Illegal immigrant tuition perks put 4 states in Trump DOJ crosshairs
The Trump administration filed lawsuits against four states Thursday over laws allowing illegal immigrants to receive financial benefits offered to state residents, including in-state tuition, state grants and state-funded student loans. The Justice Department argued that laws in Oregon, Washington, New Mexico and Arizona allowing illegal immigrants to receive benefits are in violation of a federal law that states an illegal immigrant is ineligible to receive higher education in-state benefits unless those same benefits are available to every U.S. student. “This is a simple matter of federal law: Colleges cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said in a statement. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country.” DOJ SUES NEW JERSEY OVER LAWS GIVING ILLEGAL ALIENS IN-STATE TUITION, SAYS CITIZENS TREATED AS ‘SECOND-CLASS’ The latest lawsuits bring the number of states facing legal challenges over laws granting illegal immigrant students the same benefits as lawful residents to 21. The Justice Department has won its cases in Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Illinois. “Our efforts will not cease until President Trump’s promise is fulfilled: Illegal aliens will not receive benefits denied to American citizens,” Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward, Jr. said in a statement. The difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition costs at public universities in the four states is significant. The complaint showed that for the 2026-2027 school year, Washington residents would pay $13,406, compared with $44,460 for out-of-state students at the University of Washington. This means illegal immigrants could receive a $31,054 discount if they earned a high school diploma or equivalent in the state, lived there for at least one year for reasons other than attending college and signed an affidavit saying they would seek permanent residency when eligible. TRUMP’S JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES NEW YORK, OTHER BLUE STATES OVER TUITION FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS The Justice Department’s lawsuit against Arizona also showed a significant difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition costs, with the largest gap at Arizona State University totaling $24,448. The lawsuit alleged that in fall 2025, 432 illegal immigrants received in-state tuition benefits at Arizona State University amounting to $10.5 million in reduced tuition. The lawsuit also cites a report from the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting that estimates more than 3,600 illegal aliens per year could qualify for in-state tuition under Arizona’s law. A spokesperson for the Arizona Board of Regents, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said the school system follows state law. “We are reviewing the lawsuit and will work closely with Arizona leaders on the appropriate next steps,” a spokesperson said. The benefits extend beyond tuition costs. COURT CHECKS PRITZKER AS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SCORES ANOTHER IMMIGRATION WIN In Oregon, only in-state students enrolled at Oregon Health & Science University can receive a Rural Nurse Scholars Scholarship, which covers the full cost of tuition and a $1,500 travel stipend. The Justice Department alleges that illegal immigrants are eligible for the scholarship under state law. In Washington, not only do illegal immigrants qualify for in-state tuition and grants, but the state also created a financial aid program for illegal immigrants living in the state who are unable to obtain federal financial aid. The program is known as the Undocumented Student Support Loan Program, and it was created under a bill passed in 2020. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said in a statement to Fox News Digital that he stands by the state’s laws. “Washington state won’t be bullied into changing how we provide opportunities for young people in our state,” Ferguson said. “We’ll see them in court, and we expect to win.” A June 2024 report estimated that roughly 408,000 illegal immigrants were enrolled in higher education, with 29.1% arriving in the United States at age 17 or older. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Lawsuits are pending in Minnesota, Virginia, California, New Jersey, Kansas, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, Colorado, New York, Connecticut and Vermont. Fox News Digital reached out to Oregon, New Mexico and Arizona’s governors’ offices for comment.
