House Democrats fracture badly over Massie amendment to cut $3.3B in U.S. aid to Israel
Democrats split sharply over legislation to terminate aid to Israel, highlighting hardening attitudes toward the Jewish state as support for the Palestinian cause grows within party ranks. House lawmakers voted 104-313 to reject an amendment that would have cut $3.3 billion in foreign aid to Israel for the next fiscal year in a vote that even split House Democratic leadership, which declined to whip members either way. The hotly contested vote gave lawmakers their first chance this Congress to weigh in directly on taxpayer-funded aid to Israel. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., joined 97 other Democrats in opposing its elimination, while the chamber’s second-ranking Democrat, Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., joined 102 other Democrats in supporting the measure. Ten Democrats voted present. DOZENS OF DEMS FLIP ON ISRAEL, VOTE TO BAN ARMS SALES IN PROTEST OF IRAN WAR Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a leading Israel critic, offered the measure as an amendment to a State Department appropriations bill, calling the country the “biggest welfare recipient of the United States.” He was the lone Republican to support the amendment. Opponents argued the measure would damage one of the United States’ most critical relationships in the Middle East amid the Iran war and hamper Israel’s ability to combat terrorist organizations, including Hamas and Hezbollah. “The same terrorists and terrorist entities that threaten Israel also threaten the United States and our people directly,” Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said Wednesday. “When we give Israel the tools and capabilities to eliminate these terrorist threats … we are making America and the American people safer.” The Florida Republican also noted that the vast majority of the funding is used by Israel to purchase American-made weaponry, supporting the U.S. industrial base. Several prominent Democrats agreed, offering sharp criticism of the Massie amendment. “This amendment would embolden the enemies of peace, those pursuing the complete elimination of Israel and those who seek the death of Jews,” former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said during debate on the measure. Despite the Massie amendment failing overwhelmingly, supporters still took a victory lap. “More Democrats than ever before voted to stop sending money to Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, despite the fact that this amendment was an imperfect vehicle for our movement,” Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar, D-Texas, said following the vote. “Tomorrow we get back to work to build a Democratic Party that spends taxpayer dollars on working people, not an out of control military abroad. We will win.” MIKE HUCKABEE REJECTS RO KHANNA’S ISRAEL VISIT CLAIMS: ‘NOT HELD AT GUNPOINT’ Jeffries, who announced his opposition to the Massie amendment during a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, argued the measure was poorly drafted. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., the third-ranking House Democrat, agreed. “As written, it is overly broad in that it prohibits or would limit the use of funds for longstanding initiatives related to humanitarian aid, refugee resettlement, peace-building and U.S. Embassy operations,” Jeffries wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter, adding that U.S. policy toward Israel must change. Clark, his deputy, and a bevy of Democrats rejected his position, arguing the country’s war in Gaza — an event some lawmakers have labeled a genocide — necessitated a need to end financial support to the Jewish state. “If we hope to change Israel’s behavior, we must use our leverage,” Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, said on the House floor. “The American people have seen this tragedy with their own eyes. … They do not support giving Israel more weapons.” Massie’s amendment did not include language preventing non-military aid from also being cut off. “It’s really bad for our ally, for our national security. They shouldn’t be messing around like this,” Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, told Fox News in June. The Ohio Democrat also accused Republicans of putting the measure on the floor to expose divisions among his party. Wednesday’s vote comes as a growing number of Democrats take an increasingly hard line against Israel, according to recent polling. An NBC News survey released in March found that 67% of Democratic voters have more sympathy for Gaza than Israel, while just 17% said the opposite. Three socialists trounced establishment-aligned candidates in New York’s June primaries while largely running on opposition to Israel. Meanwhile, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who supports terminating U.S. aid to Israel, was pressed to support Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion of Israel during an interview with a leftist news outlet Tuesday. Though Khanna declined to say the brutal attack was justified, the questioning was viewed by several Democratic commentators as reflective of growing hostility toward Israel within the party. Given changing attitudes, some Democrats predicted Massie’s amendment would draw significant support. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was quite large because I don’t think this is just an ideological issue. I don’t think this is just a lefty thing,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., told Fox News. “I think this is affecting people all across the board.”
