Vance-led task force set to unveil charges against 40-plus defendants in alleged $40M SNAP fraud
FIRST ON FOX: Vice President JD Vance will announce today that the federal anti-fraud task force he leads has identified $40 million in welfare fraud and more than 40 suspects behind the alleged schemes. A source familiar with the charges told Fox News Digital that Vance will reveal criminal charges as part of the administration’s continued crackdown on rampant fraud across the country. The latest discovery brings the amount of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fraud Vance’s team has uncovered to $641 million. More than 1,000 retailers have been banned from the program for violations including criminal trafficking of benefits, while nearly 5,000 others have been suspended and fined a combined $44 million for administrative violations. FBI RETURNS ‘MOST WANTED’ FRAUDSTER TO US AFTER INDIA ARREST IN ALLEGED $600K SNAP FOOD STAMP SCHEME The administration has destroyed more than 2,200 illegal point-of-sale devices and disabled more than 2,000 compromised retailer authorization numbers. Officials estimate those actions have prevented more than $5 billion in potential fraudulent transactions, according to the source. SNAP is a federally funded food assistance program that helps eligible low-income households buy groceries. Benefits are loaded monthly onto an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card, which recipients can use at authorized retailers to purchase qualifying food. WHITE HOUSE LAUNCHES INTERACTIVE MAP TRACKING BILLIONS IN SUSPECTED FRAUD Criminal charges brought against the defendants, however, do not guarantee the government can recover the funds. During a Fox News Digital exclusive interview in August, Vance said that recouping the money presents yet another challenge, since much of it has already been spent. “Getting money back is very hard,” Vance said. “Once it’s gone out the door, it’s very hard to get it back.” “What we’ve done most effectively is actually just stop the money from going out the door in the first place, because that’s the only real way to ensure the American people don’t lose it.” WHITE HOUSE PUSHES ‘WATERSHED’ FRAUD-FIGHTING REFORM IN CONGRESS AS VANCE CONVENES TASK FORCE The task force has reported $260.7 billion in fraud uncovered since Trump took office, and $72 billion in fraud stopped on an annualized basis. The news comes just a day after Vance and independent journalist Nick Shirley joined President Donald Trump in the Oval Office to announce the administration will be offering Americans, including journalists, cash rewards for tips that help bring fraudsters to justice. TRUMP’S WAR ON FRAUD EXPANDS AS TREASURY LAUNCHES NEW SITE WITH WHISTLEBLOWER INCENTIVES Trump unveiled the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program and said qualifying tipsters would receive a 1% commission, subject to applicable laws and rules. “If you turn somebody in and you, let’s say report, and you find $1 billion, we are giving a commission to that person of 1%,” Trump said. At the end of last year, reports and social media coverage by Shirley exposed a network of daycare centers, like the “Quality Learing (sic) Center,” that were allegedly fraudulent and operated mostly by Somali immigrants. The reports sparked swift action from the administration, and former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem deployed DHS and ICE agents to the streets of Minneapolis to catch and deport Somali immigrants in the country illegally. The deployment sparked a clash between local residents and federal agents that exploded into violent riots across the Twin Cities. Trump has previously praised Shirley’s work, telling him: “He’s done an amazing job.”
How Saudi Arabia’s defense vulnerabilities could become Trump’s problem amid Houthi onslaught
Saudi Arabia is turning to foreign allies to fend off Houthi missiles and drones, exposing a military vulnerability that could soon become President Donald Trump’s problem. Britain announced Tuesday it would send Typhoon fighter jets to defend Saudi cities and critical infrastructure. Egypt is already assisting the kingdom and Israel has offered to step in to help. Riyadh, meanwhile, is asking Washington for more interceptors, and Trump is weighing whether the U.S. should intervene and strike the Iran-backed Houthis directly. The reinforcements could help shield Saudi cities and critical infrastructure. They do little, however, to eliminate the Houthi launchers and weapons threatening them from Yemen. SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTER WARNS HOUTHI THREAT GOES GLOBAL AS TRUMP HOLDS FIRE “The theme right now, I think, is defensive or defensive-minded,” Jason Campbell, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital. The question, he said, is whether that evolves into something “more offensive or kinetic.” The Houthis have already demonstrated their ability to punch through Saudi defenses. Their strikes and attempted strikes on the kingdom more than doubled in a single week this month, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, with airports in Riyadh, Jizan, Najran, Dammam and Abha targeted since Oct. 5. SAUDI ARABIA ON EDGE: ICONIC KINGDOM CENTRE SENDS WORKERS HOME AMID HOUTHI ATTACKS The most devastating barrage struck King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 300. Other attacks have targeted Saudi energy infrastructure, turning the Houthi campaign into a threat not only to the kingdom’s security but also to the economic stability Riyadh has spent years trying to project. Saudi Arabia has spent decades building one of the region’s most sophisticated militaries. Riyadh spent an estimated $83.2 billion on defense last year, making it the eighth-largest military spender in the world, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Its arsenal includes U.S.