Trump pushes peace in Europe, pressure in the Americas — inside the two-front gamble
In one corner of the world, the U.S. is trying to end a war. In another, it may be preparing to start one. While Washington pushes proposals aimed at easing Russia’s terms for a cease-fire with Ukraine in Europe, it’s taking a far tougher stance in the Western Hemisphere — moving to label Venezuela’s military-linked Cartel de los Soles a terrorist organization and quietly expanding its military footprint in the Caribbean. Sporadic strikes on alleged cartel boats off Venezuela’s coast have grown into the largest U.S. military presence in Southern Command’s area in a generation, with the world’s biggest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, steaming toward the Caribbean Sea. President Donald Trump has reportedly approved CIA covert measures inside Venezuela — operations that often precede military force — and U.S. planners have already drawn up target lists for cartel sites, according to The New York Times. Many believe the U.S. could soon launch direct strikes on Venezuelan territory aimed at pushing Nicolás Maduro out of power. TRUMP’S STRIKE ON CARTEL VESSEL OFF VENEZUELA SENDS WARNING TO MADURO: ‘NO SANCTUARY’ At the same time, a top Russian commander, Colonel General Oleg Makarevich, has been reassigned from the Ukrainian front to head Russia’s Equator Task Force in Venezuela, overseeing roughly 120 troops training Venezuelan forces, Ukrainian intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov told The War Zone. Fox News Digital has not independently verified Budanov’s claim. Seth Krummrich, a retired U.S. Army colonel and vice president at Global Guardian, said Russian military advisers are indeed operating inside Venezuela but doubted Moscow would back Maduro militarily. “They’re there, full stop,” Krummrich said. “But Russia needs to stop the massive blood-letting of its young men in Ukraine. They’re not going to go toe-to-toe with us militarily.” He added that the relationship is long-standing: “There is a long history of Russian military advisers in Cuba and in Venezuela that goes on for decades.” Many in Washington see a strategic payoff in forcing out Maduro: it would strip Russia of its last firm foothold in the Western Hemisphere — a loss comparable, in some analysts’ view, to Moscow’s waning influence in Syria. “Venezuela, for the longest time, has been a launch pad for Chinese, Russian, and Iranian influence in the Western Hemisphere,” Krummrich said. “These chess pieces are all tied together when you arch your great-power competition.” Other experts caution against assuming the U.S. escalation in Venezuela and its peace overtures in Europe are part of a single coordinated plan. Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), spoke with Fox News Digital and said any overlap may be more coincidence than strategy. “We’ve been zigging and zagging in Venezuela,” Berg said. “Trump has gone back and forth between build-ups and calls for dialogue, while the Russia timeline has only recently become parallel to these events. Anything that looks coordinated is likely coincidence.” Berg recalled that during Trump’s first administration, some advisers floated an “Ukraine-for-Venezuela” concept — asking Russia to relinquish its stake in Caracas in exchange for U.S. concessions in Eastern Europe — but the idea was quickly abandoned. “Russian power in Venezuela is important,” Berg said, “but it’s not so overwhelming that it’s the reason Maduro survives.” HOW TRUMP’S STRIKES AGAINST ALLEGED NARCO-TERRORISTS ARE RESHAPING THE CARTEL BATTLEFIELD: ‘ONE-WAY TICKET’ Russia’s footprint in Latin America has grown only modestly since the early 2000s, dwarfed by China’s economic expansion. Moscow’s closest partners remain Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. Beyond them, its influence is exercised mainly through media and selective economic pressure. “If you look at Russia’s trade profile with the region, it’s small,” Berg said. “But Moscow is very good at using those few trade points for leverage.” He cited examples: when Ecuador considered sending old Russian-made equipment to Ukraine in exchange for U.S. military aid, Russia threatened to block Ecuadorian banana exports — nearly $1 billion annually — by imposing new phytosanitary checks. The deal collapsed within a week. Similarly, Moscow has kept Brazil and Argentina largely muted on the Ukraine invasion by leveraging its control over nitrate fertilizer exports, crucial to both agricultural giants. “They use whatever levers they have — bananas, fertilizer, spare parts — to coerce quietly,” Berg said. Russia also continues to service aging equipment across the region. “They sell a lot of kit here,” Berg added. “Many countries still operate Russian-origin systems that need maintenance and parts. That creates dependency.” If U.S. forces strike Venezuelan targets, most observers expect Russia to limit its response to intelligence sharing and disinformation, not combat support. “The Russians are pretty tied down in Ukraine,” Berg said. “We saw during the 12-day war, when Iran appealed for help, Moscow stayed silent. They simply don’t have the capacity.” Berg described a recent episode in which a sanctioned Ilyushin cargo plane landed in Caracas. Russian