Harris calls for ICE probe after Maine shooting amid renewed ‘border czar’ criticism
Former Vice President Kamala Harris blasted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Tuesday after agents fatally shot a Colombian national during a Maine operation, sparking criticism from opponents who contrasted her response with her silence on high-profile murders committed by illegal immigrants. Harris called for “an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation” into the death of 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero. Guerrero was shot Monday after attempting to flee ICE officers in a vehicle during an operation targeting an illegal immigrant with a final order of removal, according to the Department of Homeland Security. “Joan Sebastian Guerrero should still be alive,” Harris wrote Tuesday on X. “This is the second time in a week that ICE agents have killed someone who — by their own admission — was not the subject of their operation. Now Sebastian is dead, his killing witnessed by his three-year-old daughter wearing her Bluey pajamas. MAINE ICE SHOOTING VICTIM WAS NOT TARGET OF ARREST WARRANT, SEN. KING’S OFFICE SAYS AFTER EARLIER DHS ACCOUNT “This cannot be acceptable in America,” Harris continued. “Anyone responsible for wrongdoing must be held accountable.” Harris’ comments quickly sparked criticism online, with many users pointing to her role overseeing the Biden administration’s efforts to address the root causes of migration from Central America, a position Republicans frequently referred to as the administration’s “border czar.” During the Biden administration, federal officials estimated that roughly 2 million known “gotaways” entered the U.S. after crossing the border illegally and avoiding capture. ICE officers were conducting surveillance Monday morning at the last known address of an illegal immigrant with a final order of removal in Biddeford, Maine, when Guerrero allegedly fled in a vehicle after officers attempted to make contact, according to Homeland Security. “The vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon,” the department said in a statement. “The driver of the vehicle was struck, and emergency services were immediately contacted. He passed away from his injuries.” An eyewitness told Maine’s Portland Press Herald that Guerrero appeared to drive toward federal agents before shots were fired. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Guerrero was not the intended target of the operation. However, the department said in a statement to Fox News Digital that Guerrero had illegally crossed the border during the Biden administration in September 2023. It is unknown if he was awaiting asylum, but he was granted a work permit in May 2025. “To be clear, work authorization does not confer legal status in the United States,” the spokesperson said in a statement. ICE AGENTS INSTRUCTED TO END MOST VEHICLE STOPS IN MAJOR POLICY SHIFT Many commentators also argued Harris and other leading Democrats have been far less vocal in publicly mourning Americans killed by illegal immigrants than in condemning ICE enforcement actions. Some critics cited the 2024 death of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was killed by Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra after he illegally entered the U.S. Others referenced Maryland mother Rachel Morin, who was raped and murdered by Salvadoran illegal immigrant Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez. “I will start giving a f— about the illegals killed by ICE when Democrats start giving a f— about Americans killed by illegals,” one X user wrote. Unlike in the killing of Guerrero, Harris did not make a social media post paying tribute to Riley or Morin’s death. Harris did not publicly acknowledge the death of those young women at the hands of illegal immigrants until pressed by Fox News host Bret Baier in an Oct. 24, 2024, interview. WATCH: ANGEL MOM TURNS TABLES ON SANCTUARY POLITICIANS WITH BASIC QUESTION ABOUT THEIR PRIORITIES “First of all, those are tragic cases,” Harris said after Baier asked whether the Biden administration bore any responsibility for the deaths. “There’s no question about that. I can’t imagine the pain that the families of those victims have experienced for a loss that should not have occurred.” The deaths of Riley and Morin became a flashpoint issue for Republicans during the 2024 presidential campaign and throughout the Trump administration’s push to tighten immigration enforcement. Social media users also pointed to angel families, who are relatives of Americans killed by illegal immigrants who have become prominent advocates for stronger border security and immigration enforcement. The families frequently have appeared alongside President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers at campaign events, the White House and on Capitol Hill to highlight crimes committed by people in the country illegally. Harris’ statement follows another July post she made after a separate fatal ICE shooting in Houston involving Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, whom the Department of Homeland Security also said attempted to ram federal officers with his vehicle during a traffic stop. “Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s family called him ‘El mundo entero’ — the whole world,” Harris wrote Thursday. “Doug and my prayers are with Lorenzo’s wife, his three sons, and all those who loved and knew him. I join his son Ronaldo in calling for an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Harris for comment.
