How one Alabama senator’s quiet diplomacy helped end longest shutdown in US history
One Senate Republican proved that it’s still possible to bridge the chasm between the aisles after brokering an end to the longest government shutdown in history. The 43-day impasse in Congress may have ended in the House, but it was in the Senate that Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., worked to build an old-fashioned bipartisan coalition to jump-start the stalled chamber. It took several weeks, numerous conversations and reconstructing broken trust between Senate Republicans and Democrats to pull off what would become a bipartisan package to reopen the government. HOW CLOSED-DOOR NEGOTIATIONS AND A GUARANTEE ENDED LONGEST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ON RECORD And it was something that Britt, in an interview with Fox News Digital, contended she was uniquely positioned to do. She was chief of staff for former Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and knew how the sausage was made in the upper chamber. She also had longstanding relationships with some of the key Democratic negotiators, like Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who ultimately joined most Republicans to reopen the government. For Britt, who chairs the Homeland Security Appropriations Committee, the key to reopening the government was funding the government through spending bills. “I’m very grateful for those on the other side of the aisle that had the courage to step forward and say, you know, we’re not going to allow everyday Americans to suffer as a result of keeping this government closed,” she said. “I do think what we saw was a lot of people that were listening to their political consultants instead of the actual constituency that they serve.” “Because clearly, I think a lot of people had lost sight of the fact that we were in this place because we hadn’t passed appropriations bills,” Britt continued. SENATE REACHES TEMPORARY TRUCE TO END RECORD SHUTDOWN, BUT JANUARY BATTLE LOOMS During the last session of Congress, the chambers were split. Republicans held a tenuous grip on the House while Schumer and Senate Democrats controlled the Senate. Many of the spending bills produced by the House were often partisan, while the bipartisan bills crafted in the Senate never made it to the floor. “If you look back over Senator Schumer’s tenure as leader and over the last two years, he didn’t even put one bill on the floor last year, which is what led us to this posture of a CR to start with,” she said. Britt believed that at least moving a trio of spending bills could perhaps unstick the gears in the Senate and get lawmakers closer to ending the shutdown. Whether that package of bills could end up attached to legislation to reopen the government, however, remained elusive. While she lauded both Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., for their roles in ensuring the funding process actually worked, her role as de facto arbiter began roughly three weeks before the shutdown ended. One of the main issues before and throughout the shutdown was a lack of trust that Senate Democrats had in Republicans, an issue that was reaffirmed when the GOP voted to claw back billions in congressionally approved funding earlier in the year. That trust issue was further solidified due to a lack of commitments from Republicans to prevent the Trump administration from continuing to carve away at federal funding with impoundments and rescissions. And the key moment that saw the wheels begin to move in the direction of reopening came when Senate Democrats blocked the Defense appropriations bill, which would have paid service members among a plethora of other things. SENATE DEMOCRATS CAVE, OPEN PATH TO REOPENING GOVERNMENT “The question that I had for each of them, you know, why? This came out of committee in a bipartisan way, and it was clear, they wanted greater conversation around how we were planning on moving these things forward,” she said. It was from those informal talks that she leaned into speaking with more Democratic lawmakers to try and assuage their concerns about what would happen during and after the spending bills were passed. Those conversations brought her all the way to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on whether he would approve of the appropriations process moving forward. “Taking a cue from that is why I really leaned into conversations, both with people that I believed were gettable in finding a pathway forward on reopening the government and those who were not,” she said. “You know, just saying, like, ‘Look, guys, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to work to fund these three bills. And if we do that, you know, here will be the ultimate result of it.’” But, as with any successful legislation, there’s always a numbers game. Not every Senate Republican was in favor of reopening the government, or at least the vehicle to do so, a point Britt reiterated often. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., had consistently voted against the House-passed bill until that point. So that meant she needed to find the numbers elsewhere across the aisle. Shaheen, who was leading negotiations for Senate Democrats, largely had her numbers in check, but there was one more that needed an extra nudge: Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. Over the course of 48 hours, the weekend of the penultimate vote to seal the deal in the Senate, Kaine went from being against the package to supporting it. Britt acted as a liaison to the White House, bringing Kaine’s demands that the administration roll back firings carried out during the shutdown and provide protections to federal workers, which the administration ultimately agreed to. But ending the shutdown was the first hurdle. Lawmakers now have until Jan. 30, 2026, to fund the government. Britt said she would keep doing what she’s been doing: talking to the other side. “I am hopeful that people will remember what we’re supposed to be doing, and that is working to pass these bills,” she said. “And I am sure that there will be challenges in front of us, but you know, having dialogue and
