White House denies Homan took cash in FBI sting, slams probe as ‘political’
The White House claimed that President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, never accepted money in cash from undercover FBI agents amid reports that the Justice Department recently closed an investigation into Homan for potential bribery. The White House’s remarks come after MSNBC reported Saturday that Homan allegedly took $50,000 in cash in September 2024 from undercover FBI agents he believed were business executives after suggesting he could help them secure government contracts with a second Trump administration. Federal law enforcement MSNBC reported that the investigation into Homan closed “in recent weeks,” after FBI Director Kash Patel asked for an update on the probe. BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN CALLS OUT MEDIA, REPORTERS ACCUSING ICE AGENTS OF RACIAL PROFILING MSNBC reported that video footage depicts Homan accepting the cash. However, the White House now says that Homan never even accepted the money in the first place, and said that Trump did not ask the Justice Department to shutter the probe. “Mr. Homan never took the $50,000 that you’re referring to, so you should get your facts straight, number one,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday. “Number two, this was another example of the weaponization of the Biden Department of Justice against one of President Trump’s strongest and most vocal supporters in the midst of a presidential campaign, you had FBI agents going undercover to try and entrap one of the president’s top allies and supporters, someone who they knew very well would be taking a government position months later, Mr. Homan did absolutely nothing wrong.” BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN VOWS CRACKDOWN ON PROTEST VIOLENCE, SAYS FUNDERS WILL FACE PROSECUTION The White House did not provide additional comment to Fox News Digital. Previously, Trump administration officials have refrained from saying Homan never accepted the cash, and instead, said that there was no evidence of illegal activity. “This matter originated under the previous administration and was subjected to a full review by FBI agents and Justice Department prosecutors. They found no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing. The Department’s resources must remain focused on real threats to the American people, not baseless investigations. As a result, the investigation has been closed,” Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement to Fox News Digital. BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN’S MESSAGE TO ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS: ‘YOU WANT SOME? COME GET SOME’ Additionally, the White House said that the investigation was politically motivated and said that it was an example of Trump allies being targeted. “This blatantly political investigation, which found no evidence of illegal activity, is yet another example of how the Biden Department of Justice was using its resources to target President Trump’s allies rather than investigate real criminals and the millions of illegal aliens who flooded our country,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Tom Homan is a career law enforcement officer and lifelong public servant who is doing a phenomenal job on behalf of President Trump and the country.”
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Ryan Routh’s bizarre defense
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… -Trump’s newest Fed governor Miran vows to be ‘as independent as I can’ -NYC mayor hopeful boycotts ABC affiliate town hall over Jimmy Kimmel suspension –Conservative PAC turns tables on liberal narrative against exposing teachers who smear Kirk: ‘Ridiculous’ Ryan Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at his Florida golf course last year, said he would not take the stand in his own criminal case on Monday — the strongest sign yet that the defense is preparing to rest its case and kick the trial into its final phase before jury deliberation. Routh, 59, has been representing himself in the federal criminal trial. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and possession of a firearm, among other crimes. If convicted, he could face life in prison. He previously floated the possibility that he could testify on his own behalf — a risky strategy that would have waived his Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination, and opened him up to cross-examination by federal prosecutors…READ MORE. FACULTY IN THE FIRE: Education chief urges colleges to punish faculty who cheered Charlie Kirk’s death SCIENCE ON TRIAL: Trump to reveal medical finding he calls an ‘answer to autism’ in major announcement UNSTOPPABLE LOVE: Erika Kirk forgives husband’s killer at memorial service: ‘It’s what Charlie would do’ PARIS AND PALESTINE: Macron pushes Gaza initiative as UNGA opens, raising questions about his motives and rivalry with Trump NEW DEAL NEEDED: Trump must tell UN: US funding depends on reform, ex-diplomat says SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN: Thune slams Democrats’ ‘cold-blooded partisan’ tactics as funding deadline nears RHETORIC REVEALED: Dem Senate hopeful calls for civility, despite past warning of ‘radicalized White men’ ELON CHIMES IN: Elon Musk wades into Virginia transgender bathroom clash, says Dem gov candidate wrongly ‘blaming’ Trump FACE-OFF: Newsom on courtroom collision course with Trump over ICE mask ban CULTURE CLASH: From Kirk to Kimmel: Fiery NJ debate spotlights political violence and free speech LIFE ON THE LINE: Luigi Mangione moves to dismiss death penalty, federal case citing Bondi comments Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
