State Department declares ‘international bureaucracies’ will no longer get ‘blank checks’ from the US
The State Department declared Saturday that the U.S. is “rejecting the outdated model of multilateralism,” saying the system turned American taxpayers into “the world’s underwriter for a sprawling architecture of global governance.” Additionally, it said President Donald Trump’s recent order withdrawing the U.S. from 66 international organizations showed that “the era of writing blank checks to international bureaucracies is over.” The move marks the latest in Trump’s broader “America First” agenda aimed at cutting spending the administration deems wasteful, ineffective or contrary to U.S. interests. “What we term the ‘international system’ is now overrun with hundreds of opaque international organizations, many with overlapping mandates, duplicative actions, ineffective outputs, and poor financial and ethical governance,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a memo posted on the State Department’s Substack. TRUMP ORDERS US WITHDRAWAL FROM 66 ‘WASTEFUL’ GLOBAL ORGANIZATIONS IN SWEEPING ‘AMERICA FIRST’ CRACKDOWN “Even those that once performed useful functions have increasingly become inefficient bureaucracies, platforms for politicized activism or instruments contrary to our nation’s best interests. Not only do these institutions not deliver results, they obstruct action by those who wish to address these problems,” Rubio added. Rubio did not hold back in his criticism of the organizations, saying that the U.S.’s continued participation “would be an abandonment of our national duty.” Additionally, the secretary emphasized that this did not mean that the U.S. was retreating from global leadership, rather it was rejecting what the administration sees as an outdated model of multilateralism. On Wednesday, Trump signed a presidential memorandum directing the U.S. to withdraw from 66 international organizations, ordering executive departments and agencies to cease participation in and funding of entities the administration says no longer serve U.S. interests. The memo came just under a year after a Feb. 4, 2025, order that directed Rubio, along with the U.S. representative to the United Nations, to conduct a review of “all international intergovernmental organizations of which the United States is a member and provides any type of funding or other support, and all conventions and treaties to which the United States is a party, to determine which organizations, conventions, and treaties are contrary to the interests of the United States,” according to the White House. The findings were presented to the president, who deliberated with his Cabinet before moving forward with the withdrawals. In the January 2026 memorandum, Trump said Rubio’s findings showed it was “contrary to the interests of the U.S. to remain a member of, participate in, or otherwise provide support” to the listed groups. The U.N.-affiliated organizations include the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, the U.N. Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and the U.N. Democracy Fund, among others. The non-U.N. groups included the International Solar Alliance and the Global Forum on Migration and Development as well as others. Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
Four tankers that left Venezuela in ‘dark mode’ return as US eyes the country’s oil
Four tankers that left Venezuela in early January with their transponders off, also known as “dark mode,” have reportedly returned to the country’s waters. The news comes after several U.S. tanker seizures and amid the Trump administration’s push to acquire Venezuelan oil after the arrest of dictator Nicolás Maduro. Most of the four tankers were loaded, according to Reuters, which noted that Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), a state-owned company, and monitoring service TankerTrackers.com had reported the vessels’ return. A flotilla of approximately one dozen loaded vessels and at least three empty ships left Venezuelan waters last month despite a U.S. blockade that has been imposed since mid-December, according to Reuters. PRESIDENT TRUMP REDRAWS THE GLOBAL OIL MAP One of the vessels, the supertanker M Sophia, which had the Panamanian flag, was intercepted by the U.S. earlier this week, as was the Olina, which had the flag of São Tomé and Príncipe, according to Reuters. The outlet reported that the Olina was released to Venezuela on Friday, citing PDVSA. The Olina had been seized by U.S. forces in a predawn mission Friday. The U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors from Joint Task Force Southern Spear worked on the mission in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security. “Apprehensions like this are backed by the full power of the U.S. Navy’s Amphibious Ready Group, including the ready and lethal platforms of the USS Iwo Jima, USS San Antonio, and USS Fort Lauderdale,” the U.S. Southern Command wrote in a post on X. “The Department of War’s Operation Southern Spear is unwavering in its mission to defend our homeland by ending illicit activity and restoring security in the Western Hemisphere.” The Olina, previously named the Minerva M, was sanctioned by the United States for its role in transporting Russian oil, according to The Wall Street Journal. FROM SANCTIONS TO SEIZURE: WHAT MADURO’S CAPTURE MEANS FOR VENEZUELA’S ECONOMY Three other vessels that departed Venezuela in the flotilla, the Panama-flagged Merope, Cook Islands-flagged Min Hang and Panama-flagged Thalia III, were spotted late Friday in Venezuelan waters by TankerTrackers.com, Reuters reported. On Friday, Trump hosted nearly two dozen oil executives at the White House to discuss investment in Venezuela after the U.S. military’s successful capture of Maduro. The executives represented several major companies, including Chevron, Exxon, ConocoPhillips, Continental, Halliburton, HKN, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Trafigura, Vitol Americas, Repsol, Eni, Aspect Holdings, Tallgrass, Raisa Energy and Hilcorp. “You have total safety, total security. One of the reasons you couldn’t go in is you had no guarantees, you had no security, but now you have total security,” Trump said during the meeting. “It’s a whole different Venezuela, and Venezuela is going to be very successful. And the people of the United States are going to be big beneficiaries because we’re going to be extracting, you know, numbers of in terms of oil, like, you know, few people have ever seen actually. So, you’re dealing with us directly. You’re not dealing with Venezuela at all. We don’t want you to deal with Venezuela.” The president also predicted that the acquisition of Venezuelan oil would lead to massive wealth, lower taxes and “lots of jobs for Americans and for Venezuelans.” Days before the meeting with oil executives, Trump said that Venezuela would be turning over between 30 million and 50 million barrels of “high-quality,” sanctioned oil to the U.S. He made the announcement on Truth Social and said that the oil would be sold at market price and that he would “control the proceeds to ensure it is “used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!” Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Sophia Compton contributed to this report.
Trump signs order to protect Venezuela oil revenue held in US accounts
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order blocking U.S. courts from seizing Venezuelan oil revenues held in American Treasury accounts. The order, “Safeguarding Venezuelan Oil Revenue for the Good of the American and Venezuelan People,” states that any attempt through the courts to seize the funds would pose an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security and foreign policy. It also states that the funds remain the sovereign property of Venezuela and are not assets available to private creditors or judgment holders. BEHIND THE SCENES OF WHO IS ATTENDING TRUMP’S OIL EXECUTIVE MEETING AFTER MADURO OPERATION The order says the United States will hold the funds “solely in a custodial and governmental capacity,” not as a commercial participant. It was issued to prevent private creditors from using U.S. courts to seize the funds before the administration determines how they will be used. The funds are held in U.S. Treasury accounts on behalf of Venezuela’s government and its state-run oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., and are derived from oil sales and related transactions. ‘WE BUILT VENEZUELA’S OIL INDUSTRY:’ TRUMP VOWS US ENERGY RETURN AFTER MADURO’S CAPTURE Trump signed the order Friday, the same day he met with nearly two dozen top oil and gas executives at the White House. The president said American energy companies will invest $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela’s “rotting” oil infrastructure and push production to record levels after the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. has moved aggressively to take control of Venezuela’s oil future after the collapse of the Maduro regime. Trump has framed the effort as part of a broader push to reshape Venezuela’s oil industry, with U.S. companies expected to play a central role.
