Caught on camera: Squad Dem squirms when pressed on Vance DOJ fraud probe
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., forcefully denied Vice President JD Vance’s claim that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating her for alleged fraud and immigration violations, dismissing the remarks as politically motivated. “That is not something that is happening. That man is delusional,” Omar told Fox News Digital. Vance claimed on Tuesday that the DOJ is looking into allegations involving Omar’s immigration history and financial disclosures, including long-standing accusations that she married a man claimed to be her brother — part of her scheme to obtain citizenship in the U.S. He claimed the administration’s anti-fraud task force is focusing its resources on probing Omar. ILHAN OMAR LASHES OUT AT ‘SICK’ REPUBLICANS FOR INVESTIGATING HER ALLEGED MARRIAGE TO BROTHER “I don’t think they are using any resources,” she said. “They’re just saying stupid s—.” The claims surrounding an investigation intensified after Omar’s amended financial disclosure forms caught national attention last month — with her reported net worth dropping from somewhere between $6 million and $30 million to a sharp reduction ranging from $18,004 to $95,000. Omar’s steep drop in reported net worth drew criticism from the GOP House Oversight Committee, who earlier this year requested business records from her husband Tim Mynett’s company. Omar also rejected suggestions that House Republicans are formally investigating her finances, accusing them of promoting these allegations to get interviews with news outlets. WINERY BELONGING TO ILHAN OMAR’S HUSBAND SHUT DOWN AMID FINANCIAL SPOTLIGHT “There’s nobody looking into anything,” she said when asked about House Republicans looking into her net worth. “They’re just saying those things to get interviews with you guys. There’s nothing really happening.” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., publicly raised concerns over Omar’s finances on “Hannity” after the vast discrepancy between her initial and revised filings. “Comer hasn’t investigated anything,” she said when asked about Comer’s comments regarding her wealth. “He hasn’t done anything. He hasn’t referred me to anybody. He’s just saying that so he can get TV interviews because you guys will only talk to them if they say something about me.” Omar said they’re “absolutely not” going to find anything if a DOJ probe opens into her alleged fraud schemes. She told Fox News Digital that she has not been informed of any formal investigation being pursued against her. COMER VOWS MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE WILL EXPAND TO OTHER STATES AMID MOUNTING SCRUTINY “No,” she said when asked if she was made aware of any investigation. “Because there’s nothing to investigate.” Claims surrounding Omar’s past marriage and alleged immigration violations have remained central to ongoing attacks against her. Omar’s family was granted asylum after arriving in the U.S. from Somalia in 1995, and she became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2000. It was reported that Omar was in a religious marriage with Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi in 2002. Despite maintaining her religious union with Hirsi, she legally married a British citizen named Ahmed Elmi — who is alleged to be her brother — in 2009. Omar and Elmi legally divorced in 2017, but had been separated since 2011. In 2020, she married Mynett. Any potential investigation would likely look into both the fraud allegations that come as a result of her financial filings and claimed immigration violations relating to her earlier marriages and U.S. citizenship. “If we think that there’s a crime, we’re going to prosecute that crime,” he said. “And that’s something the Department of Justice is looking at right now.”
