The Tennessee ‘waltz’: Republicans and Democrats dance around meaning of special election results
Democrats waltzed into Tennessee and tried to swipe the seat held by Former Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., this week. Winning special elections for House seats is a delicate dance. But Rep.-elect Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn., defeated Democrat Aftyn Behn by nine points. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., noted that the Cook Political Report rates that district to favor the GOP by about 10 points. TRUMP-BACKED REPUBLICAN TOUTS ‘GREAT TURNOUT FOR US’ IN MUST-WIN SPECIAL ELECTION FOR GOP “It’s not an R-plus-25. The President won it by 22 points. It’s actually rated to be a slightly Republican district. So, winning it by nine points is almost exactly on the nose of what we might expect,” said Johnson. In other words, Republicans won the special election by the precise margin expected. That’s even though Republicans fretted that a Democratic surge could serve as a weather vane as to how popular the party is, if there are dents in the Trump coalition and what the path looks like in the 2026 midterms. “Democrats put millions of dollars in. They were really trying to set the scenario that there’s some sort of wave going on. There’s not. We just proved that there’s not,” said Johnson. Maybe. Maybe not. Special elections are special. A snapshot of where a given district stands at a point in time — often without the benefit of the regular electorate, which shows up in November every two years. That’s why House special elections are sometimes closer than what can be expected in the general. And the party out of power often dumps truckloads of cash into these contests to win. If nothing else, it forces the other party to burn lots of money too. But trying to make a race seem important gins up the base and concocts an illusion that things aren’t going well for the other side. Maybe people believe that voters are fed up and are demanding a change. A special election is kind of like checking the score of a football game partway through the second quarter. Maybe one team’s passing game is really clicking. That may dictate the outcome. But we haven’t yet seen the two fumbles in the second half. That’s to say nothing of the botched snap on the field goal and blocked punt. A lot can happen. MUSIC CITY MIRACLE: A LOOK AT AN UNUSUALLY CONTENTIOUS ELECTION IN THE VOLUNTEER STATE Frankly, flipping seats in House special elections is arduous. The party out of power in the House or opposite of who occupies the White House often makes a race of it. That can signal a weakness in the party in power or even the president as you approach the next election. One of the best examples of this came in 2017. House Democrats came close to flipping four special elections in solid Republican seats ranging from Montana to Kansas to South Carolina to Georgia. But Democrats didn’t capture any of those seats. However, Democrats did make a few of them closer than you might think. In fact, one of the best examples involved Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kan. President Donald Trump tapped former Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., to serve as CIA director and, later, secretary of state. Estes ran to succeed Pompeo. Pompeo won his district with 61% of the vote in 2016. Estes held off a challenge from Democrat James Thompson, vanquishing his opponent by six points and scoring 52% of the vote. Despite the defeat, Democrats and political observers noted the relative strength of Thompson in the special election. Many wondered if this was an omen about a 2018 Democratic wave. But the Kansas district is a Republican stronghold. Democrats gained control of the House in the 2018 midterms. However, Estes won re-election the next year by nearly 19 points. And despite the clamor surrounding special elections, there have truly only been four major “flips” in House special elections in the past 18 years. And one of those in a Hawaii special election was an anomaly where the Republican won in a three-way contest while two Democrats siphoned votes from one another. But back to Tennessee. Could Democrats have scored more success with a moderate candidate? Behn was progressive. A centrist may have had a better shot at winning a district like this, especially when one considers the success of Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., last month. DEMOCRATS’ SURGE IN TENNESSEE THROWS NEW UNCERTAINTY ONTO GOP’S 2026 HOUSE MAP Could a Van Epps win encourage other Republicans to quit? The House majority will be 220-214 once Johnson swears him in on Thursday. But some in the GOP are itching to leave. They may think there’s enough of a cushion, even though Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., departs in January. Fox is told there are several House Republicans who want to head for the exits. Some are upset at the White House controlling the entire agenda and Johnson keeping the House at bay for weeks during the government shutdown. Another factor: President Trump’s approach to the war in Ukraine. Moderate Republicans may look at the Tennessee result and insist on the party addressing healthcare in the coming weeks. That’s a looming factor considering that Democrats withheld their votes to fund the government over healthcare this fall. It’s also possible that moderate Republicans in California and New York might see the relative Democratic strength in this contest as a signpost that they face a tough re-election next year. As we said, Democrats flipped the House seven years ago after coming close in several special elections. Then there is redistricting and gerrymandering. The Van Epps win underscores the concept that drawing favorable lines for your party works. But this redistricting took place several years ago. Tennessee Republicans drew former Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., a Blue Dog, and any other Democrat out of a Nashville-area district. The GOP trifurcated Nashville and the suburbs, diluting the Democratic vote among several GOP districts. That served as a safety valve to assure a GOP win Tuesday.