-made F-15 fighter jets, Patriot missile defenses and advanced radar systems. Yet the Houthis are exploiting a mismatch between the defenses Saudi Arabia and its partners spent years building and the weapons now coming at them. Campbell said the U.S. and its regional partners had been comparatively well-prepared to confront the higher end of Iran’s arsenal, including ballistic missiles and other advanced weapons. PENTAGON RACES TO BUY 10X MORE MISSILES AS IRAN WAR DWINDLES ARSENAL, THREATENS READINESS FOR CHINA AGGRESSION “What the region was decidedly less prepared for was an array of lower end of the spectrum … threats posed by Iran and now the Houthis,” Campbell said. The volume is part of the problem. Campbell said Saudi Arabia and other U.S. partners have burned through significant numbers of high-end interceptors against ballistic missiles and other threats, while lower-flying weapons can also challenge radar and early-warning systems that were not necessarily designed or calibrated to detect them. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that Riyadh is competing with allies around the world — and the U.S. military itself — for a limited supply of the interceptors needed to defend against missile attacks. “I also talked to Saudi Arabia today; they’d like interceptors. Israel would like interceptors. We would like interceptors. Every country in the world would like interceptors,” Rubio said, calling them “probably the most in-demand product right now in the defense field.” The U.S. cannot meet every request, Rubio acknowledged. American forces must maintain minimum air-defense requirements at bases around the world, while the sophisticated interceptors are expensive and take time to manufacture even as production increases. “We have our own needs too,” Rubio said. Saudi Arabia’s sheer size compounds the challenge. The kingdom stretches across more than 800,000 square miles, leaving cities, airports, oil facilities and military installations spread across a vast territory. “Saudi Arabia is a huge geography to protect, and this speaks to a larger threat we’re facing globally: a relatively small nonstate actor can pose a serious challenge to even a sophisticated and extremely expensive military,” Farea Al-Muslimi, a research fellow at Chatham House, told Fox News Digital. “The Houthis can impose enormous costs without having to spend very much themselves.” That imbalance helps explain why Saudi Arabia is increasingly looking beyond its own military for protection. But outside assistance may have limits. “Many years later, everyone is realizing that the Houthis are not just Saudi Arabia’s problem, but everyone’s problem — whether that’s Turkey, Egypt, France, the UK or others,” Al-Muslimi said. “But I don’t think this outside support will make a significant military difference unless the U.S. is directly involved.” That leaves Trump facing a potentially consequential decision: whether to continue helping Saudi Arabia defend against incoming attacks or go further and target the Houthis directly. Trump has kept direct U.S. military action on the table. Asked earlier this month whether the U.S. could join Saudi strikes against the Houthis, he said, “We may. We’re gonna look at it.” “We’ll make a decision,” Trump said. “We move very quickly.” But direct U.S. intervention would not be without precedent — or questions about what another bombing campaign could accomplish. Operation Rough Rider targeted Houthi positions across Yemen for roughly two months in 2025 before Trump halted the operation after Oman brokered an agreement with the group. “We’ve already seen the U.S. conduct a 60-day bombing campaign of Houthi strongholds in Yemen with limited, if any, real strategic benefits,” Campbell said. A new campaign would also compete for U.S. military resources amid the war with Iran. Campbell said taking on the Houthis would require clearer objectives and likely contributions from a broader coalition. Israel has also offered to help defend Saudi Arabia, an offer Trump has publicly encouraged Riyadh to accept. But bringing Israel openly into the fight could create a different problem for the kingdom. “If I were Saudi, I would never accept help like that,” Al-Muslimi said. “The optics are enormously difficult. Saudi Arabia is the custodian of the two holiest mosques in Islam, and appearing alongside Netanyahu to fight another Yemeni group would
University president sounds alarm as nearly half of students justify violence to stop ‘hate speech’
A new survey found that close to half of undergraduate students surveyed believe physical violence can be justified to stop “hate speech,” as one university president warns that higher education has “lost its way.” In the Buckley Institute’s 2026 National Undergraduate Student Survey, 45% of students said violence can be justified to stop what they deem to be hate speech. This includes 54% of liberals, 36% of moderates and 30% of conservatives. The study also found that 46% of students support shout downs and 40% believe that offensive speech should be subject to criminal prosecution. Additionally, 42% said they would rather live under a socialist system, compared with 28% who chose a capitalist system, and 22% said the U.S. deserved the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Cornerstone University President Dr. Gerson Moreno-Riaño characterized the findings as more of a “moral formation issue” than a matter of free speech, warning that students have developed a “violent entitlement.” CONFIDENCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION SLIPS AFTER BRIEF RECOVERY, GALLUP POLL FINDS “American colleges and universities for a long time now have really ceased to form students morally and are teaching resentment, teaching grievance politics, teaching violent entitlement,” he told Fox News Digital. “So, when graduates leave these universities, they leave with that. They’re not leaving with a moral formation of their hearts, their minds, their lives. They’re leaving with resentment.” Moreno-Riaño said that entitlement and resentment are among the reasons why many employers are concerned about the value of a degree. “It’s not just what some will say are worthless degrees. It’s also what’s behind the degree. Individuals who have been taught to resent, not to reason, not to deliberate, not to have deep conversations with those with whom they disagree,” he said. “Rather, it’s grievance, anger, violence, entitlement, and then