DHS unleashes on NY Magazine cover that claims Kristi Noem doesn’t actually run the agency
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded to the New York Magazine cover story today, which claims that Corey Lewandowski, rather than Secretary Kristi Noem, is the one calling the shots at the agency. DHS punched back at New York Magazine’s reporting in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital, saying that the story is simply “peddling anonymous gossip.” “This NYMag hit piece reads like a preteen rage-scrolling, then prompting ChatGPT for a screed on misogyny,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. “It’s not just lazy — it’s libelous — peddling anonymous gossip as fact while ignoring our exhaustive, on-the-record rebuttals that destroy their narrative.” “New York Magazine has sunk to new depths of journalistic cowardice, force-feeding the American public lies less digestible than Kibble dog food,” McLaughlin added. GAVIN NEWSOM FACES BACKLASH FOR ‘RECKLESS’ POST ABOUT KRISTI NOEM AFTER CHARLIE KIRK’S ASSASSINATION Lewandowski served as President Donald Trump’s first campaign manager during the Republican primary in 2016. He also served as a senior adviser for Trump’s 2024 campaign. He now holds the title of senior adviser at DHS. “All decisions are made by Secretary Noem,” McLaughlin told Fox. “Multiple staff have the ability to provide recommendations and input for her consideration. Mr. Lewandowski serves as an advisor.” “The Secretary, like all previous Secretaries, has various senior advisors,” McLaughlin continued. Noem, who was selected by Trump in November 2024, served as Governor of South Dakota prior to her tenure at DHS, and was rumored to be a potential Vice Presidential candidate along the campaign trail in Trump’s third run for president. ICE HAS DEPORTED NEARLY 200,000 SO FAR DURING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM, SETTING PACE FOR HIGHEST LEVEL IN DECADE Sources at DHS told Fox that Secretary Noem receives regular death threats, including from the terrorist organizations, cartels and criminal rings that DHS targets, presumably as a result of Noem and the Trump administration drastically reducing traffic across the southern border and deporting illegal migrants across the country. Despite the threats against Noem, NY Magazine published that the secretary is living in the U.S. Coast Guard military housing in Washington D.C., which DHS told Fox is due to the security threats she regularly faces. NY Magazine’s cover story later goes on to describe the Department of Homeland Security’s increase in deportations as one of the roots of “Trump’s police state,” saying that DHS is “endangering the constitutional rights of citizens and noncitizens alike.” McLaughlin punched back at those claims, telling Fox News Digital that Noem has specifically targeted dangerous illegal migrant criminals while also being responsible for overseeing the U.S. Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). DHS SECRETARY NOEM SAYS KIRK’S LAST TEXT TO HER WARNED ABOUT THREAT OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IN BIG CITIES “[Secretary Noem] slashed taxpayer waste by over $12 billion in her first 200 days while locking down the border in the wake of Biden’s chaos, facilitating the exit of 2 million illegal aliens (including terrorists, murderers, rapists, child pedophiles and gang members), revolutionizing the Coast Guard and overhauling TSA for safer, smoother, more hardened security,” McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. “That’s leadership, not gossip — America’s safer and stronger because of Kristi Noem,” McLaughlin added. Last month, McLaughlin told Fox that the agency has arrested more than 359,000 illegal migrants and removed more than 332,000 illegal migrants from the U.S. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Lauren Starke, a spokesperson for NY Magazine, told Fox News Digital that their cover story was “carefully reported and fact-checked” in response to DHS’ comments to Fox. “Our Washington correspondent spoke with more than a dozen current and former DHS staffers, as well as Trump administration officials, lobbyists, consultants, immigration experts, and former colleagues of Noem in South Dakota,” Starke told Fox. “There is a public interest in government accountability, and we stand by this story.”
