Powell reveals what it would take to step down from the Fed as pressure mounts
As political pressure and legal scrutiny intensify, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has made clear what would force him to step down. Powell, who holds one of the most influential posts in U.S. economic policymaking, has made clear he won’t step aside absent a legal violation. That stance is detailed in an excerpt from “Trillion Dollar Triage,” in which Wall Street Journal economic correspondent Nick Timiraos chronicles Powell’s measured public responses and more candid private reactions to Trump’s ongoing threats to fire him. A LOOK AT THE UNFOLDING BATTLE BETWEEN TRUMP AND POWELL OVER FED POLICY Powell’s commitment to the Fed, amid Trump’s mounting criticism, became apparent in 2019 during a House Committee on Financial Services hearing. When asked by California Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters what he would do if Trump fired him, Powell said he would continue to serve his four-year term. According to Timiraos, in private, Powell was more forthright about his determination to continue leading the world’s most influential central bank. “I will never, ever, ever leave this job voluntarily until my term ends under any circumstances. None, whatsoever,” Powell said. “You will not see me getting in the lifeboat,” he said, invoking a metaphor to signal his resolve to stay the course. “It doesn’t occur to me in the slightest that there would be any situation in which I would not complete my term other than dying,” Powell said, according to Timiraos. TRUMP CALLS FED CHAIR POWELL A ‘CLOWN’ AND SLAMS FED RENOVATION Powell’s long-standing insistence on finishing his term, which ends in May, now comes amid a Justice Department criminal investigation into his congressional testimony on the Federal Reserve’s headquarters renovation. Powell confirmed the investigation and said he respected the rule of law and congressional oversight, but described the action as “unprecedented” and driven by political pressure. “This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings,” Powell said in a video statement Sunday evening. “The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,” he added. The White House referred questions to the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR POWELL UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OVER HQ RENOVATION The project to update the Federal Reserve’s two main Washington, D.C., office buildings in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood is expected to cost $2.5 billion and is being paid for by the central bank, not taxpayers. The Fed funds its operations without congressional appropriations, drawing revenue primarily from interest on government securities and fees charged to financial institutions. In June 2025, Powell told members of the Senate Banking Committee that “There’s no new marble. There are no special elevators. They’re old elevators that have been there. There are no new water features. There are no beehives, and there’s no roof garden terraces.” Powell also told lawmakers that no one “wants to do a major renovation of a historic building during their term in office.” “We decided to take it on because, honestly, when I was the administrative governor, before I became chair, I came to understand how badly the Eccles Building really needed a serious renovation,” Powell said, adding that the building is “not really safe” and not waterproof. He also said that the cost overruns are due, in part, to unexpected construction challenges and the nation’s inflation rate. The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2027, with Washington-based employees expected to begin working on the building in March 2028.
Trump pledges to uncover leftist groups countering ICE
President Donald Trump said that he believes the woman fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis last week may have been a professional agitator, and indicated that the government will uncover the funding sources behind such anti-law enforcement agitation. “The woman and her friend were highly disrespectful of law enforcement,” Trump said during a Sunday gaggle aboard Air Force One. “They were harassing,” he said, noting, “I think frankly, they’re professional agitators.” The president added that he would “like to find out, and we are gonna find out, who’s paying for it, with their brand-new signs, and all the different things.” “But these are professional agitators. And law enforcement should not be in a position where they have to put up with this stuff. What that woman, and what her friend, and what their other friends were doing to law enforcement — not just ICE — law enforcement, is outrageous,” he said. TRUMP DEFENDS ICE AGENT, SHOWS NYT REPORTERS VIDEO OF DEADLY MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING The U.S. Department of Homeland Security retweeted a post in which Republican Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas asserted that anti-ICE protesters are being funded. CELLPHONE VIDEO RELEASED IN DEADLY MINNEAPOLIS ICE AGENT SHOOTING “The anti-ICE mobs are anything but organic. Dark money is bankrolling far-left groups like ICE Watch and lighting the fuse. Americans deserve to know who’s cutting the checks!” the lawmaker asserted in the post. A person “weaponized her vehicle” against law enforcement in Minneapolis, DHS announced last week. DHS DEPLOYING HUNDREDS MORE FEDERAL AGENTS TO MINNEAPOLIS, NOEM ANNOUNCES CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “This individual was impeding law enforcement and weaponized her vehicle against @ICEgov. The officer dutifully acted in self-defense,” DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin noted in a post on X last week.