El-Sayed dragged over ‘weird’ fixation on ‘talking about other people’s wives’ after latest Trump attack
The Abdul-El Sayed campaign on Thursday launched an attack aimed at White House aide Natalie Harp just a week after attacking second lady Usha Vance in a similarly vicious manner. After President Donald Trump’s edict renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America during a heated trade battle with Canada the El-Sayed campaign waded into the fray on X. “If we’re just renaming everything now… When are we making this official?” the campaign said in its post, adding a doctored image of the official White House webpage for first lady Melania Trump, crossing out her name and replacing it with Harp’s. The post was quickly criticized by conservatives on social media. HOUSE DEM’S ‘LAKE NATALIE’ JAB AT TRUMP AIDE SETS SOCIAL MEDIA ABLAZE: ‘STAY CLASSY’ “This is just such a weak, phoned-in effort,” GOP communicator Matt Whitlock posted on X. “My four year-old could come up with better burns than this. “Weird how much time this campaign spends talking about other people‘s wives. When Abdul’s not talking about (and clearly thinking a lot about) the vice president and his wife, apparently he’s thinking about President Trump and his wife?” “That boy Abdul is drowning, and his team keeps throwing him bricks,” journalist James David Dickson posted on X. “So this is just gross, right?” Conservative advocacy group Michigan Forward posted on X. SECOND LADY USHA VANCE FIRES BACK AT POINTED JAB FROM DEMOCRATIC SENATE NOMINEE ABDUL EL-SAYED “A lil more sexism and misogyny from the Left,” political commentator Melik Abdul posted on X. “This time, it’s from the Guy who plays foootsie with Hasan Piker.” Harp is a longtime Trump supporter who credited his first-term “right to try” order for saving her life after a serious battle with bone cancer. She then joined the second Trump administration as an aide to the president. In recent weeks, Harp has become the subject of intense media scrutiny and online speculation about the nature of her relationship with Trump. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER In a post over the weekend responding to Vice President JD Vance’s comments that his grandfather, whom he called Pawpaw, would be shocked to know that El-Sayed is a serious U.S. Senate contender, the socialist-aligned candidate from Michigan responded by invoking second lady Usha Vance, who is of Indian descent. “So do we think JD is taking Usha with him back in time to meet Papaw, or no…,” El-Sayed wrote on X. Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed’s campaign. “Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, who wants to massively raise taxes and defund the police, was just recently exposed for saying American football is ‘toxic masculinity’ and trashing Thanksgiving,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital. “Everything this radical says is moronic.”
Trump election fraud crackdown lands first arrest, putting longtime critics in White House crosshairs
The first arrest in what a Trump administration prosecutor says will be a broader election fraud crackdown was announced Friday in Los Angeles, and the White House seized on the case to hit back at longtime critics. First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli announced a Honduran national was charged with two felony counts and could face deportation if convicted, while criticizing California’s current voter registration safeguards and renewing DOJ demands for a voter roll audit. “Today’s arrest is the first of many to come. Unfortunately, because states like California allow non-citizens to easily register to vote and receive a ballot by mail, there’s no telling how many non-citizens are currently registered to vote,” Essayli said in a statement announcing the capture of Darwin Jonathan Rivera Flores. CALIFORNIA ACCUSED OF BLOCKING FEDERAL VOTER ROLL AUDIT AS DOJ ESCALATES PROBE OF ELECTION FRAUD CLAIMS “We again renew our request that California immediately comply with our requests to audit their voter rolls so that all voters can have confidence in our elections.” Fox News Digital reached out to Gov. Gavin Newsom for comment. Rivera Flores, of the Winnetka neighborhood west of Van Nuys, was charged with fraudulent voter registration and false claim of U.S. citizenship. He did not vote in an election, according to the DOJ. Rivera Flores entered the U.S. during the George W. Bush administration and was a green card holder, but was not a U.S. citizen, according to an affidavit. FOUR NONCITIZENS CHARGED WITH ILLEGALLY VOTING IN 2020, 2022 AND 2024 FEDERAL ELECTIONS IN NEW JERSEY He was previously charged with a misdemeanor for “disrupting immigration law enforcement operations” at a federal building in Camarillo, California, and sentenced to one year of probation. Rivera Flores also allegedly sent a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent a slew of taunting text messages, calling the officer “not the good guy” and saying he could not “wait until the midterms” because