DHS plans ‘Cornhusker Clink’ detention center as Trump expands immigration enforcement
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is expanding detention centers with a new facility in southwest Nebraska and nicknaming it the “Cornhusker Clink.” As part of President Donald Trump’s push to add thousands of new beds nationwide for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), just like “Alligator Alcatraz” and “Speedway Slammer,” the facility increases ICE detention space for illegal aliens awaiting deportation or in deportation proceedings in the region. At the same time, Cornhusker Clink’s name recognizes the region’s heritage and is located around 200 miles from the state capital, Lincoln. ICE DEPORTATION EFFORTS COULD BE DERAILED IF CONGRESS DOESN’T ACT SOON With ICE arrests down and data showing removals are up, the new venue combines 200 beds with the 280 already in place at the Work Ethic Camp in McCook, which opened in 2001 as a prison. Acknowledging the facility as part of an agreement between Nebraska and the federal government, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem warned that illegal aliens in the region could find themselves at Cornhusker Clink. “To help remove the worst of the worst out of our country, if you are in America illegally, you could find yourself in Nebraska’s Cornhusker Clink,” she said. “Avoid arrest and self-deport now using the CBP Home App.” TRUMP ADMIN SLAMS ACLU FOR COMPARING ICE CENTER TO JAPANESE INTERNMENT CAMP: ‘DERANGED AND LAZY’ Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” provided funding for 80,000 new beds for ICE to use, which has contributed to an increase in facilities across the country. “Alligator Alcatraz,” one of the better-known facilities, was opened in the Florida Everglades and can house up to 3,000 migrants, while the East Montana Detention Center at Fort Bliss outside El Paso, which opened on Sunday, will be able to hold up to 5,000. FLORIDA BUILDING ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’ WHERE ICE DETAINEES FACE NATURE’S OWN SECURITY SYSTEM “Speedway Slammer” in Indiana will also hold up to 1,000 migrants. Back in Nebraska, the National Guard is also helping ICE officials enforce immigration laws, involving 20 or so soldiers. In a statement supporting Trump’s immigration crackdown, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said he was “pleased that our facility and team in McCook can be tasked with helping our federal partners protect our homeland by housing criminal illegal aliens roaming our country’s communities today.”
Joint Chiefs, NATO counterparts to discuss Ukraine security guarantees after Trump suggests US air support
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine is hosting his military counterparts from Germany, the U.K., France, Finland and Italy in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday evening, to discuss potential security guarantees for Ukraine to prevent Russian aggression, U.S. officials confirm to Fox News. The high-level talks come on the eve of a NATO Chiefs of Defense meeting, where all 32 allied military leaders are invited to convene virtually on Wednesday to coordinate next steps. The session will be hosted in Brussels by the chair of NATO’s Military Committee, officials said. The urgent discussions follow President Donald Trump’s comments on “Fox & Friends” earlier Tuesday, in which he suggested the U.S. could provide air support to Ukraine as part of a security guarantee, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders visited the White House to push for peace talks to end the Russian war in Ukraine. According to a U.S. defense official, Caine is leading Tuesday night’s session in Washington with senior defense leaders from those five key NATO allies. EUROPEAN LEADERS WILL JOIN TRUMP-ZELENSKYY MEETING, SIGNALING SOLIDARITY WITH UKRAINE Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, commander of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), will also attend virtually from Washington, a U.S. military official said. The defense official added that the current agenda is limited to Tuesday night’s talks and the NATO Chiefs of Defense meeting on Wednesday but stressed the situation is “rapidly evolving,” leaving open the possibility of additional sessions if conditions change. Wednesday’s NATO meeting will include U.S. participation virtually, with Caine joining alongside his counterparts, while the Military Committee chair leads from Brussels. The broader alliance discussions are expected to build on Tuesday’s smaller Washington gathering among core European allies. TRUMP WHISPERS ‘CRAZY’ PUTIN DEAL THEORY TO MACRON IN HOT MIC MOMENT Wednesday’s NATO session will be chaired from Brussels by the head of NATO’s Military Committee, who will lead discussions on collective security commitments for Ukraine. The back-to-back meetings mark a critical moment for the alliance as NATO weighs how far to go in offering Kyiv credible security guarantees while seeking to avoid direct escalation with Russia. The Chiefs of Defense meeting is expected to help shape how NATO responds both to developments on the battlefield and to Trump’s public statements on future U.S. support. WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCES PUTIN AGREED TO BILATERAL MEETING WITH ZELENSKYY Allies are expected to consider both battlefield realities and the impact of Trump’s remarks as they debate how best to demonstrate unity on Ukraine. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