Trump’s Greenland push escalates as GOP lawmaker moves to make it America’s 51st state
FIRST ON FOX: A House Republican is pushing for Greenland to become the country’s 51st state as President Donald Trump publicly pushes for the Danish territory to come under U.S. rule. Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., is introducing a bill on Monday aimed at authorizing Trump “to take such steps as may be necessary” to acquire Greenland and set it on the pathway of becoming part of the United States. “I think it is in the world’s interest for the United States to exert sovereignty over Greenland,” Fine told Fox News Digital in an interview. “Congress would still have to choose to make it a state, but this would simply authorize the president to do what he’s doing and say the Congress stands behind him. And then it would expedite it into becoming a state, but it would still be up to Congress about whether to do that.” TOP CANADIAN OFFICIALS TO VISIT GREENLAND AMID INTERNATIONAL FEARS AS TRUMP EYES NATO-LINKED TERRITORY Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that he would be meeting with officials from Denmark this week to discuss Greenland. Trump has publicly pushed for the idea of the U.S. buying the Arctic island territory since his first term in the White House. He and other Republican officials have pointed out its strategic importance, including Greenland’s proximity to Russia and the critical minerals located within its borders. GREENLAND LEADERS PUSH BACK ON TRUMP’S CALLS FOR US CONTROL OF THE ISLAND: ‘WE DON’T WANT TO BE AMERICANS’ Fine agreed with those points while also arguing U.S. rule would be better for those living in Greenland as well. “Their poverty rate is high. Denmark hasn’t treated them well,” Fine said. “When war came to town, Denmark couldn’t protect them. Guess who protected Greenland during World War II? We did.” And while a majority of Republicans have conceded they understand Trump’s argument for why owning Greenland would benefit the U.S., GOP lawmakers were somewhat rattled after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not rule out using military force to acquire the island during a recent press conference this month. TRUMP SAYS GREENLAND’S DEFENSE IS ‘TWO DOG SLEDS’ AS HE PUSHES FOR US ACQUISITION OF TERRITORY Asked if he would support using military force, Fine said, “I think the best way to acquire Greenland is voluntarily.” “The poverty rate in Greenland is much, much higher than it is in Denmark. The country is run by socialists, and it is not in America’s interests to have a territory that large between the United States and Russia run by socialists,” Fine said. The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to admit new states into the Union. It typically requires Congress to pass a bill authorizing the new state after a territory is formed, after which that territory must draft a state constitution approved by people who live there. Congress must then vote again to admit that new state before it’s made final with the president’s signature.