Charlotte light-rail stabbing murder spurs landmark criminal justice reform from North Carolina Republicans
North Carolina Republican leaders plan to put forward a criminal justice reform package to roll back what they call “soft-on-crime” policies, which they argue led to last month’s murder of a young Ukrainian woman in Charlotte by a mentally disturbed man. The unprovoked stabbing of Iryna Zarutska led North Carolina Senate President Phil Berger to spearhead the effort, announced Monday. “Iryna should still be alive. She should be thriving and enjoying time with her family and friends,” said Berger, R-Reidsville. “We cannot let North Carolina be held hostage by woke, weak-on-crime policies and court officials who prioritize criminals over justice for victims. We are also taking steps to revive the death penalty for those who commit the most heinous crimes.” PAM BONDI SAYS DEATH PENALTY A POSSIBILITY FOR IRYNA ZARUTSKA KILLER The package, dubbed “Iryna’s Law,” cracks down on lax provisions in pretrial release or bail policies – as alleged suspect Decarlos Brown Jr. had a lengthy, violent rap sheet. House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Lenoir, added in a statement that residents deserve to live without fear of criminals being “cycled in and out” of the criminal justice system. Hall said Iryna’s Law would eliminate cashless bail, “hold magistrates accountable” for lapses in judgment and set new standards for mental health evaluations to be administered to suspects. WHO IS IRYNA ZARUTSKA, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE KILLED IN CHARLOTTE TRAIN ATTACK? “We will simply not tolerate policies that allow violent offenders back onto our streets to commit more crimes and jeopardize public safety,” Hall said. While curbing some of the judges’ discretion, the package in turn allows jurists to impose GPS monitoring and conditional bond for a “new category” of violent offenses. Electronic monitoring and house arrest are heavily weighted as options for certain recidivist offenders. Magistrates and judges who violate the policies in Iryna’s Law could face suspension or removal if recommended by a chief judge or by State Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby, a Republican from Asheboro who won the most recent nonpartisan election. Fox News Digital reached out to North Carolina Democratic Gov. Josh Stein for comment on the legislation but did not hear back by press time.
250K Dreamers would be protected from deportation under big-name bipartisan effort
The number-two Democrat in the Senate joined with a high-profile member of the Republican caucus, among others, to launch a bill protecting more than a quarter of a million people who arrived in the U.S. as children of visa-holding foreign nationals. Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., who co-authored the original, ultimately unsuccessful DREAM Act with the late Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, announced Monday that he and several lawmakers would lead the America’s CHILDREN Act to protect so-called Dreamers from deportation by the Trump administration. The acronym formally stands for “America’s Cultivation of Hope and Inclusion for Long-term Dependents Raised and Educated Natively Act.” Durbin was joined by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., in the upper chamber, to support the newest iteration of legislation offering a “pathway to citizenship” for long-term U.S. residents who were dependents of migrant parents. TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN SPARKS BIPARTISAN CALL FOR ASYLUM FIXES, PROTECTION FOR LONGTIME MIGRANTS “Dreamers are some of the hardest working people I’ve met, and as American as all of us,” Durbin said in a statement. “Their patriotism and dedication to our country inspires me, fuels our economy, and makes our nation stronger. Documented Dreamers are young people brought to the United States lawfully, but they face the risk of losing their status due to backlogs in our outdated immigration system.” The Illinois Democrat, whose state has clashed with President Donald Trump over his mass deportation agenda, said the administration has made legal immigration “all but impossible” and that the bipartisan nature of the bill shows the American people demand solutions. APPEALS COURT DEALS BLOW TO OBAMA-ERA AMNESTY FOR DREAMERS Dreamers can remain a dependent of a migrant worker until they are 21, according to Rep. Deborah Ross, D-N.C., who described the intended beneficiaries of the American CHILDREN Act in a previous attempt to pass similar legislation. “Sadly, due to decades-long backlogs and problems with the Child Status Protection Act, many of these young adults turn 21 before a visa number for a green card finally becomes available,” said Ross, who also co-sponsored the current bill. Padilla, who was detained by federal agents when he disrupted a briefing by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in California earlier this year, said the people described in the bill are “Americans in every way except one – their parents’ green card is tied up in red tape.” Paul, along with Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Illinois — the two most prominent Republican co-sponsors — said Dreamers are contributing members of their communities and the U.S. economy. “They shouldn’t be penalized by the government’s failures in addressing green card backlogs. The America’s Children Act provides targeted relief for these children of merit-based immigrants who are at risk of ‘aging out’ of their lawful immigration status, and I’m pleased to join Sen. Padilla in introducing this bill,” Paul said in a statement. A handful of other Republicans signed onto the bill, including Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska – a frequent Trump critic – along with Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, John Rutherford of Florida; Sens. John Curtis of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine.
