Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino to leave Minnesota, as Tom Homan takes over
Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, the face of the Trump administration’s campaign to arrest and deport criminal illegal immigrants, will be leaving Minnesota, along with some border agents, amid violent, and sometimes deadly, clashes between federal authorities and anti-ICE agitators. Bovino and an unspecified number of U.S. Border Patrol agents will be leaving the state as soon as Tuesday, multiple federal sources told Fox News. “Chief Gregory Bovino has NOT been relieved of his duties,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin later wrote on X. “As @PressSec stated from the White House podium, @CMDROpAtLargeCA is a key part of the President’s team and a great American.” The news came the same day that President Donald Trump announced that he would be deploying border czar Tom Homan to take point in Minnesota. White House Press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday defended Bovino, calling him a “wonderful man, and he’s a great professional.” DEPUTY AG DEFENDS ICE AGENTS IN MINNESOTA, SAYS OFFICERS ARE ‘ACTING HUMANELY’ “He is going to very much continue to lead Customs and Border Patrol, throughout and across the country,” Leavitt said. “Mr. Homan will be the main point of contact on the ground in Minneapolis to follow up.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Before leading operations throughout the country, Bovino was chief of the Border Patrol’s El Centro Sector in Southern California, which is responsible for 70 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border and covers Imperial and Riverside counties. He will return to his previous post where he will resume his previous duties. Bovino’s “commander of at large operations” position was created by DHS and took him outside of Border Patrol command. Bovino has been criticized by opponents of Trump’s deportation campaign over tactics used by federal immigration authorities to apprehend criminal illegal aliens. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a harsh critic of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, praised news of Bovino’s impending departure from Minnesota. TRUMP CONFIRMS FEDERAL REVIEW OF MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING THAT KILLED NURSE: ‘REVIEWING EVERYTHING’ “Gestapo Greg is out. Keep the pressure up. It’s working,” he wrote on X. In another post, he called for the firing of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. News of Bovino’s departure came after a deadly weekend in which 37-year-old nurse Alex J. Pretti was fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent. Pretti, who was armed with a handgun, was filming federal officers on a Minneapolis street. Authorities said Pretti was resisting disarmament when he was shot. At the time, authorities were targeting Jose Huerta-Chuma, an illegal immigrant with a criminal history including domestic assault for intentional conflict with bodily harm, disorderly conduct and driving without a valid license. Trump said Homan will report “directly to me” and will help lead the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minneapolis and St. Paul. “I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Separately, a major investigation is going on with respect to the massive 20 Billion Dollar, Plus, Welfare Fraud that has taken place in Minnesota, and is at least partially responsible for the violent organized protests going on in the streets,” he continued.
Kathy Hochul blasted for knocking ICE as DHS offered federal help during NY blizzard
As this weekend’s blizzard blew through the Empire State, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul received blowback for her response to an offer of federal assistance from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose office oversees FEMA. State snowfall totals topped 22 inches in West Shokan, Ulster County, outside Saugerties, while New City received 17.5 inches, Golden’s Bridge near the Connecticut line in Westchester County received 16.5 inches, Huguenot on Staten Island received 14 inches, and Levittown on Long Island received 13 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Instead of confirming she accepted DHS’s offer to help, Hochul indicated she took the opportunity to criticize federal immigration enforcement: “Secretary Noem offered assistance to New York ahead of the impending snowstorm,” Hochul said over the weekend. POTENTIAL GOP CHALLENGER WARNS HOCHUL THAT A CORPORATE TAX HIKE WOULD BE A ‘DISASTER’ FOR NEW YORK’S ECONOMY “I shared that the fastest way to help is for ICE to back off so people feel safe accessing warming centers, shelters, hospitals, and houses of worship.” Her response was not well received by several prominent New Yorkers and New York entities. “Worst governor in history,” the Staten