Soros-backed Dem reveals he and coalition of anti-Trump AGs met ‘daily’ to strategize lawsuits
A coalition of anti-Trump state attorneys general met “daily” during 2025 to brainstorm and organize ways to foil the administration, according to George Soros-backed New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, who has been an active member of the group. In an interview with Source New Mexico published on Dec. 31, Torrez said that he and other Democratic attorneys general “were meeting on a daily basis for the first 90 or so days” of President Donald Trump’s second term. Since then, Torrez told the outlet, “We have since taken that down to every other day.” According to Source New Mexico, the result has been that Torrez has led or signed onto 36 legal challenges against the Trump administration since January 2025. This has included a challenge to the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., as well as contesting the Department of Government Efficiency and opposition to some of the administration’s immigration actions. In the interview, Torrez described this opposition to Trump as an enormous undertaking and an “ever-growing resource challenge to track and monitor the pending status of all that litigation.” TRUMP FOE LETITIA JAMES LEADING CHARGE ON NEW MULTISTATE LAWSUIT OVER HHS CUTS Torrez has been New Mexico’s attorney general since 2023. He got his political start in 2016 when he successfully ran for Bernalillo County district attorney. During his 2016 campaign, he received the support of left-leaning super PAC New Mexico Safety & Justice, which was bankrolled by Soros. According to a June 2016 expenditures and contributions report publicly available on the New Mexico Secretary of State’s website, New Mexico Safety & Justice received a $107,000 donation from Soros. The same filing shows the group spent $92,526.84 on media buys and media production costs in support of Torrez. The group also spent $9,555.00 on “In-Kind Polling to Progressive Champions NM PAC” and $1,951.40 on “polling.” Torrez’s Republican opponent, Simon Kubiak, dropped out of the race after the contribution. According to 2016 reporting by the New Mexico Political Report, Kubiak cited Torrez’s campaign finances as the reason for his dropping out. The outlet reported Kubiak saying that “New Mexicans cannot afford to challenge anyone who has unlimited resources and support from a multibillionaire from another country,” in an apparent reference to Soros, who is originally from Hungary and lives in New York. After serving two terms as Bernalillo County district attorney, Torrez was elected attorney general of New Mexico in 2022. He took office in 2023. DEMOCRAT AGS SUE TRUMP FOR ‘UNCONSCIONABLE’ FREEZE ON $6.8B IN K-12 SPENDING Torrez launched his first lawsuit against the administration one day after Trump returned to the Oval Office. On Jan. 21, Torrez joined 17 other state attorneys general and the attorney general of D.C. in challenging Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants. In a statement released at the time, Torrez called Trump’s order “a direct attack on the Constitution and the fundamental rights it guarantees to every child born on American soil.” The order is currently blocked while the case is ongoing. The next month, Torrez led a lawsuit against the Trump administration over DOGE, arguing that Elon Musk and the department were unlawfully granted authority to carry out the planned budget cuts. In April, Torrez joined 19 other attorneys general in a lawsuit challenging Trump’s executive order requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. Then in September, Torrez filed an amicus brief in support of another lawsuit challenging the administration’s deployment of troops to D.C. ‘DANGEROUS AND ILLEGAL’: DEMOCRAT AGS SUE TRUMP OVER EFFORT TO USE SNAP TO LOCATE MIGRANTS According to the interview, Torrez and others in the coalition began preparing for a Trump administration in “early 2024.” Since then, Torrez said, “We have kept our foot on the gas.” At the same time, Torrez lamented that “the sad part” is that “some of these actions that were pursued by the administration through executive orders are now being built into the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill,’ so even if we win on the restoration of funding from the first fiscal year, we’ll be overtaken by federal legislation.” Torrez told the outlet that “none of the institutions in our government have been built to respond and react to the scale and speed of the destruction that’s being wrought by the Trump administration.” Fox News Digital reached out to Torrez’s office and campaign and Soros’ Open Society Foundation for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Heritage Foundation warns America ‘dangerously close’ to family breakdown point of no return
