EXCLUSIVE: ‘Phantom employees’ scandal spurs GOP crackdown on $36B incentive for companies to bypass Americans
FIRST ON FOX: The discovery of 10,000 “phantom employees” exploiting a federal work program has helped spur Republicans to tackle the financial incentives behind a foreign worker pipeline costing Americans hundreds of thousands of jobs per year. Under current federal law, hundreds of thousands of foreign students and employers participating in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension program are exempt from paying Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes, which companies are required to pay for domestic workers. This has led to the creation of a “significant financial incentive” for employers to hire foreign OPT workers over Americans. Republican Rep. Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin introduced a bill Thursday, titled the “OPT Fair Tax Act,” that eliminates that incentive by requiring employers to pay the same Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes paid for American workers. By closing the loophole, Grothman believes the bill “helps create a more level playing field for American graduates entering the workforce.” The congressman told Fox News Digital that “Americans should not be put at a disadvantage because Washington created a loophole that favors hiring foreign workers over qualified U.S. citizens.” He added that “too many young Americans graduating from our colleges and universities are forced to compete against a system that tilts the playing field against them.” DOJ CALLS FOR TIPS ON EMPLOYERS FAVORING FOREIGN WORKERS IN HIRING PRACTICES Grothman’s bill is the House companion to a Senate bill introduced by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., in September. Though Cotton’s bill has not passed, OPT has faced increased scrutiny after Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons announced federal investigators uncovered more than 10,000 foreign students connected to “suspect employers” as part of a massive fraud scheme involving the program. Lyons said that OPT, which lets international students on F-1 visas work temporarily in the country in jobs related to their field of study, had “ballooned into an uncontrolled guest worker pipeline with hundreds of thousands of foreign students working in the United States.” He said that “as the program size exploded, so has the fraud.” “Today, we are announcing we have identified over 10,000 foreign students who claim to be working for highly suspect employers, and that’s just among the top 25 OPT employers. This is only the tip of the iceberg,” he said. The ICE director also said investigators uncovered what he referred to as “phantom employees,” who he said are foreign students who obtained work authorization through OPT but never actually showed up for work at the sites they claimed to work out of. TRUMP-BACKED HOUSING BILL CLEARS HOUSE AFTER GOP DEFIES SENATE PRESSURE CAMPAIGN Grothman told Fox News Digital that these findings “point to serious vulnerabilities within the OPT program.” He said that “reports that thousands of foreign students in the OPT program were tied to phantom employees and suspicious employers should alarm every American,” adding, “Right now, the federal government has created a financial incentive to hire foreign workers over Americans.” Grothman said the scale of the tax preference has been significant. He pointed to data gathered by the technology and industry think tank Institute for Progress, which found that between fiscal years 2017 and 2022, an average of approximately 330,000 students participated in OPT annually. The think tank also estimated that eliminating the tax exemption would increase federal revenue by between $27 billion and $36 billion over a 10-year period. GOP BILL TARGETS BLUE STATE FOR BILLIONS IN COVID-ERA UNEMPLOYMENT DEBT DUMPED ON BUSINESSES “Congress should be focused on opening doors for young Americans, helping U.S. graduates find good-paying jobs and ensuring employers are encouraged to hire Americans first. Not creating incentives for companies to bypass American talent,” he emphasized. “The American people deserve to know how so many questionable employers were able to operate within the system for so long,” he continued. “Congress should be prioritizing American workers and restoring integrity to programs that have become increasingly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.”
