‘Sheepdog’ shines light on the war after war, as veterans continue to struggle with life back home
As the United States marks more than two decades since the start of the post-9/11 wars, a new film is turning its focus away from the battlefield and toward the long-term challenges many veterans face after returning home. “Sheepdog,” written, directed by and starring Steven Grayhm, centers on an Army combat veteran navigating life years after his last deployment. The film avoids depicting combat itself, instead focusing on mental health struggles, strained relationships and the difficulty of reintegrating into civilian communities. The film debuts in theaters Friday. Grayhm said the story remained a priority for him over more than a decade as he spent time speaking with veterans, families and mental health professionals about their experiences after military service. “When someone opens up to you about the most intimate details of their life that they may not have shared with their spouse, let alone a therapist, you carry great reverence, respect, but also responsibility,” Grayhm told Fox News Digital. ARMY VETERAN GOES FROM BRINK OF DEATH TO NEW HOPE AFTER SEEING FOX NEWS REPORT ON TREATMENT The filmmaker said the project began after a chance encounter in 2011 with a tow truck driver who shared his struggles tied to military service. That conversation, he said, led him to travel the country listening to veterans and families describe life after war. Grayhm said feedback from veterans who have seen the film largely has been positive, particularly from those who said they felt their experiences were accurately reflected. “Having Vietnam veterans stand up in front of a full auditorium, and in tears saying, ‘You guys nailed it,’” Grayhm said. “To have OIF and OEF veterans say, ‘I wish I had this film 10 years ago to show my family why I am the way I am,’” he said, referring to the Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the Global War on Terror. FALLUJAH VET TURNS MEDAL OF HEROISM INTO A HEALING MISSION FOR FELLOW WARRIORS WITH SERVICE DOGS PROGRAM Dominic Fumusa, who plays a police officer and former coach who remains involved in the veteran’s life, said the film addresses an issue that remains unresolved for many service members long after they return from deployment. “This film feels more important and more immediate and urgent than a lot of those did,” Fumusa said. “It deals directly with how our veterans are challenged upon their return from battle.” Fumusa said the story highlights the role families, first responders and local communities play in helping veterans adjust. “It really does take a team, it takes a village, it takes a community,” he said. Grayhm said one of the film’s goals is to move beyond common portrayals of trauma and focus on the possibility of recovery over time. “This film is not a post-traumatic stress movie,” Grayhm said. “It’s so important to highlight post-traumatic growth.” As “Sheepdog” opens nationwide, Grayhm said he hopes it prompts more direct conversations between civilians and veterans outside of formal settings. “Perhaps rather than ‘thank you for your service,’ simply, ‘How are you doing?’” he said.
Unity wins out as Republicans swallow $643M in funding for Trump-opposed media agency
Despite President Donald Trump’s past efforts to shut it down, Republicans passed a spending package that includes $643 million for the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), choosing legislative unity over a fight that could have derailed the must-pass spending bill. The move underscored the GOP’s ongoing struggle to pursue party objectives while also crafting legislation that can unite Republicans amid razor-thin margins in the House of Representatives. The funding goes toward radio, internet, television and broadcasting grants in the Middle East. The item passed both chambers of Congress this week as part of this year’s National Security, Department of State and Related Programs Act (NSRP). Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., one of the legislators who worked on the NSRP, said the final number came about from talks with Kari Lake, a senior advisor for the agency with close ties to the president. DHS AT CENTER OF PROGRESSIVE REVOLT AS HOUSE ADVANCES $80B SPENDING PACKAGE “She seemed to me like we’re on the same team on this,” Alford said when asked about those conversations. “I continue to communicate with her often and look forward to working with her as she tries to right this program and get it back to its original intent.” At the outset of his second term, Trump issued an executive order shuttering the USAGM, the parent organization of Voice of America, claiming that the organization had a clear bent against Republican principles and didn’t serve the country’s domestic interests. However, when courts ruled that the administration lacked the power needed to remove its congressionally approved funding, the agency remained in place. Despite the continuation of its funding, Alford believes Republicans took a step toward the president’s wishes, noting that the NSRP bill trims the agency’s budget. DEMOCRAT TAKEOVER FEARS RISE AS GOP CLINGS TO SLIM HOUSE MAJORITY “I think the cuts that we’re making, which is a 25% reduction, is a significant step forward to meeting what Kari Lake wants as well. I’m hoping that we can do even more in the 2027 appropriations bill,” Alford said. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., who voted to advance the NSRP funding bill and its provision on USAGM, said he personally wants to see the funding eliminated. “I would prefer that the federal government funds zero,” Higgins said moments before Wednesday’s vote. “We support the president’s executive actions and his executive orders, and we endeavor to codify them. We just don’t have extra money to spend on things.” “But I’m not going to let something like that stop me from supporting the larger measure,” he added. Higgins, a member of the fiscally conservative House Freedom Caucus, said Republicans must pick their battles carefully amid a razor-thin, two-seat majority in the House, following the retirement of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and the sudden death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., earlier this month. Republicans will continue to face questions about how to pursue party priorities in the coming weeks as they work through the year’s remaining spending legislation. “We don’t have the luxury of just casually opposing our own bills. It’s just so tight, man. So, our goal is to pass our legislation — especially when you’re faced with the alternative of a government shutdown,” Higgins said, noting the consequences that would follow if Congress were to fail to pass spending legislation. Currently, Republicans hold just a two-seat majority in the chamber. CONGRESS ROLLS OUT $80B SPENDING BILL AS DEMS THREATEN DHS FUNDING AMID SHUTDOWN FEARS When asked whether Democrats had pressed to include the USAGM funding in the NSRP package, Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., did not describe the conversations but noted the package had resulted from bipartisan negotiations. “How things get into these appropriations bills in this climate — all we do is advocate and leverage whatever we have. Some days you’re the bug, some days you’re the windshield,” Quigley said. The NSRP, having cleared both chambers of Congress, now heads to Trump’s desk for his signature.
Trump admin warns of ‘widescale doxxing’ of ICE if House Dem’s new bill passes
EXCLUSIVE: The Trump administration is firing back at a Democratic Bronx congressman who offered a new-age way for civilians to identify immigration enforcement agents who obscure their identity with masks or lack of names on their uniforms amid civil unrest around the country. Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat, said he is introducing the Quick Recognition Act next week, which would require ICE and CBP agents to wear uniforms that feature QR codes – the two-dimensional offshoot of barcodes that can link a concrete item to a website or information portal. At sporting events or in restaurants, they often use QR codes to draw customers to scan them and open webpages to enter contests or access menus. In Torres’ case, scanning the QR code on an officer’s uniform would return their name, badge number and agency that employs them. The White House said Torres’ bill would spur a “widescale doxxing campaign” and encourage protesters to “approach and interfere with law enforcement operations.” DEMOCRATIC THINK TANK URGES PARTY TO DROP ‘ABOLISH ICE’ SLOGAN IN NEW MEMO “This is all because Democrats want to defend criminal illegal aliens,” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. “Surely this cannot be a serious proposal,” she added. The administration cited DHS data showing ICE officers facing a 1,300% increase in assaults because of Democrats’ “dangerous and untrue smears.” WHITE HOUSE BLAMES DEMOCRATS FOR ICE VIOLENCE AS MINNEAPOLIS ERUPTS, INSURRECTION ACT THREAT LOOMS Torres’ office, by contrast, was defiant when asked about such concerns. “There is nothing the Trump administration fears more than transparency and accountability,” Torres spokesman Benny Stanislawski told Fox News Digital. Torres also told the Big Apple outlet AMNewYork that the need is “urgent” to “unmask ICE not only physically but digitally.” OMAR, DEMS DEMAND NOEM IMPEACHMENT, PAINT MINNESOTA WOMAN SHOT BY ICE AS ‘POET’ WHO CHOSE ‘LOVE’ While Torres told the paper he predicts some pushback from law enforcement, he said that scanning QR codes is safer than asking for an officer’s ID. He noted that most other agencies require officers to identify themselves in their line of duty, calling ICE a “systemically corrupt institution” and added he will oppose any future congressional appropriation that funds ICE more than $1. A Democratic congressman from Detroit who previously called for President Donald Trump’s impeachment upped the ante this week with his own effort to abolish ICE. HOCHUL CONFRONTED ICE AGENT, SAID HE WAS ‘TERRORIZING PEOPLE’ BY WEARING A MASK Rep. Shri Thanedar said that the death of Renee Good in an ICE-involved shooting proves the agency “cannot be reformed and must be abolished.” Thanedar said in a statement that since its inception in 2003, some legal experts have also argued its duties can be fulfilled more “justly” by other federal agencies. “When an agency’s structure consistently produces harm instead of justice, there is no way to reform it. We must fundamentally change the way we approach immigration,” Thanedar said. Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment.