‘Tired of Democracy dying’: Newsom redistricting push faces GOP backlash over voter rights
California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom’s redistricting effort is receiving pushback from Republicans in the state assembly who are accusing the Democrats of keeping them in the dark and of “disenfranchising Californians.” GOP Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo, vice chair of the California State Assembly Committee on Elections, slammed Democrats for giving her “barely 24 hours” to examine the redistricting bill before a Tuesday hearing – while Democrats, she claimed, had advance notice. Macedo vowed to defeat the redistricting push, saying, “We are in the super-minority, but we are effective, and we will defeat this.” She added that by the time she received the bill’s language as vice chair of the elections committee, several Democratic co-authors signed on. That, she argued, meant Democrats had a first look, while she had “barely 24 hours before committee tomorrow to prepare.“ CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS SUE TO STOP NEWSOM, DEMOCRATS FROM PUSHING REDISTRICTING PLAN Macedo warned that witnesses appearing at Tuesday’s hearing could face legal consequences if they refused to answer her questions. “Let me warn anybody who will be testifying tomorrow. If you don’t answer my questions tomorrow, attorneys will be making sure you answer them in a courtroom,” she said, adding, “You can run, but you cannot hide.” Despite Democrats dominating California politics, Macedo pledged, “We are not backing down from this fight.” “You are disenfranchising Californians, and we are tired of democracy dying here,” she said. “We will fight back.” She added that if Republicans are not able to stop the redistricting plans in the assembly, then their victory will be “in a courtroom or it will be at the ballot box.” NEWSOM-BACKED HIGH-SPEED RAIL ‘BOONDOGGLE’ HIT WITH NEW HOUSE INVESTIGATION Four GOP state lawmakers have filed a lawsuit in California’s Supreme Court to stop the Democrat-controlled legislature from holding a vote by the end of this week to advance the redistricting push. Assemblywoman Kate Sanchez, one of the four Republicans behind the suit, told Fox News Digital that she joined the lawsuit because “Californians have already spoken clearly at the ballot box.” “In 2008, voters approved Proposition 11 to take redistricting power away from politicians and give it to an independent citizens’ commission,” she said. “Two years later, with Proposition 20, voters doubled down and expanded that power to include congressional districts, passing it by a decisive 61% to 39%. Governor Newsom’s plan is a direct attempt to undo that mandate and put politicians back in control. I’m standing up because this isn’t about partisan advantage; it’s about respecting the will of the voters who demanded fairness and transparency.” Newsom announced he would advance a redistricting map in California to counter the Texas redistricting bill being pushed by President Donald Trump. On Friday, California Democrats and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) released a new district map that would likely eliminate five GOP congressional seats, theoretically nullifying the five additional seats Republicans would gain if Texas’ redistricting push is successful. HERE ARE THE 5 GOP HOUSE SEATS THAT COULD BE WIPED OUT WITH NEWSOM’S CALIFORNIA REDISTRICTING PLAN The California legislature introduced a constitutional amendment on Monday to be brought to a referendum vote in November. If passed by California voters, the amendment would allow the legislature to temporarily suspend its nonpartisan districting commission and move forward with its redistricting plans as laid out by the DCCC. Newsom’s office declined Fox News Digital’s request for comment, with a spokesperson saying he would “point you to the Legislature given this is about the legislative process.” Fox News Digital also reached out to the office of Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, a Democrat, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Kristi Noem reveals striking new layer in Trump’s border wall strategy
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Tuesday that the entire southern border wall will be painted black as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to increase the effectiveness of the wall as a deterrent. Speaking in front of a portion of the southern border wall in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, Noem explained that the wall would be painted entirely black for the dual purposes of making it heat up more and thus harder to climb, as well as increasing the lifespan of the metal. Noem said the new paintwork comes at the request of President Donald Trump. “If you look at the structure that’s behind me, it’s tall, which makes it very, very difficult to climb, almost impossible. It also goes deep into the ground, which would make it very difficult, if not impossible, to dig under. And today we are also going to be painting it black,” said Noem. FIRST ON FOX: BORDER PATROL UNION ENDORSES EX-TRUMP DOJ OFFICIAL FOR STATE AG “That is specifically at the request of the president, who understands that in the hot temperatures down here, when