Democrats vow to vote ‘every single day’ to expel fellow Dem from Congress if she wins midterm
Two Democratic lawmakers are threatening to force repeated votes to expel a fellow Democrat from Congress if Texas voters send her to Washington this November. Reps. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., say they will force repeated votes to remove Texas Democrat Maureen Galindo from the House over comments calling for the jailing of “American Zionists.” Galindo, a sex therapist running in a Republican-leaning district, has not backed away from a campaign proposal to turn a local ICE processing center into a “prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking.” She also claimed in a social media post that many Zionists — broadly defined as those who support the Jewish people’s right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland — are pedophiles who should be castrated. “I don’t care if she gets sent here. I will vote to expel her and force a vote to expel her every single day,” Moskowitz told Fox News Digital in an interview. FETTERMAN WARNS DEMOCRATS MUST CONFRONT ‘RISING ANTISEMITISM PROBLEM’ AFTER CLASHES OUTSIDE NYC SYNAGOGUES “My grandmother was part of the Kindertransport out of Germany. Her parents were killed in Auschwitz. My kids are never going to concentration camps,” he added. The Galindo campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Galindo’s flurry of antisemitic comments comes as she is vying in a May 26 runoff election after winning the most votes in the Democratic primary for the San Antonio-based district. Republicans redrew the district lines earlier this year to boost the GOP’s chances of flipping the seat, though Democrats could still make the race competitive. She has accused her runoff opponent, Johnny Garcia, a sheriff’s deputy in Bexar County, of being paid by “Zionist terrorism and trafficking.” “When Maureen gets into Congress, she’ll write legislation so that all Zionism and support of Zionism is undoubtedly Anti-Semitic, since it’s Zionists harming the Semites,” Galindo’s campaign wrote on social media last week. Moskowitz said Democrats should do whatever they can to ensure Galindo does not get that chance. FOX NEWS ‘ANTISEMITISM EXPOSED’ NEWSLETTER: WHO IS HASAN PIKER, AND WHY CAN’T DEMOCRATS CONDEMN HIM? “The Democratic Party can’t get to power because we’ve expanded our tent so big to include this sort of insane behavior,” the Florida lawmaker told Fox News Digital. “It’s gone from the super extreme side to now almost mainstream,” he continued, referring to antisemitism. “We’ve crossed the Rubicon with the stuff.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Galindo’s comments are “disqualifying” and accused GOP groups of seeking to prop up her candidacy. “Texans will not be fooled and will reject her at the ballot box next week,” Jeffries said in a joint statement with Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chairwoman Suzan DelBene, D-Wash. Both Moskowitz and Gottheimer suggested Galindo’s comments reflect a broader rise in antisemitism in the political sphere. “Both parties: There should be zero tolerance for antisemitic-driven hatred that we’re seeing right now,” Gottheimer told Fox News, adding that Republicans should uniformly condemn podcaster Candace Owens, who frequently traffics in antisemitic conspiracy theories. Gottheimer penned an op-ed in The New York Times earlier in May criticizing some members of his party for cozying up to the far-left streamer, Hasan Piker. Piker has doubled down on his claim that Hamas is “a thousand times better” than Israel, referred to some Orthodox Jews as “inbred,” and downplayed the sexual violence that occurred during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, among other controversial statements. Still, Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Summer Lee, D-Pa., and Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed are among the prominent Democrats who have chosen to associate themselves with Piker. Asked whether Democrats are doing enough to combat antisemitism within the party, Moskowitz did not hesitate to respond. “No. We are not doing enough,” he said.
Legal expert unleashes on Spanberger’s new executive order targeting ICE: ‘Political theater’
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger is directing state employees to demand proof of legal authority from federal immigration agents operating on state property, prompting pushback from a legal expert. Specifically, in an executive order signed on Tuesday, Spanberger is asking state employees to get federal agents to produce a valid warrant on “property of the Commonwealth” and instructs them to “not permit” federal agents from using those areas as staging or processing locations. The order would include polling sites. Spanberger’s move continues Democratic efforts to test the boundaries between state and federal power, exploring what roadblocks they can legally create to taper Trump’s immigration crackdown methods. SPANBERGER REFUSES TO HONOR ICE DETAINER IN MURDER CASE, ESCALATING SHOWDOWN WITH TRUMP DHS Hans von Spakovsky, a constitutional scholar with Advancing American Freedom, believes Spanberger’s order is for show, and that she knows it’s an overreaching attempt to create requirements for agencies she has no power over. “This is political theater,” Spakovsky said. “First of all, no warrant is required under federal immigration law to detain individuals.” “And it is a completely unnecessary provision. There’s actually a provision in federal law that bans an officer of the Army or Navy or any other person in the civil service of the U.S. to be at polling places unless they’re there to cast a vote,” Spakovsky added. He pointed to restrictions under 18 U.S.C. 592. Spanberger first announced her executive order on Monday when she was asked about concerns over how Trump might use federal