US ambassador warns Iran at emergency UN meeting that Trump is ‘man of action,’ ‘all options are on the table’
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz warned Iran during an emergency meeting of the Security Council that President Donald Trump “is a man of action” who has “made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter.” Waltz said Thursday that, “We all have a responsibility to support the Iranian people and to put an end to the regime’s neglect and oppression of the Iranian nation.” Iran has been plunged into turmoil amid recent anti-government protests, with the death toll from those being at least 2,677, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency told The Associated Press. “Colleagues, let me be clear. President Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations. He has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter. And no one should know that better than the leadership of the Iranian regime,” Waltz added. Waltz’s remarks came as Gholam Hossein Darzi, the deputy Iranian ambassador to the U.N., accused the U.S. of trying to destabilize the Islamic Republic. TOP IRANIAN GENERAL THREATENS TO ‘CUT OFF’ TRUMP’S HAND OVER POTENTIAL MILITARY STRIKES “Under the hollow pretext of concern for the Iranian people and claims of support for human rights, the United States regime is attempting to portray itself as a friend of the Iranian people, while simultaneously laying the groundwork for political destabilization and military intervention under a so-called humanitarian narrative,” Darzi said. Waltz dismissed the claim, telling diplomats at U.N. headquarters on Thursday that Iran’s leaders are “afraid of their own people.” “I would like to address the allegation put forward by the regime that these inspired protests are somehow a foreign plot to give a precursor to military action. Everyone in the world needs to know that the regime is weaker than ever before, and therefore is putting forward this lie because of the power of the Iranian people in the streets,” Waltz said. IRAN ALLEGEDLY AIRS 97 ‘COERCIVE CONFESSIONS’ AMID RECORD-BREAKING NORTH KOREA-STYLE INTERNET BLACKOUT “They are afraid. They’re afraid of their own people. Iran says it’s ready for dialogue, but its actions say otherwise. This is a regime that rules through oppression, through violence, and through intimidation, and has destabilized the Middle East for decades. Well, enough is enough,” he added. “The regime’s dereliction of duty to its own citizens is what has put the ayatollahs in the positions they are in today with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, protesting in the streets after decades of neglect and abuse. So everyone should ask themselves, everyone sitting here today, how many people are dead?” Waltz also said. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday that Trump and his team “have communicated to the Iranian regime that if the killing continues, there will be grave consequences.” “And the president received a message as he revealed to all of you and the whole world yesterday, that the killing and the executions will stop. And the president understands today that 800 executions that were scheduled and supposed to take place yesterday were halted. And so the president and his team are closely monitoring this situation, and all options remain on the table for the president,” she added.
