Manchin rips Cornyn for filibuster flip as Texas GOP runoff looms
Sen. John Cornyn’s reversal on scrapping the Senate filibuster is sparking backlash among some supporters of the 60-vote rule, with one leading proponent, former Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., accusing the Texas Republican of ditching his long-standing position for political expediency. “When I was a U.S. Senator, there was not another person more committed to keeping the filibuster than Senator John Cornyn,” Manchin wrote in a scathing social media post Thursday. “He understood the incredible political pressure I faced from my former party to get rid of the filibuster and give Democrats complete power — and at the time, he understood why neither party should take our country past this point of no return.” “These extreme election-year politics that put party power over everything else are why Americans are sick and tired of the duopoly of the two-party system of Democrats and Republicans,” Manchin added. Cornyn, who is locked in a heated run-off election to win a fifth Senate term, called on Republicans in an op-ed Wednesday to consider ditching the filibuster Wednesday to pass a Trump-backed election bill. The measure, known as the (Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility) SAVE Act, is facing an uphill battle in the Senate due to expected unanimous opposition from Democrats. Under Senate rules, most legislation is subject to a 60-vote threshold to cut off debate and move on to final passage. The editorial was a notable shift for the Texas Republican, who previously defended the merits of the filibuster. “For many years, I believed that if the U.S. Senate scrapped the filibuster, Texas and our nation would stand to lose more than we would gain,” Cornyn wrote. “But when the reality on the ground changes, leaders must take stock and adapt.” Cornyn is currently vying in a two-man race against state Attorney General Ken Paxton, R-Texas, and President Donald Trump’s endorsement could prove decisive. The president has repeatedly called on Senate Republicans to abolish the 60-vote requirement or pursue a rarely tried talking filibuster and send the SAVE America Act to his desk. Paxton had previously come out in support of ending the Senate filibuster. TRUMP, THUNE CLASH ON VOTER ID ULTIMATUM AS GOP REMAINS DIVIDED ON PATH FORWARD Manchin, a former Democrat-turned-Independent who passed on running for re-election in 2024, alleged that Cornyn personally reached out to him after he defeated Democrats’ gambit to nix the 60-vote rule under former President Joe Biden. In early 2022, Manchin supplied the critical vote alongside former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Republicans to tank a Democratic-led effort to abolish the filibuster and pass so-called voting rights legislation. “It’s deeply disappointing to see that Senator Cornyn is now willing to scrap the very rule he once praised and personally thanked me for defending,” Manchin wrote. At that time, Cornyn urged Democrats to preserve the filibuster while Republicans were serving in the minority. “Power is fleeting and at some point the shoe will always be on the other foot,” Cornyn said in a floor speech. “Liberal activists may like the idea of nuking the filibuster today, but they’ll soon find themselves ruing the day their party broke the Senate.” COLLINS BOOSTS REPUBLICAN VOTER ID EFFORT, BUT WON’T SCRAP FILIBUSTER Cornyn denied Manchin’s account Thursday. He has also argued that his reversal on the Senate filibuster was not aimed at winning Trump’s endorsement. “There’s no Joe Manchins left in the Democratic Party and no Kyrsten Sinemas… this is an entirely different circumstance, dealing with Democrats who will not negotiate or consider anything that President Trump or Republicans want,” the Texas Republican told reporters. “We can either accept that or we can fight back, and I think we should fight back.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who has come under significant pressure from Trump and conservative influencers to pass the SAVE America Act, indicated Wednesday that the filibuster is here to stay regardless of Cornyn’s pleas. “Senator Cornyn is one of 53 Republican senators, and the opposition to nuking the filibuster runs very, very deep in our conference,” Thune told reporters. Manchin has continued to sing the filibuster’s praises in his retirement, arguing that the 60-vote threshold protects the minority party and forces legislation to be bipartisan. “The filibuster — the soul of the Senate — has preserved the Senate’s role for nearly 250 years as the institution that cools passions, protects minority voices, and demands consensus,” Manchin said. “America was built on institutions designed to resist political convenience, not surrender to it.” Fox News Digital reached out to Cornyn’s office for comment.