violent action against it. And that to me is a significant problem. Again, not a free speech issue. It’s really about how moral education in higher ed has lost its way. We’re training people to be grieved, angry, entitled, violent. And that does not bode well for our democracy and our republic,” he continued. Moreno-Riaño, who has led the private Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan, since 2021, emphasized that higher ed has “lost its way” in the U.S. for decades and has become “godless.” “When there is no moral compass in higher ed, there’s a vacuum, and what fills it? Ideologies, communism, socialism, grievance, culture. That’s what’s happened, and it’s been happening for years,” he said. “Not only that, there’s an anti-history bent in higher ed. When you think about today’s young students not really knowing the evils of communism, the evils of socialism and believing it’s inspirational, that demonstrates just the moral bankruptcy, but also the academic bankruptcy of these institutions.” Moreno-Riaño argued that some employers may increasingly question the value of hiring college graduates and instead consider training workers directly out of high school. Moreno-Riaño argued that employers are increasingly concerned about “worthless degrees” that do not prepare the workforce to tackle complicated problems, as well as the ideological bent of many recent college graduates. He warned that many colleges and universities are preparing “socialists and Marxists” who want entitlement and to “destroy the system” rather than “build it, make it, refine it and improve it.” “I think what’s happening is that employers are seeing this and many employers are saying, maybe we should train our own people, or maybe we should go into the high schools directly and educate the future at the high school level and forget colleges altogether, because colleges are morally bankrupting our future,” Moreno-Riaño said. FOX NEWS POLL: FAITH IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE US IS COLLAPSING “I think that’s what’s happening. And if you combine that with artificial intelligence, you have sharp minds without a moral compass. That’s a very dangerous thing because a sharp mind without a moral compass is a weapon looking for a target,” he continued. “For a democracy, we need individuals who can reason, who can deliberate, who can speak with those with whom they disagree and not seek violent action against them, but think deeply about what they’re saying, reconsider positions, pursue what is good and with courage. If we don’t do that, then we’re in trouble. And I think the workplace and employers are seeing that and want to shift that in a different direction,” he added. Moreno-Riaño stressed that American higher education “has to shift,” saying it needs to “take moral formation seriously and not be grounded in entitlement and grievance culture.” The Buckley Institute survey, conducted by Inquire LLC, included 803 full-time undergraduate students under age 25 attending four-year public or private colleges and universities. Respondents completed the online survey between Sept. 5 and Sept. 14.
Judge Trump called a ‘lunatic’ abruptly backs off demand after showdown with DOJ No. 3
A Biden-appointed judge embroiled in a fierce dispute with the Trump administration over the removal of hundreds of trees at a federally owned D. C. golf course reversed course during Monday’s nearly seven-hour hearing. Judge Ana Reyes ended the nearly seven-hour hearing by backing away from her initial demand that Justice Department attorneys arguing the case put their names alongside Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr.’s Sunday filing. Reyes had invoked Rule 11, which requires attorneys to stand behind the factual basis of court filings and can subject them to sanctions for violations. “Late breaking news,” Reyes said. “I’m going to withdraw request that DOJ refile yesterday’s brief with identification of who signed it. we’ve all got better things to spend our time on.” The about-face from Reyes, who hours before the hearing was dubbed a “crazed lunatic” by President Donald Trump on Truth Social, is the latest development in a court battle over Trump’s plans to completely renovate East Potomac Golf Links into a “world-class, U.S. Open-caliber course.” The lawsuit, which was first filed in February, reached a boiling point earlier this month when the National Park Service removed roughly 430 trees at the golf course over a weekend. The Interior Department said the tree removals were part of a years-old plan to restore the course’s historic design and were unrelated to Trump’s proposed overhaul. BIDEN JUDGE REJECTS OBAMA CIA CHIEF’S LEGAL BID AGAINST TRUMP OVER ONE KEY PROBLEM Though the action did not violate a court order, it prompted Reyes to impose a temporary restraining order barring further tree removals. She also was described as “screaming” at the administration attorneys during an Oct. 12 hearing. The hearing prompted Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward to seek Reyes’ removal from the case, accusing her of bias and “open hostility” toward the Trump administration. Both Woodward and Trump have called for the release of the court’s audio recordings of the hearings. “The judge on the case is a crazed lunatic whose courthouse tapes will reveal, may be insane? The tapes have been blocked from usage by the judge,” Trump posted Monday hours before the hearing, saying the Trump administration has a “right” to turn the course into a “great, safe, and prestigious” golf course. “Work is scheduled to begin IMMEDIATELY! The finished product will be World Class, and bring income and great prestige back to D.C.” Trump made two other tweets Sunday saying that Interior Department Secretary Doug Burgum and architect Tom Fazio had “developed a plan” to revamp the East Potomac Golf Links into a “World Class Championship Golf Course” and that work would begin November 15. The tweets prompted Reyes to give the Justice Department an 8 p.m. filing deadline, saying Trump’s characterization conflicted with a previous filing that stated there was “no agency action” in Trump’s golf course plan. The