Sen John Fetterman calls for Democrats to ‘resist’ advocacy of ‘extreme’ stances like abolishing ICE
While some Democrats advocate for the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has pressed his party not to advocate for “extreme” ideas. “Even Mayor Frey of Minneapolis doesn’t support abolishing ICE. The party must resist the destructive tendencies to push extreme positions,” Fetterman noted in the post on X. “Secure the border. Deport all the criminals. Stop targeting the hardworking migrants in our nation,” he added. DEMOCRATS’ DILEMMA: PROGRESSIVE PUSH TO ‘ABOLISH ICE’ SPARKS FRESH DIVIDE IN PARTY His post featured a screenshot of a headline by The New York Times that reads, “Abolish ICE? It’s a Slogan Some Democratic Critics of ICE Would Abolish.” Fetterman asserted in a July 2025 post on X that “ICE performs an important job for our country,” describing “calls to abolish” the agency as “inappropriate and outrageous.” DEMOCRAT JOHN FETTERMAN DECLARES SUPPORT FOR ICE, CONDEMNING ANY CALLS FOR ABOLITION AS ‘OUTRAGEOUS’ In another post later in July, Fetterman shared a screenshot of the headline of a Fox News Digital article titled, “ICE arrests over 200 illegal alien child sex offenders in Houston area in past 6 months,” expressing his support for the law enforcement activity. “I don’t support or agree with all of ICE’s tactics or actions. I do fully support moves like these. This makes our nation more secure and all our children safer,” he noted in the post. Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., has introduced legislation to abolish ICE. ICE AGENT SHOOTS VENEZUELAN NATIONAL IN MINNEAPOLIS AFTER SHOVEL ATTACK DURING AMBUSH: DHS “Effective on the date that is 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is abolished,” part of the measure reads.
Socialist mayor pays ethics fine after failing to disclose $10K contribution from parents
Newly elected Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson was forced to pay a $250 fine by a citywide ethics commission after she failed to adequately disclose more than $10,000 in contributions that Wilson’s parents made to her campaign. Following her election victory in November, Wilson defended taking her parents’ money to help assist her mayoral run, claiming in an interview to CNN that it made her more “relatable” to voters. The money, Wilson said, went to help her pay for childcare. The City of Seattle’s Ethics and Elections Commission found last month that the money Wilson got from her parents constituted “campaign contributions” and indicated corrective action was warranted in order to avoid creating an avenue for future candidates to circumvent campaign finance laws. In the letter, Jessica Pisane, indicated that the fine was only $250 because what occurred was “a novel issue” not seen before the commission. SEATTLE ORDER TO STOP DRUG ARRESTS ‘CREATING HAVOC’ FOR PEOPLE FENDING OFF ADDICTS SURVIVING ON THEFT: EXPERT The fine Wilson was forced to pay by the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission was first reported by Seattle-area conservative radio host Jason Rantz. “It’s the first time it has arisen in a City election campaign,” Pisane pointed out, adding that Wilson also refunded money to her parents that exceeded the contribution limits Wilson was expected to abide by. Fox News Digital reached out to Wilson’s team for comment but did not receive a response. “Campaigning for office is stressful,” Wilson said following her election victory amid questions about her parents’ contributions. “Seattle is one of the most expensive cities in the country, our childcare is off-the-charts expensive and, honestly, I think that a lot of people of my generation, and younger and older, found it very relatable that during this stressful campaign my parents chipped in to help pay for the cost of their granddaughter’s daycare.” Wilson said during her campaign that the cost of childcare was about $2,200 per month for her and her reportedly unemployed husband. SEATTLE’S SOCIALIST MAYOR-ELECT KATIE WILSON OPEN TO MEETING WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP Prior to moving to Seattle in 2004, Wilson lived in upstate New York. After graduating from high school in Binghamton, Wilson studied physics and philosophy at Oxford University, thanks to financial assistance from her parents living in New York once again. Wilson left Oxford debt-free, which she credits to her parents. However, she also left without a degree, dropping out just six weeks before her graduation. Before earning her new mayoral salary, Wilson was getting paid by the nonprofit she founded in 2011, the Transit Riders Union. She began collecting paychecks from the group in 2019. Before that, Wilson worked a series of odd jobs, including barista, boatyard worker, apartment manager, lab technician, baker, construction worker and legal assistant. Tax records show that Wilson brought in $72,669 in 2022 as the president of the Transit Riders Union. There are no records of Wilson’s salary for 2023 or 2024, reportedly due to the fact the nonprofit changed tax preparers recently, according to PubliCola. The IRS does not require nonprofits to disclose salaries of employees making under $100,000 per year. Meanwhile, in a financial statement to the city upon declaring her candidacy for mayor, Wilson reported earning between $60,000 and $99,000. She also reported income “less than $30,000” from PubliCola, The Urbanist and The Stranger, respectively, for work as a “columnist” for the left-wing online news outlets. As Seattle mayor, Wilson will make well into the six-figures, according to pay records of past mayors. Wilson has been compared to socialist firebrand Zohran Mamdani, campaigning on policy proposals like those by the self-avowed socialist mayor of New York City. This includes, through her support of a “Solidarity Budget” which would have cut the Seattle police force by 50% and other defund the police positions, Wilson has been compelled to walk back support for government-run grocery stores, calls to tax the wealthy, and a proposal to “Trump-proof” the city of Seattle.