lawmakers briefly claimed it carried air-defense systems and technicians to assist Maduro, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later denied it. “He essentially said, ‘We have no mutual-defense treaty,’” Berg noted. “That was widely read as: we’re not coming to Venezuela.” John Hardie, deputy director of the Russia Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, also spoke with Fox News Digital and said there is little evidence of a coordinated link between the U.S. buildup in the Caribbean and Washington’s peace overtures in Europe. “I don’t see any immediate connection,” Hardie said. “Russia’s ability to influence events in Venezuela is pretty limited.” He said Moscow’s power-projection capacity in the Western Hemisphere remains constrained. “They can take limited action — fly some bombers into the region, sail submarines to Cuba — but major operations in Latin America are beyond their capacity,” Hardie said. Hardie also noted reports of the Russian Ilyushin transport aircraft visiting Venezuela and suggestions it could have carried air-defense systems, but said any such transfer would have little strategic effect. “Even if Russia slipped in some air defenses, it wouldn’t make much difference,” he said. “The Venezuelan military would still
War on badges: House GOP targets anti-police rhetoric amid ICE attacks
FIRST ON FOX: The House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing Dec. 3 examining anti-law enforcement rhetoric — and how it might be tied to an increase in violence against law enforcement officers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. The hearing comes in response to several attacks against ICE officers and as the Department of Homeland Security reports that violent encounters against federal immigration officials have surged in recent months. “It is unacceptable that the brave men and women of law enforcement, who risk their lives daily to secure the homeland and protect the public, are facing targeted violence from radicals and international gangs on U.S. soil,” House Homeland Security Committee Chair Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., said in a Monday statement to Fox News Digital. “With assaults against officers skyrocketing and heightened threats of political violence across America, Congress must support the mission of law enforcement and ensure our federal agencies have the tools, resources, and partnerships needed to keep these dedicated professionals safe on the job as they work to protect our communities,” Garbarino said. FROM WORDS TO BLOODSHED: DEMOCRATS BLASTED FOR RHETORIC AFTER DEADLY ICE SHOOTING Those who will appear before the committee Dec. 3 for the hearing, titled “When Badges Become Targets: How Anti-Law Enforcement Rhetoric Fuels Violence Against Officers,” include Michael Hughes, executive director of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association; Patrick Yoes, national president of the Fraternal Order of Police; and Jonathan Thompson, executive director and CEO of the National Sheriffs’ Association. HOUSE REPUBLICANS WARN ANTI-ICE RHETORIC FROM DEMOCRATS IS DRIVING VIOLENT ATTACKS ON AGENTS There have been a series of shootings at ICE facilities in 2025, and the Department of Homeland Security said in July that assaults against ICE officers and other federal immigration agents have increased nearly 700% in comparison to 2024. Although the agency reported 10 assault incidents between Jan. 1, 2024, and June 30, 2024, that number increased to 79 reported assaults in the same period of time in 2025. Recent cases of violence against law enforcement include a shooting near ICE’s Prairieland Detention Facility in Alvarado, Texas, in July, where an Alvarado Police Department officer was shot in the neck. On Wednesday, five people pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges stemming from the attack. SANCTUARY POLITICIANS’ RHETORIC LED TO 1,150% SURGE IN VIOLENCE AGAINST ICE AGENTS: DHS More recently, a shooter opened fire at an ICE facility in Dallas in September, and two detainees died. At the time, the FBI said it would investigate the matter as a “targeted attack” against ICE, and the Department of Homeland Security said it had identified shell casings with “anti-ICE” messages. “Federal law enforcement agencies play a critical role in upholding the rule of law, protecting our national security, and supporting both state and local authorities,” Rep. August Pfluger, the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee’s counterterrorism and intelligence subcommittee, said in a Monday statement to Fox News Digital. “The recent deadly shooting at a Dallas ICE facility wasn’t an isolated attack — it was part of a broader pattern of violence spurred on by anti-law enforcement rhetoric and heightened political extremism perpetrated by radicals on the Left,” said Pfluger, who is from Texas. Meanwhile, the White House previously has urged Democrats to tamp down their language toward ICE as they challenge the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda. For example, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., blamed ICE for acting “like a terrorist force” in June. She later stood by her comments in a CNN interview, after the White House pressed her for an apology.