A new report from the Heritage Foundation argues the American family is in crisis and that strengthening marriage and family formation should be a core focus of U.S. federal policy. The conservative think tank calls for sweeping policy changes to reverse declining birth and marriage rates, including a proposed $2,500 investment account for every newborn child, as well as other proposals. The report says government policies “should encourage and protect the formation of families, not mere fertility.” “The country should not seek a mere boost in the number of children born or in the monetary support that parents receive, the report says. “Yes, the country needs more children. But it matters how and to whom children are born. Society depends on men and women who want to form families, that is, who freely want to marry, and then freely bear and nurture children.” ‘SEX & THE CITY’ REPUBLICANS WANT INTO THE CONSERVATIVE TENT. ALEX CLARK HAS SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT IT The think tank assesses that decades of cultural change and public policy have contributed to the erosion of family formation, pointing to historically low fertility and marriage rates and a growing share of children raised outside married-parent households. The report ties the decline of the family to broader social and economic problems facing the country. The report argues that traditional family structure remains essential, describing the family as “the foundation of civilization” and defining marriage — one man and one woman — as the ideal environment for raising children. Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts warned that the country is nearing a point of no return when it comes to family breakdown. “The family is the foundation of every healthy society, and, tragically, the American family is on the brink,” Roberts said in a statement. “We are dangerously close to being unable to reverse the decline. Our country will not survive if families continue to crumble at this rate.” Roberts said the stakes extend beyond family life to the nation’s future itself. SCHOLAR WARNS FEMINISM HAS BECOME A ‘MEGACHURCH’ REPLACING FAITH, FAMILY AND CHRISTIAN VIRTUE “If we want to secure the Golden Age of America, we must have bold solutions like those in this report that lay the foundation for stronger families,” he said. “Strong families build strong communities, churches, schools, and businesses. Without them, freedom cannot last.” The report also criticizes welfare and government programs, arguing they often “punish marriage and family formation” by creating financial incentives that make marriage less attractive. It frames family decline not as inevitable, but as the result of policy choices and calls for a “culture-wide Manhattan Project” to rebuild family norms. To reverse the trend, the report recommends eliminating so-called marriage penalties in welfare programs, requiring federal agencies to review policies for their impact on marriage and family and encouraging policies that strengthen traditional families at all levels of government. It also proposes financial incentives, including baby investment accounts seeded with $2,500 at birth, which the report says could help families build long-term financial stability. Other proposed incentives include expanded adoption and child tax credits. The report also advocates for efforts to discourage online dating and the creation of marriage “bootcamp” classes aimed at supporting long-term relationships. “‘Online’ has become the most common way couples meet in America today,” the report says. “While there are plenty of dating app success stories, studies show that couples who meet online and subsequently marry are six times more likely to get divorced within the first three years of marriage than are those who meet through in-person methods. Beyond higher divorce rates, couples who meet online are also less likely to get married in the first place.” The report also calls for a minimum age of 16 for social media platforms and certain A.I. chatbots, arguing that digital culture has contributed to declining family formation.
Expert warns painting slain anti-ICE activist as ‘George Floyd 2.0’ will fail
Despite large protests erupting in Minneapolis and throughout the country, an immigration expert said that the left’s attempt to paint slain anti-ICE protester Renee Nicole Good as “George Floyd 2.0” is “just not sticking.” Leading Democrats have responded with outrage after an ICE officer killed Good in a Wednesday confrontation. The Trump administration has said the agent fired in self-defense in response to Good allegedly attempting to run him over with her vehicle. Democrats have rushed to portray it as an example of unjust violence by the Trump administration. Hillary Clinton posted on X on Thursday that “last night, at the corner where an ICE agent murdered Renee Good, thousands of Minnesotans gathered in the frigid dark to protest her killing.” RENEE GOOD’S WIFE CLAIMED MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING WAS ‘MY FAULT’ IN VIDEO AMID ANTI-ICE FURY Clinton said that “in the face of this administration’s lawless violence, solidarity is the answer,” adding, “They want to mold America to their cruelty. We refuse.