something is painted black, it gets even warmer, and it will make it even harder for people to climb,” she added. “So, we are going to be painting the entire southern border wall black to make sure that we encourage individuals to not come into our country illegally, to not break our federal laws, but that they will abide and come to our country the right way so that they can stay and have the opportunity to become United States citizens and pursue the American dream.” Noem credited the ‘one big, beautiful bill’ that was passed by Congress in July for allocating “an incredible amount of resources” that she said is “going to allow us to continue construction” of the wall. The secretary said that construction on the wall is advancing at a pace of close to half a mile per day. Besides additional wall and the new paint job, Noem said the administration is also investing in technology, cameras, sensors and waterborne infrastructure that she said will ensure the border “will be secure far into the future and that will be efficient as well.” BORDER OFFICIAL FIRES BACK AT GAVIN NEWSOM’S POLITICAL ‘TANTRUM’ OVER IMMIGRATION RAIDS IN LOS ANGELES She also mentioned that the administration is not just focused on the southern border but also the northern as well, saying, “We’re doing due diligence in securing every single inch of our border.” “Remember that a nation without borders is no nation at all,” she said. “We’re so thankful that we have a president that understands that and understands that a secure border is important to our country’s future.” Noem was joined by several Border Patrol agents and officials, including Interim Chief Patrol Agent for the El Paso Sector Walter Slosar. He shared that agents in the sector are now apprehending an average of 41 people per day, compared to 2,300 a day under the Biden administration in 2023. Slosar said the seven-day average for gotaways in the sector is currently nine. He said the majority of those apprehended are single adults from Mexico, Guatemala and Ecuador. While agents were left simply “observing” migrants passing through under Biden, Slosar said illegals are now “running from us.” BIDEN TEAM LEFT THOUSANDS OF MIGRANT KIDS WITH LARGELY UNVETTED SPONSORS, RECORDS REVEAL “We’re apprehending those individuals. Our gotaways are the lowest they’ve ever been. And we’re putting we’re working with the Department of Justice … we’re putting criminal charges on those individuals applying consequences and our partners in ICE ERO [Enforcement and Removal Operations] are removing those individuals from the United States.” Slosar said that the morale among Border Patrol agents in the El Paso sector “is better than it’s ever been because we are doing our national security job, and we are keeping this area safe.” “Words and messages matter. It is not okay to enter the country illegally, and somebody is finally saying that, that’s our leadership here in the U.S government,” he said.
Trump calls Smithsonian ‘OUT OF CONTROL’ and orders sweeping review of all museums and programming
President Donald Trump escalated his battle for American culture with the Smithsonian Institution on Tuesday, ordering a broad review of the nation’s leading museums after blasting them on Truth Social as “the last remaining segment of WOKE.” The move was also formalized in a White House letter released in a letter Aug. 12 to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch. Trump’s post accused the Smithsonian as well as other museums nationwide of pushing narratives that disparage the U.S. rather than celebrate its achievements. “The Museums throughout Washington, but all over the Country are, essentially, the last remaining segment of ‘WOKE,’” Trump wrote. “The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL … Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future.” He added: “This Country cannot be WOKE, because WOKE IS BROKE. We have the ‘HOTTEST’ Country in the World, and we want people to talk about it, including in our Museums.” AMERICAN HISTORY WON’T BE DISPLAYED ‘IN A WOKE MANNER’ AT SMITHSONIAN, TRUMP SAYS The letter instructs Smithsonian leaders to provide exhibition plans, internal guidelines, and America 250 programming materials for review. “As we prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our Nation’s founding, it is more important than ever that our national museums reflect the unity, progress, and enduring values that define the American story,” the letter stated. “This initiative aims to ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.” According to administration officials, the review will focus on public-facing content, curatorial processes, exhibition planning, collection use, and overall narrative standards. The initial phase will target the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. TRUMP WHITE HOUSE CALLS OUT SMITHSONIAN FOR PUSHING ‘ONE-SIDED, DIVISIVE POLITICAL NARRATIVES’ Tuesday’s announcement follows earlier White House criticism of specific Smithsonian exhibitions. On July 5, Fox News Digital reported that officials had singled out the Entertainment Nation exhibit at the National Museum of American History for review. At the time, White House special assistant Lindsey Halligan said to Fox News Digital, “American taxpayers should not be funding institutions that undermine our country or promote one-sided, divisive political narratives. The Smithsonian Institution