agents in upcoming elections. “How concerned are you that he will send either the military or the National Guard or even ICE to polling places, and what can you do, if anything, to stop him?” Spanberger was asked at an event hosted by MS Now. SLOTKIN PRESSES DHS PICK ON ICE AT POLLS, SAYS SHE CAN’T TRUST TRUMP TO ALLOW ‘FREE AND FAIR’ ELECTION “The reality is, throughout history, we have seen efforts at intimidating voters. My worry is we will continue to see those heightened,” Spanberger replied. “I’ll be issuing guidance across public spaces, including polling places, of how Virginia state employees can react to federal agents who might be appearing at a location where the worry is that they’re principally there to intimidate or scare people,” Spanberger said. Notably, Spanberger vetoed a separate bill that would have outright banned ICE from making detentions in hospitals, schools, courthouses and polling places without a judicial warrant or subpoena, stating that such a ban would likely invite a legal challenge. “I veto House Bill 650, which would create unavoidable legal liability for security personnel and local law enforcement officers when assessing federal immigration enforcement activities in certain protected areas,” Spanberger wrote. Spanberger’s new executive order follows on the heels of states like New York and California that have pushed more direct state-level attempts to restrict federal immigration activity. In New York, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is asking lawmakers to pass legislation that would ban ICE from entering schools, libraries, polling locations and homes without a judicial warrant. Massachusetts tried something similar. There, Gov. Maura Healey asked lawmakers in January to consider legislation that would keep ICE from entering courthouses, schools, childcare programs, hospitals and churches. CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE PASSES BILL PROHIBITING LAW ENFORCEMENT FROM WEARING FACE MASKS TO SHIELD IDENTITIES Those state-level requirements lack the power to bind federal agencies or their operations. Homeland Secretary Markwayne Mullin slammed Spanberger’s executive order on Wednesday in a statement to Fox News Digital. “No surprise: Governor Spanberger continues to put illegal alien criminals over her own constituents,” Mullin said.
Former White House envoy has warning for Trump on how not to get played by Iran
Former Trump envoy Morgan Ortagus warned Wednesday that Iran may be using ongoing nuclear negotiations to “buy time” as President Donald Trump pauses planned military strikes and extends a fragile ceasefire to allow more room for diplomacy. Speaking with Fox News Digital at the Middle East Forum’s 2026 policy conference in Washington, Ortagus said Iran has long used drawn-out negotiations as a strategy to delay pressure while preserving leverage. “It’s the tactic of the regime to stall, to draw negotiations, to buy time,” Ortagus said of Iran. “I would encourage the president not to fall into the trap that the Iranians like to do … which is to drag things out to buy time.” Trump recently paused planned strikes and extended diplomatic talks with Iran following pressure from Gulf allies seeking more time for negotiations, even as the administration continues pressing Iran over its nuclear program and regional proxy network. GEN JACK KEANE ‘SKEPTICAL’ THAT IRAN CEASEFIRE WILL HOLD, WARNS TEHRAN WILL ‘DELAY AND OBFUSCATE’ Ortagus, who served as State Department spokeswoman during Trump’s first term and later worked on Middle East negotiations during his second administration, argued the White House now has more leverage than previous administrations in dealing with Iran. Critics of past Iran negotiations, including many Trump administration officials, have long argued Iran used diplomacy to prolong talks while continuing to advance aspects of its nuclear program. Trump withdrew from the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, in 2018, calling it a “disastrous” agreement that failed to permanently curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Ortagus said she remains confident in Trump’s negotiating approach and emphasized that the president ultimately has final authority over any military or diplomatic decisions. “I’m always hopeful in President Trump’s ability to give his negotiating team leverage,” Ortagus said. “I think this negotiating team has more leverage in their negotiations with Iran than any negotiating teams that preceded them.” PRESIDENT TRUMP’S NEGOTIATING TEAM PRAISED BY NUCLEAR EXPERTS FOR WALKING AWAY FROM PAKISTAN TALKS “The president has seriously degraded them in a way that no one has since the Islamic Republic’s founding,” she added. Iranian officials have rejected demands for “zero enrichment,” arguing Tehran has a sovereign right to maintain a civilian nuclear program under international law. Iranian leaders have also accused Washington of using military threats to pressure Tehran during negotiations. Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is intended for peaceful energy purposes, though Western governments and the International Atomic Energy Agency have raised concerns about Iran’s uranium enrichment levels and lack of transparency. The Iranian embassy could not immediately be reached for comment. With the current Iran conflict, some America First conservatives have warned the administration risks deeper military entanglement in the Middle East and argue U.S. resources should instead focus on domestic priorities. Ortagus said the current Iran conflict is different from “forever wars” in the Middle East in years past. “I think there’s an in-between,” she said. “A very careful, thoughtful use of force when necessary, always preferring to negotiate … but also being willing to use American firepower if necessary.” “I totally respect the office of the presidency and that he’s the one that