Democrats release 2024 election autopsy that chair says ‘does not meet my standards’
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin is publicly disowning his party’s own 2024 election “autopsy,” calling the long-delayed report a product that “does not meet my standards” after Democrats suffered what he described as a “painful and consequential” defeat to President Donald Trump. The blunt admission came as Martin described former Vice President Kamala Harris‘ 2024 defeat as a “punch to the gut” and acknowledged the Democratic Party’s “brand is in trouble and needs repair.” “I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards,” Martin said of the report, adding that he could not “in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on it.” Martin emphasized that he was releasing the report for the sake of transparency “as I received it – in its entirety, unedited and unabridged – with annotations for claims that couldn’t be verified.” DEMS DEMAND RELEASE OF HIDDEN DNC AUTOPSY AFTER 2024 COLLAPSE: ‘WE GOT OUR BUTTS KICKED’ The report argues Democrats weakened their own political infrastructure through cuts to state party support, declining voter registration efforts and reduced grassroots organizing, while also failing to listen to key voting blocs — mistakes it says allowed Republicans to make gains with voters Democrats have increasingly struggled to reach, particularly in middle America. Annotations that appear in the report, however, pick apart certain claims for lacking evidence. In one such section, the report claims that “the Harris campaign appears to have relied on Trump being unacceptable rather than building an affirmative case for Harris,” to which an annotation reads, “No evidence provided for this claim.” Following the Democrats’ sweeping losses in the 2024 election cycle, the DNC launched an internal autopsy investigating where the party fell short in securing a win in both the presidential election and the majority in Congress. Democratic Party officials interviewed over 300 Democrats from all 50 states for the report, which Martin promised would examine the party’s mistakes in 2024 and offer a roadmap to victory going forward. DEMOCRATS’ MIDTERM PUSH CLOUDED BY INFIGHTING OVER PARTY KEEPING 2024 AUTOPSY UNDER WRAPS There was controversy surrounding the report as it was being compiled, after reports last summer said the autopsy would skip analyzing whether then-President Joe Biden should have run for re-election in 2024 and would pass on judging key decisions made by Harris and her team, after she replaced Biden as the party’s nominee with just over three months to go until the 2024 election. Despite facing growing calls from Democrats to release the report, DNC officials had argued it was being withheld ahead of the midterms to keep the party focused on retaking the House and Senate in November. Martin said in a statement at the time that if releasing the autopsy will not help Democrats win in the midterms, then it is purely a “distraction.” Other Democrats argued publicly releasing the autopsy before the midterms would improve transparency and help the party regroup ahead of November’s elections. Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser, Leo Briceno and Hannah Brennan contributed to this report.
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Phantom employees’ scandal spurs GOP crackdown on $36B incentive for companies to bypass Americans
FIRST ON FOX: The discovery of 10,000 “phantom employees” exploiting a federal work program has helped spur Republicans to tackle the financial incentives behind a foreign worker pipeline costing Americans hundreds of thousands of jobs per year. Under current federal law, hundreds of thousands of foreign students and employers participating in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension program are exempt from paying Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes, which companies are required to pay for domestic workers. This has led to the creation of a “significant financial incentive” for employers to hire foreign OPT workers over Americans. Republican Rep. Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin introduced a bill Thursday, titled the “OPT Fair Tax Act,” that eliminates that incentive by requiring employers to pay the same Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes paid for American workers. By closing the loophole, Grothman believes the bill “helps create a more level playing field for American graduates entering the workforce.” The congressman told Fox News Digital that “Americans should not be put at a disadvantage because Washington created a loophole that favors hiring foreign workers over qualified U.S. citizens.” He added that “too many young Americans graduating from our colleges and universities are forced to compete against a system that tilts the playing field against them.” DOJ CALLS FOR TIPS ON EMPLOYERS FAVORING FOREIGN WORKERS IN HIRING PRACTICES Grothman’s bill is the House companion to a Senate bill introduced by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., in September. Though Cotton’s bill has not passed, OPT has faced increased scrutiny after Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons announced federal investigators uncovered more than 10,000 foreign students connected to “suspect employers” as part of a massive fraud scheme involving the program. Lyons said that OPT, which lets international students on F-1 visas work temporarily in the country in jobs related to their field of study, had “ballooned into an uncontrolled guest worker pipeline with hundreds of thousands of foreign students working in the United States.” He said that “as the program size exploded, so has the fraud.” “Today, we are announcing we have identified over 10,000 foreign students who claim to be working for highly suspect employers, and that’s just among the top 25 OPT employers. This is only the tip of the iceberg,” he said. The ICE director also said investigators uncovered what he referred to as “phantom employees,” who he said are foreign students who obtained work authorization through OPT but never actually showed up for work at the sites they claimed to work out of. TRUMP-BACKED HOUSING BILL CLEARS HOUSE AFTER GOP DEFIES SENATE PRESSURE CAMPAIGN Grothman told Fox News Digital that these findings “point to serious vulnerabilities within the OPT program.” He said that “reports that thousands of foreign students in the OPT program were tied to phantom employees and suspicious employers should alarm every American,” adding, “Right now, the federal government has created a financial incentive to hire foreign workers over Americans.” Grothman said the scale of the tax preference has been significant. He pointed to data gathered by the technology and industry think tank Institute for Progress, which found that between fiscal years 2017 and 2022, an average of approximately 330,000 students participated in OPT annually. The think tank also estimated that eliminating the tax exemption would increase federal revenue by between $27 billion and $36 billion over a 10-year period. GOP BILL TARGETS BLUE STATE FOR BILLIONS IN COVID-ERA UNEMPLOYMENT DEBT DUMPED ON BUSINESSES “Congress should be focused on opening doors for young Americans, helping U.S. graduates find good-paying jobs and ensuring employers are encouraged to hire Americans first. Not creating incentives for companies to bypass American talent,” he emphasized. “The American people deserve to know how so many questionable employers were able to operate within the system for so long,” he continued. “Congress should be prioritizing American workers and restoring integrity to programs that have become increasingly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.”