Dems fine firing troops over Biden’s vax order but furious over Trump ‘treason’ talk, GOP vet says
Democratic veterans in Congress who released a video telling servicemembers they can refuse unlawful orders were ripped by Republicans, including by an Air Force veteran who pointed out how former President Joe Biden’s Pentagon discharged 8,700 servicemembers for refusing vaccine mandates. Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, along with Reps. Chrissy Houlahan and Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, Jason Crow of Colorado and Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire appeared in a video that informed servicemembers they could refuse unlawful orders, ostensibly from President Donald Trump. Jennifer-Ruth Green, an Iraq War Air Force veteran and former Indiana state official running in her second attempt to oust Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Ind., slammed her fellow veterans in the video as highly hypocritical. Green is a Republican. “I just want to point out that the thousands of service members who refused the ‘illegal order’ from Joe Biden that forced them to get the COVID vaccine were fired without their benefits and Democrats were perfectly okay with it,” Ruth-Green said on X. GRAHAM DEMANDS DEMOCRATS EXPLAIN ‘REFUSE ILLEGAL ORDERS’ MESSAGE TO TROOPS She followed up by singling-out Kelly – a retired astronaut and Navy combat pilot – after he appeared with former Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Fla., longtime host of “Morning Joe” on MS-NOW. “First, Senator Kelly instructed our military to refuse the president’s orders. Now, he says they should contact their officers if they ‘feel’ an order is illegal,” Green said. “Stop playing political games with our service members. An order is not illegal just because a politician doesn’t like it.” TROOPS RISK COURT-MARTIAL IF THEY FOLLOW DEMOCRATS’ ‘ILLEGAL ORDERS’ ADVICE, FORMER MILITARY LAWYERS WARN After Scarborough had said servicemembers would be “violating their oath” if they followed illegal orders, Kelly replied that they always have the ability to speak with their commanding officer about an order in question. Kelly said concerned servicemembers can also confer with the Judge Advocate General (JAG) corps; lawyers within the military; on the legality of orders and similar concerns. About 8,700 servicemembers were affected by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s order, according to UPI, which reported that Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in April those discharged would be invited to return to duty. DEM VETERANS BREAK SILENCE AFTER VIRAL VIDEO CAUSES BACKLASH ON SOCIAL MEDIA: ‘FRUSTRATED’ In 2002, Green engineered the closest race for Republicans in the district – covering Democrat-heavy Gary and East Chicago, Ind. — in several decades; losing by six points. The Kansas Republican Party echoed Green’s sentiments, saying in a statement that “Democrats ‘reminding’ servicemembers members they are allowed to disobey illegal orders with a wink and a nod had no problem forcing those same service members to take the COVID shot and follow orders that supposedly came from a president already exhibiting symptoms of dementia.” Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., was similarly critical of Democrats’ later response to President Donald Trump’s warning of treason that had led to what Slotkin and others said were threats against them in the aftermath. SIX DEMOCRATS URGE MILITARY MEMBERS TO ‘REFUSE ILLEGAL ORDERS’ IN VIRAL VIDEO; HEGSETH RESPONDS “They have engaged in seditious behavior,” Donalds said. “That mess you heard over there about not being intimidated? No, the seditious behavior came from them when they launched their stupid video that nobody asked for.” “Mister Crow and Senator Slotkin [are] not the commander-in-chief,” he later added. DANGEROUS WAR GAMES: TELLING SERVICEMEMBERS TO RESIST TRUMP INVITES PURE CHAOS Deluzio said that after Trump “called for the arrest and death of me and several of my colleagues” he was “not going to be intimidated” and would continue serving the Allegheny Valley. When Trump adviser Stephen Miller fired back at Democrats’ statements, Kelly responded directly, saying he had been shot at in combat and was at the Capitol when “your boss sent a violent mob.” “I know the difference between defending our Constitution and an insurrection, even if you don’t.” Crow said on social media that it was “telling” to see Trump believe “restat[ing] the law” is “punishable by death.” On Monday, the Pentagon announced it was investigating “Capt. Mark Kelly” for allegations of serious misconduct. Fox News Digital reached out to Kelly, Slotkin and Houlahan for additional comment.