Comer accuses Oversight Dems of ‘cherry-picking’ Epstein Island files: ‘Chasing headlines’
EXCLUSIVE: House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is accusing Democrats on his panel of selectively releasing information related to Jeffrey Epstein. It came hours after committee Democrats released photos and videos capturing what they called “never-before-seen” views of Epstein’s private compound in the U.S. Virgin Islands. But Comer told Fox News Digital that many of those images published by Democrats were already released by Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe, now the head of O’Keefe Media Group. EPSTEIN ISLAND COMPOUND SEEN IN PHOTOS RELEASED BY HOUSE DEMS “Ranking Member Robert Garcia and Democrats on the Oversight Committee continue to embarrass themselves,” Comer said on Wednesday. “Throughout the course of our investigation, Democrats have cherry-picked documents and doctored some of them, and now they are chasing headlines by slapping ‘never-before-seen’ on images and video that were reported by O’Keefe Media Group months ago. The only thing ‘never-before-seen’ is such a reckless Ranking Member.” It came after Oversight Democrats publicized images from Epstein’s island, Little Saint James, including images that appear to show a room with a dentist’s chair and a chalkboard that has words like “power,” “deception,” and “appear” written on it. JEFFREY EPSTEIN SAGA CONTINUES AS CONGRESS RETURNS FROM RECESS O’Keefe himself accused committee Democrats on X of publishing the images with redactions while claiming he himself posted similar photos without information blotted out. Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said in a press release when that first crop came out, “These new images are a disturbing look into the world of Jeffrey Epstein and his island. We are releasing these photos and videos to ensure public transparency in our investigation and to help piece together the full picture of Epstein’s horrific crimes…It’s time for President Trump to release all the files, now.” Roughly 18 minutes after Fox News Digital reached out for a response to Comer’s statement, House Oversight Committee Democrats posted on X that they were releasing “an additional 150+ photos and videos sent to our committee from Epstein Island.” The tranche includes images of a framed photo of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell meeting the pope. Another image of a framed photo appears to show two different people’s hands latched together, while others show works of art — including a lamp whose base resembles a naked woman’s torso. One photo shows a Samsung computer that appears to reflect several different security camera angles, only three of which look functional and which show the outdoors. Another image appears to show a nightstand that holds a sleeping mask and a box of tissues, among others. A spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee majority pledged the panel will release more files soon while criticizing Democrats for what they called a selective release. ‘STONE-COLD LIAR’: TOP HOUSE DEM LASHES OUT AT COMER FOR ACCUSING HIM OF SOLICITING EPSTEIN DONATIONS “The House Oversight Committee has received approximately 5,000 documents in response to Chairman Comer’s subpoenas to J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank, as well as his request to the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Majority is reviewing these materials and will make them public soon, just as the Committee has already done with the more than 65,000 pages produced during this investigation,” the spokesperson said. “It is odd that Democrats are once again releasing selective information, as they have done before. The last time Democrats cherry-picked and doctored documents, their attempt to construct yet another hoax against President Trump completely collapsed.” Comer has already released thousands of pages’ worth of documents related to his committee’s Epstein investigation. Democrats have accused him of running cover for President Donald Trump, who was previously friends with Epstein but has denied and never been implicated in any wrongdoing related to the late pedophile. Republicans in turn have accused Democrats of sabotaging a bipartisan probe in order to create a false narrative about Trump.
