Fox News Politics Newsletter: Dems push DOJ to reveal hidden Jack Smith report as GOP readies deposition
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… -ICE rejects Omar claim son was pulled over by feds, pressed for citizenship proof: ‘Absolutely zero record’ -EXCLUSIVE: Trump White House torpedoes Biden attempt to shield ‘autopen presidency’ files -FBI doubted probable cause for Mar-a-Lago raid but pushed forward amid pressure from Biden DOJ, emails reveal As Capitol Hill braces for a tense, off-camera deposition with special counsel Jack Smith, Democrats in the House of Representatives are pushing the DOJ to publish the unreleased half of his report detailing President Donald Trump’s handling of classified material. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrat on the committee, said Smith should have the chance to have his complete work speak for itself ahead of what’s likely to be a contentious closed-door meeting with lawmakers on Wednesday. “They are afraid of the embarrassment of what is contained within the report,” Raskin told Fox News Digital on Monday evening…READ MORE. HIRE AMERICAN: Vance tells blue state they ‘might try hiring Americans’ before suing over Trump’s visa fee explosion NO HARD FEELINGS: JD Vance brushes off Susie Wiles calling him conspiracy theorist in new Vanity Fair report ECONOMIC SAFEGUARDS: CBP announces record-breaking $200 billion in tariff revenue amid Trump administration enforcement push HOUSE DIVIDED: Trump admin in court over WH ballroom construction ‘THE BEST IS YET TO COME’: Trump announces primetime address to the nation STILL CLASSIFIED: Pentagon won’t release ‘top secret, full, unedited’ video of September drug boat strike, Hegseth says BREAKING RANKS: Two key Senate Republicans join push to overturn Trump’s federal union order SCAM PROBE: House GOP probes alleged Obamacare broker fraud as Jordan presses major insurers for answers PARTY TENSIONS: Kennedy urges GOP to restart spending battle amid soaring cost of living, warns against wasting majority POOR HEALTH: Moderate Republican erupts on House GOP leaders, says not holding Obamacare vote is ‘absolute bulls—‘ ‘SHAME ON YOU’: Trump Cabinet official calls on Walz to resign over massive fraud scandal in scathing letter: ‘Shame on you’ SPORTS TO POLITICS: Former NFL sideline star poised to shake up crowded GOP field in high-stakes Minnesota race ‘NOT DERANGED’: Obamas planned to meet Reiners on night they were killed, former first lady reveals SHE SAID YES: Donald Trump Jr announces engagement to Bettina Anderson Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Trump expands travel ban to hit 5 countries with sweeping new restrictions, citing security concerns
President Donald Trump on Tuesday expanded a travel ban by adding five more countries and imposing limits on others. The move came as the Trump administration continues to tighten U.S. entry requirements and immigration standards. “The restrictions and limitations imposed by the Proclamation are necessary to prevent the entry of foreign nationals about whom the United States lacks sufficient information to assess the risks they pose, garner cooperation from foreign governments, enforce our immigration laws, and advance other important foreign policy, national security, and counterterrorism objectives,” the proclamation states. Through his actions on Tuesday, citizens from five countries – Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria, as well as individuals holding Palestinian-Authority-issued travel documents – will face a ban on travel to the United States, the White House said. In addition, existing partial bans on Laos and Sierra Leone were expanded into full suspensions of entry. TRUMP ADMIN PAUSES IMMIGRATION FROM 19 COUNTRIES Another 15 countries – Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe – will face partial restrictions. The proclamation also “narrows broad family-based immigrant visa carve-outs that carry demonstrated fraud risks, while preserving case-by-case waivers,” the White House said. DHS LAUNCHES ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ WEBPAGE TARGETING ALLEGED CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS NATIONWIDE In its announcement, the Trump administration said many of the countries on the travel ban suffer from “widespread corruption, fraudulent or unreliable civil documents and criminal records, and nonexistent birth-registration systems,” which makes it difficult to perform accurate vetting. Others refuse to share law-enforcement data, while others permit “Citizenship-by-Investment schemes that conceal identity and bypass vetting requirements and travel restrictions.” In June, Trump announced a U.S. entry ban on citizens of 12 countries – Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen – while also tightening restrictions on others: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Tuesday’s decision follows the arrest of an Afghan national suspected of shooting two National Guard soldiers in Washington D.C. over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. At the time of the killing, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Rahmanullah Lakanwal was one of the many unvetted Afghans who were mass paroled into the U.S. under Operation Allies Welcome under the Biden administration. Lakanwal is accused of shooting U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, who later died, and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, who is recovering.
