Top 5 game-changers from the 2025 campaign trail
In the wake of last year’s tumultuous presidential election, which exhausted many Americans, it was expected to be quiet on the 2025 campaign trail. But with President Donald Trump back in the White House and Democrats itching to rebound after last year’s ballot box setbacks, 2025’s off-year elections were anything but sedate. Here are five of the biggest moments that shaped the campaign trail. Just eight days into Trump’s second term in the White House, demoralized Democrats had something to cheer about. SETTING THE STAGE: WHAT THE 2025 ELECTIONS SIGNAL FOR NEXT YEAR’S MIDTERM SHOWDOWNS Democrat Mike Zimmer defeated Republican Katie Whittington in a special state Senate election in Iowa, flipping a Republican-controlled vacant seat in a district that Trump had carried by 21 points less than three months earlier. Zimmer’s victory triggered a wave of Democrats overperforming in special elections and regularly scheduled off-year ballot box contests. In Iowa, Democrats in August flipped another Republican-held seat in a state Senate special election, breaking the GOP’s supermajority in the upper chamber for the first time in three years. “Since the president was inaugurated back in January, there’s been 45 elections on the ballot. Democrats have overperformed in all of them to the tune of about 16 percentage points on average,” Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin touted in a Fox News Digital interview days ahead of the 2025 elections. It was the issue that boosted Trump and Republicans in the 2024 elections, as they won back the White House and Senate majority and kept control of the House. But a year later, the economy, and everyday expenses in particular, are working against the president and his party in the 2025 elections. FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS SAY WHITE HOUSE IS DOING MORE HARM THAN GOOD ON ECONOMY Democrats, with an across-the-board focus on affordability, enjoyed sweeping success at the ballot box earlier this month, with double-digit victories in the gubernatorial showdowns in blue-leaning but competitive New Jersey and Virginia, as well as major victories in high-profile contests in battlegrounds Georgia and Pennsylvania and solidly blue New York City and California. “Voters are remarkably consistent in their priorities: the economy, the economy, the economy,” noted Wayne Lesperance, a veteran political scientist and president of New England College. “When you win an election, voters expect you are going to do something to address those concerns and the reality is that the questions of affordability remain unchanged in their importance to the everyday voter.” Virginia Democrats were cruising toward convincing victories in the commonwealth’s statewide elections when a scandal sent shockwaves up and down the ballot. Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones instantly went into crisis mode after controversial texts were first reported earlier by the National Review in early October. Jones acknowledged and apologized for texts he sent in 2022, when he compared then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert to mass murderers Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot, adding that if he was given two bullets, he would use both against the GOP lawmaker to shoot him in the head. But Jones faced a chorus of calls from Republicans to drop out of the race. KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE 2025 ELECTIONS And the GOP leveraged the explosive revelations up the ballot, forcing Democratic Party nominee, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, back on defense in a campaign where she was seen as the frontrunner against Republican rival Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. Earle-Sears didn’t waste an opportunity to link Spanberger to Jones. And during last month’s chaotic and only gubernatorial debate, where Earle-Sears repeatedly interrupted Spanberger, the GOP gubernatorial nominee called on her Democratic rival to tell Jones to end his attorney general bid. “The comments that Jay Jones made are absolutely abhorrent,” Spanberger said at the debate. But she neither affirmed nor pulled back her support of Jones. While the scandal grabbed national headlines, in the end it didn’t slow down the Democrats, as Spanberger crushed Earle-Sears by 15 points. Democrats won the separate election for lieutenant governor by 11 points and Jones even pulled off a 6-point victory over Republican incumbent Jason Miyares. Aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections, Trump in June first floated the idea of rare but not unheard of mid-decade congressional redistricting. The mission was simple: redraw congressional district maps in red states to pad the GOP’s razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. Trump’s first target: Texas. A month later, when asked by reporters about his plan to add Republican-leaning House seats across the country, the president said, “Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five.” The push by Trump and his political team triggered a high-stakes redistricting showdown with Democrats to shape the 2026 midterm landscape in the fight for the House majority. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called a special session of the GOP-dominated state legislature to pass the new map. ELECTION REFLECTION: ‘DEMOCRATS FLIPPED THE SCRIPT’ ON AFFORDABILITY IN BALLOT BOX SHOWDOWNS But Democratic state lawmakers, who broke quorum for two weeks as they fled Texas in a bid to delay the passage of the redistricting bill, energized Democrats across the country. Among those leading the fight against Trump’s redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California. California voters earlier this month overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative which will temporarily sidetrack the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democratic-dominated legislature. That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which aimed to counter the move by Texas to redraw their maps. Meanwhile, an opinion by two federal judges in Texas this month delivered a blow to Trump and Republicans, by ruling that the state can’t use the newly drawn map in next year’s elections. Texas Republicans say they’ll appeal the ruling to the
Schumer accuses Trump of pushing US toward ‘foreign war’ with Venezuela
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., issued a sharp warning Saturday about President Donald Trump’s posture toward Venezuela, accusing him of edging the U.S. “closer and closer to another costly foreign war” without congressional approval. In a blistering statement, Schumer criticized Trump’s recent escalation toward Venezuela and argued that the president had upended the Constitution. “President Trump’s reckless actions towards Venezuela are pushing America closer and closer to another costly foreign war,” Schumer stated. “Under our Constitution, Congress has the sole power to declare war — not the President — and Congress has not authorized the use of military force against Venezuela.” The minority leader cautioned the president to avoid entering into another overseas conflict, writing that “Americans are tired of endless foreign wars that cost the lives of countless American service members and drain precious resources.” SENATE REPUBLICANS BLOCK BIPARTISAN EFFORT TO HALT MILITARY ACTION, DRUG BOAT STRIKES IN THE CARIBBEAN “This is not an America First policy,” he added. Schumer called for bipartisan pushback, urging his colleagues in Congress to “come together to return the power to declare war back to the people.” The New York Democrat’s comments came after Trump wrote on Truth Social that Venezuela’s airspace should be considered “closed in its entirety.” SENATORS LOOK TO BLOCK TRUMP FROM ENGAGING IN ‘HOSTILITIES’ IN VENEZUELA “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY,” he wrote. That post came a week after the Federal Aviation Administration warned airlines of a “worsening security situation” in the area. While speaking to U.S. service members on Thanksgiving, Trump said the U.S. will “very soon” begin stopping suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers “by land.” DEM PRESSURE BUILDS FOR ANSWERS ON TRUMP’S CARIBBEAN STRIKES, COMMANDER’S SUDDEN EXIT “In recent weeks, you’ve been working to deter Venezuelan drug traffickers, of which there are many,” Trump said. “Of course, there aren’t too many coming in by sea anymore. Have you probably noticed that?” The president added that drug traffickers kill “hundreds of thousands of people a year” in the U.S. from the “poisons” they bring in. Trump has not dismissed the idea of sending American troops into Venezuela, stating on Nov. 17 that he hasn’t eliminated the possibility. TRUMP UNLEASHES US MILITARY POWER ON CARTELS. IS A WIDER WAR LOOMING? Asked whether he ruled out troop deployments, Trump responded, “No, I don’t rule out that, I don’t rule out anything.” On Friday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth defended the Trump administration’s strikes on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean Sea. “As we’ve said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes,’” Hegseth wrote on X. “The declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco-boats, and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people. Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.” Hegseth’s statement followed reports from multiple news outlets, including The Washington Post and CNN, that claimed the U.S. military ordered a second strike on a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean on Sept. 2 after the initial attack left two survivors. “As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland,” Hegseth added in his post. House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and ranking member Adam Smith, D-Wash., issued a joint statement Saturday reiterating that the committee is “committed to providing rigorous oversight of the Department of Defense’s military operations in the Caribbean.” “We take seriously the reports of follow-on strikes on boats alleged to be ferrying narcotics in the SOUTHCOM region and are taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in question,” the lawmakers wrote. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment. Fox News Digital’s Sophia Compton, Brie Stimson, Greg Norman and Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