filing was signed only by Woodward, which immediately became a point of contention at the start of Monday’s hearing. LIBERAL LAW PROFESSOR BREAKS WITH OBAMA JUDGE OVER TRUMP LAWYER CRACKDOWN: ‘I REFUSE TO TEACH’ IT Reyes demanded that the attorneys “raise your hand” if they would sign the briefing, which Woodward said was “not an appropriate request.” She then invoked Rule 11 and ordered them to the podium to sign the filing. But Woodward and the attorneys refused. Reyes initially set a 3 p.m. deadline but later extended it until noon Tuesday and offered to allow the attorneys’ names to appear on the brief rather than requiring their signatures. In the end, she abandoned the demand completely. “For those wondering, a common reason high level DOJ appointees sometimes signs briefs boils down to good leadership,” Abhishek Kambli, a former federal prosecutor, wrote on X. “If there is something that is likely to be contentious with a judge, a DOJ leader signs their name on the brief so that any issues someone has with the brief is directed at them rather than lower level attorneys. Regardless, it goes without saying that a decision such as this should not be something a judge is inquiring into.” EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP’S DC JUDICIAL NEMESIS TARGETED IN MISCONDUCT COMPLAINT OVER ALLEGED BIDEN DOJ TIES “DOJ line attorneys increasingly do not sign briefs because of Dem law fare. Dems have and continue to go after the bar licenses of young DOJ line attorneys who are simply executing on behalf of the department,” Rachel Boulvard, vice president of programs at the Conservative Partnership Institute, wrote on X. Reyes, appointed by President Joe Biden in 2023, previously faced a Justice Department judicial-misconduct complaint over her handling of litigation challenging Trump’s restrictions on transgender individuals serving in the military. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER During a February 2025 hearing, Reyes questioned a Trump administration attorney about what Jesus Christ would say about policies excluding transgender people from homeless shelters. Then-DOJ Chief of Staff Chad Mizelle accused Reyes of “hostile and egregious misconduct” and potential bias in a formal complaint filed with the D.C. Circuit. The complaint was later dismissed, with the circuit’s chief judge concluding that a recusal motion was the proper avenue for challenging Reyes’ conduct.
Trump says Ilhan Omar could go to jail or be deported, calls her ‘a disgrace to our country’
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Rep. Ilhan Omar could face jail in addition to deportation, calling the Minnesota Democrat “a disgrace to our country” as she faces a federal investigation into allegations involving her citizenship. Trump made the remarks inside the Oval Office during his fraud incentive program announcement, responding to FOX Business correspondent Edward Lawrence’s question about whether a problem with Omar’s age could lead to her deportation. “Well, she could be. She could also go to jail,” Trump said. “You know, they keep talking about deportation. No, she could go to jail.” ILHAN OMAR SHOULD BE JAILED, DEPORTED IF CITIZENSHIP FRAUD PROVEN, TOP HOUSE REPUBLICAN SAYS The president did not identify a specific criminal charge or present new evidence against Omar during the exchange. “This is just my opinion,” Trump added, before calling the congresswoman “a very dishonest person” who “hates our country.” OBAMA BACKS ILHAN OMAR AMID PROBE, ACCUSES TRUMP ADMIN OF ‘APPALLING’ TARGETING IN LENGTHY STATEMENT His comments come after border czar Tom Homan said Omar could lose her citizenship and be deported if investigators prove immigration fraud. Federal agents searched her Washington, D.C., home Oct. 12, seizing her cellphone and other possessions. The investigation centers on allegations that Omar or her father misrepresented her birth year on immigration paperwork. The disputed timeline concerns whether she was a minor when her father became a U.S. citizen in 2000 and qualified for citizenship through him, or was already 18 and needed to apply separately. HOMAN SAYS ILHAN OMAR COULD BE STRIPPED OF NATURALIZATION, DEPORTED IF IMMIGRATION FRAUD IS PROVEN Omar has denied wrongdoing. She and other Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have denounced the investigation as political persecution targeting a prominent Trump critic ahead of the midterm elections. Speaking Saturday on “The Big Weekend Show,” Homan said the outcome would depend on the evidence. DEMOCRATS’ FURY OVER ILHAN OMAR RAID DRAWS STINGING GOP REMINDER ABOUT RAID FROM THE PAST: ‘SET THE PRECEDENT’ “Of course, if you lie during the naturalization process, there is a process to denaturalize somebody. We’ve done it before,” Homan said. “And certainly, if the evidence points that way, that could happen.” Homan said Omar would be held to the same standards as anyone else, while declining to discuss the specifics of investigators’ findings. HOMAN CONFIRMS ‘CRIMINAL’ INVESTIGATION INVOLVING ILHAN OMAR, SAYS HE KNOWS ‘THINGS ARE GOING ON’ “I’m not going to get ahead of the bureau or HSI, but I’ve been told they have a strong case, and we’ll let the evidence lead where it leads,” he said. During Tuesday’s exchange, Trump also attacked Omar’s criticism of the United States, questioning why she sought to tell Americans how to run the country after coming from Somalia. ILHAN OMAR’S TURBULENT WEEK EXPLAINED: THE DUELING PROBES THAT THREW THE SOMALI-BORN PROGRESSIVE INTO CHAOS “Then she comes over here, and she says that she wants to tell us how to run America,” Trump said. “She wants to tell us how to run the United States of America.” He also criticized her assertions of constitutional rights and called her election to Congress “amazing.” TRUMP RALLY CROWD CHANTS ‘DEPORT’ AS PRESIDENT RIPS ILHAN OMAR AFTER FEDERAL RAID “She’s a disgrace to our country,” Trump said. The president ended the exchange by saying he hoped Omar would receive fair treatment. “I hope they treat her fairly,” he said. Fox News Digital reached out to Omar’s office for comment. Fox News Digital’s Max Bacall contributed to this report.