GOP senator calls Mamdani’s Netanyahu arrest vow a ‘grave threat’ as he introduces defund bill
FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican wants to take a legislative shot at New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and his desire to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., is introducing legislation that would halt some funding to cities that follow through on any International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant to arrest or detain officials from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries. The measure, called the “American Allies Protection Act,” is in direct response to Mamdani doubling down on his vow to arrest Netanyahu. Last year, the ICC issued a warrant for the Israeli prime minister’s arrest that has been heavily scrutinized by lawmakers in the U.S. and abroad. ADL CHIEF WARNS NYC MAYOR-ELECT ZOHRAN MAMDANI POSES A ‘CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER’ TO JEWISH COMMUNITY Mamdani reiterated his desire to arrest Netanyahu last week before meeting with President Donald Trump. He told local news station ABC7 that New York City was a “city of international law,” that would uphold the court’s arrest warrants, which accused the Israeli prime minister of intentionally attacking civilians and using starvation as a method of warfare. “I’ve said time and again that I believe this is a city of international law, and being a city of international law means looking to uphold international law,” he said. “And that means upholding the warrants from the International Criminal Court, whether they’re for Benjamin Netanyahu or Vladimir Putin.” TRUMP REVEALS ‘ONE THING IN COMMON’ HE HAS WITH MAMDANI AFTER OVAL OFFICE LOVE FEST Budd charged in a statement to Fox News Digital that the U.S. is “not bound by the morally bankrupt” court, and accused Mamdani’s position and comments of not being based in law but rather a means to “virtue-signal to his radical, anti-Israel base.” “Mayor-elect Mamdani’s pledge to facilitate the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu is not just ridiculous; it represents a grave threat that could seriously damage America’s relationship with our closest allies and partners,” Budd said. LEAVITT DOESN’T MINCE WORDS AHEAD OF MAMDANI-TRUMP MEETING: ‘COMMUNIST COMING TO THE WHITE HOUSE’ His legislation would halt any Department of Justice (DOJ) grants from flowing to any city that cooperates with the court and arrests a NATO or U.S. major non-NATO ally. There is an override mechanism built in that would allow the president to end the penalty only if cooperation with the court is deemed necessary for national security. Meanwhile, the issue of Netanyahu apparently did not come up during Trump and Mamdani’s confab. When asked if there was discussion of stopping Mamdani from arresting Netanyahu, Trump said the pair, “Didn’t discuss” the matter.