Schumer swings at Hegseth over king crab meals for the troops, but Biden-era receipts show similar tab
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is facing backlash for criticizing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for the Pentagon’s spending on luxury items, including food for the miliary, despite similar expenses under former Biden administration Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin. The top Senate Democrat said Hegseth’s spending in the final month of fiscal year 2025, $93.4 billion, which included millions of dollars on steak, seafood and furniture, could have instead been used to extend the Affordable Care Act. Social media users panned Schumer online for the remarks, accusing him of cherry-picking a politically convenient area to care about spending, lambasting him for not supporting feeding high-quality meals to military members and citing similar defense spending during the Biden era. “Hegseth spent $93 billion in one month – roughly the cost of extending the ACA tax credits for THREE YEARS,” Schumer wrote. “But instead of lowering American’s healthcare costs, Hegseth used millions of taxpayer dollars on fruit baskets, Herman Miller recliners, ice cream machines, Alaskan King Crabs, and a Steinway & Sons grand piano. TRUMP SAYS HE BELIEVES HEGSETH ‘100%’ ON VENEZUELAN DRUG BOAT STRIKE DENIAL AMID ALLEGATIONS “A true grifter in every sense of the word.” During the Biden administration, Austin’s spending nearly mirrored Hegseth’s. Food expenses across administrations went toward feeding members of the military, according to the nonprofit Open the Books, which conducted the spending analyses. There is no record of Schumer scrutinizing Austin’s spending. Fox News Digital reached out to the senator’s office for comment on the matter. Defense spending is historically modest compared to past decades, representing a small fraction of the United States’ gross domestic product at 3.7%. Its share of the GDP has decreased significantly since the 1950s, according to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Schumer’s grievance also comes as he leads Senate Democrats’ resistance to funding the Department of Homeland Security, which has been shut down for about a month. Democrats have demanded changes to the department’s deportation policies, which are nonstarters for Republicans. Essential DHS components, like Immigration and Customs Enforcement, remain operational at this stage, but some agencies, like the Transportation Security Administration, are facing pains as workers go unpaid. Critics slammed Schumer over the comment on social media. Fox News analyst Guy Benson called Schumer “the leader of the ‘Learing Center’ fraud party,” in reference to a viral video about welfare fraud scandals in Minnesota, saying Schumer “finally [discovered] one spending line item he’s willing to cut.” Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, said Schumer “thinks it’s bad that U.S. troops get to eat steak & lobster during deployment” and that the Affordable Care Act is a “failed” plan that makes healthcare more expensive. “Remember that Democrats would have you eating MREs,” another commenter posted, referring to military-issued “Meals Ready to Eat.” “Chuck Schumer hates the troops,” Republican communicator Steve Guest wrote. A commentary writer for the conservative Washington Examiner said, “You said nothing in 2024.” Another social media user told Schumer he “should’ve done the 30 seconds of research to find Lloyd Austin’s September 2024 expenditures before posting. Missed your outrage back then.” Hegseth’s spending in September 2025 was the highest the Pentagon has seen on grants and contracts since September 2008. Austin, however, held the record before that, spending $79.1 billion in September 2024. The last month of the fiscal year has long been notorious for spending that appears lavish as agencies face pressure to “use it or lose it” so that they can justify keeping their budget for the next year. Contract and grant payment schedules also include September due dates, which can contribute to the spending uptick. In 2024 under Austin, according to an audit by Open the Books, “the military spent $103.7 million on meat, fish and poultry in September, partially because it ordered raw lobster tail 147 times for $6.1 million. It also dropped $16.6 million on ribeye steak, $6.4 million on salmon and $407,000 on Alaskan king crab.” Similar to Austin, Hegseth spent $6.9 million on lobster tail, Open the Books found. Austin spent about $1.5 million more than Hegseth on ribeye steaks. Hegseth more than quadrupled Austin’s spending on Alaskan king crab, while Austin’s spending on salmon was roughly six times that of Hegseth’s. The food went toward feeding military personnel, the nonprofit noted. The Biden and Trump administration’s Pentagon expenses saw parallels for other line items, too. Hegseth’s $5.3 million on Apple products is comparable to Austin’s $5.1 million. Both spent more than $1 million on musical instruments. Hegseth tripled Austin’s spending on footrests at about $111,000, according to the data. Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office and the Pentagon.
