Virginia Republicans charge ‘power grab’ as Democrat who backed redistricting runs for Congress
Virginia Republicans are taking aim at a Democratic state lawmaker who played a key role in pushing through congressional redistricting in the state and is now running for newly drawn U.S. House seat. After Virginia Delegate Dan Helmer launched a congressional campaign, some Republican leaders took aim at him for what they call a “power grab.” “I think it does look bad,” House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore told Fox News Digital, as he pointed to Helmer’s plan to run for Congress. “The whole process looks terrible, because all it is a power grab. We feel the optics are bad.” And the Virginia GOP, in a social media post, argued, “Democrats are so corrupt that they’re anointing nominees from the very people who drew the maps.” THE REDISTRICTING BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE RUNS THROUGH THIS STATE A 44-year-old U.S. Army veteran who served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Helmer on Wednesday launched a campaign for the Democratic nomination in Virginia’s newly drawn 7th Congressional District — one of four new left-leaning seats that would favor the Democrats if voters pass an April referendum to approve a constitutional amendment greenlighting mid-decade redistricting. VIRGINIA DEMOCRAT GIVES PROFANITY-LACED RESPONSE TO CRUZ’S CRITICISM OF THE STATE’S REDISTRICTING PUSH Helmer, who has served in Virginia’s House of Delegates since 2020 and is the House Democratic Caucus campaign chair, was one of the architects behind the push last autumn in the state legislature to draw the new map. Virginia is the latest battleground in the ongoing crucial battle between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats to alter congressional maps ahead of November’s elections. Republicans are defending their razor-thin House majority in the midterms, and Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to win back control of the chamber. That means the redistricting efforts in Virginia and other states may very well decide which party controls the House next year. Virginia Republicans had challenged the validity of the upcoming referendum, arguing that Democrats had erred procedurally when the legislature approved amendments to the state Constitution. And last month, a lower court ruled in the GOP’s favor. But a ruling late last week by the state Supreme Court OK’d the holding of the ballot measure, which asks voters to give the legislature, rather than Virginia’s current non-partisan commission, redistricting power through the 2030 election. Early voting on the referendum is scheduled to start on March 6. But last week’s ruling on the referendum doesn’t mean the legal challenges are over. Democrats are still defending their ability to redraw the maps, and the state Supreme Court may schedule arguments in that case. And separately, this week, the Republican National Committee led a new lawsuit to try and block the April referendum. Helmer, in a campaign launch video, touted his “successful efforts to take on and win against Donald Trump.” And he dismisses criticism from Republicans that his congressional bid is bad optics, noting that after redistricting passed through the legislature, he then recused himself from the process of redrawing the maps. But the Virginia GOP, pointing to Helmer’s two previous unsuccessful bids for Congress, argued the state lawmaker “is a career loser who had to rig the game to have any hope of winning a congressional seat after he lost TWO primaries in 2018 and 2024.” And Virginia Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle told Fox News Digital that the optics of “trying to gerrymander Virginia” are “not good.”
Trump says US contributing $10B to Board of Peace, Iran must reach nuclear deal or ‘bad things happen’
The U.S. is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to the Board of Peace. President Donald Trump announced during the inaugural meeting of the board, that the U.S. was committing to contribute $10 billion to the board. “The Board of Peace is showing how a better future can be built, starting right here in this room,” Trump said on Thursday. “I want to let you know that the United States is going to make a contribution of $10 billion to the Board of Peace… and we’ve had great support for that number.” The president said that the contribution “sounds like a lot, but it’s a very small number” when compared to the cost of war. Trump estimated that the $10 billion commitment was equivalent to the cost of two weeks of fighting. “Together, we can achieve the dream of bringing lasting harmony to a region tortured by centuries of war, suffering and carnage,” Trump added, saying that he hoped it could serve as inspiration for other nations entangled in conflicts that seem unending. IRAN’S PRESIDENT STRIKES SOFTER TONE ON NUCLEAR TALKS AFTER TRUMP’S WARNING THAT ‘BAD THINGS WOULD HAPPEN’ The Board of Peace was set up as part of the Trump administration’s plans to end the Israel-Hamas war and to rebuild Gaza. Several countries have committed to joining the board, including Argentina, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Egypt, El Salvador, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Morocco, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. While touting the significance of the board, Trump also encouraged more nations to join not just the initiative, but in a greater effort towards peace, singling out Iran in particular. “And now is the time for Iran to