California sheriff seizes 650,000 ballots in defiance of state officials over election count dispute
A California sheriff and top Republican candidate for governor seized over 650,000 votes from the state’s November elections this weekend. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco launched an investigation into the state’s November 2025 special election on Proposition 50 after a third-party organization, the Riverside Election Integrity Team, claimed it found roughly 45,000 excess votes. California elections officials have dismissed the team’s findings, but Bianco says his office will conduct another count. “This investigation is simple: Physically count the ballots and compare that result with the total votes recorded,” Bianco told reporters at a Friday press conference. Proposition 50 was a key proposal seeking to reform California’s congressional districts. It was designed to favor Democrats in response to a similar effort by Republicans in Texas. BIANCO SAYS ‘DEMOCRAT POLICY IS INDEFENSIBLE’ AS GOP CANDIDATES TOP CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR POLLING Secretary of State Shirley Weber has argued Bianco has no authority to carry out a recount. “The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office has taken actions based on allegations that lack credible evidence and risk undermining public confidence in our elections,” Weber told City News Service. “The sheriff’s assertion that his deputies know how to count is admirable. The fact remains that he and his deputies are not elections officials, and they do not have expertise in election administration.” Riverside elections official Art Tinoco rejected the Riverside Election Integrity Team’s findings earlier this month, saying the group had misinterpreted how votes are counted on Election Day. GOP SHERIFF LEADING CALIFORNIA POLL RIPS NEWSOM’S ‘LOVE AFFAIR’ WITH CRIMINALS Tinoco told county supervisors earlier this year that the initial intake logs by polling workers are meant to be estimates rather than exact tallies of how many votes were cast. Even so, he said the final tally was within 0.16%, or 103 votes, of the original estimate. The Elections Integrity Team maintains their math is correct, however, and it was this disagreement that led Bianco to open an investigation of his own. Bianco accused California Attorney General Bob Bonta, a Democrat, of intervening in the investigation. Bonta, however, says his office only sought to learn the basis of the probe. “We have attempted to work cooperatively with the Sheriff’s Office in order to better understand the basis for their investigation, including by reviewing the warrants themselves and by requesting the Sheriff’s complete investigative file,” Bonta’s office told Fox News Digital on Sunday. “We made these requests pursuant to the Attorney General’s supervisory authority over county sheriffs.” “During this time, the Sheriff has delayed, stonewalled, and otherwise refused to work with us in good faith. To date, the Sheriff has failed to provide most of the requested documentation. But, what we have been able to learn raises serious questions about the merits of this investigation. We are especially concerned with legal deficiencies in the affidavits underlying the warrants, including the omission of material facts,” his office added. Bianco has also clashed on social media with Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who is running for California governor as well. Bianco said Friday that his office had received multiple letters from Bonta ordering him to cease the investigation, according to the Desert Sun. “The outrage that an investigation was happening was extremely concerning to me, especially coming from someone who claims to be a law enforcement officer that is, I’ve said this a minimum of a thousand times, he’s an embarrassment to law enforcement,” Bianco said. Bonta and Weber did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Trump says ICE will deploy to airports Monday to assist TSA amid funding standoff
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will begin assisting TSA agents at airports across the country on Monday, President Donald Trump says. The move comes as Trump and Republicans battle with Democrats over funding for the Department of Homeland Security. TSA agents across the country have gone more than a month without a paycheck as Democrats hold up funding in hopes of securing immigration reforms. “On Monday, ICE will be going to airports to help our wonderful TSA Agents who have stayed on the job despite the fact that the Radical Left Democrats, who are only focused on protecting hard line criminals who have entered our Country illegally, are endangering the USA by holding back the money that was long ago agreed to with signed and sealed contracts, and all,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “But watch, no matter how great a job ICE does, the Lunatics leading the incompetent Dems will be highly critical of their work. THEY WILL DO A FANTASTIC JOB. The great Tom Homan is in charge!” he added. AIR TRAVELERS ARE HACKING TSA LINES DURING HOURS-LONG MAJOR AIRPORT