Dems vote to keep DHS closed despite airport chaos, Iranian sleeper cell threat
Senate Republicans are accusing Senate Democrats of trying to rip apart the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) piece by piece after again blocking a bid to reopen the agency. Little has changed in the stalemate over the last 27 days of the partial shutdown, and communication breakdowns are dominating what could be opportunities for negotiations. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus are still demanding stringent reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while Senate Republicans are dug in against their top demands. ‘YOU CAN CRY ABOUT IT’: TEMPERS FLARE IN SENATE AS DHS SHUTDOWN DEBATE ERUPTS, STALEMATE DIGS DEEPER Throughout the day, Senate Democrats tried to offer individual bills to fund pieces and parts of DHS. A fired-up Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., accused Senate Democrats of trying to rip the agency apart at a moment it was designed for, as the war in Iran has spurred threats of retaliation in the U.S. by sleeper cells. “And that’s at a time when our homeland is under attack, all warning lights are flashing red, and they want to peel apart, piece by piece, the Department of Homeland Security, the comprehensive department of our government to protect the American people, because they want to stand with illegal immigrant criminals,” Barrasso said. Schumer declared that Senate Democrats would continue to provide piecemeal funding bills to reopen certain portions of the agency, like the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), while negotiations continued. Both sides are far apart from finding a compromise, as many lawmakers have acknowledged in the ongoing fight to reopen the agency, but Democrats believe that carving out ICE funding could be a palatable option for Republicans, given that immigration operations were funded with President Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill.” KATIE BRITT BLASTS DEMOCRATS FOR PLAYING ‘POLITICAL GAMES’ WITH SHUTDOWN AMID AIRPORT CHAOS “We don’t have to tie that disagreement up and use people at the airports and American citizens as hostages,” Schumer said. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., argued that doing so would effectively return Congress to the “defund the police” era and drew a sharp red line against any kind of carveout proposal from Senate Democrats. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who has offered a DHS funding bill without ICE or Customs and Border Patrol, told Fox News Digital that criticism was “not true.” “It was funded by the [‘One Big, Beautiful Bill,’] and we have told them they’re not going to fund ICE until there are reforms to ICE,” Murray said. “We have made that clear. We put them out there, and they are pretending to just ignore that.” KRISTI NOEM’S FIRING FAILS TO SWAY DEMOCRATS AS DHS SHUTDOWN DRAGS ON Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., shot back that Republicans have tried on several occasions to temporarily fund the agency with short-term, two-week continuing resolutions (CRs) that Democrats have blocked. “I assume the Democrat leader is aware of the fact that we have tried repeatedly to fund everything temporarily to allow the negotiations over the ICE budget to continue,” Thune said. While several attempts from both sides were made to either fund the agency in chunks or reopen it temporarily, each was blocked. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., who tried to force a vote on a standalone funding bill for TSA as lines at airports around the country swell while security agents go without pay, told Fox News Digital that Republicans’ move to block her bill showed they “don’t care about their constituents, the traveling public, and the folks who work there who are not part of this discussion or this argument.” “It says the Republican priorities are just for Donald Trump and no one else,” Rosen said.