join us on a path that will complete what we’re doing. And if they join us, that’ll be great. If they don’t join us, that’ll be great too, but it will be a very different path,” Trump said. “They cannot continue to threaten the stability of the entire region, and they must make a deal.” TRUMP MEETS NETANYAHU, SAYS HE WANTS IRAN DEAL BUT REMINDS TEHRAN OF ‘MIDNIGHT HAMMER’ OPERATION The president warned that “bad things” would happen if Iran did not make a deal. “Iran is a hot spot right now. And they’re meeting and they have a good relationship with the representatives of Iran,” Trump said. “And, you know, good talks are being had. It’s proven to be over the years, not easy to make a meaningful deal with them. And we have to make a meaningful deal. Otherwise, bad things happen. But we have to make a meaningful deal.” Representatives of the U.S. and Iran recently participated in indirect nuclear talks in Oman, with both sides meeting with Omani foreign minister Badr al-Busaidi. Following the indirect talks, which he said were “very good,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that Iran wanted to make “a deal very badly.” “They know the consequences if they don’t make a deal. The consequences are very steep,” Trump told reporters earlier this month. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi also expressed optimism after the indirect talks, which he said were “a good start.” “After a long period without dialogue, our viewpoints were conveyed, and our concerns were expressed. Our interests, the rights of the Iranian people, and all matters that needed to be stated were presented in a very positive atmosphere, and the other side’s views were also heard,” Araghchi said at the time. “It was a good start, but its continuation depends on consultations in our respective capitals and deciding on how to proceed,” he added. A top Iranian official was spotted in Oman just days after the indirect talks, though it was not immediately clear if he was there to discuss next steps in the negotiations. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump White House ballroom proposal gets approval by Commission of Fine Arts
The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts has officially fast-tracked the estimated $400 million proposal to build President Donald Trump‘s new White House East Wing ballroom Thursday. While Thursday’s session was originally intended only for design discussion, Chairman Rodney Mims Cook Jr. moved for an immediate final approval. “Our sitting president has actually designed a very beautiful structure,” Cook said before the vote. “The United States just should not be entertaining the world in tents.” Trump celebrated the vote in a Truth Social post later in the day. TRUMP UNVEILS NEW RENDERING OF SPRAWLING WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM PROJECT “The Commission of Fine Arts just approved, unanimously, 6 to 0, with one recusal because he had a conflict in that he worked professionally on the job, the White House Ballroom,” Trump said. “Great accolades were paid to the building’s beauty and scale. Thank you to the members of the Commission!” The project involves building the ballroom on the site where the East Wing once stood, following its October demolition. Six of the seven commissioners voted in favor. Commissioner James McCrery abstained, having served as the project’s architect. “This is an important thing to the president. It’s an important thing to the nation,” Fine Arts chairman Rodney Mims Cook Jr. said in the panel’s first public hearing on Trump’s proposal earlier this month. Administrations long before Trump’s complained about having to host State Dinners and major events in temporary structures. The old East Wing dining room had just a 200-seat capacity, according to the White House, making this expansion more than triple the seats and nearly double the square footage of the main White House structure. TRUMP SAYS IT ‘IS TOO LATE’ TO STOP THE WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM CONSTRUCTION AMID LAWSUIT The estimated $400 million project has faced criticism from Democrats, but Trump has vowed the funding to be private and the benefits to be immense. The National Trust for Historic Preservation had filed a federal lawsuit to halt construction. “We’re donating a $400 million ballroom, and we got sued not to build it – for 150 years they’ve wanted a ballroom,” Trump said in December. “And we’re giving them, myself and donors are giving them free of charge for nothing. We’re donating a building that’s approximately $400 million. “I think I’ll do it for less, but it’s 400. I should do it for less. I will do it for less, but just in case they say 400; otherwise, if I go $3 over, the press will say it costs more.” Despite Thursday’s approval, the project faces further review March 5 by the National Capital Planning Commission, led by a top White House aide. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Critics warned Trump’s deportations would spark bloodshed — progressive group reports police killings fell