Judge warns Trump administration against ‘irreversible’ White House ballroom construction work
A federal judge on Tuesday said he was “inclined to deny” a bid to force the Trump administration to halt construction of the White House ballroom but warned officials not to undertake any irreversible work before a January hearing that could still stop the project. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said he will hold another hearing during the second week in January and hinted he may still order a pause. “Any below ground construction” in the coming weeks that dictates above-ground work should be avoided, Leon said, adding, “be prepared to take that down.” Lawyers for the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the U.S. argued the case is not about the need for a ballroom but about the need to follow the law. WALZ REPEATS DEBUNKED CLAIM THAT TRUMP CONSIDERS WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM ‘TOP PRIORITY’ They said any construction on federal land requires congressional approval. Lawyers representing the National Park Service countered that President Trump has authority to direct construction at the White House, saying “work must continue for national security issues.” “See you in January,” Leon said as he warned the government not to pursue anything irreversible. WHITE HOUSE RESPONDS TO REPORTS TRUMP NAMED NEW BALLROOM AFTER HIMSELF Attorney General Pam Bondi weighed in Tuesday evening. “Today @TheJusticeDept attorneys defeated an attempt to stop President Trump’s totally lawful East Wing Modernization and State Ballroom Project,” she wrote on X. “President Trump has faced countless bad-faith left-wing legal attacks – this was no different. We will continue defending the President’s project in court in the coming weeks.” On Monday, the Trump administration argued in a court filing that pausing construction would undermine national security, citing a Secret Service declaration warning that halting work would leave the site unable to meet “safety and security requirements” necessary to protect President Donald Trump. TRUMP TAPS NEW ARCHITECT TO RESHAPE WHITE HOUSE AS $300M BALLROOM BUILD ACCELERATES The declaration said the East Wing, demolished in October and now undergoing below-grade work, could not be left unfinished without compromising essential security measures. The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued last week to stop the project, arguing the government had to follow federal review procedures before any irreversible work began. The group said the proposed 90,000-square-foot addition, now estimated at more than $300 million, would overwhelm the Executive Residence and permanently alter the White House’s historic design. The administration countered that the lawsuit was premature, noting regulatory reviews were still coming and above-grade construction was not scheduled to begin until April 2026. The National Trust said early intervention was necessary, citing warnings from architectural historians who said the ballroom would mark the most significant exterior change to the White House in more than 80 years. Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.
Senate Republican ‘targeted by Communist China’ in $50 billion lawsuit
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., is being sued by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for tens of billions of dollars in damages for a lawsuit he filed against the country during his time as Missouri’s attorney general. Schmitt is being sued by the People’s Government of Wuhan Municipality, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Wuhan Institute of Virology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences for roughly $50 billion, several years after the lawmaker sued the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. The lawsuit, first obtained by Fox News Digital, accused Schmitt, FBI co-deputy director Andrew Bailey, and the state of Missouri of damaging the reputations of China, Wuhan and the associated research facilities through “malicious vexatious litigation, fabricating enormous disinformation, and spreading stigmatizing and discriminating slanders.” CRUZ SAYS REP ILHAN OMAR COULD FACE JAIL TIME, DEPORTATION IF MARRIAGE ALLEGATION PROVES TRUE Schmitt said in a statement to Fox News Digital that he’d been “banned from Communist China, and now I am being sued and targeted by Communist China in a $50 billion lawfare campaign, and I’ll wear it like a badge of honor.” “China’s sinister malfeasance during the COVID-19 pandemic led to over a million Americans losing their lives, economic turmoil that rocked our country for years, and an enormous amount of human suffering, and as Missouri Attorney General I filed suit to hold them accountable,” Schmitt said. “Instead of trying to defend its indefensible behavior, Communist China responded with frivolous lawfare, attempting to absolve themselves of all wrongdoing in the early days of the pandemic.” “This novel lawsuit is factually baseless, legally meritless, and any fake judgment a Chinese court issues in this lawsuit we will easily beat back and keep from being enforced against the people of Missouri or me,” he continued. “This is their way of distracting from what