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told ICE to “get the f— out of Minneapolis” during a Wednesday press conference, a sentiment that was echoed by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who also posted to the Department of Homeland Security, “Get out of our city.” Amid widespread protests, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the state’s National Guard was prepared to deploy if necessary, saying, “We’ve never been at war with our federal government.” In an interview with Fox News Digital, Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, said that a lot has changed in the several years since Floyd’s killing, including a decline in trust of the mainstream media and a subsequent surge in independent journalism. VANCE DEMAND DEMOCRATS ANSWER WHETHER ICE OFFICER IN MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING WAS ‘WRONG IN DEFENDING HIS LIFE “This isn’t 2020 anymore, and a lot of Americans’ eyes have opened during 2020 from the COVID shutdowns, the mandates, the censorship, the nightly riots, the election fraud, and it’s just not going to work anymore,” said Ries. “People can see what’s really happening and decide for themselves, not just take mainstream media’s word for it or mainstream media omission of facts as the truth.” Ries said that as soon as the fatal shooting happened on Wednesday, she knew “the left is going to try to make this George Floyd 2.0.” “But within 24 hours, even less, that hasn’t come to pass,” she said. Ries believes this is because of both a general “distrust of the left,” but also “the opportunity to see these videos, to know that this same agent had been subject to a different car dragging him and having to go to the hospital mere months ago, providing all the context that what the left is trying to push, it’s just not sticking.” Vice President JD Vance said during a Thursday news conference that the ICE agent who fired the shots was involved in a harrowing incident six months prior in which he was dragged by a car and required 33 stitches to his leg. He might be “a little bit sensitive about somebody ramming him with an automobile,” Vance said. Despite this, Ries said that “the left is aiming all of its ire and even literally its fire at ICE, not any other federal agency, not the DEA going after drugs or fentanyl, not the FBI, not even defund the police anymore. It is solely ICE.” AG PAM BONDI WARNS MINNESOTA PROTESTERS AFTER ICE SHOOTING: ‘DO NOT TEST OUR RESOLVE’ “Why? Because ICE is deporting their political base,” she said. “The left has built their political house of cards on mass migration, immigration fraud. Now it seems welfare fraud for political kickbacks, for votes, for headcount, for the census, which determines congressional districts, which in turn determines electoral college votes for the presidency. This is all about politics and if we had valid elections and valid censuses that only counted U.S. citizens for congressional apportionment, how different would the political map look right now? That’s the question.” “The left is trying to paint this woman who was killed yesterday as a victim,” she went on. “She came from out of state. What was she doing there? There are accounts where she had been in her car, leading, harassing, tracking, stalking ICE agents all day long. The agents seemed to know her, and when they told her to get out of the car, she didn’t obey … So, this is on her, unfortunately.” Ries said it is the same deal with illegal immigration. “If people come here and break the law, then that’s their choice. That is their decision, and they should be personally responsible for that,” she said. “We, as a sovereign nation, enforcing our laws, should deport them. And there’s nothing wrong with that. We shouldn’t apologize for it.” “For too long, we’ve not held people personally responsible,” Ries concluded. “We need to make personal responsibility great again and stop trying to make the perpetrators the victim.”
Inside the Trump administration’s effort to quickly reach audiences behind media walls in Venezuela, Iran
EXCLUSIVE: As protests erupted in Iran and a dramatic U.S. operation unfolded in Venezuela, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) moved quickly to push information into some of the world’s most tightly controlled media environments, the agency’s head, Kari Lake, told Fox News Digital in an interview. In the early morning hours of Jan. 3, reports began to trickle out about a law enforcement operation carried out by the U.S. military to remove Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, prompting USAGM, the agency responsible for broadcasting U.S. news in areas where press freedom is restricted, to take immediate action. “I found out about the situation in Venezuela, the incredible bravery of our service members who extracted Maduro,” Lake said. “And the minute I heard about it, I had the team down in Miami that operates our office of Cuba broadcasting on the phone.” Lake described a rapid expansion of coverage, with the agency ramping up broadcasts, expanding language services and surging personnel within hours to reach audiences via Radio Martí and Martí Noticias out of Miami, broadcasting directly into Cuba, Venezuela, and across Latin America. TRUMP DISCUSSES EXPANSION OF DRUG CARTEL CRACKDOWN, ISSUES GRIM WARNING TO IRAN “They were immediately deployed into the newsroom and they started coverage right away, bringing out exactly