Reporter’s Notebook: A Democratic majority could expose the limits of the progressive agenda
“You made me promises. Promises.Knowing I’d believe.Promises. Promises.I knew you’d never keep.” — Promises, Promises by Naked Eyes “I am a supporter of Medicare-for-all,” declared Minnesota’s Democratic nominee for Senate, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, D. “I’m going to get there with my friend Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. And we are going to power map the s–t out of the U.S. Senate and figure out how to build power for the things that we know that we deserve and the things that we need.” Hard-left progressive House and Senate candidates like Flanagan are pitching Medicare-for-all. The abolition of ICE. The Green New Deal. An arms embargo for Israel. And a $25 an hour minimum wage. Flanagan is in a race with Republican Senate nominee Michelle Tafoya to succeed retiring Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn. The race favors Flanagan. However, it’s not a done deal that she wins. But Democratic Socialist candidates for the House like Donavan McKinney in Michigan, Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania, Melat Kiros in Colorado, along with Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York probably will. Come January, they will prospectively represent Democratic strongholds where progressive ideas are popular. MEET THE FAR-LEFT INSURGENTS WAGING WAR ON THE DEMOCRATIC ESTABLISHMENT IN 2026 MIDTERMS But if Democrats win either the House or Senate, it won’t be because voters pulled the lever for Kiros in Denver or Avila Chevalier in Harlem. They’ll win because Democrat Cait Conley defeated Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., in Dutchess County, north of New York City. Maybe because voters cast their ballots for Democrat Brian Poindexter in Wooster, Ohio, rather than Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio. Democrats could flip the House if Democratic nominee Christina Bohannan appeals more to voters in Davenport, IA than Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa. This brings us back to the progressive agenda. Democrats might win the House and or the Senate. But Valdez and Kiros aren’t the “majority makers.” Candidates like Poindexter and Conley are. And if they’re elected to the House, it’s doubtful that moderates from swing districts can support progressive ideas like the Green New Deal or Medicare-for-all. It’s about the math. And it’s more than likely that Democrats will need the voters of those moderate “majority makers” from battleground districts to enact those policies. That’s to say nothing about needing 60 yeas in the Senate to crack a filibuster – even if Democrats do marshal a slim majority there. And, if something extreme did get through both bodies of a potentially Democratically-controlled Congress, President Trump would like veto it. THE BLUE WAVE LOOKS REAL UNTIL YOU LOOK A LITTLE CLOSER It is said that you campaign in poetry but you govern in prose. The left has pushed a lot of progressive poetry with their agenda items of late. They’ll tout the opportunity to enact some of those policies if Democrats win the majority. However, the reality of advancing any of that into a legislative reality is slim. The progressive ideas may energize the base. But the Democratic base is sure to feel let down if Democrats can’t make good on some of their campaign promises. We’ve seen this before. A party promises voters the moon in the midterm elections. Then struggles to make good on those promises. Republicans won the House in 1994 for the first time in four decades with the 10-point “Contract With America.” The document promised to cut spending and reduce influence in Washington. But in the end, the House and Senate only approved a few of the items. President Clinton vetoed others. In 2006, House Democrats campaigned on drawing down the war in Iraq. They captured the House. Congress began defunding the war effort. But it took several years, much to the dismay of party activists who demanded an immediate pullout. In 2010, Republicans won back control of the House, gaining a record 63 seats. The goal was to reduce spending and repeal and replace ObamaCare. It never happened. In fact, some Republicans are still trying to unwind ObamaCare today. CARVILLE SAYS HE’D RATHER REPUBLICANS KEEP THE HOUSE THAN DEMOCRATS WIN BY FIVE SEATS, HELD ‘HOSTAGE’ BY DSA This is all about exciting the base. And then figuring out how to govern. What candidates promise on the campaign trail rarely morphs into a legislative reality. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is reportedly in discussions with DSA-backed candidates to secure legislative commitments before some of their candidates will back him in a potential race for Speaker. That said, political observers would find it hard to believe that Democrats would balk at promoting Jeffries, making him the first Black House Speaker in American history. There’s a chance Democrats could face infighting if the party fractures between moderates and progressives. Imagine for a moment that Democrats do have the House and intend to bring a Medicare-for-all bill to the floor. The House must first adopt a rule which governs how the House debates that measure on the floor. Would a moderate Democrat like Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., oppose the rule (provided she wins reelection)? After all, Gluesenkamp Perez voted for GOP procedural measures earlier this year, igniting an internal Democratic firestorm. However, those votes may have been good matches for her battleground district. But voting aye on a procedural plan for a controversial, progressive political initiative won’t work in Gluesenkamp Perez’s district. That’s why the progressive agenda may already be dead in the water. If Democrats do win the House and Jeffries clasps the Speaker’s gavel, his role will be different. He needs to manage his entire caucus. So appealing to the hard left doesn’t work. He must also hear out the moderates. And certainly the majority makers. For instance, Jeffries isn’t pushing the Medicare for all scheme. HOUSE DEMS PLOT TRUMP INVESTIGATION BLITZ IF THEY SEIZE MAJORITY “I haven’t co-sponsored the Medicare for all legislation that has been introduced over the last several years. I do think we need to figure out how to fix our broken healthcare system and then build something better once we