Reporter’s Notebook: House math turns tricky as Greene resignation tightens GOP grip on power
It’s about the math. And the math in the House of Representatives got much more interesting Friday night when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., announced she would resign in January. The current breakdown in the House is 219-213 in favor of Republicans with three vacancies: Former Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., retired. The late Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, died. Former Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., resigned late last week after voters elected her governor of New Jersey. The House finally swore in Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., six weeks after she prevailed in her special election in September to succeed her late father. Late Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., died earlier this year. The six-seat margin means that the GOP can only lose two votes on the floor and still pass a bill without help from the Democrats. HEADED FOR THE EXITS: WHY 3-DOZEN HOUSE MEMBERS AREN’T RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION But the math in the coming weeks and months quickly gets dicey for the GOP. Greene does not step aside until Jan. 5. So let’s run through the numbers and permutations which could evolve over the next few months. There’s a special election in Tennessee to succeed former House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green on Dec. 2. President Donald Trump carried the district by 22 points last fall. Green bested his opponent – former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, a Democrat, by 21 points. So Republicans are expected to hold this seat. But there is something important to know about special elections: they’re special. They sometimes produce weird results because the usual voting electorate doesn’t show up. Plus, surges by one party or the other in a special election held in either a deeply blue or ruby red district sometimes signals a boost for the party. Strong performances or even upsets sometimes portend what’s ahead in the next election. They also signal a referendum on the President. For instance, in 2017, Democrats were competitive in four GOP seats of House members who departed to join the Trump administration. But even though the Democrats ran well, they still failed to flip any of those seats. Former Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., stepped down to become CIA Director. Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kan., then won that seat by a mere six points. Current Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., resigned to become Interior Secretary. Former Rep. and current Gov. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., won – but only by five points and less than 50 percent of the vote. Former Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., resigned to become Health and Human Services Secretary. Former Rep. Karen Handel, R-Ga., won by only three points over current Sen. Jon Ossoff, R-Ga. Former Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., left his House seat to become Budget Director and later White House Chief of Staff. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., succeeded Mulvaney. But Norman won by only three percentage points. BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE: GOP GETS BOOST IN BID TO FLIP SWING DISTRICT AFTER DEMOCRAT BOWS OUT Even though Democrats failed to flip any of those seats, they made the GOP sweat and put up strong showings. Some analysts viewed the Democrats’ performances in those contests as a sign of things to come in the 2018 midterms and President Trump’s weakness. Democrats then reclaimed control of the House in the 2018 midterms and won 40 seats. Republican Matt Van Epps faces Democrat Aftyn Behn next week in the special election to succeed Green in Tennessee. Democrats are pouring money into that contest hoping they can flip the seat. If they do, the GOP majority dwindles to 219-214. But if Van Epps prevails, the GOP gets some space with a 220-213 majority. But that only lasts until Greene steps down in January. So the majority would dwindle to 219-213. Remember that you cannot appoint someone to the House. So you have to wait for special elections. The Georgia special election to succeed Greene wouldn’t happen until March. But there’s lots to happen before then. There is a special election runoff to replace Democrat Sylvester Turner on Jan. 31. Democrats will hold that seat with two of their own in the runoff. But government funding expires on Jan. 30. One wonders if House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., might hold off swearing-in a prospective Democratic successor to Turner if the House is out for similar reasons as to why the Speaker refrained from swearing-in Adelita Grijalva. HOUSE GOP CAMPAIGN CHAIR WANTS TRUMP ‘OUT THERE ON THE TRAIL’ IN MIDTERM BATTLE FOR MAJORITY So, presuming Van Epps wins, and with Greene gone and either Democrats Amanda Edwards or Christian Menefee winning the Turner seat in Texas, the GOP majority dips to 219-214. It’s a margin of five. But again, Republicans can only lose two votes and not need help from the other side. Now we’re back to a special election in March for Greene’s seat. Again, Democrats will try to make that competitive. But for the sake of argument, let’s say the GOP wins. The Republican majority climbs to 220-214. So at this stage, we are down to only one vacancy in the House – presuming no one else quits or, God forbid, dies. The special