Unearthed filing shows top teachers union funneling millions to far left orgs: ‘Social justice unionism’
FIRST ON FOX: One of the nation’s most prominent teachers unions funneled millions of dollars in union funds to far-left activist groups, ballot initiatives and social justice organizations, according to federal labor filings. A November Form L-2 disclosure from the National Education Association (NEA) filed in November and obtained by the North American Values Institute (NAVI) shows 2024 fiscal year spending that involved millions given to social justice-oriented groups and far-left causes. The NEA, which boasts more than 3 million members, sent $300,000 to the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a liberal dark money group Fox News Digital has reported on extensively, and tens of thousands of dollars to the Tides Foundation network, which Fox News Digital previously reported has ties to anti-Israel protests and a variety of far left causes. Among the largest expenditures was more than $3.5 million sent to Education International, a global teachers federation where NEA President Becky Pringle serves as a vice president. The filing also details hundreds of thousands of dollars flowing to organizations backing ballot initiatives aimed at reshaping education policy and election laws in states, including Ohio, Massachusetts, Arizona and Wisconsin. GOT A SCOOP ON CAMPUS? SEND US A TIP HERE The union reported spending $500,000 to support a campaign to end standardized testing in Massachusetts, another $500,000 to back an anti-gerrymandering amendment in Ohio and nearly $500,000 to a progressive political consulting firm specializing in ballot initiatives and canvassing. In addition to electoral spending, the NEA paid more than $166,000 to Imagine Us LLC, a consulting firm focused on racial equity training, and tens of thousands more to groups promoting what they describe as “social justice education,” including curriculum materials centered on race, gender identity, and activism in K-12 classrooms. TEACHERS UNION SLAMS ‘TRUMP REGIME,’ CLAIMS ICE MURDERED MINNEAPOLIS AGITATOR IN MESSAGE TO SUPPORTERS NEA sent $350,000 to the Schott Foundation, which describes itself as “a BIPOC-led public fund that pools philanthropic funding and fuels racial and education justice movements.” “This is the upshot of social justice unionism,” NAVI Director of Research Mika Hackner told Fox News Digital. “Instead of focusing on member’s working conditions, unions spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on pet political projects completely divorced from the needs and wants of most teachers but perfectly in line with the political agenda the union has been co-opted to serve.” Fox News Digital reached out to the NEA for comment but did not receive a response. The NEA has long-faced criticism for focusing on political advocacy and far-left ideology rather than the best interests of students. In November, Fox News Digital reported on uncovered documents showing the NEA instructing members on how to go through a gender transition at work, including best practices for using gender pronouns and combating transphobia, while also being provided with literature labeling conservative opposition as “villains.” Erika Sanzi, senior director of communications for Defending Education, suggested to Fox News Digital at the time that the union’s federal charter should be re-evaluated. Sanzi said, “Their federal charter was granted because they promised to ‘elevate the character and advance the interests of the profession of teaching; and to promote the cause of education in the United States.’ Seeing as their leadership — and by extension, the organization itself — has morphed into a far-left insane asylum that is actively destroying the cause of education, that charter is no longer defensible.”