Minnesota fraud scandal sparks push to scrutinize billions in Biden-era energy grants
FIRST ON FOX: As a sweeping fraud scandal grips Minnesota, a conservative energy watchdog is encouraging lawmakers to scrutinize billions of dollars in Department of Energy grants they say were rushed out the door in the final weeks of the Biden administration, warning that internal red flags were ignored and taxpayer money may have been exposed to waste and political favoritism. Power the Future founder and director Daniel Turner sent a letter to Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations United States Senate, and Republican Rep. James Comer, chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Monday, calling on lawmakers to examine grants and loan guarantees approved under the Biden administration’s Department of Energy, Fox Digital learned. “As allegations of widespread fraud among government programs in Minnesota rightly horrify the American taxpayer, on behalf of Power The Future, I write to request immediate congressional oversight of the Department of Energy (DOE) unprecedented grant and loan activity conducted during the final weeks of the Biden Administration,” Turner wrote. The letter turned lawmakers’ direction to the final months of the Biden administration, when “former Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm authorized tens of billions of dollars in so-called ‘clean energy’ grants and loan guarantees, an amount that exceeds many years of prior Department activity,” according to the letter. TREASURY SECRETARY ANNOUNCES CASH REWARDS FOR MINNESOTA FRAUD WHISTLEBLOWERS “These funds were rushed out the door, despite warnings from the DOE Inspector General that internal controls were insufficient and that the program should be paused pending further review,” the letter continued, pointing to a Department of Energy Inspector General report that recommended the department halt its $400 billion green bank over conflict of interest concerns. “Those warnings were ignored,” the letter states. “The funds were distributed anyway.” Turner pointed to a Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office granting roughly $710 million as part of a 12-state affordable energy initiative four days before President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office. The allocation to New Jersey was “followed closely by Secretary Granholm’s acceptance of a senior role overseeing energy policy for New Jersey governor-elect Mikie Sherrill. This troubling sequence of events raises legitimate questions about whether federal resources were deployed with political or personal considerations in mind rather than objective public interest,” the letter stated. Sherrill appointed Granholm to co-lead an action team on “Making Energy More Affordable and Reliable” back in November after her gubernatorial election. USDA IMMEDIATELY SUSPENDS ALL FEDERAL FUNDING TO MINNESOTA AMID FRAUD INVESTIGATION “This episode reflects a broader pattern increasingly familiar to the American people: oversight mechanisms function, red flags are raised, and yet taxpayer dollars are still lost, only for accountability to be discussed after the money is gone. Public confidence erodes when internal warnings are dismissed and transparency is treated as optional,” Turner wrote in his Monday letter. Fox News Digital reached out to Sherrill’s transition team for comment regarding the letter, Granholm’s role and response from the former DOE chief, but did not immediately receive a reply. Fox Digital also reached out to Biden’s office for comment on the letter. Climate change was a cornerstone of the Biden administration, with the then-president repeatedly casting it as an existential danger and “the single greatest existential threat to humanity. He argued his administration was correcting the ship on the climate through laws such as the Inflation Reduction Act’s sweeping clean energy tax credits and incentives, and cracking down on EPA rules aimed at cutting emissions from power plants and oil and gas, among other initiatives. Power the Future urged Congress to conduct a full accounting of all DOE grants and loan guarantees approved during the final six months of the Biden administration, review Inspector General findings that were overridden, and examine political or financial ties between grant recipients and senior DOE officials. “Congress must not allow these funds to vanish without answers,” Power The Future said, adding that taxpayers deserve transparency and accountability for how their money is spent. After returning to office, the Trump administration moved to halt and reassess Biden-era climate spending, with Trump signing a day-one order positioning the U.S. to “unleash” domestic energy and shift away from what the White House has framed as a “globalist climate agenda.” “Under the Biden Administration, green energy spending was sold to taxpayers as transparent, accountable, and carefully scrutinized,” Turner’s letter continued. “As the episode involving former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams securing $2 billion dollars worth of grants reveals, this was not always the case. Instead, it increasingly appears to have operated as a shield for rushed, massive federal expenditures timed to avoid meaningful review and now embedded within state and political ecosystems.” BESSENT BLAMES WALZ AS TREASURY PROBES WHETHER MINNESOTA FRAUD FUNDS REACHED TERROR GROUP AL-SHABAB The Biden administration came under fire from Republicans following