WAITS Trump first threatened to deploy ICE to airports on Saturday, demanding that Democrats “immediately sign an agreement” to fund DHS. TSA WARNS OF SECURITY ‘THREAT’ AS AIRPORT CHECKPOINT CLOSURES TRIGGER MORE TRAVEL DELAYS TSA officers are considered essential employees and are required to report to work even during a shutdown, though pay can be delayed. Airports across the country have reported huge numbers of employees calling out sick or not showing up for work. More than 400 TSA employees have quit their jobs. Earlier Saturday, Elon Musk offered to cover the salaries of TSA personnel during the ongoing government funding standoff. VIDEO CAPTURES CRAZY AIRPORT CROWDS AS PASSENGERS POUR INTO TERMINAL AFTER SECURITY CHECKPOINTS CLOSE “I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country,” Musk wrote on X. Major U.S. airports have experienced severe delays, with security wait times exceeding three hours in some cases, due to high TSA officer absenteeism. Hardest-hit airports include Houston (HOU, IAH), Atlanta (ATL), New Orleans (MSY), and Philadelphia (PHL). Footage from Philadelphia, shot early Thursday morning, showed hundreds of passengers waiting on elevators and escalators to clear a security checkpoint. Fox News’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
Pence: Trump upended ‘some aspects’ of GOP agenda but ‘hasn’t really changed the Republican Party’
EXCLUSIVE – Former Vice President Mike Pence says his fight to keep the Republican Party from drifting too far from its conservative roots and principles, amid a rise of populism in the GOP and big government creep in President Donald Trump‘s second administration, is “the calling of my life right now.” And Pence takes issue with the conventional wisdom that Trump, since he first won the White House a decade ago, has upended and completely transformed the Republican Party. “I’m convinced that while President Trump has changed some aspects of the agenda of the Republican Party, he hasn’t really changed the Republican Party,” Pence argued in an exclusive interview this past week with Fox News Digital, a couple of months ahead of the release of a new book promoting the conservative agenda. Sitting in his Washington, D.C., office at Advancing American Freedom, his policy and advocacy organization that has been expanding in recent months, the former vice president emphasized, “We intend to be a voice for what conservatives believe and have always believed, and that’s fiscal responsibility, traditional values, strong defense and American leadership.” ONLY ON FOX NEWS: PENCE SAYS TRUMP ‘TURNED A DEAF EAR’ TO ISOLATIONISTS IN GOP Pence is a former congressman and Indiana governor who served as vice president during Trump’s first term in office before breaking with his boss amid the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol as he oversaw congressional certification of the 2020 election results. The former vice president gave a thumbs up to some of what Trump’s accomplished in his second term. “I’ve been very proud of the fact of what this administration accomplished in securing our border. I was pleased that the administration turned aside from those that were talking about raising taxes on top marginal earners. They extended all the Trump-Pence tax cuts,” he highlighted. PENCE URGES SENATE TO ‘RESTORE PUBLIC CONFIDENCE’ WITH NATIONWIDE VOTER ID LAW But Pence took issue with the second Trump administration for “embracing more big government programs and solutions, price controls on pharmaceuticals and credit companies, taking a position in private companies, the nationalization trend that has emerged, as well as marginalizing the right to life in so many ways and ignoring the scourge of mail order abortion pills around the country.” “I am hopeful those advising the president are reminding him that it… was the conservative agenda that we governed on in our four years…that led to great prosperity for American families, for our economy and for strength in the world,” Pence said. But the former vice president warned that “the Republican Party today is experiencing a scourge of some ‘-isms.’ We’ve seen protectionism show itself in unilateral tariffs that the Supreme Court of the United States recently turned back. We’ve seen some voices of isolationism that question our support for Israel, that would leave allies like Ukraine to fend for themselves.” And Pence added, “I think that on the fringe and on the margins, voices of antisemitism in the party all need to be confronted, because none of those things represent what conservatives believe.” But many Republicans would take issue with the former vice president’s argument that Trump hasn’t transformed the GOP. “Donald Trump has tremendously altered the makeup of the Republican Party and the issues that it focuses on,” veteran GOP strategist and communicator Ryan Williams told Fox News Digital. Williams emphasized that Trump “has altered the voter base of the Republican Party” and taken “the values and trajectory of this party in a different direction… It’s never going back to the way it was before.” FOX NEWS EXCLUSIVE: PENCE CHARGES DEMOCRATS’ HOLDUP OF DHS FUNDING ‘UNCONSCIONABLE’ While not aiming to return the party to its pre-Trump image, Pence said his mission is to remind people that Republicans believe in a strong national defense of American leadership in the world. We believe in free market economics and limited fiscally responsible government. We believe in the right to life and traditional values.” “It’s been those principles that have guided our party for more than a half a century and have been to the betterment of the American people,” he added. Pence said his hope is that “we’ll see not only this administration hew back to our roots of conservatism, but that we’ll see candidates for the House and Senate and statehouse around the country come back to those core conservative principles.” Republicans are battling stiff political headwinds as the party in power in the nation’s capital traditionally loses seats in the midterm elections, and a rough political climate fueled by economic concerns amid persistent inflation and Trump’s underwater approval ratings. But Pence said pushing a conservative platform is “not only a pathway toward American prosperity and the vitality of freedom, but it’s also a winning agenda.” Likely boosting the former vice president’s push will be his new book, “What Conservatives Believe: Rediscovering the Conservative Conscience,” which is expected to release in June. Pence ran on a traditional conservative platform, framing the future of the Republican Party against what he called the rise of “populism” in the party, as he bid for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, as part of a large field that unsuccessfully challenged Trump. While Pence, who became the first running mate in over 80 years to run against their former boss, regularly campaigned in the crucial early-voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, his White House bid never took off. Struggling in the polls and with fundraising, he suspended his campaign just four and a half months after launching it. “It was clear to me that there’s a portion of the Republican Party today that’s being drawn aside by the siren song of populism unmoored to conservative principles. I spoke out against that as a candidate. Our foundation, Advancing American Freedom, has been championing that conservative agenda and will continue to,” Pence noted. Asked if there’s another White House run in his future, Pence didn’t rule anything out. “I will tell you, I’m not a long-term
Trump gives Iran 48-hour ultimatum to reopen Strait of Hormuz or face strikes on power plants
President Donald Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Iran on Saturday, warning the U.S. would strike its power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened. “If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. The president’s threat represents a notable escalation in rhetoric as tensions surge over the strategically vital waterway. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a global choke point for oil and gas transport that supplies roughly one-fifth of the world’s crude oil, has been largely limited since early March, shortly after the war with Iran began. US SIGNALS READINESS TO ESCORT TANKERS THROUGH HORMUZ AS TRAFFIC THINS BUT NO MISSION LAUNCHED Trump’s post comes after he told reporters Friday that reopening the strait was a “simple military maneuver.” “It’s relatively safe, but you need a lot of help in the sense of you need ships, you need volume,” he said. The president added that NATO hasn’t had the “courage” to assist the U.S. with reopening the waterway. TRUMP SAYS US ‘OBLITERATED’ TARGETS IN STRIKE ON KEY IRANIAN OIL HUB “NATO could help us, but they so far haven’t had the courage to do so, and others could help us,” Trump said. “But, you know, we don’t use it. You know, at a certain point, it’ll reopen itself.” Earlier Friday, Trump ripped NATO on Truth Social as “cowards,” saying they “complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz.” A growing group of countries has signed onto a joint statement signaling their “readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage” through the strait. The joint statement said, “We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait,” and, “We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning.” The statement was attributed to leaders from more than 20 countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and the United Arab Emirates. “We condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces,” the statement reads. NATO HEAVYWEIGHTS BALK AT HORMUZ MISSION AS TRUMP WARNS ALLIANCE AT RISK “We express our deep concern about the escalating conflict. We call on Iran to cease immediately its threats, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block the Strait to commercial shipping, and to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2817,” the statement continued. Earlier this week, U.S. forces struck Iran’s anti-ship missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz with 5,000-pound bunker-buster bombs, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman-Diamond contributed to this report.
