the first regular legislative session that begins after the term expires. So as a result, the current regents can hold over to 2029 if no successor has qualified by then. After that, the office becomes vacated.” DeVore said the holdover provision could become a political liability for Senate Republicans, giving Democrats “an actual useful campaign cudgel” if the chamber refuses to confirm Hinojosa’s nominees. Democrats could accuse Republicans of obstructing the governor’s appointments to university governing boards, he said. That pressure could force a compromise at some point, DeVore added, but also warned that DEI is “a death issue for a Republican primary” and that any Republican who supports a compromise could be “toast in the primary.” DEMOCRAT GINA HINOJOSA STUNS ABBOTT, MAKES HISTORY AS FIRST LATINA TEXAS GOVERNOR Texas’ restrictions reflect a broader national effort to dismantle DEI programs in government and higher education. The Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against race-based admissions preferences at universities preceded a broader federal crackdown on DEI. After returning to office in 2025, President Donald Trump moved to dismantle DEI programs across the federal government and directed federally funded schools to end race-based preferences in admissions, hiring, scholarships and other programs. Republican-led states have pursued similar restrictions at public universities, making Texas’ fight part of a broader national backlash against institutional DEI. Texas’ political landscape has shifted dramatically following Republican election losses. Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton are leaving office, while Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, lost his Republican Senate primary to Paxton. Democrats won the governorship, attorney general’s office and
Dem rep blames ‘horrific’ traffic for missing Hegseth impeachment vote: ‘I am so sorry’
Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., apologized in a social media video Wednesday for missing a key House vote on an effort to impeach War Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying she encountered heavy traffic and a police motorcade while trying to reach the Capitol. “Let me start by saying, I am so sorry,” Stansbury said in the video posted Wednesday. “There is no one who is more disappointed in myself than me, that I was not here the moment that gavel dropped.” The House voted 211-204 Tuesday to refer the impeachment resolution introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to the Judiciary Committee, effectively blocking the effort. Stansbury was among 11 Democrats who missed the vote, along with seven Republicans. HOUSE GOP LEADERS BLOCK MASSIE’S HEGSETH IMPEACHMENT PUSH Stansbury said she was driving toward the Capitol ahead of the vote when she encountered “horrific” rush-hour traffic on Independence Avenue, where a lane closure had contributed to congestion. “As the vote was approaching, I ran back to my car,” Stansbury said. “I got in my car, and I began driving towards the Capitol and as I approached the Capitol, it was rush hour on Independence Avenue. They closed one of the lanes. I was stuck in the right-hand lane.” The congresswoman said she could see the Capitol from her vehicle and instructed her staff to notify House officials that she was delayed. A police motorcade escorting a bus away from the Capitol complex then blocked traffic in both directions, she said. “I should have been there sooner,” Stansbury acknowledged. “I understand that it is my responsibility, and I am sincerely sorry, but there were definitely factors that were out of my control.” DEMOCRATS RALLY BEHIND GOP LAWMAKER’S HEGSETH IMPEACHMENT PUSH, SIGNAL MORE TO COME IN JANUARY Several Democrats who missed the vote were returning from an Elect Democratic Women event about 1.5 miles from the Capitol when they encountered bumper-to-bumper traffic on Independence Avenue, Axios reporter Andrew Solender reported, citing multiple lawmakers. Some lawmakers found alternative ways to reach the Capitol after traffic brought their vehicles to a standstill, according to Solender. One got out and walked, while another was dropped off on the Senate side of the Capitol to avoid the congestion. The 11 Democrats who missed the vote were Stansbury and Reps. Marilyn Strickland of Washington, Julia Brownley and Lou Correa of California, Laura Gillen of New York, Steven Horsford of Nevada, Jonathan Jackson of Illinois, Nancy Pelosi of California, Brittany Pettersen of Colorado, Haley Stevens of Michigan and Frederica Wilson of Florida. Stansbury also acknowledged that Democrats lacked the votes to advance the impeachment effort even if she had been present. “We did not have the numbers to move forward to impeach Pete Hegseth at this moment,” she said, also noting that a conviction in the Senate would require a two-thirds majority. HEGSETH THWARTS GOP-LED IMPEACHMENT PUSH AS QUESTIONS SWIRL OVER WHETHER ALLEGATIONS RISE TO HIGH CRIMES Massie’s resolution included eight articles of impeachment accusing Hegseth of misconduct related to U.S. military operations, including the war in Iran and strikes in Yemen and Venezuela. Hegseth rejected the allegations during a Pentagon news conference Tuesday, characterizing the impeachment effort as an attack on the military. “This is not patriotism,” Hegseth said. “This is sabotage.” President Donald Trump also defended Hegseth and celebrated the House vote, describing the outcome on social media as an exoneration of the defense secretary. The vote comes as Democrats prepare to take control of the House and Senate in January, potentially setting the stage for another impeachment attempt.