should present history in a way that is accurate, balanced, and consistent with the values that make the United States of America exceptional.” Among the panels singled out by the White House was a 1920s circus poster described as reflecting “the colonial impulse to claim dominion over the world.” Another display reinterpreted the Lone Ranger, comparing the character’s relationship with Tonto to U.S. global dominance. A third panel suggested that Mickey Mouse’s original design in Steamboat Willie drew on traditions of blackface minstrelsy. WHITE HOUSE REVIEWING ALL SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM, EXHIBIT CONTENT BEFORE AMERICA 250 CELEBRATION IN 2026 Despite the sharp rhetoric, the letter said the White House sees the review as a constructive process. “Our goal is not to interfere with the day-to-day operations of curators or staff, but rather to support a broader vision of excellence that highlights historically accurate, uplifting, and inclusive portrayals of America’s heritage,” officials wrote. The timeline requires museums to submit requested materials within 30 days, schedule staff interviews within 75 days, and begin implementing content corrections within 120 days. The corrections, the letter said, should replace “divisive or ideologically driven language with unifying, historically accurate and constructive descriptions.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP White House officials closed the letter by presenting the initiative as a collaborative effort with Smithsonian staff. “We view this process as a collaborative and forward-looking opportunity, one that empowers museum staff to embrace a revitalized curatorial vision rooted in the strength, breadth, and achievements of the American story,” the letter stated. “By focusing on Americanism — the people, principles, and progress that define our nation — we can work together to renew the Smithsonian’s role as the world’s leading museum institution.” The White House and the Smithsonian did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Trump administration to weigh US citizenship applicants’ ‘positive contributions,’ good moral character
Officers with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) must consider the “positive contributions” of immigrants applying to become U.S. citizens as part of a more “holistic” approach, according to an agency memo. The new policy directs USCIS officers to account for an applicant’s positive attributes, rather than simply the absence of misconduct. “Becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen means being an active and responsible member of society instead of just having a right to live and work in the United States,” the Aug. 15 memo states. “Among other eligibility factors, aliens applying for naturalization must demonstrate that he or she has been and continues to be an individual of good moral character (GMC). TRUMP IS TARGETING NONVIOLENT AND LEGAL IMMIGRANTS. AMERICANS ARE STARTING TO NOTICE “Evaluating GMC involves more than a cursory mechanical review focused on the absence of wrongdoing,” the memo continues. “It entails a holistic assessment of an alien’s behavior, adherence to societal norms, and positive contributions that affirmatively demonstrate good moral character.” Applicants with convictions for serious violent crimes have long been barred from obtaining U.S. citizenship. Friday’s memo expands the list of offenses to include drug use or two or more convictions for driving under the influence. Officers are also encouraged to consider conduct that may not be illegal but considered inconsistent with civic responsibility within the community, including “reckless or habitual traffic infractions, or harassment or aggressive solicitation.” “U.S. citizenship is the gold standard of citizenship — it should only be offered to the world’s best of the best,” USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser told Fox News Digital. “USCIS is adding a new element to the naturalization process that ensures America’s newest citizens not only embrace America’s culture, history, and language but who also demonstrate good moral character. TOP DHS OFFICIAL CALLS CITIZENSHIP TEST ‘TOO SOFT,’ URGES MAJOR OVERHAUL OF NATURALIZATION PROCESS “This memo ensures that USCIS officers are accounting for an alien’s positive contributions to American society —including community involvement, achievements and financial responsibility rather than the absence of their misconduct,” he added. “USCIS will continue to restore integrity in the nation’s immigration system — especially when it comes to the prestigious privilege of citizenship.” The memo also encourages the officers to look at other factors, such as whether applicants are involved in their communities, including family caregiving or raising a family, their ties to the United States, educational attainment, stable and lawful employment history, career achievements and paying taxes. “GMC findings must go beyond the absence of disqualifying acts, it must reflect a genuine positive assessment of who the alien is and how they have lived in their community,” the memo states. The White House referred questions from Fox News Digital about the USCIS policy to the agency. Immigrants seeking to attain U.S. citizenship must already live in the country for several years and pass a civics test in English, among other requirements.