Island Young Republicans said in a statement on X. TRUMP BRIEFED ON BORDER PATROL-INVOLVED SHOOTING AS MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR DEMANDS END TO ENFORCEMENT OPERATION NYC Scoop, a popular account sharing events and happenings in New York City, similarly fumed at the governor. “You literally just told a U.S. Cabinet Secretary offering FREE blizzard relief to f— off because ICE might make your illegal alien constituents feel ‘unsafe’,” NYC Scoop said. “You’re not a governor. You’re a border checkpoint for cartels. Resign, you treasonous ice queen.” LARA TRUMP SLAMS TIM WALZ, JACOB FREY FOR ‘FANNING FLAMES’ WHILE RED STATES COOPERATE WITH ICE Conservative strategist and former Ted Cruz staffer Steve Guest said the governor is “prioritizing politics over her constituents, and people are already dying.” Guest included a screenshot of a WNBC report of three New Yorkers who had died from the sub-freezing temperatures during the storm. When asked about the tweet, White House spokesman Kush Desai rebuked the governor: “What a surprise — while President Trump and his entire Administration have taken steps to ensure all Americans have the resources they need to recover from this historic winter storm, Democrats instead are, once again, prioritizing the well-being of criminal illegal aliens.” Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman responded in a statement, saying that the governor — who he is challenging this year — “actually rejected federal assistance that was offered to help keep people safe.” MILLIONS BRACE FOR ‘CATASTROPHIC’ ICE AS 18 STATES DECLARE EMERGENCY AMID HISTORIC WINTER STORM “When lives are at risk, you don’t turn down help,” Blakeman said. Another X critic compared the situation to New York’s underuse of military medical ships docked off Manhattan during COVID-19, saying that Democrats did not want to dignify them because President Donald Trump sent them. However, a source familiar with the situation said Hochul never rejected federal assistance and that all storm-related requests from local governments were supported by Albany. Hochul later tweeted a call for U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino to be fired and for Noem to resign. HOCHUL CONFRONTED ICE AGENT, SAID HE WAS ‘TERRORIZING PEOPLE’ BY WEARING A MASK “[Noem] has forfeited her right to lead,” Hochul said, further suggesting Bovino is acting as if he is “above the law.” Later Monday, she also said that President Donald Trump’s dispatch of Border Czar Tom Homan to Minnesota won’t undo “harm” done by his administration. In a lighter message, Hochul quipped that as a “governor from Buffalo,” she knows how to handle a snowstorm. The eyes of the nation often see the kind of hefty snowfall that accumulates in the western New York area during televised Buffalo Bills games in the NFL playoffs. “Push it out of the way — no strain on the back doing that… don’t lift much; smaller bits, OK — don’t do a big pile and fill this up because that can lead to a heart attack,” Hochul said in the clip. In response to Blakeman’s retort, Hochul campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki told Fox News Digital, “After blaming Renée Good for her own killing by ICE, Bruce Blakeman is showing New Yorkers yet again that there’s no low he won’t stoop to for Donald Trump – no matter how far he goes to trample over Americans’ rights.” “New Yorkers want a governor with a backbone who will protect our state from Trump’s abuses of power, not a spineless coward who defends violence against Americans when it suits him politically,” Radulovacki said. Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul for comment on the criticisms, and to DHS for comment on the situation.
Fetterman urges Minneapolis ICE op to stand down as city spirals to ‘ungovernable and dangerous’ levels
Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman is calling for an immediate end to the Minnesota immigration crackdown after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti Saturday by federal law enforcement, he said in comment to Fox News Digital. “The operation in Minneapolis should stand down and immediately end,” Fetterman said Monday in a comment to Fox News Digital. “It has become an ungovernable and dangerous urban theatre for civilians and law enforcement that is incompatible with the American spirit.” “As a very pro-immigration Democrat and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Border Management, I believe our nation deserves a secured border and that we should deport all criminal migrants,” he continued. “I also believe there needs to be a path to citizenship for those hardworking families who are here.” Fetterman’s comments on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation follow his vocal support of federal law enforcement officers, breaking with many Democrat colleagues who have called for the end