Pro-reparations progressive Democrat who wants ICE abolished mounts long shot Senate bid to succeed McConnell
Former Kentucky state Rep. Charles Booker — a progressive Democrat who has advocated far-left policies, including “Medicare for All” and the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — has launched a U.S. Senate bid to succeed outgoing Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, who announced earlier this year his current term will be his last. “Now more than ever, we need leadership that is committed to the work of ending generational poverty and uprooting structural racism, delivering on system-changing policies like Medicare for All, Universal Basic Income, Reparations, and Universal Childcare,” Booker asserted in part of a lengthy statement on his campaign website. “We need leadership that will drive the charge for bold policies like 40 for 40, so that anyone working a 40-hour work week will make a guaranteed minimum of $40,000 a year,” he declared. ‘AMERICA FIRST’ ATTORNEY GENERAL DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM MCCONNELL — HIS FORMER BOSS — AS KENTUCKY RACE DEFINES GOP FUTURE Booker declared in an X post last month that “ICE really does need to be abolished.” In another post, he wrote, “It really is a damn shame that we still don’t have universal healthcare in the U.S. of America. We need Medicare for All.” His latest bid may be a long shot. Kentuckians have not had a Democrat representing them in the Senate so far during the 21st century. It is Booker’s third run for Senate. DEM SHELLACKED BY MCCONNELL IN 2020 MOUNTS NEW SENATE BID: ‘COWARDS IN WASHINGTON ARE BOWING TO DONALD TRUMP’ In 2022, Booker was decisively defeated by incumbent Republican Sen. Rand Paul. Booker lost the 2020 Democratic U.S. Senate primary in the Bluegrass State to Amy McGrath, who lost to incumbent Republican Sen. McConnell in the general election later that year. McConnell, 83, has served in the Senate since 1985. FINAL SENATE CANDIDATE CHARLIE KIRK ENDORSED BEFORE HIS ASSASSINATION: ‘WE HAVE TO WIN’ CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In September, Booker announced, “For over two years, I have had the distinct honor of serving the people of Kentucky in the office of Governor Andy Beshear. “I am humbled and excited to announce that today was officially my last day.” The Booker campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Federal probe targets alleged Minnesota Somali fraud ‘network’ as COVID-aid crime rings persist
The Small Business Administration is investigating a network of Somali groups in Minnesota that it says is tied to a massive COVID fraud scandal highlighting alleged systemic failures by Gov. Tim Walz’s team to properly audit public funds. Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice-presidential nominee, has become embroiled in a scandal that has already led to charges against dozens of people – mostly Somali – and prompted allegations from civil servants in his administration who have spoken of retaliation against whistleblowers and institutional negligence. “Numerous individuals and nonprofits indicted in the $1 billion Minnesota COVID fraud scandal, including Feeding Our Future, received SBA PPP loans in addition to other state and federal funding,” Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler announced on X. “I have ordered an investigation into the network of Somali organizations and executives implicated in these schemes.” ‘DOGE’ SENATOR SEEKS TO ENSURE FEDS CAN CONTINUE PURSUING COVID FRAUDSTERS, DEBTORS, AS IG SOUNDS ALARM She added: “Despite Governor Walz’s best efforts to obstruct, SBA continues to work to expose abuse and hold perpetrators accountable, full stop.” An SBA spokesperson confirmed the probe to Fox News Digital, saying the agency is “investigating all individuals and organizations indicted as part of the $1 billion Minnesota COVID fraud scheme to identify any that may have also fraudulently obtained PPP loans – evaluating their citizenship status, the legitimacy of their nonprofit work, and other requirements for eligibility.” “The agency will provide additional details as the scope of fraud across these Somali networks are uncovered – and remains committed to clawing back all funding that was illegally obtained on behalf of American taxpayers,” SBA spokesperson Maggie Clemmons said. GOP LEADERSHIP UNLEASHES FURY ON DEM GOVERNOR AHEAD OF BLOCKBUSTER CONGRESSIONAL HEARING President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the Somali community in Minnesota was “garbage,” eliciting sharp responses from local officials including Minneapolis Councilman Jamal Osman – who claimed that “everyone knows that our president is racist, xenophobic and Islamophobic.” Walz did not reply to a Fox News Digital request for comment about Loeffler’s announcement. Previously, the governor said he would “welcome” a Treasury Department probe into whether his administration enabled millions of taxpayer dollars to reach Somali terror group Al Shabaab. “If they want to help us, I welcome that,” Walz said. “Do an investigation, find out. But I don’t think anybody really believes their motive or timing is about actually doing something about this.” SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS AFTER FAR-LEFT MAYOR GIVES VICTORY SPEECH IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE: ‘HUMILIATING’ A separate report from City Journal, which also broke the Walz story, noted a 2015 study by a House Homeland Security Committee task force found more foreign-fighter terrorism-related travelers came from the Land of 10,000 Lakes than any other state. Of those charged with seeking to join ISIS at the time, the outlet reported that they were “sophisticated users of social-welfare benefits.” Two suspects had allegedly used federal financial aid to pay for their travel as they were preparing to depart Howard Beach, N.Y., for Syria. HOUSE GOP DEMANDS ANSWERS ON BILLIONS IN MEDICAID COSTS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Minnesota, however, is far from the only state with PPP troubles. Federal authorities in 2020 arrested a group of New York nail salon owners near JFK Airport in a scheme that allegedly combined smuggling Vietnamese immigrants for low-wage labor with misappropriating COVID-19 relief funds, according to the New York Post. Dat Ho, Peter Nguyen and Victoria Ho were charged with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud after allegedly inflating payroll to secure $13 million in PPP loans, according to the New York Post. BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION FAILED TO RECOUP $200B IN FRAUDULENT COVID LOANS, HOUSE COMMITTEE SAYS In May, an Iowa man – who was alleged to be a former Cuban military officer who entered the U.S. 20 years ago by crossing the border after a denied visa application – was arrested as a figurehead of an Iowa COVID-benefit fraud ring, according to an indictment statement from the Justice Department. Yovany Ciero of Mason City was convicted on dozens of counts, including wire fraud, money laundering and engaging in a monetary transaction in property derived from a specified unlawful activity. Prosecutors said Ciero and co-schemers stole an estimated $2.4 million, which entailed more than 100 Cuban immigrants who obtained PPP loans under false pretenses as “self-employed businesspeople” while they worked at the same meatpacking plant. Authorities say Ciero recruited people for the scheme, and then passed that information to others who submitted the fraudulent loan applications to the feds. He faces up to life imprisonment, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa.