Lindsey Graham returns to Israel for talks with Netanyahu amid Middle East tensions
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who visited with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem less than a month ago, said in a Thursday post on X he was going to Israel to meet with the foreign leader and his team. “I am traveling to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his team at this crucial time in the history of the Middle East. The goal is to build on the historic opportunities created by President Trump’s unprecedented leadership, to stand up to evil, and to support the people who are sacrificing for freedom,” Graham wrote in the post. “The Trump-Netanyahu alliance has thus far been one of the strongest partnerships in the history of the U.S.-Israel relationship, and I am hopeful it will pay dividends in the near future. We live in a time of great consequence with the Middle East on the verge of previously unimaginable change. Standing together and following through on our commitments only makes us stronger,” he added. LINDSEY GRAHAM CALLS FOR US TO USE ‘ANY MEANS NECESSARY’ TO STOP THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE KILLING OF IRANIANS Graham’s announcement comes less than a month after he met with Netanyahu in Israel in December. In a video posted to X on December 21, Netanyahu welcomed the senator, calling Graham “a great friend of Israel” and “great personal friend.” GRAHAM SUGGESTS TRUMP ‘HELP’ IRAN PROTESTERS WITH ‘MILITARY, CYBER AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ATTACKS’ AGAINST REGIME The lawmaker has been advocating for U.S. President Donald Trump to attack Iran. “President Trump’s resolve is not the question: Question is, when we do an operation like this, should it be bigger, or smaller? I’m in the camp of bigger,” Graham said in footage he highlighted in a Thursday post on X. “Time will tell. I’m hopeful and optimistic that the regime days are numbered.” TOP IRANIAN GENERAL THREATENS TO ‘CUT OFF’ TRUMP’S HAND OVER POTENTIAL MILITARY STRIKES In a Wednesday post on X, Graham wrote, “People often ask me what should we do next when it comes to the murderous, religious Nazi regime in Iran. It’s pretty simple. Stand by the protesters demanding an end to their oppression. But it’s going to take more than standing by them. We must stop those who are responsible for killing the people by any means necessary ASAP. Make The Iranian People Safe Again.”
RNC chair bets on ‘secret weapon’ to defy midterm history, protect GOP majorities
EXCLUSIVE — Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Joe Gruters says he has “one goal” this year — to make sure the GOP holds its fragile House majority and narrow control of the Senate in November’s midterm elections. Making Gruters’ mission more difficult: the party in power, which is clearly the Republicans right now, traditionally faces political headwinds and usually loses congressional seats in the midterms. But the RNC chair, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, who the president picked last summer to steer the national party committee, says he has a “secret weapon” in order to “defy history” and pick up seats in the 2026 elections. “I think the President of the United States is our secret weapon… He’s laser focused,” Gruters touted in a national digital exclusive sit-down interview with Fox News. HOUSE GOP CAMPAIGN CHAIR WANTS TRUMP ‘OUT THERE ON THE TRAIL’ IN MIDTERM BATTLE FOR MAJORITY Pointing to Trump’s unprecedented agenda during his first year back in the White House, Gruters argued, “I think it’s going to pay huge dividends across the board, whether you’re running for governor, Senate, House, or whether you’re running for a local seat.” Democrats see it differently, as they spotlight Trump’s underwater approval ratings and deep concerns by Americans over continued high prices. PERCEPTION VS. REALITY’: TRUMP’S ECONOMY PICKS UP SPEED — BUT VOTERS AREN’T BUYING IT YET The GOP is also dealing with a low propensity issue: MAGA voters who don’t always go to the polls when Trump’s name isn’t on the ballot. But Gruters noted that Trump’s made stops in recent weeks in three key midterm election battlegrounds and said that the president’s “going to barnstorm the country with our candidates.” The RNC chair also spotlighted the party’s formidable fundraising advantage over the rival Democratic National Committee (DNC), noting that “we’re raising a ton of money.” But he cautioned: “We got to do everything right. We got to make sure we turn our voters out, and we got to make sure that we have people energized. And there’s nobody that can energize our base more than President Trump.” REPUBLICAN SENATORS HIT BORDER, TOUTING TOUGHER SECURITY AND TAX CUTS, IN 2026 KICKOFF Gruters, who was interviewed ahead of next week’s RNC winter meeting, also argued that “there’s been nobody that’s been more focused on affordability than President Trump. Look at gas prices, the lowest prices since 2021. Look at egg prices, real pocketbook issues that impact everyday Americans the president is focused on, and he’s not done.” Deep concerns over