Pentagon estimates Iran war cost $11.3B in the first six days in closed-door congressional hearing: report
Pentagon officials on Tuesday told legislators during a closed-door briefing that they estimated that the cost of the Iran war was more than $11.3 billion during the initial six days of the conflict, the New York Times reported, citing three unnamed individuals familiar with the briefing. That estimate did not encompass many expenses tied to the effort, such as buildup of military assets and personnel prior to the first strikes, the outlet added. Other reports indicate that the briefing involved senators. A Senate Armed Services Committee staffer, who noted that he could only speak for the minority staff and Ranking Member Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., referred Fox News Digital to a March 10 letter that the senator sent to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, pressing for information about the costs of the war. US DESTROYS AGING IRANIAN WARPLANES, VIDEO SHOWS “Since the initial strikes on February 28, 2026, how much has the Department spent on these operations? How much are the daily costs of these operations? What are the costs to readiness? How much funding does the Department need to replenish munitions and aircraft combat losses?” Reed asked in part of the letter. No comment was provided by the GOP side of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Fox News Digital also reached out to the Department of War and the House Armed Services Committee Republican communications office on Thursday. The war-related outlays come as the ever-expanding U.S. national debt nears the $39 trillion mark. And while President Donald Trump has been waging the costly war in conjunction with Israel, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, Americans have been seeing a significant surge in gas prices at home. “The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money. BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stoping [sic] an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World. I won’t ever let that happen!” Trump said in a Thursday Truth Social post.
Trump-backed affordable housing overhaul clears Senate, while House GOP raises red flags
A massive bipartisan swell advanced a Trump-backed affordable housing package out of the Senate on Thursday, but its fate in the House is up in the air. The bill, renamed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act to incorporate a previous Senate housing bill that stalled last year, easily sailed through the upper chamber, given that many lawmakers support the wide-ranging slate of measures designed to increase the supply of affordable housing. In its original form, the legislation was primarily intended to help first-time homebuyers and lower-income Americans enter the housing market or gain access to more affordable housing options. BIPARTISAN HOUSING PUSH ADVANCES, BUT TRUMP-BACKED INVESTOR BAN FACES RESISTANCE The Senate tweaked the legislation, adding a ban on institutional investors sought by President Donald Trump, who earlier this year signed an executive order barring the practice. During his State of the Union address last month, Trump urged Congress to codify the ban and said, “We want homes for people, not for corporations.” That provision gave some heartburn, notably to Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and several industry groups, who warned that the way it was designed — forcing owners of 350 or more units to sell after seven years — would kneecap the build-to-rent market and harm the supply of rentals throughout the country. That was not enough to slow the bill down in the Senate, but Trump’s declaration that he wouldn’t sign any bills unless the Senate passed voter ID legislation, along with House Republicans grumbling over changes to the bill, could spell trouble ahead. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., co-lead of the House’s version of the bill, told Fox News Digital, “It seems to me that there are outstanding concerns with the Senate’s housing bill as currently drafted.” HOUSE PASSES BIPARTISAN HOUSING BILL AS TRUMP ZEROES IN ON AFFORDABILITY CRISIS He echoed Schatz’s concern about the build-to-rent supply consequences and added that the bill was “intended to cut costs, but the Senate removed important bipartisan House provisions that would have slashed barriers to building more homes.” “Their process is still ongoing, and I am holding out hope for some fixes, but time runs short,” Flood said. “Given the bill’s current state, I think a conference may be the most viable path forward.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he believes that once the bill makes it through the Senate, “the White House will be wanting to work with our House counterparts to try and get it passed over there and get it on the President’s desk.” BIPARTISAN PLAN AIMS TO MAKE THE AMERICAN DREAM AFFORDABLE AGAIN FOR MILLIONS OF FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS “We know we’ve added some things to the bill here in the Senate that were designed to make it more palatable to the House. I know there are other issues they would like to address in it, some of the banking issues too, but I think this is, by and large, a housing bill.” “So, we think we have really put together a strong bill,” Thune continued. “It’s something that hasn’t been done in over a decade.” It’s a product of negotiations between Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the chair of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., its top Democrat. The pair argued that the changes made should make the legislation more palatable to their House counterparts. “The package includes the vast majority of the Senate’s unanimously supported ROAD to Housing Act, incorporates bipartisan ideas from the House, and takes a good first step to rein in corporate landlords that are squeezing families out of homeownership,” Warren said earlier this month. “Congress should pass this package and continue working on further legislation to combat our nation’s housing crisis.”