Trump’s ‘third world’ travel ban could become permanent if firebrand Republican lawmaker gets her way
FIRST ON FOX: One House Republican is moving forward with efforts to codify President Donald Trump’s sweeping travel ban on “third-world” countries. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., will introduce legislation Wednesday that would bar people from 39 countries across the Caribbean, Middle East and Africa from entering the United States, Fox News Digital has learned. Mace’s bill, titled the Third World Immigration Moratorium Act, would also block entry for individuals traveling on Palestinian Authority-issued documents. The South Carolina lawmaker argued her legislation, which mirrors the list of countries facing full or partial bans under the Trump administration, is necessary because many immigrants from the affected countries have failed to assimilate into American life. TRUMP ADMIN ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF VISA RESTRICTION POLICY IN WESTERN HEMISPHERE “For too long, Washington has looked the other way while bad actors exploited every gap in our system and American families paid the price. Those days are over,” Mace said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital on her upcoming legislation. “If you import the third world, you will become the third world.” “This bill makes crystal clear: entry into the United States is a privilege, not a right,” she continued. “We make absolutely no apologies for defending it.” Countries that would face travel restrictions are Afghanistan, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The proposal comes after the Trump administration resurrected a travel ban on 12 countries in June 2025 after an Egyptian national was charged with carrying out a deadly firebombing attack in Boulder, Colo., on demonstrators calling for the release of hostages in Gaza. Trump later moved to expand the list by more than double after an Afghan national fatally shot 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, a member of the West Virginia National Guard, and severely injured U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 25, in Washington, D.C., in November. The president argued the move was necessary to protect national security and guard against visa overstays after both perpetrators were in the country illegally after overstaying their visas. Many of the countries on the travel ban list are among the poorest in the world and have struggled with instability and terrorism. Iran and Cuba — both longtime U.S. adversaries — are also among the countries targeted by the proposal. Mace’s legislation would exempt several categories of travelers, including lawful permanent residents, dual nationals using passports from countries not subject to the restrictions, diplomats, NATO personnel, athletes participating in major international competitions, special immigrant visa recipients who assisted U.S. forces, and some people fleeing ethnic or religious persecution in Iran. ALITO RIPS RACE-BASED CLAIM IN HIGH-STAKES MIGRANT PROTECTIONS CASE AT SUPREME COURT Under Mace’s bill, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary would possess the authority to grant case-by-case waivers if admitting an individual is determined to be in the nation’s “critical interest.” But the legislation is likely to face an uphill battle in the House amid expected opposition from Democrats and some Republicans who support legal immigration from several of the countries on her list. Earlier this year, a handful of Republicans joined Democrats in voting to extend Temporary Protected Status for Haitians despite the Trump administration’s opposition. Some Republicans have also defended legal immigration for people from Cuba, Venezuela and other countries subject to the travel ban and often used as proxies of other foreign powers. Mace previously introduced legislation that would bar naturalized citizens from serving in most of the federal government, including in Congress and as federal judges. Wednesday’s legislation comes as Mace weighs her political future. The Republican firebrand is serving the final months of her House term after losing her bid for South Carolina governor earlier this year. She has floated running in a fast-approaching primary election to succeed the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died unexpectedly late Saturday evening.
How the ‘long march’ through the institutions led to socialist takeover of Dem Party: ‘Need to wake up’
The rise of socialist candidates across the United States has reignited a long-running debate over how far left the Democratic Party has shifted, with political veterans from both parties telling Fox News Digital the movement’s success is the product of decades of ideological change that started with cultural institutions and that failing to confront it could have profound consequences for the country’s future. “Yuri Bezmenov, a KGB defector, warned of ‘great brainwashing’ schemes to undermine America and the West some 40 years ago,” New York City Republican Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, who grew up in Soviet Ukraine, told Fox News Digital. “What we’re seeing now is anything but ‘grassroots’; it’s the effect of decades-long campaigns to subvert American thought and way of life.” That campaign, some experts argue, is the underlying reason behind the rise of socialist candidates like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the candidates he backed for Congress last month, as well as Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, and the various other candidates who embrace socialist ideology. THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS ARE NO LONGER ON THE FRINGE “Marxist schemes slowly mainstreamed once-fringe ideas like ‘America is systematically racist,’ or ‘all cops are bastards,’ and ‘capitalism is evil,’” Vernikov explained. “The biggest culprits are the education system, which is increasingly beholden to radicalized teachers’ unions, and moderate Democrat politicians who have refused to challenge – and in most cases embraced – their radical, anti-West peers. The next thing you know, we have a socialist mayor committed to the destruction of our value system and three of his cronies on their way to Congress.” Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation who fled communist Cuba in the 1970s, told Fox News Digital the path to this point over the last several decades was blazed by the “long march through the institutions” where the “cultural left took over the K-12 school system, higher education, art houses, media, entertainment, and museums.” NEWT GINGRICH: THE DECLARATION STILL TERRIFIES SOCIALISTS AND TYRANTS, HERE AND ABROAD Gonzalez, co-author of the book “NextGen Marxism: What It Is and How to Combat It,” pointed to a sweeping new White House report that concluded the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History (NMAH) has become a taxpayer-backed institution of “ideological capture” and “extreme political activism.” “People think America is exceptional because it is rich and powerful, which completely misunderstands American exceptionalism and the concept of exceptionalism. American exceptionalism is not at all about America being free, rich and powerful,” Gonzalez said. “On the contrary, America is rich and powerful because of America’s exceptional nature. And that has nothing to do with being rich and powerful. It has to do with the fact that America derived its sovereignty from the concept of natural rights. They stopped demanding their rights as Englishmen and turned around and started demanding their rights as men under the concept of natural rights — that they have these rights that are endowed by the Creator with natural rights, and that these rights are eternal. Nobody has taught Mamdani this. Instead, they have taught Mamdani to hate America — that America is structurally oppressive and systemically racist — and that has been the message of these institutions.” SOCIALISTS LAUNCH RADICAL PLATFORM TO ABOLISH THE US SENATE IN BID TO FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORM AMERICA As concerns about the growth of socialism and communism grow, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is adopting and rolling out an updated platform that cuts at the heart of what many conservatives view as America’s constitutional framework and public-safety system, including calls to abolish the U.S. Senate, replace the Electoral College, defund police departments and abolish prisons. Gonzalez told Fox News Digital that if he had to put a date on when the left’s cultural takeover began to explode, it would be the 1980s. “It started in earnest in the ’80s because the members of the New Left that had been terrorists, like the Weather Underground and the Black Panthers and so forth, they come out of hiding and they start taking over the teaching profession,” Gonzalez explained. “They go into cultural areas and by the late ’80s, you have the doctrine of critical race theory, before that, you have critical legal theory and that takes over the law schools and then it gravitates to all faculties, and then it comes to the Ivy walls in the second decade of the 21st century with Obama, Obama creates the environment for it.” Much has been made in recent months about the disappearance of “moderates” within the Democratic Party and some attribute that to what Gonzalez referred to as the “decimation” of moderate Democrats in red and purple districts during the Obama years. Obama, who moved in many of the same Chicago political and civic circles as former Weather Underground co-founder Bill Ayers during his early political career, is often accused by conservatives of opening the door to the far-left of the party with his rhetoric and big government policies like Obamacare. During Obama’s eight years in office, Democrats lost more than 1,000 elected offices nationwide, including 63 House seats, 12 Senate seats, 12 governorships, and roughly 940 state legislative seats, in one of the party’s most severe down-ballot declines in modern history. During Obama’s presidency, as moderate Democrats were losing elected offices across the country, several high-profile left-wing movements emerged, including Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter. The country also witnessed widespread protests, and, in some cities, riots, following high-profile police shootings, including the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, after the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown. How did the Democratic Party go from pragmatic bipartisan leaders in the 1980s and 1990s to the schism between socialists and moderates that exists today? Gonzalez suggested patriotism is the underlying issue. “I would go back to pre-Bill Clinton,” Gonzalez said when asked about the last time the Democratic Party had leaders who could stand up to the socialist wing. “I would say Tip O’Neill, and Dick Gephardt, these
Trump reverses DHS policy, orders ICE to resume vehicle stops after one-day pause
The day after the Department of Homeland Security announced a pause on ICE vehicle stops, President Donald Trump instructed the agency to reverse course on what he called “one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools.” In a social media post, Trump wrote, “We CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” The president reasoned that the announced DHS policy shift would be “playing right into the criminal’s [sic] hands.” “The Radical Left Dumocrats would like to see this done, but it won’t happen on my watch,” he wrote. Addressing federal agents directly, he then said, “ICE, be judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job.” ICE AGENTS INSTRUCTED TO END MOST VEHICLE STOPS IN MAJOR POLICY SHIFT The White House confirmed with Fox News that the president had overturned the pause on vehicle stops. This comes after multiple ICE sources confirmed with Fox News on Tuesday that agents were being instructed nationwide to cease most vehicle stops, a major shift in the agency’s immigration enforcement operations. According to the sources, agents were instructed to end all vehicle stops except for targets considered to be the most egregious with serious or violent criminal histories. The pause was said to be indefinite and was to remain in effect until DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin had approved new vehicle stop training, and it had been implemented to agents in the field. The pause followed two individuals being fatally shot by ICE agents during vehicle stops in Maine and Texas within the span of one week. One senior ICE source remarked to Fox News that the change is “horrible but needs to happen.” ICE SAYS OFFICER SHOT AND KILLED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WHO TRIED TO RAM HIM WITH CAR IN HOUSTON Trump, however, appears to feel differently. “The men and women of ICE are doing a GREAT job, one that has to be done. CRIME IS WAY DOWN IN AMERICA, in many cases with numbers that haven’t been seen in decades,” he wrote. He said that former President Joe Biden, who he referred to as “Sleepy Joe Biden,” allowed 25 million people into the country, many of whom he said were “unchecked and unvetted.” “Many were Criminals, and we have to get them out. In order to do this, we must be strong, tough, and smart,” he wrote. ICE OFFICER HAILED AS HERO AFTER SAVING DRIVER INJURED IN MISSOURI CRASH To the ICE agents operating across the country, Trump wrote, “Keep those Crime Stat Records coming!” and “Remember, you are loved and respected in America.” The statement was reposted by DHS. Fox News’ Alexis McAdams contributed to this report.