Major county sheriff rejects ICE detainer on illegal immigrant who allegedly killed young boy in hit-and-run
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office rejected an immigration detainer by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on a criminal illegal immigrant allegedly responsible for a felony hit-and-run that resulted in the death of an 11-year-old boy Thanksgiving morning. In a statement Dec. 2, the Department of Homeland Security said it had filed a detainer request for Mexican illegal Hector Balderas-Aheelor, after his arrest for a felony hit-and-run that killed 11-year-old Aiden Antonio Torres De Paz. A spokesperson for the San Diego Sheriff’s Office told Fox News Digital it received the detainer request for Balderas-Aheelor, also known as Hector Amador Balderas, on Nov. 29. The spokesperson said, in accordance with California law, “a review of the criminal history was conducted, and the Immigration Detainer was rejected.” It added that the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office “complies with the California Values Act” and directed Fox News Digital to an information page on the law that said, “The Sheriff’s Office does not hold individuals based on federal detainer warrants.” NEWSOM’S OFFICE REVEALS BLUE STATE WILL COMPLY WITH ICE AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT’S EARLY RELEASE PLANS EXPOSED ABC San Diego reported that Balderas-Aheelor was arrested Saturday in the death of Torres De Paz in Escondido. The outlet said the child had run into the street to retrieve a soccer ball when he was hit, and the driver sped off. Torres De Paz died in the hospital from his injuries on Thanksgiving Day. Balderas-Aheelor was previously removed from the United States four times, according to DHS. Commenting on the case, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, “Thanksgiving should be a day of celebrating family and giving gratitude, but instead the family of Aiden Antonio Torres De Paz mourned this beautiful child’s death because a criminal illegal alien stole his life. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKER ACCUSED IN FATAL CALIFORNIA CRASH RELEASED BY BIDEN ADMIN AFTER 2022 BORDER CROSSING “Hector Balderas-Aheelor was previously removed FOUR times before he chose to commit a felony and illegally reenter the country a fifth time,” she continued. “Now, sanctuary laws threaten to put this killer back onto California’s streets.” McLaughlin called on California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom “to do the right thing and honor ICE’s arrest detainer.” In response, Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for Newsom, told Fox News Digital “nothing prohibits the federal government from doing its job in this case,” and “this driver needs to be held responsible for the tragic hit-and-run.” CHICAGO SUBURB SLAMMED FOR REHIRING POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED BY ICE: ‘CRAZY AS HELL’ “Unlawfully returning to the United States after deportation is a federal criminal offense and California honors federal criminal warrants,” Crofts-Pelayo added. “The federal government admits a failure to apprehend the suspect when he unlawfully entered the U.S. California law does not prevent them from acting now.”