the world already knows, China has blood on its hands.” TRUMP’S SENATE CLOSER: REPUBLICAN FRESHMAN EMERGES AS KEY WHITE HOUSE ALLY Schmitt, who served as attorney general for the Show-Me state from 2019 to 2023, sued the PRC, several Chinese government ministries, the Communist Party of China, the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in early 2020, shortly after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, Schmitt accused the Chinese government of withholding information on the COVID-19 virus, failing to contain the outbreak of the virus, and actively hoarding high-quality personal protective equipment (PPE) while producing and selling lower-quality PPE for the rest of the world. SENATE ADVANCES $901B DEFENSE BILL AS CONGRESS RACES INTO YEAR-END LEGISLATIVE SPRINT That case resulted in an eventual $24 billion judgment earlier this year. Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said in a statement that the state stood “undeterred in our mission to collect on our $24 billion judgment that was lawfully handed down in federal court.” “I find it extremely telling that the Chinese blame our great state for ‘belittling the social evaluation’ of The Wuhan Institute of Virology,” Hanaway said. “This lawsuit is a stalling tactic and tells me that we have been on the right side of this issue all along.” The lawsuit against Schmitt, Bailey, who resigned as Missouri’s attorney general after he was tapped by President Donald Trump to serve as co-deputy FBI director in September, and Missouri contended that the preceding lawsuit, and statements published across a variety of media outlets, led to severe reputational and economic harm. They’re demanding that apologies be published in several outlets, including The New York Times, CNN, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Chinese media outlets. The apologies come with a price tag, too. Wuhan and the Chinese government demanded compensation of over 356 billion Chinese Yuan, which converts to just over $50 billion dollars.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to where we stand with a healthcare package: Christmas or Groundhog Day?
There’s a year-end rush in all aspects of life. Businesses try to run up profits in December. Supervisors want to finish employee reviews. Professors must grade exams. Congress is no different. There’s always a race to the finish line in December on Capitol Hill. KENNEDY URGES GOP TO RESTART SPENDING BATTLE AMID SOARING COST OF LIVING, WARNS AGAINST WASTING MAJORITY This year’s adventure is health care. But it’s a practical impossibility that Congress can actually make law on health care before the calendar flips. Premium spikes for 24 million Americans loom on January 1st. Congress tried — kinda — to address this problem. But not really. So, if you’re that professor handing out the grades at the end of the semester, prepare to flunk some pupils, if not the entire Congressional student body. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., hermetically sealed any possibility of addressing health care in 2025 on Tuesday afternoon. “We’re not going to pass anything by the end of this week. But I do think there is a potential pathway in January if Democrats are willing to come to the table,” said Thune. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., rapidly assembled a bill to allow groups of people – like a bunch of small businesses or a coalition of carpenters – to purchase what they call “association” health plans. In other words, this alliance of people would suddenly have “buying power” if they operate as a team. So if they purchase a set of plans as an “association,” that would defray the cost. “This is going to be a great piece of legislation that everybody will unite around,” said Johnson. But many Republicans groused privately that it’s one thing to do “a health care bill.” It’s another thing to actually short-circuit the astronomical leap in premiums which hit on January 1. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., spoke frankly about simply re-upping the existing subsidies. “We need to do deeper fixes. This is throwing good money after bad. There is some truth to that. But we have constituents. They’re going to have their premiums go up. That doesn’t help them. That’s why I think we need a temporary extension,” said Bacon. Many conservatives adamantly oppose continuing the subsidies. Even if that would help their constituents. But Bacon addresses the realpolitik of the moment. MODERATE REPUBLICAN ERUPTS ON HOUSE GOP LEADERS, SAYS NOT HOLDING OBAMACARE VOTE IS ‘ABSOLUTE BULLS—‘ “It’s not our fault that these things are skyrocketing. But we are in charge. When you’re in charge, you’ve got to deal with it,” said Bacon. “They’re going to have to find some compromise.” A Christmas Congressional crunch often compels lawmakers to solve big legislative headaches before the holidays. “What intensifies the pressure is January 1st is coming,” said Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash. “It’s having a huge impact on people. I think that is definitely a forcing mechanism.” The push from Democrats — and some vulnerable Republicans — was to renew the subsidies. “I don’t understand why we can’t just do a clean extension of what we just had in place earlier this year,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. “I think that is the easiest and most accessible, no nonsense thing for us to do. Especially as the year is coming to an end.” But that wouldn’t fly with conservative Republicans. “I pity the Republican that has to explain why they would propagate or perpetuate a fraud-ridden subsidy from the COVID-era to prop up a failed health care program,” said House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas. Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., also opposes extending Obamacare help. But he worries what voters will think of Republicans if the party doesn’t address health care costs. “I think that we fail the American people. We fail our base. We fail the Republican Party. Before I got up here, I was frustrated the Republicans didn’t repeal Obamacare,” said Burlison. “Repealing Obamacare” probably won’t happen. That’s because the GOP has tried to unwind the measure since Democrats passed the first versions of it in late 2009. That’s why even through everyone was talking about health care on Capitol Hill, most were skeptical that lawmakers could solve this in a matter of days. Despite possible Christmas magic. And even as Thune punted health care into 2026, the House still nibbled around the edges. Critics argued this was only so House Republicans could inoculate themselves from denunciations that they did nothing on health care. SENATE REPUBLICANS UNVEIL PLAN TO REPLACE OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES WITH HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS On Tuesday morning, Johnson nixed an idea from GOP moderates for a temporary extension of expiring Obamacare subsidies because it didn’t comply with Congressional budgetary rules. But by afternoon, Johnson reversed himself to entertain another plan backed by Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y. Rather than simply extending federal Obamacare subsidies on an interim basis — which means that insurance companies receive the money — LaLota’s idea provides a two-year tax deduction for those who previously received the Obamacare aid. President Trump said he would not sign a bill which continued to send money to the insurance companies. So the revamped approach cuts out insurance companies from the equation and policyholders score the tax relief. “There’s a real possibility they’ll get a vote on it,” said Johnson. “I’ve tried everything I can to get them that vote on the floor.” But a roll call vote is a far cry from an actual fix. And it’s uncertain that the House would adopt any amendment and copy it onto the underlying GOP health care bill. However, a vote on the amendment could give Republicans from swing districts a fig leaf to say they tried to defuse the health care premium crisis. And it’s still unclear if voters might blame Republicans for not addressing health care — now that Democrats copied that issue onto the fall government funding fight. Health care will be a major issue in the 2026 midterms. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. appeared skeptical that Congress could address the skyrocketing premiums in the
201 House Dems vote against bill named after 20-year-old American killed by illegal immigrant teen
Two hundred and one House Democrats voted against a bill that Republicans say would prevent dangerous migrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children from walking free on the streets. The legislation passed in a 225-201 vote. Just seven Democrats voted with Republicans in favor of the bill: Reps. Adam Gray, D-Calif.; Jared Golden, D-Maine; Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash.; Don Davis, D-N.C.; Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas; Laura Gillen, D-N.Y., and Henry Cuellar, D-Texas. The Kayla Hamilton Act is named after a 20-year-old woman with autism who was killed by a 16-year-old from El Salvador, Walter Javier Martinez, in 2022. Martinez pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in April. Martiez came to the U.S. illegally as an unaccompanied minor and was a member of the notorious MS-13 gang, according to a press release from the Maryland State Attorney’s Office in Hartford County. REP JASMINE CROCKETT REFERS TO YOUNG WOMAN MURDERED BY AN MS-13 ILLEGAL MIGRANT AS A ‘RANDOM DEAD PERSON’ The bill, led by Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C., would heighten screening requirements for unaccompanied migrant children (UAC) who come to the U.S. undocumented in ways that Republicans argue could prevent future tragedies like Hamilton’s. “I think in this one instance, a simple phone call to El Salvador would have kept him in a secure facility. An eyeball check on gang tattoos on his body would have kept him in the secure facility, because he had both. He would have never been on our streets. He would have been in a security facility pending his immigration hearing, which happens pretty quickly,” Fry told Fox News Digital Tuesday afternoon. His bill would mandate that the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) screen unaccompanied minors for gang tattoos and place UACs who have such indicators in secure federal facilities rather than letting them go to