Ilhan Omar’s daughters show up at scene of DC raid as rumors swirl about embattled rep’s whereabouts
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. has not been seen in public since a pre-dawn raid of her Washington, D.C. residence last week — but Fox News Digital spotted her daughters descending on the home in recent days. Isra Hirsi pulled black sedan into the driveway of the home under the cover of darkness Saturday night and stepped out of the vehicle carrying a bag with both hands. She walked directly into the front door of the same home that was swarmed by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents a week prior. “What’s your problem?” Hirsi said to Fox News Digital after getting out of her car. Just two days later, a young teenage girl believed to be Omar’s second daughter also was seen entering the home with a woman that appeared to be her caretaker. ILHAN OMAR’S EMBATTLED HUSBAND APPEARS AT SCENE OF HSI RAID IN MIDST OF CRIMINAL FRAUD INVESTIGATION The daughters arrived on the scene roughly a week after the house was raided by federal agents. Omar also has a son who is the only immediate family member of Omar’s that Fox News Digital has not seen arrive at their home in D.C., since the federal search where her phone and passport were reportedly seized. The same night Omar’s eldest daughter was captured entering the home, U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) — whose jurisdiction is typically limited to U.S. Capitol building and grounds, but extends to protecting members of Congress and their families — showed up on the congresswoman’s street. Omar shares her three children with Ahmed Hirsi, who she ceremonially married in 2002 and legally married in 2018. During the time before her legal marriage to Hirsi, she was legally married to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, who is allegedly her brother, from 2009 until 2017 — during which time Omar’s youngest daughter was born. She married political consultant Tim Mynett in 2020. Throughout the week after the raid, Mynett has emerged from the home intermittently, mostly to walk the family’s Golden Labrador Retriever dog, Teddy. He has defended his wife to Fox News Digital, saying he has “no concerns” about the investigation. He also snapped when asked about unsubstantiated rumors that the congresswoman had fled the country. “You guys are annoying the hell out of the neighbors around here, man,” said Mynett. Omar’s eldest daughter, Isra Hirsi, is controversial in her own right. The 23-year-old activist and graduate of Barnard College — a Columbia University affiliate — was arrested at Columbia and later suspended from the school in 2024 after participating in the school’s now-infamous anti-Israel tent encampment, which lasted for two weeks until it was dispersed by NYPD. ILHAN OMAR’S HUSBAND SNAPS OVER RUMORS SHE FLED US AFTER FEDERAL IMMIGRATION FRAUD RAID She also co-founded the U.S. Climate Strike in 2019, part of a global movement that organized student walkouts of class as they demanded the passage of the far-left Green New Deal and a switch to 100% renewable energy. Despite its name, the group didn’t stop at advocating for “green” energy policies. It also demanded universal healthcare, student debt relief, stronger union organization and advocated for giving land back to Native Americans. Hirsi has also railed against capitalism publicly on social media. Omar’s sister, Sahra Noor, did not show up for a scheduled stop on her book tour in Minnesota last week due to a “family emergency,” according to the book store hosting the event. Three sources confirmed to Fox News Digital that Noor voluntarily spoke with federal investigators last week. Omar’s home was raided by HSI, the chief investigatory body of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), at around 6:00 a.m., last Monday. Sources confirmed to Fox News Digital that the agency executed a search warrant in relation to an immigration fraud probe. Specifically, investigators are probing whether the congresswoman and/or her father falsified information when filling out her citizenship paperwork. Border Czar Tom Homan revealed over the weekend that if the allegations are proven, they could lead to Omar’s denaturalization. The New York Times reported that about a dozen people, including Omar’s relatives, have been subpoenaed in the case. Omar has not responded to repeated requests for comment from Fox News Digital, but she has reacted publicly to the raid on social media. REP ILHAN OMAR’S IMMIGRATION HISTORY FACES NEW SCRUTINY AS FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS SUBPOENA RELATIVES “This raid by Trump’s DHS is an outrageous abuse of power and an unprecedented escalation in the weaponization of federal law enforcement to target political enemies,” she said in a statement posted to X hours after the raid. For a decade, Donald Trump has relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with inflammatory rhetoric, repeatedly putting a target on her back. Now, those attacks have escalated to a pointless federal raid. The Congresswoman has done nothing wrong. No president should be able to use the power of the federal government to intimidate his political enemies.” In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital last Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance said the investigation is not politically motivated. “We don’t want to be like the Biden administration. We never want to be like that — where they would allow the law to go after their political opponents,” he said. “We really want to let the law, the facts drive this,” he continued. “And if justice requires something else be done, then, of course, we’ll take a step when we have to.”