the IG report, using it like ammo to argue the Biden-era Loan Programs Office was pushing money out too fast without proper guardrails, while the Department of Energy discounted the 2024 IG report as based on “mistaken facts and misunderstanding of the law.” “LPO is in full compliance with both the Department’s conflict of interest rules and the Federal Acquistion Regulation (“FAR”),” the department wrote in a response letter at the time. …. “Indeed, despite a months-long audit involving over one hundred contract files, OIG has not identified any organizational conflicts of interest.” Lawmakers and voters have taken a heightened interest in fraud as it relates to taxpayer funds as a sprawling COVID-era scheme involving money laundering came to light in Minnesota in the lead up to the holiday season. Investigators speculate the fraud could exceed $1 billion and rise to as high as $9 billion. Suspects arrested in the alleged schemes are mostly from the state’s large Somali community. “The large-scale fraud in Minnesota, where federal funds intended for public benefit were systematically abused despite warning signs, underscore the risks of allowing massive sums of taxpayer money to move with limited scrutiny. Just as
Record number of Americans identify as political independents, rejecting 2 major parties, poll finds
There has been a significant political shift in Americans’ political party identification in the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term in office, according to a new poll. The findings of a Gallup survey released Monday found that 45% of U.S. adults identified as political independents in 2025 — a record number that surpassed the previous high of 43% measured in 2014, 2023 and 2024. U.S. adults who identified as either Democrats or Republicans were tied at 27% each, according to the poll. The rise in political independence reflects generational shifts, with younger adults today far more likely to identify as independents than in the past. POLL SHOCK: DEMOCRATS’ CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL SINKS TO ALL-TIME LOW About 56% of Gen Z adults now call themselves independents, compared with 47% of millennials in 2012 and 40% of Gen X adults in 1992, the poll found. Gallup, which has regularly asked political independents since 1991 whether they lean toward the Republican or Democratic Party, found that more independents said they lean Democratic than Republican in 2025. Of the 45% of Americans who identify as political independents, 20% leaned Democratic, 15% leaned Republican and 10% did not lean either way, according to the poll. Compared with 2024, that reflects a three-point drop in Republican leaners and a three-point increase in Democratic leaners. REPUBLICANS RALLY BEHIND TRUMP’S MILITARY STRIKE TO ARREST MADURO AS DEMOCRATS SOUND ALARM: POLL Factoring in party identification and leanings, about 47% of Americans identified as Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents, compared with 42% who identified as Republicans or Republican-leaning independents. The shift ends a three-year period in which Republicans held an advantage in party affiliation, and more closely resembles the numbers seen during Trump’s first term, when Democrats held an average lead of about five points. Gallup said the findings were based on interviews with more than 13,000 U.S. adults conducted throughout the year.
GOP eyes Venezuela’s untapped oil wealth as Democrats sound alarm over taxpayer risk
Lawmakers are keenly aware of the costs of running a country due to the nation’s skyrocketing debt, but now another expense may be added to Congress’ tab — Venezuela. President Donald Trump hasn’t backed down from his position that the U.S. will run Venezuela after the surprise strikes and capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. That’s left some on Capitol Hill wondering what the price tag will be, considering Venezuela’s bleak economy. Like most issues in Washington, D.C., there’s a strong partisan divide on how lawmakers expect running Venezuela will shake out. Senate Republicans believe that the vast petroleum, natural gas and mineral reserves will be enough to foot the bill and cause oil companies to come running to dump money into the region. TRUMP’S VENEZUELA PUSH RUNS INTO HARD REALITIES FOR US ENERGY GIANTS And fiscal hawks in the Senate, who routinely sound the alarm over rampant government spending, believe that running the country will be a financial boon for the U.S. “I would envision there’s so much money to be made that the oil companies will show up, and they’ll pay for everything,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. That’s a shared calculus among several other Republicans, who contend that any cost incurred from stewarding the country during the transition period would be leveraged by the colossal reserves of crude oil creeping underground. “That’s the whole point,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital. There could already be a wrench in that plan following a meeting between Trump and several top oil executives at the White House last week. The roster of companies in attendance Friday touched nearly every choke point in Venezuela’s oil sector, including production, services, trading and refining. The sheer weight of that lineup underscored what is at stake for global energy policy, with the United States squarely at the center. And ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods told the administration that Venezuela was “uninvestable,” which prompted Trump to suggest that he’d be “inclined to keep Exxon out.” And despite lawmakers’ optimistic outlook, the economic reality on the ground in Venezuela is stark. 