Democrats vow to vote ‘every single day’ to expel fellow Dem from Congress if she wins midterm
Two Democratic lawmakers are threatening to force repeated votes to expel a fellow Democrat from Congress if Texas voters send her to Washington this November. Reps. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., say they will force repeated votes to remove Texas Democrat Maureen Galindo from the House over comments calling for the jailing of “American Zionists.” Galindo, a sex therapist running in a Republican-leaning district, has not backed away from a campaign proposal to turn a local ICE processing center into a “prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking.” She also claimed in a social media post that many Zionists — broadly defined as those who support the Jewish people’s right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland — are pedophiles who should be castrated. “I don’t care if she gets sent here. I will vote to expel her and force a vote to expel her every single day,” Moskowitz told Fox News Digital in an interview. FETTERMAN WARNS DEMOCRATS MUST CONFRONT ‘RISING ANTISEMITISM PROBLEM’ AFTER CLASHES OUTSIDE NYC SYNAGOGUES “My grandmother was part of the Kindertransport out of Germany. Her parents were killed in Auschwitz. My kids are never going to concentration camps,” he added. The Galindo campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Galindo’s flurry of antisemitic comments comes as she is vying in a May 26 runoff election after winning the most votes in the Democratic primary for the San Antonio-based district. Republicans redrew the district lines earlier this year to boost the GOP’s chances of flipping the seat, though Democrats could still make the race competitive. She has accused her runoff opponent, Johnny Garcia, a sheriff’s deputy in Bexar County, of being paid by “Zionist terrorism and trafficking.” “When Maureen gets into Congress, she’ll write legislation so that all Zionism and support of Zionism is undoubtedly Anti-Semitic, since it’s Zionists harming the Semites,” Galindo’s campaign wrote on social media last week. Moskowitz said Democrats should do whatever they can to ensure Galindo does not get that chance. FOX NEWS ‘ANTISEMITISM EXPOSED’ NEWSLETTER: WHO IS HASAN PIKER, AND WHY CAN’T DEMOCRATS CONDEMN HIM? “The Democratic Party can’t get to power because we’ve expanded our tent so big to include this sort of insane behavior,” the Florida lawmaker told Fox News Digital. “It’s gone from the super extreme side to now almost mainstream,” he continued, referring to antisemitism. “We’ve crossed the Rubicon with the stuff.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Galindo’s comments are “disqualifying” and accused GOP groups of seeking to prop up her candidacy. “Texans will not be fooled and will reject her at the ballot box next week,” Jeffries said in a joint statement with Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chairwoman Suzan DelBene, D-Wash. Both Moskowitz and Gottheimer suggested Galindo’s comments reflect a broader rise in antisemitism in the political sphere. “Both parties: There should be zero tolerance for antisemitic-driven hatred that we’re seeing right now,” Gottheimer told Fox News, adding that Republicans should uniformly condemn podcaster Candace Owens, who frequently traffics in antisemitic conspiracy theories. Gottheimer penned an op-ed in The New York Times earlier in May criticizing some members of his party for cozying up to the far-left streamer, Hasan Piker. Piker has doubled down on his claim that Hamas is “a thousand times better” than Israel, referred to some Orthodox Jews as “inbred,” and downplayed the sexual violence that occurred during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, among other controversial statements. Still, Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Summer Lee, D-Pa., and Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed are among the prominent Democrats who have chosen to associate themselves with Piker. Asked whether Democrats are doing enough to combat antisemitism within the party, Moskowitz did not hesitate to respond. “No. We are not doing enough,” he said.