election to succeed Sherrill will come in April. Again, Democrats should hold that seat. But special elections are just that: special. Republicans will certainly try to flip that seat. But if Democrats hold on and the House is at full strength, the GOP majority will sit at 220-215. This scenario presumes both parties win everything they’re supposed to win. DEMOCRATS SEE MANDATE AFTER 2025 WINS — REPUBLICANS SAY IT’S A MIRAGE But what happens if Democrats were to flip the open seats in Tennessee and Georgia and win the special elections in Texas and New Jersey? In that scenario, you’re looking at a 218-217 Republican majority next spring. Again, we’re positing that no one dies or retires mid-term. The House is not a very pleasant place to be right now. That’s why some lawmakers may look for the exits early. And, there’s an old saying that “death
‘People would have died’: Inside the FBI’s Halloween takedown that exposed a global terror network
EXCLUSIVE: The FBI thwarted a massive terror attack in October that prevented the killing of countless Americans and exposed a global terror network through their investigative strategy that led to “some of the most impactful arrests” in the counterterrorism program in recent years. Fox News Digital sat down Thursday for an exclusive interview with FBI Director Kash Patel, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and a senior agent official with direct involvement in counterterrorism cases. THWARTED MICHIGAN HALLOWEEN TERROR PLOT HAD CONNECTION TO ISIS, FOX NEWS LEARNS The potential terror attack was set to take place in Michigan ahead of Halloween weekend and allegedly had a connection to ISIS, the FBI said. The FBI arrested multiple suspects accused of plotting the terror attack. “The arrests that happened in Detroit, Newark, and Seattle represent one of the most deadly plots faced by the FBI in recent memory,” the agent told Fox News Digital. “Those eight arrests, and ones that have happened around the world are some of the most impactful arrests that have happened in the counterterrorism program in recent years.” Two men have been charged in federal court — Mohamed Ali and Majed Mahmoud, both from Dearborn, Michigan. The charges involve transferring firearms and ammunition and conspiring or attempting to do so, knowing they would be used to commit and support terrorism and providing material support to ISIS. The government alleges five individuals were involved in the plot, including one minor. BROTHER OF SUSPECTED HOMEGROWN TERRORIST ARRESTED AS HALLOWEEN PLOT EXPANDS TO MORE STATES Patel told Fox News Digital that the FBI “arrested the people who were the overt actors immediately, while constantly surveilling the people in New Jersey and Seattle.” “We arrested them in a coordinated fashion thereafter to take down the entire network,” Patel said, hitting back at critics. “If we were to do this the way the media wanted us to do it, we would have waited for them to kill Americans, and then arrest them.” Patel was referring to media reports critical of the FBI’s timeline that claimed investigators didn’t have enough details on whether the attack was actually imminent. EXCLUSIVE: FBI CONCLUDES TRUMP SHOOTER THOMAS CROOKS ACTED ALONE AFTER UNPRECEDENTED GLOBAL INVESTIGATION “If we hadn’t moved, we would not have fleshed out the entire network that we now know spans the entire globe,” the agent told Fox News Digital. “There have been arrests overseas that have been directly related to the same plot, and that would not have happened had we prematurely executed those arrests.” The agent told Fox News Digital that he could not provide further details due to current prosecutions in the U.S. and Europe related to the potential attack. SUSPECTS IN FOILED HALLOWEEN TERROR PLOT PICTURED PRACTICING AT MICHIGAN GUN RANGE: FBI “People would have died. A lot of them. That’s a fact. A lot of people would have died,” Bongino told Fox News Digital. “And their work stopped it.” In October, the FBI executed search warrants on the homes of Ali and Mahmoud and a storage unit they allegedly shared, seizing multiple semiautomatic rifles, a shotgun, handguns, tactical gear and more than 1,600 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition. Agents also recovered surveillance video showing Ali and other alleged conspirators at a Michigan gun range, where they are accused of practicing shooting in preparation for the foiled attack. According to an FBI affidavit, the conspirators allegedly drew inspiration from the Pulse shooting and the 2015 coordinated terror attacks in Paris, which killed 137 and injured more than 400. In Michigan, the suspects also sought advice from the father of a local “Islamic extremist ideologue,” according to the FBI affidavit, allegedly seeking religious approval for the plot. They also allegedly discussed choosing a date that would be celebrated by subsequent radical Islamic terrorists.
Trump speaks with Chinese President Xi, White House official confirms
President Donald Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping via phone on Monday, a White House official confirmed. The conversation included discussion of U.S.-Chinese relations, Taiwan, and Ukraine, according to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “President Xi outlined China’s principled position on the Taiwan question. He underscored that Taiwan’s return to China is an integral part of the post-war international order. China and the U.S. fought shoulder to shoulder against fascism and militarism,” the ministry said. This is a breaking news story. Check back here for updates.