to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and for ICE overall to be defunded. FORMER ICE AGENT CALLS POLICE NON-COOPERATION ‘FORMULA FOR DISASTER’ AFTER SECOND MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING DEATH “Secure the border. Deport all the criminals. Stop targeting the hardworking migrants in our nation,” Fetterman posted to X earlier in January. Fetterman added in his statement Monday that he continues to buck calls to defund ICE. Fox News Digital reached out to Fetterman’s office Monday morning inquiring about his wife’s X post blasting the Trump administration’s immigration policies, even as her husband has publicly backed federal immigration officers. “For more than a decade, I lived undocumented in the US. Every day carried the same uncertainty and fear lived in my body – a tight chest, shallow breaths, racing heart,” the senator’s wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, wrote Sunday. “What I thought was my private, chronic dread has now become a shared national wound.” “This now-daily violence is not ‘law and order.’ It is terror inflicted on people who contribute, love and build their lives here,” she continued. “It’s devastatingly cruel and unAmerican.” Gisele Barreto Fetterman previously has discussed moving to the U.S. from Brazil as a child, including as an illegal immigrant for a decade. Alex Pretti, 37, was fatally shot Saturday by Border Patrol agents in Minnesota while filming federal officers on a Minneapolis street. Federal officials say Pretti approached agents with a 9 mm handgun and resisted disarmament, while witnesses have cast doubt on if Pretti, an ICU nurse, posed a threat to agents. President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal Sunday that his administration is “reviewing everything,” surrounding the case, but did not say whether the agent who shot Pretti acted appropriately. The fatal shooting, which follows the Jan. 7 fatal ICE shooting of Renee Good, has sparked outrage among Democrats and critics of the president who say Trump administration immigration policies are causing chaos for communities, while describing the shooting deaths of the two Americans as “murder.” ANTI-ICE AGITATORS CLASH WITH FEDERAL AGENTS AT MINNEAPOLIS HOTEL, AS AGENTS DEPLOY TEAR GAS, FLASHBANGS Former President Bill Clinton, for example, issued a searing rebuke of the immigration crackdown following Pretti’s death, calling it an “unacceptable” tragedy that “should have been avoided.” Fetterman said in comment to Fox News Digital that “Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti should still be alive” and that his “family grieves for theirs.” “I’ve also spent significant time hearing many different positions on the funding bills and maintain that I will never vote to shut our government down, especially our Defense Department. “Additionally, a vote to shut our government down will not defund ICE. DHS has $178B in funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which I did not vote for,” he said. “I reject the calls to defund or abolish ICE. I strongly disagree with many strategies and practices ICE deployed in Minneapolis, and believe that must change.” “I want a conversation on the DHS appropriations bill and support stripping it from the minibus,” he continued. “It is unlikely that will happen and our country will suffer another shutdown. We must find a way forward and I remain committed to being a voice of reason and common sense.” JD VANCE SHARES ‘CRAZY’ STORY OF ICE AND CBP OFFICERS BEING MOBBED IN MINNEAPOLIS Trump announced Monday that he was deploying White House border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota, and that he will report directly to the president. “Tom Homan will be managing ICE operations on the ground in Minnesota and coordinating with others on the ongoing fraud investigations,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox Digital Monday. Leavitt said Monday during a White House press briefing that the administration is calling on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to agree in order to bring peace to the Twin Cities. “Number one, Governor Walz, Mayor Frye and all Democrat leaders should turn over all criminal illegal aliens currently incarcerated in their prisons and jails to federal authorities, along with any illegal aliens with active warrants or known criminal histories for immediate deportation,” Leavitt said. “Number two, state and local law enforcement must agree to turn over all illegal aliens who are arrested by local police. And then thirdly, local police must assist federal law enforcement in apprehending and detaining illegal aliens who are wanted for crimes, especially violent crimes.” Walz and Trump shared what was described as a productive phone call Monday morning, with the state calling on the president to work together to quell the chaos, Trump said on Truth Social.
