‘Slap in the face’: Dems hammered for declaring state of emergency over ICE enforcement
Los Angeles County GOP chair Roxanne Hoge ripped the county’s Democratic leaders for having “no shame” and declaring a state of emergency over federal immigration enforcement operations, which she called a “slap in the face” to Americans. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on Tuesday to declare a local state of emergency in the region. The declaration, which the board stated was in response to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, provides residents with rent relief and legal aid if they have been affected by the raids. County departments were also ordered to “take necessary emergency actions to protect and stabilize communities impacted by federal immigration actions.” In an interview with Fox News Digital, Hoge said that “living in California, especially living in Los Angeles, is like playing a constant game of whack-a-mole” with outlandish policies and declarations. DEMOCRATS CREATING ‘TWO-TIERED’ LEGAL SYSTEM THAT KEEPS LATINOS DOWN, SAYS LA GOP LEADER She said the progressive-dominated L.A. County Board of Supervisors “have no shame in how far they will go” to upend citizens’ lives and prioritize illegals over citizens. “They keep coming up with more and different ways to spend taxpayer money and to not give us the services that a local government should give you, you know, public safety, freedom from crime, clean streets. None of those are available in Los Angeles,” said Hoge. “You would think that the emergency is having an entire community burned down and not having water in the hydrants. You would think a state of emergency is due to criminal cartels taking over our streets, but no.” TRUMP FOES MELT DOWN THAT SCOTUS IS UNLEASHING ‘RACIAL TERROR’ ON US WITH ICE RAID RULING Addressing the county board directly, Hoge said, “I would say to the ladies who run the most powerful county board of supervisors in the country, that it would be really nice if they would pay attention to the needs of Californians living in Los Angeles for just a moment.” “To turn around and give money to people who, by the way, don’t have to prove that they’re here legally or illegally or even that they are going to use the money for rent is a complete slap in the face to every hardworking person who makes Los Angeles their home,” she went on, adding, “Do your jobs, ladies. Please protect the Americans living in Los Angeles.” The proclamation notice, dated Oct. 9, said that it will remain in effect until terminated by the board of supervisors. TRUMP’S WAR ON CARTELS ENTERS NEW PHASE AS EXPERTS PREDICT WHAT’S NEXT County officials claimed the raids have “created a climate of fear, leading to widespread disruption in daily life and adverse impacts to our regional economy,” including decreased workplace attendance, temporary or permanent business closures, and increased strain on schools, hospitals, and places of worship. In response to a Fox News Digital request for comment, a spokesperson for the L.A. County Board of Supervisors clarified that the declaration “currently provides no funding.” A spokesperson for board Chair Kathryn Barger, who issued the sole vote against the declaration, shared a statement with Fox News Digital in which she said that “declaring a local emergency is not the right or responsible way to respond” to the federal immigration enforcement operations. “I want to be clear: my opposition to this motion is about good governance, not immigration status,” Barger said. “Emergency powers exist for crises that pose life and death consequences like wildfires—not as a shortcut for complex policy issues. Stretching emergency powers for federal immigration actions undermines their purpose, invites legal challenges, and circumvents the public process.” Barger added that “families across Los Angeles County are afraid, and that fear is real,” but said, “We need real solutions, not symbolic gestures”
Republican lawmaker directs investigation after swastika vandalism discovered in DC office
U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) is investigating after Rep. Dave Taylor, R-Ohio, reported vandalism in his Washington, D.C. office that included a swastika. Images obtained by Politico show an American flag altered with a swastika pinned on one of the cubicles in Taylor’s office. A pocket Constitution and congressional calendar were also spotted in the photo, allegedly taken near a staffer’s desk. POLITICAL VIOLENCE SURGES ACROSS AMERICA AS LAWMAKERS FACE GROWING THREATS AT HOME Taylor’s office released a statement Wednesday afternoon, noting he condemns the symbols “in the strongest terms.” “I am aware of an image that appears to depict a vile and deeply inappropriate symbol near an employee in my office,” the lawmaker wrote. “The content of that image does not reflect the values or standards of this office, my staff, or myself, and I condemn it in the strongest terms.” PROTESTERS CAUGHT ON CAMERA DELIVERING COFFIN TO GOP CONGRESSMAN’S FRONT DOOR IN MOCK FUNERAL PROCESSION Taylor said when he found out about the vandalism, he immediately directed a thorough investigation alongside USCP, which remains ongoing. “No further comment will be provided until it has been completed,” according to Taylor’s office. ANTISEMITIC GRAFFITI PROMPTS HATE CRIME PROBE AT ISRAELI-AMERICAN COUNCIL HQ IN LOS ANGELES Taylor, who represents Ohio’s Second District in the U.S. House of Representatives, is a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and House Agriculture Committee. The husband and father of three also serves as co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Rural Broadband Caucus. USCP did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, with an automatic reply citing office closures due to the federal government shutdown.