a sponsor somewhere in the U.S. It would also prohibit unaccompanied minors from going to sponsors who are also undocumented in the U.S. HOUSE UNANIMOUSLY VOTES TO MEMORIALIZE TEXAS GIRL ALLEGEDLY SLAIN BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Regarding the sponsors they are placed with, the federal government would be required to do a background check on all adults in the household, which would include fingerprint scans and an immigration status check. Progressives who argued against the bill on the House floor said it would harm already vulnerable children. “Republicans are treating unaccompanied migrant children like criminals,” Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., said. “We must use every tool at our disposal to protect vulnerable children. … This bill criminalizes children and creates dangerous precedent that only makes them more vulnerable.” Rep. Luz Rivas, D-Calif., said it “undermines and strips critical rights from vulnerable children” and “subjects children as young as 12 to strip searches.” Fry said in response, however, “We already do medical evaluations of children when they come into this country. It already is in practice. All we’re saying is if there’s a tattoo on your shoulder, on your forehead, that’s a gang tattoo, we’re saying, ‘Hey, maybe we shouldn’t let them out onto the streets.” “I think some intellectual honesty is really important for them,” Fry told Fox News Digital after the debate. “They want to complain about medical evaluations for kids. That was a Democrat proposal. That was the Democrat law that they did. But if they want to misrepresent what this bill is about, just because they don’t like Trump, I think kids and their safety are more important than being mad at the president.”
Pentagon won’t release ‘top secret, full, unedited’ video of September drug boat strike, Hegseth says
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said that the Pentagon would not release the “top secret, full, unedited video” of the controversial September strike on a suspected drug boat. However, Hegseth said that “appropriate” congressional committees would see the footage. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
FBI doubted probable cause for Mar-a-Lago raid but pushed forward amid pressure from Biden DOJ, emails reveal
EXCLUSIVE: The FBI did not believe it had probable cause to raid President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in 2022, but moved forward amid pressure from the Biden Justice Department, with an official saying he didn’t “give a damn about the optics” of the search, newly declassified documents reviewed by Fox News Digital reveal. Fox News Digital reviewed emails between FBI and Justice Department officials in the months leading up to the August 2022 raid of Mar-a-Lago, with FBI officials expressing concerns about a lack of probable cause to execute the search warrant on the then-former president’s residence in Palm Beach, Florida. EXCLUSIVE: FBI SEIZES PRIVILEGED TRUMP RECORDS DURING RAID; DOJ OPPOSES REQUEST FOR INDEPENDENT REVIEW: SOURCES “Very little has been developed related to who might be culpable for mishandling the documents,” an FBI official serving as an assistant special agent in charge, wrote to another FBI official, Anthony Riedlinger. “From the interviews, WFO has gathered information suggesting that there may be additional boxes (presumably of the same type as were sent back to NARA in January) at Mar-a-Lago.” “WFO has been drafting a search warrant affidavit related to these potential boxes, but has some concerns that the information is single source, has not been corroborated, and may be dated,” the official continues. “DOJ CES opines, however, that the SW’s meet the probable cause standard.” “Even as we continue down the path towards a search warrant, WFO believes that a reasonable conversation with the former president’s attorney, (stating that the FBI and DOJ are readying a search warrant, and have developed information that there are more documents at Mar a Lago), ought not to be discounted,” the official wrote. “At a minimum, even if the former president’s attorney is correct and the documents were all declassified (or believed to be declassified), it can be reasonably argued that the documents remain sensitive and should be properly secured until the matter of classification is sorted out,” the official continued. “This conversation could easily be accomplished at the same time that WFO presses forward with the investigation and continues building out the search warrant.” Weeks later, an FBI agent writes an email stating: “We haven’t generated any new facts, but keep being given draft after draft after draft.” “Absent a witness coming forward with recent information about classified on site, at what point is it fair to table this?” the agent writes. “It is time consuming for the team, and not productive if there are no new facts supporting PC (probable cause)?” Another email revealed that the FBI’s Washington Field Office did “not believe (and has articulated to DOJ CES), that we have established probable cause for the search warrant for classified records at Mar a Lago.” DOJ ASKS COURT TO UNSEAL MAR-A-LAGO RAID WARRANT; AG MERRICK GARLAND PERSONALLY SIGNED OFF