Former House Speaker McCarthy warns Marjorie Taylor Greene is ‘the canary in the coal mine’
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s decision to leave Congress early next year should serve as a warning to her colleagues. “She’s almost like the canary in the coal mine. And this is something inside Congress, they’d better wake up, because they are going to get a lot of people retiring, and they’ve got to focus,” the former Republican House speaker said in an interview on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime.” Greene, a three-term representative from a solidly red district in northwest Georgia, a MAGA firebrand and strong supporter of President Donald Trump, announced on Friday night that she would step down from the House. Her stunning news came amid Greene’s very public falling out with Trump over a handful of key issues, and in her statement and video announcing her decision, she made a sweeping indictment of the president and her party. HEADED FOR THE EXITS: WHY 3-DOZEN HOUSE MEMBERS AREN’T RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION Greene is one of nearly 40 current members of the House who are either leaving before their current two-year terms end, or who have said they won’t seek re-election in next year’s midterms. And the surge in retirements may impact next year’s midterm elections, when Republicans are aiming to protect their fragile House majority. “We’re above average,” noted David Wasserman, a senior editor and elections analyst at the non-partisan political handicapper “The Cook Report,” as he pointed to the pace of House retirement announcements so far this cycle. And we’ve still got five weeks left until the calendar hits 2026. Waves of retirement announcements traditionally come in the final month or two, amid the holiday season, in the year before congressional elections. The party breakdown so far on the retirements: 16 Democrats and 22 Republicans. A handful of the Democrats headed for the exits are in their 70s and 80s and retiring after long tenures in the House. The most prominent is 85-year-old former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION FROM CONGRESS AFTER PRESIDENT TRUMP WITHDRAWS ENDORSEMENT But in a continued sign that the bitter partisanship in the House has made the lower chamber of Congress far from a pleasant work environment, most of the members who are passing on re-election are much younger. Among those forgoing re-election next year is 53-year-old Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, the House Budget Committee chair who shared his retirement news first with Fox News Digital. “I have a firm conviction, much like our founders did, that public service is a lifetime commitment, but public office is and should be a temporary stint in stewardship, not a career,” Arrington said. Also on that list is moderate Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, 43. SENIOR REPUBLICAN SAYS HE’LL ‘MISS THE CLOWNS,’ NOT ‘THE CIRCUS’ AS HE EYES LIFE AFTER CONGRESS “After 11 years as a legislator, I have grown tired of the increasing incivility and plain nastiness that are now common from some elements of our American community — behavior that, too often, our political leaders exhibit themselves,” Golden wrote earlier this month in an op-ed for the Bangor Daily News, where he revealed his unexpected decision. “I don’t fear losing. What has become apparent to me is that I now dread the prospect of winning. Simply put, what I could accomplish in this increasingly unproductive Congress pales in comparison to what I could do in that time as a husband, a father and a son,” Golden said. Pointing to Golden’s comments, Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska noted: “He said something I was feeling. The thought of winning was unattractive this cycle. If it feels like it’s a little bit depressing to win, then better let somebody else run.” “I think that’s where this hyper-partisan ugliness fits in. The thought of winning and going through another two years of this was not a fulfilling thought,” added Bacon, who earlier this year announced he wouldn’t seek re-election in 2026. Bacon won nine heavily contested GOP primary battles and general elections over the past decade in his swing district. But the retired Air Force general and moderate Republican who represents an Omaha, Nebraska-anchored congressional district told Fox News Digital last week that “the fire wasn’t there” anymore. Former Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster of New Hampshire, who retired a year ago after serving a dozen years in the House, said the dysfunction and political tension in Congress was “definitely a factor” in her decision to leave. “It had gotten so much more difficult over 12 years to work across the aisle,” Kuster told Fox News Digital. “It had gotten much more fractured, partisan, less congenial.” TOP HOUSE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN REVEALS HE WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION IN 2026 Kuster said “a big factor for me was that most of the moderate Republicans that I worked with all the time had left Congress. The people who were coming in were more hard right partisans.” Bacon, who describes himself as a Ronald Reagan-style, old-fashioned Republican, joked that he was “stuck in the middle” with “crazies on the right and crazies on the left.” TOP HOUSE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN REVEALS HE WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION IN 2026 While some, like Bacon and Arrington, are taking a break from politics, most of those not seeking re-election to their House seats are running for statewide offices next year. Wasserman said that “on the Republican side, there’s a sense that not much will get done beyond OBBBA in the next two years of Trump’s presidency.” OBBBA is the acronym for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the massive GOP domestic policy bill passed along partisan lines this summer by the Republican-controlled House and Senate that is the centerpiece of President Donald Trump‘s second-term agenda. “They’ve made the heavy lift and now there are opportunities to be more impactful elsewhere,” Wasserman said. The bitter battle between Republicans and Democrats over the measure was another sign of the vicious partisan climate on Capitol Hill. That partisan fighting was only amplified during this autumn’s showdown between Democrats and Republicans during