what was happening,” Lake explained. “They were covering it in Spanish to the folks in Cuba, and then we also have affiliates all around the Caribbean. We’re taking our broadcast and pushing it in and pumping it in so that more people in Cuba were able to hear it.” “When people in Cuba hear that Maduro has been taken down, it gives them hope that they too can one day have that freedom. What we want to see is the people rising up and saying, we want freedom, we want conditions that are improved. We don’t want to live this way any longer. So we’ve been doing incredible nonstop coverage.” USAGM’s Voice of America carried Trump’s major addresses on Venezuela live while covering the latest developments, congressional reaction, and responses within Venezuela, reaching more than 6.6 million global audience impressions. IRAN REGIME CUTS NATIONWIDE INTERNET ACCESS AS PROTESTS CLAIM 44 LIVES ACROSS MAJOR CITIES Roughly a week before explosions rocked Venezuela during the Maduro extraction, USAGM sprung into action in another global crisis when protests erupted on the streets of Iran as citizens mobilized against the Khomeini regime in one of the world’s most media-restricted regions. Lake spoke to Fox News Digital about how her team took action in that instance as well and immediately began trying to reach as many Iranians as possible with U.S.-backed coverage. “Think about the people on the ground in Iran,” Lake said. “Iranian people have been subjected to such horrible conditions with a dictator and a regime that has been just cruel for 47 years. They don’t get fair media. They don’t get honest coverage over there. We’ve been able to provide them with honest coverage.” “We’re working to get more of it in. We’re hiring contractors to up our coverage and add more additional hours to coverage. What we’re watching on the streets in the country of Iran is historic. The people are rising up saying we don’t care anymore. We have to get our freedom back and we’re there to do that coverage.” After protests erupted in Iran, the USAGM moved quickly to expand coverage through Voice of America’s Persian-language service, significantly increasing satellite television programming aimed at Iranian audiences. Over the first 12 days of unrest, the service added seven additional hours of live broadcasts, including two hour-long primetime breaking newscasts on Jan. 3 and Jan. 4, while extending its regular evening newscasts from one hour to two as demonstrations spread. IRANIAN MILITARY LEADER THREATENS PREEMPTIVE ATTACK AFTER TRUMP COMMENTS As the unrest continued, VOA’s Persian-language service also ramped up its digital and social media footprint, publishing 52 web stories focused on the protests by Jan. 7. During that same period, the service pushed more than 1,700 pieces of content across six social media platforms, including over 170 user-generated videos sent from inside Iran that showed demonstrations and documented the regime’s crackdown. The surge in coverage, according to the agency, resulted in a surge in audience engagement in the form of VOA’s Persian website recording a record 1.69 million daily visits on Dec. 28. Over the first 12 days of protests, video views jumped more than 160 percent and article views rose nearly 80 percent, driving a total of roughly 13 million visits to the site during that period representing a 15% increase. Lake told Fox News Digital that there is overlap between their Iran and Cuba coverage, explaining that they are pumping information about what’s happening in Venezuela to the people of Iran. “People in Iran are very interested in what happened in Venezuela, and so we’re using both our Office of Cuba broadcasting with our Persian Farsi language services, and we’re kind of combining forces and making sure that everyone realizes, everybody living under these regimes realizes that the people are rising up all over the world right now.” “This is such a historic moment and the people in Cuba know what’s happening in Venezuela. The people in Cuba now know what is happening in Iran and vice versa. Iran realizes what happened in Venezuela and what’s happened in Cuba as well. It’s amazing. We’re at the precipice, I believe, of not only just a peaceful world, but one where the people are free in places where they haven’t experienced that lovely feeling of freedom for a long time. I’m happy with the work that we’re doing. We’re doing it with a smaller staff and it shows that the federal government doesn’t have to be bloated, slow-moving dinosaur anymore.” Lake’s reference to the agency no longer being a “dinosaur” stems from her efforts to streamline an agency she says was wasting taxpayer dollars and not delivering a message across the world that was defending America’s interests. “We
Federal judge blocks Trump from cutting childcare funds to Democratic states over fraud concerns