he believed the agent would not have qualified immunity, legal protection that can shield law enforcement officers from certain civil claims arising from their official conduct. Text messages between Rivera Flores and the agent reviewed by Fox News show several profane jabs directed at the officer, including, “How you f—ing treat people … that’s not f—ing protecting, you’re hurting these people,” and, “Chris, you know you’re a b—-, right.” CLICK BELOW TO READ THE AFFIDAVIT Rivera Flores obtained the agent’s number after the agent unblocked it on his government-issued phone to contact him during an investigation, according to the affidavit. The White House said Rivera Flores’ case indicates mainstream media and political critics are off base in their countervailing reporting and allegations about the existence of voter fraud. “Despite the media and Democrats claiming it never happens, the evidence of noncitizens registering to vote in our elections continues to pile up,” White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital. “Any non-citizens found registering to vote and voting in our elections will be held accountable. Only Americans should be electing American leaders.” WATCH: TRUMP DOJ VOWS TO PURSUE ‘EVERY SINGLE’ VOTING VIOLATION AFTER NJ ROLL SHOCKER CNN HOST ADMITS HE WAS WRONG TO SAY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT VOTING ‘NEVER HAPPENS’ AFTER NEW JERSEY ERROR Essayli said the case bolsters the DOJ’s demand that California comply with Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon’s request for a comprehensive voter roll audit. Dhillon said in a statement that noncitizens who “commit fraud so they can vote in American elections” violate federal law and should expect to be prosecuted. “Let this criminal complaint serve as a reminder that the Justice Department stands ready to enforce the laws Congress enacted to ensure only American citizens vote in federal elections.” SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Californians will decide in November whether to impose additional voter ID and citizenship-verification requirements. Under current law, people registering to vote must state, under penalty of perjury, that they are U.S. citizens and provide identifying information. The initiative is being led by state Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, and Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego. Fox News’ Matt Finn contributed to this report.
Trump border wall construction kicks off in Arizona amid clash with Native American tribe
The Trump administration has started construction of a section of a border wall in Arizona despite objections from a Native American tribe. The wall is part of a $46 billion effort to shore up the southern border with 30-foot steel bollard walls, vehicle barriers and technology designed to stop illegal immigration and smuggling. However, the Tohono O’odham Nation has said the construction will damage land sacred to the tribe, The Associated Press reported. MULLIN TELLS CONGRESS PRIMARY BORDER WALL WILL BE DONE BY JUNE 2027, SECONDARY WALL BY SUMMER 2028 U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said the desert spanning the Tohono O’odham Nation, which sits on both sides of the border, is a major corridor for drug smuggling. “The project will close one of the most dangerous smuggling and trafficking corridors on the Southwest border — remote desert that has facilitated decades of drug loads, migrant deaths and cartel activity,” said CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott. TRUMP TO SHRINK 2 UTAH NATIONAL MONUMENTS BY 90% The tribe, which has 37,000 members, including many who live in Mexico, sued the federal government in June in an attempt to halt the project. The lawsuit argued the construction would cause “significant devastation” on the reservation, including the destruction of mountain peaks sacred to the tribe. TRUMP SCORES MAJOR IMMIGRATION VICTORY AS JUDGE CLEARS WAY TO END TPS PROTECTIONS FOR THOUSANDS OF SOMALIS A federal judge rejected the argument, siding with the government and noting that the border wall would be built on a 60-foot-wide buffer zone of federally owned land called the Roosevelt Reservation. “Defendants have not yet articulated plans to construct outside the Roosevelt Reservation,” U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, D.C., wrote in his opinion. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION NAMES ROSARIO ‘PETE’ VASQUEZ TO SERVE AS NEXT US BORDER PATROL CHIEF The tribe said the construction still constitutes trespassing, even if the project is contained to the Roosevelt Reservation. The tribe set up “No Trespassing” signs this week and said masked CBP agents set up a vehicle blockade to stop tribal police from removing the contractors. “The contractors, who are on the Nation illegally, were accompanied by agents as they worked on three separate locations near the border with drill trucks to conduct soil sampling and other activities,” tribal officials said in a statement. The tribe said it was exploring other legal means to remove the contractors. Fox News Digital has reached out to CBP and the Tohono O’odham Nation for comment. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump signs order creating new Space Academy akin to West Point; its location will be determined