has to make the final decisions on these,” she added. She described the ongoing Republican foreign policy debate as “healthy,” arguing the party is openly wrestling with how aggressively the U.S. should confront Iran and its regional proxies. The Iran negotiations come as the U.S. is also trying to stabilize the Israel-Lebanon front, where Hezbollah and Israeli forces have continued exchanging strikes despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire extension reached during talks in Washington last week. The talks are aimed at stabilizing the Israel-Lebanon border and addressing Hezbollah’s armed presence in southern Lebanon. Ortagus, who previously led Israel-Lebanon negotiations, framed Hezbollah’s role in Lebanon as part of the broader challenge posed by Iran’s regional proxy network, which she argued must be addressed alongside Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. “The big dispute comes with Hezbollah, which is an Iranian proxy that has, of course, been a cancer to the state of Lebanon and has in many ways occupied that country,” Ortagus said. She argued the Lebanese and Israeli governments ultimately share an interest in avoiding a broader conflict, but said Hezbollah repeatedly undermines that possibility by operating independently of the Lebanese state. “The Lebanese government didn’t decide,” she said of the current conflict. “Hezbollah decided for the country of Lebanon.” Ortagus said she believes Israel and Lebanon could eventually move toward a more stable relationship if Hezbollah’s influence were diminished. US CHAMPIONS LEBANON’S RESPONSE TO HEZBOLLAH DISARMAMENT, HINTS AT ABRAHAM ACCORDS OPPORTUNITY “I actually think the goals for the Lebanese government and the Israeli government are very similar,” she said. “There’s not territorial claims from Israel into Lebanon,” Ortagus added. “The big dispute comes with Hezbollah.” Her comments echoed remarks delivered earlier in the evening by Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, who said Israel has “no territorial claims” in Lebanon and suggested the countries could eventually move toward broader normalization if Hezbollah were removed from the equation. But negotiations remain complicated by continued tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border. Lebanese officials have accused Israel of violating the ceasefire through ongoing military operations and troop presence in parts of southern Lebanon, while Israeli officials argue previous agreements failed because Hezbollah was allowed to rebuild and operate near the border unchecked. “There’s nothing stopping normalization,” Leiter said during his keynote address at the policy conference, “It would all be fine, but Hezbollah is holding Lebanon hostage.”
Former DOJ prosecutor charged with stealing confidential Jack Smith investigation documents about Trump
A former Justice Department prosecutor was charged Wednesday with allegedly emailing confidential records tied to former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Donald Trump. Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, faces four criminal charges stemming from her handling of Smith’s final report: one felony count of obstruction of justice, one felony count of concealing government records and two misdemeanor counts of theft of government property valued at less than $1,000. According to the indictment filed in the Southern District of Florida, Lineberger allegedly altered electronic file names of government records to conceal unauthorized transmissions of the documents to her personal email accounts. At the time, she was serving as the Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Fort Pierce branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS RELEASE OF JACK SMITH REPORT’S SECOND VOLUME U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon previously blocked the public release of the volume of Smith’s report related to the classified documents investigation involving Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in January 2025. FBI Director Kash Patel announced the charges in a post on X. “This afternoon, a former managing assistant U.S. Attorney who supported Jack Smith’s politicized investigation of President Trump has been charged with stealing the confidential investigation documents,” Patel wrote. “Carmen Lineberger allegedly emailed the confidential material to her own personal email, disguising them as dessert recipes to conceal them from record searches.” JUSTICE DEPARTMENT MOVES TO DROP PROSECUTION OF MAR-A-LAGO STAFF IN TRUMP CLASSIFIED DOCS CASE Lineberger’s attorney declined to comment to Fox News Digital. Smith previously brought indictments against Trump alleging he illegally attempted to overturn the 2020 election and improperly retained classified national defense information. The classified documents case was later dismissed by Cannon, who ruled Smith had been unlawfully appointed as special counsel. FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS RELEASE OF SECOND VOLUME OF SPECIAL COUNSEL REPORT TO JUDICIARY COMMITTEE LEADERS Prosecutors alleged Lineberger concealed her actions by saving electronic copies of government records under misleading file names, including “chocolate cake recipe” and “bundt cake recipe,” before sending them to personal Hotmail accounts. According to the indictment, Lineberger received a copy of Smith’s report before Cannon ordered it sealed. Months later, she allegedly forwarded the report to her personal email account. The indictment further alleges Lineberger knew transmitting the volume outside the Department of Justice violated Cannon’s court order. Lineberger pleaded not guilty during a federal court appearance Wednesday. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison on the obstruction charge, three years for concealment or removal of public records and up to one year on each theft count.