FBI scheduling interviews with 6 lawmakers who encouraged military members to refuse ‘illegal orders’
The FBI and Department of Justice have contacted Capitol Police to schedule interviews with the six members of Congress who appeared in a controversial video urging service members to ignore orders they may deem illegal, Fox News has learned. Last week, a group of Democratic lawmakers with military and intelligence backgrounds, including Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich.; Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.; Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa.; Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H.; Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa.; and Rep. Jason Crow released a video directed at service members and intelligence officers stating: “Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.” In response to the video, President Donald Trump said the lawmakers should be arrested and tried for “seditious behavior.” “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” he said. SIX DEMOCRATS URGE MILITARY MEMBERS TO ‘REFUSE ILLEGAL ORDERS’ IN VIRAL VIDEO; HEGSETH RESPONDS On Monday, the Department of War announced that it has opened a formal review into allegations of misconduct against Kelly over the video. The Pentagon said it may even call Kelly, a retired Navy captain, back to active duty to face court-martial proceedings or other administrative actions under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Four of the other Democrats are former military, but not retired and therefore are not subject to the UCMJ, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Slotkin is a former CIA officer. Hegseth on Tuesday posted on X that the video “may seem harmless to civilians — but it carries a different weight inside the military.” RETIRED GENERAL BLASTS DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS’ ‘IRRESPONSIBLE’ VIDEO URGING TROOPS TO REFUSE ‘ILLEGAL’ ORDERS He called the video a “politically-motivated influence operation” and listed reasons for his conclusion, including how the lawmakers never named a specific “illegal order,” which “created ambiguity rather than clarity.” He added that the video used “carefully scripted, legal-sounding language” and argued that the lawmakers “subtly reframed military obedience around partisan distrust instead of established legal processes.” “In the military, vague rhetoric and ambiguity undermines trust, creates hesitation in the chain of command, and erodes cohesion,” Hegseth wrote. “The military already has clear procedures for handling unlawful orders. It does not need political actors injecting doubt into an already clear chain of command.” He continued: “As veterans of various sorts, the Seditious Six knew exactly what they were doing — sowing doubt through a politically-motivated influence operation. The @DeptofWar won’t fall for it or stand for it.” Fox News’ Digital’s Morgan Phillips and Taylor Penley contributed to this report.
GOP senator probes 18 blue states, DC over Trump’s transgender athlete order
FIRST ON FOX: A top Senate Republican is launching an investigation into over a dozen blue states over whether they’re in compliance with President Donald Trump’s executive order, “Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports.” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., is taking a microscope to schools across the country for alleged infractions against Trump’s order, which was designed to undo several changes made under former President Joe Biden to Title IX, the decades-old law that bars sex-based discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal funding. His investigation is specifically targeting the inclusion of transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports, and the promotion of policies that allow shared access to facilities, like locker rooms and bathrooms. 130 DEMOCRAT CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES URGE SCOTUS TO SIDE WITH TRANS ATHLETE IN TITLE IX LEGAL BATTLE The scope of Cassidy’s investigation is broad and includes California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Washington, D.C. In 19 letters to various heads of state and collegiate education departments, Cassidy alleged that many recipients of federal funding “continue to interchangeably enroll males and females in sports teams that differ from their biological sex,” and that the recipients push policies that allow shared access to facilities. “Under the current and correct interpretation of the law, this is a clear violation of Title IX,” Cassidy wrote. NEWSOM SIGNS LAW TO APPROVE ATHLETE EQUITY STUDY AS MORE CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS OPPOSE MALES IN GIRLS’ SPORTS The lawmaker’s investigation also comes as the Supreme Court considers a pair of cases that could have wide-ranging implications on Title IX enforcement across the country, and whether biological male athletes can participate in women’s sports. Cassidy, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, noted that under Biden there were several changes and expansions to Title IX that he believed were unlawful, including changing the definition of sex to include gender identity, undermining protections for female athletes. Trump’s executive order from earlier this year changed that and returned Title IX to its 2020 version. It also ordered that the Department of Education and its Office for Civil Rights “enforce all sex-protective laws to promote the reality that there are two sexes, male and female, and that these sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality,” Cassidy wrote. GOP WRESTLES WITH OBAMACARE FIX AS TRUMP LOOMS OVER SUBSIDY FIGHT “As Chairman, it is my priority to ensure women and girls have every opportunity to succeed on the field and in the classroom,” Cassidy said. “This means ensuring that states receiving federal financial assistance for educational programs comply with federal law and federal agency directives.” Cassidy has given the state education agencies and colleges until Dec. 8 to provide several pieces of information for his investigation, including state and institutional Title IX policies on gender identity, state laws protecting biological females, steps taken to comply with Trump’s order, revisions to definitions of sex, policies on athletic participation and facility access by biological males, and complaint records, parental notifications, and disciplinary actions involving students objecting to shared spaces.