House Republicans split over whether Trump should pursue regime change in Venezuela
Republicans diverged on Tuesday when asked if the Trump administration should push for regime change in Venezuela. Despite hopes of a new direction for Venezuela, lawmakers who spoke to Fox News Digital on Tuesday were split on whether the United States should support a regime change in Caracas. Many expressed fears about repeating mistakes of the past, like toppling regimes in the Middle East, while others emphasized a need to remove a security threat in the United States’ backyard. “Yes. Maduro is an illegitimate ruler and extremely dangerous for the Western Hemisphere,” Rep. Michael Baumgardner, R-Wash., said, referring to Venezuelan President Nicholás Maduro. “Having a government we could partner with there would be in America’s national security interests.” TRUMP PUSHES PEACE IN EUROPE, PRESSURE IN THE AMERICAS — INSIDE THE TWO-FRONT GAMBLE Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., who agrees with Baumgardner, also framed his stance as a matter of national security. “If you look at who Maduro is tied to, he’s tied to Iran, China and Russia. Those are not our friends. We know they’re not going to do anything to help us. I think President Trump understands there’s an opportunity here,” Moore said. But not all Republicans agree with Moore and Baumgardner. “Looking back at our history, it isn’t something that hasn’t played out,” Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, said. “Peace through strength and strong deterrents against a horrific regime is the best approach, but going in and making it happen on our own? We’re still dealing with the effects of Iran, right?” Moore, who serves as the House GOP Conference vice chair, said he hopes Venezuela manages to enact political change but expressed pessimism in the current environment. FORMER MISS VENEZUELA BLAMES ‘SOCIALISM AND OPEN BORDERS’ FOR HER COUNTRY’S DEVASTATING COLLAPSE “I am very hopeful that the Maduro regime will be changed. Problem is, they don’t have the ability for free [and] fair elections to be able to make that happen. And that’s a big concern for me,” Moore said. Maduro, the former vice president of Venezuela, first assumed power when the country’s last president, Hugo Chavez, died in 2013. He has held onto power despite widespread criticisms of his leadership, public unrest and disputed election results. Most recently, María Corina Machado, the clear public favorite for office, fled the country in 2025 after receiving international recognition for having won the Venezuelan presidential election. She received this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for her resistance to Maduro. Despite the country’s political tensions, other lawmakers like Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., agreed with Moore’s hesitations about direct intervention. “My view is that we should not have regime change as a defined goal,” Burlison said. “We’ve seen that story — how it plays out. We don’t want to be spending a lot of money, time and lives in Venezuela.” TOP DEMOCRAT BACKS US INTEL ON NARCO-TRAFFICKING STRIKES, FAULTS BIDEN FOR ‘NOT GOING FAR ENOUGH’ ON MADURO Burlison hopes that the country could self-correct and said that the U.S. does have a role in destroying the influence of bad actors in the country, like drug smugglers. “We need to cut off the power from these drug cartels, seize the drugs, do what we can to reduce their power and then [Venezuela] will probably have a natural regime change because you will remove a lot of the corrupt actors that are propping up a politically corrupt system,” he said.
Jack Smith subpoenaed for deposition with House Judiciary Committee
FIRST ON FOX: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, subpoenaed former special counsel Jack Smith on Wednesday for a deposition, escalating Republicans’ investigation into one of President Donald Trump’s top political foes. Jordan directed Smith to appear before the committee on Dec. 17, according to a copy of the subpoena reviewed by Fox News Digital. “Due to your service as Special Counsel, the Committee believes that you possess information that is vital to its oversight of this matter,” Jordan wrote in a letter accompanying his request. The forthcoming deposition, which is set to take place behind closed doors, comes as House and Senate Republicans have zeroed in on Smith’s election-related investigation of Trump, describing it as a scandal that unnecessarily swept up hundreds of Republican lawmakers, GOP entities, Trump allies and media outlets as part of the probe. Smith has repeatedly stood by his work as special counsel, which eventually involved bringing two sets of criminal charges against Trump over the 2020 election and over alleged retention of classified documents. Smith dropped both cases after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a Department of Justice policy that discourages prosecuting sitting presidents. Smith has already offered to publicly testify before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, but a source familiar with Jordan’s request said a deposition is the chairman’s preferred format because each party on the committee can question Smith for an hour at a time and build a better record. In a public hearing, lawmakers typically question a witness in five-minute intervals. Jordan’s subpoena also included a sweeping demand for all documents and communications related to Smith’s time as special counsel, a request that comes after the DOJ told Smith’s lawyers in a letter on Nov. 12, reviewed by Fox News Digital, that it would make a “unique” accommodation to Congress by authorizing Smith to “provide unrestricted testimony to the Committee, irrespective of potential privilege.” Fox News Digital reached out to a Smith representative and committee Democrats for comment. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Democrats’ surge in Tennessee throws new uncertainty onto GOP’s 2026 House map