Legal expert unleashes on Spanberger’s new executive order targeting ICE: ‘Political theater’
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger is directing state employees to demand proof of legal authority from federal immigration agents operating on state property, prompting pushback from a legal expert. Specifically, in an executive order signed on Tuesday, Spanberger is asking state employees to get federal agents to produce a valid warrant on “property of the Commonwealth” and instructs them to “not permit” federal agents from using those areas as staging or processing locations. The order would include polling sites. Spanberger’s move continues Democratic efforts to test the boundaries between state and federal power, exploring what roadblocks they can legally create to taper Trump’s immigration crackdown methods. SPANBERGER REFUSES TO HONOR ICE DETAINER IN MURDER CASE, ESCALATING SHOWDOWN WITH TRUMP DHS Hans von Spakovsky, a constitutional scholar with Advancing American Freedom, believes Spanberger’s order is for show, and that she knows it’s an overreaching attempt to create requirements for agencies she has no power over. “This is political theater,” Spakovsky said. “First of all, no warrant is required under federal immigration law to detain individuals.” “And it is a completely unnecessary provision. There’s actually a provision in federal law that bans an officer of the Army or Navy or any other person in the civil service of the U.S. to be at polling places unless they’re there to cast a vote,” Spakovsky added. He pointed to restrictions under 18 U.S.C. 592. Spanberger first announced her executive order on Monday when she was asked about concerns over how Trump might use federal agents in upcoming elections. “How concerned are you that he will send either the military or the National Guard or even ICE to polling places, and what can you do, if anything, to stop him?” Spanberger was asked at an event hosted by MS Now. SLOTKIN PRESSES DHS PICK ON ICE AT POLLS, SAYS SHE CAN’T TRUST TRUMP TO ALLOW ‘FREE AND FAIR’ ELECTION “The reality is, throughout history, we have seen efforts at intimidating voters. My worry is we will continue to see those heightened,” Spanberger replied. “I’ll be issuing guidance across public spaces, including polling places, of how Virginia state employees can react to federal agents who might be appearing at a location where the worry is that they’re principally there to intimidate or scare people,” Spanberger said. Notably, Spanberger vetoed a separate bill that would have outright banned ICE from making detentions in hospitals, schools, courthouses and polling places without a judicial warrant or subpoena, stating that such a ban would likely invite a legal challenge. “I veto House Bill 650, which would create unavoidable legal liability for security personnel and local law enforcement officers when assessing federal immigration enforcement activities in certain protected areas,” Spanberger wrote. Spanberger’s new executive order follows on the heels of states like New York and California that have pushed more direct state-level attempts to restrict federal immigration activity. In New York, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is asking lawmakers to pass legislation that would ban ICE from entering schools, libraries, polling locations and homes without a judicial warrant. Massachusetts tried something similar. There, Gov. Maura Healey asked lawmakers in January to consider legislation that would keep ICE from entering courthouses, schools, childcare programs, hospitals and churches. CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE PASSES BILL PROHIBITING LAW ENFORCEMENT FROM WEARING FACE MASKS TO SHIELD IDENTITIES Those state-level requirements lack the power to bind federal agencies or their operations. Homeland Secretary Markwayne Mullin slammed Spanberger’s executive order on Wednesday in a statement to Fox News Digital. “No surprise: Governor Spanberger continues to put illegal alien criminals over her own constituents,” Mullin said.