ON TRUMP SEARCH “DOJ has opined that they do have probable cause, requesting a wide scope including residence, office, storage space,” an agent wrote. The FBI believed that a raid would be “counterproductive,” and suggested “alternative, less intrusive and likelier quicker options for resolution” to reclaim any potential classified records. The process moved forward, regardless of concerns. Another email on Aug. 4, 2022, revealed the plan for the execution of the warrant. “The FBI intends for the execution of the warrant to be handled in a professional, low key manner, and to be mindful of the optics of the search,” an agent writes. The agent quotes then-Deputy Assistant Attorney General George Toscas in a meeting. TRUMP HIGHLIGHTS BIDEN ADMIN AUTHORIZING ‘DEADLY USE OF FORCE’ IN MAR-A-LAGO RAID “Since we heard Mr. Toscas say yesterday in the call that he ‘frankly doesn’t give a damn about the optics’ and Mr. Bratt has already built an antagonistic relationship with (Trump) attorneys…I think it is more than fair to say that the DOJ contact with (Trump attorney) just prior to the execution of the warrant will not go well. DOJ said as much yesterday,” the agent writes. “I also think that it is fair to say that if FBI calls, having in mind officer safety, to the optics of the search, and the desire to conduct this search in a professional and low key manner, there is a far better chance that the execution will go more smoothly and we may actually gain some measure of cooperation, which could go some way to resolving the mishandling of classified records investigation that is being conducted.” The agent added: “I understand that this request may not go well at DOJ, however, it is the FBI serving and executing the search and it will be our personnel who will have to deal with the reaction to that first contact.” The FBI, in August 2022, raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, executing the search warrant as part of an investigation into his alleged improper retention of classified records after leaving the White House. Fox News Digital reported in 2024 that the Biden administration authorized the use of deadly force during the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago. That language was also used during the search of then-President Joe Biden’s residence for potential classified documents in 2023. An “Operations Order” produced in discovery as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s alleged improper retention of classified records revealed that the “FBI believed its objective for the Mar-a-Lago raid was to seize ‘classified information, NDI, and US Government records,’” as described in the search warrant. The order, according to a court filing, contained a “Policy Statement” regarding “Use of Deadly Force,” which stated, for example, “Law Enforcement officers of the Department of Justice may use deadly force when necessary.” According to the filing, the DOJ and FBI agents “planned to bring ‘Standard Issue Weapons,’ ‘Ammo,’ ‘Handcuffs,’ and ‘medium and large sized bolt cutters,’ but they were instructed to wear ‘unmarked polo or collared shirts’ and to keep ‘law enforcement equipment concealed.” TRUMP TARGETED: A LOOK AT THE INVESTIGATIONS INVOLVING THE FORMER PRESIDENT; FROM RUSSIA TO MAR-A-LAGO Fox News Digital first reported that during the raid, FBI
Kennedy urges GOP to restart spending battle amid soaring cost of living, warns against wasting majority
One Senate Republican is making the case that lawmakers aren’t using all the tools at their disposal to tackle affordability in the United States. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., wants Republicans to take another crack at budget reconciliation, the grueling, monthslong process used earlier this year to pass President Donald Trump’s crowning legislative achievement of 2025, and one that tested the unity of congressional Republicans. Kennedy wants to see the process used to eat into the cost of living in the country, which has proven a thorny issue for the GOP after Trump’s promises on the campaign trail to hack away at skyrocketing inflation that proved politically fatal, among other issues like immigration, for Democrats in last year’s election. SENATE MULLS NEXT STEPS AFTER DUELING OBAMACARE FIXES GO UP IN FLAMES But it’s a Pandora’s box that lawmakers have been hesitant to reopen after narrowly advancing the colossal tax package over the summer. “I have been preaching as persuasively as I can for months now that we need to do another reconciliation, and in that bill, we need to address things like rules and regulations, which add about $2 trillion to the cost of goods and services,” Kennedy said. He acknowledged that the process could be tricky, given that it is governed by the Byrd Rule, which nixes any provisions that don’t have a budgetary impact, but noted that lawmakers have at least two more attempts to take advantage of the process while Republicans still control both chambers of Congress. TRUMP INSISTS PRICES ARE ‘COMING DOWN,’ BLAMES BIDEN — BUT VOTERS SAY THEY’RE STILL GETTING SQUEEZED “And I am at a loss to understand why our leadership will not agree to another reconciliation,” he said. “If you went to Senator [Chuck] Schumer right now and said, ‘Schumer, Senator