Biden-era regulation on the chopping block as Trump-aligned legal group warns of ‘DEI lens’
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump-aligned lawfare group founded by White House aide Stephen Miller is petitioning two of the government’s top federal health agencies to immediately repeal a Biden-era regulation they claim promotes organ transplantation allocation based on race, not medical need. Initially, the proposed rule from the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) had an equity performance adjustment, but that part of the rule was scrapped before it was finalized. The Increasing Organ Transplant Access (IOTA) Model in question scores selected hospitals, which are required to participate, across three domains as it relates to kidney organ transplantation: achievement, efficiency and quality. Based on the scores, hospitals will either get money for their efforts, owe money back to the federal government for not meeting expectations, or neither receive nor owe anything. Rather than an explicit score adjustment, the rule’s equity agenda was embedded more subtly through a “voluntary” health equity plan that mandatory participating hospitals are encouraged to complete. The plan pushes hospitals to identify “health disparities” and identify “equity goals to monitor and evaluate progress in reducing targeted health disparities,” which will be measured by “one or more quantitative metrics that the IOTA participant uses to measure the reductions in target health disparities arising from the health equity plan interventions.” DOCTORS ON KEY US HEALTH TASK FORCE ACCUSED OF PRIORITIZING DEI OVER EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE “A federal rule cannot invite or normalize discrimination—not even under the guise of improving ‘equity,’” stated an America First Legal (AFL) press release accompanying the group’s petition. “Although CMS ultimately made Health Equity Plans ‘voluntary,’ the agency embedded them inside a mandatory federal model that encourages hospitals to integrate race and identity into transplant decision-making.” The six-year mandatory payment program builds on earlier payment experiments, testing whether financial rewards and penalties can improve care and expand access for Medicare and Medicaid patients. The rule was published in the Federal Register on Dec. 4, and began operating on July 1, Meanwhile, according to AFL, 67 of the 103 hospitals mandated to participate in the IOTA Model are “still engaging” in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. The conservative lawfare group argues this is normalizing “identity-based preferences” within the nation’s organ transplant system. RUBIO ORDERS RESTITUTION FOR HUNDREDS OF STAFFERS DENIED PROMOTIONS UNDER BIDEN DEI RULE “The IOTA Model is a leftover remnant of an unlawful equity agenda that encouraged hospitals to view lifesaving care through a DEI lens,” said AFL attorney Megan Redshaw. “Federal law requires that organ allocation be based on established medical criteria, not race or identity, and no rule should push hospitals to pursue transplant volume while layering race-based pressures onto a system already plagued by ethical failures.” Just days after Biden took office in 2021, he signed Executive Order 13985, directing all federal agencies to conduct “Equity Assessments” to determine whether “underserved communities and their members” faced systemic barriers to accessing federal programs. The order also required federal agencies to develop an action plan to address those barriers. As part of this effort, in December 2021, CMS issued a request to the public for comments on how the agency could “Advance Equity and Reduce Disparities in Organ Transplantation.” “CMS is focused on identifying potential system-wide improvements that would increase organ donations, improve transplants, enhance the quality of care in dialysis facilities, increase access to dialysis services, and advance equity in organ donation and transplantation,” the agency said at the time. “Black Americans are almost four times more likely, and Latinos are 1.3 times more likely, to have kidney failure compared to White Americans. Despite the higher risk, data shows that Black and Latino patients on dialysis are less likely to be placed on the transplant waitlist and have a lower likelihood of transplantation. Because of these stark inequities, CMS’ [Request For Information] asks the public for specific ideas on advancing equity within the organ transplantation system.” Trump officials and allies, including AFL, have questioned the role outside groups played during the process of drafting the final IOTA Model rule, prompting AFL to file FOIA requests as part of a broader investigation into the new IOTA model and the Biden administration’s alleged push to infuse DEI into the nation’s organ transplant framework. One example AFL has pointed to is a “modernization initiative” for the national organ transplant system under the Biden administration, which included plans to strengthen “equity, and performance in the organ donation and transplantation system.” The