Former White House envoy has warning for Trump on how not to get played by Iran
Former Trump envoy Morgan Ortagus warned Wednesday that Iran may be using ongoing nuclear negotiations to “buy time” as President Donald Trump pauses planned military strikes and extends a fragile ceasefire to allow more room for diplomacy. Speaking with Fox News Digital at the Middle East Forum’s 2026 policy conference in Washington, Ortagus said Iran has long used drawn-out negotiations as a strategy to delay pressure while preserving leverage. “It’s the tactic of the regime to stall, to draw negotiations, to buy time,” Ortagus said of Iran. “I would encourage the president not to fall into the trap that the Iranians like to do … which is to drag things out to buy time.” Trump recently paused planned strikes and extended diplomatic talks with Iran following pressure from Gulf allies seeking more time for negotiations, even as the administration continues pressing Iran over its nuclear program and regional proxy network. GEN JACK KEANE ‘SKEPTICAL’ THAT IRAN CEASEFIRE WILL HOLD, WARNS TEHRAN WILL ‘DELAY AND OBFUSCATE’ Ortagus, who served as State Department spokeswoman during Trump’s first term and later worked on Middle East negotiations during his second administration, argued the White House now has more leverage than previous administrations in dealing with Iran. Critics of past Iran negotiations, including many Trump administration officials, have long argued Iran used diplomacy to prolong talks while continuing to advance aspects of its nuclear program. Trump withdrew from the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, in 2018, calling it a “disastrous” agreement that failed to permanently curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Ortagus said she remains confident in Trump’s negotiating approach and emphasized that the president ultimately has final authority over any military or diplomatic decisions. “I’m always hopeful in President Trump’s ability to give his negotiating team leverage,” Ortagus said. “I think this negotiating team has more leverage in their negotiations with Iran than any negotiating teams that preceded them.” PRESIDENT TRUMP’S NEGOTIATING TEAM PRAISED BY NUCLEAR EXPERTS FOR WALKING AWAY FROM PAKISTAN TALKS “The president has seriously degraded them in a way that no one has since the Islamic Republic’s founding,” she added. Iranian officials have rejected demands for “zero enrichment,” arguing Tehran has a sovereign right to maintain a civilian nuclear program under international law. Iranian leaders have also accused Washington of using military threats to pressure Tehran during negotiations. Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is intended for peaceful energy purposes, though Western governments and the International Atomic Energy Agency have raised concerns about Iran’s uranium enrichment levels and lack of transparency. The Iranian embassy could not immediately be reached for comment. With the current Iran conflict, some America First conservatives have warned the administration risks deeper military entanglement in the Middle East and argue U.S. resources should instead focus on domestic priorities. Ortagus said the current Iran conflict is different from “forever wars” in the Middle East in years past. “I think there’s an in-between,” she said. “A very careful, thoughtful use of force when necessary, always preferring to negotiate … but also being willing to use American firepower if necessary.” “I totally respect the office of the presidency and that he’s the one that has to make the final decisions on these,” she added. She described the ongoing Republican foreign policy debate as “healthy,” arguing the party is openly wrestling with how aggressively the U.S. should confront Iran and its regional proxies. The Iran negotiations come as the U.S. is also trying to stabilize the Israel-Lebanon front, where Hezbollah and Israeli forces have continued exchanging strikes despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire extension reached during talks in Washington last week. The talks are aimed at stabilizing the Israel-Lebanon border and addressing Hezbollah’s armed presence in southern Lebanon. Ortagus, who previously led Israel-Lebanon negotiations, framed Hezbollah’s role in Lebanon as part of the broader challenge posed by Iran’s regional proxy network, which she argued must be addressed alongside Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. “The big dispute comes with Hezbollah, which is an Iranian proxy that has, of course, been a cancer to the state of Lebanon and has in many ways occupied that country,” Ortagus said. She argued the Lebanese and Israeli governments ultimately share an interest in avoiding a broader conflict, but said Hezbollah repeatedly undermines that possibility by operating independently of the Lebanese state. “The Lebanese government didn’t decide,” she said of the current conflict. “Hezbollah decided for the country of Lebanon.” Ortagus said she believes Israel and Lebanon could eventually move toward a more stable relationship if Hezbollah’s influence were diminished. US CHAMPIONS LEBANON’S RESPONSE TO HEZBOLLAH DISARMAMENT, HINTS AT ABRAHAM ACCORDS OPPORTUNITY “I actually think the goals for the Lebanese government and the Israeli government are very similar,” she said. “There’s not territorial claims from Israel into Lebanon,” Ortagus added. “The big dispute comes with Hezbollah.” Her comments echoed remarks delivered earlier in the evening by Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, who said Israel has “no territorial claims” in Lebanon and suggested the countries could eventually move toward broader normalization if Hezbollah were removed from the equation. But negotiations remain complicated by continued tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border. Lebanese officials have accused Israel of violating the ceasefire through ongoing military operations and troop presence in parts of southern Lebanon, while Israeli officials argue previous agreements failed because Hezbollah was allowed to rebuild and operate near the border unchecked. “There’s nothing stopping normalization,” Leiter said during his keynote address at the policy conference, “It would all be fine, but Hezbollah is holding Lebanon hostage.”