Rep Troy Nehls, a Trump ally, will not seek re-election as twin brother announces campaign to replace him
Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, announced on Saturday that he will not seek re-election in 2026 so he can focus on his family, and his own twin brother subsequently revealed his candidacy to fill the open seat. The congressman said he made the decision after speaking with his family over Thanksgiving. He has served in the U.S. House since 2021. “After more than 30 years in law enforcement serving and protecting my community as a police officer, constable, Fort Bend County Sheriff, an Army veteran, and six years representing this district in Congress, I have made the decision, after conversations with my beautiful bride and my girls over the Thanksgiving holiday, to focus on my family and return home after this Congress,” he wrote on X. An ally of President Donald Trump, Nehls said he notified the commander-in-chief of his plans before making his announcement public. SENIOR REPUBLICAN SAYS HE’LL ‘MISS THE CLOWNS,’ NOT ‘THE CIRCUS’ AS HE EYES LIFE AFTER CONGRESS “Before making this decision, I called President Trump personally to let him know of my plans,” Nehls said. “President Trump has always been a strong ally for our district and a true friend, and I wanted him to hear it from me first.” “Serving this country in the military, serving our community in law enforcement, and serving this district in Congress has been the honor of my life,” he continued. “Thank you for your trust, your friendship, and your prayers.” Nehls, 57, has been a big supporter of Trump’s mass deportation agenda. The House Judiciary Committee advanced his legislation earlier this month that would remove barriers to illegal migrant deportations. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., introduced a similar measure in the Senate. TEXAS RACE TO REPLACE DECEASED DEMOCRAT ADVANCES TO RUNOFF The congressman also co-sponsored a bill to put Trump on the $100 bill to honor the president. He also called for renaming Dulles International Airport after Trump and for the Republican Party to support whatever Trump says or does. Nehls previously served as a member of the U.S. Army Reserves and was deployed to combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also worked in law enforcement for many years. The Texas congressman joins a growing list of Republican lawmakers who have decided not to retain their seat, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who announced earlier this month amid her feud with Trump that she would step down in January. After Nehls announced his plans to retire, his identical twin brother, Trever Nehls, said he would be running for his brother’s seat. “I am honored to announce my candidacy for Congressional District 22 to continue fighting for the people of this district,” he wrote on Facebook. “District 22 needs a Representative who will follow in Troy’s footsteps and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with President Trump to defend our conservative values, secure the border, protect our families, and oppose the reckless and radical agenda that Democrats continue to press upon the American people. I’m ready to take up that fight.”
Trump highlights federal law granting presidential power to halt immigration as crackdown escalates
President Trump on Saturday pointed to a federal law that grants the president broad authority to restrict immigration just days after unveiling a sweeping new immigration agenda. In a Truth Social post, Trump highlighted Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the president to “suspend the entry” of non-U.S. citizens whenever it is deemed “detrimental” to the national interest. “Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate,” Trump wrote, quoting the law. CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS POLICY ALLOWS UNLIMITED ABSENCES FOR ILLEGAL ALIEN CHILDREN AMID ICE OPERATIONS THEIR PLAN WAS A FLOOD OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. OUR ANSWER IS AN IMMIGRATION MORATORIUM The president posted amid intensifying immigration actions by his administration after the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., Wednesday. On Thursday, Trump vowed to halt immigration from “Third World countries,” reverse Biden-era admissions and remove foreign nationals he considers public threats, security risks or “non-compatible with Western Civilization.” TRUMP HAS MADE THE BORDER SECURE AGAIN — BUT NOW THE HARD PART BEGINS He argued that the U.S. immigration system has been overwhelmed and said his approach would allow it to “fully recover.” Trump also vowed to end federal benefits for noncitizens, denaturalize migrants accused of undermining “domestic tranquility” and expand deportations. On Friday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it had halted all asylum decisions. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, has been accused in the shooting of the two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died after the shooting. Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in critical condition. Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion and Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report.