Biden admin also announced changes to the “labeling of race and ethnicity information for organ donors,” on numerous data reports used by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). The nation’s organ transplant system has also recently been targeted for prematurely initiating organ retrievals while patients were still alive, or improving. In July, HHS released a statement announcing an initiative to reform the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), following a federal investigation that found “disturbing practices by a major organ procurement organization.” AFL argues that the IOTA Model final rule, specifically, violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, the equal protection clause, precedent established by the U.S. Supreme Court, and executive orders issued by President Donald Trump. The lawfare group added that the rule also exceeds CMS’ statutory authority under the Social Security Act, and is “arbitrary and capricious” under the Administrative Procedure Act. “The Biden Administration built this kidney transplant policy on the false premise that fairness requires discrimination,” Redshaw said. “This rule treats race as a substitute for medical judgment, and it risks condemning patients to die on waitlists based on immutable traits instead of clinical need. Every American deserves equal treatment under the law, especially when life and death are at stake.” HHS and CMS didn’t reply to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment on this story in time for publication.
Dem House candidate’s luxurious lifestyle clashes with ‘working-class’ campaign message
Iowa Democrat Christina Bohannan has built her campaign for Congress around the image of a hard-working, middle-class advocate who understands what it’s like “to struggle to put food on the table.” However, her real estate portfolio and financial disclosures paint a very different picture — one of expensive homes, a Florida waterfront condo and lucrative stock investments that place Bohannan among the wealthy elite she claims to want to fight against in Congress. “You know, I know what it’s like to work so hard and to, to still struggle to put food on the table,” Bohannan previously told a crowd at the Iowa State Fair. Throughout her multiple campaigns – Bohannan has run for the same seat in the House for the past two elections and lost – she has touted her history of growing up in a trailer park and being forced to choose “between putting groceries in the cart and filling prescription drugs.” In an interview with Iowa Public Radio, Bohannan reportedly reiterated once again that “she knows what it’s like to struggle.” TRUMP LANDS ANOTHER LEGAL VICTORY AS LAWSUIT AGAINST IOWA POLLSTER, DES MOINES REGISTER REMAINS IN STATE COURT However, Bohannan’s own financial disclosures and local real estate records paint a picture that clashes with her alleged working-class image. In June, Bohannan purchased University of Iowa basketball coach Fran McCaffery’s $1.55 million mansion in Iowa City, while for years she has also owned a waterfront condo inside a gated community in Sarasota, Florida. The gated community sells homes ranging from as little as $300,000 to over $1 million, plus requires thousands in annual homeowner’s fees. Meanwhile, according to Bohannan’s financial disclosures, her Sarasota condo has also helped her net as much as $50,000 in rental income annually. Bohannan’s own financial filings also show that she and her husband own over six-figures in individual tech stocks, such as Apple, Alphabet and Meta, from which they have not divested despite Bohannan’s “ETHICS PLAN” proposal aimed at compelling members of Congress to cease trading stocks while serving on Capitol Hill. Fox News Digital reached out to Bohannan for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication. Bohannan is set to take on Republican incumbent Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who represents Iowa’s 1st Congressional District. SEE IT: SUSPECTED DRUNKEN DRIVER’S WRONG-WAY HEAD-ON CRASH CAUGHT ON DEPUTY’S DASHBOARD CAMERA Earlier this month, Bohannan attempted to stir backlash against her GOP opponent over her “true values,” pointing to a photo of Miller-Meeks sitting first-class on an airplane, “as her constituents suffer from Trump’s policies.” “This photo tells you more about Miller-Meeks’ true values than her entire town hall did,” Bohannan wrote in a tweet that included an alleged image of her Republican opponent flying first class. But the attempted jab did not go unnoticed by a locally elected district supervisor, Austin Hayek, who slammed Bohannan for worrying about Miller-Meeks sitting first class when she had just bought a $1.55 million mansion. “Christina Bohannan is concerned with 1st class – weird since she just bought a $1.55 million dollar home,” Hayek commented on Bohannan’s photo of Miller-Meeks allegedly sitting first class. “Seems she’s wanting others to share the wealth, but not herself and she cares more about her personal living than the ‘poor,’” the local elected official concluded. “Stop the virtue signally [sic].”