Dem governor in hot seat after whistleblower rips disturbing sentencing pattern for illegal child rapists
A former Massachusetts shelter director-turned-whistleblower is calling the sentencing of yet another illegal alien for raping a child at a taxpayer-funded shelter further evidence of a “total government failure” in the sanctuary state. Haitian illegal alien Cory Alvarez, 27, was found guilty of aggravated rape of a child at a migrant shelter in Rockland, Massachusetts, and sentenced to 10 to 12 years in prison, according to NBC 10 Boston. Alvarez was arrested by Rockland police in 2024 on suspicion of sexual assault on a 15-year-old female victim. Both Alvarez and the victim were living at a state-run shelter at a Comfort Inn. Alvarez was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in August. According to the agency, he entered the country lawfully in 2023 but violated the terms of his admittance, meaning he was present in the country illegally. MIGRANT CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN PILE UP IN BOSTON AREA AS MAYOR SLAMS BONDI OVER ‘SANCTUARY’ WARNING In response, Fetherston, who ran a similar migrant shelter in Marlborough, Massachusetts, from 2023 to 2024, said Alvarez’s sentencing “exposes a much bigger problem.” “Call it what you will, but this is total government failure,” he said. “You have documented cases now of these girls being assaulted in shelters run with taxpayer dollars. No one at the top, including Governor Maura Healey, is taking any of the responsibility.” Fetherston has previously blown the whistle on “rampant” sexual abuse of children taking place in the Massachusetts-run shelter system. Speaking with Fox News Digital in February, he detailed the case of another Haitian illegal alien, Ronald Joseph, who raped and impregnated his own 14-year-old daughter at the Marlborough shelter. Fetherston said that when he and the authorities confronted Joseph about the rape, he became agitated and threatened him. Despite the gravity of the crime, Fetherston said he was instructed to order Joseph a ride to another state-run shelter. Joseph was not arrested until months later. He has since been sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison for aggravated rape of a child. Fetherston said that these two cases are not isolated but rather part of a larger disturbing pattern of child sexual abuse that has largely gone unpunished. “The state didn’t protect these children, and when you don’t protect children, you have no moral authority to run these programs,” he said, adding, “If you’re not going to protect children, you shouldn’t be in office.” Earlier this year, a Healey spokesperson told the Boston Herald that the governor “inherited a disaster of a shelter system” and that Healey “is the one who took action to implement a length of stay limit, mandate criminal background checks, require residents to prove Massachusetts residency and lawful immigration status, and get families out of hotels.” Fetherston said that despite claims that shelter residents had all been vetted through criminal background checks, “not a single one of these people was vetted” and “nobody knows who they are.” “The governor opened up the doors wide open and didn’t vet anybody, and that is on her,” he said. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED WITH REPEATED SEXUAL ASSAULT OF 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL: FLORIDA SHERIFF He also noted that “98 percent of the people that I was dealing with were really good people and they were just here to make a better life for themselves. But the 2% that weren’t were some of the worst people I have ever seen.” He emphasized that “all of these shelters are paid for with taxpayer dollars.” “The taxpayers need to realize that essentially, and horribly, you’re funding these rapes and assaults of little girls,” he said, adding, “Nobody wants that.” In August, Healey ordered the closure of the state’s shelter system and made some of the residents eligible to receive at least $30,000 in state housing assistance over a two-year period. Since then, Fetherston said that local police have told him there has been an uptick in auto accidents. He also said that school districts, especially in small-town communities, have been overwhelmed by the influx of foreign students. $30K IN MIGRANT HOUSING AID HAS DEM GOV ON HOT SEAT FOR ‘REVOLVING DOOR’ POLICY “Where do you pull the money from? Do you pull money from police? Do you pull the money from fire? Do you not fix the roads that year? Because you do have to educate these children. So, I mean it has devastating effects on small communities.” Fox News Digital previously reported that Alvarez arrived in June under the parole process for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV) instituted by the Biden administration. The policy was first announced for Venezuelans in October 2022, which allowed a limited number to fly directly into the U.S. as long as they had not entered illegally, had a sponsor in the U.S. already and passed certain checks. Fox News Digital reached out to Healey’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Dem governor spent state of emergency on European wedding getaway as gubernatorial election looms
Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy faced backlash and mockery for taking a trip to Europe as a powerful nor’easter barreled toward the Garden State, sparking an emergency declaration, and as the gubernatorial election looms. Murphy traveled overseas to Europe Oct. 9 for a wedding and returned to his duties Tuesday, according to his office, with Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way serving as acting governor in his absence. Way declared a state of emergency Saturday as a nor’easter was set to batter the coastal state, and as the gubernatorial campaign cycle hits a fever pitch before Nov. 4. “Starting on Sunday, a dangerous coastal storm will begin to move past our state with extreme weather conditions for several counties, especially those on the Shore,” the acting governor said in an emailed statement to the media Saturday. “In preparation for this storm, I am issuing a State of Emergency for all 21 counties out of an abundance of caution, authorizing our state’s emergency services personnel to activate as necessary. The New York Post reported over the weekend that the former Goldman Sachs executive was MIA as the state braced for the storm, reporting his office said the first couple of the Garden State were in Europe for a wedding. CRIME AND IMMIGRATION DIVIDE NEW JERSEY VOTERS AFTER EXPLOSIVE CIATTARELLI-SHERRILL DEBATE “Governor Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy are out of state this weekend to attend a close family friend’s wedding in Europe. The Governor has been in close communication with his team and emergency response officials regarding the nor’easter storm impacting the East Coast,” a Murphy spokesman told the outlet Sunday. Murphy’s official X account continued posting messages as usual, including celebrating Indigenous People’s Day — which Democrats and liberals often celebrate instead of Columbus Day — igniting condemnation in the reply section as social media users demanded answers as to why he was not home during a state of emergency. “You type this from Italy?” one user responded. FINAL FACEOFF: DEMOCRAT, REPUBLICAN NOMINEES IN KEY RACE FOR GOVERNOR BLAST EACH OTHER ON DEBATE STAGE “Are you honoring them while in NJ? You seem to disappear a lot,” one commenter said. “Columbus Day! And are you doing this tweet from Europe?” another person wrote. Murphy cannot run for re-election as he is term-limited. The 2025 gubernatorial election pits Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill against Trump-backed Republican Jack Ciattarelli in an election that is heating up as the candidates rally last-minute voter registration by the Tuesday evening deadline. New Jersey voted to elect former Vice President Kamala Harris as president nearly a year ago in the presidential election. Trump, however, made inroads with Garden State voters, flipping five counties red, improving his 16-point loss in the state during the 2020 election to a six-point loss in 2024, which has teed up a nail-biter gubernatorial election a year later. TRUMP NOT ON BALLOT, BUT PRESIDENT FRONT AND CENTER IN 2025 ELECTIONS During another overseas trip in 2023, Murphy’s lieutenant governor died in office while serving as acting governor in his absence. Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver suddenly died at the age of 71 on Aug. 1, 2023, when Murphy was vacationing in Italy and forced to make an early trip home. He also came under fire in 2021 when he made an eight-day trip to Costa Rica for Christmas when coronavirus cases flared in the Garden State. The governor also was abroad just in April when he took part in a state-funded trip to the Middle East as wildfires raged at home. Murphy’s office reported the governor was back at work as of Tuesday, with his schedule detailing he would attend a local media event at 8 p.m. called “Ask Governor Murphy.” Murphy’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment Tuesday.