Waltz promises US will defend ‘every inch’ of NATO territory after Russian jets flew into Estonia
New U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz warned Monday the U.S. and its allies will defend “every inch” of NATO territory after Russian fighter jets violated Estonian airspace. “The United States stands by our NATO allies in the face of these airspace violations, and I want to take this first opportunity to repeat and to emphasize the United States and our allies will defend every inch of NATO territory,” Waltz said during opening remarks of the United Nations General Assembly high-level week. “Russia must urgently stop dangerous behavior.” The warning marked one of Waltz’s first public statements since winning Senate confirmation Friday. It came days after three Russian MiG-31 jets flew deep into Estonian airspace — the closest such incursion to the Baltic nation’s Parliament building in years — raising fears Moscow is testing NATO’s resolve. Estonia’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna revealed Monday morning that the jets were armed. The jets were in Estonian airspace for 12 minutes. RUSSIA SHIFTS FROM TALK TO ACTION, TARGETING NATO HOMELAND AMID FEARS OF GLOBAL WAR Tsahkna noted that Russia remains a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council even as it continues its war on Ukraine and now pushes into NATO territory. Article 5 of the NATO treaty states that an armed attack against one or more NATO members in Europe or North America is considered an attack against them all. In practice, this means that if any member nation is attacked, the others are committed to take action. Waltz, a former House member from Florida, served as President Donald Trump’s national security advisor until May. His confirmation to the U.N. was held up in the Senate until last week, when a 47-43 vote confirmed him as U.S. permanent representative to the U.N. Security Council. A separate vote to confirm him as U.S. representative to the General Assembly did not come up — it’s unclear whether that will have any effect on his participation at UNGA. The Estonia incursion followed an incident where at least 19 Russian drones entered Poland’s airspace just one week after Polish President Karol Nawrocki met with President Donald Trump at the White House. Last week, Romania reported a Shahed drone of Russian origin was found in its territory. Russia called reports of the incursions “groundless accusations.” “There is no proof except the Russophobic hysteria coming from Tallinn,” said Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the U.N., referring to Estonia’s capital. RUSSIAN JETS VIOLATE ESTONIAN AIRSPACE, FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS “There was a time when Europe was associated with the renaissance, enlightenment cutting edge of philosophy, culture and science. Yet today unfortunately all of that is gone and it’s gone for good,” the representative went on. Polyansky claimed the “only ideology” of European states is “primitive hatred” for Russia. “Any events are immediately interpreted through an anti-Russian prism,” he said. “The idea that war with Russia is unavoidable is being frantically pounded into the heads of the European populace.” On Monday, the U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting on the jet incursions into Estonia at Tallinn’s request. “Russia’s reckless actions represent not only a breach of international law, but also a destabilizing escalation that brings the entire region closer to conflict than at any time in recent years,” Tsahkna said. “Such a provocation is profoundly disrespectful towards the collective and tireless efforts of the international community to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war and to restore peace and stability in accordance with international law.”