Clyburn, 85, bucks Democrat generational revolt with bid for 18th term in Congress
Longtime Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina announced Thursday that he would run this year for an 18th two-year term in Congress. “In a few minutes, I am going to sign the paperwork that’s necessary in order to qualify for the Democratic nomination to run again,” the 85-year-old Clyburn said at an event in Columbia, South Carolina. The move by Clyburn, who was first elected to the House in 1992, bucks a push for generational change — fueled by serious questions over then-President Joe Biden’s physical and mental stability that led to his dropping his 2024 re-election bid that has seen other older congressional Democrats retire. LONGTIME HOUSE DEMOCRAT SWATS DOWN AD FROM MILLENIAL CHALLENGER Clyburn served for nearly two decades as the number three House Democrat in leadership, alongside 85-year-old former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and 86-year-old former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland. Pelosi and Hoyer are retiring at the end of 2026 rather than run for re-election. ANOTHER DEMOCRAT DROPS OUT OF 2026 RACE AS PARTY FACES GENERATIONAL RECKONING Addressing his age, Clyburn said he will soon “celebrate the 47th anniversary of my 39th birthday.” “If I were not up to it, I would not do it,” Clyburn said. “My health has been good.” Nearly a dozen House Democrats in their 70s and 80s are retiring when the 119th Congress concludes at the end of the year, but others are seeking another term. Republican Rep. Hal Rogers of Kentucky, 88, and Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California, 87 — who are the oldest current members of Congress — are both seeking re-election. Clyburn long has been considered one of the most prominent Black political leaders in the nation, and a kingmaker among South Carolina Democrats. And thanks to South Carolina’s position for nearly a half century as the first southern primary in the race for the White House, Clyburn has played an influential role in the Democratic presidential nomination process. Clyburn’s support of Biden in the 2020 South Carolina primary helped boost the then-former vice president to a landside victory, which propelled Biden to the Democratic nomination and later, the White House.
ICE busts human smuggling ring that kidnapped family, sexually assaulted pregnant woman
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents busted a South Texas human smuggling ring, resulting in the arrests and sentencing of gangbangers who kidnapped a family and sexually assaulted a pregnant mother. Rodolfo Daniel De Hoyos, 22, a human smuggler who goes by the nickname “Rufles,” was sentenced to more than 14 years in prison on Monday for conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, causing serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy. The sentencing was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas on Tuesday. De Hoyos is the fifth of nine human smugglers arrested in Kinney County, Texas, as a result of an investigation by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the cooperation of the Texas Department of Public Safety and several other law enforcement agencies. The investigation is part of the Trump administration’s Operation Take Back America. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, De Hoyos was involved in the kidnapping and attempted extortion of a family of illegal immigrants, consisting of a man, a pregnant woman and a seven-year-old child. The office said the smugglers sexually assaulted the pregnant woman and held the family for ransom. They obtained at least $1,000 from a relative and further threatened to kill the seven-year-old child and sell the unborn baby if additional payments were not made. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT’S TWO DECADES OF UNLAWFUL VOTES EXPOSE THE REAL ‘THREAT’ TO DEMOCRACY: EXPERTS De Hoyos was first arrested in 2021 by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who observed him transporting three passengers wearing dirty clothing, hiking boots and camouflage backpacks. At the time, De Hoyos admitted the three passengers were illegal aliens and that he was being paid $1,500 to transport them to Del Rio. He was arrested again in August 2023 in relation to the kidnapping of the family. Besides De Hoyos, four others have been sentenced. Texas man Juan Antonio Flores, 36, was sentenced to more than 17 years for his role in coordinating the smuggling trips. Two other co-conspirators, Tomas Estrada-Torres, 47, and Nelson Abilio Castro-Zelaya, received