Trump admin cracks down on foreigners who celebrated Charlie Kirk’s killing: ‘Dangerous practice’
The White House lauded the State Department for imposing consequences on foreign nationals who posted controversial statements following the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September. The White House said the State Department’s decision to revoke visas for these foreign nationals is safeguarding Americans. “President Trump has long called attention to the spread of left-wing political violence, which is driven by Democrats’ vile rhetoric characterizing Republicans as Nazis, fascists, and more,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement Wednesday to Fox News Digital. “The Trump administration is ensuring that so-called ‘guests’ in our country are not echoing this dangerous practice of celebrating and encouraging left-wing political attacks, which poses a national security threat to law-abiding Americans.” On Tuesday, the State Department announced that it had yanked the visas of six, unidentified people for their comments in the aftermath of Kirk’s assassination. CHARLIE KIRK PAINTED AS ‘CONTROVERSIAL,’ ‘PROVOCATIVE’ IN MEDIA’S ASSASSINATION COVERAGE “The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans,” the State Department wrote on X Tuesday. “The State Department continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk.” In particular, the State Department said that those whose visas were pulled included a German national who said that “when fascists die, democrats don’t complain,” and a Paraguayan national who said “Charlie Kirk was a son of a b**** and he died by his own rules.” Additionally, the State Department said it revoked the visa of a Mexican national who said Kirk “died being a racist” and that “there are people who deserve to die. There are people who would make the world better off dead.” The State Department also said it revoked visas from foreign nationals from Argentina, South Africa and Brazil. The agency signaled there would be consequences for visa-holders who mocked Kirk’s death on social media, and said in September that it would take “appropriate action” in response to such posts. Critics of the State Department’s move have pointed out that Kirk himself was an advocate for free speech. “US revokes visas for 6 foreigners for derisive posthumous comments about Charlie Kirk–who was, ironically, a self-styled champion of free speech!” David Axelrod, who served as an adviser to former President Barack Obama, said in a Tuesday post on X. TRUMP DEFENDS LABELING ANTIFA A ‘TERRORIST ORGANIZATION’ AS HE TARGETS LEFT-WING EXTREMISM Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has blasted “far-left radicals” for embodying the “devil’s ideology” amid political violence in the U.S. “We’ve watched legions of far-left radicals resort to desperate acts of violence and terror because they know that their ideas and arguments are persuading no one,” Trump said Tuesday at the White House. “They know that they’re failing. They have the devil’s ideology and they’re failing.” In particular, Trump pointed to recent violence at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities, and inflammatory text messages recently unearthed from Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones describing a hypothetical scenario where he would shoot a Republican lawmaker in the head. YEARS OF CAMPUS ATTACKS ON CONSERVATIVE ACTIVISTS RESURFACE AFTER CHARLIE KIRK’S MURDER Trump’s comments came as he posthumously awarded Kirk, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) co-founder, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is the highest award issued to civilians in the U.S. Kirk, 31, was assassinated during his “American Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University in September — just over a year after two assassination attempts against Trump. Tyler Robinson, the shooting suspect involved in Kirk’s assassination, was charged in September with aggravated murder, along with other charges.
Republicans eye fresh funding fight as shutdown standoff drags on
With the stalemate over federal funding showing no clear signs of easing, some House and Senate Republicans are beginning to reckon with the possibility of running out of time before the next government shutdown deadline. Senate Democrats have now rejected the GOP’s bill, a short-term measure to keep the government funded through Nov. 21, called a continuing resolution (CR), eight times — and are expected to sink it again Wednesday afternoon. CRs are traditionally used to give congressional negotiators more time to strike a longer-term deal on government spending. Yet the bill Republicans hoped would originally give them seven more weeks past the end of fiscal year (FY) 2025 on Sept. 30 has dwindled down to just over five, assuming Democrats change their tune this week. Both House and Senate Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital have acknowledged that it’s at least possible the Nov. 21 date will need to be modified. JOHNSON RAISES STAKES ON SCHUMER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN BARRELS INTO WEEK 3 “That’s an important question that we’re all discussing,” Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., who has served in Congress since 2009, told Fox News Digital. “It may well be that we’ll need to extend that deadline further in order to make up for the time we’ve lost during the shutdown.” However, McClintock said he was more in favor of a new CR after the current measure expires, rather than starting from scratch on a new bill. The Nov. 21 CR passed in the House — largely along party lines — on Sept. 19, and most House Republicans have been united in now putting the onus on the Senate. “I think we need to pass the CR that’s in the Senate and then assess if we need additional time,” he said. Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., a senior member of the committee tasked with spearheading federal funding talks, also acknowledged that more time could be needed. He blamed Senate Democrats for stalling the GOP bill and noted the House had already passed 12 individual appropriations bills out of his committee. SCREAMING MATCH ERUPTS BETWEEN HAKEEM JEFFRIES, MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES “We felt like we were in a really good spot and were coming to a lot of agreement,” he said of the House Appropriations Committee’s work. “And I feel like this set us back quite dramatically.” Meanwhile, another House Republican familiar with the appropriations process told Fox News Digital they’d heard of preliminary discussions about combining three bills that have passed both the House and Senate floor — dealing with military construction and veterans’ affairs, the legislative branch and agriculture — as a combined “minibus” alongside an additional 10-day CR. The House and Senate have already voted to set up a “conference committee” on those three bills, a formal working group of sorts aimed at giving lawmakers room to make a compromise. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., acknowledged discussions about the date during a media call with the Republican Study Committee last week. “I mean, the longer [Democrats] delay this, the closer we get to that seven-week added deadline to Nov. 21, and it makes it very difficult to complete the process… with regard to the regular order on appropriations,” Johnson told Fox News Digital. “So there is some discussion,” he said. “There’s a lot of angst about that. We haven’t made final determinations yet, because it’s first things first, and we’re taking it day by day. But I’ll tell you, of course, obviously the leadership has to keep a close eye on these things.” He distanced himself from the idea of a new CR during a Wednesday press conference, however, telling reporters, “It would do us no good to pass yet another CR out of the House, because it will meet the same fate. Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats want to close the government down.” A new CR could be a potentially bruising political fight for the House and Senate, considering Republicans’ historic aversion to short-term federal funding extensions. And while Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Republicans remain largely adamant that the House’s bill is the one they want to use, Thune didn’t shut down the idea of changing the date. “We keep losing time on the clock, which could be used to do the normal appropriations process,” he said. “So, you know, I mean, I think that that’s a point of discussion and certainly something I’ve expressed an opening about.” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., who has been one of a handful of Senate Republicans meeting with Senate Democrats throughout the shutdown, told Fox News Digital that the longer the shutdown goes on, “It becomes less realistic that we can have a funding bill.” “We’ll have to open the government back up, and then I can see a real possibility of us having to extend that date,” he said. Others in the Senate GOP appeared more rigid in their thinking, however, and wanted to stick with the original plan. “I don’t think a new deadline is going to help,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Fox News Digital. “This is up to the Democrats. We’ve asked for no conditions, it’s a clean CR. Their demands are not serious. Until they back off their unserious demands, we’re going to stay shut down.” And Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., argued that Republicans should just keep going with the same bill and warned that changes could further delay reopening the government. “Whatever we do, we still gotta go back, renegotiate with the House,” he said. “If you start changing dates, we gotta have a new document, start all over again, it gets delayed again.” Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., another House Appropriations Committee member, similarly pushed for the Nov. 21 deadline to remain in place. “I really think we should stick with [Nov. 21]. I would remind folks that we actually, on the House side, have passed all 12 appropriations bills,” Bice said. “I don’t think that extending the date right now is the best.” “The focus
White House reveals illegal migrants who received Medicaid as shutdown over healthcare drags on
EXCLUSIVE: The White House unveiled a number of criminal illegal migrants who received Medicaid as the Senate remains in gridlock over the government shutdown. Fox News Digital obtained detailed information surrounding the arrests of 49 illegal migrants, who have all been deported under the Trump administration, who were arrested for an array of crimes that occurred in the U.S. Charges include murder, assault, theft, burglary, rape and sexual abuse of a minor among other serious charges. In Congress, the federal government has remained shut down for more than two weeks as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and most Democrats push for a reinstatement of Medicaid policy that was altered under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to be included in legislation that would fund the government through Nov. 21. SENATE SET FOR NEW VOTE TO END SHUTDOWN, BUT GRIDLOCK OVER OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES REMAINS Republicans argue that “more than 1 million illegal aliens” receive Medicaid under the previously existing program that was revised under Trump’s landmark bill. “Democrats shut down the government and are inflicting pain on hardworking Americans because they want to provide free healthcare to illegal aliens,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. “Due to previously lax federal controls and Democrat state policies, criminal illegal murderers and rapists received Medicaid at the American taxpayers’ expense.” While federal law prohibits undocumented individuals from obtaining Medicaid, some states use federal funds to provide unique versions of state-funded healthcare that permit illegal immigrants to receive health benefits. MEXICAN GANGS OFFERING UP TO $50K BOUNTIES FOR ICE AGENT ASSASSINATIONS IN US, DHS SAYS Under the Biden administration, states were not allowed to place limits on the length of time someone could attest to having eligible immigration status for Medicaid. “President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cut Act is ensuring taxpayer dollars are focused on American citizens and do not subsidize healthcare for illegal aliens – but Democrats are desperate to undo these important reforms, and they’re willing to make the American people suffer for it,” Jackson added. A majority of the illegal migrants the White House shared with Fox News Digital come from Mexico, El Salvador and even include some that illegally emigrated from China. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT GETS 30 YEARS FOR RAPING 11-YEAR-OLD VIRGINIA GIRL MULTIPLE TIMES A White House official explained that illegal migrants could obtain Medicaid through different means, but, specifically, emergency care spending on those not legally in the U.S. rose from $3 billion to $9 billion under President Joe Biden across various states. Tax dollars spent on illegal migrants exceeded that of pregnant women, children, elderly and the disabled during the Biden administration. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act removed these provisions, which Senate Democrats are fighting to include, among other Medicaid items, in the ever-failing continuing resolution that has kept the government shut down. On Tuesday night, the eighth vote to pass the continuing resolution failed in the Senate. Only Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., broke ranks from her party. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., did not vote.