UK prime minister suggests former Prince Andrew should testify in Epstein investigation
U.K. Prime Minister Kier Starmer suggested Monday that the former Prince Andrew should testify in the U.S. investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Starmer made the comment to reporters while traveling to a G-20 summit in Johannesburg on Monday, though he declined to comment on the former prince’s case directly. “I don’t comment on his particular case,’’ Starmer said. “But as a general principle I’ve held for a very long time is that anybody who has got relevant information in relation to these kind of cases should give that evidence to those that need it.’’ Starmer’s comments come after the U.S. House Oversight Committee requested that the ex-royal, who is now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, submit to a transcribed interview regarding his long relationship with Epstein. He has so far ignored the request. EX-PRINCE ANDREW ‘VULNERABLE’ TO CRIMINAL CHARGES AFTER LOSING ROYAL PROTECTION STATUS: EXPERTS Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the committee’s ranking Democrat, and Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., accused the disgraced royal of trying to “hide” from the investigation. “Our work will move forward with or without him, and we will hold anyone who was involved in these crimes accountable, no matter their wealth, status or political party,” they said in a statement released on Friday. “We will get justice for the survivors.” King Charles III formally removed the “Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew” in late October. PRINCE ANDREW BEING INVESTIGATED FOR ALLEGEDLY ASKING BODYGUARD TO GET ACCUSER’S PERSONAL INFORMATION: REPORT “His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence,” Buckingham Palace announced in a statement. “Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease, and he will move to alternative private accommodation.” The palace said the censures “are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.” Andrew announced Oct. 17 that he was relinquishing his Duke of York title after the publication of an unauthorized biography by British author Andrew Lownie, “Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York,” in August. Fox News’ Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
From Mojave to Beijing: how America quietly conceded the rare earth race
At the edge of California’s Mojave Desert, the Mountain Pass mine looks like any other stretch of dust and rock. But for decades, this lonely pit supplied the world with the rare-earth elements that make modern technology — and modern warfare — possible. In the 1980s, Mountain Pass was the beating heart of a quiet American advantage. The ore pulled from its depths yielded neodymium, lanthanum and cerium — metals that powered radar systems, early computer chips and the guidance of precision munitions. At its peak, the mine met nearly two-thirds of global demand. Then, almost overnight, it went silent. As environmental rules tightened and global prices collapsed under China’s state-subsidized production, the U.S. abandoned what had once been its mineral lifeline. Trucks stopped rolling. Processing plants rusted in the desert sun. And the world’s most powerful economy became dependent on a rival for the elements essential to its defense. CHINA’S RARE EARTH TECH OBSESSION ENSNARES US RESIDENT AS CCP LOOKS TO MAINTAIN STRANGLEHOLD “The Middle East has oil; China has rare earths,” former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping declared in 1987. Just as Arab nations turned oil wealth into global power, Beijing recognized the leverage it could gain by dominating the materials modern industry would only grow more dependent on. Four decades later, that foresight has paid off. China now controls roughly 70 percent of global rare-earth mining and nearly 90 percent of refining — the most strategic and profitable step in the chain. The U.S. didn’t just lose ground in mining — it handed Beijing the technology that made rare earths valuable in the first place. In the early 1990s, a General Motors subsidiary called Magnaquench was producing 85 percent of the magnets used in precision-guided missiles and other defense systems. When GM sold the company in 1995 to a consortium that included two Chinese entities, the consequences were immediate. Within a year, the entire product line had been replicated in China, and the U.S. had lost its magnet-making process almost overnight. Abigail Hunter, executive director of the Ambassador Alfred Hoffman Jr. Center for Critical Mineral Strategy at SAFE, said the sale represented more than a bad deal — it was a strategic surrender. “We were focused on the internet and globalization, not on where our materials were coming from,” she said. “Policy became episodic rather than strategic.” While Washington debated environmental rules and trade policy, China moved aggressively. “The United States had Mountain Pass and a few other capabilities tied to companies like GM,” said Wade Senti, president of Advanced