Former DOJ prosecutor charged with stealing confidential Jack Smith investigation documents about Trump
A former Justice Department prosecutor was charged Wednesday with allegedly emailing confidential records tied to former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Donald Trump. Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, faces four criminal charges stemming from her handling of Smith’s final report: one felony count of obstruction of justice, one felony count of concealing government records and two misdemeanor counts of theft of government property valued at less than $1,000. According to the indictment filed in the Southern District of Florida, Lineberger allegedly altered electronic file names of government records to conceal unauthorized transmissions of the documents to her personal email accounts. At the time, she was serving as the Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Fort Pierce branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS RELEASE OF JACK SMITH REPORT’S SECOND VOLUME U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon previously blocked the public release of the volume of Smith’s report related to the classified documents investigation involving Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in January 2025. FBI Director Kash Patel announced the charges in a post on X. “This afternoon, a former managing assistant U.S. Attorney who supported Jack Smith’s politicized investigation of President Trump has been charged with stealing the confidential investigation documents,” Patel wrote. “Carmen Lineberger allegedly emailed the confidential material to her own personal email, disguising them as dessert recipes to conceal them from record searches.” JUSTICE DEPARTMENT MOVES TO DROP PROSECUTION OF MAR-A-LAGO STAFF IN TRUMP CLASSIFIED DOCS CASE Lineberger’s attorney declined to comment to Fox News Digital. Smith previously brought indictments against Trump alleging he illegally attempted to overturn the 2020 election and improperly retained classified national defense information. The classified documents case was later dismissed by Cannon, who ruled Smith had been unlawfully appointed as special counsel. FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS RELEASE OF SECOND VOLUME OF SPECIAL COUNSEL REPORT TO JUDICIARY COMMITTEE LEADERS Prosecutors alleged Lineberger concealed her actions by saving electronic copies of government records under misleading file names, including “chocolate cake recipe” and “bundt cake recipe,” before sending them to personal Hotmail accounts. According to the indictment, Lineberger received a copy of Smith’s report before Cannon ordered it sealed. Months later, she allegedly forwarded the report to her personal email account. The indictment further alleges Lineberger knew transmitting the volume outside the Department of Justice violated Cannon’s court order. Lineberger pleaded not guilty during a federal court appearance Wednesday. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison on the obstruction charge, three years for concealment or removal of public records and up to one year on each theft count.
Trump owns the GOP. Could Republicans pay the price in the midterms?