Democrat who broke with party says his DHS funding vote a ‘mistake’ after 2nd Minneapolis ICE shooting
One of the seven House Democrats who voted with Republicans to advance a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending bill last week is now characterizing his vote as a mistake, highlighting growing unrest among moderate Democrats over the department’s funding even as lawmakers look to escape a looming government shutdown. In the wake of a deadly clash between immigration enforcement and agitators in Minnesota over the weekend, Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., apologized publicly for his vote in a post to Facebook. “I failed to view the DHS funding vote as a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis,” Suozzi said, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a key agency in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown efforts. DEMS RELENT, SENATE SENDS $174B SPENDING PACKAGE TO TRUMP’S DESK AS SHUTDOWN LOOMS OVER DHS FUNDING “I hear the anger from my constituents and I take responsibility for that. I have long been critical of ICE’s unlawful behavior, and I must do a better job demonstrating that,” he added. The other six Democrats contacted by Fox News Digital did not respond to inquiries about their votes. Suozzi’s comments come as Democrats in the Senate are signaling growing opposition to passing the DHS bill and funding the government ahead of a possible shutdown on Jan. 30. The DHS bill, which includes funding for ICE, is part of a four-bill package that the House of Representatives passed last week. The political outlook of the DHS funding bill changed over the weekend with the death of Alex Pretti. According to DHS, ICE officers shot and killed Pretti, 37, in a confrontation on Saturday when Pretti attempted to disrupt law enforcement activities while in possession of a firearm. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has said agents acted in self-defense. Pretti is the second civilian shot by ICE in the past month. The Friday before Pretti’s death, Suozzi and six other Democrats broke with the rest of their party to advance a DHS funding bill that the majority of the party had condemned as inadequate in its provisions on ICE. GOP SEN. CASSIDY BREAKS WITH TRUMP OVER DEADLY SHOOTING BY BORDER PATROL AGENT IN MINNEAPOLIS Even with new body camera requirements, additional training mandates and some reductions in funding, Democrats saw the package as unlikely to prevent future deadly clashes between ICE and agitators. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a group of over 70 lawmakers, said they wouldn’t support a spending bill that didn’t include greater guardrails for ICE. “I am glad to announce that the Congressional Progressive Caucus has adopted an official position to hold ICE accountable. Our caucus members will oppose all funding for immigration enforcement in any appropriations bills until meaningful reforms are enacted to end militarized policing practices,” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said at a press event shortly before Republicans unveiled their DHS bill last week. Their calls were soon adopted by party leadership in the chamber. Now, with the death of Pretti, what little support the DHS funding had among Democrats is dwindling further. Suozzi, who had highlighted his role as one of seven Democrats to support the bill on his website, called on Trump to end his ICE deportation campaign. “The senseless and tragic murder of Alex Pretti underscores what happens when untrained federal agents operate without accountability. President Trump must immediately end ‘Operation Metro Surge’ and ICE’s occupation of Minneapolis that has sown chaos, led to tragedy and undermined experienced local law enforcement,” Suozzi said. The Senate is expected to vote on the bundle of four bills in the coming days. Questions remain whether negotiators will modify the DHS package to avoid a shutdown if Democrats remain united in their opposition. If modified, the package would have to be taken up again in the House. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said he has no intention of bringing the House back in the coming week.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to why there may be a partial government shutdown Saturday
Funding for the Department of Homeland Security was already a question for some Democrats before the killing of Alex Pretti. But Saturday’s killing by federal agents gave Democrats who were on the fence about supporting the upcoming government funding plan a reason to solidify their opposition. And the killing only hardened those who were opposed to funding DHS before. From a political standpoint, Democrats are compelled to fight this. Otherwise, their base will balk. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., endured brickbats from the liberal base last March when he and a group of other Democratic senators helped Republicans clear a filibuster to avoid a shutdown. Progressives raged at Schumer. And the Senate’s top Democrat suddenly found himself crossways with House Democratic leaders who expected him to mount more of a fight over government funding. CONGRESS UNVEILS $1.2T SPENDING BILL AS PROGRESSIVE REVOLT BREWS OVER ICE FUNDING The liberal base certainly got that this fall as Democrats withheld their votes to fund the government and fought over expiring Obamacare subsidies. The government shuttered for 43 days. But Democrats never earned a restoration of Obamacare subsidies. The Senate took a vote related to restoring the subsidies. Nothing happened. The House actually passed a bill re-upping the subsidies for three years. But the issue remains at an impasse. Despite the fall brawl, Democratic congressional leaders faced a narrow path to walk for this funding round. They still felt pressure from the left to oppose money for DHS, long before the killing of Renee Good and Pretti. But Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., did not go to the mat to oppose funding this time. They wanted to finesse this, believing that a shutdown was bad politics for them after the fall experience. After all, Democrats never scored precisely what they wanted. By the same token, Schumer and Jeffries didn’t wade deeply into the funding fight, perhaps afraid of breaking a fragile truce on spending bills. That all changed Saturday. Democrat after Democrat published statements that they wouldn’t vote to fund DHS. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, caucuses with the Democrats. He was one senator instrumental to helping re-open the government last fall. King said he couldn’t support funding this time around. MORE THAN HALF OF HOUSE DEMOCRATS BACK IMPEACHMENT PUSH AGAINST DHS CHIEF KRISTI NOEM So unless something changes by 11:59:59 p.m. ET on Friday, Jan. 30, 78% of the federal government will lack money to operate. The six-bill, $1.2 trillion spending package doesn’t only fund the Department of Homeland Security, but it also provides money for the Pentagon, Health and Human Services, Labor & Housing programs, Transportation and Education. The DHS bill was radioactive in the House. So the House broke that bill off from the rest of the package. The House approved the DHS funding measure 220-207 with seven Democratic yeas. The House approved the remaining bills 341-88. The House then married the six bills together in one package, sent it to the Senate and left town. There was some grumbling from senators that this was a “take it or leave it” package. And after the shooting, all bets were off. On Saturday, Schumer declared that “Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included.” Democrats implored Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to break off the DHS funding bill from the rest of the spending package and handle that separately. Otherwise, they would oppose the entire plan. On Monday, Schumer signaled that “Senate Democrats have made clear we are ready to quickly advance the five appropriations bills separately from the DHS funding bill before the January 30th deadline.” He also said that “Republicans will again be responsible for another government shutdown.” $174B SPENDING PACKAGE TO AVERT SHUTDOWN CLEARS KEY HURDLE IN SENATE Well, this is an amalgamated appropriations bill sent over from the House. Not a Kit-Kat bar. You just can’t break off one piece of it. In short, what Schumer is proposing would spark a government shutdown. It’s not clear that there are the votes to do what Schumer is suggesting. And doubtful that the Senate would have the time. That’s to say nothing of getting the House on the same page before the deadline. Moreover, the House would just have to magically accept the new Senate position. That’s probably not going to happen considering what the House went through just to pass that minibus spending bill. And we have not even mentioned that most of the money that Democrats are crowing about for DHS is already out the door. In the One Big Beautiful Bill, Republicans approved $75 billion for border security and ICE through 2029. In that measure, Republicans converted “discretionary spending” (which Congress controls) into a “mandatory appropriation” through 2029. Yes, this tactic agitates Members of the Appropriations Committee. But this has been done before, notably by Democrats when approving Obamacare. So going after DHS right now would have little impact on the funding for ICE. However, Democrats could demand certain “guardrails” and changes in policy for ICE. From a parliamentary standpoint, ripping the six-bill package apart is a mess. First of all, the Senate must agree on a “motion to strike” the DHS section from the six-bill combo package. The Senate would have to vote on this. Or, in the interest of time, do this via unanimous consent. But because the “motion to strike” by itself is debatable, the issue could set up a possible filibuster. Sixty votes are needed to cut off debate on just that question alone – stripping the DHS provision from the rest of the overall bill. It’s important that a motion to strike the DHS money from the rest of the bill does not mean that the remaining five bills are ready to go. The Senate would have to agree that this is the new bill. Senators would then have to overcome a filibuster once and then vote to pass the bill. Those floor mechanics
More than half of House Democrats back impeachment push against DHS chief Kristi Noem