President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order to establish the U.S. Space Academy. Trump said the location of the academy was yet to be determined but compared its significance to that of the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., and the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. The U.S. Space Academy will be for students looking to enter the U.S. Space Force, a new branch of the military Trump created during his first term. The president said it will also serve NASA and the civilian spaceflight industry. OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD FIX FOR DATA CENTER BACKLASH COULD BE ON NASA’S HORIZON “We’re going to have an academy for what the people in this room love the most. That’s exciting. That’s really exciting. And I’m going to be choosing a location very shortly,” Trump said during remarks at NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The other purpose of the event was to award the four Artemis II astronauts with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. More than a dozen astronauts stood behind Trump throughout his remarks. After signing the executive order, Trump presented the vaunted award, which was first given to Neil Armstrong in 1978, to all four members of the Artemis II crew. The crew consists of NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, the mission commander; NASA astronaut Victor Glover, the pilot; NASA astronaut Christina Koch, a mission specialist; and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, also a mission specialist. “We gather here on these storied grounds to celebrate the immense courage and service of four intrepid space heroes whose sense of daring and adventure led them further from Earth and anyone has ever traveled before. Incredible,” Trump said. Trump called the crew members “great people,” also thanking the engineers and scientists who worked on the Artemis II mission. “Mr. President, it means a lot that you are here at the Johnson Space Center. It underscores the important work that is going on here in Mission Control, in furthering human exploration,” Wiseman said when he was called up to speak. “Thank you for coming here today.” NASA MOON BASE: ADMINISTRATOR JARED ISAACMAN DETAILS PLANS FOR LONG-TERM PRESENCE The Artemis II astronauts launched aboard the Orion spacecraft April 1, 2026, and spent nearly 10 days traveling around the moon before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean April 10. Their trajectory took them as far as 252,756 miles from Earth, farther than any humans had traveled before. Unlike past missions to the moon, the Artemis II team did not touch down on the lunar surface. Its mission was to fly around the moon while testing the spacecraft and systems NASA plans to use for future lunar landings. NASA says the mission served as a stepping stone for Artemis III, which is scheduled for 2027 and will involve a series of challenging tests in Earth’s orbit. Artemis IV, slated for early 2028, is then expected to send astronauts to the lunar South Pole for the first time. The Artemis program’s overall goal is to establish a long-term human presence on the moon and eventually send astronauts to Mars. NASA OPENS FIRST MAJOR NEW WIND TUNNEL IN MORE THAN 40 YEARS AT VIRGINIA FACILITY “America has always been a frontier nation, and space is the highest of all the frontiers. Our manifest destiny is to explore and settle this great unknown,” Trump said. “Americans were the first in flight, the first to the moon and will certainly be the first in space, no matter where it is. And I know we’re going to be looking at Mars very shortly.” Trump also revealed NASA has begun to work on the first ever nuclear-powered “interplanetary spacecraft” that the space agency will use for the planned 2028 mission to Mars. “They have to go nuclear because they have essentially unlimited fuel. You don’t have to fill up the tanks,” he said. “This ship will be among the first of what will ultimately be a massive American Star fleet, making space travel almost as common as ocean travel today and bringing our military to a new level of excellence.” Throughout his speech, Trump blamed his predecessors for letting U.S. space programs languish. “In particular, the Obama administration, we even lost our ability to send astronauts into orbit at all. We had no ability in space whatsoever. We totally lost it with everything we spent, with all of the talent and all of the genius and all of the money, we had nothing,” the president said. “Before the end of my term, American astronauts will return to the lunar surface,” he said. “And when we do, they’ll plant this very important flag to mark the site of the first permanent American settlement on the moon.”