Trump threatens to double tariffs on Mexico if migrant caravans not stopped
President Donald Trump is using his tariff leverage to urge Mexico to stop a migrant caravan from reaching the U.S. southern border. “Huge CARAVANS are forming and beginning their illegal march through Mexico,” Trump wrote in a Thursday morning Truth Social post. “Many of the people in these Caravans are those that various countries don’t want – ‘Send them to America,’ they say – But they will not be accepted! “MEXICO MUST STOP THEM, NOW, and if they do not do so, the Tariffs on Mexico will be IMMEDIATELY DOUBLED,” he added. “MEXICO, THE GOVERNOR OF TEXAS, THE VERY LIBERAL NEW GOVERNOR OF TEXAS, OUR GREAT BORDER PATROL, & ICE, HAVE BEEN SO INFORMED. There will be no leniency!” AFTER GOP’S BRUTAL MIDTERMS, ‘CHUCK NORRIS OF FLORIDA POLITICS’ TELLS PARTY TO ‘GET UP AND FIGHT’ Trump’s post began with the suggestion the midterm elections have emboldened the mass migration efforts that he has had to shut down since his first administration. “Here we go again!” Trump’s post began. “With the perceived loss by the Republicans in the Midterms – I WAS NOT ON THE BALLOT- the INVASION of our Country is taking place again.” The group of migrants, an estimated 1,500 people mostly from Central America, set off Tuesday from the southern city of Tapachula near the Guatemala border. REPUBLICAN AGS STAND READY AS ‘LAST LINE OF DEFENSE’ AGAINST LEFTIST POLICIES AFTER DISMAL MIDTERMS FOR PARTY Democratic state attorneys general gains in the midterms could help unwind some of Trump’s immigration law enforcement that he had admitted might have come off as “too tough” for voters earlier this month. Democratic Texas Attorney General-elect Nathan Johnson could drop the state’s defense of SB4, a Republican-backed Texas law that allows state authorities to arrest and prosecute people suspected of illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in April allowed the law to take effect as a challenge proceeds. Current Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who chose not to seek re-election in a failed Senate bid, remains in office until Johnson is sworn in on Jan. 1, 2027. With the loss of Texas, Florida remains the largest reliably red state on the political map, and Florida AG James Uthmeier spoke out forcefully against Democratic efforts to loosen enforcement on immigration. “I don’t think we can entertain amnesty in a conversation,” he told “The Will Cain Show” on Wednesday evening. “We have to be a country focused on rule of law. In Florida we’ve deported a record number, tens of thousands of criminal illegal aliens, child predators, murderers, people who have committed violent crimes, and we’re at an all-time crime low. We’re safer than ever after shutting down the border.” In another matter, the Supreme Court is weighing whether to take up Iowa’s appeal of a ruling blocking a law that would allow state officials to arrest and prosecute people who are in the U.S. illegally. The state’s Democratic AG-elect Nate Willems, could decline to defend the law if the Supreme Court takes the case. Reuters contributed to this report.
Peltola campaign loses in court on rejected absentee ballots as she maintains narrow lead
Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola lost in her legal effort to get access to records identifying rejected absentee ballots during the ongoing count, and then lost some of her narrow lead in the latest ballot drop Wednesday night. An Alaska judge on Wednesday ruled against the Peltola campaign’s request for the records in the midterm’s final uncalled Senate race, ruling the demand was “simply not reasonable” while election officials continue counting votes. Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews sided with the Alaska Division of Elections, finding the agency is “currently busy processing ballots from the 2026 general election” and “simply lacks the capacity to generate the report” from the voter registration database. “Even if the request were otherwise considered reasonable outside the peak election time of year, it is simply not reasonable nor required right now,” Matthews wrote, adding that “the timing of the Campaign’s request could simply not be worse.” MARY PELTOLA’S CAMPAIGN, DEMS BACKED COVERT SCHEME TO FIELD SPOILER CANDIDATES IN ALASKA SENATE RACE: REPORT Peltola’s campaign had sued last week seeking information about which absentee ballots were flagged for rejection and why. Campaign attorney Abha Kelly told the court the process was “going incredibly smoothly” and that the campaign was not seeking confidential data or trying to disrupt the count. She argued the request would simply centralize transparency that observers already have in a decentralized way. DUNLEAVY CALLS ALASKA VOTING SYSTEM ‘VERY CONFUSING’ AS RAZOR-THIN SENATE RACE FROZEN IN TIME State attorneys countered that the records are not public, citing voter privacy interests. “Voters have a privacy interest in that because people who want to vote absentee presumably don’t want to mess it up and don’t want to be publicly exposed as having messed that up,” Assistant Attorney General Margaret Paton-Walsh said. PELTOLA INSISTS ‘I KNEW NOTHING’ ABOUT ALLEGED ‘DECOY DAN’ SCHEME AS SULLIVAN ALLEGES SHE IS ‘STILL LYING’ The state also said producing a customized report would impose a significant burden during peak election work. Matthews added at the Tuesday hearing that the case was “not about who won or lost the election” but about access to public records under the Public Records Act. The Sullivan campaign was allowed to intervene. With roughly 86% of the expected vote counted and more than 248,000 ballots tallied, Peltola held 121,487 first-choice votes (48.9%) to incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan’s 117,512 (47.3%), a lead of 3,975 votes. Neither candidate is above 50%, so the race remains on track for ranked-choice tabulation after absentee counting concludes around Nov. 18, with certification expected Nov. 25. The race could still come down to the other candidates, including Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., who has 4,100 votes, while Gerald Heikes has 5,426. Those third- and fourth-place totals exceed the current margin between the top two candidates and could prove decisive when lower finishers are eliminated and second-choice preferences are redistributed under Alaska’s ranked-choice system. The vote to repeal that voting system is failing at 52.5% to 47.5%, which is also still too close to call over a week after Election Day. Fox News’ Melissa Chrise, Matt Finn, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.