One year after critics warned President Donald Trump’s mass deportation push would spark bloodshed in America’s largest sanctuary cities, new data from a leading progressive police-reform group shows police-involved killings actually declined — the first drop in five years. Lawmakers and activists from Los Angeles to New York predicted that Trump’s surge into largely sanctuary-city communities would lead to more violence against innocent residents, which recently reached a fever pitch with the shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis. However, data from progressive advocacy project Mapping Police Violence, a subsidiary of the Harlem-based Campaign Zero police reform group, found that police-involved killings actually went down in that timespan. In its police violence report for 2025, the 1,314 police-involved killings marked a decline for the first time in five years. NOEM DIGS AT AGITATORS, SANCTUARY POLITICIANS IN TOUTING ICE MISSION CONTINUES 1 YEAR INTO TRUMP’S SECOND TERM In 2024, that figure was 1,382, reportedly a record high, and in 2023, 1,362 people died at the hands of police, whether justified or otherwise. “If they are so violent, why did police kill 68 fewer people in 2025 than 2024? Certainly, that’s not what I expected to happen,” wrote columnist David Mastio in the Kansas City Star. “These facts complicate the political narrative that Trump has unleashed ‘violent and sometimes deadly tactics … by federal immigration officers in communities across the country’.” Mastio also pointed out that recent complaints from the left about an uptick in police-involved violence since George Floyd’s death in the Twin Cities left out the detail that any increase would have occurred under a Democratic administration in Washington. During the immigration enforcement surge in Los Angeles, Sen. Alex Padilla told PBS that the situation is a “crisis of Trump’s own making” and voiced concern over the repercussions of any violence. Padilla, D-Calif., famously appeared to try to accost Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem when he barged into a press conference during the surge — a claim the senator denied after he was briefly detained by security. FEDERAL IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS PRIVATELY FUME OVER DHS CLAIMS AFTER DEADLY MINNESOTA SHOOTING Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement during the height of the Minneapolis surge that people were being “racially profiled, harassed, terrorized, and assaulted. Schools have gone into lockdown.” “Minneapolis didn’t ask for this operation, but we’re paying the price,” claimed Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her expressed concerns that violence indeed would increase against innocent people as DHS honed in on his metro region. “Our residents are scared, and as local officials, we have a responsibility to act. Today we’re standing side by side with Minneapolis and the attorney general to fight back,” Her said. In his column, Mastio noted that the latest figures come from an “unimpeachable ‘defund-the-police’ source” that would not “gift” credible data to its ideological opponents. Meanwhile, DHS has routinely highlighted data showing that it is violence against law enforcement that is up. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin recently told Fox News Digital of a four-figure percentage increase in threats against ICE and federal immigration officers. “Our ICE law enforcement officers are now facing an 8,000% increase in death threats against them and a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them while they risk their lives every single day to remove murderers, pedophiles, rapists, terrorists, and gang members from American neighborhoods,” McLaughlin said. “Make no mistake, threatening rhetoric and this unprecedented violence against our law enforcement is incited by sanctuary politicians through their repeated vilification and demonization of law enforcement.”
GOP rips FISA court for tapping ex-Biden ‘disinformation’ lawyer to advise on surveillance
Republican lawmakers called it “insane” that the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court appointed to a key advisory panel a lawyer with past ties to the Biden administration’s controversial Disinformation Governance Board. Judges on the FISC appointed Jennifer Daskal this month to serve as an amicus curiae, meaning Daskal is now among a small group of lawyers designated to advise the court, which approves warrants for federal authorities to surveil targets for foreign intelligence purposes. The GOP lawmakers said Daskal’s history with the disinformation board raises worries about her ability to discern whether warrants are appropriate. “The same person who helped to build a board to censor American speech now advises judges on how to protect American liberties,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “That’s ridiculous — and exactly why Congress must continue our oversight.” HOUSE PASSES FISA RENEWAL WITHOUT ADDED WARRANT MANDATE FOR US DATA Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., echoed Jordan’s concerns, saying Daskal’s appointment was “insane” and calling for reforms to the FISC. Schmitt shared a video of himself on X questioning Daskal during a hearing about what he called the Biden administration’s “censorship enterprise,” referencing Daskal’s role in aiming to dispel what the Biden administration viewed as inaccurate information about COVID-19 masks and vaccines and information about election security. FISC proceedings are classified and “ex parte,” meaning a judge reviews the federal government’s warrant application and the target of the warrant has no awareness of the proceedings. A judge reviewing the application can, however, turn to an amicus curiae to present counterpoints to the government’s application, meaning Daskal is among a handful of lawyers who could be tapped to argue for or against allowing the government to wiretap a person’s phones or otherwise surveil them. Under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the government has access to these powerful spy tools for foreign intelligence purposes, but it has sometimes, whether inadvertently or intentionally, improperly targeted U.S. citizens. Building more guardrails into the legislation has long been a point of contention for privacy hawks. Republicans, in particular, became highly critical of the FISC after finding that the court approved the FBI’s warrant applications, which contained flimsy and inaccurate evidence, to surveil Trump campaign aide Carter Page beginning in 2016. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told the Washington Free Beacon, which first reported on Daskal’s appointment, that the “American people need to have confidence in the people tasked to serve as amici” before the FISC. Grassley pointed to a bill he introduced, the FISA Accountability Act, which would allow Congress to have a say in who is chosen as an amicus curiae. Jordan and Grassley have been some of the most vocal proponents of reining in the federal government’s use of FISA after identifying instances in recent years of intelligence officials allegedly abusing their authority and infringing on U.S. citizens’ Fourth Amendment right to privacy. In the case of Page, DOJ inspector general Michael Horowitz released a report in 2019 that identified more than a dozen “significant errors or omissions” across the FBI’s four warrant applications used to surveil the former Trump aide. Daskal, in her new role, could offer confidential, weighty legal arguments to a FISC judge that support or oppose intelligence officials’ requests to surveil someone. Daskal served as a top lawyer in the Department of Homeland Security when she helped launch the Disinformation Governance Board. Conservatives heavily criticized it, describing the board as a “Ministry of Truth” that sought to censor their viewpoints in violation of the First Amendment. Daskal chartered the board, while Nina Jankowicz was named its executive director, an appointment that fueled Republicans’ fury over it after finding Jankowicz’ past social media posts that they said revealed she was too partisan. Jankowicz, for instance, cast doubt on the New York Post’s bombshell story in 2020 about Hunter Biden’s laptop, which she said fit a pattern of Russian “information laundering.” Biden administration officials vehemently objected to the claims in the New York Post’s story about Joe Biden’s handling of Ukrainian foreign policy, though the authenticity of the laptop itself has been verified through court proceedings. Republicans put so much pressure on DHS about the board — calling it an “abuse of taxpayer dollars” and raising alarm that it painted policy disagreements over COVID-19, election security and immigration as mis- or dis- information — that it disbanded just a few months after its launch. In Daskal’s hearing exchange with Schmitt, Daskal said “it’s not appropriate for the government to censor any points of view.” Daskal did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Hunter Biden’s former ‘sugar brother’ lawyer drops big money on Swalwell’s campaign: ‘Biggest cheerleader’
FIRST ON FOX: Wealthy Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris bankrolled Hunter Biden’s legal defense and other bills when he was facing charges for federal firearms and tax crimes, and now he is helping finance the gubernatorial campaign of one of the most vocal defenders of Hunter, a new campaign finance filing reveals. A campaign filing that was released on Tuesday revealed that Morris, who was dubbed Hunter’s “sugar brother,” for bankrolling his legal bills and lavish lifestyle, donated $29,900 to Rep. Eric Swalwell’s, D-Calif., gubernatorial campaign on Feb. 2. Swalwell, who reportedly helped orchestrate Hunter’s surprise press conference outside the Capitol in December 2023 while he defied the House Oversight Committee’s subpoenas to testify behind closed doors, was one of the loudest critics of the GOP investigations into Hunter during the Biden administration. “There is absolutely zero evidence Hunter or his father acted corruptly,” Swalwell said at the time. “So I’m not going to sit quietly and let MAGA Republicans do Trump’s bidding in Congress.” ICE DIRECTOR FLIPS SCRIPT ON SWALWELL AFTER DEM LAWMAKER DEMANDED HIS RESIGNATION Morris and the younger Biden first met in 2019 at a campaign event for Biden’s then-vice president father, and the pair eventually developed a burgeoning relationship at what Morris called one of “the lowest point[s]” in Hunter Biden’s life. Morris ended up forking over so much cash, more than $6.5 million, that Politico reported about concerns he could not keep footing Hunter Biden’s legal bill if the case went to trial, which it ultimately did not. Morris also reportedly helped pay for luxury housing for Hunter Biden, bought more than a dozen of the former president’s son’s amateur paintings and helped the young Biden pay his overdue tax bill. During his time helping Hunter Biden, Morris faced multiple bar complaints, including from the Trump-aligned America First Legal, which accused Morris of violating California’s Rules of Professional Conduct after he was publicly photographed smoking marijuana while Hunter Biden, a recovering addict, was around visiting. Morris was also accused of trying to sneak onto the set of a movie about Hunter Biden’s misdealing, but was eventually cleared by the state bar association in California. SWALWELL VOWS TO MAKE ICE AGENTS ‘UN-HIRABLE’ IN CALIFORNIA STATE GOVERNMENT POSITIONS A person close to the Hollywood attorney told