5 GOP SENATORS JOIN DEMOCRATS TO STOP TRUMP FROM POLICING VENEZUELA Venezuela once had the makings of an economic powerhouse, but years of mismanagement and international sanctions have hollowed out the economy, leaving behind a much smaller, debt-laden nation. Precise figures are difficult to verify because Venezuela has not published comprehensive financial data in years. However, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates the economy will total about $82.8 billion in 2025, which is roughly the size of Maine’s economic output. VENEZUELAN OIL’S RETURN COULD IMPACT TEXAS REFINERIES AND GAS PRICES NATIONWIDE What’s more, Venezuela’s debt is roughly 200% of its economy. In simple terms, the country owes about $2 for every dollar it produces. Those pressures are compounded by runaway inflation. The IMF forecasts eye-watering inflation, with consumer prices expected to rise by more than 680% in 2026, underscoring the continued strain on Venezuela’s economy and households. That collapse is inseparable from Venezuela’s oil industry, once the backbone of national wealth. Petroleum revenues long underwrote government spending and social programs, leaving the economy acutely vulnerable as production fell, infrastructure decayed and sanctions tightened. Even in its diminished state, oil remains Venezuela’s most consequential asset. The country holds more than 300 billion barrels of proven crude — the largest in the world, eclipsing established energy titans like Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait — underlining its potential if production and investment return. The potential cost of reinvigorating Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, coupled with the prior military operation and any other costs accumulated from running the country, is emblematic of the growing rift between the Hill and the White House, where Trump has routinely run roughshod over lawmakers in his decision-making. Senate Democrats want to claw back some of that authority through the appropriations process, where they could try to limit the flow of taxpayer dollars toward Venezuela. “Congress should be involved,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told Fox News Digital. “And we must be involved because we have the power of the purse, we have appropriations authority, and we need better and more information to make these decisions about how the taxpayer funds are spent in support of these military or intelligence operations.” Some of that action is already taking place. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., whose war powers resolution to curtail future use of military force in Venezuela without congressional approval survived its first procedural test on Thursday, said lawmakers were having discussions tweaking the defense spending bill to “block appropriated defense funds from being used in certain actions that haven’t been authorized by Congress.” Senate Republicans, despite cries from the other side of the aisle to regain some modicum of congressional oversight over the Venezuela situation, are firm in their belief that Venezuela’s oil, not American taxpayers’ money, will foot the bill. “We’re going to use Venezuelan resources to reimburse the U.S. Treasury for what we’ve already spent there, and we’re going to use Venezuelan resources to help rebuild their own country,” Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said. “The taxpayer is not going to be on the hook for one cent of this.”
DHS funding threatened as Congress rolls out $80B spending bill amid shutdown fears
House and Senate lawmakers unveiled a new funding package on Sunday night totaling roughly $80 billion in federal spending, but questions still loom about averting another government shutdown at the end of this month. The package combines two of Congress’ 12 annual appropriations bills in what’s called a “minibus.” It covers funding for the State Department and related national security, as well as federal financial services and general government operations. Notably excluded from the package, however, is funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — which had been expected to be part of the legislation earlier this month. It comes as Democrats threaten to hold up DHS funding in the wake of an incident in Minneapolis where an ICE agent shot a U.S. citizen in her car. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and other GOP officials have accused the woman of being at fault and of hitting the agent with her vehicle, while Democrats are charging ICE with a reckless and unprovoked use of force. HOUSE PASSES NEARLY $180B FUNDING PACKAGE AFTER CONSERVATIVE REBELLION OVER MINNESOTA FRAUD FEARS While a DHS funding bill only needs a simple majority to pass the House, any spending legislation needs at least 60 votes in the Senate — meaning Democratic support is critical for passage. The package released totals just over $76 billion in federal funds and is expected to get a House vote sometime this week. The State Department and national security bill includes $850 million for an “America First Opportunity Fund,” aimed at giving the Secretary of State funding to respond to potential unforeseen circumstances. Both Republicans and Democrats touted different victories in the legislation, with a summary by House Appropriations Committee