sentences of more than 12 years and 15 years, respectively. Meanwhile, a 23-year-old Guatemalan national, Edwin Alfredo Barrientos-Mateo, nicknamed “Waches,” was sentenced to 30 years in prison in connection with the smuggling ring. According to Simmons’ office, four other co-conspirators — Ambar Obregon, Pedro Ruiz Gonzalez, Armando Garcia-Martinez and Anthony Ballones Jr. — have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. EXCLUSIVE: ICE SAYS EL PASO DETENTION FACILITY WILL STAY OPEN UNDER NEW CONTRACTOR AFTER $1.2B DEAL SCRAPPED Besides ICE HSI and the Texas Department of Public Safety, U.S. Border Patrol, the Eagle Pass Police Department, the Austin Police Department, the Houston Police Department, and the Comal County Sheriff’s Office also assisted with the investigation. In a word of caution to would-be illegal aliens, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Justin Simmons said that “alien smuggling organizations care nothing about the hopes and dreams of those they smuggle.” “When they look at an illegal alien, all they see is a dollar sign,” he went on, adding, “Do not trust them with your life because the only life they really care about is their own.” This week, Simmons’ office also announced that 36-year-old Mexican national Pedro Luis Martinez-Jaquez was sentenced to more than 30 years in prison for his leadership role in a conspiracy to transport hundreds of illegal aliens, resulting in at least one death. Simmons called Martinez-Jaquez “one of the most prolific facilitators of alien smuggling in the last decade.” He said that over the course of an 18-month operation, Martinez-Jaquez made hundreds of thousands of dollars transporting illegal aliens into the U.S. BORDER PATROL CHIEF BOVINO SAYS CHICAGO EFFORTS ‘VINDICATED’ AFTER COURT REVERSES ORDER RESTRICTING OPERATIONS Both stings were the result of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative launched by the Trump administration last year to “achieve total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations.”
SCOOP: Democratic Virginia Gov Spanberger’s Republican cousin aims to flip key House seat red
EXCLUSIVE: The Republican cousin of Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia Thursday launched a campaign for Congress in California as she tries to flip a blue seat red. In an announcement shared first with Fox News Digital, entrepreneur Jenny Rae Le Roux declared her candidacy for the U.S. House in California’s 47th Congressional District, a competitive seat in Orange County that is held by first-term Democratic Rep. Dave Min, who is seeking re-election. The Orange County district is being targeted by the National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm of the House GOP, as the party works to protect its razor-thin majority in the chamber in the 2026 midterm elections. Le Roux is one of four Republican candidates running in the June 2 primary against Min. “I’m running because I love this district,” Le Roux told Fox News Digital. “I love California, and I don’t think that Dave Min has represented this district in a way that people are excited about.” DEEP-POCKETED CONSERVATIVE GROUP REVEALS PLAYBOOK TO DEFEND GOP’S CONGRESSIONAL MAJORITIES And she argued that Min, who succeeded former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter in representing the district, which includes Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Newport Beach and Seal Beach, “presented as a moderate” as he ran for Congress two years ago, but “he is governing and messaging as a progressive.” “A lot of my district is actually not that interested in progressive politics. They want schools that work, roads that operate, police that show up. They want the basic functioning of a governmental society that works,” Le Roux emphasized. That’s the same argument Le Roux makes about her second cousin, whom she calls Abby. “She really ran as a moderate in Virginia and is governing as a progressive, which I think is disenfranchising a lot of Democrat voters,” Le Roux claimed. CONSERVATIVES RIP VIRGINIA GOVERNOR’S ‘MODERATE’ LABEL AFTER RADICAL LAUNDRY LIST OF DAY 1 MOVES Pointing to her cousin, a former CIA intelligence officer who served three terms in Congress before winning election in 2025 as Virginia’s first female governor, Le Roux said, “Abby and I grew up together. We spent a lot of time in the summers at family pool parties together. We actually graduated the same year from the University of Virginia together, and spend a lot of time [together], even in adulthood. She has three daughters. I have three sons.” “I’ve watched her bent toward public