Politico that the reason Morris decided to help Hunter Biden is that he saw that no one else was going to step up and support him. Swalwell’s support at the 2023 press conference by reserving the “Senate Swamp,” a popular area near the Capitol that is often used for press conferences, raised questions at the time about whether the California congressman played a role in the then-first son’s decision to deny a congressional subpoena from Republicans seeking to question him about his alleged crimes and other financial dealings. Morris, who previously maxed out donations totaling over $6,000 to Swalwell’s House campaign in early 2023, and Swalwell stood beside each other during the viral press conference later that year. “Degenerates of a feather flock together,” a longtime GOP strategist told Fox News Digital. “Eric Swalwell is literally Hunter Biden’s biggest cheerleader – from reserving the Senate Swamp to defending the Biden Crime Family’s litany of illicit activities.” Morris and Swalwell also have ties to China that have raised questions among critics. In 2024, Morris confirmed to lawmakers that he still held a stake in a Chinese private equity firm that he took over from the president’s son. Morris initially acquired the shares after purchasing Skaneateles LLC, a company that Hunter had previously owned, in the fall of 2021 as pressure mounted for Hunter to divest amid concerns about his stake in the China-based company. Swalwell, meanwhile, has long faced criticism over his ties to China after it was uncovered that he was allegedly the target of a Chinese spy influence operation during his early days as an elected official. The incident led to Swalwell getting booted off the powerful House Intelligence Committee several years later when the allegations became public. Fox News Digital reported last month that despite Swalwell’s heavily criticized relationship with the Chinese, his gubernatorial campaign accepted multiple donations from a Chinese-based law firm and its sole U.S.-based attorney Keliang “Clay” Zhu. Representatives for Swalwell did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment in time for publication.
Federal judge who ordered no warrantless ICE arrests in Colorado asserts DOJ not complying
A federal judge in Colorado has questioned whether the Trump administration is complying with his order barring warrantless ICE arrests in the state, according to Colorado Public Radio. Senior U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, said during a hearing Wednesday that the Department of Justice appeared to be falling short of his November injunction requiring flight-risk assessments and warrants before detaining people, CPR News reported. “These things shouldn’t be that difficult,” Jackson said, according to CPR. “The policy of [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] was a good policy and all they have to do is comply with their own policies, and we’re good,” he added. “But, for whatever reason, they insisted on not agreeing to that… and here we are sitting here today. I don’t get that.” JUDGE ORDERS MIGRANT DEPORTED IN ‘ERROR’ FREE FROM ICE CUSTODY WITH CRIMINAL CASE LOOMING Jackson issued the injunction on Nov. 25, 2025, in a class-action lawsuit brought by the ACLU of Colorado and partner legal groups, according to a press release from the organization. The lawsuit alleged ICE agents were making arrests without judicial warrants and without determining whether individuals were both unlawfully present and likely to flee before a warrant could be obtained. The case initially centered on four plaintiffs, including University of Utah student Caroline Dias Goncalves, who was brought to the United States from Brazil as a child, according to the ACLU. The organization said she was detained following a traffic stop and held for more than two weeks before being released. Under the order, ICE officers may not make warrantless arrests unless they have probable cause to believe a person is in violation of immigration law and likely to escape before a warrant can be secured. In granting relief, Jackson wrote that while ICE has authority to enforce immigration laws, “in carrying out these responsibilities, [ICE agents] must follow the law,” according to the ACLU. JUDGE BLOCKS ICE FROM MAKING WARRANTLESS ARRESTS IN DC WITHOUT FLIGHT-RISK PROOF During Wednesday’s hearing, ACLU attorneys argued that arrest records turned over to them show continuing violations of the injunction, CPR reported. “They are in fact detaining and arresting people before they call headquarters. The arrests are being effectuated without a warrant,” Tim Macdonald, legal director for the ACLU of Colorado, said, according to CPR. “All of the I-213s we submitted show ongoing violations of your order.” Macdonald added that the reports reviewed so far do not reflect documented flight-risk assessments or judicial warrants. “We are seeing uniform non-compliance,” he said, according to CPR. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Leneis acknowledged that some arrest forms did not fully reflect the requirements set out in the court’s order. “Looking at these I-213s, it doesn’t give the description of the arrest that is required by the court’s order,” Leneis said, according to CPR. However, Leneis told the judge the government has taken steps since December to implement new procedures and argued that compliance has improved. “We started with zero, we had a lot of things to get in place,” he said, according to CPR. “We think the numbers now are better than they were in December.”