Trump admin ends Temporary Protected Status for Burmese migrants
The Trump administration on Monday ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Burmese migrants, deeming conditions in the country to have improved enough for citizens to return safely. “This decision restores TPS to its original status as temporary,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. “Burma has made notable progress in governance and stability, including the end of its state of emergency, plans for free and fair elections, successful ceasefire agreements, and improved local governance contributing to enhanced public service delivery and national reconciliation.” Burma, also known as Myanmar, was first designated for TPS in May 2021 by then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. In March 2024, Mayorkas extended TPS for Burma for 18 months, making its expiration date Nov. 25, 2025. TRUMP TERMINATES DEPORTATION PROTECTIONS FOR SOMALI NATIONALS LIVING IN MINNESOTA ‘EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY’ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said in its announcement that the designation will end on Jan. 26, 2026. It noted that Noem came to the decision “after conferring with interagency partners” and that she “further determined that permitting Burmese nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to the national interest of the United States.” USCIS also said that Burmese nationals are encouraged to use the U.S. Customs and Border Protection CBP Home app, which is designed for self-deportations. Since January 2025, Noem has ended TPS for migrants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Nepal, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Syria and South Sudan. FEDERAL JUDGE FINDS ‘RACIAL AND DISCRIMINATORY ANIMUS’ IN TRUMP MOVE TO CANCEL TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS USCIS issued a statement on Nov. 13 saying it was “ending exploitation” by ensuring that TPS would be “truly temporary.” Additionally, it announced the implementation of “rigorous screening and vetting protocols.” “The distinction between legal and illegal immigration becomes meaningless when both can destroy a country at its foundation,” USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser said in the statement. “Unchecked mass migration floods the American labor market, depressing wages and taking jobs away from hardworking Americans, while straining healthcare, education, and housing systems.” On Friday, President Donald Trump said he would move to end TPS for Somali migrants in Minnesota following a bombshell report tracing money in the hands to Al-Shabaab terrorists to a series of fraud schemes in the North Star State. “Minnesota, under Governor Waltz, is a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity. I am, as President of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS program) for Somalis in Minnesota. Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great state, and BILLIONS of dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from. It’s OVER!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Comey expects further legal scrutiny from Trump admin, criticizes ‘fools who would frighten us’
Former FBI Director James Comey hailed the federal judge who dismissed the federal indictment against him on Monday, saying the case against him was based on “malevolence and incompetence.” Judge Cameron Currie dismissed the false statements charges against Comey in a Monday ruling, finding that they were brought by an unqualified U.S. attorney. President Donald Trump‘s administration maintains that the attorney, Lindsay Halligan, was legally appointed and has indicated they plan to pursue further legal action. “I’m grateful that the court ended the case against me, which was a prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence, and a reflection of what the Department of Justice has become under Donald Trump, which is heartbreaking,” Comey said, before thanking the lawyers who represented him in the case. “This case mattered to me personally, obviously, but it matters most because a message has to be sent. That the president of the United States cannot use the Department of Justice to target his political enemies. I don’t care what your politics are. You have to see that as fundamentally un-American and a threat to the rule of law that keeps all of us free,” he continued. FEDERAL JUDGE CALLS COMEY INDICTMENT INTO QUESTION, ASKS IF HALLIGAN IS A ‘PUPPET’ FOR TRUMP Comey went on to say that he expects the Trump administration to continue coming after him despite the legal setback. He called on Americans to “stand up” against the “fools who would frighten us,” suggesting Trump is a “would-be tyrant.” Currie’s ruling also threw out the DOJ’s case against New York Attorney General Letitia James, citing the same reason. “I conclude that the Attorney General’s attempt to install Ms. [Lindsey] Halligan as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid and that Ms. Halligan has been unlawfully serving in that role since September 22, 2025,” Currie wrote. JAMES COMEY SEEKS TO DISMISS HIS CRIMINAL CASE, CITING ‘VINDICTIVE’ PROSECUTION Currie, a Clinton appointee based in South Carolina, was brought in from out of state to preside over proceedings about the question of Halligan’s authority because it presented a conflict for the Virginia judges. Comey’s and James’ challenges to Halligan’s appointment were consolidated because of their similarity. Halligan acted alone in presenting charges to the grand juries shortly after Trump ousted the prior interim U.S. attorney, Erik Siebert, and urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to replace him with Halligan, a former White House aide and insurance lawyer. Bondi complied, but Currie found the interim U.S. attorney term had already expired under Siebert and that the Virginia judges were now responsible for appointing a temporary U.S. attorney to serve until Trump could get one confirmed in the Senate. Trump has been unable to persuade the Senate to confirm several U.S. attorneys in blue states, leading the president and Bondi to sidestep the upper chamber at times to install Trump’s preferred appointees, such as Halligan. Currie’s decision comes after federal judges also disqualified appointees in California, New Jersey and Nevada. Fox News’ Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.