The results from the hotly contested special election in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District are in, handing a decisive victory to Republicans. But both Republicans and Democrats are drawing political ammunition from the outcome. President Donald Trump proclaimed it was a “great night for the Republican Party!!!” after GOP nominee Matt Van Epps defeated Democratic rival Aftyn Behn in the high-stakes race to succeed former GOP Rep. Mark Green, who resigned from office in June to take a private sector job. But Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin, pointing to Van Epps’ roughly 9-point margin in a solidly-red district Trump carried by 22 points a year ago, argued that “Democrats are on offense and Republicans are on the ropes.” With the GOP clinging to a razor-thin majority in the House, the special election was seen as a must-win for Republicans. And now, both parties are drawing conclusions on what the results mean for next year’s midterm elections, when the House majority is up for grabs. TRUMP-BACKED REPUBLICAN KEEPS CRUCIAL CONGRESSIONAL SEAT IN GOP HANDS And there’s a divide among Democrats, with moderates questioning whether Behn, who was dubbed the “AOC of Tennessee” in a comparison to progressive champion Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., was too far to the left for the district — which is located in central and western Tennessee, stretching from Kentucky to Alabama, and including parts of Nashville. With so much on the line, outside groups aligned with both parties shelled out millions of dollars to run ads in the race. And the DNC and the rival Republican National Committee (RNC) each poured resources into the showdown, which included dispatching staffers onto the campaign trail. DECISION DAY: TRUMP, SPEAKER JOHNSON, AOC BLITZ CAMPAIGN TRAIL ON EVE OF KEY SHOWDOWN House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spent the entire day on election eve with Van Epps, joining the GOP nominee at a slew of rallies and stops across the district. He was joined by RNC Chair Joe Gruters. Van Epps, a military combat veteran who piloted helicopters and former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services, said in his victory speech that his win “represented a defining moment for Tennessee and for the direction of the country.” And Van Epps told Fox News Digital that his win was “a resounding victory.” Trump, whose endorsement of Van Epps helped the candidate win the GOP nomination in a competitive primary last month, described Tuesday’s victory as a “BIG Congressional WIN.” Van Epps told supporters at his Election Night watch party that “we are grateful to the President for his unwavering support that charted this movement and catapulted us to victory. President Trump was all-in with us. That made the difference.” While falling short of flipping the seat, which would have been catastrophic for the GOP, Democrats see a silver lining. WATCH: WHAT AFTYN BEHN TOLD FOX NEWS DIGITAL ON ELECTION EVE “Aftyn Behn’s overperformance in this Trump +22 district is historic and a flashing warning sign for Republicans heading into the midterms,” Martin argued. “The fact that Republicans spent millions to protect this Trump +22 district and still lost so much ground should have the GOP shaking in their boots. Democrats are all gas and no brakes as we head into next year, organizing everywhere and competing in elections across the country.” And Behn, a state representative and former healthcare community organizer, told Fox News Digital on Election Day that “what starts here changes this country.” Asked if she would be a winner even without winning the election, she said, “For me, we’ve already won over the hearts and minds of so many Tennesseans and across the country.” But Republicans dispute the Democrats’ narrative. “Special elections are strange because a lot of people take for granted in a deep red district like this that the Republican is just going to win automatically. Nothing’s automatic,” Johnson told Fox News Digital at a Van Epps rally on the eve of the election. Johnson pointed to Rep. Ron Estes of Kansas, who narrowly won a special election in 2017, just five months after Trump carried the district by nearly 30 points in his 2016 White House victory. Estes went on to win re-election in the 2018 midterms by 19 points. A few months after Estes’ victory, Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina won a 2017 special election by 3 points in a district Trump carried by 17 points the previous November. But Norman went on to win re-election in the ensuing midterms by 16 points. Johnson, aiming to motivate low-propensity Trump supporters, who often don’t vote when the president’s not on the ballot, emphasized that “we need everybody to turn out.” Turnout in special elections is often low, but that wasn’t the case on Tuesday. According to unofficial results, roughly 180,000 votes were cast, close to the turnout in the district in the 2022 midterms, when Green won re-election by over 20 points. DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS, GO ALL IN ON FINAL 2025 CONGRESSIONAL BALLOT BOX SHOWDOWN While Democrats are confident that the results in Tennessee, along with their decisive victories last month in the 2025 elections, are a sign of things to come in the 2026 midterms, Johnson told Fox News’ Chad Pergram on Wednesday that “we have a great record to run on in ’26. And I’m very bullish about the midterms. I’m convinced we’re going to defy history and grow this majority.” While Behn was laser focused on the issues of affordability and healthcare during her campaign, Republicans blasted her as a “radical” and highlighted past controversial comments she made. “She does not represent the values of Tennessee or of America. She is as far left as you can get. She’s a radical,” Van Epps claimed in a Fox News Digital interview. Johnson argued on Monday that Behn was a “radical” and “a dangerous far leftist. And she will be a rubber stamp for Hakeem Jeffries and AOC and all the radicals in Congress.” Simon Bazelon of the Welcome PAC, a Democrat-aligned