Biden book launch backfires as critics mock ‘autopen’ president into oblivion
Former President Joe Biden’s announcement of a forthcoming memoir drew swift mockery from conservatives Wednesday, with critics reviving questions about his health, age and use of an autopen during his presidency. “This guy couldn’t even sign his own name. He’s not writing books. LMAO,” wrote former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt on X. “Politicians write books to launder money. Nobody wants to read this, but the corrupt NGOs he provided for as President will buy up 100K copies and burn ’em to hold up their end of the bribes,’” the former reality TV star added. EX-DEM INSIDER REVEALS SHE WILL EXPOSE DEMOCRATS WHO COVERED UP BIDEN’S COGNITIVE DECLINE IN NEW BOOK Biden’s memoir, “Promise Me, America,” will chronicle his presidency and reveal the “deeply agonizing calculation” behind his decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, according to a press release announcing the book. The memoir is set to come out on Nov. 17, about two weeks after the midterms. Biden announced the book in a video posted to X Wednesday. He added that he has been receiving treatment for his cancer diagnosis and that it has been going “really well.” “It’s about the challenges we face as a nation and about the decisions I made and why I made them, leading the country through co rebuilding our economy and restoring our democracy after the attack on January 6th, ending our nation’s longest war in Afghanistan, strengthening NATO and supporting Ukraine,” Biden said. SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS AFTER JILL BIDEN REVEALS SHE WAS ‘FRIGHTENED’ WATCHING JOE’S DISASTROUS DEBATE Social media users swiftly mocked Biden’s announcement. “The first lie of Joe Biden’s book launch: ‘I’ve written a book,’” wrote conservative communicator Steve Guest. “Could you imagine if this guy was halfway through his second term. it’s still insane to me that so many people lied about this man’s health to hold onto power,” wrote The Brand Brief’s Nathan Brand on X. JAKE TAPPER DISPUTES JILL BIDEN’S CLAIM SHE FEARED FOR HUSBAND’S HEALTH AT CNN DEBATE “Joe Biden couldn’t sign his own pardons. Now he’s ‘written’ a book, which Democrats forced him to release after the midterms so he wouldn’t be in the news to remind people how bad he was,” wrote Outkick founder Clay Travis. “Who in the world is buying this book?” “Who do we think wrote this book,” questioned Daily Wire editor-in-chief Brent Scher. “Did the autopen write this too,” Missouri Republican Rep. Jason Smith questioned. “Auto pen,” Republican candidate for Congress in Florida Mark Kaye wrote simply. Many X users responded to the video announcement with the photo in the Presidential Walk of Fame that shows an image of an autopen marking Biden’s name. President Donald Trump replaced Biden’s portrait with the device previously used by the commander in chief to sign important orders, including pardons. Trump has railed against Biden’s use of the autopen, claiming the former president didn’t know what documents he was signing and that thousands of pardons were void. Trump and other Republicans have questioned Biden’s mental acuity while in office. Fox News Digital reached out to the Office of Joe Biden and the White House for comment.