Magnet Lab. “But our total capacity was under 2,000 metric tons a year. Meanwhile, China poured money into innovation, refining and manufacturing at a scale that far exceeded what we ever had.” By the early 2000s, the U.S. mining and refining base had collapsed. The technology migrated east along with the supply chain. Beijing not only mined the minerals but mastered the high-value steps that turned them into finished magnets — the core of everything from fighter jets to electric vehicles. “Between market forces and environmental restrictions … it’s certainly led to a constraint with extracting resources,” Senti said. Rare-earth elements now underpin nearly every modern weapons system. “They steer missiles, power radar and drive the night-vision goggles Marines wear in the field,” Hunter said. “If it moves, sees or communicates in today’s military, there’s probably a rare-earth element in it.” Washington’s complacency cracked this spring when Beijing briefly restricted exports of rare-earth products — a warning shot that rippled through supply chains from Detroit to the Pentagon. “When China required export licenses, some U.S. factory lines literally stopped,” Hunter said. “The administration scrambled to negotiate with Beijing and simultaneously rolled out emergency support for MP Materials, the operator of Mountain Pass.” That deal marked a turning point: for the first time, the federal government backed an entire supply chain — from mine to magnet — using every tool at its disposal. Grants, loans, price supports and guaranteed purchases were deployed to jump-start domestic production. CHINA’S TRADE WAR WEAPONS: RARE EARTH BAN AND US DEBT DUMP COULD CRIPPLE AMERICAN ECONOMY AND DEFENSE MP Materials, which resumed mining at Mountain Pass in 2018 and ramped up refining to record levels before the Pentagon deal, is now expanding its magnet manufacturing facility in Texas. Another U.S. manufacturer in South Carolina has also begun producing magnets. But rebuilding the ecosystem will take time. “It’s a ten-year project, not something we can do in a year,” Hunter said. “We’re starting to see progress, but we’re nowhere near self-sufficiency.” The Trump administration has put the U.S. on a wartime footing for decoupling with China, taking a 15 percent stake in MP Materials in an unprecedented arrangement and pushing a wave of international critical-minerals agreements meant to cut Beijing out of key supply chains. Over the past year, Washington has signed multi-billion dollar partnerships across five continents — including a $10 billion package of new projects announced this fall. A landmark framework with Australia commits both nations to co-invest roughly $1 billion each in rare-earth and battery-metal ventures, while parallel agreements with Japan and South Korea focus on securing non-Chinese refining and magnet production. The administration has also turned to Africa, signing deals with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to trace and develop mineral supply routes, and to Ukraine, where a 2025 reconstruction fund gives U.S. companies preferred access to future mining projects. Together, the web of pacts marks the most aggressive U.S. mineral diplomacy since the Cold War — a global race to control the elements that power modern weapons, vehicles and technology. Yet even as the U.S. forges alliances abroad, officials warn that true security will hinge on what happens at home. Under a 2027 mandate, the Pentagon must build a fully domestic rare-earth supply chain for defense production — from mine to magnet — that avoids Chinese inputs entirely. Meeting that goal will require more than foreign partnerships: it means breaking through America’s own permitting gridlock, financing
Mike Johnson says House GOP working full steam ahead on Trump’s ‘affordability agenda’
EXCLUSIVE: Making life more affordable for Americans will be a key part of House Republicans’ remaining agenda for this Congress, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Friday. In an interview with Fox News Digital, the leader of the House of Representatives acknowledged there was a “short amount of time” for lawmakers to be in D.C. before the end of this year but said they would be working toward a number of goals, including President Donald Trump‘s “affordability” agenda. “We have a lot of executive orders that we want to continue to codify through the end of the year. We’re still doing regulatory reform to end the Biden-era regulations. We did some of that this week,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of initiatives left on the table, things for us to do and a short amount of time to do it in. But we’re really bullish about the ideas that we’re bringing forward over the next few weeks and in the coming months about reducing the cost of living.” DOUBLING DOWN: TOP HOUSE DEMOCRAT SAYS FOCUS ON HIGH PRICES ‘ABSOLUTELY GOING TO CONTINUE’ He said “affordability” was “the buzzword of the day.” “We have an affordability agenda, as the president has been touting, and we have to do that in earnest. Healthcare