Watchdog group hits Letitia James with bar complaint after federal judge tosses case
A conservative-aligned watchdog group has filed a bar complaint accusing New York Attorney General Letitia James of professional misconduct tied to her Norfolk, Virginia, mortgage, allegations that were also at the center of her recently dismissed federal charges. The Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) filed the complaint with the state’s Attorney Grievance Committee, accusing James of engaging in “illegal and dishonest conduct” in connection with the mortgage she took out on the property, according to the New York Post. According to the complaint and related public statements, the group alleges that James’ actions raise concerns under the state’s Rules of Professional Conduct, the ethical standards that govern lawyers in New York. “Fraud, misrepresentation, honesty and trustworthiness are all factors that the Rules of Professional Conduct expressly consider when weighing whether to discipline an attorney,” Curtis Schube, the group’s director of research and policy, wrote in the four-page complaint, per the outlet. A TALE OF TWO INDICTMENTS: TOP DEMS SAY ‘NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW’ ON TRUMP, BUT DECRY COMEY CASE “The Committee, therefore, should immediately investigate the allegations against James and, if by ‘preponderance of the evidence’ the allegations are substantiated, she should be disciplined accordingly.” A federal judge threw out the indictments against James and former FBI Director James Comey on Monday, finding they were illegitimate because they were brought by an unqualified U.S. attorney. Judge Cameron Currie dismissed the bank fraud charges against James and the false statements charges against Comey without prejudice, meaning the charges could be brought again. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum that the Department of Justice plans to appeal. “We believe the attorney in this case, Lindsey Halligan, is not only extremely qualified for this position, but she was in fact legally appointed,” Leavitt said. “And I know the Department of Justice will be appealing this in very short order.” LETITIA JAMES VOWS TO CONTINUE TARGETING TRUMP AFTER YEARS IN THE COURTROOM: ‘TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME’ Currie, a Clinton appointee based in South Carolina, was brought in from out of state to preside over proceedings about the question of Halligan’s authority because it presented a conflict for the Virginia judges. Comey’s and James’ challenges to Halligan’s appointment were consolidated because of their similarity. Halligan acted alone in presenting charges to the grand juries shortly after Trump ousted the prior interim U.S. attorney, Erik Siebert, and urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to replace him with Halligan, a former White House aide and insurance lawyer. Bondi complied, but Currie found the interim U.S. attorney term had already expired under Siebert and that the Virginia judges were now responsible for appointing a temporary U.S. attorney to serve until Trump could get one confirmed in the Senate. James was indicted on Oct. 9 for allegedly falsifying mortgage documents to secure a $109,600 loan on the property. She was also charged with making false statements to a financial institution. James, a second-term Democrat, was accused of claiming the property as her principal residence in 2023 despite being a public office holder in New York at that same time. She has denied wrongdoing. She previously said she made an error while filling out a form related to the home purchase but fixed it. She noted that she never tried to deceive the lender. Fox News Digital reached out to both the New York attorney general’s office and CASA, but did not immediately receive a response. Fox News’ Ashley Oliver and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Inside NORAD’s holiday command: How the same team that tracks Santa guards North America
Deep inside a command center that monitors everything from Russian bombers to North Korean missile launches, a handful of service members are preparing for a very different kind of flight pattern — one led by a jolly man in a red suit. Each December, the North American Aerospace Defense Command — or NORAD — transforms part of its high-tech operations floor into a holiday command post dedicated to tracking Santa Claus. The same radar systems that protect North American airspace will soon be tuned to follow a sleigh moving at high speed from the North Pole. The Santa mission, now approaching its 70th year, began by accident. In 1955, a Colorado Springs newspaper printed a phone number from a Sears advertisement inviting children to “call Santa.” The number, misprinted by one digit, rang the operations line of what was then the Continental Air Defense Command. When Col. Harry Shoup, the duty officer that night, realized kids were calling to talk to St. Nick, he played along — and a military tradition was born. RUSSIAN AIRCRAFT FLY IN ALASKAN AIR DEFENSE IDENTIFICATION ZONE, US SAYS Today, the Santa Tracker is a global phenomenon that draws millions of online visitors and calls from children in more than 200 countries. But behind the festive lights and holiday cheer, NORAD’s real mission continues without pause — scanning the skies and seas 24 hours a day for potential threats to the U.S. and Canada. The North American Aerospace Defense Command doesn’t need special equipment to find Santa — it uses the same technology that guards the continent every day. Tracking begins with the North Warning System, a network of radar stations stretching across Alaska and northern Canada. Those sensors detect everything