Massive Chinese bot farm caught conducting US ‘influence operations’ pushing coordinated online narrative
The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has uncovered a massive suspected Chinese bot farm conducting “influence operations” online in the United States, including pushing an anti-artificial intelligence and anti-data center narrative. This comes as a national debate rages over the costs and benefits of continuing to develop artificial intelligence at breakneck speed and the massive data centers required to power it. The debate also has immense political implications, dividing parties internally as many members of the GOP break with President Donald Trump on AI and data centers. As this national conversation unfolds, X’s Global Government Affairs account said the platform’s safety team identified a bot farm of approximately 200,000 inauthentic Chinese accounts “involved in influence operations.” The X team said that within the bot farm, 200 accounts were found posting “in a manner that could manipulate a legitimate debate about American AI and energy policy.” BLANCHE URGED TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGED FOREIGN INFLUENCE IN FIGHT AGAINST DATA CENTERS According to the platform, posts by these accounts contained claims that AI data centers are driving up household electricity prices and straining the grid. The X team said other accounts also posted AI-generated cartoons depicting data center developers enriching themselves at the public’s expense. One image shared by the team depicted horrified citizens across from data center developers with bags of cash with the caption, “Data centers get subsidized while we foot the bill!” Another image read that “the AI industry is booming, but the costs are being borne by ordinary people.” Earlier this summer, OpenAI announced that it had banned a “cluster of ChatGPT accounts that likely originated in China” that were being used to generate a “covert influence operation” primarily targeting U.S. audiences. OpenAI said the accounts generated short comments and images similarly claiming that data centers and AI were increasing electricity demand and causing higher costs. The influence campaigns were discovered as debate rages over AI. Critics of AI development say the data centers required to power it harm the environment, drive up electricity costs and decrease neighborhood property values. Proponents, meanwhile, say AI data center development is critical to national security and boosts local economies by creating jobs. REPORT: CHINESE PROPAGANDA, SINGHAM NETWORK, FOREIGN DARK MONEY LINKED TO CAMPAIGNS AGAINST DATA CENTERS Speaking at the White House earlier this week, Trump suggested that the AI industry needs “a little public relations help,” pointing to a May Gallup poll that showed a majority of Americans oppose data centers being built in their communities. He said that local communities and states should want to welcome data centers because “the jobs are enormous, and the money paid, the taxes paid are just enormous.” “And if you don’t take it, you’re going to be left behind because there are plenty of places that want it,” he added. Meanwhile, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has warned that China benefits from “overreaction” to “AI doomsdaying” in the U.S. as the two countries compete for dominance in the industry. Fetterman wrote that “AI supremacy and energy dominance underpins our national security.” FETTERMAN ALIGNS WITH TRUMP ON AI PUSH, WARNS CHINA BENEFITS FROM US ‘OVERREACTION’ Following the discovery of the Chinese influence campaign, X’s Global Government Affairs team wrote that “we take seriously any attempts to undermine the integrity of the global town square and suspend accounts that violate our Authenticity policy.” SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER The platform said it remains “committed to maintaining an open and authentic platform where people debate topics of public interest.” Fox BUSINESS‘ James Cirrone and Fox News Digital’s Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report.