is part of that. But it’s just the costs across the board,” Johnson said. He blamed the previous Democratic administration’s policies for the high cost of living seen today, arguing former President Joe Biden approved policies that led to higher inflation. TRUMP FLIPS DEMS’ ‘AFFORDABILITY’ SCRIPT, TURNING BUZZWORD INTO MAGA MATERIAL AS MAMDANI VISIT LOOMS “We the people rightfully revolted against that, and gave us the power again in January. But the economy is a very complex thing, you don’t flip a switch and just change it all in one week. It takes a while,” Johnson said. The beginning of Biden’s term was marked by record-high inflation, but that eased somewhat as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic slowly subsided. Throughout his four years, however, the rise in consumer prices outpaced average wage growth, according to a Texas A&M University analysis. Republicans promised to lower the cost of living when they took over the levers of power in Washington earlier this year. Johnson said a hallmark of that was Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, since rebranded as the “working families’ tax cut.” SURVEY SAYS: ISSUE THAT HELPED TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS IN 2024 HURT THEM NOW “By the time we get into the first and second quarter of next year, as Treasury Secretary Bessent has said, we should have an economic boom because of all of these pieces will be coming into play. Taxes will be lower, no tax on tips and overtime, lower taxes on seniors. And then there’ll be more investment because we have all the pro-growth policies and tax policies that will allow the job creators, entrepreneurs, risk-takers, innovators to do what they do,” Johnson argued. “Everything I just described will happen in due time, and it will. So we’re very bullish about it.” Republicans are also expected to spend the next several weeks working on a healthcare package aimed at lowering sky-high premiums many Americans face, while also seeking to reform what they see as a badly flawed Obamacare system. Several House committees are also expected to advance legislation in the coming weeks focused on lowering energy costs, including fixing an outdated system for permitting new energy projects.
Trump says those against tariffs ‘serving hostile foreign interests,’ ‘full benefit’ yet to be seen
President Donald Trump suggested that the “full benefit” of tariffs has not yet been realized because their impact has been blunted by stockpiles of goods amassed to avoid paying the tariffs— but he suggested that those stockpiles are dwindling and the full force of his tariffs will soon take hold. “Despite the massive amount of money being made by the United States of America, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, as a direct result of Tariffs being charged to other countries, the full benefit of the Tariffs has not yet been calculated in that many of the buyers of goods and products, in order to avoid paying the Tariffs in the short term, ‘STOCK UP’ by purchasing far more inventory than they can use,” Trump declared in a Monday morning Truth Social post. “That heavy inventory purchase is now, however, wearing thin, and soon Tariffs will be paid on everything they apply to, without avoidance, and the amounts payable to the USA will SKYROCKET, over and above the already historic levels of dollars received,” he continued. TRUMP TRADE OFFICIAL SAYS $2K TARIFF PAYMENTS WON’T FUEL INFLATION AS REVENUES CLIMB Trump suggested that tariffs will bolster U.S. wealth and security. “These payments will be RECORD SETTING, and put our Nation on a new and unprecedented course. We are already the ‘hottest’ Country anywhere in the World, but this Tariff POWER will bring America National Security and Wealth the likes of which has never been seen before. Those opposing us are serving hostile foreign interests that are not aligned with the success, safety and prosperity of the USA. They couldn’t care less about us,” he wrote. But it appears that much of the public does not share the president’s enthusiasm for tariffs. FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS SAY WHITE HOUSE IS DOING MORE HARM THAN GOOD ON ECONOMY A Fox News Poll of registered voters conducted earlier this month found that only 35% approve of how Trump is handling tariffs, while a whopping 63% disapprove. While 38% approve of his handling of the economy, 61% disapprove, according to the poll. TRUMP SAYS TARIFF-FUNDED DIVIDEND PAYMENTS FOR AMERICANS WILL BEGIN NEXT YEAR CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP On a question about whether the Trump administration’s economic policies have helped, hurt or not made much difference to them either way personally, the poll found that 46% indicated the administration’s economic policies have hurt them, while just 15% indicated that the policies have helped, and 39% indicated the policies have not made a difference. The poll was carried out Nov. 14-17, 2025, and included a sample of 1,005 registered voters nationwide, with a 3 percentage point margin of error.