Dems move to set limits on Trump’s donor-funded White House ballroom, claiming ‘bribery in plain sight’
Democrats are seeking to put limits on private donations to foot the bill for President Donald Trump’s new White House ballroom amid what they say are bribery concerns. Trump announced in October that construction had started on the ballroom — leading to the demolition of the White House’s historic East Wing — and would be privately funded at an estimated cost of $300 million. That was up from the $200 million estimate first provided in July when the project was unveiled. But Democrats are concerned the donors — including individuals and other organizations — are footing the bill for the project because they are seeking something in return from the Trump administration, and recently introduced legislation to try to curb it. Although the White House released a list of the donors in October, Democrats, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Adam Schiff of California, claim that additional oversight is needed and that the White House has not identified all donors, while others have been granted anonymity. TRUMP JR. BLASTS IRONY OF ‘INSANE’ DEMOCRATIC MELTDOWN OVER WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM PROJECT Among those who’ve donated to the ballroom project are Google, Apple, Meta Platforms, Amazon, Microsoft and Lockheed Martin. As a result, lawmakers argue that those who’ve contributed to the project could be doing so to curry favor with the administration, setting up a “pay-to-play” relationship with the Trump administration. Specifically, lawmakers pointed to Google agreeing to a $22 million settlement with Trump in September, stemming from Trump’s censorship lawsuit against YouTube for banning him from the platform after the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol. Google, which owns YouTube, is also involved in an antitrust case leveled against it by the Justice Department, and therefore, could benefit from soliciting favor from the Trump administration, the lawmakers claim. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. “Billionaires and giant corporations with business in front of this administration are lining up to dump millions into Trump’s new ballroom — and Trump is showing them where to sign on the dotted line,” Warren said in a statement Tuesday. “Americans shouldn’t have to wonder whether President Trump is building a ballroom to facilitate a pay-to-play scheme for political favors. My new bill will put an end to what looks like bribery in plain sight.” TRUMP CELEBRATES WHITE HOUSE DEMOLITION AS NEW BALLROOM RISES: ‘MUSIC TO MY EARS’ Warren, along with the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, spearheaded the legislation. Other lawmakers, including Schiff, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and others, have also cosponsored the measure. Specifically, the legislation would bar donations from organizations or individuals that present a conflict of interest, and would prohibit the president, vice president or their families and staff from soliciting donations. Once donations have been made and are cleared by the directors of the National Park Service and the Office of Government Ethics, the measure would then bar displaying donors’ names in recognition of the donation, and would also require a two-year freeze for the donor to lobby the federal government. SWALWELL MOCKED FOR DEMANDING 2028 DEMOCRATS PLEDGE TO DEMOLISH TRUMP’S BALLROOM Additionally, it would prohibit using any remaining donated funds to then go toward personal use, or to benefit the president, vice president or their family and staff. Likewise, the measure also would require that donors disclose meetings with the federal government that occur in the year following the donation, and prohibit anonymous donations. “President Trump has put a ‘for sale’ sign on the White House—soliciting hundreds of millions of dollars from special interests to fund his $300 million vanity project,” Blumenthal said in a statement Tuesday. “Our measure is a direct response to Trump’s ballroom boondoggle. With commonsense reforms to how the federal government can use private donations, our legislation prevents President Trump and future presidents from using construction projects as vehicles for corruption and personal vanity.” Meanwhile, the White House dismissed the measure and Democrats’ efforts to impose new restrictions on donations. “President Trump is making the White House beautiful and giving it the glory it deserves,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday. “Only people with a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome would find a problem with that.” Trump has initiated several renovation projects at the White House during his second term, including adding gold accents to the White House’s Oval Office and paving the Rose Garden.