Republicans stating that the bill supports “President Trump’s America First foreign policy by eliminating wasteful spending on DEI or woke programming, climate change mandates, and divisive gender ideologies.” CONGRESS ROLLS OUT $174B SPENDING BILL AS JAN 30 SHUTDOWN FEARS GROW Democrats said the bill “supports women globally” by “protecting funding for bilateral family planning and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)” and pointed to $6.8 billion for a new account “that supports the activities previously funded under Development Assistance.” The bill also provides millions in security assistance for Israel and Taiwan, among other global partners across the world. The latter bill provides just over $13 billion for the U.S. Treasury for the remainder of fiscal year 2026, while also including a provision that stops the IRS “from targeting individuals or groups for exercising their First Amendment rights or ideological beliefs,” according to Republicans. It also provides $872 million for the Executive Office of the President and $9.69 billion in discretionary funding for the Federal Judiciary. “With this package, we are advancing President Trump’s vision of a golden age defined by security, responsibility, and growth. Our financial system will be protected, small businesses and entrepreneurs supported, and consumer freedom safeguarded,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said in a statement. PICKING THE RIGHT FIGHT: CONGRESSIONAL TENSIONS RISE IN WAKE OF MINNESOTA ICE-INVOLVED SHOOTING “We shield our nation across every front — strengthening cyber defenses and dismantling the financial and criminal networks that enable terrorism, drug trafficking, and bad actors. Guided by peace through strength, we realign our diplomacy and national posture to deter threats before they reach our shores.” House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said the bill “continues Democrats’ rejection of extreme cuts proposed by the Trump White House and Republicans in Congress.” A source familiar with discussions told Fox News Digital that negotiators are aiming to include the DHS funding bill in a separate minibus that also covers defense spending, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Transportation, among other agencies. Current federal funding levels expire after Jan. 30. Any potential shutdown would only be a partial one at this point, given Congress is on its way to passing at least half of its dozen spending bills by then. Senate Appropriations Committee member Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., did not rule out a shutdown over the DHS funding standoff in comments to NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “[Republicans] control the House, the Senate and the presidency. If they don’t want to work with Democrats and shut down the government, that’s up to them,” Murphy said. But Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Fox News on Friday that he does not believe there will be a shutdown but criticized Democrats’ threats to DHS funds. “I am concerned about that, and we should not be limiting funding for homeland security at a dangerous time. We need public officials to allow law enforcement to do their jobs,” Johnson said. Asked whether leaders could prevent a shutdown, he said, “I think we will.”
Trump administration revokes more than 100,000 visas in first year back
FIRST ON FOX: The State Department revoked more than 100,000 foreign visas in 2025, more than twice that of 2024 in the final year of President Joe Biden’s administration. The figure is an all-time record, and follows on President Donald Trump’s day one executive order on foreign vetting. In 2024, the department revoked 40,000 visas. The majority of the revocations were for business and tourist travelers who overstayed their visas. But some 8,000 students and 2,500 specialized workers also lost their legal status. A department spokesperson said a majority of the students and workers who lost their visas had criminal encounters with law enforcement. TRUMP STATE DEPARTMENT ORDERS GLOBAL VISA CRACKDOWN UNDER REVIVED ‘PUBLIC CHARGE’ RULE Among specialized workers, half of the revocations were based on drunken driving arrests, 30% for assault, battery or confinement charges, and the remaining 20% were revoked for theft, child abuse, substance abuse and distribution, and fraud and embezzlement charges. Nearly 500 students lost visas for drug possession and distribution and hundreds of foreign workers lost visas because they were believed to be abusing children, according to a department spokesperson. In August 2025, the Trump administration announced it was reviewing all 55 million foreigners who have valid U.S. visas. State Department principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Piggott added that the administration would continue its aggressive enforcement posture through its new “continuous vetting center.” “The Trump administration will continue to put America first and protect our nation from foreign nationals who pose a risk to public safety or national security,” he said. The department also has enforced stricter standards for obtaining U.S. visas. In November 2025, Fox News Digital first reported the department would enforce a “public charge” rule, denying visas to applicants deemed likely to rely on public benefits. That included health reasons — putting older and overweight people under greater scrutiny — English competency, finances or other potential needs for long-term care.