SCOTUS allows Trump to fire Biden-appointed FTC commissioner
The Supreme Court on Monday backed President Donald Trump’s decision to fire a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission, sending yet another signal that the high court intends to revisit a 90-year-old court precedent about executive firing power. The temporary decision to maintain Biden-appointed commissioner Rebecca Slaughter’s termination was issued 6-3 along ideological lines. The Supreme Court set oral arguments in the case for December. Trump’s decision to fire Slaughter and another Democrat-appointed commissioner, Alvaro Bedoya, faced legal challenges because it stood in tension with the FTC Act, which says commissioners should only be fired from their seven-year tenures for cause, such as malfeasance. FTC FIRINGS TAKE SPOTLIGHT IN TRUMP’S FIGHT TO ERASE INDEPENDENCE OF AGENCIES Trump fired Slaughter and Bedoya shortly after he took office without citing a cause other than the president’s broad constitutional authority over the executive branch. Bedoya resigned, but Slaughter vowed to fight her firing in court and see the case through to its conclusion. A lower court initially sided with Slaughter and reinstated her, but she has since been fired and re-hired several times as her case made its way to the Supreme Court. The decision on Monday came after the Trump administration asked the high court on an emergency basis to temporarily pause the lower court’s decision to reinstate Slaughter ahead of deciding on the merits of the case. The Supreme Court’s decision to keep Slaughter’s firing intact means she will remain sidelined from the FTC until after the high court hears arguments about the case in December. Slaughter had argued to the Supreme Court that siding with Trump, even on an interim basis, disturbed the precedent set in Humphrey’s Executor vs. the United States, which deemed President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s firing of an FTC commissioner unlawful. Legal experts have speculated that the current conservative-leaning Supreme Court is interested in narrowing or reversing Humphrey’s Executor, which could carry broad implications about a president’s ability to fire members of independent agencies. TRUMP ADMIN URGES SUPREME COURT TO ALLOW PRESIDENT TO FIRE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION MEMBER The three liberal justices dissented and would have denied Trump’s stay request. Writing for the dissent, Justice Elena Kagan speculated that the court’s majority may be “raring” to reverse Humphrey’s Executor but that it should not make hasty decisions that contravene that precedent until such a reversal happens. “Our emergency docket should never be used, as it has been this year, to permit what our own precedent bars,” Kagan wrote. “Still more, it should not be used, as it also has been, to transfer government authority from Congress to the President, and thus to reshape the Nation’s separation of powers.” Fox News Digital reached out to a representative for Slaughter for comment. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
NYC mayor hopeful boycotts ABC affiliate town hall over Jimmy Kimmel suspension
New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani announced on Monday that he is withdrawing from an upcoming WABC town hall to protest Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension. The town hall, hosted by ABC News’ New York affiliate, was scheduled for Thursday, one week after a Disney spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “Jimmy Kimmel Live will be preempted indefinitely.” “It is not the government’s job to bully talk show hosts off of the air,” Mamdani told reporters on New York City’s Roosevelt Island on Monday. “It is not the government’s job to tell us what we can and cannot talk about.” The White House fired back against Mamdani’s “authoritarian” accusations on Monday. “It’s not surprising that the Little Communist is too scared to defend his absurd policy positions on live TV,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. TRUMP REVEALS NEW NICKNAME FOR MAMDANI WEEKS BEFORE ELECTION DAY The socialist candidate, who could become New York City’s first Muslim and first millennial mayor if elected this November, joins a chorus of late-night talk show hosts, celebrities and lawmakers who have criticized Kimmel’s indefinite suspension. ZOHRAN MAMDANI LAUNCHES ANTI-TRUMP TOUR ACROSS FIVE BOROUGHS IN NEW YORK CITY “We cannot understand this moment of authoritarianism as solely coming from the White House, when it is also characterized by the cowardice of those in response to it,” Mamdani said Monday. Mamdani delivered his remarks at Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms State Park on Roosevelt Island, where he invoked the former president’s 1941 State of the Union address, when the United States was on the brink of joining World War II. “A moment similar to now, when tyranny was spreading across the globe,” Mamdani said. “And he articulated