Tim Walz becomes GOP punchline in sweeping new war on welfare fraud
EXCLUSIVE: Senate Republicans are naming the centerpiece of a 12-figure anti-fraud package after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, arguing his administration’s handling of massive welfare fraud schemes made him the symbol of government waste they hope to eliminate. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa., is dropping the legislation just as fraud-exposing journalists, such as Nick Shirley, testify to the Homeland Security Committee about videotaped discoveries in the “Feeding Our Futures” scandal in Minnesota and other similar alleged rackets elsewhere on Wednesday. The “Welfare Abuse and Laundering Zillions (WALZ) Act” from Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., is at the core of the broader anti-fraud package targeting Minnesota-style violations, COVID fraud, foreign remittance abuse and repeat offenders, and is projected to save taxpayers roughly $240 billion, Fox News Digital learned. WALZ A NO-SHOW AT KEY FRAUD HEARING DESPITE BEING IN THE BUILDING ON OTHER BUSINESS: GOP LEADER The WALZ Act requires federal payments be made as reimbursements to states only after a service is proven to have been provided – a process critics say Minnesota failed to police adequately. It also requires that if a state program receiving federal funding sees a six-month increase in disbursements of more than 10%, the HHS inspector general must investigate that program. FTC CHIEF ACCUSES DEMOCRATS OF ‘TRYING TO PROTECT THE FRAUDSTERS’ BY WITHHOLDING DATA FROM TRUMP ADMIN One of Ernst’s pieces of the package, the Returning Unspent COVID Funds Act, would claw back more than $65 billion in federally-disbursed COVID funds – now six years after the height of the pandemic – to avoid future abuse of those funds. “While hardworking Americans are struggling to make ends meet, fraudsters are getting away with ripping off $1.4 billion of taxpayer money every single day,” Ernst told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “Government grift and graft is endless, but the public’s patience isn’t and neither is mine. The Senate will have an opportunity to bring this crime spree to an end by passing my Protecting American Taxpayers Act. This bill stops fraud before it happens and takes back the loot that’s already been stolen. As for the scammers, they’re going to the slammer.” DAVID MARCUS: FLORIDA SENATOR’S WAVE OF ANTI-FRAUD BILLS SHOULD BE SLAM DUNK Fox News Digital reached out to Walz for comment on lawmakers using his name. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., also contributed legislation to the package that would extend the statute of limitations for the government to prosecute COVID fraudsters. Keen-eyed federal employees would also be able to claim monetary rewards from the federal government under the package – as part of the “Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act” from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., that instructs inspectors general to pay out sums to those who uncover fraud or waste. The anti-fraud package also goes far beyond America’s borders to protect U.S. taxpayers, according to Ernst. Sen. Tim Sheehy’s, R-Mont., No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act would instruct the State Department to implement a process to discourage NGOs and foreign nations from financially supporting the Taliban, including via U.S.-provided foreign assistance that Washington gives to such groups or governments. Outside the oft-reported welfare scams and social services fraud operations, the package also brings attention to other ways the federal taxpayer has purportedly been defrauded over the years. Suspected abuse of remittances – or funds sent by U.S.-resident foreigners to their home countries – has been a thorn in the side of some conservatives for years. PENNSYLVANIA REPUBLICANS SEEK TO LEVY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS’ REMITTANCES TO FUND PROPERTY TAX RELIEF Part of Ernst’s package also includes a bill from Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, that would require people who send wire transfers and remittances abroad to certify that they are not already on public assistance; essentially protecting the taxpayer from their welfare funds being shifted to other countries. “For decades, Washington’s failed welfare program rewarded dependency while enabling fraudsters and criminals to exploit the system to take advantage of American taxpayers,” Moreno said in a January statement after initially drafting the legislation. “If an individual has enough cash to send money overseas, they have no business taking welfare benefits from hardworking Americans. The abuse ends now.” In Ernst’s package, a proposal by Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., called the Assisting Small Businesses Not Fraudsters Act, would prevent previously convicted fraudsters from receiving Small Business Administration funds. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER A source familiar with Senate procedure said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., could tee up a vote by filing cloture – ending debate – on the legislative process for the massive package as early as late this week. Co-sponsors of the greater anti-fraud package include GOP Sens. David McCormick of Pennsylvania, Charles Grassley of Iowa, Jim Justice of West Virginia, John Kennedy of Louisiana and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming, among several others. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Imam who prayed before Congress faces formal rebuke after celebrating Graham’s death
FIRST ON FOX: A Texas imam invited to pray before Congress is facing backlash on Capitol Hill after celebrating Sen. Lindsey Graham’s death in a social media post that wished him “an eternity in ruins” over his support for Israel. Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, plans to introduce a resolution on Wednesday that would formally condemn Omar Suleiman, the president and co-founder of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, near Dallas. “In other news, Lindsey Graham is dead,” Suleiman wrote on social media early Sunday morning, shortly after news broke that Graham had died. “Bye Lindsey. May you live an eternity in ruins for the ruins you helped create in Gaza. Ameen.” Van Duyne, who represents the suburban Dallas district where Suleiman lives, said Congress must condemn his incendiary message, pointing to his 2019 opening prayer before the House, which he delivered at Democrats’ invitation. JOY REID MOCKS MEDIA MOURNING OF LINDSEY GRAHAM, SAYS ‘HELL OPENED ITS DOORS FOR AT LEAST ONE MORE’ “This type of action from a religious leader that claims to preach about love and not hate needs to be condemned,” Van Duyne told Fox News Digital in an interview. “That was anything but love. That was depravity.” “Is this really what you believe—that you’re going to take a sitting senator