Trump administration urges judge to dissolve injunction blocking Abrego Garcia’s deportation to Liberia
The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday urged a judge to dissolve the injunction that prevents the Trump administration from detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia again so he can quickly be deported to Liberia. “Dissolution is also warranted because the Court’s Memorandum Order failed to acknowledge that the Court’s own prior injunction against removal is the sole impediment to Petitioner’s prompt removal,” the DOJ wrote in a court filing obtained by Fox News Digital. “The Court cannot both impose the impediment that delays removal and consequently prolongs detention and, at the same time, hold that the resulting detention is impermissibly prolonged. “Any attempt by this Court to permanently enjoin the government from exercising its authority to remove the Petitioner from this country is in direct contradiction to established judicial norms, and a clear error of law.” US JUDGE VOWS TO RULE ‘SOON’ ON ABREGO GARCIA’S FATE AFTER MARATHON HEARING The administration deported Abrego Garcia, who it claims is a member of MS-13, a year ago to a prison in his native El Salvador, but he was returned to the U.S. in June to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee related to a 2022 traffic stop despite at first saying the administration had no power to bring him back. His lawyers deny he is a member of MS-13. He was released from detention in December on the grounds the Trump administration had not obtained the final notice of removal order that is needed to deport him to a third country. Abrego Garcia, 31, has become a flash point in the national immigration debate since March 2025, when he was deported to El Salvador in violation of a 2019 court order in what Trump administration officials acknowledged was an “administrative error.” The Supreme Court later ruled that the administration had to work to bring him back to the U.S. JUDGE ORDERS MIGRANT DEPORTED IN ‘ERROR’ FREE FROM ICE CUSTODY WITH CRIMINAL CASE LOOMING He has pleaded not guilty on the human smuggling charges and is seeking dismissal of the charges on the grounds of vindictive and selective prosecution. The 2019 court order prevents Abrego Garcia from being deported to El Salvador after an immigration judge determined he faced danger from a gang that had threatened his family. He immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager and has been under the supervision of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Last month, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis agreed to convert her previous emergency order blocking ICE from immediately detaining Abrego Garcia again into a longer-term form of injunctive relief sought by his lawyers. She said the Trump administration failed to provide the court with any “good reason to believe” that it plans to remove Abrego Garcia to a third country in the “reasonably foreseeable future.” Instead, she said, it “made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success.” Abrego Garcia has said he’s willing to be sent to Costa Rica, but acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons said he will instead be removed to Liberia. Abrego Garcia’s attorney said in December his client was willing to leave for Costa Rica immediately and that the country had given him asylum status months ago. The government’s “persistent refusal to acknowledge Costa Rica as a viable removal option, their threats to send Abrego Garcia to African countries that never agreed to take him, and their misrepresentation to the Court that Liberia is now the only country available to Abrego Garcia, all reflect that whatever purpose was behind his detention, it was not for the ‘basic purpose’ of timely third-country removal,” Xinis said in December. The administration asked the judge to rule on its request to have the injunction dissolved by April 17. Fox News Michael Sinkewicz, Louis Casiano, Breanne Deppisch and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
FIRST ON FOX: US Border Patrol nabs Mexican fugitives in California wanted for murder, child sex crimes