More than half of all Democrats in the House of Representatives are now backing a resolution to impeach Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem in the wake of another federal law enforcement-involved shooting in Minneapolis. The push to impeach Noem, led by Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., has 133 Democrats as co-sponsors endorsing the effort as of Monday morning, her office told Fox News Digital. That’s out of 213 total lawmakers in the House Democratic Caucus. It’s gaining steam among both progressive and moderate Democrats, like Rep. Laura Gillen, D-N.Y., who announced on Sunday that she too would support impeaching Noem amid the chaos in Minneapolis. “Another U.S. citizen has been killed at the hands of ICE and there must be accountability, which is why Secretary Noem must be impeached immediately,” Gillen posted on X. BONDI BLAMES MINNEAPOLIS LEADERS AFTER ARMED SUSPECT KILLED, UNREST ERUPTS DURING ICE OPERATION It’s a notable expression of support; Gillen was one of only seven House Democrats to vote in favor of funding DHS last week as part of Congress’ yearly federal appropriations process. The surge of support comes after Alex Pretti, a nurse at Minneapolis’ Veterans Affairs Medical Center, was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent over the weekend during a wider demonstration against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in the Midwest city. Noem said over the weekend that it appeared Pretti “arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement.” “An individual approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun. The officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently. Fearing for his life and for the lives of his fellow officers around him, an agent fired defensive shots,” she said. FREY, KLOBUCHAR CALL FOR ICE TO LEAVE MINNEAPOLIS FOLLOWING DEADLY CBP SHOOTING IN CITY But various eyewitness accounts and critics of the Trump administration have disputed claims that Pretti was brandishing a weapon, though he was confirmed to be in possession of a handgun with a legal permit to carry. Publicly circulated video of the incident shows him approaching federal officers holding what appeared to be his phone, filming as agents knocked a female agitator to the ground. Pretti appeared to attempt to help the female agitator when he was knocked to the ground himself. One video angle appears to show an officer removing Pretti’s weapon before he was shot. The majority of Republicans have criticized Democratic leaders in Minnesota for fomenting anger toward federal officers among the population and for refusing to cooperate in Trump’s offensive against illegal immigrants in the first place. Meanwhile, Democrats have accused Trump officials of letting federal agents run amok with impunity and cause chaos in Minneapolis. It’s not clear if House Democratic leaders will support Kelly’s push to impeach Noem now, but Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters to “stay tuned” last week when asked about the effort. Any push to impeach Noem during this congressional term would likely be largely symbolic, however. It’s highly unlikely that enough Republicans would vote with Democrats on the resolution to pass the House, or that it will get the 60 votes in the Senate needed for removal. House Democrats’ furor to boot Noem from her post has not quite made its way to the upper chamber, but it got support from one key moderate in the party. NOEM SAYS ‘ARRESTS COMING’ AFTER ANTI-ICE MOB TARGETED MINNESOTA CHURCH Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., echoed her colleagues in the lower chamber and demanded that the DHS head be impeached for being an “abject failure” at leading the agency. Rosen, like several other congressional Democrats, reacted sharply to Pretti’s killing and, so far, is the only Senate Democrat calling for Noem’s impeachment. The lawmaker argued that Noem’s usage of ICE in Minnesota was the “latest proof” of her losing control over her own agency. “Kristi Noem and her department’s latest attempt to mislead the American public regarding the brutal and unjustified killing of Alex Pretti is deeply shameful, and she must be impeached and removed from office immediately,” Rosen said. Rosen’s position carries weight, too, given that she is one of the more moderate members of the Senate Democratic caucus, and she was also one of a handful to cross the aisle to reopen the government during the longest closure in history last year. Senate Democrats are now ready to block the DHS funding bill as the deadline to fund the government and prevent another shutdown fast approaches. DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital of Democrats’ efforts, “DHS enforces the laws Congress passes, period. If certain members don’t like those laws, changing them is literally their job.” “While ICE officers are facing a staggering 1,300% spike in assaults, too many politicians would rather defend criminals and attack the men and women who are enforcing our laws and did nothing while Joe Biden facilitated an invasion of tens of millions of illegal aliens into our country,” McLaughlin said. “It’s time they focus on protecting the American people, the work this Department is doing every day under Secretary Noem’s leadership.”
‘Michigan’s government is pathetic’: Perry Johnson mounts gubernatorial bid as Gov Whitmer’s exit approaches