who has just died, and you’re going to condemn his soul to an eternity of ruins because you don’t agree with his politics?” she continued. Graham, who served in Congress for decades, was a leading advocate for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and the United States’ months-long conflict with Iran. He was also a fierce defender of Ukraine, Taiwan and those living under authoritarian regimes. Van Duyne said she is talking with leadership about putting her resolution on the floor and hopes Democrats will support it. “It needs to be condemned by those Democrats who called him to the House floor to preach,” the Texas lawmaker said. “I would love to be able to get Democrats who are on the floor who don’t agree that this is the type of action that a religious leader should take.” Suleiman was invited by former Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, to deliver the opening prayer in the House chamber in May 2019. She died in 2023. The imam was asked to perform the invocation despite a history of controversial remarks, including calling for a third Intifada — a phrase widely interpreted as calling for violence against Israel and Jews — and claiming that Zionists are “enemies of God,” the Jerusalem Post reported. “It’s a hatred of a people” that fueled Suleiman’s remarks celebrating Graham’s death, Van Duyne told Fox News Digital. “I thought it was very important to highlight that.” NETANYAHU DETAILS ‘FINAL’ CONVERSATION WITH LINDSEY GRAHAM, SAYS SENATOR CHALLENGED HIS PUSH TO END ISRAEL AID The resolution alleges that Suleiman has “defended convicted terrorists” and traveled to Turkey to support members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who are banned from traveling to the United States. Suleiman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Texas imam was not alone in celebrating Graham’s death. Van Duyne argued the vitriol from some progressive commentators and left-wing activists reflects a broader decline in civility. “The words are getting more hateful,” the Texas Republican told Fox News Digital. “The call for violence is getting more dangerous.” “It has absolutely gone beyond reason,” she continued. “And to have a religious leader that joins in that, that is calling for that, is horrible. And yes, we should be condemning it.” Her measure also highlights Sharia law’s “incompatibility” with constitutional principles and American life. Van Duyne, who served as mayor of Irving, Texas, before winning election to Congress in 2020, has long warned about the spread of radical Islam and efforts to promote Sharia law in the Lone Star State. “There are Republican leaders in Congress who are speaking out against it. Eleven years ago, I felt like I was on my own,” Van Duyne told Fox News Digital. “They are in my hometown, and they are in cities across the country, and I think what you’re seeing is elected representatives standing up to it.” The resolution also pays tribute to Graham, who she said supported her during her runs for Congress and appeared with her at some fundraisers. “When he didn’t agree with somebody, he would tell them,” Van Duyne said. “But it was never in a hateful, malicious manner, and I think we have lost the soul of debate. We have lost the soul of actual compromise in this country.”
Schumer’s mentor pushed birthright citizenship crackdown. Now Moreno dares Democrats to reject it.
FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican has a plan to challenge the Supreme Court’s decision on birthright citizenship, and he’s taking a decades-old page from Democrats to do it. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, will soon circulate legislation that was once pushed by the late, former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., that, among several things, would drastically reduce the scope of birthright citizenship. The bill, first obtained by Fox News Digital, is a mirror image of Reid’s initial offering from 1993. It’s a comprehensive immigration reform package that cuts legal immigration substantially, caps refugee admissions at 50,000 annually and speeds up deportations with limited court review, among several provisions. ‘IT’S INSANE’: GOP SENATOR SAYS SUPREME COURT BIRTHRIGHT RULING HANDS CHINA A CITIZENSHIP LOOPHOLE Moreno painted his objective as twofold: try to tackle the Supreme Court’s decision last month with legislation and show how Democrats have strayed from their immigration policy over the last three decades. “What it’s going to do is highlight two things,” Moreno said earlier this month. “The Democrats of today are nothing like the Democrats of 1993 and, if they choose to reject a bill sponsored by their majority leader that they named an airport in Las Vegas after, then I think my Republican colleagues have no choice.” “We have to recognize that these Democrats want to systematically destroy this country,” he continued. SUPREME COURT RULING SPARKS RACE TO KILL A MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR LOOPHOLE IN CONGRESS On the birthright citizenship matter, the Moreno-Reid product would tackle the main argument made by the Court, which interpreted the meaning of “subject to the jurisdiction of” within the 14th Amendment to effectively mean all children born in the U.S. are automatically granted citizenship. The unorthodox bill would modify that language to “subject to the jurisdiction of” a foreign country. Under the proposal, illegal immigrants, most temporary visa holders and others who are temporarily in the country and their children would not qualify for automatic citizenship. That’s an interpretation that Democrats of today have rejected. Notably, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who was mentored by Reid, cheered the Supreme Court’s decision. TRUMP SUFFERS MAJOR SUPREME COURT DEFEAT AS JUSTICES UPHOLD BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP “No matter how much President Trump tries to steal citizenship from people that the Constitution has said have earned it and reverse the grand American tradition of welcoming newcomers to our nation, the Supreme Court confirmed today that those born in America are American,” Schumer said last month. Reid disagreed. In a press release from 1993, Reid made many of the same arguments that Republicans have made for the last few years on issues at the southern border and abuse of birthright citizenship. Reid said that “our borders have overflowed with illegal immigrants, placing tremendous burdens” on several programs, and that “our federal wallet is stretched to the limit by illegal aliens getting welfare, food stamps, medical care and other benefits, often without paying any taxes.” “We are a country founded upon fairness and justice. An individual in real threat of torture or long-term incarceration because of his or her political beliefs can still seek asylum,” Reid said at the time. “But this bill closes the door to those who want to abuse America’s inherent generosity and legal system.”