GOP doctors call out health task force for ‘woke distractions’ amid major reform push
EXCLUSIVE: The GOP Doctors Caucus is backing a possible effort to overhaul the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, or USPSTF, an independent task force that’s used to determine recommendations on what services health insurance companies in the United States have to cover free of charge. A letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., led by Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., and Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., and other members of the caucus expressed concerns that the group may be prioritizing social justice issues over other issues. “Preventive care should be about keeping Americans healthy, not about checking political boxes,” Harshbarger said in a statement. “The American people deserve a task force that follows the science, acts with urgency and relies on the expertise of front-line doctors. The USPSTF should be leading the charge in President Trump’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ agenda, not wasting time on woke distractions while chronic disease rates keep climbing.” REPUBLICAN SENATOR CLAIMS RFK JR. MRNA VACCINE DECISION UNDERMINES TRUMP AGENDA Specifically, the letter asks for “relevant specialists” to be part of the process when making certain recommendations, greater transparency in decision-making and more of a focus on outcomes as opposed to “substantial attention to divisive social issues,” citing “race and gender identity considerations that extend beyond traditional clinical parameters,” according to a news release. “In 2010, the Affordable Care Act expanded the authority of the USPSTF and tied coverage recommendations to Task Force determinations. However, since the USPSTF’s authority was expanded, the rate of incidence of preventable chronic disease in the United States has only climbed,” the letter states. The letter was also signed by other members of the caucus, including Reps. Andy Harris, Ronny Jackson, Mike Kennedy, Brian Babin, Sheri Biggs and Bob Onder. GOP SENATORS RALLY AROUND EFFORT TO END ‘RADICAL WOKENESS’ IN HHS TASK FORCE Earlier this month, three Republican senators wrote a similar letter raising ideological concerns about the current task force. “In particular, the USPSTF departed from its proper activities in its December 2023 Health Equity Framework. The framework criticizes ‘equal access to quality health care for all’ as an inadequate goal of public health and announces that the Task Force will instead use equity as ‘a criterion of the ‘public health importance’ of a topic’ for consideration,” that letter stated. The Wall Street Journal reported that, in July, Kennedy was considering removing members of the board. DEMS ‘DELIBERATELY OBFUSCATING’ TRUTH ABOUT ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ WITH THIS CLAIM: WATCHDOG “No final decision has been made on how the USPSTF can better support HHS’ mandate to Make America Healthy Again,” an HHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement when asked about the WSJ report at the time. The American Medical Association has opposed an overhaul of the task force. “USPSTF plays a critical, nonpartisan role in guiding physicians’ efforts to prevent disease and improve the health of patients by helping to ensure access to evidence-based clinical preventive services. As such, we urge you to retain the previously appointed members of the USPSTF and commit to the long-standing process of regular meetings to ensure their important work can continue without interruption,” the AMA wrote. Meanwhile, a group of physicians, including those from the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, America’s Frontline Doctors and the Pennsylvania Direct Primary Care Association, signed another letter in support of possible changes. The signers wrote that new members should have an “ideological balance to develop recommendations based on facts and science.” Fox News Digital reached out to HHS for an updated comment.
WATCH: Footage shows blue state prosecutor warning officers they’ll ‘regret’ arresting her: ‘I’m an AG!’