Trump owns the GOP. Could Republicans pay the price in the midterms?
President Donald Trump took to social media on Wednesday morning to showcase the power of his political endorsements, touting that the candidates he backed went 37-0 in Tuesday’s GOP primaries from coast to coast. “We won all races last night. Every one of them,” Trump told reporters. The brute force of the president’s endorsement power and the immense grip he has on the Republican Party were on full display in a number of high-profile ballot-box showdowns, including Trump-backed Ed Gallrein ousting Rep. Thomas Massie in the GOP primary in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, a race that grabbed outsized national attention. But Trump’s heavy hand in this year’s primaries could cause repercussions in the autumn, when Republicans will be defending their razor-thin House and slim Senate majorities in the midterm elections. TRUMP-BACKED FORMER NAVY SEAL DEALS KNOCKS OUT MASSIE IN HIGH-STAKES SHOWDOWN While those concerns will mount as the midterms creep closer, on Tuesday night the political headline was Trump once again successfully flexing his muscles to exert payback on Republicans who defied him. Two weeks after purging five state senators in Indiana’s primary who had opposed his push for congressional redistricting, and three days after helping to oust Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — as the senator who, five and a half years ago, voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial lost his bid for renomination — Trump obliterated Massie. Massie, who for 14 years has represented Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, in the northeastern part of the red-leaning state, has long been one of Trump’s most vocal GOP critics in Congress. The libertarian-minded lawmaker has repeatedly taken aim at the president over foreign policy, including the Iran war and unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel. And he’s also been a thorn in Trump’s side for successfully pushing for the release of government files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB Gallrein’s nearly ten-point victory over Massie in a race that was expected to be much closer represents a major win for Trump’s political operation and pro-Israel allied groups, who spent aggressively to unseat the sitting lawmaker. Speaking at his victory celebration, Gallrein thanked Trump for his support, saying, “My focus is on advancing the president’s and the party’s agenda to put America first and Kentucky always.” Taking to social media after Massie’s defeat, White House communications director and longtime Trump aide Steven Cheung warned, “Do not ever doubt President Trump and his political power. F–k around, find out.” Veteran Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams told Fox News Digital, “The Republican Party is Trump’s party, and if you cross him, he’ll hit back at you ten times as hard and defeat you. He’s getting better at this as time goes on. His grip on the party has increased, not decreased.” “Anybody at this point who doesn’t understand this will be out of a job if they cross the president,” Williams emphasized. Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky, backed by Trump in recent days, cruised to the Republican Senate nomination in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell, a former longtime Senate GOP leader. And Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a top Trump ally in the Senate, easily captured the GOP gubernatorial nomination in solidly red Alabama. But some Trump-backed candidates will have to wait a little longer before securing a ticket to the general election. Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones of Georgia finished first in the GOP gubernatorial primary, but didn’t top 50%, forcing a runoff next month with billionaire businessman Rick Jackson. It was the same story in Alabama, where Trump-backed Rep. Barry Moore finished first but will need another victory in next month’s runoff to secure the Republican Senate nomination in the race to succeed Tuberville. And this past weekend, Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow was forced into a runoff with Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming as Cassidy was sent packing. Trump putting his hand on the scale in red states like Louisiana, Alabama and Kentucky shouldn’t be an issue in the general election, but it could be in battleground Georgia, and in red-leaning Texas, where Democrats are hoping to win a U.S. Senate election for the first time in nearly four decades. Democrats feel Trump gave them an early Christmas gift by endorsing MAGA firebrand and ally and supporter Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over longtime GOP Sen. John Cornyn with one week to go until the runoff election for the Republican nomination. “Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” Trump wrote in a social media post as he announced his backing of Paxton, which likely ends Cornyn’s hope of winning renomination. The winner of the GOP runoff will face off in the autumn with rising Democratic Party star state Rep. James Talarico, who has built a massive war chest this year while Cornyn and Paxton have traded fire in their combustible race. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and many GOP leaders in the nation’s capital saw Cornyn as the candidate better equipped to successfully defend the seat in Texas, which Democrats are trying to flip as they work to win back the chamber’s majority. That’s because Paxton has faced a slew of scandals and legal problems that have battered him over the past decade, as well as his ongoing messy divorce. Some Republicans are concerned this could be a flashback to 2022, when then-former President Trump flexed his muscles in the GOP primaries, with some of his picks, including Georgia’s Herschel Walker, falling short in the midterms, as Republicans failed to win back the Senate. “Trump got his way in most of the primaries in 2022 also. Didn’t portend great results in the general election,” vocal Trump critic and GOP consultant Sarah Longwell posted on social media Tuesday night. Williams said, “The president has shown that he puts personal loyalty over political considerations