service, which is something that we both share. I think both of us grew up in a strong family with a love for community and a love for our country and a really strong sense of patriotism,” Le Roux added. Le Roux said Spanberger’s career path into politics motivated her to get more politically involved. So did the COVID-19 pandemic. “What really activated me into politics was COVID,” she said. “I had a farm, a family and a business, and all of those came under attack during COVID.” Le Roux, pointing to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, said, “I felt like our governor was doing an incredibly poor job, both with everything related to school closures and also related to everything else happening in the state, homelessness and crime and other issues.” SENATE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN CHIEF REMAINS OPTIMISTIC DESPITE ROUGHER MIDTERM CLIMATE Le Roux ran for governor as a Republican in the 2021 recall election and again in the regularly scheduled 2022 gubernatorial election, coming in fourth in the primary. She currently serves as director of CAL DOGE, an initiative launched by California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, a former Fox News contributor and host, and state controller candidate Herb Morgan. Le Roux said that her decision to run for Congress was a direct result of the work she’s done with Cal DOGE to uncover the waste, fraud and abuse in government. “Cal DOGE has been eye opening. Washington enables the same dysfunction and corruption that is hurting California,” Le Roux said in a statement. “We can’t fix what is broken in our government unless outsiders who haven’t been part of the problem step up to serve.” And she told Fox News Digital, “I think we need to have full transparency of where the money is going, who it is going to. I think that we have a unique opportunity to do that now with technology that wasn’t available in the past.” Le Roux said her views largely have “been shaped by watching all of the failed policies in California and wanting to reverse them, which is one of the reasons why I’m not just a Republican, but a staunch conservative Republican, a fiscal conservative, and I’m passionate about really bringing government back toward local control.” As for her cousin, Le Roux said: “I love her … I congratulate her when she wins races. And I pray for her. I believe that we should pray for all of our leaders, regardless of party, and I absolutely believe we should keep conversation lines open. But Abby and I don’t agree right now on much politically.” “We’re in an interesting place as a family right now,” she added. Fox News Digital has reached out to Gov. Spanberger’s office for any comment.
US destroys aging Iranian warplanes, video shows
As the American military continues bombarding Iran amid the ongoing war against the Islamic Republic, U.S. Central Command shared video footage of strikes against aircraft sitting on the ground. “The Iranian regime is losing air capability day by day,” CENTCOM wrote in a late Wednesday post on X. “U.S. forces aren’t just defending against Iranian threats, we are methodically dismantling them,” the post added. TRUMP SUDDENLY SEEMS ANXIOUS TO END THE WAR AS AMERICAN CASUALTIES MOUNT AND IRAN FINDS WAYS TO HIT BACK No American fighter planes have been downed by Iran, according to CENTCOM. “An IRGC leader has claimed that a U.S. F-15 was shot down today south of Tehran. LIE,” CENTCOM indicated in a Wednesday post on X. “No U.S. fighter aircraft have been shot down by Iran. U.S. forces continue to exercise air superiority over vast swaths of Iran. TRUTH,” the post added. DEMOCRATS THREATEN TO GRIND SENATE TO A HALT TO FORCE PUBLIC IRAN HEARINGS The Wall Street Journal indicated in a report last week that while the U.S. and Israel are operating modern aircraft like the F-35, the age and weakness of Iranian aircraft mark a vulnerability that requires Iran to rely on the ballistic missile program targeted by American and Israeli strikes. ISRAEL SAYS FIGHTER JET TOOK DOWN IRANIAN WARPLANE, THE FIRST SHOOTDOWN OF ITS KIND Earlier this month CENTCOM reported that three U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets had been downed in “an apparent friendly fire incident.” “During active combat — that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones — the U.S. Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses,” the March 2 press release. “Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defense forces and their support in this ongoing operation.” The release noted that the six aircrew members safely ejected and were recovered.