entering the northern approaches to the U.S. and Canada — including, once a year, a fast-moving sleigh departing the Arctic. From there, NORAD’s Space-Based Infrared System satellites pick up the heat signature — described tongue-in-cheek each year as Rudolph’s nose — and relay that data to the operations center at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs. The same systems that track ballistic missile launches and foreign aircraft feed the Santa map millions of families follow each Christmas Eve. The website and app, NORADSanta.org, draw millions of visits worldwide, supported by partnerships with private-sector tech companies to handle the data load. For the troops and civilians who staff NORAD’s operations center, the holiday season looks different from most. The command never shuts down; watch officers, radar technicians, and support staff work through Christmas Eve and Christmas Day just as they do any other time of year. While much of the focus turns to Santa tracking, the real work continues in the background — scanning radar feeds, monitoring satellite data, and staying ready to respond to any threat that might appear. Most of the roughly 1,500 people assigned to NORAD and U.S. Northern Command at Peterson Space Force Base and nearby Cheyenne Mountain take at least part of a holiday shift, trading hours, so others can spend time with family. SOME DRONES OVER US BASES MAY HAVE BEEN CONDUCTING SURVEILLANCE: NORTHCOM GENERAL Still, the Santa operation brings a change of pace. Hundreds of volunteers — many of them military spouses, retirees, and local community members — come into the command center each year to answer calls and messages from children around the world. The phone lines open on Christmas Eve, and volunteers work in shifts to handle thousands of questions about Santa’s location. The room looks a little different that night: screens glow with maps of the sleigh’s route, phones ring constantly, and there are cookies and coffee between the workstations. For a few hours, a command built for high-stakes warning and response turns into a small slice of holiday normalcy, even as the mission carries on. That same command routine was recently dramatized in the new Netflix film “A House of Dynamite.” In the movie, a single unidentified missile triggers a cascade of decisions across the command center, highlighting how fragile the system can appear when seconds count. The Missile Defense Agency, however, pushed back on the film’s portrayal of a failed interceptor test. An internal memo noted a scene claiming a 50% chance of interception, arguing that, in reality, U.S. missile defense systems have “displayed a 100% accuracy rate in testing for more than a decade.” So, yes, NORAD is tracking holiday cheer — and ensuring the foundation of American readiness stays intact. On the floor where the phones are answered, and the consoles stay lit, the message is simpler: someone always has the watch.
Hegseth defends lethal strikes against alleged drug traffickers: ‘Biden coddled terrorists, we kill them’
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth wrote on X that “Biden coddled terrorists, we kill them,” in a post defending the Trump administration’s strikes on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean Sea. The declaration came following reports from outlets such as The Washington Post and CNN claiming the U.S. military ordered a second strike on a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean on Sept. 2 after the initial attack left two survivors. The commander overseeing that operation told colleagues on a secure conference call that the survivors were legitimate targets because they could still contact other traffickers for help and ordered the second strike to comply with a directive from Hegseth that everyone must be killed, according to The Washington Post. “As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland,” Hegseth wrote on X on Friday. TRUMP SAYS US WILL BEGIN STOPPING VENEZUELAN DRUG TRAFFICKERS BY LAND “As we’ve said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes.’ The declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco-boats, and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people. Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization,” Hegseth continued. “The Biden administration preferred the kid gloves approach, allowing millions of people — including dangerous cartels and unvetted Afghans — to flood our communities with drugs and violence. The Trump administration has sealed the border and gone on offense against narco-terrorists. Biden coddled terrorists, we kill them,” he added. Hegseth also said, “Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict — and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command.” US FORCES KILL 3 NARCO-TERRORISTS IN EASTERN PACIFIC LETHAL STRIKE OPERATION TARGETING DRUG NETWORKS In a separate post on his personal X account, Hegseth wrote, “We have only just begun to kill narco-terrorists.” Fox News Digital has reached out to a Biden spokesperson for comment. President Donald Trump also said on Thursday said the U.S. will “very soon” begin stopping suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers “by land.” “From sending their poisons into the United States, where they kill hundreds of thousands of people a year — but we’re going to take care of that situation,” Trump said. “We’re already doing a lot … It’s about 85% stopped by sea.” The president added, “You probably noticed that now people aren’t wanting to be delivering by sea, and we’ll be starting to stop them by land also. The land is easier, but that’s going to start very soon.” Fox News’ Sophia Compton contributed to this report.