Owner of daycare in viral Nick Shirley video charged in $4.6M daycare fraud scheme, prosecutors say
A woman allegedly tied to Minnesota’s massive “Feeding Our Future” scandal has been charged in a daycare fraud scheme after being featured in a viral video by influencer Nick Shirley, authorities said. She is accused of pocketing millions of dollars meant for children’s meals. Fahima Egeh Mahamud was charged Wednesday with wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States, according to court documents. STATE OFFICIALS AND DAYCARE MANAGER PUSH BACK ON VIRAL VIDEO FRAUD ALLEGATIONS IN MINNESOTA Earlier this year, Mahamud was indicted for her alleged role in the initial $250 million “Feeding Our Future” scheme. Prosecutors allege she enrolled Future Leaders Early Learning — a Minneapolis daycare where she served as CEO — into the federal child nutrition program, falsely claiming to serve thousands of meals at her childcare center. In addition to her involvement in the nutrition program fraud, Mahamud was federally charged Wednesday with a secondary scheme to defraud the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), which provides daycare assistance to low-income families. Between October 2022 and December 2025, she allegedly submitted over 13,000 fraudulent claims to CCAP totaling approximately $4.6 million. Prosecutors state the claims were fraudulent because she falsely certified that she had collected mandatory co-payments from families, which is a material requirement for federal reimbursement. ILHAN OMAR PRESSED TO EXPLAIN HOW FRAUD IN MINNESOTA GOT ‘SO OUT OF CONTROL’ The Future Leaders Early Learning center was featured in Shirley’s viral video, FOX 9 Minneapolis reported, which showed him visiting apparently empty, Somali-run childcare centers in and around Minneapolis while alleging widespread fraud. The video served as a catalyst for an immediate and aggressive multiagency crackdown by the Trump administration. Following its release, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) froze roughly $185 million in federal childcare funding to Minnesota. Additionally, over 2,000 federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) were deployed to the Twin Cities to escalate investigations and enforcement.
New website puts Platner on notice by amplifying scandals: ‘One red flag after another’
A group aligned with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has launched a website compiling the “red flags” raised by her Democratic opponent, Graham Platner. On the site, Pine Tree Results, a fundraising committee, listed the various transgressions that have followed Graham Platner’s campaign as he looks to unseat Collins and flip a key Republican-held Senate seat. “Over 20 years of a grown man revealing his true character with one red flag after another,” the website states. “He’s radical. Dangerous. Too extreme for Maine.” Drawing from social media, Reddit and reporting, the website offers viewers a graveyard full of Platner’s most controversial moments and issues, hoping to keep them in public view as the campaign enters its final six months. LEFT-WING DEM SENATE HOPEFUL CHEERED ON ANTIFA VIOLENCE IN UNEARTHED RANT: ‘KILL A MOTHERF—ER’ In particular, it lists seven key “flags”: the way Platner has talked about rape victims, a Nazi tattoo Platner had removed, comments where he called police “bastards,” derogatory remarks about Maine residents, alleged sympathy for terrorists, comments about communism, and “bigoted” thoughts about minorities. Platner’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Pine Tree Results, founded in January of last year, according to FEC records, has amassed a mostly untapped $12.7 million war chest. Despite the series of scandals highlighted by Pine Tree Results, Democrats are counting on Platner to carry the party banner in a state that they believe is ripe for a Senate win. MAINE GOV JANET MILLS DROPS OUT OF DEMOCRATIC RACE FOR SENATE, SIGNALING SHE STRUGGLED TO RAISE ENOUGH MONEY He became the de facto party nominee earlier this year when former Maine governor Janet Mills, 78, announced she would suspend her campaign after it became clear Platner had more momentum. Collins, a political moderate, has found success in the historically Democratic Pine Tree State as a Republican. She last won reelection in 2020 in a 51% to 42.4% victory over Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, a Maine state legislator. Democrats are hoping Platner’s pitch as a political outsider will convince voters to ditch the five-term incumbent. Platner has framed the PAC’s attacks as proof that his campaign has enough momentum to draw scrutiny. SCHUMER’S ‘NUMBER ONE TARGET’ SAYS VOTERS WILL SEE HER DEMOCRAT SENATE CHALLENGER AS TOO EXTREME “A Republican super PAC called ‘Pine Tree Results,’ funded by twelve billionaires, just bought $2 million worth of attack ads against our campaign. It’s all out-of-state money. Not a single dollar coming from Maine,” Platner said in a post to Instagram last month. If they clear their respective primary elections next month, Collins and Platner will face off in the state’s general elections on Nov. 3.