a thesis of democracy built around four freedoms: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, freedom from fear. And all of our freedoms are currently under attack from this federal administration.” Mamdani said Trump’s “authoritarian” administration has “showcased, once again, an attack on the First Amendment.” “ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel off the air after the FCC sought to pressure them. And the parent companies, Nexstar and Sinclair, put the decision of their merger, the factors that they are considering as part of that, in front of those very freedoms and that very First Amendment right,” Mamdani said. The 33-year-old mayoral hopeful said his withdrawal from the WABC town hall is not an “indictment of the local affiliate or the hard-working journalists there, but rather, in response to the corporate leaders who have put their bottom line ahead of their responsibility in upholding the freedom of the press.” In the next several weeks ahead of the November election, Mamdani vowed to participate in another town hall featuring questions from the public. “We are living in a moment where Donald Trump’s actions are the ones which determine whether or not we can enjoy that which we have taken for granted for so many years,” Mamdani said. ABC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Thune slams Democrats’ ‘cold-blooded partisan’ tactics as funding deadline nears
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., wants to jam Senate Democrats with the GOP’s short-term funding extension, but so far they aren’t ready to play ball. Republicans and Democrats in the upper chamber blocked dueling continuing resolutions (CRs) from both parties last week and have now left Washington, D.C., until Sept. 29, effectively giving lawmakers in the upper chamber only two working days before the midnight deadline on Sept. 30. Both sides are at an impasse. Senate Republicans argue that the “clean” extension, which would last until Nov. 21 and lacks any partisan policy riders, is everything Democrats dreamed of when they controlled the upper chamber. TRUMP-APPROVED PLAN TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN SCUTTLED BY SENATE Senate Democrats led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., however, argue that they want a seat at the negotiating table and are adamant that expiring Obamacare premium subsidies must be dealt with now, rather than at the end of the year. “They’re trying to use what they think is leverage to get a bunch of stuff done,” Thune said. “It’s never going to happen. I mean, can you imagine anything in that bill that they sent that we voted down today, passing in the Republican House of Representatives? Absolutely not. It’s just not serious.” Democrats’ proposal included a permanent extension to the expiring Obamacare subsidies, clawbacks of canceled funding for NPR and PBS, and it would have repealed the healthcare provisions in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” — policy that would reverse the nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts while also getting rid of the $50 billion rural hospital fund. “They’re not being serious,” Thune said. “This is just a cold-blooded partisan political attempt to try and score political points with a left-wing base.” Though he has not taken the option off the table, it’s unlikely that Thune would cut this recess short. Instead, he wants to use the impending deadline to back Senate Democrats into a corner. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., played into that strategy, too, when he announced that the House would not return until after the funding deadline. Thune is ready to bring the same CR passed by House Republicans last week to the floor. SENATE REPUBLICANS BLOCK DEMOCRATS’ ‘FILTHY’ COUNTEROFFER AS SHUTDOWN DEADLINE LOOMS Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., railed against the likelihood that lawmakers wouldn’t return to Capitol Hill until the deadline was directly on them. “The Republicans want to shut down,” he said. “A) they refuse to negotiate, and B) they’re sending us home for the week before the government shuts down. So you know this, this seems like a planned shutdown. As far as I can tell, there’s zero effort, zero effort by Republicans to try to solve this problem.” Schumer and Democrats have pinned the blame on Trump and argue that his insistence that Thune only needs Republican votes was a sign that Democrats should be cut out of the process. Thune will need Democratic votes to advance through the 60-vote filibuster threshold in the Senate. The top Senate Democrat hoped Thune and Republicans would “now see that the only way to avoid a shutdown is negotiate with Democrats.” “We’re saying clearly, let’s sit down. Let’s figure this out,” Schumer said. “But Republicans have now left town with no sign they want to avoid a shutdown in a week. They left town. Donald Trump is the shutdown president and Senate Republicans are following him over the