USCIS halts ‘all asylum decisions’ after DC shooting of National Guard members
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Friday that it has halted all asylum decisions following the shooting in Washington, D.C., in which an Afghan national was accused of shooting two National Guard members, including one who died from her injuries. USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow said the asylum decisions would be suspended “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.” “The safety of the American people always comes first,” he wrote on X. The pause comes amid a broader immigration crackdown signaled by President Donald Trump, who on Thursday vowed to halt migration from “Third World countries” and reverse Biden-era admissions. STATE DEPARTMENT ‘IMMEDIATELY’ HALTS ALL AFGHAN PASSPORT VISAS FOLLOWING DEADLY NATIONAL GUARD ATTACK Edlow said on Thursday that officials would reexamine green cards issued to immigrants from every “country of concern,” including Afghanistan. USCIS also implemented new national security measures to be considered while vetting immigrants from “high risk” countries. “I have directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” he wrote. The Department of Homeland Security also said it had already halted all immigration requests from Afghanistan and was in the process of reviewing all asylum cases approved under the Biden administration. Additionally, the Department of State has paused all visas for people traveling on Afghan passports in response to the attack against the National Guard members. “The Department of State has IMMEDIATELY paused visa issuance for individuals traveling on Afghan passports,” the agency wrote. “The Department is taking all necessary steps to protect U.S. national security and public safety.” National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, 20, of West Virginia, died after the shooting on Wednesday in the nation’s capital, while the second service member wounded in the attack, Andrew Wolfe, 24, is still in critical condition. The alleged gunman, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, faces multiple charges, including one count of first-degree murder and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that the Justice Department would pursue the death penalty against the suspect. WHO IS THE DC NATIONAL GUARDSMEN SHOOTING SUSPECT? WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AFGHAN NATIONAL RAHMANULLAH LAKANWAL Lakanwal entered the U.S. legally in 2021 under humanitarian parole as part of the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome, following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. He was vetted by the CIA in Afghanistan for his work with the agency and again for his asylum application in the U.S. A senior U.S. official told Fox News he was “clean on all checks” in his background check. Lakanwal had his asylum application approved by the Trump administration earlier this year. A report released by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General in June found there were “no systemic failures” in Afghan refugee vetting or subsequent immigration pathways.
Abbey Gate Gold Star father blisters Biden after Afghan national allegedly ambushes 2 National Guardsmen in DC
EXCLUSIVE — The father of Staff Sgt. Darin “Taylor” Hoover — one of the 13 U.S. service members killed in the Abbey Gate bombing during the chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan — is blasting the former Biden administration after an Afghan national allegedly shot two National Guardsmen just blocks from the White House. Hoover gave Fox News Digital a new, forceful statement on Wednesday’s shooting, saying the incident was the direct result of the administration’s failed vetting of Afghan evacuees. “This is on the feckless Biden administration,” Hoover said of the shooting. “We had no idea who was getting into this country because the Biden administration, especially the State Department run by Antony Blinken, didn’t do the work that was needed to vet all these people. There were so many people put on the planes that got out initially, that we have no idea who they were.” He continued: “By doing this, all we got is men of fighting age that are most likely terrorists that are here in the homeland to do us all harm and take our beloved United States of America. Maybe if the Biden administration started the process earlier than the truncated timetable that they did, this could have all come out so much better, including all of our most precious men and women of our military coming home.” EX-FBI SPECIAL AGENT EXPLAINS AFGHAN VETTING FAILURES IN WAKE OF NATIONAL GUARD AMBUSH: ‘TICKING TIME BOMB’ The FBI is leading the investigation into the shooting, and multiple intelligence sources tell Fox News Digital the attack is being treated as a possible act of international terrorism. The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was taken into custody after allegedly ambushing the two West Virginia National Guardsmen near the White House. Fox News Digital previously reported that Lakanwal entered the United States in September 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, immediately following the fall of Kabul, and that he had worked with several U.S. government entities, including the CIA, as part of a partner force in Kandahar. “The individual — and so many others — should have never been allowed to come here,” former CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox News Digital. “Our citizens and service members deserve far better than to endure the ongoing fallout from the Biden administration’s catastrophic failures.” ALLEGED DC SHOOTER ENTERED US UNDER AFGHAN RESETTLEMENT PUSH MAYORKAS VOWED WOULD BE DONE ‘SWIFTLY AND SAFELY’ Hoover says the shooting confirms what he and other Gold Star parents feared when thousands of Afghans were