Fox News Poll: 30% think recent Trump assassination attempt was staged
Three in 10 voters believe the recent assassination attempt against President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was staged, according to a Fox News national survey. Thirty percent say the shooting was fabricated, including 13% of voters who think it was “definitely” staged. That said, a narrow 52% majority believes the attack was real, with nearly one-third saying it “definitely” happened (31%). One in five is unsure whether it was real or fake (18%). FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS SEE AI AS A RISK TO PRIVACY AND PAYCHECKS The alleged gunman behind the April 25 attack, Cole Tomas Allen, has pleaded not guilty to the four felony charges filed against him by the Justice Department. The incident marked the third attempt on Trump’s life, following two separate assassination attempts in 2024. Public attitudes surrounding the attack suggest the erosion of a shared reality may have reached a critical tipping point. Most notably, the partisan divide on the attack’s authenticity is stark. The survey finds almost half of Democrats (49%) and voters who backed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in 2024 (48%) believe the shooting was staged, while just 10% of Republicans say the same. Meanwhile, 79% of Republicans believe the event was real, as do 77% of 2024 Trump voters. That number climbs to 87% among Republicans who identify as MAGA supporters. By comparison, just 31% of Democrats agree the attack was real. Views among independents are mixed: 41% say it was real and 34% believe it was staged. Uncertainty about whether the incident was real or not is highest among independents, with one quarter unsure (25%), followed by 2 in 10 Democrats (21%), and 1 in 10 Republicans (11%). FOX NEWS POLL: 56% DOUBT WHITE HOUSE’S COMPETENCE AT MANAGING GOVERNMENT Republicans under age 45 are more than five times as likely as older Republicans to think the shooting was staged (22% vs. 4%). Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts Fox News polls with Democrat Chris Anderson, stresses that the assassination attempt was undoubtedly real, warning that a growing denial of facts threatens the political process. “When partisan polarization and political cynicism prevent us from agreeing on a common and obvious set of facts, it undercuts our ability to diagnose problems and develop policy solutions,” Shaw says. “This is especially troubling given that younger voters are among the most cynical about our politics and institutions.” “These findings show what happens when public skepticism becomes embedded in the political culture,” adds Anderson. “When people are told that every major event could be manipulated or manufactured, disbelief itself becomes the default reaction.” Voters under age 35 are nearly twice as likely as those ages 65 and over to think the shooting was fabricated (38% vs. 20%), as seniors are among those most likely to say it was real (65%). There’s also a gender gap, as more women (35%) than men (25%) consider it staged. More than 6 in 10 White evangelical Christians believe the shooting happened, while 2 in 10 don’t. CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE Conducted May 15-18, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,002 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (109) and cellphones (635) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (258). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data. Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.