President Donald Trump took to social media on Wednesday morning to showcase the power of his political endorsements, touting that the candidates he backed went 37-0 in Tuesday’s GOP primaries from coast to coast. “We won all races last night. Every one of them,” Trump told reporters. The brute force of the president’s endorsement power and the immense grip he has on the Republican Party were on full display in a number of high-profile ballot-box showdowns, including Trump-backed Ed Gallrein ousting Rep. Thomas Massie in the GOP primary in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, a race that grabbed outsized national attention. But Trump’s heavy hand in this year’s primaries could cause repercussions in the autumn, when Republicans will be defending their razor-thin House and slim Senate majorities in the midterm elections. TRUMP-BACKED FORMER NAVY SEAL DEALS KNOCKS OUT MASSIE IN HIGH-STAKES SHOWDOWN While those concerns will mount as the midterms creep closer, on Tuesday night the political headline was Trump once again successfully flexing his muscles to exert payback on Republicans who defied him. Two weeks after purging five state senators in Indiana’s primary who had opposed his push for congressional redistricting, and three days after helping to oust Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — as the senator who, five and a half years ago, voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial lost his bid for renomination — Trump obliterated Massie. Massie, who for 14 years has represented Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, in the northeastern part of the red-leaning state, has long been one of Trump’s most vocal GOP critics in Congress. The libertarian-minded lawmaker has repeatedly taken aim at the president over foreign policy, including the Iran war and unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel. And he’s also been a thorn in Trump’s side for successfully pushing for the release of government files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB Gallrein’s nearly ten-point victory over Massie in a race that was expected to be much closer represents a major win for Trump’s political operation and pro-Israel allied groups, who spent aggressively to unseat the sitting lawmaker. Speaking at his victory celebration, Gallrein thanked Trump for his support, saying, “My focus is on advancing the president’s and the party’s agenda to put America first and Kentucky always.” Taking to social media after Massie’s defeat, White House communications director and longtime Trump aide Steven Cheung warned, “Do not ever doubt President Trump and his political power. F–k around, find out.” Veteran Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams told Fox News Digital, “The Republican Party is Trump’s party, and if you cross him, he’ll hit back at you ten times as hard and defeat you. He’s getting better at this as time goes on. His grip on the party has increased, not decreased.” “Anybody at this point who doesn’t understand this will be out of a job if they cross the president,” Williams emphasized. Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky, backed by Trump in recent days, cruised to the Republican Senate nomination in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell, a former longtime Senate GOP leader. And Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a top Trump ally in the Senate, easily captured the GOP gubernatorial nomination in solidly red Alabama. But some Trump-backed candidates will have to wait a little longer before securing a ticket to the general election. Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones of Georgia finished first in the GOP gubernatorial primary, but didn’t top 50%, forcing a runoff next month with billionaire businessman Rick Jackson. It was the same story in Alabama, where Trump-backed Rep. Barry Moore finished first but will need another victory in next month’s runoff to secure the Republican Senate nomination in the race to succeed Tuberville. And this past weekend, Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow was forced into a runoff with Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming as Cassidy was sent packing. Trump putting his hand on the scale in red states like Louisiana, Alabama and Kentucky shouldn’t be an issue in the general election, but it could be in battleground Georgia, and in red-leaning Texas, where Democrats are hoping to win a U.S. Senate election for the first time in nearly four decades. Democrats feel Trump gave them an early Christmas gift by endorsing MAGA firebrand and ally and supporter Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over longtime GOP Sen. John Cornyn with one week to go until the runoff election for the Republican nomination. “Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” Trump wrote in a social media post as he announced his backing of Paxton, which likely ends Cornyn’s hope of winning renomination. The winner of the GOP runoff will face off in the autumn with rising Democratic Party star state Rep. James Talarico, who has built a massive war chest this year while Cornyn and Paxton have traded fire in their combustible race. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and many GOP leaders in the nation’s capital saw Cornyn as the candidate better equipped to successfully defend the seat in Texas, which Democrats are trying to flip as they work to win back the chamber’s majority. That’s because Paxton has faced a slew of scandals and legal problems that have battered him over the past decade, as well as his ongoing messy divorce. Some Republicans are concerned this could be a flashback to 2022, when then-former President Trump flexed his muscles in the GOP primaries, with some of his picks, including Georgia’s Herschel Walker, falling short in the midterms, as Republicans failed to win back the Senate. “Trump got his way in most of the primaries in 2022 also. Didn’t portend great results in the general election,” vocal Trump critic and GOP consultant Sarah Longwell posted on social media Tuesday night. Williams said, “The president has shown that he puts personal loyalty over political considerations