FBI probes possible ties of National Guard shooter to shadowy sect, a ‘catalyst’ for jihad
Late last month, when former Afghan commando fighter Rahmanullah Lakanwal vanished without warning from his home in Bellingham, Wash., his wife, Khamila, called his phone, trying to learn where he had gone, according to people familiar with the matter. “Where are you?” she asked in one call, speaking in their native language of Pashto, according to people briefed on the communications. He told her, “I’m busy with some friends.” Hours later, she called again. This time, he allegedly answered differently. FOUR YEARS AFTER ABBEY GATE, VETERANS WHO SAVED CIVILIANS DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY “I’m with Tablighis.” He continued, “I’m doing Tabligh,” according to sources. To his wife, the word “Tablighi” had immediate meaning, family contacts said, setting off alarm bells that she shared with Lakanwal’s older brother, Ismail Khosti. In Afghanistan, surnames may vary among family members as they choose different tribal or geographical affiliations. The family is from Lakan district in Khost province. Tablighi is an Arabic word that means to “inform” or “convey” and it refers today to Tablighi Jamaat, a global Islamic missionary movement established in 1926 in British India as a revivalist wing of the strict Deobandi religious school of thought that today fuels the tyrannical interpretation of Islam practiced by the Afghan Taliban and Pakistani militant groups. Much like its sister group, the Muslim Brotherhood, established in 1928, and other Muslim groups preaching the extremist Wahhabi and Salafi interpretations of Islam, counterterrorism experts say it acts like a conveyor belt to extremism. Based in Pakistan and India, Tablighi Jamaat’s influence is transnational, with networks operating in mosques and informal religious circles in at least 150 countries, including the U.S. It denounces terrorism publicly, but a report, “Tablighi Jamaat and Its Role in the Global Jihad,” by Brussels-based think tank the South Asia Democratic Forum warned the group serves as a “catalyst, gateway, springboard or antechamber” for Islamic radicalization. Several Muslim nations, including Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Iran, have banned Tabligi Jamaat, along with Russia, which disbanded a terror cell in 2020. In 2021, Saudi Arabia called the group a “danger to society.” In the U.S., its missionaries operate freely. Fox New Digital has learned that Lakanwal’s brother has shared details from the phone calls, previously unreported, with FBI agents. Now, FBI and Department of Homeland Security investigators are scouring the country to see if anyone tied to the Tablighi Jamaat network radicalized Lakanwal, facilitated his cross-country trip or offered assistance, encouragement or financial support for his Thanksgiving eve ambush of West Virginia National Guard service members Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, as they quietly patrolled 17th Street NW, near the White House. Beckstrom died from her injuries. Wolfe remains critically injured. TRUMP ADMIN ‘ACTIVELY RE-EXAMINING ALL OF THE AFGHANS IMPORTED INTO THE COUNTRY’ FOLLOWING DC SHOOTING On Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem hinted at this new information, saying on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” “We believe he was radicalized since he’s been here in this country. We do believe it was through connections in his home community and state.” Amid reports that Lakanwal was isolated, depressed and psychologically distressed, counterterrorism experts said the new details add a critical dimension to the investigation, noting that untreated trauma, isolation and grievances can create psychological conditions for extremist ideology to gain a foothold, creating “wound collectors,” a term that retired FBI special agent Joe Navarro coined to describe extremists, from Usama bin Laden to “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, who use perceived injustices to justify violence with “no statute of limitations on their suffering.” While Tablighi Jamaat’s leaders say their movement is apolitical, focused on dawah, an Arabic word for evangelizing or proselytizing, counterterrorism experts have said the movement’s insular missionary culture has appeared along the early radicalization paths of some extremists, including “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh, a convert to Islam who attended Tablighi Jamaat retreats in northern California in the 1990s, including at the Santa Clara County fairgrounds. After U.S. forces dropped bombs in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks, CIA paramilitary officers captured Lindh in a prison near Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, among imprisoned Taliban militants who revolted, overpowering guards and killing CIA paramilitary officer Mike Spann, the first U.S. casualty of the war. Convicted in 2002 for serving as a soldier for the Taliban, Lindh was freed from jail in 2019 and is free on probation in the U.S. today, tracked by the FBI. While the Trump administration issued an executive order last month to designate some of Muslim Brotherhood’s chapters as terrorist organizations, Tabligi Jamaat hasn’t been on its radar