Political stink: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore calls Trump’s sewage spill blame ‘absurd’
Democratic Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland says he didn’t seek a political scrap with President Donald Trump. “I don’t have any personal desire to go back and forth with the President of the United States. That’s not why I ran for office,” the Democratic governor of the solidly blue state emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview. But like it or not, that’s where Moore finds himself. Trump refused to invite Moore to a traditionally bipartisan dinner of all the nations’ governors later this week at the White House, saying Moore was “not worthy” of attending the event. DC MAYOR BOWSER DECLARES EMERGENCY OVER POTOMAC SEWAGE SPILL, ASKS FOR FEDERAL HELP And earlier this week, Trump heavily criticized Moore for a massive sewage spill in the Potomac River, blaming him and local leaders for “gross mismanagement.” The governor, a former U.S. Army officer, businessman and author, who, as a first-time candidate, overwhelmingly won election four years ago and is expected to cruise to a second term victory this year, is seen by pundits as a possible 2028 White House hopeful, even though he’s repeatedly said he’s not running for president. But Moore has not been as aggressive as other Democratic governors — such as California’s Gavin Newsom and Illinois JB Pritzker — in taking aim at Trump during his first year back in the White House. The governor said he “wanted to get away” from “these political games that we see in Washington, D.C.” TRUMP SLAMS MARYLAND GOVERNOR, LAUNCHES FEDERAL EFFORT TO PROTECT POTOMAC AFTER HISTORIC SEWAGE SPILL But Moore says it’s “absurd” that Trump is blaming him after a pipe bust on federal land resulted in an ecological disaster as hundreds of millions of gallons of sewage spilled into the Potomac River a few miles upstream from the nation’s capital. Trump, on Monday, took to social media to warn of a “massive Ecological Disaster” that he blamed on “Gross Mismanagement of Local Democrat Leaders, particularly, Governor Wes Moore, of Maryland.” A day later, the president argued that “Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., who are responsible for the massive sewage spill in the Potomac River, must get to work, IMMEDIATELY.” “If they can’t do the job, they have to call me and ask, politely, to get it fixed. The Federal Government is not at all involved with what has taken place, but we can fix it,” Trump added. And on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt highlighted that the “federal government wants to fix it,” and added “we hope that the local authorities will cooperate with us in doing so.” The sewage pipes are managed by D.C. Water, an independent utility based in the District of Columbia, which has made emergency repairs, but says it will take four to six weeks to completely fix what’s known as a broken interceptor. “This is a Washington, D.C., pipe on federal land. Maryland has nothing to do with this. In fact, the only thing Maryland did was when we saw a neighbor who was in need. That’s why I ordered people, our people to go support them, and that’s what we’ve been doing the past month,” Moore told Fox News Digital. And he argued, “We’ve been doing essentially the federal government’s job, because it’s the federal government’s job to be able to protect the Potomac interconnector, because that’s federal land.” JEFFRIES VOWS PRESSURE ON DEMOCRATIC MARYLAND SENATE PRESIDENT URGING AGAINST PARTY’S REDISTRICTING PUSH “For the president now to come and attack me on this, I find that to be … absurd,” Moore charged. Moore was interviewed a couple of hours after meeting with House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries in Annapolis as Democrats continue to push for mid-decade congressional redistricting to counter efforts by Trump and Republicans in other states to draw more right-leaning districts. Jeffries held a meeting with Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, a fellow Democrat, who is opposed to redrawing Maryland’s map in order to create another left-leaning congressional district. REDISTRICTING FIGHT ERUPTS AS MARYLAND DEMOCRATS MOVE TO REDRAW LONE GOP HOUSE SEAT Moore has led the push for redistricting in Maryland, and the effort has already passed through the state House. But Ferguson, to date, has declined to put the measure up for a vote in his chamber, saying that legal repercussions could cause the redistricting push in Maryland to backfire. And the meeting with Jeffries didn’t change his mind. The governor says his “ask” is “to simply vote.” “And as someone who fought for this country and someone who fought for democracy, I just believe in fighting for democracy, and I think that requires a vote, no matter how the vote turns out, it frankly, doesn’t matter, but just vote.” Republicans have blasted as “partisan gerrymandering” the move by Moore, which, if passed, could result in Rep. Andy Harris, the lone Republican in Maryland’s congressional delegation, losing his seat through redistricting. Asked if what he’s advocating is partisan gerrymandering, Moore said, “The reason we’re even having this conversation about mid-decade redistricting is it is because the president has introduced this, that the president when he first started calling Texas and then Florida and then Missouri and Ohio and North Carolina saying, ‘I want you all to look at the maps in the middle of a decade.’ I just don’t see how a real or responsible answer for anyone else to be well, that’s okay, just let them do it.” “We’re just asking for the Maryland Senate to just do your democratic duty and debate, discuss, make changes if necessary, but then vote,” the governor insisted.