Trump, Vance blast Democrats for backing Virginia AG candidate over texts fantasizing GOP lawmaker’s murder
Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump separately slammed Democrats who continue to back Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones as his campaign unravels over texts envisioning the murder of a former top Republican lawmaker and his young children. Jones – who sent messages claiming he would shoot former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, over Cambodian dictator Pol Pot and former German Chancellor Adolf Hitler – will also face off with incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares at the University of Richmond on Thursday in their sole debate. Vance also appeared to respond to outrage over a leaked group chat, first reported by Politico, in which young Republican activists — many from New York — praised Hitler and used racist slurs, reportedly referring to African Americans as “watermelon people.” VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS HAVE A VIOLENCE PROBLEM Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has not publicly denounced Jones or called for him to drop out, but immediately demanded “every Republican from President Trump on down” condemn the group chat “unequivocally.” Vance pushed back, tweeting that he wouldn’t join the outrage given Democrats’ silence on Jones. “This is far worse than anything said in a college group chat, and the guy who said it could become the AG of Virginia,” he said. LIBERAL MEDIA DOWNPLAYS SCANDAL OF DEM VIRGINIA AG HOPEFUL JAY JONES’ TEXTS FANTASIZING MURDER OF GOP LAWMAKER “I refuse to join the pearl clutching when powerful people call for political violence,” Vance said, sharing a snippet of Jones’ text to Virginia Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Hopewell, that read: “only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.” Speaking during a ceremony eulogizing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was allegedly murdered by a left-wing extremist, Trump said political violence and violent rhetoric from the left must stop. “We’ve seen that a candidate for attorney general in Virginia boasted that he would want to see [a] Republican legislator in Virginia shot in the head and to see his children murdered — They actually said this,” Trump said. LIBERAL MSNBC PANELIST CALLS FOR VIRGINIA AG CANDIDATE TO DROP OUT OVER VIOLENT TEXT MESSAGES “And now he continues to run for office, and most people continue to back him.” Trump offered incredulity at the idea Jones could envision such violence and not either drop out or be forced out of the race. “Pretty amazing, right – that’s a bad one; let’s see how that turns out,” he said. “Especially in the wake of Charlie’s assassination, our country must have absolutely no tolerance for this radical left violence, extremism and terror.”
Trump hammers rise in left-wing political violence in Charlie Kirk remarks: ‘Devil’s ideology’
President Donald Trump decried left-wing violence on Tuesday while speaking at the ceremony to posthumously honor conservative activist Charlie Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. “We’ve watched legions of far-left radicals resort to desperate acts of violence and terror because they know that their ideas and arguments are persuading no one. They know that they’re failing. They have the Devil’s ideology,” he asserted. CHARLIE KIRK POSTHUMOUSLY AWARDED MEDAL OF FREEDOM ON WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN HIS 32ND BIRTHDAY Trump also sounded off regarding the political firestorm surrounding Democratic Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones. At the center of the controversy are Jones’ texts, which spoke hypothetically of a Republican being shot, and even seemed to show him hoping for the death of the man’s children. “Nobody’s heard that one before,” Trump said. The scandal over the texts overshadowed the state’s top-of-the-ticket race as Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Abigail Spanberger descended on Jones’ backyard in Hampton Roads, Virginia, for their gubernatorial bout Thursday. Earle-Sears — who also represented nearby Virginia Beach, Virginia, in the state legislature two decades ago — and Spanberger met at Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Virginia, Thursday for their one-and-only debate appearance. CHARLIE KIRK’S LEGACY GUIDING ‘UNHAPPY’ GENERATION TOWARD FAITH, FAMILY AND FULFILLMENT ENDURES AFTER DEATH Trump said that, especially following the assassination of Kirk, the nation “must have absolutely no tolerance for this radical left violence, extremism and terror.” Kirk, 31, was assassinated last month while holding an event at Utah Valley University. The ceremony was held on the day that would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday. The president described Kirk as a “true American hero.” Fox News Digital’s Charlie Creitz contributed to this report.