Marco Rubio emerges as key Trump power player after Venezuela operation
Early in the second Trump administration, analysts openly wondered how long Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s relationship with President Donald Trump would last. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, has long embraced a Cold War–inflected, hawkish approach to foreign policy that initially appeared at odds with Trump’s worldview. Trump had been deeply skeptical of U.S. involvement in Ukraine and surrounded himself with prominent anti-interventionist voices, including Vice President JD Vance and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Shortly after Trump won the election in 2024, Pete Hegseth, then set to become secretary of war, described himself as a “recovering neocon.” TRUMP’S VENEZUELA STRIKE SPARKS CONSTITUTIONAL CLASH AS MADURO IS HAULED INTO US But in 2026, Rubio sits at the apex of his career, emerging as one of the most influential figures in Washington. He holds two additional titles: national security advisor and head of the National Archives. The last person to serve as the nation’s chief diplomat and national security advisor was Henry Kissinger, widely seen as the architect of foreign policy during the Nixon administration. “He’s just really smart, really effective, and he’s succeeded at everything he’s done,” Matt Kroenig, a former Pentagon official and current vice president at the Atlantic Council think tank, told Fox News Digital. “He doesn’t see his job as containing Trump. He understands who the boss is and channels those instincts into constructive directions.” The man of many hats has pursued the fall of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro for nearly a decade. “I think that U.S. armed forces should only be used in cases of national security threats,” Rubio said in a 2018 interview with Univision. “I think there is a strong argument that can be made right now that Venezuela and Maduro’s regime have become a threat to the region and to the U.S.” On Jan. 3, Rubio got his wish, when special operators descended on Caracas, Venezuela, to snatch the dictator of 12 years and his wife from their bed. Maduro appeared to sense the danger early. In a message to Trump, he warned that Rubio “wants to stain your hands with blood — with South American, Caribbean, Venezuelan blood,” as the U.S. kicked off a campaign of airstrikes on drug traffickers in the Caribbean in September 2025. Trump likely didn’t need much convincing. “Trump was very focused on Venezuela in the first term,” Kroenig said. “I think he probably saw the outcome of the first term was not what he wanted.” Though Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, was recently sworn in, Trump has asserted that the U.S. will “run” Venezuela. VANCE SAYS CROCKETT ‘DOESN’T KNOW WHAT SHE’S TALKING ABOUT’ ON VENEZUELA MADURO OPERATION Less than a year ago, media outlets portrayed Rubio as crowded out of diplomatic negotiations, with envoys like Steve Witkoff running point on Iran, Gaza and Ukraine. Vanity Fair reported that Rubio was “frustrated” by being “sidelined” on foreign policy decisions, while The Atlantic ran a profile of Witkoff calling him “the real secretary of state.” Brian Hook, the architect of Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran during the first term, at one point appeared poised for a senior role after leading the 2024 State Department transition team. Instead, Trump ultimately dropped Hook, as he did former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “Brian Hook from the Wilson Center for Scholars… YOU’RE FIRED!” Trump wrote on Truth Social in January 2025. That trajectory shifted months later when Trump launched airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Now, Rubio has become the most visible public face of the U.S. mission in Venezuela, appearing on television to clarify Trump’s remarks about the U.S. “running” the country. Rubio said Washington would rely on economic leverage and strategic tools — including sanctions enforcement and oil quarantines — to shape a transition. He also laid out a phased plan for stabilization and recovery centered on controlled oil sales, underscoring his role as the administration’s principal explainer after the capture of Maduro. Rubio’s visibility reflects the moment. Trump’s most consequential moves in recent months, from Venezuela to Iran, have unfolded abroad rather than around domestic initiatives like affordability and job creation. “The members of President Trump’s national security team who have always executed Venezuela policy, including Vice President Vance, Secretary Rubio, Secretary Hegseth, General Caine, Director Ratcliffe, and Deputy Chief of Staff Miller, will continue to execute Venezuela policy,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital. “Secretary Rubio has done a great job advancing President Trump’s foreign policy agenda as Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, as exemplified by this latest action arresting narcoterrorist Nicolas Maduro,” she went on. “He is a team player and everyone loves working with him in the West Wing.” Vance and Gabbard have been far less visible on foreign policy. RUBIO FIRES BACK AT ‘CONFUSED’ CBS HOST OVER QUESTIONING OF MADURO OPERATION’S SCOPE Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and other senior