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently confirmed agents from the U.S. Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector arrested two Mexican fugitives with active warrants for homicide and lewd acts upon a child. Agents conducted coordinated surveillance Feb. 26 targeting Silvia Del Rosario Torres-Castro, a Mexican national wanted in Mexico for homicide. Torres-Castro was arrested without incident in Anaheim, California, and turned her over to Mexico’s Fiscalía General de la República (FGR), according to DHS. Officials said she entered the U.S. illegally in December 2023 during the Biden administration in the Imperial Beach Border Patrol Station’s area of responsibility. ICE ARRESTS ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS INCLUDING MURDERERS AND PEDOPHILES In a separate surveillance operation March 6, agents targeted Salvador Suazo-Garcia, a Mexican national wanted in Mexico for lewd and lascivious acts upon a child. Agents arrested Suazo-Garcia without incident in Lemon Grove, California, processed him administratively and turned him over to Mexico’s FGR. AFGHAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WHO STABBED SISTER FOR BEING ‘BAD MUSLIM GIRL’ ARRESTED BY ICE AGENTS IN NEW YORK Though Suazo-Garcia entered the U.S. legally in May 2021, his visa was revoked based on his alleged crimes in Mexico. “Thanks to the Biden administration, these dangerous criminal illegal aliens were allowed to roam American streets and make our communities less safe,” DHS acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis wrote in a statement to Fox. “These are the types of illegal aliens the media categorizes as ‘non-criminal’ illegal aliens because they lack a rap sheet in the U.S.” Bis said nearly 70% of illegal immigrants ICE has arrested across the country have criminal convictions or pending criminal charges in the U.S. “This statistic doesn’t even account for those wanted for violent crimes in their home country or another country, human rights abusers, gang members and terrorists,” Bis wrote. “Now, thanks to our law enforcement, these two criminal illegals are back in Mexico to face justice for their crimes.”
Schumer gambit fails as DHS shutdown hits 36 days and airport lines grow
Senate Republicans blocked an attempt by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to only pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers as the Homeland Security shutdown drags on. Despite being in the minority and not controlling the Senate floor, Schumer used an arcane tactic to force a procedural vote to allow the Senate to get onto the bill in Democrats’ move to shift the narrative of the ongoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown. “It is unacceptable for workers and travelers and entire airports to get taken hostage in political games,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “But that’s what the Republicans are doing. It is unacceptable to say we will only pay TSA workers if it is attached to a bill that funds ICE with no reforms, but that’s what the Republicans have been doing.” GOP SENATOR’S GAMBIT EXPOSES FALSE DEM CLAIMS ABOUT SUPPORTING VOTER ID The shutdown entered its 36th day Saturday and is heading toward matching the record-breaking full government shutdown from last year. Schumer’s failed gambit follows increasingly long wait times at airports as thousands of TSA agents go without pay. Senate Democrats have dug in deep in their demands for stringent reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and have so far refused to reopen the agency or temporarily extend funding to end the closure until they get what they want. Senate Republicans and the White House made a new compromise offer to Democrats on Friday night after an open letter from the administration on several reforms to immigration operations was revealed earlier this week. The letter prompted a pair of back-to-back meetings on Capitol Hill with Republicans, Democrats and administration officials. THUNE ACCUSES CRITICS OF ‘CREATING FALSE EXPECTATIONS’ AMID BACKLASH OVER STALLED SAVE AMERICA ACT Whether they accept that offer or counter remains in the air for now. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who was in the meeting, said that she hoped there would be another soon. “That will be up to them, but I hope so,” Britt said. Still, Republicans tried and failed for a fifth time to fully reopen the agency on Friday. In the background, there have been several attempts by Senate Democrats to move forward with standalone funding bills — like Schumer’s gambit — to open parts of DHS, save for immigration enforcement. DHS SHUTDOWN TIED FOR SECOND-LONGEST EVER AS DEMS AGAIN BLOCK FUNDING AMID AIRPORT CHAOS, TERRORISM CONCERNS Time is also running out for lawmakers to find middle ground on reopening the agency, given that they will leave Washington, D.C., for a two-week break at the end of next week. At a news conference earlier Saturday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital it would be “very, very hard to explain if we leave town this next week without having funded the Department of Homeland Security.” “At some point, the Democrats are going to be held accountable for this,” Thune said. “I know they think it’s, as has been described by one of their leaders, ‘very serene, very serene’ with their position,” he continued. “Well, I’m telling you something. The people who are sitting in those lines at the airports right now don’t see it as very serene. This needs to be resolved.”