A federal judge Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from stopping subsidies on childcare programs in five states, including Minnesota, amid allegations of fraud. U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, a Biden appointee, didn’t rule on the legality of the funding freeze, but said the states had met the legal threshold to maintain the “status quo” on funding for at least two weeks while arguments continue. On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it would withhold funds for programs in five Democratic states over fraud concerns. The programs include the Child Care and Development Fund, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, and the Social Services Block Grant, all of which help needy families. USDA IMMEDIATELY SUSPENDS ALL FEDERAL FUNDING TO MINNESOTA AMID FRAUD INVESTIGATION “Families who rely on childcare and family assistance programs deserve confidence that these resources are used lawfully and for their intended purpose,” HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill said in a statement on Tuesday. The states, which include California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York, argued in court filings that the federal government didn’t have the legal right to end the funds and that the new policy is creating “operational chaos” in the states. In total, the states said they receive more than $10 billion in federal funding for the programs. HHS said it had “reason to believe” that the programs were offering funds to people in the country illegally. ‘TIP OF THE ICEBERG’: SENATE REPUBLICANS PRESS GOV WALZ OVER MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading the lawsuit, called the ruling a “critical victory for families whose lives have been upended by this administration’s cruelty.” Fox News Digital has reached out to HHS for comment.
Picking the right fight: Congressional tensions rise in wake of Minnesota ICE-involved shooting
We will know in short order if a political fight is brewing. Such is the case in the past few days regarding congressional spending and war powers. Article I, Section 9 declares, “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.” The most important power granted to Congress is over the federal purse strings. In other words, what Congress deems the federal government should spend. There were calls from the left to hold up funding for the Pentagon or State Department after the U.S. strike in Venezuela. Now, there’s a debate about hamstringing the Department of Homeland Security and ICE after an agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. Liberal Democrats are apoplectic. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: PROGRESSIVES EYE SHUTDOWN LEVERAGE TO REIN IN ICE, VENEZUELA OPERATIONS “A child has her lost her mom. And y’all want to pretend that it is OK,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, fighting back tears. “I am asking if there is anyone that will stand for the very people that elected us and sent us to Congress?” “A lot of people are talking about different reforms, and that’s their prerogative,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee. “Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee have written [Chairman Andrew] Garbarino, R-N.Y., saying, ‘We’d like to have an oversight hearing on what’s happening with ICE.’ That’s a reasonable request.” I pressed Thompson on whether Congress should use appropriations to effect change at ICE. “That’s above my pay grade,” answered Thompson. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., is the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. He’s more aggressive about Congress exerting its muscle over the federal treasury. “We should use every means at our disposal to do it,” said Raskin. “Including the appropriations process.” Sometimes that involves cutting off money. Sometimes that entails limiting spending. Sometimes lawmakers include language to forbid certain activities by federal departments or agencies. Or the legislative language might direct agencies to handle duties a particular way. But some progressives are so enraged that they want to slash money for ICE. And maybe even shut down the government. The next deadline is 11:59 p.m. EST Jan. 30, 2026. “I am concerned about that,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told colleague Kelly Phares. “I think that’s a terrible idea.” When asked about a possible shutdown over ICE, the speaker believed lawmakers could avoid that. Republicans balk at any move by the left to reprise a government shutdown strategy after the 43-day shutdown last fall. VANCE DEMANDS DEMOCRATS ANSWER WHETHER ICE OFFICER IN MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING WAS ‘WRONG IN DEFENDING HIS LIFE’ “It will be weapons-grade stupid,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. “But I don’t put anything past them. So, maybe they’ve not learned anything from the fall shutdown, which was dumb.” Congress has not yet addressed the funding bills for the Pentagon or State Department for fiscal year 2026. The same with DHS, although that bill is coming soon. Funding for nine distinct sections of the federal government expires at the end of the day on Jan. 30. That includes DHS. The House just approved a “minibus” spending package, tackling appropriations for energy and water programs, the Department of Interior and the Departments of Commerce and Justice and science programs. The plan is for the Senate to align with the