for action. ALLEGED DC SHOOTER ENTERED US UNDER AFGHAN RESETTLEMENT PUSH MAYORKAS VOWED WOULD BE DONE ‘SWIFTLY AND SAFELY’ Ironically, Deobandi Islam is the religious ideology of the Taliban fighters that Lakanwal and his brother battled for years as members of the “Zero Units,” covert forces within the Afghanistan’s intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security, funded, trained and supported by the CIA’s secret “Special Activities Division” to fight the Taliban. While these Afghan fighters battled extremist interpretations of Islam in Afghanistan over the past 24 years, following the 9/11 attacks, counterterrorism experts note that organizations and mosques established by followers of the Muslim Brotherhood and Tablighi Jamaat have spread worldwide. Tablighi Jamaat representatives in Pakistan and India didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment. The irony is not lost on Lakanwal’s brother, Khosti, a former company commander in NDS-03, known as the Kandahar Strike Force, where his brother worked as a paramilitary officer, former colleagues said. Over the past several days, he has told former Afghan military and intelligence veterans that he is “ashamed” of his brother’s murderous rampage and he wants the full truth to emerge of how he ended up on 17th Street NW, turning his weapon on the very troops he had spent years protecting. Literally translated, Lakanwal’s brother said, “This was a wrong action,” using the Pashto word ghalat to describe something that is wrong to do. He told his former colleagues, “I am ashamed of this action,” using the word
DHS launches new immigration crackdown operation in New Orleans
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched its newest immigration crackdown operation in New Orleans aimed at capturing “criminal illegal aliens.” In its announcement of Operation Catahoula Crunch, DHS said the federal crackdown was targeting illegal immigrants who were arrested for crimes and then subsequently released due to sanctuary policies. The department said that such polices “force” local law enforcement to “ignore” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest detainers. “Sanctuary policies endanger American communities by releasing illegal criminal aliens and forcing DHS law enforcement to risk their lives to remove criminal illegal aliens that should have never been put back on the streets,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “It is asinine that these monsters were released back onto New Orleans streets to COMMIT MORE CRIMES and create more victims. Catahoula Crunch targets include violent criminals who were released after arrest for home invasion, armed robbery, grand theft auto, and rape,” she said. “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are restoring law and order for the American people.” ICE NABS CHILD RAPISTS, GUN-TOTING ROBBERS AS ASSAULTS ON OFFICERS RISE 1,153% In its announcement, DHS included several examples of illegal immigrants who were released from custody despite their criminal records. Those on the list were arrested for crimes such as aggravated assault with a firearm, domestic abuse, driving under the influence, home invasion and sexual battery, among others. New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick sparked backlash last week after saying that illegal immigration by foreign nationals in the U.S. is a “civil issue” and that her agency would not enforce certain immigration laws. “We will not enforce civil law, and so our support is to make sure they’re not going to get hurt and our community is not in danger,” Kirkpatrick said. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said on social media that she spoke with Kirkpatrick about the remarks and reaffirmed that “it is a state crime to obstruct ICE and federal immigration enforcement.” ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ALLEGEDLY DRIVING DRUNK AT EXTREME SPEED KILLED WOMAN IN VIOLENT CRASH: DHS The Trump administration has put an emphasis on its crackdown on illegal immigration, with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem accusing the Biden administration of using DHS to “invade the country with terrorists.” “If you think about what Joe Biden did with the Department of Homeland Security, he used this department to invade the country with terrorists. He opened up the borders, let anybody come in that wanted to,” Noem said at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. “He put ’em on airplanes, he let them through our airports, where if they could figure out a way to get to our shores and in our country, he just opened the door and invited them in. So, it’s our job to get ’em out.” On Tuesday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released new guidance pausing immigration from 19 countries, 12 of which were on full travel bans while the other seven were under partial restrictions. The impacted nations are Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. The immigration pause, which is effective immediately, applies to nationals from the 19 listed nations who entered the U.S. on or after Jan. 20, 2021, the date of former President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Migrants from one of the 19 countries who came into the U.S. after that date will be subjected to a re-review process that could include an interview to screen for all possible national security and public safety risks. It also impacts all green card and citizenship applications for anyone hailing from one of the now-restricted countries. Individuals from one of the 19 nations who have already passed the citizenship test will not be able to have U.S. citizenship ceremonies until after the guidance is lifted. Fox News’ Bill Melugin and Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.