Bodycam footage from the Newport Police Department in Newport, Rhode Island, shows Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Flanagan pleading with officers not to arrest her and appearing to try to use her job as a state prosecutor to get officers to let her go. “I’m an AG! I’m an AG!” Flanagan can be heard saying to police as they tried to detain her for failing to comply with their demands. “You’re going to regret this. You’re going to regret it. I’m an A-” Flanagan said as she was escorted to the back of a police car and the door was shut. “Good for you, I don’t give a s—,” one of the arresting officers can be heard saying back at one point. FEMALE POLICE OFFICER LEAPS INTO WATER, FIGHTS CAREER CRIMINAL BEFORE MAKING ARREST, VIDEO SHOWS The Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office indicated Monday that they were reviewing the matter involving Flanagan, but did not indicate whether any disciplinary measures have been taken. Throughout the video, Flanagan can also be heard telling the officers how to do their job. “I want you to turn your body-camera off. Protocol is that you turn it off. It’s a citizen request to turn it off,” Flanagan told the officer when he approached her to ask her to leave. “She knows, she’s a lawyer,” a separate female who was with Flanagan told the officer. “She’s a f—ing lawyer.” EX-TRUMP PROSECUTOR JACK SMITH UNDER INVESTIGATION BY GOVERNMENT WATCHDOG OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL “On the evening of Aug. 14, the Office of the Attorney General learned that members of the Newport Police Department arrested Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Flanagan for trespassing,” Megan Skinner, a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office, said Friday, according to The Boston Globe. Meanwhile, a separate spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital that the attorney general’s office was “reviewing the matter” of Flanagan’s arrest. “The Office immediately began a review of the incident, which we anticipate will conclude within the next few days,” the attorney general’s spokesperson added in their statement to The Boston Globe. “At this time, we are unable to comment further on this matter as it relates to personnel issues.” Flanagan has reportedly worked in the attorney general’s office for seven years and works on appeals cases in criminal court. She was ultimately charged with willful trespass and issued a summons to appear in court. In addition to Flanagan’s arrest, the other female in the video, seen yelling at officers and escaping from their handcuffs at one point, was also arrested, according to the Globe. That individual, identified as Veronica Hannan, was reportedly charged with willful trespass, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
Justice Barrett teases new memoir in abrupt conference exit
Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett knows how to command an audience. This was crystallized Monday night at the Swissôtel in Chicago, where she spoke for just three minutes to several hundred judges and legal professionals gathered for the Seventh Circuit Judicial Conference. Her remarks, though short, were optimistic and warm. She urged the courts to keep their sense of “camaraderie and professionalism” despite inevitable, sharp disagreements. This, she said, is “what enables the judicial system to work well.” Barrett smiled fondly as she remembered her time on the 7th Circuit, where she served for several years prior to her nomination to the Supreme Court. She introduced the next speaker, who took the stage to another standing ovation. And just as quickly as she entered the packed ballroom, she was gone. BARRETT EVISCERATES JACKSON, SOTOMAYOR TAKES ON A ‘COMPLICIT’ COURT IN CONTENTIOUS FINAL OPINIONS “Barrett, 53, is the youngest justice on the bench, and her nearly five-year record on the Supreme Court has been the subject of furious speculation — and, at times, outright fury.” Conservatives have panned her record as more moderate than that of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, for whom she once clerked. Liberals have been incensed by her reluctance to side more consistently with the court’s left-leaning justices on abortion, federal powers and other seminal cases. Barrett’s voting record is more moderate than Scalia’s, according to a June New York Times data analysis that found she plays an “increasingly central role” on the court. Barrett used her time Monday to implore the group of judges to maintain a sense of grace, decorum and respect for colleagues, despite the inevitable, heated disagreements that will occur. The warm, if somewhat lofty, sense of idealism on display is one that is expected to be echoed further in her forthcoming memoir, “Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and Constitution,” slated for publication next month. The theme of Monday’s remarks, to the extent there was one, stressed working toward common goals, accepting ideological differences and embracing disagreement while keeping a broader perspective — a point echoed by Barrett and earlier speakers who cited David Brooks repeatedly in praising purpose-driven public service. The upside of so many hours spent in disagreement, Barrett said, is learning how to strike that balance. “We know how to argue well,” she said. “We also know how to argue without letting it consume relationships.” CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS SOUNDS ALARM ON DANGEROUS RHETORIC AIMED AT JUDGES FROM POLITICIANS This has been especially true during Trump’s second term, as the Supreme Court presided over a record blitz of emergency appeals and orders filed by the administration and other aggrieved parties in response to the hundreds of executive orders signed in his first months in office. The high court has ruled in Trump’s favor in the majority of emergency applications, allowing the administration to proceed with its ban on transgender service members in the military, its termination of millions of dollars in Education Department grants and its firing of probationary employees across the federal government, among many other actions. Even so, it is Barrett who has emerged as the most-talked-about justice on the high court this term, confounding and frustrating observers as they tried and failed to predict how she would vote. She’s been hailed as the “most interesting justice on the bench,” a “trailblazer” and an iconoclast, among other descriptions. On Monday, she stressed that the commonalities among judges, both for the 7th Circuit and beyond, are far greater than the issues that divide them. As for her own work, Barrett offered few details — her remarks began and ended in less time than it takes to microwave a burrito. It’s unclear if, or to what extent, Barrett’s schedule may have changed at the eleventh hour, a reflection of the many demands placed on sitting Supreme Court justices whose schedules are often subject to change or cancellation at a moment’s notice. The 7th Circuit did not immediately respond to Fox News’s questions as to what, if anything, had changed on Barrett’s end. Questions swirled as she exited. Had she planned longer remarks? Was the agenda misread? Or is she saving details for her memoir and looming book tour as one reporter suggested? Her appearance, full of irony, left observers with more questions than answers. Whether she addresses them in the weeks ahead remains to be seen.