Powell’s behind-the-scenes move after Trump’s DOJ opened its criminal probe
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell moved quickly behind the scenes after the Justice Department opened a criminal probe into his statements to Congress, with his calendar showing a burst of outreach to U.S. lawmakers. The entries don’t reveal what was discussed, but they show Powell made 13 calls to senators and House members shortly after he accused the DOJ of using subpoenas as a “pretext” to ramp up pressure on the central bank to cut rates. The rapid-fire calls ranged from 10 to 15 minutes each. The Fed releases Powell’s monthly schedule with about a two-month lag, which is why the scope of that outreach is only now coming into view. TRUMP’S PICK TO LEAD THE FEDERAL RESERVE MEETS GOP SENATOR HOLDING UP HIS CONFIRMATION Powell’s calendar lists calls with Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. Va.; Mark Warner, D-Va.; Bill Cassidy, R-La.; John Kennedy, R-La.; Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Mike Crapo, R-Idaho; James Lankford, R-Okla.; and Tim Scott, R-S.C., as well as Reps. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio; Maxine Waters, D-Calif.; Steny Hoyer, D-Md.; and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. Powell’s schedule also lists a breakfast meeting with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Jan. 15, four days after the investigation was disclosed. Working Capitol Hill has long been central to Powell’s playbook, with the Fed chair regularly logging more one-on-one time with lawmakers than any modern predecessor. DOJ’S CRIMINAL PROBE OF FED CHAIR POWELL SPARKS RARE GOP REVOLT ON CAPITOL HILL Still, the week of Jan. 11 stood out even for Powell. The last time he reached more lawmakers in a single week was February 2025, ahead of his semiannual testimony, when he typically schedules a run of prehearing calls with key members. This burst was different, though it followed Powell’s Jan. 11 disclosure that the Justice Department had opened a criminal investigation tied to his congressional testimony on the Federal Reserve’s two historic main buildings on the National Mall. Powell, in a rare video statement, called the probe “unprecedented” and described it as another salvo in what he described as President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign on the central bank to cut rates. The unusually public response followed days of private consultations with advisors and stood out for a Fed chair known for a measured approach. The investigation centers on Powell’s June 2025 testimony to lawmakers, an unusual development for a sitting Fed chair. TRUMP VS THE FEDERAL RESERVE: HOW THE CLASH REACHED UNCHARTED TERRITORY Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee, Powell said: “There’s no new marble. There are no special elevators. They’re old elevators that have been there. There are no new water features. There are no beehives, and there’s no roof garden terraces.” Powell added that no one “wants to do a major renovation of a historic building during their term in office,” and said cost overruns were driven in part by unexpected construction challenges and inflation. The renovation is estimated to cost $2.5 billion and is being funded by the central bank itself, not by taxpayers. The Fed is self-financing and does not rely on congressional appropriations to cover its operating expenses, which include employee salaries, facilities maintenance and the current renovation. Its primary income comes from interest earned on government securities and fees charged to financial institutions. Trump has repeatedly targeted the project, threatening legal action and mocking the renovation’s cost and design. “They’re building a basement into the Potomac River. I could have told them. That’s very tough to do, and it doesn’t work, and it’s very expensive,” Trump said. “But they’re up to $4 billion, headed by this clown,” he added in November, referring to Powell. Powell, a Trump nominee first tapped to lead the Fed in 2017, is expected to finish his term at the end of May. Trump has picked former Fed governor Kevin Warsh to replace Powell, but the nomination is effectively stuck after Sen. Thom Tillis vowed to block any Fed nominees while the DOJ probe remains open. The Federal Reserve declined to comment on Powell’s calendar.