Trump admin blocks more than $1.6B in potentially improper Medicare lab payments, agency says
FIRST ON FOX: Federal officials have blocked or clawed back more than $1.6 billion in potentially improper Medicare laboratory payments since President Donald Trump returned to office, including $732 million tied to 157 lab providers booted from the program for alleged fraud. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said the labs were suspected of billing Medicare for tests that were never performed, tests patients did not need and services billed at higher rates than they should have been. “When laboratories bill Medicare for tests they never performed, it drains the Medicare Trust Fund and diverts resources away from beneficiaries who need them,” CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said. DOJ CHARGES 19 DEFENDANTS IN ALLEGED $4M PHILADELPHIA MEDICARE AND MEDICAID FRAUD In one case, the owner of a consulting company enrolled 14 labs in Medicare and billed the program more than $24 million, even though CMS said none of the labs appeared to be operating. CMS has since held back $12 million in payments to the labs and recovered another $7 million. Eleven of the 14 labs have been removed from Medicare, while the remaining three are still under investigation. CMS said it is using artificial intelligence and other technology to sift through Medicare claims and spot unusual billing that could be a sign of fraud. The technology looks for billing that falls outside normal patterns and can flag suspicious claims for closer scrutiny. CMS can then hold, reject or deny a claim before Medicare pays it. Of the $1.6 billion cited by the agency, more than $500 million in suspected fraudulent payments were stopped through 185 payment suspensions after CMS investigated 600 labs. “The previous administration treated our taxpayer-funded programs as piggy banks for fraudsters,” the White House told Fox News Digital. “That is no longer the case, thanks to President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Dr. Oz, who is an anti-fraud superstar.” TREASURY HAILS SUCCESS OF ANTI-FRAUD PROCESS THAT FLAGGED AND PREVENTED $99 MILLION IN PAYMENTS TO DEAD PEOPLE The agency also recovered more than $276 million in overpayments made to 442 suspect labs and said another $127 million in potentially fraudulent payments was prevented after 85 cases were referred to law enforcement. CMS pointed to two recent cases in Texas as examples of labs suspected of billing Medicare for services they did not provide. One lab began billing Medicare in late February. CMS said it caught the suspicious activity early and denied $1.2 million in claims. The lab then changed the way it billed Medicare in early April in an apparent attempt to get around the agency’s safeguards, according to CMS. Officials continued watching its claims and stopped more than $150,000 in additional payments before removing the provider from Medicare later that month. DR OZ SAYS 800 HOSPICE PROVIDERS SUSPENDED IN CALIFORNIA OVER ALLEGED $1B MEDICARE FRAUD SCHEME Another Texas lab began billing heavily in May after submitting test claims two days earlier in the year. CMS denied $1.9 million in claims and captured another $1.7 million in payments. The lab remains under review and could be removed from Medicare. The lab cases are part of a wider Trump administration push to combat improper Medicare billing involving medical equipment, hospice care, skin treatments and other services. CMS said its Medicare fraud prevention efforts saved $42 billion in fiscal year 2025. So far in 2026, the agency says it has identified $1.8 billion in Medicare overpayments and recovered $378 million in overpayments from post-payment reviews. Since Jan. 1, CMS has also frozen more than $371 million in Medicare payments involving 267 providers and suppliers. That includes more than $226 million in suspected improper billing for medical equipment, more than $53 million involving skin treatments and more than $23 million involving hospice providers. “We won’t stop until we’ve restored program integrity and ensured that fraudsters have nowhere left to hide,” Oz said.