Businessman Perry Johnson announced a Michigan gubernatorial bid on Monday. “I am running for Governor of Michigan. My business experience brought quality and efficiency to help save the auto industry. We can deliver better services at lower cost by running state government with efficiency, accountability, and a results-driven mindset,” he wrote in a post on X. The post featured a campaign video that asserted, “Michigan’s government is pathetic.” Johnson’s campaign site indicates that he supports the idea of eliminating Michigan’s state income tax. WHITE HOUSE SAYS TRUMP GAVE ‘APPROPRIATE’ RESPONSE AFTER HECKLER CONFRONTATION CAUGHT ON VIDEO AT FORD PLANT Johnson ran for president for part of 2023 before dropping out and endorsing President Donald Trump. Trump responded to the endorsement in a 2023 Truth Social post, calling Johnson “a brilliant Businessman who has enjoyed great success.” BUSINESSMAN PERRY JOHNSON ANNOUNCES 2024 PRESIDENTIAL BID Johnson tried to pursue the 2022 Michigan Republican gubernatorial nomination but was one of multiple candidates disqualified from the primary ballot, according to the Detroit Free Press. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, is currently serving her second term, and is thus not eligible to run again. Johnson is jumping into a crowded Republican gubernatorial field that includes former state Attorney General Mike Cox, U.S. Rep. John James, former State House Speaker Tom Leonard and State Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, according to the Detroit Free Press. GOV WHITMER SAYS AMERICA ‘READY FOR A WOMAN PRESIDENT,’ CONTRASTING MICHELLE OBAMA “Perry Johnson is just the latest extreme, out-of-touch candidate to join Michigan’s chaotic Republican primary,” Democratic Governors Association Communications Director Sam Newton said in a statement. “From being all-in on Donald Trump’s harmful, cost-raising agenda and supporting an abortion ban to spending over $7 million dollars on his last failed gubernatorial campaign, it’s clear Johnson will make Michigan Republicans’ already ugly and bruising primary even more chaotic and expensive,” Newton added. Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report
Battleground GOP lawmaker moves to block what he calls Democratic redistricting ‘power grab’
FIRST ON FOX: A battleground district House Republican is wading into the redistricting war that has seized the U.S. with his own new proposal to crack down on “partisan gamesmanship.” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., has introduced a bill called the Fair Apportionment and Independent Redistricting for Maps that Avoid Partisanship (FAIR MAP) Act, which would impose new guardrails on the process of changing congressional districts across all 50 states. The bill would bar states from drawing districts for or against a specific political party or candidate and ban the creation of new congressional maps more than once a decade following the U.S. census. It comes as election watchers eye Virginia and Maryland as the latest states whose Democrat-led legislatures could move to redraw their congressional boundaries ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. REDISTRICTING BATTLES BREWING ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS PARTIES COMPETE FOR POWER AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS Earlier this month, a state Supreme Court judge in Lawler’s own home turf of New York ruled that New York City’s lone Republican-held district is unconstitutional and must be redrawn — handing potentially a consequential win to Democrats. Lawler said of Democrats’ push in his state, “[Gov. Kathy Hochul] and [House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’] scheme to redraw New York’s congressional districts months before an election is a blatant power grab and misuse of public office.” The growing redistricting war was kicked off last year when Texas’ GOP-led legislature approved a new congressional map that could give Republicans as many as five new seats in the House of Representatives come the November elections. Redistricting normally occurs every 10 years after the U.S. census is taken to ensure that seats in the House are reflective of each state’s population. And while there’s a patchwork of state laws aimed at blocking those districts from being redrawn along partisan lines, there is no current federal standard. In addition to banning mid-decade redistricting in most cases and creating a federal gerrymandering standard, Lawler’s bill would also create a host of new provisions dictating how those populations are ultimately counted and how disputes can be resolved. The bill would block state and local courts from legal redistricting fights, for example, leaving it to federal judges to weigh in on those fights. DOJ URGES SUPREME COURT TO BLOCK CALIFORNIA MAP, CALLS NEWSOM-BACKED PLAN A RACIAL GERRYMANDER It would also mandate that just U.S. citizens are counted toward state populations when creating new maps — something that could take a significant amount of power away from sanctuary jurisdictions that can currently factor numbers of illegal immigrants who cannot vote when apportioning districts. The legislation also includes new electoral provisions like barring ranked-choice voting in federal elections, requiring photo ID for voting in those elections, and banning same-day registration in federal elections. Lawler was among the House Republicans who forcefully came out against the growing redistricting war last summer, when leaders in Texas and California were going toe-to-toe with threats to redraw their maps. But it does not appear likely as of now that his bill will get taken up for a House-wide vote, given House GOP leaders’ prior insistence that redistricting is a states’ issue. “Voting rights and equal representation only work if the system itself is fair, transparent, and trusted. My FAIR MAP Act puts clear guardrails around congressional redistricting, ends mid-decade political map rigging, and ensures that federal elections reflect the voices of lawful voters, not partisan gamesmanship,” Lawler told Fox News Digital. “Every voter deserves confidence that the system is fair and that their vote counts the same as anyone else’s.”