Vance reveals the Trump dilemma that could complicate his 2028 White House ambitions
Vice President JD Vance said he isn’t sure if he’d receive President Donald Trump’s endorsement “right out the gate” if he were to run for president in 2028. Vance expressed that uncertainty during a Monday interview with journalist Mark Halperin on his platform 2Way. The interview aired just weeks before the midterm elections, as Republicans and the White House are focused on maintaining control of Congress. Vance emphasized that his top priority was the midterms and said he wasn’t certain that a 2028 presidential run was in his future. However, he said, “I think if I run, the president will endorse me.” VANCE CONFRONTED ABOUT 2028 AMBITIONS AFTER TRUMP TEASES ‘DREAM TEAM’ RUBIO TICKET “Right away?” Halperin asked. “I would think so, but I don’t know, man,” Vance said. “I haven’t talked to him about it.” Halperin suggested it might be “weird” if Vance were to share with Trump his 2028 ambitions and for Trump to sit on an endorsement, a characterization that Vance pushed back on. “No, I don’t think it’d be weird,” Vance said. “Again, I think I would get his endorsement, but I also think there’s something to be said for people actually running their own race, and because the president’s endorsement is so dispositive, you could absolutely see a scenario where the president says, ‘You know what? We need to let, like, this race play out and not, like, preemptively prejudge the results.’” Earlier in the conversation, Halperin brought up previous remarks by Vance in which he said that “whoever the president endorses for the Republican nomination will ultimately win the Republican primary.” CRUZ-VANCE RIVALRY HEATS UP AS TEXAS SENATOR SUGGESTS VP IS ‘FEELING INSECURE’ Vance said this is typically true of both the Democratic and Republican parties, but that Trump’s endorsement is much more consequential because he first won the trust of everyday voters while Republican Party elites rejected him. Vance said Trump’s endorsement signals to voters that a candidate is not beholden to the party’s elite. “That’s the person they say, ‘Okay, if Trump is with a guy, that must mean that the elites are against that guy,” Vance said. “I think that Trump’s endorsement just carries more weight than any political endorsement in history because of that. Obviously, the voters are gonna decide. Donald Trump is only one vote of many, but I think his endorsement is still the most powerful.” SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Vance’s uncertainty over winning Trump’s blessing comes after Trump previously teased pitting Vance against Secretary of State Marco Rubio for his endorsement in the 2028 presidential race. Trump called Vance and Rubio the “dream team,” at a May Rose Garden Club event but has refused to say who would be at the top of the ticket. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Italy unleashes military response to violent riots as France faces a reckoning of its own
Italy is moving to deploy 500 troops with expanded police powers following a weekend of violent riots, taking a more direct military approach to public security than France, where weeks of unrest have prompted authorities to bolster their security response. Videos of unrest in France and Italy flooded social media on Saturday and Sunday, showing violent clashes between demonstrators and police amid burning buildings and looted storefronts. At multiple points during the chaos, police attempting to contain the violence were forced to retreat. In Paris, for instance, roughly a dozen officers confronted several hundred demonstrators but were unable to make arrests, using rubber-bullet launchers and grenades to keep advancing rioters at bay as they made a gradual retreat. Italian police in Milan, meanwhile, made a similar retreat as hundreds of young rioters threw explosive firecrackers, metal barriers and glass bottles at them in their attempt to occupy a public square. Though France is escalating its response now, demonstrations have been ongoing in the country since last month, with many schools being burned and ransacked by rioters. MACRON JETS OUT OF RIOT-TORN FRANCE FOR GULF TRIP AS POLITICAL PRESSURE MOUNTS A Fox News Digital investigation found that socialist groups, Islamic advocacy organizations and environmental activists were involved in the French riots, which financial analysts estimate caused over $1 billion in damages. Videos from the unrest also showed demonstrators waving foreign flags, including Palestinian flags in France and an Albanian flag during the violence in Milan. Italian media reported that many first and second-generation migrants were among the rioters in Milan. WHO’S WHO: INSIDE FRANCE’S ‘CHAOS INC.’ FRANCHISE OF COMMUNIST GROUPS, LABOR UNIONS AND GLOBAL ACTIVISTS With another wave of riots planned for this coming weekend and authorities bracing for more violence, France and Italy are turning to their armed forces to reinforce security after days of rioting. France’s gendarmes, essentially military police officers, assisted in containing last weekend’s riots. The nation’s interior minister announced on Tuesday that the military would be increasing its presence in anticipation of further rioting. FRANCE’S MASSIVE INTEL FAILURE SPARKS RESIGNATION OFFERS AMID DAYS OF RIOTING “We will deploy the Sentinelle force, obviously as a substitute to interior security forces … mostly to free police and gendarmes in their mission to maintain order,” he told France’s legislature. France has upcoming presidential elections, with some political observers viewing the migrant-heavy riots as an electoral boon for Marine Le Pen, the most popular right-wing candidate. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced a similar deployment, pledging that 500 troops will be entering Milan. The country’s deputy prime minister explained that the police would be granted police powers, providing some insight into the role they could play in squaring off against rioters.