Fox News Poll: As economic pain deepens, disapproval of Trump hits new high
Voters are increasingly pessimistic about the economy and President Trump’s handling of key issues, while a majority opposes continued U.S. military involvement in Iran even as most believe the U.S. is winning the war. That’s according to a new Fox News national survey. Affordability continues to dominate the political landscape. Fifty-eight percent flag the cost of living as their top economic worry, up from 50% in February. This eclipses other issues, such as government spending (16%), jobs (8%) and tariffs (8%). FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS SEE AI AS A RISK TO PRIVACY AND PAYCHECKS More than three-quarters also say the economy is in bad shape (77%), worse than last month (73%) and a year ago (71%). Only 23% rate it positively, the lowest in more than a year. The pessimism is personal too. A slim majority of voters (51%) say their family’s finances are worse now than two years ago. Before the 2022 midterm elections, 44% said the same. FOX NEWS POLL: 56% DOUBT WHITE HOUSE’S COMPETENCE AT MANAGING GOVERNMENT All that helps explain the deterioration in Trump’s ratings on the economy. A year ago, 56% of voters disapproved and last month it was 66%; now, it’s 71%. The increase since April comes from a 7-point rise in disapproval among Republicans. Notably, approval of Trump on the economy among non-MAGA Republicans (36%) is more in line with independents (18%) than with MAGA Republicans (74%). The president’s overall approval on handling the economy stands at just 29%, down from 34% in April. Trump gets his lowest ratings on inflation, where only 24% approve — down from 35% in January. Inflation marks a rare issue where a slim majority of Republicans (51%) disapprove of Trump. It reaches 85% among independents and 96% among Democrats. His job numbers are also net negative on foreign policy (38-62%). Until this month, border security was the one issue where Trump received a positive rating. Now voters are split (49-51%) on his border security performance, pushing his ratings underwater for the first time this term. That shift comes even as 45% of voters say border security is better today than two years ago, while 29% say it’s worse. Approval of Trump’s overall job performance is 39%, down 3 points since last month and 10 points since his second term started — and only 1 point above his lowest in October 2017. A record 61% disapprove of the job he’s doing, including 48% who strongly disapprove. Since April, approval has declined among some of his key constituencies, such as rural Whites (-6 points), White men without a degree (-5), and Republicans (-3). Trump approval is at all-time lows among Republicans (80%), non-MAGA Republicans (54%), Whites (43%) and rural voters (43%). “Despite consistently strong GOP support, the president’s numbers are leaking a bit,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News Poll with Democrat Chris Anderson. “Make no mistake; it’s all about affordability. Independents jumped ship in 2025, and now non-MAGA Republicans and other core constituencies are wavering.” Plus, in the long run, more voters think Trump’s policies will hurt the country (57%) than help it (34%). The share saying “hurt” is up 6 points since last April. Fully 88% of MAGA Republicans say his policies will help, while only 43% of non-MAGA Republicans agree. Meanwhile, gas prices are squeezing voter budgets: 86% call rising prices a problem, including 51% who label them a “major” problem. Concern is nearly universal for the broader economy, where 96% see gas prices as a problem and 75% call it “major.” When assigning blame for gas prices, voters aimed heavily at domestic factors, with about 8 in 10 pointing to Trump’s policies, domestic oil companies, and government regulations. However, they overwhelmingly view the Iran war as the primary driver, with 91% saying it is responsible. Iran Two-thirds think the U.S. is winning the war in Iran, yet opposition to U.S. military action increased to 60%, up from 55% last month. Half think the war will last a year (18%) or more (33%), unchanged since March, while 6 in 10 favor a limited timeframe for U.S. involvement in Iran, including 3 in 10 war supporters and 4 in 10 Republicans. Almost all Republicans (89%) and two-thirds of independents believe the U.S. is winning the war, while more than half of Democrats say Iran is winning (56%). Generationally, voters under age 30 are the most likely to believe the U.S. is winning (79%), yet they are also some of the most opposed to the war (67%). Among voters who have served in the military, 55% support the U.S. action against Iran and 72% believe the U.S. is winning the war. Last summer, voter concern about Iran getting a nuclear bomb was at a record high 78%. Today, it’s at a record low 56%, down from 66% in March. Concern since March is down among Democrats (-13 points), independents (-11), and Republicans (-6). Poll-pourri While 45% approve of Trump’s handling of the U.S.-China summit, a 54% majority disapproves. That matches views of the negotiation’s outcome: 52% believe Chinese President Xi Jinping got more of what he wanted compared to 46% for Trump. More than a quarter of Republicans (27%) join majorities of Democrats (75%) and independents (56%) in thinking Xi won the summit, as do nearly a quarter of those who otherwise approve of Trump’s handling of the trip (24%). CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE Conducted May 15-18, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,002 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (109) and cellphones (635) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (258). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education,