Shutdown faces taxpayer reckoning as lawmaker works to expose ‘true cost of Democrats’ political stunt’
FIRST ON FOX: Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst introduced a bill Wednesday that would require federal agencies to submit detailed reports outlining the true full costs of a government shutdown, including back pay for furloughed employees. “Schumer’s Shutdown shenanigans have already wasted $4.4 billion paying 750,000 ‘non-essential’ federal employees not to work for more than two weeks,” Ernst told Fox News Digital. “My Non-Essential Workers Transparency Act will expose the lost productivity and true cost of Democrats’ political stunt,” she said. “It will also help expose which parts of the bloated bureaucracy are truly ‘non-essential’ and should be put on the chopping block to increase efficiency in Washington for taxpayers.” Ernst’s bill would require federal agencies to submit reports to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs within 30 days of a shutdown’s end, detailing each agency’s total number of employees when the shutdown began, total salary spending during the previous fiscal year, the number of furloughed workers, how much those employees would have earned during the shutdown, and the number and pay of those who continued working. DEMOCRATS THREATEN TO SUE TRUMP TEAM OVER ‘ILLEGAL’ FIRINGS AS SHUTDOWN BATTLE ESCALATES The U.S. government has been in the midst of an ongoing shutdown since Oct. 1, when Senate lawmakers failed to pass funding legislation for 2026. An estimated 750,000 federal employees were furloughed and will be compensated with back pay once the shutdown ends, as stipulated in a 2019 law. As the shutdown loomed at the end of September, Ernst published Congressional Budget Office data showing the shutdown is expected to cost taxpayers $400 million a day, with the Iowa senator railing against the hefty price tag “to pay 750,000 non-essential bureaucrats NOT to work.” WHITE HOUSE ESCALATES SHUTDOWN CONSEQUENCES AS DEMOCRATS SHOW NO SIGNS OF BUDGING: ‘KAMIKAZE ATTACK’ The estimated cost of back pay has reached roughly $4.4 billion as of Wednesday, according to estimates cited by Ernst. “Using information from the agencies’ contingency plans and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), CBO estimates that under a lapse in discretionary funding for fiscal year 2026 about 750,000 employees could be furloughed each day; the total daily cost of their compensation would be roughly $400 million,” a letter to Ernst from the Congressional Budget Office stated in September. ‘SCHUMER SHUTDOWN’ ALREADY COST TAXPAYERS $1.2B IN PAY TO EMPLOYEES NOT WORKING The Trump administration and Republicans have since pinned blame for the shutdown on Democrats, claiming they sought taxpayer-funded medical benefits for illegal immigrants. Democrats have denied they want to fund healthcare for illegal immigrants and instead have blamed Republicans for the shutdown. “They say that undocumented people are going to get these credits,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said earlier in October. “That is absolutely false. That is one of the big lies that they tell.” White House spokesman Kush Desai slammed Democrats as “not serious people” when asked about the Congressional Budget Office data earlier in October. “Democrats are burning $400 million a day to pay federal workers not to work because they want to spend $200 billion on free health care for illegal aliens,” he told Fox News Digital. “These are not serious people.” President Donald Trump warned the administration could make “irreversible” changes to the federal workforce in the lead-up to the shutdown, most notably through a new wave of fresh layoffs. The president repeatedly said that he and his allies did not want the government to shut down, but that it opened the door for some “good” that could come from it as he looks to further slim down the size of the government and make it more efficient. The White House announced on Friday that reduction in force notices, better known as RIFs, had been issued across agencies. “The RIFs have begun,” White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought wrote on X Friday.