House Dem’s ‘Lake Natalie’ jab at Trump aide sets social media ablaze: ‘Stay classy’
A House Democrat’s jab at one of President Donald Trump’s most loyal aides prompted a firestorm on social media. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., is getting heat from the right and praise from the left after she quipped about Trump’s decision to rename Lake Ontario. “Let’s just call it Lake Natalie so we know you’ll start protecting our Great Lakes,” she wrote on X. Trump signed an order on Thursday renaming one of the five Great Lakes “Lake America” amid an ongoing trade dispute with Canada. HOUSE DEM DEBBIE DINGELL PLACES TRUMP’S LAKE ONTARIO NAME CHANGE IN THE CROSSHAIRS Dingell’s comment appears to be aimed at Trump aide Natalie Harp, a close confidante of the president, whom Democrats have seized on after she was reportedly one of the small group of people who joined Trump on a separate plane after a potential Iranian plot to take down Air Force One. The comment has prompted fierce backlash from Trump allies who accuse Democrats of unfairly targeting a White House aide trying to do her job — a sentiment that was on full display online this week. JON OSSOFF DODGES ON WHY HE INVOKED TRUMP AIDE’S NAME DURING GEORGIA CAMPAIGN RALLY “You’re being exactly who I said Democrats were all along. You don’t care about protecting women from sexism/misogyny. You just care if they have an R behind their name,” GOP commentator Melik Abdul wrote on X. Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Robert “Buzz” Patterson said, “Wow. Stay classy, Michigan.” OBAMA STRATEGIST TURNS ON RISING DEM STAR OVER VIRAL TRUMP ATTACK: ‘GRATUITOUS AND UNNECESSARY’ “Ouch! Not so nice to a young woman staffer .. i suspect your target is the President but it is not nice to the young staffer.. why does she deserve this ? …this all started with a snarky comment by a dem senator,” veteran news anchor Greta Van Susteren wrote. Van Susteren was referencing a comment by Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., that kicked off the frenzy over Harp in the first place. Ossoff said during a rally that Trump would rather “build his ballroom and travel with Natalie” than do the job of president. CNN, MS NOW HAVE MENTIONED TRUMP AIDE NATALIE HARP HUNDREDS OF TIMES SINCE OSSOFF’S VIRAL JAB “Is this the new move when a dem wants to pretend they’re relevant?” former Trump spokeswoman Elizabeth Pipko wrote on X. Pundit Rich Baris wrote, “We’re starting to see glimmers of the Ole’ Democrat crazy we all have come to know in the Trump Era.” But left-wing social media circles cheered Dingell on. “Debbie wins the Internet today, full stop,” wrote former conservative lawyer and failed congressional candidate George Conway. Democrat Janice Hough wrote, “Rep. Debbie, I was not familiar with your game.” “Debbie hits a grand slam,” quipped Norman Ornstein, contributing editor for The Atlantic.
Biden-honored Iraqi official lands on US terror watchlist as Trump State Dept revokes visa
FIRST ON FOX: Four years ago, Taif Sami Mohammed was being celebrated by the United States as one of the world’s most courageous women. Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised the senior Iraqi official as the country’s “Iron Woman,” crediting her with stopping bribes, uncovering schemes that enriched corrupt officials and fighting corruption despite threats against her. Today, Mohammed is believed to be outside Iraq, on the U.S. terrorist watchlist and can no longer enter the United States. A State Department official told Fox News Digital that the department revoked Mohammed’s visa this week, marking a dramatic reversal for an official who received one of the Biden administration’s highest-profile awards for women in 2022. “While the Biden State Department shamefully celebrated and awarded foreigners who threaten our nation, the Trump State Department revokes their visas and ensures these individuals are removed from our country,” Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson told Fox News Digital. TRUMP ADMIN EYES HISTORIC MASS VISA REVOCATION TARGETING UP TO 200K ASYLUM SEEKERS: REPORT “Under President Trump and Secretary Rubio, suspected terrorists will never be allowed to remain in the United States.” The State Department did not immediately provide details about when Mohammed was placed on the terrorist watchlist or the intelligence that led to that determination. Mohammed’s fall from Washington’s favor had been building publicly for more than a year. Republican lawmakers previously accused her of helping facilitate terrorist financing through Iraq’s financial system and urged the Trump administration to take action against her. Reps. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., and Greg Steube, R-Fla., called Mohammed a “key enabler of terrorist funding in Iraq” and pushed the administration to impose sanctions. Those allegations stand in stark contrast to how the Biden administration described Mohammed when it selected her for the State Department’s International Women of Courage Award in 2022. At the time, Mohammed was Iraq’s deputy finance minister and director general of its budget department. The State Department described her as a “frontline leader against corrupt practices” who had been integral to preventing corruption in Iraq’s budget. Blinken went further during the March 2022 awards ceremony, saying Mohammed had “stopped bribes” and uncovered efforts to inflate government payrolls and enrich corrupt officials. The ceremony, hosted by Blinken and featuring remarks from then-first lady Jill Biden, honored twelve women whom the State Department said had shown extraordinary courage and leadership. Mohammed later rose to become Iraq’s finance minister, overseeing the federal budget, government spending and Baghdad’s financial relationship with Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Her troubles have since spread beyond Washington. An Iraqi court summoned Mohammed and placed her on a judicial wanted list as authorities widened a corruption investigation into former senior government officials, IraqiNews reported Aug. 9, 2025, citing sources familiar with the proceedings. FBI BRINGS IRAQI MAN ACCUSED OF COORDINATING NEARLY 20 TERROR ATTACKS IN EUROPE TO FACE TRIAL IN NEW YORK According to the report, Mohammed is believed to be outside Iraq and has not been detained. The court action is part of an investigation and does not establish that she committed wrongdoing. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER The investigation grew out of a broader corruption probe involving government contracts and large sums of public money and has reached other former Iraqi officials, according to the report. Mohammed’s placement on the U.S. terrorist watchlist represents a separate and potentially more serious development. The State Department has not said whether it is connected to the terrorist financing allegations raised by members of Congress, the Iraqi corruption investigation or other intelligence gathered by the U.S. government.
Hillary Clinton’s dig at Trump over Lake Ontario name change sparks viral backlash: ‘Shooting blanks’
Former secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton found herself on the wrong end of social media criticism after taking issue with President Donald Trump’s move to rename Lake Ontario amid a heated trade war with Canada. “It’s Lake Ontario,” Clinton posted on Thursday, inserting herself into the debate stemming from Trump’s executive order instructing the Department of Interior to refer to the lake as “Lake America” from now on. Clinton, whose X account does not allow replies, was immediately mocked by conservatives over her failed presidential run against Trump as the post surpassed 3 million views in just a few hours. “It’s not President Hillary Clinton…and never will be,” conservative commentator CJ Pearson posted on X. CLINTON’S EYEBROW-RAISING SOCIALISM TAKE SPARKS BRUTAL MOCKERY: ‘DEFINITION OF INSANITY’ “Trump Controls the News Cycle Volume 87187585124782,” former Trump DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin posted on X. “It’s President Donald J. Trump,” the Republican National Committee (RNC) posted on X. “And you’ll never be President,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., posted on X. ‘CAPTAIN CANADA’ FIREBRAND UNLOADS ON TRUMP WITH PROFANE ONE-LINER AS TRADE WAR ESCALATES “Loser says what?” conservative commentator Jillian King Anderson posted on X. “Democrats preferring Canada to America is the least surprising thing I’ve seen all day,” conservative commentator Michael Knowles posted on X. “Hillary’s out here shooting blanks ,” conservative radio host Vince Coglianese posted on X. Trump’s move to rename the lake, which sits on the U.S.-Canada border, came amid a breakdown in trade between both nations, with Trump accusing Ottawa of unfair trade practices. The U.S. imposed new 50% tariffs on Canadian goods such as wine, furniture and dairy products, while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said U.S. trade demands proved Washington wanted to “destroy our major industries,” including autos, steel and aluminum. “Canada has been ripping us off for a long time on trade,” Trump said Thursday. “Very sadly, even the military, you know, we defend Canada for nothing. We don’t get anything. They don’t pay us to defend Canada.” Trump previously used geographic names to make political statements, ordering the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in January 2025. “The Lake of America was something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, actually. As you know, we took something called the Gulf of Mexico — we changed it — and now it’s very routinely the Gulf of America,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Thursday. Several prominent Democrats have come out against the name change, including New York’s Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul who said New York, which borders the lake’s southern side, “won’t be calling it that.” Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report . .