Owner of daycare in viral Nick Shirley video charged in $4.6M daycare fraud scheme, prosecutors say
A woman allegedly tied to Minnesota’s massive “Feeding Our Future” scandal has been charged in a daycare fraud scheme after being featured in a viral video by influencer Nick Shirley, authorities said. She is accused of pocketing millions of dollars meant for children’s meals. Fahima Egeh Mahamud was charged Wednesday with wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States, according to court documents. STATE OFFICIALS AND DAYCARE MANAGER PUSH BACK ON VIRAL VIDEO FRAUD ALLEGATIONS IN MINNESOTA Earlier this year, Mahamud was indicted for her alleged role in the initial $250 million “Feeding Our Future” scheme. Prosecutors allege she enrolled Future Leaders Early Learning — a Minneapolis daycare where she served as CEO — into the federal child nutrition program, falsely claiming to serve thousands of meals at her childcare center. In addition to her involvement in the nutrition program fraud, Mahamud was federally charged Wednesday with a secondary scheme to defraud the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), which provides daycare assistance to low-income families. Between October 2022 and December 2025, she allegedly submitted over 13,000 fraudulent claims to CCAP totaling approximately $4.6 million. Prosecutors state the claims were fraudulent because she falsely certified that she had collected mandatory co-payments from families, which is a material requirement for federal reimbursement. ILHAN OMAR PRESSED TO EXPLAIN HOW FRAUD IN MINNESOTA GOT ‘SO OUT OF CONTROL’ The Future Leaders Early Learning center was featured in Shirley’s viral video, FOX 9 Minneapolis reported, which showed him visiting apparently empty, Somali-run childcare centers in and around Minneapolis while alleging widespread fraud. The video served as a catalyst for an immediate and aggressive multiagency crackdown by the Trump administration. Following its release, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) froze roughly $185 million in federal childcare funding to Minnesota. Additionally, over 2,000 federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) were deployed to the Twin Cities to escalate investigations and enforcement.
New website puts Platner on notice by amplifying scandals: ‘One red flag after another’
A group aligned with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has launched a website compiling the “red flags” raised by her Democratic opponent, Graham Platner. On the site, Pine Tree Results, a fundraising committee, listed the various transgressions that have followed Graham Platner’s campaign as he looks to unseat Collins and flip a key Republican-held Senate seat. “Over 20 years of a grown man revealing his true character with one red flag after another,” the website states. “He’s radical. Dangerous. Too extreme for Maine.” Drawing from social media, Reddit and reporting, the website offers viewers a graveyard full of Platner’s most controversial moments and issues, hoping to keep them in public view as the campaign enters its final six months. LEFT-WING DEM SENATE HOPEFUL CHEERED ON ANTIFA VIOLENCE IN UNEARTHED RANT: ‘KILL A MOTHERF—ER’ In particular, it lists seven key “flags”: the way Platner has talked about rape victims, a Nazi tattoo Platner had removed, comments where he called police “bastards,” derogatory remarks about Maine residents, alleged sympathy for terrorists, comments about communism, and “bigoted” thoughts about minorities. Platner’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Pine Tree Results, founded in January of last year, according to FEC records, has amassed a mostly untapped $12.7 million war chest. Despite the series of scandals highlighted by Pine Tree Results, Democrats are counting on Platner to carry the party banner in a state that they believe is ripe for a Senate win. MAINE GOV JANET MILLS DROPS OUT OF DEMOCRATIC RACE FOR SENATE, SIGNALING SHE STRUGGLED TO RAISE ENOUGH MONEY He became the de facto party nominee earlier this year when former Maine governor Janet Mills, 78, announced she would suspend her campaign after it became clear Platner had more momentum. Collins, a political moderate, has found success in the historically Democratic Pine Tree State as a Republican. She last won reelection in 2020 in a 51% to 42.4% victory over Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, a Maine state legislator. Democrats are hoping Platner’s pitch as a political outsider will convince voters to ditch the five-term incumbent. Platner has framed the PAC’s attacks as proof that his campaign has enough momentum to draw scrutiny. SCHUMER’S ‘NUMBER ONE TARGET’ SAYS VOTERS WILL SEE HER DEMOCRAT SENATE CHALLENGER AS TOO EXTREME “A Republican super PAC called ‘Pine Tree Results,’ funded by twelve billionaires, just bought $2 million worth of attack ads against our campaign. It’s all out-of-state money. Not a single dollar coming from Maine,” Platner said in a post to Instagram last month. If they clear their respective primary elections next month, Collins and Platner will face off in the state’s general elections on Nov. 3.