Coast Guard caught as ‘collateral damage’ in Democrats’ DHS shutdown as China, Russia press US waters
EXCLUSIVE: Republican lawmakers tasked with oversight of the Coast Guard said the lone military branch not under Pentagon authority is being wrongly hurt by Democrats holding up funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., is demanding “three basic objectives” to come back to the table, according to CBS News: prohibiting ICE agents from certain properties, unmasking agents in public while mandating bodycams, and addressing use-of-force concerns. However, ICE and other immigration-related agencies within DHS remain funded through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and other appropriations, leaving FEMA, the Merchant Marine, the Coast Guard and other agencies in the lurch, Republicans say. “Many young Coast Guard families and personnel live paycheck to paycheck. Asking them to continue protecting our waters without the stability they deserve places a real burden on the very people who keep Alaska safe,” said Rep. Mark Begich, R-Alaska, who serves on the House Transportation Subcommittee overseeing maritime and Coast Guard operations. NOEM RIPS DEMS FOR USING FAMILIES AS ‘POLITICAL WEAPONS’ AS DHS FUNDING FIGHT THREATENS LIFE BEYOND ICE “I have stood with the Coast Guard, and I will continue to stand with them.” Begich said the guard should never be treated as “collateral damage in Washington’s political fights.” Both he and fellow Last Frontier lawmaker Dan Sullivan told Fox News Digital the USCG is on the front lines of protecting America’s north from ongoing Chinese and Russian aggression. Sullivan warned of foreign military traffic near Alaska climbing sharply, a trend he says has gone largely unnoticed outside the region even as Moscow and Beijing coordinate more closely. “Let’s just say the world’s largest fleet of oceanographic survey ships wasn’t off the coast of Alaska to ‘save the whales,’” Sullivan told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. DEMOCRATS’ DHS SHUTDOWN HALTS ICE OVERSIGHT THEY DEMANDED Begich noted Alaska itself comprises half the nation’s entire coastline mileage and three-fifths of its seafood fisheries — both of which interests rely on the Coast Guard. Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., represents that coastline on the other side of the country. Within Patronis’ district is NAS Pensacola, where he said the USCG has a presence. He, along with fellow Floridian and Coast Guard subcommittee member Brian Mast, lamented that servicemembers could soon go without pay as they participate in dangerous drug interdictions to protect the U.S. While the Pentagon’s strikes on drug boats make much of the news, Patronis said the Coast Guard’s role in interdictions is vital. “Those guys will be in an M-60 helicopter, they will track down the drug runner, they will then continue to fly over, flag them down, try to get them to stop before the drug runners feel like they will be able to outrun. Going almost 100 miles an hour … in a helicopter chase after the boat, they will literally shoot the motor out from a moving target and bring the vessel to a dead halt. And then the [USCG] vessels will come in and do the arrest,” he said. “The role the Coast Guard plays in the Gulf of America is huge. [The shutdown] is a gut punch to morale.” Patronis said Democrats are in a tough spot because they have a base that is “rabid” about ICE, quipping that the Tom Homan they are upset at is the same Tom Homan whom President Barack Obama presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom. “[Homan] is not a hardliner … he’s a doer, he’s a public servant and Trump recognizes that — so you know [the situation] has been de-escalated.” Schumer’s demand to unmask, he said, is a “non-starter” — given that agitators will continue to shield their own identities and use untoward means to disrupt operations. DHS SHUTDOWN LEAVES LOCAL EMERGENCY RESPONDERS ON THEIR OWN AMID EXTREME WEATHER, EXPERT WARNS Rep. Salud Carbajal of California, the top Democrat on that chamber’s panel, said that Republicans have the power to restore Coast Guard funding while they control all houses of government. “I urge the White House and Republican leaders to work across the aisle and support the common-sense guardrails the American people are demanding,” Carbajal said. “In the wake