inflation boosted Trump and Republicans to sweeping victories at the ballot box in 2024, as they won back the White House and Senate and keep their House majority. But Democrats say their decisive victories in November’s 2025 elections, and their overperformances in special elections and other ballot box showdowns last year, were fueled by their laser focus on affordability. “One year into his second term, Donald Trump has made one thing unmistakably clear: He doesn’t care about everyday Americans — he only cares about himself and his billionaire donors. As working families struggle to afford groceries, utilities, and health care, and worry about finding a job, Trump is busy meddling in foreign countries and palling around with executives, failing to address Americans’ top concerns on the economy,” DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer argued in a statement. And pointing to November’s midterm elections, Witmer predicted, “Voters won’t forget Trump’s betrayal come midterms — and Republicans will have to answer for it.” CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS WIDEN 2026 BATTLEFIELD, ZERO IN ON NEW HOUSE REPUBLICAN TARGETS But Gruters, who was a certified public accountant (CPA) before taking over the RNC, highlighted the series of tax cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Trump’s signature domestic policy achievement so far during his second term. “I will tell you that people are very excited about filing their taxes this year. This should be some of the biggest refunds that anybody has gotten,” he said. The cost of living has been a key issue at the ballot box the past couple of years. And an overwhelming majority questioned in a Fox News national poll conducted last month expressed concern about high prices. Gruters, promoting Trump’s agenda, told Fox News Digital that from “an affordability standpoint, I think we win hands down based on the policies this president has pushed.” Democrats disagree. Gruters’ rival, DNC Chair Ken Martin, put it bluntly last month at the national party’s winter meeting. “S— is too expensive,” Martin emphasized.
Noem names Charles Wall ICE deputy director following Sheahan resignation
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced Thursday via X that longtime U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attorney Charles Wall will serve as the agency’s new deputy director as enforcement operations intensify nationwide. “Effective immediately, Charles Wall will serve as the Deputy Director of @ICEGov,” wrote Noem. “For the last year, Mr. Wall served as ICE’s Principal Legal Advisor, playing a key role in helping us deliver historic results in arresting and removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from American neighborhoods.” Wall replaces Madison Sheahan, who stepped down earlier Thursday to pursue a congressional run in Ohio. Her departure left ICE leadership in transition at a moment when the agency has faced increasing resistance to enforcement efforts and heightened threats against officers in the field. The move comes as the Trump administration intensifies immigration enforcement against murderers, rapists, gang members and suspected terrorists living illegally in the U.S., even as sanctuary jurisdictions and activist groups seek to block or disrupt ICE actions. DHS DEMANDS MN LEADERS HONOR ICE DETAINERS, ALLEGES HUNDREDS OF CRIMINAL ALIENS HAVE BEEN RELEASED UNDER WALZ ICE officials said Wall brings more than a decade of experience inside the agency. “Mr. Wall has served as an ICE attorney for 14 years and is a forward-leaning, strategic thinker who understands the importance of prioritizing the removal of murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists from our country,” Noem added. Wall most recently served as ICE’s principal legal advisor, overseeing more than 3,500 attorneys and support staff who represent the DHS in removal proceedings and provide legal counsel to senior agency leadership. He has served at ICE since 2012, previously holding senior counsel roles in New Orleans, according to DHS. ‘WORST OF THE WORST’: ICE ARRESTS CHILD PREDATOR, VIOLENT CRIMINALS AMID SURGE IN ANTI-AGENT ATTACKS DHS has described the appointment as part of a broader effort to ensure ICE leadership is aligned with the Trump administration’s public safety priorities. The leadership change comes as ICE operations have drawn national attention following protests in Minneapolis after the ICE-involved fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good on Jan. 7. Administration officials have repeatedly emphasized that ICE’s focus remains on what they describe as the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal aliens, warning that local resistance and political opposition increase risks for officers carrying out enforcement duties. ICE has recently created a specific landing page where these ‘worst of the worst’ offenders can be viewed with names and nationalities attached. “I look forward to working with him in his new role to make America safe again,” Noem concluded. ICE did not immediately provide additional comment to Fox News Digital.