Thune, GOP blast Dems in DHS standoff; Lankford says they fear ICE over Iran
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., accused Senate Democrats of not having “any excuses” to continue blocking Homeland Security funding as Republicans and the White House continue to make repeated offers to reopen the government. “The opportunity to actually drive this to a conclusion is there,” Thune said at a news conference Saturday in response to Fox News Digital. “You have to have, obviously, to negotiate a deal, you got to have two sides at the table. The White House is there. Senate Republicans are there. The question is, are Senate Democrats going to take yes for an answer?” The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) entered its 36th day of a shutdown, and Senate Democrats continue to block funding for the agency in their pursuit of reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). DHS SHUTDOWN TIED FOR SECOND-LONGEST EVER AS DEMS AGAIN BLOCK FUNDING AMID AIRPORT CHAOS, TERRORISM CONCERNS After more than two weeks of negotiations appearing to have stalled, Democrats responded to the White House’s latest offer. That spurred two face-to-face meetings with Senate Republicans and Trump administration officials, including border czar Tom Homan, on Capitol Hill. The latest meeting, which wrapped on Friday, saw Republicans offer Senate Democrats a compromise DHS funding bill. Thune said the meeting went well and hoped the parties will meet again over the weekend. He characterized the GOP’s offer as filled “with a lot of reforms that have been requested and asked for by Democrats.” DEM SENATORS CALL TO FUND DHS AFTER VOTING TO BLOCK IT 4 TIMES AMID SHUTDOWN FIGHT It comes as lines at airports snake for blocks, tens of thousands of federal workers go without pay and with increasing concerns about threats in the U.S. as the Pentagon continues Operation Epic Fury against the Iranian regime. Still, Thune and the GOP have grown increasingly frustrated with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats’ unwillingness to engage in negotiations over the last several weeks. “We have the Department of Homeland Security closed right now because, apparently, my Democratic colleagues are more afraid of ICE than they are of Iran and the challenges that we face now in the conflict internationally that we know that we have threats back in the homeland,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said at Saturday’s news conference. DEMS UNMOVED AS WHITE HOUSE REVEALS DHS CONCESSIONS IN SHUTDOWN BATTLE Republicans tried and failed for a fifth time to fully reopen the agency on Friday. In the background, there have been several attempts by Senate Democrats to move forward with standalone funding bills to open parts of DHS, excluding immigration enforcement. The Senate will have a full vote on a standalone funding bill for the Transportation Security Administration, pushed by Schumer, later on Saturday. It will likely fail given Republicans’ position that the department should be completely reopened. “I know they think it’s, as has been described by one of their leaders, ‘very serene, very serene’ with their position,” Thune said. “Well, I’m telling you something, the people who are sitting in those lines at the airports right now don’t see it as very serene. This needs to be resolved. We need a result.” In a Truth Social post later Saturday, President Donald Trump threatened to deploy ICE agents to U.S. airports if Democrats did not accept a deal. He said ICE would handle airport security and immediately arrest illegal immigrants coming into the U.S. with a special focus on Somalians.