Demand to end ‘scam’ visa program replacing American workers surges, West Virginia congressman reveals
A West Virginia congressman is fed up with popular work visas, and revealed to Fox News Digital a behind-the-scenes surge of Republican lawmakers who also support abolition of the foreign worker program. “I think the H-1B visa program is a scam, and it’s one that has been perpetrated on the American worker for far too long,” Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., said in an interview. “Essentially, we shipped all our manufacturing jobs overseas and people were told to ‘learn how to code,’” he continued. “Well, now they’re being replaced with the H-1B visa workers on the coding jobs as well. So when is the American worker actually going to get a win here?” FURY ERUPTS AS US BRAND FIRES 1,600 EMPLOYEES AFTER SECURING THOUSANDS OF FOREIGN WORKER VISAS H-1B visas are billed as temporary work authorizations for “high-skilled” foreign workers who are qualified to do jobs that American workers do not have the skills to do. But the companies that use them are not required to prove that they couldn’t find a qualified American to do the same job, raising criticism among those who want to stop outsourcing jobs to foreign workers. Companies who use the most H-1B visas include Amazon, IT consulting firm Cognizant, Infosys, IBM and Microsoft. Microsoft set off a firestorm last week when its XBOX gaming division laid off 1,600 workers, despite the parent company being approved for 2,273 H-1B visas this year alone. ACTING LABOR SECRETARY SONDERLING: A FAST-TRACK WAY TO GET A JOB WITHOUT COLLEGE DEBT “We’re sending all of our kids to college, trade school or what have you, to get advanced knowledge or career preparation for the workplace, and we’re coming in with H-1B visas and displacing them with lower skilled, lower paid workers, and many of young people are ending up either unemployed, or baristas at Starbucks, or you name it with $200,000 in debt,” Moore lamented to Fox News Digital. The typical H-1B visa is limited to three years, but employers can file extensions that last up to six years. And while the foreign workers are in the United States, there is nothing stopping them from pursuing permanent residency. According to data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 80% of H-1B visa holders who become permanent residents do so through employment-based green cards. Permanent residents can later become naturalized citizens. Moore insists the idea that H-1B workers are more skilled than American workers is a “complete fallacy,” and said that the only reason they’re being brought to the United States is because they will work for less pay than the ordinary American. “This is a rigged market against American workers,” said Moore. “It’s not free market capitalism at all, because the government is handing these out and also setting the levels of how many H-1B visas are going to be issued.” “This is all controlled by the government, and it’s obviously big corporate lobbyists that are pushing for more H-1B visas. This is not an exercise in the free market.” TRUMP JOLTS IMMIGRATION HAWKS WITH SURPRISING DEFENSE OF CHINESE STUDENTS IN USA As of 2021, National Foundation for American Policy analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data estimated that there were 619,000 H-1B workers in the U.S. — a number that is likely higher today. Optional Practical Training (OPT) work authorizations, Moore says, are perhaps more pernicious than H-1B visas, and further disprove the idea that H-1B visas are for “high skilled” foreign laborers. Foreign students who come to the U.S. on F-1 student visas often use OPT as a bridge between studying in the United States and receiving an H1-B visa. “Look at the OPT program, right, where they’re doing the training,” Moore said. “They’re going through our university system. Obviously they’re coming through our university system because it’s the greatest on the planet.” Moore wants to abolish both programs completely, and says there’s a quiet groundswell of support for his efforts behind the scenes. “I’m certainly not the lone voice in this,” he told Fox News Digital. “I might be the loudest. Some people are quietly talking about it, but I have had many, many of my colleagues here in Congress come up and talk with me since I’ve started talking about this and thank me for speaking up.” “So I have a lot of support behind me on this issue, and there’s others who are starting to speak up as well.” Recently, President Donald Trump tried to limit employers’ use of the H-1B program by imposing a $100,000 fee for companies seeking H-1B applications. A federal judge struck down that order, reasoning that it amounted to a tax that only Congress has the ability to impose. For Moore, it all comes back to protecting American labor. “The American worker is the only worker on the planet that has to compete with labor from all over the world inside their own borders. We’re the only ones. It doesn’t make any sense to me at all, and we’re putting all of our young people in a disadvantaged position.”