Trump advisors sat alongside the president at Mar-a-Lago as he monitored Operation Absolute Resolve, the mission to capture Maduro. Vance participated remotely by video from Ohio due to increased security concerns, according to a Vance spokesperson. Gabbard, who previously criticized U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, played no public role in the lead-up to the operation. Less than two days before it began, she posted a series of photos on X from Hawaii. In 2019, Gabbard wrote that the United States “must stay out of Venezuela.” After the operation, she praised its execution, writing: “President Trump promised the American people he would secure our borders, confront narcoterrorism, dangerous drug cartels, and drug traffickers. Kudos to our servicemen and women and intelligence operators for their flawless execution.” “It is unfair to focus on DNI Gabbard’s past views, given other Trump administration officials have also previously voiced disagreement on policy or even slammed the President directly,” an administration official told Fox News Digital, adding that Gabbard provided the president intelligence for the Venezuela operation. Vance, meanwhile, has focused much of his public messaging on
Republican senator vows to block Trump Fed nominee over Powell investigation
A Senate Republican again plans to act as a roadblock to President Donald Trump, this time against any potential replacement for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., announced that he would block any future nominee to serve as chair of the Fed following the revelation that Powell was under criminal investigation for testimony he gave regarding the renovation at the Federal Reserve. “If there were any remaining doubt whether advisors within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none,” Tillis said on X. “It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question.” FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR POWELL UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OVER HQ RENOVATION “I will oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed — including the upcoming Fed Chair vacancy — until this legal matter is fully resolved,” he continued. Tillis’ decision comes with weight — as a member of the Senate Banking Committee, he would get an immediate say on who does and doesn’t pass muster to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve. And that’s a reality that will likely soon play out, given that Powell’s term as chair expires in May, though he is still slated to stay on the central bank’s board of governors until 2028. It’s also not the first time he’s stood directly in the path of Trump. Tillis last week announced that he would be blocking all future Department of Homeland Security (DHS) nominees until DHS Secretary Kristi Noem appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee. A DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “Secretary Noem testified on Capitol Hill less than a month ago and remains committed to transparency and continued engagement with Congress.” GOP SENATOR BLOCKS TRUMP DHS NOMINEES UNTIL NOEM TESTIFIES BEFORE SENATE “While the Department does not currently have any nominees pending before the Senate, we hope senators will refrain from holding President Trump’s appointments in a way that could compromise our national security,” they said. The lawmaker’s line in the sand came after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia launched an investigation into Powell over testimony he gave before the Senate Banking Committee last June regarding the renovation of the central bank’s Washington headquarters. The probe is focused on whether Powell lied to lawmakers about the scope of the project. It comes after a year of tension between Powell and Trump, who has long sought to replace him atop the central bank. And notably, the renovation of the Federal Reserve’s building in the District is not on the taxpayer dime, but rather its own coffers. “This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings,” Powell said in a video statement. TRUMP BLASTS GOP WAR POWERS DEFECTORS, SAYS THEY ‘SHOULD NEVER BE ELECTED TO OFFICE AGAIN’ “The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,” he continued. “This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., the top ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, similarly panned the criminal investigation into Powell and charged that Trump sought to “install another sock puppet to complete his corrupt takeover of America’s central bank.” “Trump is abusing the authorities of the Department of Justice like a wannabe dictator, so the Fed serves his interests, along with his billionaire friends,” Warren said in a statement. “This Committee and the Senate should not move forward with any Trump nominee for the Fed, including Fed Chair.” The Fed tweaked interest rates in December, dropping them by 0.25%, marking the third straight time the central bank slashed rates. Still, the cut was not enough for Trump, who demanded a sharper drop. In the aftermath, Trump said that he would seek a new Federal Reserve chair that would slash interest rates “by a lot.” “I’ll soon announce our next chairman of the Federal Reserve, someone who believes in lower interest rates, by a lot, and mortgage payments will be coming down even further,” Trump said.