Trump deploys border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota as ICE operations face violent chaos
President Donald Trump is sending border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota, the president announced on Monday. Trump said Homan will report “directly to me” and will help lead the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The Justice Department and Congress are also investigating Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Trump says. “I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Separately, a major investigation is going on with respect to the massive 20 Billion Dollar, Plus, Welfare Fraud that has taken place in Minnesota, and is at least partially responsible for the violent organized protests going on in the streets,” he continued. GO BIG, THEN GO SMART: TRUMP, ICE AND THE LAW. HOW TO SKIP THE LEFT’S PR TRAP “Additionally, the DOJ and Congress are looking at ‘Congresswoman’ Illhan Omar, who left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars. Time will tell all,” he added. Homan’s deployment comes amid widespread unrest in the Twin Cities over the deployment of ICE. Two anti-ICE protesters have been killed by federal agents this month, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti. Pretti’s killing over the weekend is under fresh investigation. JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP ADMIN FROM ‘DESTROYING OR ALTERING’ EVIDENCE IN DEADLY MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not clarify whether Homan’s deployment means Trump has lost confidence with existing ICE leadership in Minnesota. “Tom Homan will be managing ICE operations on the ground in Minnesota and coordinating with others on the ongoing fraud investigations,” Leavitt told Fox News Digital. The Trump administration blames organized agitators for harassing ICE operations, which are targeting criminal illegal aliens. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Trump has lost confidence with the federal law enforcement leaders already on the ground in Minnesota. Federal officials say violent unrest in Minneapolis directly derailed one immigration arrest last week, leaving an ICE agent permanently maimed after a protester bit off part of his finger. U.S. Border Patrol Commander at Large Greg Bovino said during a press conference on Sunday that Border Patrol and ICE agents were forced to abandon a targeted operation after crowds interfered, assaulted officers and turned the scene chaotic. As a result, he said, the suspect escaped custody. He blamed this solely on the decisions made by politicians, activists and those who confronted law enforcement officials. “This individual is still roaming the streets today,” Bovino said. “This individual walks the streets today because of those choices made by politicians and those, perhaps, weaker-minded constituents that chose to follow directions of those politicians. Sad state of affairs.”
GOP senators launch task force to crack down on fraud tied to Minnesota scandal
FIRST ON FOX: A cohort of Senate Republicans plans to launch a targeted task force aimed at tackling fraudsters in the wake of the Minnesota fraud scandal. Republican members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee announced that they would form a task force dedicated to rooting out fraudsters abusing federal funding. The seven-member panel will be led by HELP Committee Chair Bill Cassidy, R-La., who has cranked up efforts in recent weeks to crack down on fraud, particularly in Minnesota. KEY SENATOR WON’T FUND DHS AS ICE, FEDERAL AGENTS ENTER HIS STATE “Our tax dollars are supposed to help American families, not line the pockets of fraudsters,” Cassidy said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “HELP Committee Republicans are committed to rooting out this fraud and ensuring Americans’ tax dollars are used responsibly.” The long-running, nearly six-year-long investigation into alleged fraud in Minnesota gained new attention and traction among Republicans and the White House earlier this year. The scandal, in which federal prosecutors estimate that up to $9 billion was stolen through a network of fraudulent fronts posing as daycare centers, food programs and health clinics, has dominated the bandwidth of many in the GOP and spurred the Trump administration’s deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents into Minneapolis. The majority of those charged, so far, in the ongoing investigation are part of Minnesota’s Somali population. The Trump administration has taken steps outside the deploying of ICE agents to target Somalis in the area, too, including ending protected status for the population and launching investigations into whether the fraudulent activity is connected to al-Shabab, a terrorist organization based in Somalia. SENATE DEMS REVOLT AGAINST DHS FUNDING BILL AMID MINNEAPOLIS CHAOS, HIKING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN RISK The task force will delineate its focus into three prongs: health, education and labor and pensions. Those three subgroups will be led by Sens. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who will lead the health-focused section, Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., Jon Husted, who will lead the education-focused group, and R-Ohio, Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and Tim Scott, R-S.C., who will chair the labor-and-pensions-focused section. But the task force’s announcement comes at a precarious time, as lawmakers hurtle toward what could be another government shutdown fueled in large part by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) actions in Minnesota. SENATE DEMOCRATS REBEL AGAINST THEIR OWN LEADERSHIP OVER DHS FUNDING PACKAGE, INCREASING SHUTDOWN ODDS That situation comes after Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., signaled their plan to reject the DHS funding bill following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti on Saturday by a border patrol agent. Cassidy, along with a handful of other congressional Republicans, demanded that the incident receive a fulsome and thorough investigation. Still, Cassidy’s effort is not the first time he’s forayed into the Minnesota fraud scandal. Earlier this month, the lawmaker led the entire Senate GOP in a letter to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, demanding that he provide receipts on several issues, and warned that failure to do so could lead to several streams of federal money flowing to Minnesota drying up. That effort was centered on several requests, like how often the state conducted on-site monitoring, inspections or investigative visits to childcare facilities that received federal dollars. Senate Republicans specifically wanted examples of any information uncovered on fake children, false attendance records, over-billing, ineligible enrollments, and shell or fake business structures, among other demands from Walz.