Schumer, you have the chance to pass anything you want to pass today within the parameters of Byrd, without having to depend on a single Republican vote,’ what do you think Chuck would do? He’d take a dozen, and I just don’t understand why we are not doing that.” Affordability and the cost of living have become a central focus for many on the Hill, particularly after dueling partisan proposals to tackle the impending hike to healthcare premiums and expiring Obamacare subsidies went down in flames last week. Lawmakers are still searching for a path forward on that front, with a bipartisan group led by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, meeting on Monday night to build a consensus between the parties. GOP ACCUSES DEMOCRATS OF MANUFACTURING AFFORDABILITY CRISIS AS OBAMACARE SUBSIDY FIGHT NEARS DEADLINE Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., one of the architects of Senate Republicans’ healthcare proposal that failed last week, told reporters, “The calendar precludes getting something done this week,” but was still optimistic about finding a way to deal with rising costs on the healthcare front. “But, still, a commitment to work together is a lot of progress,” he said. Still, Kennedy was ardent that lawmakers had spent little time since passing Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” taking advantage of their majority in Congress. “Yes, we passed the ‘one big, beautiful bill,’ that was July 1, five months ago, now, almost six months ago,” he said. “We need to act. And I’m hoping that after the holidays, my friend, Senator [John] Thune, and he is a friend, and I think he’s doing a great job, but I think Senator, I hope Senator Thune will relent and agree to another reconciliation bill that addresses the cost-of-living issue.”
DC mayor fires back at House Oversight Committee over ‘politically motivated’ crime statistics report
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser criticized an interim House Oversight Committee report on the city’s crime statistics, saying the findings were driven by politics rather than a complete investigation. Fox News Digital obtained a letter Bowser sent on Monday to House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., and ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. “Since the outset, my Administration has fully cooperated with the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (Committee) investigation into allegations concerning publicly reported crime statistics by the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police Department,” Bowser said in part. “That cooperation was intended to educate the Committee about the complex subject of crime reporting, address the public misrepresentations about crime in the nation’s capital, and identify policies and processes that could be improved to ensure transparent, high-quality crime data. The Committee’s interim report is a disappointing rejection of that good faith approach and instead reflects a rush to judgement in order to serve a politically motivated timeline and release a report whose outcome appears to have been determined before the investigation began.” RANK-AND-FILE DC OFFICERS ACCUSE SUPERIORS OF DOWNGRADING CRIMES TO MASK REAL LEVELS: REPORT The committee’s 22-page report claims that outgoing Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Pamela Smith, who announced her resignation on Dec. 8, oversaw an unprecedented system of intervention in crime reporting. It alleges that Smith, who is expected to remain in the position through the end of the year, pressured commanders on numerous occasions, and at times instructed them to downgrade offenses and avoid classifications that would appear on the city’s daily crime report. The findings, based on eight transcribed interviews with MPD district commanders, describe a toxic management environment in which accuracy was sacrificed for optics, and career officials faced public humiliation or demotion for presenting Smith with unfavorable crime statistics. FIGHT OVER POLICING DC MOVES TO CONGRESS AS PARTIES SPLIT ON CONTROL Bowser defended Smith in her letter as an integral figure in helping reduce a 2023 spike in violent crime and homicides. She also noted that the committee did not interview Smith or any of MPD’s assistant chiefs before issuing its findings. “Even a cursory review of the report reveals its prejudice: of the 22 block quotes presented as complaining about Chief Smith’s management style, 20 of them were made by only two command officials interviewed,” Bowser wrote. The House Oversight investigation unfolded against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s federal crime crackdown in the nation’s capital. In August, Trump issued an executive order to address the “epidemic of crime” in the district and deployed federal law enforcement personnel, including the National Guard. Bowser said the district is committed to publishing accurate, high-quality crime statistics. “The pressure public leaders should all feel to reduce crime and the fear of crime in our communities will never be an acceptable excuse to intentionally alter and downgrade crime, and any police official who believes otherwise will be held accountable,” she added.