of the murders of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, the American people are rightfully concerned that ICE is operating with too little oversight. Democrats are united in calling for reasonable safeguards to protect communities.” Mast, whose district falls along the Atlantic coast near Port St. Lucie, said that he has Coast Guard servicemembers “up and down my district” and a USCG station about a mile from his house. “I think this is something that a lot of people aren’t thinking about. We just went through what was the longest government shutdown, and it left a lot of people reeling to include, of course, Coast Guardsmen-and-women.” Mast said the servicemembers in his district are finally catching up on mortgages and other payments from the October shutdown and are now “prepping for the exact same thing.” “A lot of people don’t realize it’s like them going from one [government] emergency to the next while they’re still expected to go out there and respond to emergencies.” Fox News Digital reached out to the House and Senate Democrats who serve as ranking members on the two relevant subcommittees for comment. Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee’s Coast Guard subcommittee, agreed that Coast Guard families “do not deserve to miss a paycheck.” But, she told Fox News Digital that DHS could easily reallocate funding to ensure servicemembers remain paid. “Instead, millions are being spent expanding ICE operations that sow fear in communities across the country,” she said. “We can and must guarantee that our Coast Guard members receive their pay on time. That is why I’ve supported bipartisan safeguards like the Pay Our Coast Guard Act, so Coast Guard families are fully accounted no matter what happens in Washington.” Blunt Rochester, whose state has a prominent coastline and fishery, said Congress needs to pass a
Federal judge holds DOJ attorney in contempt over ICE case
A Justice Department attorney has been ordered to pay a $500 daily fine after a federal judge found him in civil contempt of court. On Wednesday, Judge Laura Provinzino, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, found Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Isihara in civil contempt, hitting him with a daily fine. The judge reportedly said that her goal was to ensure the government complies with her orders regarding Rigoberto Soto Jimenez, a detained Mexican immigrant living in Big Lake, Minn., KMSP-TV reported. Soto Jimenez has reportedly lived in the U.S. since 2018 and has no criminal history or final orders of removal, according to KMSP-TV. Additionally, the outlet noted that Soto Jimenez’s attorney stated that he is “years into the process of obtaining lawful immigration status.” TRUMP BORDER CZAR LEAVES DOOR OPEN TO ICE DEPLOYMENT IN OTHER SANCTUARY CITIES AS FEDS LEAVE MINNEAPOLIS Soto Jimenez was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel on Jan. 14, and as of a Feb. 9 order, was not given “a warrant that justifies his detention,” according to the judge’s order. Soto Jimenez was also allegedly denied a bond hearing, something the judge demanded be held. Additionally, Provinzino ordered that Soto Jimenez be released from custody by 5:00 p.m. on Feb. 13. FEDERAL JUDGE RULES AGAINST DHS ON WARRANTLESS IMMIGRATION ARRESTS IN OREGON ICE met the release deadline, but let Soto Jimenez out of detention without any of his identification paperwork, according to KMSP-TV. This appeared to violate Provinzino’s Feb. 9 order, which said that the government was ordered to release Soto Jimenez “without imposing any conditions of release and to return all property to him.” Isihara reportedly admitted that Provinzino’s order had fallen “through the cracks,” according to KMSP-TV. The outlet noted that the attorney blamed a massive caseload and lack of staff to handle the civil litigation related to Operation Metro Surge. “I don’t think it is acceptable,” Ishihara told the court, according to KMSP-TV. “I believe the volume of work over the last few weeks has exceeded the capacity of any one AUSA [Assistant U.S. Attorney].” The daily fines will begin accruing on Thursday and will remain in place every day that Soto Jimenez does not have his identification, KMSP-TV reported. Fox News Digital reached out to the ICE, the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department for comment.