evacuated during the final days of the withdrawal — that many individuals were allowed into the United States without adequate screening. “We had no idea who Biden put on those planes,” Hoover said. “None.” Wednesday’s comments come after years of public criticism from Hoover, who has been one of the most vocal parents demanding accountability for the Abbey Gate attack that killed 13 American service members, including his son Taylor, an 11-year Marine veteran who was engaged to be married and on his third deployment to Afghanistan. ALLEGED NATIONAL GUARD SHOOTER WORKED WITH US GOVERNMENT ENTITIES IN AFGHANISTAN, INCLUDING CIA: RATCLIFFE Hoover’s earlier remarks made headlines in 2024, when he reacted to President Biden falsely claiming during a presidential debate that no U.S. service members had died under his watch. At the time, Hoover told Fox News Digital that he felt “rage” hearing Biden deny the deaths of the Abbey Gate 13. “The rage, the absolute disgust that I got from hearing him say that — I started yelling back at the TV,” he said in 2024. “He’s never acknowledged, not one time, any of our kids. He’s never said their names.” He also revealed then that the Biden administration sent the Abbey Gate families a batch of identical condolence letters a year after the attack. DETAILS EMERGE ON CIA UNIT ALLEGED NATIONAL GUARD SHOOTER SERVED WITH IN AFGHANISTAN “All 13 families got a canned letter,” he said in a 2024 Fox News Digital interview. “It looked like it was a photocopy. We’ve had absolutely nothing before, nothing since.” Hoover’s frustration at being unable to secure a meeting with Biden was also part of that earlier reporting. “[Biden] doesn’t want to deal with us,” Hoover said in 2024. “He knows that we’re in his face, but he doesn’t want to deal with us.” But Hoover told Fox News Digital this week that Wednesday’s shooting, allegedly carried out by an Afghan national allowed into the country during the withdrawal, is a devastating new chapter. To him, it demonstrates that the consequences of the troubled evacuation are still unfolding on American soil. Federal officials say the investigation into the shooting remains active. Hoover says he will continue speaking out until the families of the Abbey Gate fallen receive answers — and until the former administration takes responsibility for what he believes are ongoing failures. “This isn’t going away,” he said at the time. “We’re not going away.” Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
State Department ‘immediately’ halts all Afghan passport visas following deadly National Guard attack
The Department of State has paused all visas for individuals traveling on Afghan passports after an attack in Washington, D.C., Wednesday targeting National Guard members. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan national, was charged with first-degree murder among other counts related to the ambush, which has since claimed the life of West Virginia National Guard Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and critically wounded U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24. Lakanwal was vetted by the CIA in Afghanistan and granted final asylum approval under President Donald Trump’s administration earlier this year, multiple sources told Fox News Digital. “The Department of State has IMMEDIATELY paused visa issuance for individuals traveling on Afghan passports,” the agency wrote in an announcement on social media. “The Department is taking all necessary steps to protect U.S. national security and public safety.” LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONDING AFTER 2 NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS SHOT NEAR WHITE HOUSE Secretary of State Marco Rubio also took to X to share the news. “President Trump’s State Department has paused visa issuance for ALL individuals traveling on Afghan passports,” Rubio wrote in a post. “The United States has no higher priority than protecting our nation and our people.” U.S.-based Afghanistan allies relocation and resettlement nonprofit AfghanEvac denounced Friday’s decision, calling the administration’s move a “violation of federal law.” “It appears Secretary Rubio is attempting to shut down the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa program in direct violation of federal law and standing court orders. He is seemingly acting at the direction of President Trump and Stephen Miller, and there is no doubt this is the outcome they have been driving toward for months,” AfghanEvac President Shawn VanDiver said in a statement. “They are using a single violent individual as cover for a policy they have long planned, turning their own intelligence failures into an excuse to punish an entire community and the veterans who served alongside them.” VANCE’S PAST WARNINGS REIGNITE AFTER AFGHAN NATIONAL NAMED AS SUSPECT IN DC GUARD SHOOTING The new policy comes less than a day after the media questioned Trump about how the attack could have taken place after successful vetting. “I mean, he went nuts, and that happens. It happens too often with these people,” Trump told reporters from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. “There was no vetting or anything. … We have a lot of others in this country, and we’re going to get them out, but they go cuckoo. Something happens to them.” Trump noted “when it comes to asylum, when they’re flown in, it’s very hard to get them out. No matter how you want to do it, it’s very hard to get them out. But we’re going to be getting them all out now.” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph B. Edlow also announced Thursday that, at Trump’s direction, there would be a “full-scale, rigorous reexamination” of every green card issued to immigrants from “every country of concern.” The 19 countries deemed “high-risk” by the USCIS include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.