Dems block GOP amendment tying voter ID bill to transgender sports ban
Senate Democrats blocked a move by Senate Republicans to modify a Trump-backed voter ID bill with a provision that would prohibit men in women’s sports. The amendment to the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act from Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., was one of several tweaks to the legislation requested by President Donald Trump. Tuberville’s amendment could have codified Trump’s earlier executive order from last year to ban transgender women from participating in women’s sports, a culture war flashpoint between Republicans and Democrats that, unless turned into law, will likely be reversed should a Democratic administration take over in 2028. GOP SENATOR’S GAMBIT EXPOSES FALSE DEM CLAIMS ABOUT SUPPORTING VOTER ID But, as expected, the add-on failed on a party-line vote in the upper chamber. The amendment was the first of several expected to hit the floor as Republicans continue their takeover strategy to debate the bill. Saturday marked the fifth day the SAVE America Act dominated the floor. “I would do whatever it took to get this passed,” Tuberville told Fox News Digital. “This is probably one of the most important bills that’s come through here in a long, long time. It’s just pitting Americans versus non-Americans.” THUNE ACCUSES CRITICS OF ‘CREATING FALSE EXPECTATIONS’ AMID BACKLASH OVER STALLED SAVE AMERICA ACT Others on the docket include a ban on transgender surgeries on minors and halting unsolicited mail-in ballots, add-ons that Trump requested Republicans tack onto the voter ID and citizen verification bill. And the ongoing floor takeover likely won’t result in the SAVE America Act passing, given that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats are unified in their rejection of the legislation. “So, I’m like, ‘President Trump, we need to get it done,’” Tuberville continued. “But I don’t know whether we’ve got enough support, even on the Republican side, much less Democrats.” REPUBLICANS SIGNAL NO RETREAT ON SAVE ACT AS MARATHON SENATE DEBATE KICKS OFF The unlimited debate on the legislation is meant to mimic the talking filibuster, a strategy that would lower the threshold to pass the legislation to a simple 50-vote majority at the cost of deadlocking the Senate floor. And Senate Democrats would be able to offer an unlimited number of amendments that could drastically change the bill, which Republicans have acknowledged they don’t have the numbers to block. The floor takeover they’re undertaking is largely meant to shift blame from Republicans to Schumer and Democrats for the bill’s expected failure, given that, in order to pass conventionally, the GOP would need 60 votes. But others, like Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who is the lead sponsor of the SAVE America Act in the Senate, hopes the constant debate will grind down Democratic resistance and flip some over to support the bill.
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller dies at 81; Trump reacts
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller has died at the age of 81, and President Donald Trump gave a sharp reaction on Truth Social. “Robert Mueller just died,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!” DOJ SUBPOENAS EX-FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY OVER ROLE IN 2017 RUSSIA INTEL ASSESSMENT Mueller led the FBI from 2001 to 2013 and later served as special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, a probe that shadowed much of Trump’s presidency. He brought charges against multiple Trump associates during the Russia investigation, including former campaign Chairman Paul Manafort and former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. His final report detailed extensive contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia but did not establish a criminal conspiracy. Mueller declined to make a traditional prosecutorial decision on whether Trump obstructed justice, citing longstanding Justice Department policy against indicting a sitting president. Mueller’s family announced his death in a statement. “With deep sadness, we are sharing the news that Bob passed away” on Friday night, his family said in a statement Saturday, according to The Associated Press. “His family asks that their privacy be respected.” OBAMA ADMIN ‘MANUFACTURED’ INTELLIGENCE TO CREATE 2016 RUSSIAN ELECTION INTERFERENCE NARRATIVE, DOCUMENTS SHOW A cause of death was not immediately known. Mueller had been in ill health after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2021. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer withdrew a subpoena for Mueller to testify in September in the panel’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation after learning he had health issues that prevented him from appearing. Mueller had difficulty with speech and mobility and was unable to appear before Congress, his family said at the time. A Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam, Mueller built a decades-long career in law enforcement and national security. He worked as a federal prosecutor and later served as a U.S. attorney in San Francisco before taking on senior roles at the Justice Department. He was appointed FBI director in 2001, just one week before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and went on to lead the bureau through a major shift toward counterterrorism. Mueller remained in the role for 12 years after being asked by President Barack Obama to stay beyond the traditional 10-year term. The Associated Press contributed to this report.