On the streets with Dr Oz as surprise fraud crackdown sends daycare directors scrambling
FLUSHING, N.Y. — Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz confronted employees at two New York City senior care centers over suspected Medicaid fraud, challenging their billing practices as Fox News Digital got an exclusive look at the crackdown in action. Oz, accompanied by senior federal health officials, delivered warning letters to Kent Senior Care and Evergreen Adult Day Care in Flushing, Queens, during a broader fraud crackdown that involved the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the NYPD and other agencies. The letters notified the facilities that their billing practices had raised concerns among federal authorities. The two visits by Oz were part of a broader crackdown in which CMS officials conducted more than 80 visits and delivered warning letters to providers across New York City on Tuesday. Fox News Digital accompanied Oz as he pressed employees about questionable billing records and challenged their explanations for how taxpayer dollars were being spent. DR. OZ NAMES 5 STATES IN FRAUD CRACKDOWN AS TRUMP ADMIN TARGETS MEDICAID ABUSE “The whole experience was suspicious,” Oz told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview following the visits. Oz said federal authorities were conducting a broader crackdown that included arrests, search warrants and efforts to stop certain operators from billing Medicaid, although Fox News Digital did not independently witness those enforcement actions at either Queens facility. Kent Senior Care declined comment during a phone call with Fox News Digital on Tuesday. Evergreen Adult Day Care did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. The first stop came around 8:30 a.m. at Kent Senior Care, where Oz entered the facility and personally handed its director a letter from the federal government notifying the business that its billing practices were under scrutiny. FBI LAUNCHES ‘MOST WANTED FRAUDSTERS’ LIST AS DOJ CHARGES OHIO DEFENDANTS IN $30M MEDICAID SCHEME FOR KIDS “The bills are much higher than they should be,” Oz told the director. “The billing is for more people. It doesn’t look very crowded here.” The director pushed back during the exchange, explaining that it was still early and additional seniors would arrive later in the morning, as Oz questioned whether the facility’s Medicaid billing records accurately reflected its actual attendance. The occupancy of the space was 70 persons, according to an observe posted maximum occupancy sign on the wall. “The bills we’re getting are as though it’s completely full all the time,” Oz said. FBI ADDS 2 FUGITIVES TO ‘MOST WANTED FRAUDSTERS’ LIST AMID HISTORIC $6.5B HEALTHCARE TAKEDOWN: PATEL The director maintained that the facility billed only for seniors who actually attended, and that it required participants to sign attendance sheets. “You’re getting this letter from the U.S. Government because we don’t believe you,” he told the director. During the exchange, Oz also questioned why the center’s billing records appeared to reflect seniors attending five days a week when the director acknowledged that many participants typically attended only two or three days. The director insisted the facility billed for actual attendance and said some seniors attended more frequently than others. The confrontation intensified when Oz and other federal officials raised questions about specialized transportation services billed for seniors using wheelchairs. DR OZ SAYS 800 HOSPICE PROVIDERS SUSPENDED IN CALIFORNIA OVER ALLEGED $1B MEDICARE FRAUD SCHEME “I don’t see any wheelchairs here,” Oz told the director. Fox News Digital observed seniors inside the facility, including individuals using walking aids, but did not see anyone using a wheelchair during the visit. Another official said billing records included charges for specialized wheelchair transportation, raising questions about whether the services had been provided and which company was responsible for submitting the charges. The director said some seniors had mobility difficulties, including those recovering from strokes, and that the facility had wheelchairs available. He also said that workers could have copied information from previous files instead of properly updating the billing codes as it applied to wheelchair use. “Probably he just copy and pasted,” the director said. MEDICAID PROVIDER ALLEGEDLY BILLED $165K FOR DEAD PATIENT’S RIDES AMONG FRAUD EXPOSED IN EXPLOSIVE REPORT During the visit, Oz walked over to several mahjong tables set up inside the facility, questioning whether taxpayer dollars were being properly spent on the recreational activities offered through the Medicaid-funded program. “Should the American taxpayers be paying so folks can play mahjong?” Oz asked the director. The director defended the activity, explaining that mahjong helps seniors exercise their fingers, socialize and improve their memory, particularly those experiencing cognitive difficulties. “It’s free for them, not free for the taxpayers,” Oz responded. “Is that what our federal tax dollars for Medicaid is supposed to go to? Or is it life-saving heart surgery? Or, you know, new therapies for cancer?” Oz raised additional concerns about the facility’s attendance records after observing seniors entering without signing in, despite the director’s insistence that participants were required to document their attendance. “People were just walking in there without signing anything,” Oz said. “And then after I showed up and he saw what we were doing with my team, he started collecting these documents to be signed.” Oz said the apparent inconsistencies raised further questions about whether the facility’s attendance records accurately reflected the services being billed to Medicaid. Fox News Digital also witnessed several seniors enter Kent Senior Care without immediately signing attendance sheets. Additional seniors who arrived later were instructed to sign in. Social adult day care programs can provide eligible seniors with structured activities, supervision, meals and social support. Medicaid reimbursement depends on applicable program rules, individual eligibility and documentation of services provided. TREASURY HAILS SUCCESS OF ANTI-FRAUD PROCESS THAT FLAGGED AND PREVENTED $99 MILLION IN PAYMENTS TO DEAD PEOPLE At the second stop, Evergreen Adult Day Care, Oz confronted a floor manager over another set of billing discrepancies before examining the facility’s attendance records. The manager told Oz that approximately 200 seniors attended the facility on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, compared with about 150 on Tuesdays and Thursdays,