Schiff launches legal defense fund in response to claims Trump is ‘weaponizing’ justice system
Sen. Adam Schiff launched a legal defense fund as the California Democrat faces a federal investigation for alleged mortgage fraud and President Donald Trump repeatedly condemns him for years of allegedly promoting the “Russiagate” hoax. “It’s clear that Donald Trump and his MAGA allies will continue weaponizing the justice process to attack Senator Schiff for holding this corrupt administration accountable,” a spokeswoman for Schiff told Fox News Digital on Tuesday evening. “This fund will ensure he can fight back against these baseless smears while continuing to do his job.” The legal fund, dubbed “Senator Schiff Legal Defense Fund,” was filed with the Internal Revenue Service Thursday, according to the New York Times. Trump and Schiff have long been political foes, stretching back to the president’s first administration, when Schiff — who was serving in the U.S. House at the time — oversaw the first impeachment trial against Trump in 2020 for alleged abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and for repeatedly promoting the narrative that Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with Russia. SEN ADAM SCHIFF UNDER FEDERAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION FOR ALLEGED MORTGAGE FRAUD VIOLATIONS “Russia, Russia, Russia. Totally phony, created by Adam Schiff, Shifty Schiff, and Hillary Clinton and the whole group of them,” Trump said from the Kennedy Center Wednesday. Trump was referring to recently declassified documents alleging the Obama administration “manufactured and politicized intelligence” to create the narrative that Russia was attempting to influence the 2016 presidential election, despite information from the intelligence community stating otherwise. “It made it very dangerous for our country because I was unable to really deal with Russia the way we should have been,” Trump continued from the Kennedy Center, referring to Attorney General Pam Bondi. “And I’m looking at Pam because I hope something’s going to be done about it.” White House spokesman Harrison Fields called Schiff a “fraud” and “corrupt politician” when approached for comment on Tuesday regarding the legal fund. “Adam Schiff is a sleazy and corrupt politician who betrayed his oath to the Constitution by prioritizing his selfish and personal animosity toward the President over the interests of the American people. No amount of money can shield Adam from the truth that he is a fraud,” Fields told Fox News Digital. Schiff also came under fire earlier in August when documents released to Congress by FBI Director Kash Patel reported that a Democratic whistleblower who worked for Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee for more than 10 years told the FBI in 2017 that Schiff allegedly approved leaking classified information on Trump that “would be used to indict President TRUMP.” Schiff denied the allegations as “absolutely and categorically false.” Schiff notably served on the Jan. 6 committee, which investigated the day in January 2021 when Trump supporters breached the U.S. Capitol, and was among lawmakers who were granted preemptive pardons on President Joe Biden’s final day in office in 2025. HOW TRUMP’S ‘NO SHRINKING VIOLETS’ DOJ IS DIGGING IN ON SCHIFF’S MORTGAGE DEALINGS AS LEGAL PERIL LOOMS Schiff, however, had publicly condemned the prospect of Biden doling out preemptive pardons as “unnecessary” and setting a bad precedent. “First, those of us on the committee are very proud of the work we did. We were doing vital quintessential oversight of a violent attack on the Capitol,” Schiff said during a media interview in December 2024. “So I think it’s unnecessary.” “But second, the precedent of giving blanket pardons, preemptive blanket pardons on the way out of an administration, I think is a precedent we don’t want to set,” he added. TRUMP INVOKES RUSSIA COLLUSION HOAX WHILE CALLING FOR LONGTIME FOE SCHIFF TO FACE JAIL TIME The California Democrat also is facing a federal investigation for mortgage fraud, Fox Digital previously reported. Schiff has denied any wrongdoing, claiming the matter is a “baseless attempt at political retribution.” The U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sent a criminal referral to the Department of Justice in May claiming that in “multiple instances,” Schiff allegedly “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, impacting payments from 2003-2019 for a Potomac, Maryland-based property.” Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.