cliff.” THUNE PANS DEMOCRATS’ SHUTDOWN STANCE AS ‘BORDERLINE PATHOLOGICAL,’ ‘LIKE A DISEASE’ Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., also sent a letter on Saturday to Trump demanding a meeting, where the pair charged that “Republicans would bear the responsibility” of a partial shutdown. “As a result, it is now your obligation to meet with us directly to reach an agreement to keep the government open and address the Republican healthcare crisis,” they wrote. Trump said on Saturday that he would “love to meet with them, but I don’t think it’s going to have any impact.” A day before, he didn’t appear optimistic that a shutdown could be averted. “I think we could very well end up with a closed country for a period of time,” Trump said. Thune may have defections within his own ranks to contend with, too. Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voted against the GOP’s bill. Only Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., crossed the aisle to support it. Paul’s vote against the bill wasn’t a surprise. However, Murkowski, who is an appropriator, contended that she wanted a better bill on the floor than the one presented by Republicans and charged that the back-to-back failures of both bills was a “messaging exercise.” “I want to project a message of something that can actually get us through this impasse,” she said. “And so my message is a short-term CR that also addresses three past appropriations bills that we’ve already done. We should include those. We should include a short-term fix of the premium tax credits.”
Newsom on courtroom collision course with Trump over ICE mask ban
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s attempt to block authorities from wearing masks during immigration enforcement operations is facing legal scrutiny as critics push back on the governor’s effort to assert power over federal officers. Newsom, a Democrat, signed a bill over the weekend that bans state and federal law enforcement from wearing masks on the job, a move that Trump administration officials decried as illegal and vowed to ignore. The bill is set to take effect in January. “We don’t need to abide by this garbage,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said on social media. NEWSOM BANS LAW ENFORCEMENT FROM WEARING MASKS, TAUNTS ICE AGENTS: ‘WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?’ Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California said on “Fox & Friends” on Monday he did not think Newsom’s bill was enforceable. Essayli, who has been in lockstep with the Trump administration on its aggressive immigration enforcement tactics in California, predicted Newsom would sue. “I think what the governor might do is he might file a lawsuit,” Essayli said. “He might run to a judge to try to get some sort of order, but we’re very confident. The State of California does not and cannot have jurisdiction.” Newsom’s measure was part of a string of bills the governor signed to counteract the Trump administration, which has, since the summer, been carrying out controversial immigration raids across California. The Supreme Court recently temporarily cleared the way for ICE authorities to continue conducting immigration stops at farms, car washes and other places where they suspect illegal immigrants might be. But the high court did not weigh in on the authorities’ garb, which at times has included identity-concealing masks and neck gaiters, according to videos. “Unmarked cars, people in masks, people quite literally disappearing, no due process, no rights,” Newsom said, adding, “I’ll be signing a bill, the first in the nation, saying, ‘Enough, ICE, unmask, what are you afraid of?’” LOS ANGELES COUNTY PUSHES TO PROHIBIT LAW ENFORCEMENT FROM HIDING THEIR IDENTITIES WHILE ON THE JOB California-based attorney Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, told Fox News Digital that if courts end up weighing in on Newsom’s bill, they will likely raise the separation of powers and the supremacy clause, the part of the Constitution that says federal law trumps state law. Rahmani said that while states can impose “reasonable restrictions” on federal law enforcement, such as traffic violations, dictating what the officers wear is different. “You have the state imposing restrictions on the federal government, and those restrictions can really unduly interfere with their law enforcement functions, right?” Rahmani said. “The state is saying that unmasking these federal officials is necessary to restore public trust, but really it’s a safety issue, right? They can be doxed. Their families can be put at risk, so I can easily see this specific regulation being struck down by the courts.” Essayli accused the governor of using what he described as a “silly” bill to try to “inflame the public.” “You have this narrative that people are out there being kidnapped. It’s not true,” Essayli said. “They’re federal agents. They’re acting under federal law, and if he doesn’t like it he should change the law.”