House on these bills. But, regardless, Congress would probably have to approve another “continuing resolution” (CR) to keep the lights on in all other quarters of the federal government after the Jan. 30 deadline. A CR simply renews all federal funding at present levels. So, it’s likely Congress would OK whatever spending bills they’ve worked out and put everything else in a CR to avoid a shutdown. But some progressives have other ideas. They want to use this government funding deadline as “leverage” over ICE and operations related to Venezuela. Passing a new DHS appropriations bill gives lawmakers opportunities to alter policy or contour the funding there. If both the House and Senate haven’t approved a full-year DHS spending package, Congress would simply re-up the current levels for the time being. That is, unless Republicans lack the votes on their side, and they need Democrats to bail them out. Some progressive Democrats are pushing for a shutdown over the ICE issue alone. But it’s probably not going to come to that. Why? House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., don’t want to go anywhere near another fight over government funding this year. “Is ICE a red line in the funding fight? Must that be part of any funding bill?” CNN’s Manu Raju asked Jeffries. “Our focus right now, in terms of the appropriations bill, are getting the three bills that are going to be on the floor today over the finish line. And then we’ll turn to the Homeland Security,” Jeffries said just hours before the House approved the triumvirate of other spending packages. But I followed up, asking Jeffries about why Democrats wouldn’t assert themselves if this issue was so critical. “No, what I’m focused on right now, Chad, is to make life better for the American people by extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Which, by the way, a lot of folks in this institution believe was not possible,” said Jeffries. That’s a reference to the Democrats’ bill to renew the expired Obamacare subsidies that passed Thursday. Remember that extending those subsidies was at the heart of last year’s government shutdown. Schumer punted as well when asked about ICE and congressional spending. “Should ICE be abolished, senator?” one reporter asked. “I have lots of problems with ICE,” Schumer replied. JEFFRIES CALLS NOEM ‘STONE-COLD LIAR’ OVER MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING RESPONSE, DEMANDS INVESTIGATIONS “Should it be abolished?” the reporter followed up. “Thank you,” said Schumer, walking through the Capitol Visitor’s Center from the House side toward the Senate side. Yours truly jumped in. “Why is there resistance to use the appropriations process, either for Venezuela or
USDA immediately suspends all federal funding to Minnesota amid fraud investigation
The Trump administration announced Thursday it is suspending all U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding to Minnesota, effective immediately, with a large-scale fraud investigation underway. “Enough is enough! The Trump administration has uncovered MASSIVE fraud in Minnesota and Minneapolis —billions siphoned off by fraudsters. And those in charge have ZERO plan to fix it,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins wrote in a social media post. The USDA will suspend federal financial awards to the state “until sufficient proof has been provided that the fraud has stopped,” according to Rollins. ‘TIP OF THE ICEBERG’: SENATE REPUBLICANS PRESS GOV WALZ OVER MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL “No more handouts to thieves!” she wrote in the post. “Time to drain the Minnesota swamp and put American taxpayers first.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday said Minnesota tax dollars may have been filtered to terrorist group al-Shabab after a December investigation by his agency. In one alleged fraud scheme, the nonprofit “Feeding Our Future” allegedly swindled $250 million from a USDA-funded children’s nutrition program that Minnesota oversaw during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dozens of people are charged with faking invoices, attendance records and meal distribution in low-income communities in Minnesota, having allegedly used USDA COVID-era waivers that allowed for unchecked program enrollment. DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER SAYS FOCUS SHOULD BE ON ‘WHITE MEN’ AT MINNESOTA FRAUD HEARING Earlier this week, the Department of Health and Human Services froze funding for several childcare grant programs in the state, including the Child Care and Development Fund, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Social Services Block Grant programs. A federal judge blocked the action Friday, finding the Trump administration could not block federal funding for childcare subsidies and programs to aid low-income families, according to a report from The Associated Press. Another scheme allegedly involved the Housing Stability Services Program, which doled out Medicaid coverage for housing stabilization services for those with disabilities, mental illnesses and substance-use disorders. Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.